| West Champaran district | |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coordinates: | 26.8°N 114°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Bettiah |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bihar |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Tirhut |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Bettiah |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 18 |
| Area Total Km2: | 5228 |
| Area Rank: | 1 (in bihar) |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 3,935,042 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 58.06 per cent |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 906 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Paschim Champaran, Valmiki Nagar |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Valmiki Nagar, Ramnagar, Narkatiaganj, Bagaha, Lauriya, Nautan, Chanpatia, Bettiah, Sikta |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | NH 28B |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN Code |
| Postal Code: | 8454XX |
| Website: | http://westchamparan.bih.nic.in/ |
West Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India, located just 60km (40miles) west of Birgunj. It is the largest district in Bihar with an area of 5,228 km2(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division.[1] The district headquarters are located in Bettiah. The district is known for its open border with Nepal.One of the major location in West Champaran is Kumar Bagh for SAIL Special Processing Unit and Bhitiharwa where Mahatma Gandhi started Satyagrah Aandolan.
West Champaran is the largest sugarcane producing district of Bihar in 2022.[2]
West Champaran district occupies an area of 5228km2,[3] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Amund Ringnes Island.[4]
In 1989 West Champaran district became home to Valmiki National Park, which has an area of 336abbr=onNaNabbr=on. It is also home to two wildlife sanctuaries: Valmiki (adjacent to its namesake national park) andUdaypur Wildlife Sanctuary.[5] Fauna include the Bengal tiger.[6]
The West Champaran district is divided into 3 Tehsil (sub-division):
The West Champaran district is divided into 18 Blocks:[7]
The district is well connected by roads and railways to all major cities.
Lok Sabha constituencies in the district are Paschim Champaran, Valmiki Nagar.
Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the district are Valmiki Nagar, Ramnagar, Narkatiaganj, Bagaha, Lauriya, Nautan, Chanpatia, Bettiah, Sikta
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According to the 2011 census West Champaran district has a population of 3,935,042,[8] roughly equal to the nation of Liberia[9] or the US state of Oregon.[10] This gives it a ranking of 63rd in India (out of a total of 640).[8] The district has a population density of 750PD/sqkm.[8] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.89%.[8] Pashchim Champaran has a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males,[8] and a literacy rate of 58.06%. 9.99% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Tribes made up 14.08% and 6.35% of the population respectively.[8]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.86% of the population in the district spoke Bhojpuri, 3.32% Hindi and 2.97% Urdu as their first language.[11]
Languages include Bhojpuri, a tongue in the Bihari language group with almost 51,000,000 speakers, written in both the Devanagari and Kaithi scripts.[12]
The city is the birthplace of poet Gopal Singh Nepali. Mahatma Gandhi started the Champaran Satyagraha movement from here in 1917 along with nationalists Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Brajkishore Prasad.