Mirik


Mirik is a small town and a municipality of Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Mirik subdivision. The name Mirik comes from the Lepcha words Mir-Yok meaning "place burnt by fire".

History

Mirik Bazar began a commercial centre of the region where people from the surrounding villages and tea gardens came to trade and buy their necessities. The present lake area was a marshland with thick growth of sweet flag. A playground stood in the present garden area where the British officers played polo.
In 1969, the West Bengal tourism department began the process of acquiring 335 acres of land from the neighboring Thurbo tea estate. The work of developing this land into a tourist spot began in 1974 when Siddhartha Shankar Ray was the chief minister of West Bengal. The tourist spot, which included the newly built lake and the Day Centre, was inaugurated by the next chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, in April 1979. With the flourishing of tourism, Krishnanagar developed on the other end of the lake with hotels and restaurants catering to tourists.
Mirik became the sub-divisional headquarters of Mirik subdivision on 30 March 2017.

Geography

Mirik has become a tourist destination for its climate, natural environment and easy accessibility. The centre of all attraction is Sumendu Lake, surrounded by a garden named Savitri Pushpaudyan on one side and pine trees on the other, linked together by an arching footbridge called Indreni Pool. A 3.5-km-long road encircles the lake and is used for walks with the view of Kangchenjunga on the far horizon. Boating on the quaint boats and horse riding are available.
Mirik has an average elevation of. The highest point is the Boker Monastery at about. Mirik lake at about is the lowest point. Mirik is northwest of Siliguri city and south-southwest of Darjeeling town.
The climate is pleasant almost all the year round with temperatures of a maximum of 30 °C in summer and a minimum of 1 °C in winter.

Area overview

The map alongside shows a part the southern portion of the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the Darjeeling district. In the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision 61.00% of the total population lives in the rural areas and 39.00% of the population lives in the urban areas. In the Mirik subdivision 80.11% of the total population lives in the rural areas and 19.89% lives in the urban areas. There are 78 tea gardens/ estates, in the district, producing and largely exporting Darjeeling tea. It engages a large proportion of the population directly/ indirectly.Some tea gardens were identified in the 2011 census as census towns or villages. Such places are marked in the map as CT or R. Specific tea estate pages are marked TE.
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

The 2011 Census of India recorded a population of 11,513 in Mirik Notified Area. 5688 were males and 5825 were females. Mirik rural area recorded a total population of 46,374. Males numbered 23,394 and females 22,980.
As per the 2001 Census of India, Mirik urban area had a total population of 9141. Males numbered 4619 and females 4522. Mirik rural area had a total population of 42,237. Males numbered 21,112 and females 21,125. The decadal growth rate of population was -1.33.

Administration and health care

The urban hub at Mirik is administered by a Municipality/Notified Area with nine wards while the outlying rural villages are taken care of by Mirik community development block, which has six Gram Panchayats: Chenga Panighata, Pahilagaon School Dara–I, Pahilagaon School Dara–II, Soureni–I, Soureni–II and Duptin.
A Taluka Court, which has a Civil Judge and a Judicial Magistrate, operates in Mirik.
There is a government hospital at Mirik with six general physicians and one dentist. There are no specialist doctors but there is an optometrician. There are two medical shops at Krishnanagar and one pathological lab cum optical shop. There are few more medicine shops at Mirik Bazar.

Legislative segment

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in West Bengal, the area under Mirik municipality and Mirik block will be part of the Kurseong Assembly Constituency of West Bengal. Kurseong Assembly Constituency is an assembly segment of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha Constituency.

Transportation

Mirik is northwest of Siliguri city and south-southwest of Darjeeling town.
Bagdogra south of Mirik is the nearest airport and New Jalpaiguri adjacent to Siliguri is the nearest railway station.

Few buses ply from Mirik to Siliguri and Darjeeling and the fare is Rs. 70. Shared taxis operate from Mirik to Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kakarbhitta, Sonada, and Kalimpong. The fare has risen recently to Rs. 120 for Siliguri, Kurseong and Darjeeling and Rs 120* for Kakarvitta and Sonada per passenger. One can hire a taxi at a cost of Rs. 1200 to 1600 for Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri and Kakarbhitta*. Shared taxis also operate from Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong, Sonada and Kakarbhitta to Mirik.
Shared taxis are operated from Mirik by Mirik Tours & Travels. Taxis are available for internal transportation within Mirik to travel from Mirik Lake to Mirik Bazar at Rs. 15 per head.

Accommodation

Mirik Bazar, Thana Line, Krishnanagar, Deuseydara, Thurbo, Mirik Busty and Byapari Golai are some localities in Mirik where accommodation is available for tourists. However, the majority of the hotels and restaurants are in the Krishnanagar area of Mirik. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration operates a motel at a hilltop near the helipad at Ahalay and another tourist lodge located near the lake. There are other good hotels in Krishnanagar such as Jagjeet, Sadbhavna, Ratnagiri, Mhelung, The Park Hotel, Pradhan Hotel and Restaurant, Viraz, Parijat and Blue Lagoon. There are some hotels in Mirik Bazar such as Boudi Hotel and Hotel Payal. There are many lodges and private guest houses such as Nigha, Ashirvad and Buddha. There is a Forest Rest House in Mirik that can be booked from the District Forest Office, Kurseong. There is also a PWD Inspection Bungalow near the lake that can be booked from Siliguri PWD office. Rangbhang Homestay is the first homestay in the Mirik Valley and offers one-of-a-kind experience.
There are numerous eateries catering to different tastes. Nesang's Gorkha cafe and restaurant serves Gorkha dishes and showcases Gorkha tradition and culture. Kolkata Hotel serves pure Bengali food. T Plus is an ideal fast food center. Geetanjali Nepali Hotel and Hills Restaurant are other restaurants. There are some foreign liquor off-shops and bars. Hotel Lohit Sagar and Tejashwee Fast Food serves pure vegetarian food, including South Indian dishes. There is a departmental store for foodstuffs and soft drinks attached to Mirik petrol pump. Near the lake, there are many food stalls that serve fast food.
There are also many home stays that have started sprouting in the region owing to the large number of tourists who flock in.

Getting around

There are six banks in Mirik, namely, State Bank of India , United Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India, Uttar Banga Kshetriya Gramin Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank. There are seven ATMs, two of SBI, one of Central Bank of India, one of HDFC Bank, one of Axis Bank and two of IndiCash ATM.
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Other financial institutes like Postal Savings, NABARD, Bandhan Finance, and Customer Service Points of private financial institutions are available.

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