Gidhaur

History

Gidhaur was one of Princely State among 568 princely states in India before the Partition of British India in 1947. Kings of Chandel descent ruled on erstwhile Patsanda for more than six centuries. Raja Bir Vikram Singh founded this princely state in 1266. His ancestors belong to Mahoba of Bundelkhand region and were the builders of the Khajuraho Temples in Madhya Pradesh. His ninth in descent, Raja Puran Singh is said to have built the temple of Baidyandth in Deoghar, Jharkhand. Patsanda was renamed Gidhaur by the name of railway station situated at 2 kilometer away from town. Gidhaur became block in 1994, before which it was in Lakshmipur block.

Geography

Gidhaur is located at the bank of river Ulai, 167 kilometres south-east of state capital, Patna. It is Situated at (24°52′0″N 86°19′0″E) about 19 kilometers east from the district headquarters Jamui. Ulai is a monsoon river which flows parallel to the town and makes southern-western boundary. There are two hill Seva-pahar and Bandhora-pahar in the direction of north and south of town. Population is equally distributed around Minto tower. Town can be divided into eastern part (Jhajha side) and western side (Jamui side) in a way to categorize different local positions.

Demographics

The Patsanda village has population of 9353 of which 4897 are males while 4456 are females as per Population Census 2011. In Patsanda village population of children with age 0-6 is 1617 which makes up 17.29% of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Patsanda village is 910 which is lower than Bihar state average of 918. Child Sex Ratio for the Patsanda as per census is 1011, higher than Bihar average of 935. Patsanda village has higher literacy rate compared to Bihar. In 2011, literacy rate of Patsanda village was 67.72% compared to 61.80% of Bihar. In Patsanda Male literacy stands at 79.53% while female literacy rate was 54.46%.

Gidhaur Block

Geographical area of Gidhaur Block is 71.11 km². Its population was 60,670 according to the census of 2011. There are twenty villages in Gidhaur block.

Economy

All the business premises are located in Gidhaur Bazaar centered around Minto tower. Earlier Local business shops were mainly in Tower chowk but now It is widely distributed with the flourish of local market. Like other part of Bihar, Most of the people depend on agriculture and small scale business for their livelihood. Beedi rolling is widely done mainly by women belonging to low-income families, which makes them financially independent. Young people migrate to other states and city in search of better jobs based on their education. In the past few years, a large number of youths have migrated to various cities in India. Though the place is small, it has helped the youth in providing a solid foundation in their education. There are many bankers, railway employees, s/w engineers, teachers, hard core engineers and various other professionals this village has produced.

Moreover, the local and well famous fair of Durga & Lakshmi Puja provides around a monthlong market for locals as well as outsiders for buying and selling their products. Furniture, plants, etc. are booming in these fair seasons here.

Promonent nationalised Bank's branch are also available here. These banks are SBI, BoI, Uco Bank, BoB, Grameen Bank, etc. Newly licensed Bandhan Bank has also acquired premises on lease for opening of its branch in Gidhaur.

Rail

Gidhaur lies on the Delhi–Howrah main railway line. Railway station (station code GHR) is 2 kilometer away from the center of town. Presently, Ten express train and eight passenger train stops here. Railway station can be reached by auto-rickshaw and Tumtum (Horse-cart). Jhajha a major railway station is only 13 km away, which connects Gidhaur to across the country. People prefer long and medium distance travel by Railway due to wide connectivity and availability of trains from Gidhaur railway station.

Road

State Highway SH-18 passes through Gidhaur main market alongside Minto tower, connect it to district headquarters Jamui and nearby major railway station Jhajha, shown in left side image. Conditions of road has dramatically improved in last 5 years.

Ulai river bridge connects southern smaller villages to the town.

Air

There is a small helipad at Surendra singh stadium which is used to land small helicopters.

Climate

Gidhaur has a humid subtropical climate with extremely hot summers from late March to early June, the monsoon season from late June to late September and a mild winter from November to February. In summer, Temperature rises to 45 °C and in winter It goes down to 5 °C. The table below details historical monthly averages for climate variables.

Demographics

Total population of Gidhaur town is 7453 according to census of 2011. Male population is 4013 and female population is 3440.

Festival

Durga-puja of Gidhaur is very famous. It is celebrated with much fun-fare and religious way. A folk-line related to Durga-puja of Gidhaur is Kali hai kalkatte ki, Durga hai patsande ki, describes the popularity of it. Thousands of people visit Durga mandir in navratri. Laxmi Puja is celebrated after 5 day of Dasami (the last day of navratri). A one-month-long mela is held adjacent to Durga mandir to facilitate all kinds of rural entertainment. A large variety of tree plants are sold that makes this mela very environment friendly.

In addition to it, Holi, Diwali, Chhath puja, Eid, Muharram, Ramnavmi are widely celebrated.

Cuisine

Tilkut of Gidhaur is very famous. It is prepared from til (sesame seeds)and khoa (dried whole milk). It provides heat and energy to the body which helps to beat winter cold. This dish is very popular and delicious.

Education

There is a public library established in 1947. Student used to discuss career related questions in the evening.

Sports

Football is very popular and is played daily in kumar surendra singh stadium. Every year Major football tournament are organised. Cricket is also played by most of children. There is a regional center of Sports authority of India, where sportsperson train for athletics, bollyball, basketball, football etc. Maharaja of Gidhaur Chandrachud singh was a member of Bihar cricket team in one-day match played at keenan stadium jamshedpur against English team Lord Tennyson's XI on 29 December 1937.

Major public place

It is one of the few town of district Jamui where basic governmental facilities like Hospital, Higher secondary school,Public Library, Post Office, Police station, Block office, Stadium, Town hall are available.

Religious sites

Minto Tower

Minto tower was built by the Maharaja of Gidhaur in 1909 to commemorate the visit of the then British Viceroy Lord Irwin to Gidhaur. It is in the middle of Gidhaur Market on the main Jamui-Jhajha state highway. There are total 12 large pillar. Large Sitting Lion are placed on four outer pillar. The tower holds four-faced hour-bell clock. The tower was renovated in 2008-09 for its 100th anniversary. The tower is the most prominent symbol of Gidhaur.

Maharaja palace

It is a 14th-century palace situated at the side of main market and at the bank of Ulai river. Two large cannons at the entrance of the palace and statue of guards on the boundary wall are the main attraction for first-time viewer.

Durga Puja and Laxmi puja

Gidhaur is locally famous for the Durga Puja in which people from distant places come for Darshan. A ten days festival fair for Durga Puja and two days for Laxmi puja is organised; In which Dandvat and Sanjhoti are piously done by worshiper. On the Astami day, people do darshan of Maa Durga. Bali of animals is done on the Navmi day. 10th day, Maa Durga pratima is taken through the streets in a procession fanfare to be immersed in a pond.

LalKothi

This is the private house of Late Digvijay singh. There is beautiful garden inside it. All building wall are made by large rectangular red brick and thus called Lal-kothi (Red-building).

Dheeraj Kumar Manager SBI