| Alipurduar | |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Mapsize: | 300 |
| Coordinates: | 26.489°N 89.527°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | West Bengal |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Jalpaiguri |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Alipurduar |
| Leader Title: | Subdivisions |
| Leader Name: | Alipurduar Sadar |
| Leader Title1: | CD Blocks |
| Leader Name1: | Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar I, Alipurduar II, Kalchini, Falakata, Kumargram |
| Leader Title2: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Alipurduar |
| Leader Title3: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name3: | Alipurduars, Kumargram, Falakata, Madarihat, Kalchini |
| Leader Title4: | District Magistrate |
| Leader Name4: | Smt. R. Vimala, IAS[1] |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Area Total Km2: | 3383 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 1,491,250 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Urban: | 307,456 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 78.57 per cent |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 949 ♂/♀ |
| Demographics Type2: | Languages |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics2 Info1: | Bengali[3] [4] |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Additional official |
| Demographics2 Info2: | English |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
Alipurduar district is the 20th district in the state of West Bengal, India.[5] The district has its headquarters at Alipurduar. It was made a district by bifurcating Jalpaiguri district in 2014.[6] The district consists of Alipurduar municipality, Falakata municipality and six community development blocks: Madarihat - Birpara, Alipurduar - I, Alipurduar - II, Falakata, Kalchini and Kumargram. The six blocks contain 66 gram panchayats and nine census towns.
Apart from the Alipurduar municipality and Falakata municipality, the district contains eight census towns and rural areas of 66 gram panchayats under six community development blocks: Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar-I, Alipurduar - II, Kalchini, Falakata and Kumargram.[7] Geographically the district lies between 26.4°N to 26.83°N and 89°E to 89.9°E.
The nine census towns are Paschim Jitpur, Chechakhata, Alipurduar Railway Junction, Bholar Dabri, Sobhaganj, Jaygaon and Uttar Latabari and Uttar Kamakhyaguri.[8]
Alipurduar railway division has at least 710 km of railway track. It is the largest division of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone. In Alipurduar district, there are two major stations, Alipurduar Junction (APDJ) and New Alipurduar (NOQ). There are other stations in the district viz. Falakata Railway Station, Kamakhyaguri Railway Station, Dalgaon Railway Station, Hasimara Railway Station, Rajabhatkhawa, Hamiltongunj etc.
There are 5 assembly constituency in Alipurduar district :
| S No. | Name | Lok Sabha constituency | MLA | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Kumargram (ST) | Alipurduars | Manoj Kumar Oraon | ||
| 11 | Kalchini (ST) | Bishal Lama | |||
| 12 | Alipurduars | Suman Kanjilal | |||
| 13 | Falakata (SC) | Dipak Barman | |||
| 14 | Madarihat (ST) | Manoj Tigga | |||
As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the area under Kumargram block and seven gram panchayats under Alipurduar - II block, viz. Bhatibari, Kohinoor, Parokata, Mahakalguri, Shamuktala, Turturi and Tatpara - I constitutes the Kumargram assembly constituency of West Bengal. The Majherdabri gram panchayat under Alipurduar - II block and the area under Kalchini block constitutes the Kalchini assembly constituency. The Alipurduar municipality, the Alipurduar Railway Junction census town, and the gram panchayats of Chaporer Par - I, Chaporer Par - II and Tatpara - II under Alipurduar - II block and ten gram panchayats of Alipurduar - I block, viz. Banchukamari, Parorpar, Shalkumar - I, Vivekananda - I, Chakowakheti, Patlakhawa, Shalkumar - II, Vivekananda - II, Mathura and Tapsikhata form the Alipurduars assembly constituency. The other gram panchayat of Alipurduar - I block, viz. Purba Kanthalbari forms the Falakata assembly constituency along with the area under Falakata block. Madarihat block is part of Madarihat assembly constituency. Kumargram, Kalchini and Madarihat constituencies is reserved for Scheduled tribes (ST) candidates. Falakata constituency is reserved for Scheduled castes (SC) candidates. All these five assembly constituencies are part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for ST candidates.[9]
As of the 2011 census, Alipurduar district had a population of 1,491,250, of which 1,183,704 were rural and 307,456 were urban. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 456,706 (30.62%) and 382,112 (25.62%) of the population respectively.[2]
| 144,898 | 45.17% | 1,194,102 | 80.07% | ||
| Tribal religion | 141,716 | 44.17% | 14,866 | 1.00% | |
| 29,856 | 9.31% | 130,339 | 8.74% | ||
| 1,385 | 0.43% | 112,091 | 7.52% | ||
| --- | --- | 35,318 | 2.37% | ||
| Others | 2,963 | 0.93 | 4,534 | 0.31% | |
| Total Population | 320,818 | 100% | 1,491,250 | 100% |
Hindus are the majority in all blocks. Muslims are spread evenly throughout the district, but Christians, traditional religions and Buddhists are concentrated in the tea garden areas.
At the time of the 2011 census, 53.93% spoke Bengali, 16.80% Sadri, 9.70% Nepali, 3.67% Hindi, 3.17% Rajbongshi, 3.13% Kurukh, 2.38% Boro, 1.39% Bhojpuri and 1.32% Santali as their first language. [12]
Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 02/01/2024 (valid until 11/03/2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.[15] [16] [17] [18]
State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai, making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region.[19] It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag.
The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.