Places in Purulia Sadar subdivision in Purulia district M: municipality, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, H: historical/ religious centre, F: facility Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly
Purulia district forms the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. 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 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.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
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, Raghabpur had a total population of 5,748, of which 3,003 (52%) were males and 2,745 (48%) were females. There were 726 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Raghabpur was 3,224 (64.20% of the population over 6 years).[9]
Infrastructure
According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Puruliya, Raghabpur covered an area of 6.1715 km2. There is a railway station at Purulia nearby. Among the civic amenities, it has 3 km roads, the protected water supply involved tube well/ bore-well. It had 900 domestic electric connections and 50 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities it had 1 hospital with 10 beds, 1 dispensary/ health centre, 1 maternity and child welfare centre and 5 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had were 2 primary schools, 1 middle school, the nearest secondary school, senior secondary school, 1 general degree college at Purulia 0.5 km away. It had a polytechnic at Bongabari 3 km away. It had 3 non-formal education centres (Sarbya Siksha Abhiyan centres). It had the branch of 1 nationalised bank.[10]
Education
Raghabpur MSK School is a Bengali-medium coeducational institution established in 2003. It has arrangements for teaching from class V to class VIII.[11]
Culture
There is a small rekha deul built of stone in Chharra, located nearby. 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.[12]
References
^Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, 1949, p. 170, Orient Longmans Ltd.
^"District Census Handbook, Puruliya, Series 20, Part XII A"(PDF). Deulghat - Pages 99-100: Brief Description of Places of Religious, Historical or Archaeological Importance and Places of Tourist Importance of the District. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^"District Census Handbook, Puruliya, Series 20, Part XII A"(PDF). Charra - Page 103: Brief Description of Places of Religious, Historical or Archaeological Importance and Places of Tourist Importance of the District. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^"District Census Handbook Puruliya, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A"(PDF). Section II Town Directory, Pages 1073-1083 Statement I: Status and Growth History, Pages 1006-1010; Statement II: Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, Pages 1010-1015; Statement III: Civic and other Amenities, Pages 1015-1019; Statement IV: Medical Facilities 2009, Pages 1019-1027 Statement V: Educational, Recreational and Cultural Facilities, Pages 1027- 1029: Statement VI:Industry and Banking. Directorate of Census Operations V, West Bengal. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^"District Census Handbook, Puruliya, Series 20, Part XII A"(PDF). Charra - Page 103: Brief Description of Places of Religious, Historical or Archaeological Importance and Places of Tourist Importance of the District. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
