Sonpur
Encyclopedia
See Sonepur (disambiguation)
Sonepur (disambiguation)
Sonepur is a city in the in district of Subarnapur, Orissa, India.Sonepur may also refer to:* Sonepur, Bihar, town in Bihar, India* Sonepur, Orissa, town in Orissa, India* Sonepur District, district in Orissa, India* Sonapur, Assam* Sonapur, Kosi...

 for similar names.

Sonepur is a town in the Indian state of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

, situated on the banks of the River Gandak in Saran district
Saran district
Saran District is one of the thirty-seven districts of Bihar state, India. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chapra district after the headquarters of the district - Chapra...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

.

Geography

The town is located at 25.7°N 85.1833°E at an altitude of 42 metres (137 ft). It is the divisional headquarters of the East Central Railway
East Central Railway
The East Central Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur Samastipur Danapur, Mughalsarai, and Dhanbad divisions .-History:...

 of the Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

. It hosts one of the world's largest animal fairs (Asia's largest maweshi mela which starts on Kartik Poornima
Kartik Poornima
Kartik Poornima is a Hindu holy day celebrated on the full moon day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik . It is also known as Tripuri poornima and Tripurari Poornima. It is sometimes called Deva-Diwali or Deva-Deppawali - the festival of lights of the gods...

). It is on the confluence of four rivers.

Domesticated animals had been the sole source of all economic activities since ancient times, explaining why the animal fair has been organised.

The river Gandak must have been the route of the movement of Budha and his followers from Nepal Tarai to Magadh that is why many of the stupas and similar structures, including Ashokas pillars, are found on the banks of the river. The location of Pathar ki Maszid just opposite the meeting point of the gandak, that is southern bank of the ganga, shows the Muslim influence of trade and commerce in medieval times. The current township Patna is just the modern version of the makeshift headquartrs of military establishments of old Patnacity which in turn was later version of Patliputra, the capital of Marya Empire.

Of the seven railway stations in the world having the longest railway platforms, five are in India, Sonepur being the one with the second longest platform in the world at 2415 ft (736.1 m). It is connected by two rivers, Ganga and Gundak.

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Sonpur had a population of 33,389. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sonepur has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 48%. In Sonepur, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

External links

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