Agartala

Agartala
City
Ujjayanta Palace (Tripura State Museum) Agartala
Agartala Location of Agartala in Tripura Agartala Agartala (India) Agartala Agartala (Asia)
Coordinates: 23°50′N 91°17′E
Country	India
State	Tripura
District	West Tripura
Government
• Type	Mayor–Corporation
• Body	AMC
• Mayor	Dr. Prafulla Jit Sinha
• Commissioner	Dr. Milind Ramteke, IAS
Area
• Total	76.504 km2 (29.538 sq mi)
Elevation	12.80 m (41.99 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	400,004
• Rank	2nd in Northeast India
• Density	5,200/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, Kokborok, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	799001-10, 799012, 799014-15, 799022, 799055,799115
Telephone code	91 (0)381
Vehicle registration	TR 01 XX YYYY
Ethnicity	Bengali, Tripuri, Chakma, Darlong, Others
Website	agartalacity.nic.in

Agartala is the capital of the Indian state of Tripura, and is the second-largest city in northeast India after Guwahati. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. It is located on the banks of the Haora River, close to the Bangladesh border, about 90 kilometres (55 mi) east of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

Agartala is India's third international internet gateway after the ones in Mumbai and Chennai.

Etymology

Agartala is a derivative of two words, namely Agar, a valuable perfume and incense tree of genus Aquilaria, and the suffix Tala, meaning underneath, a reference to the density of Agarwood trees in the region. The Agar tree is historically referred to in the story of the King Raghu who tied up his elephant's feet to an Agar tree on the banks of River Lauhitya.

History

One of the earliest kings of Tripura was Patardan B.C. 1900, long before the Manikya Dynasty. According to folklore, Chitrarath, Drikpati, Dharmapha, Loknath Jivandharan were important kings during the time of B.C. in Agartala.

Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur one of the most ambitious kings of Tripura

Early references in epic Sanskrit texts like the Mahabharata, indicate the legacy and historical importance of this city. In the past, Tripura served as the capital to several Hindu kingdoms. Although a timeline of the rulers has not been found, records reveal that the area has been ruled by as many as 179 Hindu rulers, starting from the mythological King Druhya to the last King of Tripura, Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya. Tripura also came under Mughal rule. The state came under the governance of the British in 1808. Much later 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 Haora/Saidra and was named 'Haveli'. Due to frequent invasion of the Kukis and also to keep easy communication with the British Bengali, the Maharaja Krishna Chandra Manikya started the process of shifting the capital from Old Haveli to New Haveli (present Agartala) in 1849.

During the British Raj, Agartala was the capital of the 'Hill Tippera' state, it became a municipality in 1874–75, and in 1901 had a population of 9,513. The princely state always remained as cake piece to the British and many other invaders. For example when Arakhan soldiers attacked the old capital of the state the king of Tripura responded by defeating the entire troop. During Indian Independence, the people of Tripura started the Ganamukti Parishad movement to include the state in the Kingdom of India. The Queen of Tripura, Maharani Kanchanprava Devi, signed the agreement on 15 October 1949 permitting the government to merge the province with the independent India. On 1 July 1963, Tripura became a centrally administered Union Territory and became a state on 21 January 1972. Agartala was then named as the capital of Tripura. 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. 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. The municipality located at the crossing of latitude N 23 –50' and longitude E 91-17' covering 3 km². Area during that period.

Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur is called the founder of the planned city of Agartala. He had gone for a tour in the United Kingdom and after returning to his kingdom he decided that he would make Agartala in the image of the UK. During the 1940s the town was re-organised in a planned manner with new roads and a market building.

The estimated population of Agartala was 5,22,603 in 2014 after the municipal expansion (189,327 in the 2001 census).

From 1901 to 1971 the city remained in a negligible development progress with only an 8 km² or area but from 1981 Agartala started to expand and increase its connectivity in various fields along with its city area with 58.84 km², greater Agartala is planned as of 2011 with an additional of 92 km². Agartala had a different type of history from the earlier times of the epic days as it was a princely state and was connected with Bangladesh. Though the East India Company had not arrived in the princely capital of the state but they always remained in a certain in capturing and ruling. The East India Company had set their base of North East India in the Assam province with Shillong as their capital.

The Nobel laureate Indian (Bengali) poet Rabindranath Tagore or Robindronath Thakur visited the city more than once and also built a house that still exists. The historical book Rajmala contains incidents and historical stories of Agartala.

