Mekhliganj is a city and a municipality in

Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district (), also known as Koch Bihar district, is one of the List of districts of West Bengal, 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Jalpaiguri division, Jalpaiguri Division. Cooch Behar ci ...

in the

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

. It is the headquarters of the Mekhliganj subdivision. Earlier it was a Zamindari divided mainly in 3 parts under the Cooch Behar Kingdom. Sikarwar Rajputs, the trading clan along with other local clans started the process of rehabilitation in Mekliganj. It is said that the elephant in the Royal Symbol of Koch Kingdom, was a gift from the Sikarwar Rajputs to the Koch King, Shri Shri Maharaja Shivendra Narayan, in return of fertile land near the Teesta River and 2 Rupees as nazrana. Later the Rajputs established Chattradhari Estate here. After the succession by Shri Shri Maharaja Narendra Narayan named this place to Mekhliganj, a place where 'Mekhla' (born as Simha) also (people from Narmada) people stays.

Geography

Location

Mekliganj is at . It adjoins the boundary of

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 and subsequently enters Bangladesh through Rangpur division. In Bangladesh, it merges with Jamu ...

. It has an average elevation of . Also it is situated very near to Saniajan River According to the ''District Census Handbook 2011, Koch Bihar'', Mekliganj covered an area of 3.88 km².

Area overview

The map alongside shows the western part of the district. In Mekhliganj subdivision, 9.91% of the population lives in the urban areas and 90.09% in the rural areas. In Mathabhanga subdivision 3.67% of the population, the lowest in the district, lives in the urban areas and 96.35% lives in the rural areas. The entire district forms the flat

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

flood plains of mighty rivers. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivisions. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full-screen map.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Mekliganj had a total population of 9,217 of which 4,664 (51%) were males and 4,463 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,098. The total number of literate persons in Mekliganj was 6,009 (74.84% of the population over 6 years). India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Mekliganj had a population of 10,833. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Mekliganj has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 53%. In Mekliganj, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Civic administration

Police station

Mekhliganj police station has jurisdiction over Mekhligaganj municipal area and a part of Mekhliganj CD block.

Education

Founded in 1996, Mekliganj College is an undergraduate college situated at Mekhliganj.

Healthcare

Mekhliganj Subdivional Hospital, with 120 beds, functions at Mekhliganj.

References

{{Cooch Behar District Cities and towns in Cooch Behar district Cities in West Bengal