Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. It forms "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...

. The city spans areas of the

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal ...

and

Jalpaiguri district Jalpaiguri district () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was established in 1869 during British Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city of Jalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters of No ...

s in the Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of West Bengal. Known as the ''"Gateway of Northeast India"'', Siliguri is popular for three Ts - tea, timber and tourism. It is located on the banks of the

Mahananda River The Mahananda River (Pron:/ˌməhɑːˈnʌndə or ˌmɑːhəˈnʌndə/) is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, and Bangladesh. It is an important tributary of the Ganges. Course The Mahananda ...

and the

Teesta River Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows throug ...

at the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. Siliguri is the third largest

urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

in West Bengal, after

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and

Asansol Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Ba ...

. Siliguri has great strategic importance in

. It is located conveniently, connecting four international borders i.e. China,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

. It also connects the North-East with mainland India. Located at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, Siliguri is a significant trading and transportation hub.

History

200px, left, Map of Darjeeling district (1838) during regime of Rajah of Sikkim

Middle Ages history

left, 200px, Map of Darjeeling district (1876) after being considered a "regulated area" by the British government According to Sailen Debnath, "Siliguri" means a stack of pebbles or stones. Until the 19th century this region was called as "Shilchaguri" when there was dense Dolka forest covering the region. Siliguri was a small agricultural village in the

Kingdom of Sikkim The Kingdom of Sikkim (Classical Tibetan and sip, འབྲས་ལྗོངས།, ''Drenjong''), officially Dremoshong (Classical Tibetan and sip, འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས།) until the 1800s, was a hereditary monar ...

. It was captured by the

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu king ...

in 1788, after which

Kirati The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

and Nepali Lepchas came to settle in this region. At that time a river port on Mahananda, South of Siliguri in

Phansidewa Phansidewa is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Phansidewa is located at . It has an average ele ...

had an important role in having trade bond with Malda,

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. This riverine trade line was thus used by the

ese and Sikkimese to bring goods into their mainland.

Modern history

Siliguri started as a small area i.e. now Saktigarh, southern part of city, on the bank of

. Treaty of Sugauli in 1815 signed between Britain-Nepal, changed the prospect of Siliguri. As it became a point of transit with

hills and

mainland. 1815 onwards, Siliguri started growing rapidly as a small city due to its strategic convenience of trade. In 1865, the British captured Darjeeling and the entire

Dooars The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...

region to build tea plantations and export the produce to England. For easy exportation they introduced the Siliguri Town railway station which stands to this day, and introduced the

Toy train A toy train is a toy that represents a train. It is distinguished from a model train by an emphasis on low cost and durability, rather than scale modeling. A toy train can be as simple as a toy that can run on a track, or it might be operated b ...

from the station to Darjeeling in 1880. This helped Siliguri gain sub-divisional town status in 1907. file:History 1a.jpg, left, 200px,

passing through Siliguri after independence, in 1955 The "

Siliguri Corridor The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the eight states of northeast I ...

" was formed when

was divided into

and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

(later Bangladesh) in 1947, with Sikkim later merging with India in 1975. At this point many immigrants came to settle here for better facilities which led to an increased population. Later in 1950 Siliguri achieved municipal status. Keeping in mind the importance of Siliguri, in 1951, the Assam rail link was established with newly made (1949)

Meter gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...

Siliguri Junction railway station. After few years in 1961 all these stations were connected with broad gauge New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station which later became the most important railway station in Northeast India. Due to tremendous growth, Siliguri is now far away from its past outlook, becoming the largest and fastest growing city in eastern India after

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

. The growth rate of Siliguri was 57.8% during 1971- 1981, considering this growth, Siliguri came under Integrated Urban Development Project program in 1981. Siliguri touched 46.83% of population growth rate in 1981–1991. A treaty between India and China for trade through Nathu La Pass, has expedited development and prospects of Siliguri as an international transportation and logistics hub. Later in 1994 Siliguri built a Municipal corporation which has been responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Siliguri. Siliguri has now achieved the status of becoming the 3rd largest city in

, after

Geography

Location

Siliguri located at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas at a location of . This city is spread over an area of 260 km² within the

, also known as the ''Chicken's neck''. The city is surrounded by dense forests towards north and lifeline of Siliguri,

flows through the city thereby bisecting it into two-halves. Also

Teesta river Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows throug ...

