Alipurduar district

Alipurduar's name originates from Colonel Hedayat Ali Khan, a British officer who fought in the 1865 Bhutan War and was stationed there, combined with "Duar" (or Door), representing its role as a gateway to the Dooars region of the Himalayas.^[9]

Apart from the Alipurduar municipality and Falakata municipality, the district contains eight census towns and rural areas of 66 gram panchayats under six community development blocks: Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar-I, Alipurduar–II, Kalchini, Falakata and Kumargram.^[11] Geographically the district lies between 26.4°N to 26.83°N and 89°E to 89.9°E.

The nine census towns are Paschim Jitpur, Chechakhata, Alipurduar Railway Junction, Bholar Dabri, Sobhaganj, Jaygaon and Uttar Latabari and Uttar Kamakhyaguri.^[12]

Alipurduar railway division has at least 710 km of railway track. It is the largest division of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone. In Alipurduar district, there are two major stations, Alipurduar Junction (APDJ) and New Alipurduar (NOQ). There are other stations in the district viz. Falakata Railway Station, Kamakhyaguri Railway Station, Dalgaon Railway Station, Hasimara railway station, Kalchini railway station, Rajabhatkhawa, Mujnai railway station, Madarihat railway station, Hamiltonganj railway station, Samuktala Road Junction railway station, Salbari railway station etc.^{[citation needed]}

There are 5 assembly constituency in Alipurduar district :

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the area under Kumargram block and seven gram panchayats under Alipurduar–II block, viz. Bhatibari, Kohinoor, Parokata, Mahakalguri, Shamuktala, Turturi and Tatpara–I constitutes the Kumargram assembly constituency of West Bengal. The Majherdabri gram panchayat under Alipurduar–II block and the area under Kalchini block constitutes the Kalchini assembly constituency. The Alipurduar municipality, the Alipurduar Railway Junction census town, and the gram panchayats of Chaporer Par–I, Chaporer Par–II and Tatpara–II under Alipurduar–II block and ten gram panchayats of Alipurduar–I block, viz. Banchukamari, Parorpar, Shalkumar–I, Vivekananda–I, Chakowakheti, Patlakhawa, Shalkumar–II, Vivekananda–II, Mathura and Tapsikhata form the Alipurduars assembly constituency. The other gram panchayat of Alipurduar–I block, viz. Purba Kanthalbari forms the Falakata assembly constituency along with the area under Falakata block. Madarihat block is part of Madarihat assembly constituency. Kumargram, Kalchini and Madarihat constituencies is reserved for Scheduled tribes (ST) candidates. Falakata constituency is reserved for Scheduled castes (SC) candidates. All these five assembly constituencies are part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for ST candidates.^[13]

As of the 2011 census, Alipurduar district had a population of 1,491,250, of which 1,183,704 were rural and 307,456 were urban. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 456,706 (30.62%) and 382,112 (25.62%) of the population respectively.^[2]

Religion

Religion in Alipurduar district (2011)^[14]

Hinduism			80.07%
Islam			8.74%
Christianity			7.52%
Buddhism			2.37%
Tribal religion			1.00%
Other or not stated			0.31%

More information Religion, Population (1941): 90–91 ...

Religion in present-day Alipurduar district

Religion	Population (1941)[15]: 90–91	Percentage (1941)	Population (2011)[14]	Percentage (2011)
Hinduism	144,898	45.17%	1,194,102	80.07%
Tribal religion	141,716	44.17%	14,866	1.00%
Islam	29,856	9.31%	130,339	8.74%
Christianity	1,385	0.43%	112,091	7.52%
Buddhism	---	---	35,318	2.37%
Others[b]	2,963	0.93	4,534	0.31%
Total Population	320,818	100%	1,491,250	100%

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Hindus are the majority in all blocks. Muslims are spread evenly throughout the district, but Christians, traditional religions and Buddhists are concentrated in the tea garden areas.

• Buxa Tiger Reserve, IUCN category II national park
• Jayanti Hills
• Buxa Fort, built by British Raj
• Jaldapara National Park
• Chilapata Forests
• Jaigaon, a small town of Alipurduar district and near the Bhutan border
• Rajabhatkhawa Museum at Rajabhatkhawa
• Rajabhatkhawa Forest
• Raimatang
• Jayanti
• Santalabari
• Rovers point
• Roopang valley
• Lepchakha
• Chunabhati
• Chipra Forest
• Chilapata Forest
• Buxa Tiger Reserve
• Dima Bridge
• Vistadome Ride
• Tons of Tea Estates

• Kodalbasti^[17]
• Shilbarihat
• Nilpara
• Nimati^[18]

Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 02/01/2024 (valid until 11/03/2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.^{[19][20][21][22]}

State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai, making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region.^[23] It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag.^{[citation needed]}

The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.^{[citation needed]}