| Bettiah | |
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| Coordinates | 26°48′N 84°30′E / 26.8°N 84.5°E |
| Country |  India |
| State | Bihar |
| District(s) | West Champaran |
| Population | 116,692 (2001[update]) |
| Sex ratio | 53% male : 47% female ♂/♀ |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 65 m (213 ft) |
| Website | westchamparan.bih.nic.in/ |
Bettiah (Hindi: बेतिया) is the headquarters of West Champaran district in the state of Bihar, near Indo-Nepal border, 225 Kilometres north-west of Patna. Bettiah, pronounced as 'Betiya', derived its name from 'baint' (local name for 'cane'), which was grown here extensively in the past but not now. Its spelling - Bettiah was given by British and it remains so. The most accepted and widely used code for it BTH.
Bettiah Raj's eighteen hundred square miles yielding a rental of almost 2 million rupees made it the second largest zamindari in Bihar belonging to a Bhumihar Brahmin family.[1]
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History
It is the birth place of famous poet Gopal Singh 'Nepali'. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi started the Satyagraha movement from here in 1917. The region surrounding Bettiah was being extensively used for Indigo plantation. Though Indigo cultivation yielded quick benefits to the British colonizers, a few years of Indigo cultivation would render the subsoil entirely devoid of nutrients thereby effectively ruining possibility of any further cultivation of any kind. Even to this date, the adjoining regions which were being used for Indigo cultivation are barren & have only scrub vegetation in stark contrast to the lush greens typical of the highly fertile Indo-Gangetic Plains in which the West Champaran district lies.Other than this there are varios things to share abot which willl come in February .
Geography
Bettiah is located at 26°48′N 84°30′E / 26.8°N 84.5°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 65 metres (213 feet). Bettiah has hot summers and chilling winters. In summers the temperature goes up to 44 - 46 Degree Celsius while in winters the temperature goes as low as 2 - 5 Degree Celsius. It has heavy annual rainfall of about 200 - 240 cms which often causes floods. Bettiah lies in the alluvial plains of gandak basin. It is located near the River Gandak. The region faces thunders and hailstorms during the change of seasons.Other than this there are two huge forest area one near Valmiki Nagar and other near bettiah that is called Udaypur forest area(Udaypur Jungle). both of them come into the tiger saving project called 'Valmiki Vaghra Pariyojana'.
These two forest reserves have been the hiding place of of various Bandid guoups,namely Bhagar yadav ,Basudev Yadav, Lachan yadav etc.. Due these bandid groups which one time were counted 25 in all West Champaran was known as Mini Chambal of india.
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census[3], Bettiah had a population of 116,692. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bettiah has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Education
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Assembly of God Church School & Kendriya Vidyalaya is a premier school of Bettiah with high success rate of student and its quality education.K R High School Schoolis another to name ,it was established in the year 1927 and was a boys school till 1998, when co-education started in this school. In the year 1999, another school named St.Xavier's Higher Secondary School was started in the K R High School campus and has emerged as the best school of the town.St .Teresa Girls' High school, is as good school as K R High School. Apart from these relatively old schools, Saraswati Sishu/Vidya Mandir, built in 1989 and located in Dr. Hedgewar Nagar which is 5 km east of Bettiah, has established itself as an important place for learning. Raj Inter College, Bipin High School, Notre Dame Public School, Natarhat Public School,St.Michael Academy and many more to name mainly in cristan quarter area.
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Vrindavan (6 km from bettiah) is another premier school in the district. The alumni of this school in a short span of time of 15 years have joined almost each of the top universities/IITs/ medical colleges in India and they may be found in USA, Europe, Singapore, China and many other countries.
As consider the higher education there are two degree colleges, Maharani Janki Kunwar College(named after Late. Maharani of Bettiah raj) and Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College, it is also known as a RLSY College bettiah. This college transformed into a reputable educational institution from small college started from one room in early eighties. It offers BCA (computer studies) first in West Champaran, and IT IS ALL DUE to Late Prof. Lal Bahadur Prasad, who has changed the educational and societal scenario of Champaran Bihar. He has trasnformed the RLSY college bettiah lush green campus into hi-tech and wide range of facilities. His life was a real gift for students and his family. Besides, there Mahila College (Woman's College) and Gulab Memorial collage(named after Gulab Khan,a freedom fighter). There is a plan to convert Maharani Janki Kunwar Hospital (biggest Hospital in North Bihar) into a Medical college and also to establish engineering and management colleges.
In the soaring rage of marketing, business and industrialization, Bettiah is not far behind and is competing with the market. There are efforts to bring Bettiah on the IT map. There are several industries in Bettiah sub-division like paper plant, sugar mills and some other small scale industries. Bettiah Sub-division alone has an average consumption of more than 30 MW of electricity which the government is currently negotiating with the National Grid. Although 30 MW is not sufficient for a developing town like Bettiah, and the private industries are struggling to move forward and competete the market.
Due to developing market and business, many banks have come forward to provide with loans and facilities. Lists of bank currently operating in bettiah -"State Bank of India","Canara Bank","Axis Bank","Punjab National Bank","Allahabad Bank", "ICICI Bank", etc. Some banks planning to open are "ING Vysya", "HDFC" etc.
Bettiah is well connected by roads and railways to all major cities. Railways provide with cheap transport and trade. Due to the opening of broad gauge and new trains, Bettiah have got new lease of life. There is a non - operative airport in BETTIAH which was operated in the past during British time.
There are several telecom companies operating in Bettiah like Airtel, BSNL, Realiance, TATA Indicom, Aircel,Vodafone. There are many internet service providers like Airtel Broadband, SIFY Broadband, BSNL Broadband, Reliance R-Connect.
References
- ^ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 69). ISBN 978-0520211001.
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bettiah
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
See also
- Lauria Nandangarh
- Bagaha
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