is not so far from the city. Siliguri has an average elevation of 122 metres (400 feet). As Siliguri is located in the

Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...

region, the soil is

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

y in nature i.e. the ratio of sand and silt is much higher than clay. This region is very prone to earthquake as there are several fault lines nearby. The Siliguri subdivision is surrounded by Himalayan ranges towards north and towards south by the country

Uttar Dinajpur Uttar Dinajpur () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur. History Undivided Dinajpur district ...

district of

and the Indian state of

. On the east lies

and Kalimpong district and bounded on the west by the country of

, thus strategically so important. Dawn Kanchenjunga from Siliguri

Climate

Siliguri falls under the humid subtropical climate (''Cwa''), when using the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. Warm summer, cool winter and a severe monsoon defines Siliguri's climate. Temperature The average annual temperature in Siliguri is 23.7 °C. In summer, the temperature varies from a minimum of 18-22 °C to a maximum of 26-32 °C. The temperature of the hottest month, August is 28.5 °C. The temperature in summer sometimes exceeds 35 °C. On the other hand, the winter maximum temperature hovers around 20-24 °C, and the minimum drops 6-9 °C. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 16.1 °C. The minimum temperature in winter season sometimes drops 5 °C or below. The highest temperature ever recorded in Siliguri is 41.7 °C, was recorded on 15 April 1952, while the lowest was recorded on 8 January 2018, when the mercury plummeted to 1.9 °C. Rainfall and other conditions On an average, Siliguri gets 3340 mm per year. Winters are mostly dry, with the summers being rainy. About 80% of the annual rainfall is felt between June to September, this period is known as monsoons or rainy season in the season cycle. Heavy showers are often felt in May, June, July, August and September. July is the wettest month (804 mm) and January is the driest month (12 mm). The average rainy days in July is 27 and for December and January it is 1. The humidity in air is high throughout the year.

Demographics

Based on Census data of 2011, the population of Siliguri UA/Metropolitan (including Siliguri municipal corporation and Dabagram municipality) is 701,489, while the population in the Municipal corporation area is 5,13,264. Males constitute 51.44% of the population and females 48.55%. Population shares of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category persons in Siliguri municipal area are 8.84% and 1.25% respectively. The literacy rate in Siliguri is 77.64%. There are 154 notified and 31 non-notified slums in Siliguri, with 32% of Siliguri's population staying in them.

Languages

Bengali is the official language in Siliguri subdivision, including Siliguri city. In the municipal corporation at the time of the 2011 census, 60.88% of the population spoke

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, 25.24%

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, 4.66% Nepali, 2.39% Bhojpuri, 1.58% Marwari and 1.24%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...

form the majority linguistic group in the city, followed by

Biharis The Biharis () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a v ...

, Marwaris, Punjabis,

Nepalis Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...

, Odias, and Tribals. According to a 2001 thesis, Bengali speakers had a percentage of 64.25% out of the total population. Of the 30 wards in 2001, their population varied between 11.71% to 98.96%.

Religion

The most commonly followed religion in Siliguri is

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, with Islam being the largest minority religion, followed by small percentage of adherents of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

Governance and politics

Civic administration

Siliguri saw rapid urbanisation under the British rule and that was reflected in its local governance as well. The earliest form of local urban governance as a Sanitation Committee set up in 1915. Its function was to dispose off night soil. Till 1921, most aspects of local governance in Darjeeling district, including Siliguri, was looked after by the Darjeeling Improvement Fund. In 1922, Siliguri Local Board with nominated members was created under the Bengal Local Self Government Act, 1885. In 1938, the Union Board was set up in Siliguri under the Bengal Village Self-Government Act, 1919 and it provided public utilities in the city. The