Geography and climate

Agartala
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     9.1     26 10     20     29 13     59     33 19     182     34 22     316     33 24     455     32 25     386     31 25     313     32 25     225     32 24     165     31 22     40     29 17     8.4     26 11 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: IMD
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.4     78 50     0.8     83 56     2.3     91 65     7.2     94 72     12     91 74     18     89 76     15     88 76     12     89 76     8.9     89 76     6.5     88 72     1.6     84 62     0.3     80 52 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Agartala is situated on a plain along the Haora River, although the city also extends to the low-lying hills on its northern parts.

Agartala has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) just short of being hot enough to qualify as a borderline tropical savanna (Aw)/tropical monsoon (Am) climate. Large amounts of rain fall all year except during the dry “winter” or “cool” season. The city experiences long, hot and wet summers, lasting from April to October. Average temperatures are around 28 °C or 82.4 °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 best time to visit is from September to February. Summers are long and extremely hot with much sunlight and warm days. Rain is very common in this season(subscription required) and the city can be found flooded. The Haora River flows through the city and remains flooded with water during the time of monsoon.

Climate data for Agartala
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	31.9 (89.4)	35.1 (95.2)	38.9 (102.0)	41.5 (106.7)	42.2 (108.0)	40.2 (104.4)	37.7 (99.9)	36.4 (97.5)	36.1 (97.0)	38.2 (100.8)	34.2 (93.6)	33.1 (91.6)	42.2 (108.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	25.7 (78.3)	28.5 (83.3)	32.9 (91.2)	34.2 (93.6)	32.9 (91.2)	31.5 (88.7)	31.3 (88.3)	31.5 (88.7)	31.7 (89.1)	30.9 (87.6)	29.0 (84.2)	26.4 (79.5)	30.5 (86.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	9.8 (49.6)	13.1 (55.6)	18.6 (65.5)	22.3 (72.1)	23.6 (74.5)	24.5 (76.1)	24.7 (76.5)	24.6 (76.3)	24.2 (75.6)	22.0 (71.6)	16.5 (61.7)	11.1 (52.0)	19.6 (67.3)
Record low °C (°F)	3.5 (38.3)	4.7 (40.5)	9.4 (48.9)	13.2 (55.8)	16.1 (61.0)	18.9 (66.0)	21.2 (70.2)	20.0 (68.0)	20.0 (68.0)	14.6 (58.3)	9.2 (48.6)	2.0 (35.6)	2.0 (35.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	9.1 (0.36)	19.7 (0.78)	59.0 (2.32)	182.1 (7.17)	316.4 (12.46)	455.3 (17.93)	385.8 (15.19)	312.8 (12.31)	224.8 (8.85)	165.2 (6.50)	40.0 (1.57)	8.4 (0.33)	2,178.6 (85.77)
Average precipitation days	0.7	1.7	3.3	7.8	11.4	17.4	16.4	16.4	11.8	7.3	2.0	0.3	96.5
Source: India Meteorological Department (Period 1951–1980, record high and low up to 2010)

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian census, Agartala has a total population of 404,004. Total number of literates in the city are 344,711 of which 175,170 are males while 169,541 are females. Average literacy rate of Agartala city is 94.45 percent of which male and female literacy was 96.16 and 92.75 percent respectively. The sex ratio of Agartala is 999 females per 1,000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 950 per 1,000 boys.

In 1941 Agartala had a population of 17,693. By 1991 the population had risen to 157,358. Bengali, the official state language, is the dominant language in Agartala while English is also a popular language in the state; Kokborok is spoken by the Tripuri people. According to the 2011 census, 94.09% of the population is Hindu, 4.37% Muslim, 0.99% Christian, and 0.28% Buddhist. The remainder of the population includes Sikhs, Jains, and other religions; 0.27%. 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, and 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. Hence, nearly every festivity attracts participation from citizens of diverse backgrounds.

There is also a growing population of Tripuri people in the city. Among the native Tripuri festivals, the most famous are Kharchi, Garia and Ker festivals and Tring, the Tripuri New year celebrations. The major areas where the Tripuri live are in the localities of Abhoynagar, Banamalipur, Krishnanagar, Nandannagar and Kunjaban areas who have started to mass migrate to Agartala from other parts of Tripura.

