Begusarai


Begusarai is the administrative headquarters of Begusarai district, which is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The district lies on the northern bank of river Ganga. It is located at latitudes 25.15N & 25.45N and longitudes 85.45E & 86.36E. It was established in 1870.

Geography

Begusarai is located at. It has an average elevation of 41 metres. Begusarai lies in North Bihar and is surrounded by Khagaria in North-East, Munger in South-East, Patna in West and Samastipur in North-West.
Begusarai lies in the middle of the mid Ganga plain and generally has low lying terrain with South to South Easterly slope. Begusarai is basically divided in three flood plains namely :1) Ganga Flood Plain 2) Burhi Gandak Flood plain 3) Kareha-Bagmati Flood Plain.

Demographics

As per 2011 census Begusarai Municipal Corporation had a total population of 251,136, out of which 133,931 were males and 117,205 were females with sex ratio at 875. The population younger than 5 years of age was 37,966. The literacy rate of the 7+ population was 79.35%.

Economy

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. The main cash crops of the Begusarai district are oilseeds, aniseed/ tisi, tobacco, jute, potato, red chilies, tomato and rape-seed. In Fruits Farming Begusarai has recently become a major contributor in producing Litchi, Mango, Guava and Banana. Recently Basil Leaves and Pearl farming has attracted local farmers.
Even today, only Barauni refinery contributes around Rs 500 crore to the state exchequer yearly.

Politics

Begusarai had traditionally been a communist stronghold and was once referred to as the "Leningrad of Bihar".

Notable people