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

was set up in 1949 under the Bengal Municipal Act of 1932 with 8 wards. The first chairperson of the municipality was the Sub Divisional Officer and the local councilors, called 'commissioners' in the then municipal act in effect, were nominated by the state government. After the amendment of the act in 1956, 3/4 of the local representatives were elected, while the remaining nominated by the Deputy Commissioner. Thus, the first elected chairperson of Siliguri was Jagdish Chandra Bhattacharya. In 1994, the municipal council was upgraded to the Siliguri Municipal Corporation with 47 wards. It had five departments then: General Administration, Collection, License, Public Works and Sanitation and Public Health. The corporation now has 23 departments. It has 47 wards, of which 14 wards are in

district, while the remaining 33 wards are in

district. The last municipal elections was in 2015, when

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

won 23 seats, All India Trinamool Congress won 17 seats,

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

won 5 seats,

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

won 2 seats, while an independent candidate won 1 seat. The mayor of Siliguri for the 5-year term of 2015-20 was Ashok Bhattacharya from CPIM, who was later elected as the local

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

as well. The term of the last elected body of Siliguri Municipal Corporation got over on 7 May, but municipal elections could not be held because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. A Board of Administrators was established with the outgoing mayor, Ashok Bhattacharya, as the chairperson. This board will take care of the civic utilities of the city till the new municipal body is elected. This follows the establishment of similar boards first in state capital Kolkata and then the rest of the state.

Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha constituency

Siliguri is part of the

Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. The constituency centres on Darjeeling in West Bengal. While five assembly segments are in Darjeeling district, one assembly segment is in Kalimpong distr ...

. The last elections for the Lok Sabha took place in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, when Raju Bista from Bharatiya Janta Party won the seat. The last elections to the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha took place in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. The Member of Legislative Assembly representing Siliguri Vidhan Sabha Constituency is Sankar Ghosh.

Civic services and infrastructure

Building plans in Siliguri are approved by Siliguri Municipal corporation; for building up to 3 storeys including parking, the Borough Offices give clearance, while for buildings with more than 3 storeys, the Building Department gives the approval. The present City Development Plan 2041 for Siliguri was developed in 2015 as part of the Capacity Building for Urban Development project under the then

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

by the private consultancy, CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solutions Limited. Siliguri City comes under Siliguri Jalpaiguri Planning Area and the responsibility of planning and development of the city lies with

Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority or SJDA was established in the year 1980 and has been responsible of Planning & Development of Siliguri - Jalpaiguri Area. It came in existence under the West Bengal Town and Country (Planning & Develo ...

. The Public Health Engineering Department of the state government is responsible for developing and maintaining the infrastructure for water supply, while the Water Supply department of the corporation provides new connections, supplies water, and collects the user charges. The Conservancy Environment Department of the corporation provides Solid Waste Management services in the city. Each ward in the city has its own Solid Waste Management committee that takes care of cleanliness at the ward level. The Public Works Department of the corporation and

are both responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads in Siliguri. Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority also prepared the Traffic & Transportation Master Plan 2030 and the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Siliguri Jalpaiguri Planning Area.

Flora and fauna

Flora

Siliguri and surrounding Sub-Himalayan forests are rich in fauna diversity, the plains of North Bengal (Siliguri,

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...

etc.) are surrounded by deep forests. These forests are home of various rare and common species of plants. The forest here is moist

Tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and characterised by dense growth of tall Sal i.e.

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions . Evolution Fossil evidence from l ...

. Sal occupies about 80% of all vegetation in these tropical forest. These forests are categorised by their dominating plant species such as 1) East Himalayan Sal Forest present on the lower slopes of

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (Pron: móhɑ́nɑ́ndaa) is located on the foothills of the Himalayas, between the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. Situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India; it comes under Darjeeling Wildlife division ...

contains Sal, Khair, Simul,

Sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leav ...

, Riverine grasslands and various rare species of plants like

Orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

2) East Himalayan Upper Bhabar Sal mainly present at Jalpaiguri district which is characterised by dense population of Microstegium chiliatum, Sal i.e.

. Others are

Terminalia tomentosa ''Terminalia elliptica'' is a species of '' Terminalia'' native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Sal and Saaj Deforestation in West Nepal"Terminalia Tomentosa"/ref> It is a ...

Schima wallichii ''Schima wallichii'' is an evergreen tree belonging to the tea family Theaceae Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camel ...

And the 3) Eastern Tarai Sal Forest generally found in lower altitudes compared to other two types of forest. This type of forest characterised by various species of

bamboos Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

, and Sal which is found in Baikunthapur Forest, near Siliguri city. Rapid growth of city causing deforestation, making Siliguri warmer day by day and unbalancing the ecosystem.

