Maharajganj district | |
|---|---|
 Nepal-India border checkpoint atSonauli | |
 Location of Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Division | Gorakhpur |
| Headquarters | Mahrajganj |
| Tehsils | Anand Nagar (Pharenda), Nautanwa, Nichlaul, Maharajganj Sadar |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Maharajganj |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Maharajganj sadar, Siswa Bazar, Anand Nagar (Pharenda), Nautanwa and Paniyara |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,952 km2 (1,140 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 2,684,703 |
| • Density | 910/km2 (2,400/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 134,730 |
| Language | |
| • Official | Hindi[2] |
| • Additional official | Urdu[2] |
| • Regional | Bhojpuri |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 64.3 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 943 |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Major highways | NH730, NH24, NH730S |
| Website | maharajganj |
Maharajganj district is one of the 75districts of Uttar Pradeshstate in northern India, and the town ofMaharajganj is the district headquarters. District is a partGorakhpur division. It is located inTerai region ofHimalayas, borderingNepal in North.Gandak,Rapti, Rohin are some major river flowing through the district.
Maharajganj district is bounded byNawalparasi andRupandehi Districts ofLumbini Province ofNepal in the north, the districts ofKushinagar in the east, Maharajganj also shares border withWest Champaran district ofBihar in east. It bordersGorakhpur to the south andSiddharthnagar andSant Kabir Nagar in the west. It is part ofGorakhpur Division. The district covers an area of 2,951 km2. It has a population of 2,684,703 (2011 Census).[3]
The district was carved out from the erstwhileGorakhpur district on 2 October 1989. It is known for the ruins of Buddha which are found here and it is expected that if proper excavation is done then many unknown facts about Buddha will be discovered. Religious temples of Lehra Devi: There is a temple of Lehra Devi (लेहड़ा देवी), also known as Aadravanavaasini (आद्रवनवासिनी), in Lehra forest. People from all over Eastern Uttar Pradesh visit here and worship the goddessDurga. There is special importance to visit here in the period ofNavratri in months of March–April and September–October. This temple is about 50 km North-West of Gorakhpur located in Anandnagar. It is believed that while wandering in the forest for 14 years, Pandavas lived a year in disguise. They visited the Lehra Jungle and were offered shelter by Lehra Devi. There is one natural Pindi as in Vaishno Devi. It is also believed thatYudhishthira (युधिष्ठिर) answered the questions of Yaksha (यक्ष) here only in this forest.
The Chinese traveller Hiuen-Tsang also mentions the temple in his book Si-Yu-Ki. During British Raj it was one Military Camp named Lehra. One day a British officer came here and fired a bullet at the Pindi. Suddenly, blood started coming out of the Pindi. Seeing the blood, the British ran away. They all died with their horses. Grave of the British Officer is situated in the West of temple about 1 km of distance. Once Maa came to the town as a beautiful girl and wanted to cross the river. She hired a boat and started the journey but in middle of the river the boatman grew interested in her splendid beauty and went off track. As soon as Devi understood his intention, she disappeared with the boat. In theKali Yuga she was seen with the boat to her followers who made a temple at the very place. It is believed that if a person visits the temple for regular 5 Tuesdays, his wishes are fulfilled. To reach this temple, buses, autorickshaws and trains are available from Gorakhpur to Anandnagar (Pharenda). It is connected by other mediums to the temple from Anandnagar.[citation needed]
District has one Lok Sabha constituency named asMaharajganj (Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituency), currently represented byPankaj Chaudhary ofBhartiya Janta Party.
There are 5 Vidhan Sabhaconstituencies in the district which are:
There are 4 Nagar Palikas in the district:[citation needed]
There are 8 Nagar Panchayat in the district:[citation needed]
Bridgemanganj, Partawal, Chowk and Paniyara are newly created.[citation needed]
Lejar mahdewa (lejruwa)|dhirendra|
In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj named Maharajganj one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640).[4] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from theBackward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[4]
Maharajganj district comprises 4tehsils:
There are 1048 revenue villages in the district and 20 police stations, Bhitauli being the latest.
Sonauli is the main checkpoint at the Nepal border and is administered directly by home ministry of government of India.
Thuthibari, Bargadwan, Jhulnipur, Bhagwanpur, Kolhui bazar are some other major entry points at Nepal border.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 496,095 | — |
| 1911 | 540,574 | +0.86% |
| 1921 | 551,476 | +0.20% |
| 1931 | 615,937 | +1.11% |
| 1941 | 681,685 | +1.02% |
| 1951 | 765,432 | +1.17% |
| 1961 | 892,048 | +1.54% |
| 1971 | 1,057,848 | +1.72% |
| 1981 | 1,335,090 | +2.35% |
| 1991 | 1,676,378 | +2.30% |
| 2001 | 2,173,878 | +2.63% |
| 2011 | 2,684,703 | +2.13% |
| source:[5] | ||
According to the2011 census Maharajganj district has apopulation of 2,684,703,[6] roughly equal to the nation ofKuwait[7] or the US state ofNevada.[8] This gives it a ranking of 148th in India (out of a total of640 districts). The district has a population density of 909 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,350/sq mi). Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 23.50%. Maharajganj has asex ratio of 943females for every 1000 males, and aliteracy rate of 62.76%. 5.02% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 18.36% and 0.61% of the population respectively.[6]
Hinduism is practiced by majority of the population, around 82%.Islam is followed by 17% of the population. Maharajganj district has the highest proportion of people followingBuddhism in Uttar Pradesh.[9]
At the time of the2011 Census of India, 59.23% of the population in the district spoke Bhojpuri, 39.65%Hindi and 0.90%Urdu as their first language.[10]
Bhojpuri is the local language of Maharajganj. The Bhojpuri variant ofKaithi is the indigenous script of Bhojpuri language.[11]
Kuwait 2,595,62
Nevada 2,700,551
Places adjacent to Maharajganj district | |
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| National | |
