Sitamarhi district | |
|---|---|
| Sitamarhi district | |
Janaki Kund,Sitamarhi | |
Location of Sitamarhi district in Bihar | |
| Country | |
| State | |
| Division | Tirhut |
| Founded by | KingJanaka |
| Named after | Sita |
| Headquarters | Dumra |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Sitamarhi |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Riga,Bathnaha,Parihar,Sursand,Bajpatti,Sitamarhi,Runnisaidpur,Belsand |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,185 km2 (844 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 3,423,574 |
| • Density | 1,567/km2 (4,058/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 5.71 per cent |
| Demonym | Maithil |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 53.53 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 899 females \ 1000 males |
| Languages | |
• Official language
| Hindi,Urdu |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Major highways | NH 104 |
| HDI(2016) | |
| Website | sitamarhi |
Sitamarhi district is one of thedistricts in the Indianstate ofBihar.Dumra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is a part of theTirhut division It is believed to be the place of manifestation ofGoddess Sita in the ancientMithila Kingdom while the legendaryKing Janaka in the epicRamayana was ploughing a farm field in the present city ofSitamarhi. Presently in the city of Sitamarhi, there are two locations claimed to be the birthplace of the Goddess Sita. The two locations areUrvija Kund atJanaki Sthan andJanaki Kund atPunauradham.

This place is considered as birthplace ofSita, the main character of the epicRamayana and a temple dedicated to Sita lies nearSitamarhi town.[2] A Rock cut sanctuary ofMauryan period is found near Sitamarhi.[3]
In 1875, a Sitamarhi subdistrict was created within theMuzaffarpur district.[4] Sitmarhi was detached from Muzaffarpur and became a separate district as of 11 December 1972.[5] It is situated in the northern part of Bihar. The district headquarters is located inDumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi.[clarification needed]
Sitamarhi district became a full-fledged district when it was split fromMuzaffarpur district in 1972.[6] 1994 saw the split ofSheohar district from Sitamarhi.[6]
The district was a part of theRed Corridor.The Indian government recently declared it naxal-free.
Sitamarhi district has a history ofcommunal riots dating back to thepartition of India.[7] In 1948, violence broke out inBelsand, following by riots in 1959 over issue of the Mahavir Flag; roughly 50 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Further violence occurred around the issue of Durga Mela - these riots began after a false rumour that Muslims had slaughtered a cow, which was eventually found alive. Another riot in 1959 on the issue of cow slaughter killed 11 people, again mostly Muslims, and destroyed 200 houses. Subsequent riots occurred in 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1989.
Sitamarhi district occupies an area of 2,294 square kilometres (886 sq mi),[8] comparatively equivalent toAustralia'sGroote Eylandt.[9]
It is bordered by Nepal to the north,Madhubani district to the east,Darbhanga andMuzaffarpur districts to the south, andSheohar andEast Champaran districts to the west.
It is situated on a flood plain. In August 2019, Sitamarhi district suffered heavy flooding.
| District | No. | Constituency | Name | Party | Alliance | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sitamarhi | 23 | Riga | Baidyanath Prasad | BJP | NDA | |||
| 24 | Bathnaha (SC) | Anil Kumar | ||||||
| 25 | Parihar | Gayatri Devi Yadav | ||||||
| 26 | Sursand | Nagendra Raut | JD(U) | |||||
| 27 | Bajpatti | Rameshwar Mahto | RLM | |||||
| 28 | Sitamarhi | Sunil Kumar Pintu | BJP | |||||
| 29 | Runnisaidpur | Pankaj Kumar Mishra | JD(U) | |||||
| 30 | Belsand | Amit Kumar | LJP(RV) | |||||
| 1.Dumra |
| 2.Runni Saidpur |
| 3.Parihar |
| 4.Bathnaha |
| 5.Sonbarsa |
| 6.Bajpatti |
| 7.Sursand |
| 8.Riga |
| 9.Nanpur |
| 10.Pupri |
| 11.Bairgania |
| 12.Bokhara |
| 13.Suppi |
| 14.Belsand |
| 15.Majorganj |
| 16.[Parsauni] |
| 17.Choraut |
It is one of the 38 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[10]
The following is a list of Schools in Sitamarhi, Bihar, India
National Highway 77 connects the area to theMuzaffarpur district andPatna to the South. Sitamarhi has road connections to adjoining districts, of which the major examples are National Highway 77 and National Highway 227. It is situated on the Darbhanga Narkatiaganj railway line and has the largest railway station of the district. Another broad gauge track, running betweenMuzaffarpur and Sitamarhi. Direct train services are available to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Hyderabad and Kanpur. State highways link it to theMadhubani (to the east) andSheohar (to the west) districts. Railway lines connectSitamarhi toDarbhanga in east, and toMuzaffarpur in the south and toRaxaul in the west. Sitamarhi has a railway junction.Sitamarhi railway station is on the Raxaul-Darbhanga rail route.
The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is theDarbhanga Airport which is about 70 km from Sitamarhi.
TheSitamarhi-Bhitthamore Road is important for religious reasons as it connects Janakpur, which houses a 200-year-oldJanki Temple with Sitamarhi—considered to be the birth place ofGoddess Sita.
National Highway 227 passes throughBhitthamore. Thus it is a gateway toJanakpur,Nepal and other parts of Sitamarhi & Madhubani.

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 782,557 | — |
| 1911 | 807,936 | +0.32% |
| 1921 | 782,221 | −0.32% |
| 1931 | 835,055 | +0.66% |
| 1941 | 921,265 | +0.99% |
| 1951 | 999,655 | +0.82% |
| 1961 | 1,158,546 | +1.49% |
| 1971 | 1,323,793 | +1.34% |
| 1981 | 1,627,716 | +2.09% |
| 1991 | 2,013,796 | +2.15% |
| 2001 | 2,682,720 | +2.91% |
| 2011 | 3,423,574 | +2.47% |
| source:[11] | ||
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 78.06% | |||
| Islam | 21.62% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.32% | |||
According to the2011 census Sitamarhi district has apopulation of 3,423,574,[13] roughly equal to the nation ofPanama[14] or the US state ofConnecticut.[15] This gives it a ranking of 96th in India (out of a total of640).[13] The district has a population density of 1,491 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,860/sq mi).[13] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.47%.[13] Sitamarhi has asex ratio of 899females for every 1000 males,[13] and aliteracy rate of 53.53%. 5.56% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 11.85% and 0.09% of the population respectively.[13]
[17]At the time of the2011 Census of India, 33.46% of the population spokeHindi, 13.96%Urdu and 3.25%Maithili as their first language. 49.14% of the population recorded their language as 'Other' Hindi.[16]
Groote Eylandt 2,285km2
Panama 3,460,462 July 2011 est.
Connecticut 3,574,097
26°36′00″N85°29′00″E / 26.60000°N 85.48333°E /26.60000; 85.48333