Fauna

Siliguri is located in the Terai region ("moist land"), a belt of marshy grasslands and dense tropical deciduous moist forests at the base of Himalaya range which is rich in biodiversity, containing numerous rare species of flora and fauna. These forests are characterised by their distinct wildlife variety.

near Siliguri is famous for elephants. Sukna is the gateway to this sanctuary, which is 12 km from Siliguri. These sub-Himalayan forests are the home of various types of wild animals like the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

, Indian bison,

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, wild pig, monkey,

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversit ...

, snake, lizard, mountain goat, sambar, chital and

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

. These forests are also home of about 243 different bird species like the pied hornbill,

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

, kingfisher, drongo, fly catcher, woodpecker and others. Another common sight is migratory water birds.

Transport

Road

NH 27 crosses through the heart of the city which is now a part of AH2 project. Siliguri originates the century-old Hill Cart Road that is NH 110 which connects Siliguri and Darjeeling (77 km) made in British period. Siliguri also originates NH 10 which connects Gangtok, NH 12 which connects Pankhabari-Mirik. The highways NH 327, that connects Siliguri — Panitanki and NH 327B connecting Panitanki - Mechi Bridg, are also part of AH2. It connects to adjacent countries through following routes: *

: via Panitanki *

: via Phulbari * China: via

Nathula Nathu La (, ) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in Bengal, South Asia. The pass, at , connects the towns of Kalimpong and Gangtok ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

: via

Jaigaon Jaigaon is a census town in Alipurduar subdivision under Kalchini Block of Alipurduar district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is located on the country's border with Bhutan, and ''Bhutan Gate'' separates the two countries. Phuentsholing ...

Bus service

* Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus: Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus is the main bus terminus serves as bus depot for both Government and private bus service which operated by

NBSTC North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) is a state government run transport corporation in West Bengal, India. It plies buses mainly in North Bengal but operates services to other parts of West Bengal and neighboring states like ...

. It connects to cities in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

etc. and all other districts and cities in

, Kalimpong,

, Malda, Balurghat, Raiganj,

Dalkhola Dalkhola is a city and a municipality of Uttar Dinajpur district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Dalkhola was originally in the state of Bihar in India. After 1959, Dalkhola was located in the state of West Bengal. The town expanded ...

, Berhampore,

, Suri etc. * Sikkim Nationalised Transport Bus Terminus: Sikkim Nationalised Transport Bus Terminus (Siliguri) is located at hillcart road in siliguri. This bus terminus is operated by Sikkim Government. Mainly buses connecting towns and cities of Sikkim are operated from here. This bus terminus is one of the busy and important bus terminus in siliguri area. Sikkim Nationalised Transport Bus Terminus (Siliguri), which connects

. * P. C. Mittal Memorial Bus Terminus:

P.C. Mittal Memorial Bus Terminus The P.C. Mittal Memorial Bus Terminus is a bus terminal located on Sevoke Road, Siliguri, District Darjeeling. It is from from Siliguri Junction railway station and about from New Jalpaiguri Railway Station. Both State owned North Bengal ...

is a bus terminal located on Sevoke Road, Siliguri, District Darjeeling. Both state owned North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) buses and private buses towards

areas ply from here.

Rail

Being a transportation hub, Siliguri is well connected through railway with almost all parts of the country. There are seven stations that serve the city. New Jalpaiguri Junction (NJP)

;New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station: New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station established in 1960 (station code NJP) is an A1 category broad gauge and narrow gauge railway station under

Katihar railway division Katihar railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 15 January 1958 and its headquarter is located at Katihar in the state of Bihar of India ...

Northeast Frontier Railway zone The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across No ...

. It is the biggest railway station of Northeast India which serves the city Siliguri. This station is well connected to almost all parts of the country except

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. Also this station ranked 10th cleanest railway station in India in 2016 survey and came among the top 100 booking stations of Indian railway. There are many services available including 1 International Mitali Express, 4 Rajdhani Express, 2 Tourist Vistadome Express, 1 Shatabdi Express and 2 Humsafar Express. SGUJ 2