See also: List of cities and towns in Tripura and List of cities in the North East and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Religion in Agartala
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			94.09%
Islam			4.37%
Christian			0.99%
Buddhist			0.28%
Others			0.27%
Others include Sikhs, Jains & Other religions

Aerial view of Agartala, mainly showing the parts of Ramnagar and the Integrated Check Post (ICP)(white landmark) beyond that point is the Indo-Bangla border showing the territory of Bangladesh(paddy field)

Year	Population	Area
1901	6,415	3 square miles (8 km2)
1911	6,831	3 square miles (8 km2)
1921	7,743	3 square miles (8 km2)
1931	9,580	3 square miles (8 km2)
1941	17,693	3 square miles (8 km2)
1951	42,595	3 square miles (8 km2)
1961	54,878	3 square miles (8 km2)
1971	100,264	3 square miles (8 km2)
1981	132,186	10.94 km2
1991	157,358	15.81 km2
2001	188,540	16.02 km2
2004	367,822	58.84 km2
2011	404,004	58.84 km2
2013	438,408	76.504 km2 (Greater Agartala Planning Area: 512,264 and 92 km2)

As seen clearly from 1901, Agartala was once a very backward and was rural. Literacy was almost to nil, with only an 8 km sq of land piece as a city part Agartala was in no doubt as one of the lacking places in the entire sub-continent. But after the establishment of the AMC things began to change in a pretty smooth way. As it is of now the present area of the land is 58 km² and an additional area of 92 km sq. It is believed to be one of the fastest developing states in Northeast India. Poverty, limited literacy in some remote areas, etc. still remains a big challenge in here.

Localities

Agartala city consists of many Paras, which means "locality" in Bengali. Each collection of neighbourhoods or para is usually also a municipal ward or division. There are 49 wards under the municipal corporation jurisdiction.

Agartala Town Hall

Big Bazaar, ML Plaza

Ujjayanta Market used to be known as Indira Book market and Tulsibati Market

Banamalipur is one of the important areas in the state, mainly comprising localities and also an important business centre, it is a part of urban Agartala which falls under Agartala post office following with pincode 799001, Dhaleswar is a locality in the state close to Banamalipur, it is under the east police station and Dhaleswar Post Office with pincode 799007.

Pratapgar, Math Chowmuhani, Kashari Patti, Ker Chowmuhani are some important places in the city. One of the largest banyan trees is located in Ker Chowmuhani. Under that tree lies the Shiv-Kali temple of Ker Chowmuhani. This is one of the most peaceful temples in Agartala. In local language Chowmuhani is an intersection of three or four roads, i.e., a place where a couple of roads are linked up crossed a particular point, in pure Bengali Chowmuhani is called "more".

Kaman Chowmuhani is the most important place and a part of the heart of the city. The name Kaman Chowmuhani derived from the Bengali word Kaman meaning "Cannon" in English. It so happened when the king of Tripura Dhanya Manikya defeated the soldiers of Husain Shah in battle and forfeited their cannon which was later set up in this place by which its name is derived. The place along with its object is a unique icon of Agartala.

Krishnanagar is one of the most densely populated parts of the city. It constitutes the most visited temples of Agartala like Jagannnatha temple, Laxminarayana temple, Durgabari temple and Alpkhbaba temple. Radha Nagar has a bus stand and it connects buses and other vehicles to the northern part of the state. Shibnagar is another locality which connects the city to Maharaja Bir Bikram College, the oldest college of the state where as Ramnagar is the most dense locality in Tripura. The rectangular gridiron network of Ramnagar dated from the rules of the Rajas, one of the earliest planned neighbourhood in the city. There are 12 divisions in this area lots of clubs are present here which conducts Durga puja. Joynagar is a locality in Agartala, It has six lanes. There are four clubs that conduct Durga puja. The closest landmark of Joynager is Battala market one of the important business hubs in the state.

Abhoynagar and Arundhutinagar are two residential areas in the city and is densely populated where as the other one (Arundhutinagar) is located 5 km away from the city centre, the railway station of the capital city is located in here.

Gol Bazar (Maharajganj bazar) is the most important business hub as well as the largest market in the state of Tripura. Products are exported to many Indian cities from this zone. The market was established by the king of Tripura before India's independence.

Gurkha Basti is one of the biggest slum areas in the city, a recent campaign has been launched by the state government to make the city slum free and hence evacuation of the people is on the way and they are provided land somewhere in the city. Coming to Kunjaban is a census town in west Tripura district, which mainly includes government buildings and localities. The secretariat and the seat of the state government is located in this area. New Capital Complex is located in Kunjaban, it is a planned and modern area in the city. The Secretariat and the State Assembly along with the new Governor House is located here.

