Ahmedpur, Birbhum

: "For disambiguation see Ahmedpur"

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Ahmedpur | type = city | latd = 23.95 | longd = 87.67
locator_position = right | state_name = West Bengal
district = Birbhum
leader_title =
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altitude =
population_as_of =
population_total = | population_density =
area_magnitude= km²
area_total =
area_telephone = 91 3463
postal_code = 731201
vehicle_code_range =
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Ahmedpur ( _bn. আহমেদপুর) is a town in the Suri subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Ahmedpur is a village panchayat under Sainthia panchayat of Birbum Zilla Parishad. [cite web | url = http://panchayat.gov.in/adminreps/viewpansumr.asp?selstate=3217000000&pno=3&ptype=V | title = Admin Reports of NPP| accessdate = 2007-09-12 | last = | first = | work = Details of West Bengal till Village Panchayat Tier | publisher = Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India] The town is well known in the area for its sugar mill, and as one end of the vintage narrow gauge railway.

Geography

Ahmedpur is located in the alluvial plain of the Mayurakshi River. It has hot and dry summers, spread between March and May, followed by the monsoon from June to September. Seventy-eight percent of the rainfall occurs during this period. [Choudhuri, Tapan, "Unnayaner alokey Birbhum", "Paschim Banga ", Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, Bn icon, pp. 60-61, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.]

Economy

Ahmedpur Sugar Mill

The West Bengal government purchased the assets of the erstwhile National Sugar Mills (in liquidation) through a court sale on 4 June 1973, providing an instrument to the West Bengal Sugar Industries Development Corporation to achieve its objective of promoting and developing sugar industry, and also ensuring protection of employment in the closed mill. After the Corporation took possession of the mill on 1 September 1973, it was renamed “Ahmedpur Sugar Mill”. It went into production in the 1974-75 season. It has a crushing capacity of 600 tonnes per day. It procures sugarcane from the area comprising whole of Birbhum District, part of Bardhaman, Nadia and its captive farms in the district of Murshidabad, covering a distance over 25 km to 130 km from the mill gate. However, the scattered situation at a far off distance from the mill is preventing it from purchase of optimum quantity of sugarcane for crushing by paying exorbitant transport charge. As a result of the peculiar difficulties for downscale plantations of sugarcane in Birbhum district and insufficient source of sugarcane from other zones, the working results of the mill for the above seasons became dismal. [cite web | url = http://www.wbgov.com/e-gov/English/Departments/DeptDetails.asp?DPId=25&LinkId=8&Type=1
title = Directorate of Industries, West Bengal. | accessdate = 2007-09-12 | last = | first = | work = West Bengal Sugar Industries Development Corporation Limited | publisher = Department of Commerce and Industries, Govt. of West Bengal]

Transport

Ahmedpur is a station on the Bardhaman – Sainthia section of Sahibganj loop.

The 52 km Ahmedpur – Katwa narrow gauge (2' 6") line has attracted attention. Four pairs of trains run daily in the section. It has remained a single line since its inception. Indian Railways took over the narrow gauge tracks between Katwa and Ahmedpur, and Katwa and Bardhaman from McLoyd and Company in 1966. The railways have identified poor turnout of passengers and their unwillingness to buy tickets as the reasons behind the losses incurred by the narrow gauge section. [cite web | url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=6&id=85261&usrsess=1
title = Narrow gauge gets a new lease of life | accessdate = 2007-09-12 | last = | first = | work = | publisher = "The Statesman", 14 October 2004]

Inhabitants

Rajat Bhusan Dutta, who was deported to Andaman Islands for 12 years for his involvement in the Birbhum Conspiracy Case, was born at Ahmedpur in 1908. [cite web | url = http://www.andamancellularjail.org/D3.htm
title = This is about Andaman Cellular Jail | accessdate = 2007-09-12 | last = | first = | work = Revolutionaries listed Alphabetically by their Surnames
publisher = Andaman Cellular Jail]

References

ee also