;Siliguri Junction: Siliguri Junction railway station (station code SGUJ) established in 1949 is another major broad gauge and narrow gauge railway station of Siliguri. Until 2011 it was the only triple gauge (broad gauge, meter gauge and narrow gauge) railway station in India. After 2011 meter gauge was shut down but the track is still present between Siliguri Junction railway station and Bagdogra railway station. There are many services available, towards different cities of India. ;Siliguri Town railway station: Siliguri Town railway station is one of the oldest railway station (station code SGUT) of the region opened in 1880, 139 years ago for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy train) which were connecting Siliguri and Darjeeling. It lost its importance due to newly made Siliguri Junction railway station and New Jalpaiguri junction. Siliguri Town railway station is also a broad gauge and narrow gauge railway station which is halting point for 8 trains only. ;Bagdogra railway station: Bagdogra railway station (station code BORA) comes under greater Siliguri metropolitan area. It is 10 km from Siliguri junction and 3rd largest railway station after NJP and Siliguri Junction. This station serves Bagdogra and adjacent areas. Bagdogra railway station is on Siliguri-Aluabari broad gauge single line via

Thakurganj Thakurganj is a town and a notified area, divided into 12 wards, in Kishanganj district in the Indian state of Bihar. Geography It has an average elevation of 82 metres (269 feet). It touches international border of Nepal in one side ...

. This station is halting point for 14 trains. ;Gulma railway station: Gulma railway station Railway (station code GLMA) comes under Siliguri Urban area. It is 12 km from Siliguri City center and serves Champasari anchal, Gulma areas. Gulma railway station is on

New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road Line New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. This station is halting point of 5 trains. Mainly passenger train are halt in this station. ;Matigara Railway Station: Matigara Railway Station (station code MTRA) is situated at Mathapari, West Bengal. Trains passing through this station include MLFC - SGUJ DEMU and SGUJ- MLFC DEMU. This station has a single platform and two tracks. one broad gauge line and one metre gauge line. ;Rangapani railway station:

Rangapani railway station Rangapani railway station is a railway station on Katihar–Siliguri line, Katihar–Siliguri branch of Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line in the Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is situated beside Fulbari Ghoshpukur C ...

(station code RNI) comes under greater Siliguri metropolitan area. It is 14 km from Siliguri City center and serves Rangapani and adjacent areas. Rangapani railway station is on Howrah-New Jalpaiguri line. This station is halting point for 2 passenger trains.

Air

Bagdogra International Airport Bagdogra Airport is a customs airport located in the western part of Siliguri, in Bagdogra in northern West Bengal, India. It is operated as a civil enclave at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. It is the gateway airport to the hill station ...

is an international airport located towards the west of Siliguri city, operated as a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country United States The United States has several joint-use ...

at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. This airport is a major transport hub in the region with flights connecting

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, Ahmedabad,

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam i ...

and has international connectivity with Paro and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. The airport also has regular

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

services to Gangtok. Due to its location near

hills and

, Bagdogra international airport sees thousands of tourists annually. Central government of India confirmed international airport status to this airport in 2002 with limited international operations. This is one of the few airports in India with zero sales tax on aviation turbine fuel.

Educational facilities

University

University of North Bengal University of North Bengal (abbreviated as NBU) is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Be ...

, since 1962

Colleges

;General degree colleges *

Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College, is state-government owned undergraduate college, which was established in 2010, is the government degree college in Himachal Vihar, Siliguri, Darjeeling district. APC Roy is the second governmen ...

* Siliguri College, Since 1950 *

Kalipada Ghosh Tarai Mahavidyalaya Kalipada Ghosh Tarai Mahavidyalaya, also known as Bagdogra College, established in 1988, is the general degree college in Bagdogra. It offers undergraduate courses in arts, commerce and science . The campus is in the Darjeeling district. It is ...

Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya, established in 2008, is general degree college in Sevok Road, Siliguri. It is in Darjeeling district. It offers undergraduate courses in arts. It is affiliated to University of North Bengal University of ...

* North Bengal St. Xavier's College * Gyan Jyoti College * Siliguri College of Commerce * Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya * Surya Sen Mahavidyalaya * Salesian College ; Medical colleges *

North Bengal Medical College and Hospital North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMC&H) is located in Sushrutanagar, on the outskirts of Siliguri, West Bengal, India. It is the largest and the oldest healthcare teaching institute in North Bengal region of West Bengal, serving as a ...

, Since 1968 *

North Bengal Dental College and Hospital North Bengal Dental College & Hospital (NBDC&H) is a government dental college situated at Sushrutanagar, near Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal. The college is recognized by Dental Council of India and is under the West Bengal University of ...