College Tilla consists of the historic Maharaja Bir Bikram College which was set up by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya in 1947. It is surrounded by some localities and quarter complexes of many government employees. MBB Club, Indranagar, Bholagiri and Bhati Abhoynagar are some residential places in the city. 79 Tilla is another important part of Agartala with major offices such as the BSNL Office, electric office, Geological Survey office and Quarters, and the AG Quarters. It is located 2.5 km approx from the heart of the city.

GB Bazar is another important market of this state which is located 2 km from the heart of the city. The Agartala Government Medical College is located here.

Amtali, Badhar Ghat, College Tilla, Jagaharimura, Lake Chowmuhani, Advisor Chowmuhani, Ganaraj Chowmuhani, Durjoynagar, Bardowali are some important places in the city.

Battala is the commercial area of the city, it is often called Bottala in Bengali. Also known as the electronics market of Agartala. Products are imported from abroad and also the cheapest variety of cloths and accessories are found, besides Battala also has a strong food market and is the second biggest market in Tripura after Gol Bazar.

Melarmath is one of the most important parts of the city and also the electronic business hub centre; the city center is located in that zone also other important landmarks can be found. Melarmath Kali Bari temple is one of the temples in Agartala.

Khayerpur and Chandrapur are located on the National Highway 44.

These areas are subdivided into residential blocks, such as Banamalipur which is divided into North Banamalipur, Madhya Banamlipur, South Banamalipur, etc.

From 2004 the Agartala Municipal Council has been further extended, taking 16 villages of Dukli R. D. Block, seven villages of Mohanpur R. D. Block and two villages of Jirania R. D. Block with area of 43 km². and 178,495 population in addition to the 16 km² and population of 200,000 in 2001 census.

City administration

The Agartala city is managed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation (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. The complete list of municipal wards and their locations by municipal zones are shown in the table below.

Ward No.	Para / Locality	Municipal Zone
1	Barjala	North
2	Chandinamura-Lichubagan	North
3	Kunjaban	North
4	Chanmari	North
5	Indranagar	North
6	Nandannagar	North
7	Abhoynagar	North
8	Radhanagar	North
9	Ranjitnagar	Central
10	Rajnagar	Central
11	Paschim Jaynagar	Central
12	Ramnagar	Central
13	Paschim Krishnanagar	Central
14	Krishnanagar	Central
15	Dimsagar-Banamalipur	Central
16	Dhaleswar	East
17	Kashipur-Khayerpur	East
18	Shibnagar	East
19	Paschim Shibnagar	East
20	Town Pratapgarh	Central
21	Shantipara	Central
22	Melarmath	Central
23	Bardowali	South
24	Bhattapukur-Badarghat	South
25	Arundhutinagar	South
26	Dakkhin Badarghat	South
27	Siddhi Ashram	South
28	Rajlaxminagar	South
29	Arundhutinagar	South
30	Paschim Pratapgarh	South
31	Purba Pratapgarh	South
32	Jogendranagar	East
33	Uttar Jogendranagar	East
34	Aralia	East
35	Purba Jogendranagar	East

Politics

On 1 November 1956, Tripura became a Union Territory and an Advisory Committee was formed to advise the Chief Commissioner. On 15 August 1957, a Territorial Council was formed with 30 elected members and two members nominated by the government of India. On 1 July 1963, the Tripura Territorial Council was dissolved and a Legislative Assembly with the existing members of the Territorial Council was formed. Tripura is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy, a feature it shares with other Indian states. Universal suffrage is granted to residents. The Tripura government has three branches: executive, legislature and judiciary. The Tripura Legislative Assembly consists of elected members and special office bearers that are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the speaker, or by the deputy speaker in the case of the speaker's absence. The Assembly is unicameral with 60 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Agartala assembly constituency is part of Tripura West. Political clashes between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress have always been common.

After the independence of India in 1947 Tripura was still a princely state. After the death of the last king Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya on 17 May 1947, a Regency Council was formed headed by Maharani Kanchan Prava Devi, for aid of the minor Prince, Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. The regent signed the merger agreement with the government of India. After the merger Tripura became a Part 'C' state. On reorganisation of the states, effected in November 1956, Tripura became a Union Territory with an Advisory Committee to aid and advise the chief commissioner. Tripura gained its statehood on 21 January 1972 before that but merging with India in 1949 the first chief minister of the state was on 1 July 1963, Sachindra Lal Singh of the Indian National Congress, he was the CM of the state for around 3,046 days. From 5 January 1978 the rule of the congress came to an end as Nripen Chakraborty became the first communist chief minister of Tripura. Later again the communists fell and the INC rose and was in power till 1992, from 1993 again CPI(M) came to power and is continuing till now. Manik Sarkar was the CM of the state from 11 March 1998 to March 2018. After that the Communist Party was flown with a massive strike by BJP under the leadership of a stranger of Tripura politics: Biplab Kumar Deb. After 3 March's victory BJP's Biplab Deb was sworn in as the chief minister of Tripura.

