English Bazar

Geography

Malda is at 25.00°N 88.15°E / 25.00; 88.15. It has an average elevation of 17 metres (56 feet). It is on the western bank of the river Mahananda.

As in much of Bengal, the weather is usually extremely humid and tropical. Temperatures can reach as high as 46 °C during the day in May and June and fall as low as 4 °C overnight in December and January.

History

The district of Malda formed in 1813 out of the outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur, and Rajshahi districts. In 1832 a separate treasury was established, and in 1859 a magistrate and collector were appointed.

Up to 1876 this district formed part of Rajshahi Division, and from 1876 to 1905 it formed part of Bhagalpur Division. In 1905, it was again transferred to Rajshahi Division, and until 1947 Malda remained in this division.

In August 1947 this district was affected by the Partition of India. Between 12 and 15 August 1947 whether the district would become part of India or Pakistan was unknown, as the announcement of the Radcliffe Line did not make this point clear. During these few days the district was under a magistrate of East Pakistan; after the details of the Radcliffe award were published, the district became part of West Bengal on 17 August 1947.

Civic administration

There are two municipalities in Malda: the municipality of English Bazar and the municipality of Old Malda.

The municipality of English Bazar is divided into 29 wards. The Trinamool Congress with 15 councillors holds power (as of 2015).

Road

NH 12 crosses through the heart of the city. There are a public bus stand and a government bus service which is operated by the NBSCT (North Bengal State Transport Corporation). It is connected to all the other districts in West Bengal like Siliguri, Midnapur, Bankura, Purulia, Burdwan, Kalna, Kalyani, Barackpore, Digha, Bolpur and Berhampore. Lots of private buses connect the local short and long distance routes, including Nalagola, Bululbi, Aiho, Pakua, Gajol, Manikchak, Kaliachak, Sujapur, Samsi, Farakka, Chanchal, Gangarampur, Balurghat, Baharampur, Raiganj and Siliguri.

E-rickshaws (TOTO) are mostly available in the city to cover short distance. There are also private cars and taxis, Maxi, Tata Magic and Maximo Presents for local transportation.

Rail

Malda's main railway station is Malda Town. It is a busy station and all trains stop here. According to Indian Railway,Malda Town is in the top 100 ticket booking stations all over India. It is the Divisional Headquarters of Eastern Railway's Malda Division; about 70% of this division is in Bihar and Jharkhand. Financial department officials have offices there. Almost all trains bound for North Bengal and the north eastern states of India pass through Malda Town station.

Lots of Express and mail trains depart from this station. Howrah-NJP Line passes through this station.

Most top class trains Like Shatabdi Express stop in this station. Mega cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore all are well connected through the rail route. Howrah-Njp Shatabdi Express which is cover the fastest train in this region.

Air

Malda Airport (IATA: LDA, ICAO: VEMH) was closed in 1972 due to the Bangladesh War. Before that there were direct daily flights from Malda to Kolkata, Delhi, and Guwahati. The Indian government is relocating the airport several kilometres from the town. In 2014 direct helicopter services were started between Malda and Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, by the government of West Bengal.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, English Bazar municipality had a population of 216,083 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 324,237. The municipality had a sex ratio of 877 females per 1,000 males and 14.9% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 84.69%; male literacy was 85.44% and female literacy was 83.86%.

Colleges and universities

Several colleges and universities are in and around English Bazar. The largest is the University of Gour Banga, established in 2008. Almost all the 28 colleges in Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts, except for Raiganj University College, are affiliated with it.

Other notable institutions include Malda College, established on 23 July 1944, the oldest higher educational institution in the city; and Malda Women's College, the only women's college in the city. English Bazar has three engineering colleges: IMPS College of Engineering and Technology, established in 2003; and Malda Polytechnic, one of the oldest polytechnic colleges in West Bengal; and the recently established Ghani Khan Institute of Engineering and technology.

Malda Medical College and Hospital is the only medical college.

Universities

Colleges

Engineering colleges

ITI colleges

Medical colleges

Boys' high schools

Girls' high schools

Hindi language schools

Muslim schools

Rail schools

1. Malda Railway High School

Primary schools

English medium schools

Kendriya Vidyalaya

Hospitals and health care

Malda is becoming the medical hub of this region. Malda Medical College and Hospital is a top class hospital in the district and also nearby district. Tthere are lots of primary healthcare centers in the city. Private nursing homes, a pathology centre, clinics, and medical stores are present.

Malda Medical College and Hospital

The Government of West Bengal decided to set up a new medical college at the strategically located district of Malda, which is easily accessible to the districts in the region of North Bengal.

Malda Railway Hospital

Malda Railway Hospital is established to serve health care for railway needs. It is situated near the Malda Town Railway Station.

Private hospitals and nursing homes

Lots of private hospitals and nursing homes are available in the city. A top class private pathology care center is also available.

Media

All national channels and also some local media channels like Sabar Cable, Sabar Monoranjan and MCN News, CCN and Waris TV are local channels which are operated throughout the city. And also serves nearby districts news like North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Murshidabad.

Sports facilities

There are lots of indoor and outdoor stadiums. Satya Choudhury Indoor Stadium has games like table tennis, badminton, and judo. District Sports Association Stadium is used for outdoor games like cricket. A swimming pool is also available for swimming competitions. Laxman Sen Outdoor Stadium is another outdoor stadium. BrindaBani Maidan which is situated in the middle of the city is an outdoor stadium with a large capacity. All school sports and local and state level cricket and football matches are playing in this ground.

Malda club has a tennis court.

Notable people