; Engineering colleges *

Siliguri Government Polytechnic Siliguri Government Polytechnic , is a government polytechnic located in Siliguri, Darjeeling district, West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated alo ...

College *

Siliguri Institute of Technology Siliguri Institute of Technology (informally SIT) is a private engineering and management college, established in 1999 in Siliguri, West Bengal, India. Initially the college was under North Bengal University and from the year 2004 came under ...

Surendra Institute of Engineering & Management Surendra Institute of Engineering & Management is a Graduate Engineering and Management College established in the year 2009 in Siliguri, West Bengal, India, under the aegis of a charitable society Bidya Bharati Foundation. The institute was in ...

;Other Colleges * Inspiria Knowledge Campus

Schools

; English Medium Schools *

Delhi Public School Delhi Public School (also known as DPS) is the largest public school institution in India. The classes are from KG I to Class XII (Science, Arts and Commerce). It is affiliated to CBSE. Delhi Public School may refer to: * Delhi Public School Socie ...

(CBSE) *

Techno India Group Public School Techno India Group Public School is a chain of well-developed schools in West Bengal and beyond. Its headquarters is in Salt Lake, Kolkata. It has over 18 branches all over West Bengal. It has over 2000 students in each school. The schools are af ...

(CBSE) ;Army Schools *

Army Public School Army Public School may refer to: * Indian Army Public Schools * Army Public Schools & Colleges System Army Public Schools & Colleges System or APSACS is one of the largest educational institutions of Pakistan which provides education till inte ...

(Bengdubi & Khaprail) *

, Sukna *

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sevoke Road Kendriya Vidyalaya Sevoke Road is a school in the city of Siliguri, West Bengal, India, offering both primary and secondary education. The school is situated in Salugara locality, in the foothills of Himalayas. It is affiliated to the Central Boa ...

Media

; Newspaper: English newspapers including ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

'', '' The Statesman'', ''The Economic Times'', and ''

The Asian Age ''The Asian Age'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper with editions published in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. It also prints an "international edition" in London. It was launched in February 1994. The same publishing company also prod ...

'' are widely circulated throughout the city. Several Bengali newspapers including '' Uttarbanga Sambad'', ''

Anandabazar Patrika '' Anandabazar Patrika'' ( Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million c ...

'', ''

Bartaman ''Bartaman Patrika'' is an Indian Bengali language, Bengali daily newspaper published from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, by Bartaman Pvt. Ltd. Apart from the Kolkata edition, the newspaper has three other simultaneous editions, published daily f ...

'', ''Uttarer Saradin'', '' Aajkaal'', ''Pratidin'', and '' Ganashakti'' and Nepali Paper HimalayaDarpan
are available. The leading Hindi dailies '' Prabhat Khabar'' and ''Janpath Samachar'' are also published from Siliguri.The online based news portals ''Siliguri Times'', ''Khabar Arohan'', ''Bong Siliguri Times'', ''CCN News'', ''The Siliguri Journal'', and ''Siliguri Barta'',

Times of North Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specific ...

provide live updates regarding Siliguri and adjacent areas. ;Radio :

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

Siliguri was commissioned in 1963 as an additional station of AIR Kolkata. It has two groups of transmitters, i.e. high power BEL HMB 140 (AM) -2 ×100 kWand medium range GCEL 136 (FM) - 2 ×5 kW for broadcasting programs. ''Prantik'' was the first program broadcast from here in 1969. In the course of time many notable individuals like Hemanta Mukhopadhyay,

Ustad Rashid Khan Ustad Rashid Khan (born 1 July 1968) is an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani music tradition. He belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, and is the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. He is married to Soma Khan. ...

, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Shashi Kapoor, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Madhuri Chattopadhyay, and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi have visited

AIR The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

Siliguri. Popular programs executing from here are ''Pratyusha'', ''Yuva Anusthan'', ''Grame Ganje'', ''Mahila Majlis'', ''Mananiyeshu'', ''Sishumahal'' and ''Arogya''. Two radio channels are operated from

Siliguri through which programs are broadcasting daily: :In addition to

, Siliguri has several private FM radio channels: ;Television: Siliguri receives almost all television channels that are received by rest of the country. Apart from the national terrestrial network Doordarshan, cable TV serves most of the houses. Siliguri also receives some Nepali and Bangladeshi channels too. Siliguri has three local channels: CCN, Amar Cable and HTV. There is a TV tower in Kurseong, about 25 km from Siliguri.

