Siliguri ( pronunciation (help·info), Bengali: শিলিগুড়ি Nepali: सिलीगुड़ी ) also known as Gateway of North East India is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Siliguri is located on the banks of the Mahananda River and the foothills of the Himalayas, it is a principal commercial, tourism, transportation, and educational centre of North Bengal. As of 2011, the city had 19 lakhs residents; the
urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 17,01,489, making it the most populous city in North Bengal. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and to the North East. It is famous for its four 'T's i.e.; Tea, Transport, Tourism and Timber.Siliguri is the largest city in the entire North East and second largest in West Bengal after kolkata. Presently, Siliguri has been witnessing an economic boom in the organised retail, hospitality and real estate industries due to population growth and its strategic geographical location. The total area of Siliguri Metro is 210 sq km whereas the suburbs area comprise 62 sq KM. The city of Siliguri runs 48km from North to south and 34km from east to west. Siliguri is a commercial hub for the North East drawing in many new residents from other states. The city had 5 lakhs residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 7 lakhs, making it the most populous city in North Bengal. It is famous for its four 'T's i.e.; Tea, Transport, Tourism and Timber. As it is one of the newest city in the country, so doesn't contain much historical evidence, the city of Siliguri started from the small village Saktigarh which is now in southern part of the city, When the British east India Company introduced Railway to North East India, it grew the importance of the region, the present city area was once covered with dense forest of Dolka forest Range which was the habitance of Tigers, Leopard, Elephants and other wild animals. Siliguri town was opened in the year 1878. It was still a small town till 1947. After the partition of India and Pakistan the huge migration of population from Bangladesh taken place. The population continuously expanded, huge migrants from adjacent states helped in rise in population
Siliguri is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. The total area of Siliguri City is 272 km2, most of which lies in Darjeeling district, however a part of the city spreads over neighbouring Jalpaiguri district. Siliguri being situated in the plains at the base of the Himalaya mountains, it connects the hill stations such as Gangtok, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik and North East to the rest of India. It is the largest city of North Bengal and largest in entire North East. The Mahananda River bifurcates the city
Siliguri has three distinct seasons: summer, winter and monsoon. In summer the temperature reaches 34 degree Celsius.[citation needed] Winters are generally chilled and cool when temperature goes down to 1 to 0 degree Celsius, as it reaches freezing cool winter as -1 degree celsius.[citation needed] During the monsoons (between June and September), the city is lashed by moderate to heavy rains often cutting access to the hill stations and Sikkim. The city is blessed with natural beauty of flora and fauna. The city has several fault line or uplands near by it is the reason for most frequent earth quakes. The most dangerous earth quake was recorded in the region on 7th July 1988 which was recorded as 9.7 Ricter scale.[citation needed] The climate is suitable for growing tea and the surrounding regions have many tea gardens. The winters are becoming shorter year by year due to urbanization.[citation needed] The city has expanded towards hills which leads to destruction of vegetation, due to which the summers are becoming hot and winters are losing their coldness. There are some areas which remain chiller then the other parts of the city
Siliguri is described as the gateway to the North East of India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The strategic location of the city makes it a base for essential supplies to the above regions. Siliguri has gradually developed as a profitable centre for a variety of businesses. As a central hub, many national companies and organizations have set up their offices here. The four "T"s - Tea, Timber, Tourism and Transport - are the main businesses of Siliguri. The Hong Kong market near Khudirampally is the chief hub for buying low-cost Chinese and illegally imported goods. Seth Srilal Market, Sevoke Road and Hill Cart Road are other prominent market places. Bagdogra airport market is one of the shopping hubs in Siliguri. Another important market is at Matigara hut where people from Hills n plains comes for shopping. In recent times, the city has seen the establishment of a number of shopping malls and multiplexes to cater to the growing needs of the populace. The organised retail sector has created a large number of jobs in the region. The presence of Indian army, Border Security Force (BSF), CRPF, SSB and the Assam Rifles around the city have contributed to the growth of the local economy. Being a tourist destination, the hospitality sector and tourism sector constitutes an important part of Siliguri's economy. Siliguri is the headquarters of Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of North Bengal. As a gesture of international co-operation and friendship, the road network of Siliguri is being used by the governments of Nepal and Bangladesh to facilitate easy transportation of essential commodities, such as food grains. trade route between India and Tibet (China) is accessible only after crossing Siliguri through Nathula and Jelepla. There are also business routes to Bhutan. In order to develop the city in a planned manner and to make arrangement for the exploding population of the city, new townships of Uttarayon, The Kanchanjunga Integreted park and Shushruta Nagar-Kawakhali township have been proposed to be built around the fringes of Siliguri. Siliguri has experienced a huge surge in population in recent times. Based on Census data of 2011, the city agglomeration had a population of 1801489 [2]. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. In Siliguri, 11% of the population is under six years of age. Siliguri has a majority Bengali population. Other minority communities include Gorkhas, Marwaris and Biharis. Bengali, Hindi, English, Nepali, Marwari, Bihari, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Punjabi, Gujrati, and Tibeten languages are spoken by the local people of Siliguri. Siliguri has seen waves of massive immigration over the years, most prominent being the migrants from the erstwhile East Bengal during the Partition of India, Nepal and Bihar. In addition, people from Jharkhand and other parts of India have also come to the city in search of livelihood......
