Munger

Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern India and undivided Bengal during Mughal period and British Raj. It is one of the major political, cultural, educational and commercial center of Bihar and Eastern India. Munger is situated about 180km from east of capital city Patna, about 480km west of Eastern India's largest city Kolkata and 1200km from country's capital New Delhi.

Historically, Munger is known for being an ancient seat of rule. The twin city comprises Munger and Jamalpur situated on the southern bank of the river Ganges. It is situated 08 km from Jamalpur Junction, 180 km east of capital city Patna and 430 Km from Kolkata the capital of West Bengal. Munger is said to have been founded by the Guptas (4th century CE) and contains a fort that houses the tomb of the Muslim saint Shah Mushk Nafā (died 1497). In 1763, the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim made Munger his capital and built an arsenal and several palaces. It was constituted a municipality in 1864.

Climate
The climate of Munger is subtropical (warm in summer and cold during winter). The Köppen climate classification sub-type for this climate is humid subtropical.

Demographics
As per 2011 census, Munger Municipal Corporation has a total population of 213,101 out of which 113,173 were males and 99,928 were females. It had a sex ratio of 883. The population between 0 and 6 years was 29,260. The literacy rate of the 7+ population was 81.83 per cent.

Economy
Munger, along with Jamalpur are the major industrial cities in Bihar. Munger is also one of the most prosperous cities in Bihar with a per capita income of INR 42,793 in FY 2020-21.

Indian Railways operates of Asia's largest and oldest railway workshops at Jamalpur. This was set up by the British Raj in 1862.

Munger has also ITC Factory established by the British. Ordinance Gun Factory Munger, ITC Milk Dairy and many others.

Culture
Munger is known for Sita Manpatthar (Sita charan) Sitacharan temple situated on a boulder in the middle of the Ganges in Munger (Anga Region) is the main center of public faith regarding Chhath festival. It is believed that Mata Sita performed the Chhaith festival in Munger. It was only after this that Chhath Mohaparv started. That is why Chhath Mohaparva is celebrated with great pomp in Munger. Munger is also famous for Durga Puja Mahotsav which is celebrated for 10 days. The first nine days are celebrated with great fervor across the city. On the 10th day evening, one side rushes to the Polo Grounds for Ravan Badh, while the other side prepares for a unique ritual known as "Shobha Yatra." The “Shobha Yatra of Badi Durga of Sadipur” marks the importance of Badi Durga of Munger all over the country. People from all over the city join this yatra, and the deity is immersed early in the morning in the holy river Ganges.

Places of interest

 * Munger Fort, covers an area of around 222 acres
 * Munger Museum
 * Chandika Asthan, a sacred Shakti-Peeth
 * Kastaharni Ghat on the Ganges
 * Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary
 * Bihar School of Yoga
 * Sita Kund hotspring
 * Rishi Kund hotspring
 * Pir Pahar
 * Jai Prakash Udyaan / Company Garden
 * Dolphin ECO Park for the conservation of Gangetic river dolphin.
 * Mir Qasim's Tunnel
 * Peer Shah Nafah Shrine
 * Haveli Kharagpur Jheel (Lake)
 * Goenka Shivalaya / Machli Talab

Rail
Munger has two railway stations known as: Jamalpur Junction and Munger Railway Station. The former is the main railhead for the city while the latter, which was earlier called Purabsarai Railway Station, acts as suburban facility. Stations are connected with Sahibganj Loop.

The rail system provides connection to cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai,Surat, Yesvantpur Junction, Jamshedpur, Jammu Tawi, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Agartala, Hyderabad, Deoghar Junction, Muzaffarpur Junction and Dhanbad. The Munger Ganga Bridge, which takes both rail and road-traffic, connects Munger to the nearby cities of Begusarai, Saharsa Junction, Katihar and Khagaria Junction as well as various districts of North Bihar. The bridge is the third-largest rail-cum-road bridge in India.

Road
Munger is connected to major parts of India by various National and State Highways. The major cities of Bihar and Jharkhand - such as Patna, Ranchi, Bhagalpur, Purnia,katihar , Bihar sharif, Muzaffarpur, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Gaya, Bokaro and Darbhanga - can be reached by, , , and  and various state Highways. Regular bus service are provided by BSRTC for all the major cities and other destinations. Citybuses, Taxies, Autorikshaw, E-Rickshaw, etc. are available all the times in the entire city for transportation.

The Munger Ganga Bridge link Munger to various districts of North Bihar and north-eastern India by 2021.

Air
Munger Airport is located in Safyabad, which is 5 km from Munger. It was re-inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 24 May 2016. Munger has no international airport with commercial service. Domestic airport with commercial service is Jay Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna around 180 km away, which is served by all major airlines.

Nearest international airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata Which is around 480 km away from Munger.

Education

 * Bihar School of Yoga,established in 1964 by Satyananda Saraswati.
 * Biswanath Singh Institute of Legal Studies
 * Government Engineering College, Munger
 * Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
 * Jagjivan Ram Shramik Mahavidyalaya, general degree college
 * Munger Forestry College
 * Munger University

Notable people

 * Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Bengali writer, lawyer and script-writer in Hindi films.
 * Nandalal Bose, sculptor and painter
 * George Browne, 6th Marquess of Sligo (1856–1935), Anglo-Irish aristocrat, born in Munger
 * Mona Das - Washington State Senate
 * Brahmanand Mandal - Former MP from Munger Lok Sabha constituency
 * Muhammad Ali Mungeri, Indian Muslim scholar, founder Nadwatul Ulama
 * Minnatullah Rahmani First General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board
 * Wali Rahmani - General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board of India
 * Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, poet
 * Monazir Hassan -four-time MLA from Munger and one-time member of the Indian Parliament in 15th Lok Sabha (2009 to 2014) and represented Begusarai (Lok Sabha constituency).
 * Krishna Singh, first Chief Minister of Bihar and a freedom fighter
 * Kumar Suresh Singh, Director-General of Anthropological Survey of India
 * Udit Narayan Singh of Shakarpura Raj Zamindari- local benefactor
 * Niranjanananda Saraswati, yoga Guru
 * Satyananda Saraswati, founder of Bihar School of Yoga
 * Ramdeo Singh Yadav - three times MLA and Co-operative Minister, Government of Bihar.