Sports facilities

Siliguri hosts numerous sporting events and matches to influence and build up young athletes from the city. Some of the important sports enthusiast local clubs in Siliguri organise several cricket, football, volleyball, swimming competition, TT matches etc. S.A.I or Sports Authority of India in Kanchenjunga Stadium conducts football and athletics. With the provision for an international outdoor and indoor stadium, Siliguri has enough opportunities to host national level matches. This has also led to Siliguri being a prominent city to produce national champions like Mantu Ghosh, the gold medalist winner in the bi-annual South Asian Games (SAF) for table tennis,

Ankita Das Ankita Das (born 17 July 1993) is an Indian table tennis player from Siliguri, West Bengal. She participated in World Championship and reached quarter-finals. She represented India at the 2012 London Summer Olympics in Women's singles even ...

, Nandita Saha and

Soumyajit Ghosh Soumyajit Ghosh (born 10 May 1993) is an Indian table tennis player from Siliguri, West Bengal. He was the youngest Indian player to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, 2012 Olympics. He also became the youngest national champion at t ...

another internationally acclaimed table tennis player and

Wriddhiman Saha Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha (born 24 October 1984) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman. He plays for Tripura in domestic cricket and for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Pr ...

– Indian international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who plays Test matches for Indian national team. Siliguri has done a tremendous job for Indian table tennis. Bikash Ghosh Memorial Swimming Pool is beside Kanchanjunga stadium in the city, which conducts swimming competitions. White water rafting is done nearby in the

Kanchenjunga stadium

This is the main stadium in Siliguri, a multipurpose stadium, mainly used for football matches, although it has also hosted several cricket matches. It has a capacity of 30,000 people at a time. Recently this stadium is all set to get a facelift. Football: *This stadium hosted the Federation Cup 2012 matches of India. The first Federation Cup played on this ground was between

Mohun Bagan AC Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

and Churchill Brothers S.C. in 2012. *The final match of the 2013–14 Santosh Trophy was played at the stadium in March 2014. *Seven rounds of the 2015 I-League 2nd Division match were played on this ground. *It also hosted two

Kolkata derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...

matches in 2016 I-league. *All the matches of 2016 SAFF Women's Championship were played in the Kanchenjunga Stadium. * Third I-League derby matches were held in this stadium ground in 2017. Cricket: *This stadium has hosted 11 Ranji Trophy matches. The first Ranji Trophy played on this ground was between

and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in 2010. *Two

Celebrity Cricket League The Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) is an amateur men's cricket league in India. It consists of nine teams of film actors from nine major regional film industries of Indian cinema. The league commenced in 2011. Salman Khan is Brand Ambassador ...

matches were played here. The first Celebrity Cricket League played on this ground was between the Veer Marathi vs Karnataka Bulldozers and Telugu Warriors vs

Bengal Tigers The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

in 2013.

Municipal corporation indoor stadium

Indoor sports including

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

, taekwon-do,

lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

are being played here. Siliguri is renowned for being the training grounds of table tennis players. This stadium can hold 5000 people at a time. The Senior National Table Tennis Championship was recently organised here. Sports festival, 2017 was also held in this indoor stadium.

Visitors' attractions

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway toy train runs between

New Jalpaiguri New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station (station code NJP) established in 1960, is an A1 category broad gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest as well as the ...

, Siliguri and

. It was built between 1879 and 1881 and has been designated as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Coronation Bridge, also known as Sevoke Bridge, is situated on lower Himalaya about 20 km from Siliguri and was made in 1930 This bridge spans across

Gajoldoba Gajoldoba or Gojaldoba is a village in the Mal CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Gajoldoba is located at . Area overview Gorumara National Park has overtak ...

view point is 28 km from Siliguri, famous for the huge reservoir formed by Teesta barrage. This reservoir is home for variety of migratory birds (like river lapwing,

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

, Indian cormorant, purple heron,

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy Th ...

, common shelduck,

cotton teal The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among t ...

