Chharra is a village in the
Purulia II CD block in the
Purulia Sadar subdivision of the
Purulia district
Purulia district () is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- Adra, Manbazar ...
in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Geography
Location
Chharra is located at .
Charra Airfield was used during the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and abandoned thereafter.
Area overview
Purulia district forms the lowest step of the
Chota Nagpur Plateau
The Chota Nagpur Plateau () is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and th ...
. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.
Purulia Sadar subdivision covers the central portion of the district. 83.80% of the population of the subdivision lives in rural areas. The map alongside shows some urbanization around
Purulia
Purulia, officially Purulia Sadar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River.
Geography
Location
Purulia is locate ...
city. 18.58% of the population, the highest among the subdivisions of the district, lives in urban areas. There are 4 census towns in the subdivision. The
Kangsabati (locally called Kansai) flows through the subdivision. The subdivision has old temples, some of them belonging to the 11th century or earlier. The focus is on education - the university, the sainik school, the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith at
Bongabari, the upcoming medical college at
Hatuara, et al.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census of India, Chharra had a total population of 6,131, of which 3,163 (52%) were males and 2,968 (48%) were females. There were 818 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Chharra was 3,312 (62.34% of the population over 6 years).
Transport
There is a station at Chharra on the Adra-Purulia sector of the
Asansol-Tatanagar-Kharagpur line of the South Eastern Railway.
Education
Chhara High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational institution established in 1959. It has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Culture
There is a small
rekha deul built of stone in the village. The tower is extensively carved. The ornamentation of the ''sikhara'' suggests that it belongs to an age earlier than the
Telkupi temples, i.e., earlier than 11th century. There was another temple which has fallen. It was a plain pancha ratna temple. With loose Jain sculptures strewn around the village, it is possible that both were Jain temples.
David J. McCutchion says that in the remote areas of old Manbhum district the
Jains
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...
went on building temples till the 13th century, and many of them are still standing at
Bahulara,
Harmasra,
Deulbhirya,
Ambikanagar, Chharra,
Pakbirra, Suisa or Deoli, in Bankura and Purulia districts.
Chharra picture gallery
File:Highly renovated Deul of Charra in Purulia. 01.jpg, The renovated deul
File:Chharrah Tirthankar Statue.jpg, Tirthankar statue
File:Back Side of Stone Deul in Charara at Purulia.jpg, Back side of stone deul
File:Chharrah - Votive Temple - II.jpg, Votive temple
File:Chharrah - Jain Temple Remains - I.jpg, Remains of a Jain temple
File:A Jain deity fixed on the wall of a temple in Charara at Purulia.jpg, A Jain deity in a Dharmathakur temple
Healthcare
Kushtor Rural Hospital, with 30 beds, is the major government medical facility in the Purulia II CD block.
References
External links
{{Jain centres in West Bengal
Villages in Purulia district