Dantan

. Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Dantan | type = city | latd = 21.95 | longd = 87.27
locator_position = right | state_name = West Bengal
district = Paschim Medinipur
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude = 25
population_as_of = 2001
population_total =| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone = 03229
postal_code =
vehicle_code_range =
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
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Dantan ( _bn. দাঁতন), often also spelled as Danton, is a border town in Kharagpur subdivision, Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal state in India, bordering Sonakonia in Orissa. The name also gives rise to two subdivisional blocks, Dantan-I and Dantan-II.

History

Dantan, was earlier a part of Hijli Kingdom, a Feudatory state of Orissa's Gajapati Kingdom. It was a thriving town on the route to the Jagannath Temple in Puri when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reportedly passed through here in the 16th century.

According to another version, the name is derived from "Dandabhukti", which was an ancient territorial unit of Orissa comprising much of what are today Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal, and the state of Orissa.

Dantan is the location of at least three temples from the nineteenth century, the Jagannath Temple, the Shyamaleswar Temple, and the Chandaneswar Temple. All three temples are built in the curvilinear "rekha" style that is common to temples of Orissa.

Near the town, there are two major tanks, the Bidyadhar and the Sarasankha. The Bidyadhar tank was created by a Minister named Bidyadhara of Pratap Rudra Deva, a king of Gajapati Kingdom. The Sarasankha tank is attributed to the king Shashanka who ruled in the seventh century A.D.

Geography

Dantan is located at coord|21.95|N|87.27|E|. [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/28/Dantan.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Dantan] ] It has an average elevation of 25 metres (82 feet).

Weather

The climate in Dantan follows a hot-tropical monsoon pattern with highs in the mid 40s°C in the summer (generally April to June), mid 30s°C during the monsoon season (June to August) and low 30s°C for most of the other times of the year. Winters (December to January) are usually mild with lows in the 10s°C and high in the low to mid 20s°C. Most of the precipitation is from the southeast monsoon which may bring in excess of 1500 mm of rainfall.

Tornadoes are relatively rare in West Bengal and Bangladesh, but one did occur on March 24, 1998 killing over 250 near Dantan. [ [http://www.bangladeshtornadoes.org/climo/btorcli0.htm Bangladesh Tornado Climatology ] ] Initially, this tornado was reported as a cyclone with wind speeds of close to 200 km/h that caused the destruction of an estimated 9,000 houses and injuries to 3,000 people. [ [http://us.rediff.com/news/1998/mar/25cycl.htm Rediff On The NeT: 175 die in Bengal cyclone, thousands homeless ] ] Later the event was characterized as a tornado. [ [http://us.rediff.com/news/1998/mar/25storm1.htm Rediff On The NeT: West Bengal promises speedy relief ] ]

Transportation

Dantan is connected by road from Kharagpur via Belda and from Orissa through Sonakonia. The Dantan rail station is between Kharagpur and Balasore in the Kharagpur Division of the South-Eastern Railways.

Education

College

*Dantan Bhattar College affiliated to Vidyasagar University

chools

*Dantan High School
*Dantan Binapani Girl's School

Famous people

*Prabodh Panda, member of the thirteenth and fourteenth Indian Lok Sabha

Politics

Dantan is part of Midnapore (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web
url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S25/WB_Dist_PC_AC.pdf
title = Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies
accessdate = 2008-10-02
work = West Bengal
publisher = Election Commission of India ]

References

ee also