State of West Bengal
Capital: Kolkata
Area: 88,752 sq km
Date of Formation: 15 Aug 1947 Province: 26 Jan, 1950 State (until 1956: Part (A)
Neighboring States: Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, Countries: Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sea: Bay of Bengal.
Population: 91,347,736, Males: 46,927,389 Females: 44,420,347, Sex-ration: 947, Density: 1,029, Decadal growth: 13,93%, Literacy: 62,614,556 (total 77.08%, male 82.67%, female 71.16%).
No of Districts: 19, Villages: 37945, Towns: 375
Legislative Bodie: State Legislature-Unicameral: Assembly Seats: 294 (excluding nomination), Parliament: Lok Sabha Seats: 42 (30+10+2), Rajya Sabha Seats: 16
Main Political Parties: CPI-M, All India Trinamool Congress, INC, All India Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI, West Bengal Socialist Party, Gorkha National Liberation Front.
Seat of High Court: Kolkata
Chief Languages: Bengali.
Major Religions: Hinduism, lslam, Christianity.
Main Towns: Kolkata, Kharagpur, Medinipur, Asansol. Murshibabad, Howrabh, Bardhaman, Siliguri, Purnia.
Geography:
(a) Rivers: Mayurakshi, Torsha, Damodar, Subarnarekha, Kangsbati, Teesta, Bhagirathi, Jaldhaka, Mahananda and Rupnarayan
(b) Mountains: Susnia Hills, Darjeeling
(c) Wildlife: Sundarbans National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Economy:
(a) Minerals: Coal and China clay are two important minerals being exploited
(b) Industries: engineering auto mobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aluminium, ceramics, jute, cotton textiles, tea, paper, leather, footwear, bonemeal, bicycle, dairy, poultry and timber-processing Central public sector undertakings include locomotive, cable, fertilizer, ship-building and ordnance
(c) Agricultural Products: Rice, Wheat, pulses, Oilseed, Potato and Jute.
Transport & Communications:
(a) Road Length: 91970 km including NH-1898 km
(b) Railway Length 4562 km
(c) Main Railway Stations: Howrah, Asansol, Sealdah, Bandel, Bardhaman, Kharagpur, New Jalpaiguri. Calcutta’s Metro Rail project, the first of is king in the country was commissioned in 1995
(d) Airports: Dum Dum international (Kolkata), Bagdogra Kalai-kunda, Panagarh, Malda, Barrackpore Behala, Balurghat and Coochbehar
(e) Ports: Kolkata and Haldia.
Culture: West Bengal is known for is textiles, handlooms, Murshidabad and Baluchari silk sarees, Kantha embroidery, cane and bamboo work, leather craft, clay dolls & toys, masks, sholapith works
(a) Dances: Chhau (Purulia), Rabindra Nritya
(b) Festivals: Durga puja is the most important festival along with Kail puja or Diwali. Vasant Panchami, Lakshmi puja, Holi, Sivaratri, Janma-shtami, ld-ul-Fitr.
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