Agartala /???g?rt?’l??/ is the capital of the Indian state of Tripura and is second largest city in North-east India after Guwahati, both in municipal area and population. It lies on the bank of Haora River and is located 2 km from Bangladesh. Agartala has temples and palaces. As per 2011 census, Population of Agartala city is 399,688. The population of Agartala was 367,822 in 2004 after the municipal expansion (189,327 in the 2001 census). The Noble laureate Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore visited the city more than once and also built a house that still exists.
The ancient capital of the then Princely State ‘Swadhin Tripura’ was at Rangamati (Udaipur, South Tripura) by the bank of the river Gomati. In 1760 it was shifted by the Maharaja Krishna Chandra Manikya Bahadur (r.1829-1849) of Manikya Dynasty to present old Agartala by the bank of the river Howrah/saidra and was named ‘Haveli’. Due to frequent invasion of the Kuki’s and also to keep easy communication with the British Bengal, the Maharaja Krishna Chandra Manikya started the process of shifting the capital from Old Haveli to New Haveli (present Agartala) in 1849.
The city mainly consists of Bengalis and Tripuris. Bengali is widely spoken in the city as a result of the erstwhile regal patronage and high influx of Bengalis from Comilla, Sylhet, Noakhali, Chittagong districts of Bangladesh. Durga Puja and Saraswati puja are celebrated with great grandeur and ecstatic enthusiasm, which reflect the influence of the culture of the Bengalis. The inter-cultural, inter-communal integrity is rather wonderful. Hence, nearly every festivity attracts participation from citizens of diverse and vibrant backgrounds.
Agartala is connected by air, via Agartala Airport which connects it to other cities in India. There are direct flight connections to Kolkata, Imphal, Delhi, Silchar, Aizwal, Guwahati, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Agartala airport is the second busiest airport in north east India after Guwahati. The airport is located in Singerbhil 12.5 km (6.7 nautical miles) northwest from the heart of the city of Agartala. The major airlines are Air India, Jet Airways (Operating Codeshare and Konnect Flights), Indigo Airlines and Spicejet.
There is also a growing population of the native Tripuri people in the city. Among the native Tripuri festivals, the most famous are Kharchi and Garia festivals and Tring, the Tripuri New year celebrations. The major areas where the native Tripuri people live are in the localities of Abhoynagar, Banamalipur, Krishnanagar, Nandannagar and Kunjaban areas who have recently started to mass migrate to Agartala from other parts of Tripura.
Doordarshan (DD) has a television station in Agartala. Akash Tripura is a television channel in Agartla. It is a full-time Agartala based news channel. Voice 24 Tripura, Khabar 365 din the 2 satellite channel in the state . There are so many cable channels like- Hallabol, T.TV, Headlines Tripura, Sristi Tripura, Sristi music, sristi bangla, CITI, Triputa pratidin but these all are not 24 hours channel.
Agartala has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate with large amounts of rain almost all year. The city experiences long, hot and wet summers, lasting from April to October. Average temperatures are around 28 °C (82 °F), fluctuating with rainfall. There is a short, mild winter from mid-November to early March, with mostly dry conditions and average temperatures around 18 °C (64 °F).
The Agartala Municipality was established during the reign of Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896) within an area of 3 square miles (8 km2) having a population of only 875 by a royal proclamation in the last part of 1871. Mr. A.W.S. Power, the first British political agent for Tipperah was also appointed as the Chairman of the Agartala Municipality in 1872 who held office from 1872-73.
As of the 2011 Indian census, In education section, total literates in Agartala city are 343,633 of which 174,524 are males while 169,109 are females. Average literacy rate of Agartala city is 93.88 percent of which male and female literacy was 95.75 and 92.02 percent. The sex ratio of Agartala city is 1002 per 1000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 940 per 1000 boys.
Agartala is well connected by road to other parts of Tripura state. National highway 44 has been extended to the south, thus improving the road connectivity between Agartala and south Tripura. Buses, Jeeps, Trekkers and SUVs are the most popular public carriers, and cars and vans are usually used for private hire.
From 2004 the Agartala Municipal Council has been further extended, taking 16 Grams of Dukli R.D.Block, seven Grams of Mohanpur R.D.Block and two Grams of Jirania R.D.Block with area of 43 km2. and 1,78,495 population in addition to the 16 km2 and population of 2,00,000 in 2001 census.
Many sports and games are played. Favourite is football with its own city football league with clubs from the neighborhoods and localities. Tripura has a state team which plays in the Eastern division of the Ranji Trophy Championship, the national cricket competition of India.
National Highway 44 connects Agartala to Assam and the rest of India by road. The highways (NH44, NH 44A) connects Agartala with Silchar (317 km), Guwahati (599 km), Shillong (499 km), Dharmanagar (200 km) and Aizawl (443 km). A bus service connects it to Dhaka (150 km).
The Agartala city is managed by the Agartala Municipal Council, AMC, which divides the city into wards. Each ward has an elected ward representative or municipal councillor. For postal administration the city is divided into postal zones.
Ujjayanta Palace College Tilla – Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Tripura University buildings, football ground, international cricket stadium, picturesque lush landscapes and serene natural lakes. Its also a National Bird Sanctuary
Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur is called the founder of the planned city of Agartala. During the 1940s the town area was re-organised in a planned manner with new roads and a market building.
Agartala has been connected to other cities in India since June 2008. The foundation stone for the 119 km Kumarghat-Agartala railway project was laid in 1996 by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
During the British Raj, Agartala was the capital of the erstwhile ‘Hill Tippera’ state, it became a municipality in 1874-75, and in 1901 had the population of 9,513.
These areas are subdivided into residential blocks, such as Banamalipur which is divided into North Banamalipur, Madhya Banamlipur, South Banamalipur, etc.
Agartala city consists of many Paras, which means “locality” in Bengali. Each neighbourhood or para is usually a municipal ward or division also.