Bettiah
Bettiah is a city and administrative headquarters of West Champaran district (Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, north-west of Patna, in Bihar state of India. History. In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin of "Jaitharia" clan, settled at Jaithar in Champaran. One of his descendants, Agar Sen, acquired large territory in the reign of Emperor Jehangir and was bestowed the title of 'Raja' by Emperor Shah Jahan. In 1659, he was succeeded by his son Raja Guj Singh, who built the palace of the family at Bettiah. He died in 1694 A.D. The palace stands today  but serves as marketplace. In 1765, when the East India Company acquired the "Diwani", Bettiah Raj held the largest territory under its jurisdiction. It consisted of all of Champaran except for a small portion held by the Ram Nagar Raj (also held by Bhumihar family). Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh was the last king of Bettiah Raj. He was born in 1854 and succeeded his father, the late Maharaja Rajendra Kishore Singh Bahadur in 1883. In 1884, he received the title of Maharaja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a Khilat and a sanad from the hands of the Lieutenant  Governor of Bengal, Sir Augustus Rivers Thompson. He was created a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire on 1 March 1889. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal in January 1891. He was also a member of The Asiatic Society. He was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj. Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh Bahadur died heirless on 26 March 1893, leaving behind two widows, Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar and Maharani Janki Kunwar. There are a few institutions named after the queen Maharani Janki Kunwar, such as M.J.K College and M.J.K Hospital . The Bettiah Gharana was one of the oldest style of vocal music. Madhuban was part of the erstwhile 'Bettiah Raj'. Internal disputes and family quarrels divided the Bettiah Raj in course of time. Madhuban Raj was created as a consequence. A section of Dhrupad singers of Dilli Gharana (Delhi Gharana) from Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s court had migrated to Bettiah under the patronage of Bettiah Raj and thus was sown the seed of Bettiah Gharana. The famous Dagar brothers had praised the Bettiah Dhrupad singers and some of them were invited to the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal to perform  with other accomplished singers in 1990. On 26 December 2020, Bettiah became a municipal corporation. It includes Tola San Saraiya, Banuchapar, Kargahiya east and nearby area for its upgradation. Geography. Climate. The climate of Bettiah is characterised by high temperatures and high precipitation especially during the monsoon season. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate). Connectivity. Railway. Bettiah is connected to different cities of India through railways. Bettiah railway station is the main railway station serving the city. Direct trains are available to all the major destinations across India like Patna, Delhi, Mumbai , Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahemdabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Jammu & Katra, etc. Prajapati Halt railway station is another railway station serving the city. Roadway. National Highway 727 , 139W , 28B and State Highway 54 passes through the city. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has notified a new Patna-Bettiah road as National Highway 139W, setting the state for construction of a high-quality four-lane road between the two towns that would reduce the distance between them to 167 kilometres from the current 200-odd km and travel time to around two hours. Tola San Saraiyan new town aided village. The new Gopalganj -Bettiah Road passed through this new town aided village. Through this new road a distance of become shorten for Gopalganj-Bettiah. Airway. The nearest airport is Kushinagar International Airport which is about from Bettiah. The nearest airport in bihar is Jay Prakash Narayan Airport located in Patna which is about via Muzaffarpur and via areraj. Demographics. As of 2011 Indian Census, Bettiah NP had a total population of 132,209, of which 69,529 were males and 62,680 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 18,995. The total number of literates in Bettiah was 91,298, which  constituted 69.1% of the population with male literacy of 72.7% and female literacy of 64.9%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Bettiah was 80.6%, of which male literacy rate was 85.0% and female literacy rate was 75.8%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 8,266 and 828 respectively. Bettiah had 24463 households in 2011. As per 2011 census, the Bettiah Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 156,200, with 82,663 males and 73,537 females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 22,067 and the effective literacy (literacy of people above the age  of 7) was 80.89. The urban agglomeration includes Bettiah (municipal corporation), Tola Mansaraut (census town), Kargahia Purab (census town) and Hat Saraiya (census town). On 26 December 2020, Bettiah became a municipal corporation. It included Tola San Saraiya, Banuchapar, Kargahiya east and nearby area for its upgradation. The total population 414,453