Sitamarhi

Sitamarhi is an Indian city and the district headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of Bihar and is a part of the Tirhut Division. The Bihar government declared Sitamarhi a municipal council.[3]

For other uses, see Sita Samahit Sthal.

Sitamarhi (सीतामढ़ी)
Town
Sitamarhi (सीतामढ़ी)
Location in Bihar, India
Coordinates: 26.6°N 85.48°E / 26.6; 85.48
CountryIndia
StateBihar
RegionMithila
DistrictSitamarhi
Elevation
56 m (184 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total106,093
Languages
 • OfficialMaithili
 • Additional officialEnglish[2]
 • Regional LanguagesMaithili
 • OtherBajjika-Maithili
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
843302, 843301, 843331,843323, 843325
ISO 3166 codeIN-BR
Vehicle registrationBR-30
Lok Sabha constituencySitamarhi
Vidhan Sabha constituencySitamarhi
Websitesitamarhi.nic.in

A temple dedicated to Sita, the main subject of the epic Ramayana, is located at Punaura Dham Sitamarhi.[4] A rock-cut sanctuary from the great Mauryan period is found near Sitamarhi.[5]

In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was created within the Muzaffarpur district.[6] Sitamarhi was detached from the Muzaffarpur district and made a separate district on 11 December 1972.[7] It is situated in the northern part of Bihar. The district headquarters is located in Dumra, five kilometres (3 mi) south of Sita temple.

Geography

Sitamarhi, located at 26.6°N 85.48°E / 26.6; 85.48,[8] has an average elevation of 56 metres (184 ft).

There are multiple small towns that are famous in Sitamarhi, like Bairgania, Sursand and Bhitthamore which are located at Indo-Nepal border. Other famous places in Sitamarhi region are Bathnaha, Sonbarsa, Bajpatti, Pupri, Parihar, Runnisaidpur,Belsand (Vidhansabha constituency), Parsauni (Market near NH-104), Dumra is near Sitamarhi which is known for all the government offices.

Demographics

Sitamarhi District has a total population of around 1,06,093. There are around 56,693 males and 49,400 females. The numbers of literate males are 39,537, and that of literate females are 29,970. In total 69,507 people are literate. The average literacy rate is 52.04% in total, 60.64% for males, and 42.41% for females. The sex ratio is 899. The child sex ratio is 872.[9]

Religion in Sitamarhi (2011)[10]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 78.06%
Islam
 
 21.62%
Christianity
 
 0.08%
Sikhism
 
 0.01%
Buddhism
 
 0.01%
Jainism
 
 0.01%
Others
 
 0.22%

Notable people

Administration

Sitamarhi is a part of Tirhut Division. Presently, Sitamarhi consists of three sub-divisions and seventeen blocks. Its headquarter is located at Dumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi. The district magistrate is the top-most official of revenue and civil administration and assisted by ADM and other officers, posted in the district. The district has been divided into three subdivisions, namely Sadar, Pupri (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and Belsand which are headed by sub-divisional officers either from I.A.S.(Indian Administration service) or B.A.S.( Bihar Administration Service) cadre. S.D.Os.(Sub-divisional officer) are under the direct authority of D.M.(District Magistrate) Subdivisions are divided into 17 development blocks where B.D.Os.( Block Development Officer) are posted who undertake development and welfare projects. Sitamarhi district has 845 revenue villages. The superintendent of police, Sitamarhi, is the head of the district police administration and is assisted by the deputy superintendent of police. In each subdivision of the district, the deputy superintendent of police are posted who keep control on police administration. The judges and Munshif magistrates are posted at district and sub-division who administer and deliver justice of different kinds.

Tourism
  • Janaki Janmasthali, Punaura Dham
  • Sita Kund
  • Haleshwar Sthan
  • Dekuli Dham
  • Urjiva Kund
  • Janki Asthan
  • Dumra Hawai field
  • Children's' Park Shankar Chowk
  • NS DAV public school
  • City Park, Hospital Rd.

Transportation

National Highway 77 connects the area to the Muzaffarpur district and Patna. National Highways 77 and other roads connect to the adjoining districts. National Highway 104 (India) connects it to Sursand, Bhitthamore border, Charaut and Jaynagar and Sheohar . State highways link it to Madhubani district in the East.

Sitamarhi Junction railway station is a five-platform station on the Darbhanga–Raxaul–Narkatiaganj line, which was converted to broad gauge in February 2014. Another broad-gauge track connects Sitamarhi to Muzaffarpur. Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi railway junction to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Guwahati (Kamakhya), Hyderabad, Kanpur and Mumbai.

The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Darbhanga Airport which is about 82 kilometres (51 mi) away.

Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Many private buses (both AC and non-AC) operate between Sitamarhi and Patna.

Culture

Rama Navami is a spring festival in Dumra, widely celebrated with a large fair held to mark the occasion. Also in Janki Mandir popularly known as A Janaki Sthan (temple with history from 1599) next to Urjiva Kund (where Sita was found in the heart of the earth) a marriage ceremony of Lord Ram and Sita Mata happens every year.[11] Sama Chakeva is a prominent winter festival dedicated to celebrate brother-sister relationships.[12] This is a major cultural event with marriage ceremonies and many cultural rituals that take much preparation.[13]

References
  1. "Census of SITAMARHI". Biharonline.gov.in. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. "50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2012 to June 2013)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. "Tirhut Division". Tirhut-muzaffarpur.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. Chakrabarti, Dilip K (2001). Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain: The Lower and the Middle Ganga. New Delhi: Orient Blacksawn. p. 207. ISBN 9788178240169. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. Sen, S N (1999). Ancient Indian History And Civilization. New Age International. p. 166. ISBN 9788122411980. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. Official Website of the District and Civil Court of Sitmahri Archived 25 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved May 26, 2010
  7. District Health Action Plan, National Rural Health Mission, Government of Bihar, Retrieved May 25, 2010
  8. "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Sitamarhi, India". Fallingrain.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  9. "Sitamarhi District Population Data - Census 2011". www.census2011.co.in.
  10. "Census 2011 India". www.census2011.co.in. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. Sitamarhi, Encyclopedia Britannica (2014), Quote: "A large Ramanavami fair, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, is held in spring with considerable trade in pottery, spices, brass ware, and cotton cloth. A cattle fair held in Sitamarhi is the largest in Bihar state. The town is sacred as the birthplace of the goddess Sita (also called Janaki), the wife of Lord Ram."
  12. "Festivals of Bihar". Government of Bihar. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  13. [Mithila kaa Itihas (Hindi Book), Author: Dr. Ram Prakash Sharma, Publisher: Kameshwer Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Darbhanga, Page No.: 460]
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