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

, little ringed plover,

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

). Due to shuttling of migratory birds, the Pakhibitan sanctuary was established here. A boating facility is available. North Bengal Wild Animals Park, about away from the city, offers visitors the 'Bengal Safari' to experience sub-Himalayan wildlife closely, such as

jungle fowl Junglefowl are the only four living species of bird from the genus ''Gallus'' in the bird order Galliformes, and occur in parts of South and Southeast Asia. They diverged from their common ancestor about 4–6 million years ago. Although origin ...

, sambar deer,

royal bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...

wild boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is n ...

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

wild bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

, and

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

. It is fundamentally a part of the

, spread over an area of 700 acres. The park conducts herbivore safaris, carnivore safaris, and elephant safaris. The

is located away from Siliguri on the foothills of the Himalayas, between Teesta and Mahananda.The sanctuary spans over of reserve forest. In 1959, it received the status of a sanctuary mainly to protect the Indian bison and royal bengal tiger. This sanctuary is home to rare

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

, barking dear,

, sambar deer, tiger, elephant and Indian bison and migratory birds. It offers mild to medium trekking challenges at some points. There are some important Hindu and Buddhists monuments in and around the city. Salugara monastrey is located away from Siliguri. Main attraction is the stupa, which is believed to be founded by the Tibetan Lama,

Kalu Rinpoche Kalu Rinpoche (1905 – May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist lama, meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. Early life and teachers Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Woo ...

. The ideal tranquil location for meditation was established by Tibetan monks and followers of

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

. Sed-Gyued monastery is located near Salugara monastery. It is a breathtaking monument which was destroyed by the Chinese army, and then rebuilt. The monastery is home to more than 90 monks of the

Gelukpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

division, and is used as a research centre. Ewam India Buddhist Monastrey is from Siliguri and is placed in the lap of nature near Bengal safari. The

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

temple in the city, also known as Sri Sri Radha Madhav Sundar Mandir locally, is one of the biggest Krishna centres in the North-Eastern region of India. The Sevoke Kali temple is an ancient temple on the banks of Teesta river close to the Coronation Bridge.This temple dedicated to Maa Kali, the Goddess of Destruction. Siliguri also offers amusement and water parks to tourists and locals. Dreamland Amusemet Park, located near

Fulbari Fulbari is a village in Madaripur District, Bangladesh, part of Rajoir Upazila. The village covers an area of 2.5 km2, and is bordered by the villages of Gojaria, Mridhabari, Mohismari, chamta. Fulbari under Rajoir Union parishad was esta ...

, from Siliguri junction, is an agricultural land converted in a fun house. It has 5-6 usual rides with a mini Ropeway also. Savin Kingdom is an amusement and water park which is located near Dagapur in Siliguri. The water park has a pool, slides, artificial wave, and rain dance. It also has various joy rides like adrenaline junkies, sky train, break dance, go-carting, and artificial bulls. A multiplex, kids zone, restaurant are also there. North Bengal Science Centre, established in 1997, is the only science sentre of North Bengal. The main attractions are Digital Planetarium, Science Shows, 3D Theater, Taramandal Shows, science galleries and a green Science Park. The Hong Kong market is known as the Chandni Chowk of

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

, a street market with a variety of shops popping out on the alleyways.

Notable people

* Ashok Bhattacharya - Ex Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs. *

- Represented India at the 2012 Summer Olympics in Women's singles event in Table Tennis. * Goutam Deb - Mayor of Siliguri since February 2022, Ex-Cabinet Minister of Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal * Mantu Ghosh - Indian table tennis player, two time national-level Champion and Arjuna Awardee. * Richa Ghosh - Indian cricketer, represented

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts ...

. *

- table tennis player and the youngest Indian to qualify for the London, 2012 Olympics. He also became the youngest national champion at the age of 19. * Charu Majumdar - founder of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). * Sailendra Nath Roy - Guinness Book of World Record holder for the farthest distance travelled on a zip wire and pulled 40 tonnes DHR toy train using hair. * Nandita Saha - table tennis player who was part of Indian trio, defeated Canada in Commonwealth 2006 at Melbourne and won bronze medal for India. *

er who plays Test matches for Indian national team.

References

External links

Siliguri Municipal Corporation

Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority
{{West Bengal Cities and towns in Jalpaiguri district Cities and towns in Darjeeling district Cities in West Bengal