| Malda | |
| Other Name: | Old Malda, English Bazar |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | Mango City |
| Pushpin Map: | India West Bengal#India3#Asia |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in West Bengal, India |
| Coordinates: | 25.0119°N 88.1433°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Type3: | Division |
| Subdivision Type4: | Total wards |
| Subdivision Name1: | West Bengal |
| Subdivision Name2: | Malda |
| Subdivision Name3: | Malda |
| Subdivision Name4: | 49 |
| Government Type: | Municipality |
| Governing Body: | English Bazar Municipality Old Malda Municipality |
| Leader Party: | TMC |
| Leader Title1: | Chairman |
| Leader Name1: | Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury |
| Leader Title2: | Chairman |
| Leader Name2: | Kartik Ghosh |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 13.25 |
| Area Urban Km2: | 22.79 |
| Area Urban Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Metro Km2: | 206.6 |
| Elevation M: | 17 |
| Population Total: | 216,083 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Urban: | 300,088 |
| Population Metro: | 324,237 |
| Population Rank: | 6th in West Bengal |
| Population Demonym: | Maldabasi |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Bengali[3] [4] |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Additional official |
| Demographics1 Info2: | English |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 732101, 732102, 732103, 732141, 732142, 732128 |
| Area Code: | 91-3512-2xxxxx |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Registration Plate: | WB-65/WB-66 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Vidhan Sabha constituency |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Malda, English Bazar |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Mahananda River |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | River |
Malda, also known as English Bazar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the sixth largest city (urban agglomeration) in West Bengal.[5] It is the headquarters of the Malda district as well as of the Malda division of West Bengal. It consists of two municipalities, viz. English Bazar Municipality and Old Malda Municipality, under Malda Metropolitan Area. The city is located on the banks of the Mahananda River. Malda was an undeveloped city which was enlarging from 1925 to 1930. The city is growing rapidly nowadays with its population inching towards half a million.
The name English Bazar is a calque of Angrezābād ("English-town"), applied in the 17th century to the surroundings of the English factory.[6] It was named in accordance with the factories built on the banks of River Mahananda by the British. The English traders set their factories here for the high profitable trade.
Malda is located at .[7] It has an average elevation of 17 metres (56 feet). It is situated on both the western and eastern banks of the river Mahananda.
Like the most other places in West Bengal, the weather of Malda is usually extremely humid and tropical. Temperatures can reach as high as during the day in May and June and fall as low as overnight in December and January. Malda's highest recorded temperature was on 27 May 1958 and lowest recorded temperature was on 3 February 1905.
In Malda, the average annual temperature is . Precipitation is about per year. The driest month is December. There is of precipitation in December. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in July, with an average of .
See also: List of cities in West Bengal by population. 2011 census, Malda metropolitan city had a total population of 324,237.[8]
2011 census, English Bazar municipality had a population of 216,083.[9] The municipality had a sex ratio of 877 females per 1,000 males and 14.9% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 84.69%; male literacy was 85.44% and female literacy was 83.86%.
India census,[10] Old Malda Municipality had a population of 62,944. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Old Malda has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 67%, and female literacy is 54%. In Old Malda, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
As of 2011 census, the majority of the population of the English Bazar municipality were Hindus with 86.95% adherents, followed by 11.02% Muslims and small populations of Sikhs and Christians.[11]
There are two municipalities in Malda, i.e. the English Bazar Municipality and the Old Malda Municipality.
The municipality of English Bazar is divided into 29 wards. The Trinamool Congress (with 25 councillors) holds the power in this municipality (as of 2022).
The municipality of Old Malda is divided into 20 wards.[12]
crosses through the city. The Gour Kanya Bus Terminus serves as the bus depot for both private buses and government bus service operated by the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC).
There are four railway stations which serves the metropolitan city. Malda Town railway station serves the English Bazar area; Old Malda Junction serves the Old Malda area; Malda Court serves Mangalbari and Naldubi area, and Gour Malda serves Mahadipur and Gauḍa (Gour) area.
Malda Airport (IATA: LDA, ICAO: VEMH) was closed in 1972 due to the Bangladesh War. Before that there were direct daily flights from Malda to Kolkata, Delhi, and Guwahati. In 2014, direct helicopter services were started between Malda and Kolkata, by the government of West Bengal. As of 2017, the airport is under construction and the flight service will start very soon but the construction work has not been started yet.
Some of the notable high schools of the city includeKendriya Vidyalaya Malda (Co-education)