Agartala is administered by several government agencies. The Agartala Municipal Corporation, or AMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city which together encompass 49 wards. Each ward elects a councillor to the AMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets.

Economy

Integrated Border Check Post at Akhaura

Most of the population is employed in the state and central government, and other government owned enterprises. Since liberalization in the early nineties the economy of India has seen tremendous growth which was not stalled even by the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 or the recession of 2009. The economy of Agartala, however, did not begin developing in tandem with the national economy until 2000. Development has been quite slow; many consumer brands in telecom and retail have entered Tripura but mainly because the markets in tier 1 and tier 2 cities have become saturated and they are looking for new territories into which to expand their business.

Entry of MNCs and the rise of Indian giants have provided the perennially cash starved middle-class with higher disposable income, but Agartala seems to have not benefited from it. The population with high disposable income is quite low in the state. The young population between the age group of 23–40 are major spendthrifts; they also constitute the major part of the Indian population. After college a major chunk of young adults leave for jobs in the big metros of India.

Agartala City Centre

The consumption patterns of the residents of Agartala have evolved considerably since the expansion of the city and the corresponding rise in population; previously, major consumption took place once a year, during Durga puja, while during the rest of the year consumption took place largely only for special occasions like marriages and birthdays. Nowadays shopping has become fashionable for everyone in Agartala. The opening of the city centre, malls had increased the demand of purchasing goods to the people here. The buying is decided and the instances of impulse buying are moderately high as compared to the past decades. The shopping malls are major places for both young and old. The city centre is a substitute for a mall, another is the Battala supermarket which is also one of the main hub of markets of Tripura. Brands like Titan, Fastrack, Reebok, John Player, Lee, Adidas, Puma, Nike, Levis had opened and are moderately good here. The people of Agartala have high aspirations of which we can see in the buying pattern of cell phones and two-wheelers.

Culture

Laxmi Narayan Bari temple in the Palace Compound

Universal Prayer Hall, Ramakrishna Mission, Agartala

Like in other Indian states, there is mixed religion in Agartala. Hinduism is the dominant religion and there are many temples across the city. The Durga Puja season is generally the busiest time of the year and one can then experience the richness of Indian cultural extravaganza. The whole city is nestled with tents catering to a variety of themes. Christianity is a widespread faith as well, with Christmas being a very busy time of the year. Agartala is also known for its tribal festivals like Kharchi, and Garia Puja.

Temples

Some prominent temples are:

• Tripureswari Matarbari, Udaipur, South Tripura
• Lakshmi Narayan Temple, the Palace Compound
• Jagannath Temple
• Ram Thakur's Ashram in Banamalipur
• Durga Bari Temple in the Palace Compound
• Pagla Debata Temple, Agartala Old Motorstand
• Motorstand Shani Mandir
• Satsanga Bihar, Krishnanagar
• Ker Chowmuhani Shiv-Kali temple
• Kalibari Temple in the Palace Compound
• Iskcon Temple (Hare Krishna Temple)-SRI SRI RADHA GOVINDA MANDIR
• Baba Loknath Temple, Laxmi Narayan Bari Road
• Umamaheshwar Temple (Shibbari), Central Road
• Ramkrishna Mission, Math Chowmani (Near Dhaleswar), Gandhi Ghat and Amtali
• Bharat Sevashram Sangha
• Bhavatarani Temple, Melarmath
• Universal Prayer Hall is at the Ramakrishna Mission Dhaleswar Complex in Agartala.

Mosques

• Gedu Miyar Masjid
• Jame Masjid, Bhati Abhoynagar (West)
• Rangamati Darul Ulom Jame Masjid

Monasteries

• Benuban Vihar, Kunjaban

Churches

Catholic Church of Nandangagar parish, Don Bosco

• Union Baptist Church, Arundhutinagar, the oldest church in Agartala
• Agartala City Baptist Church, Supari Bagan
• Khakotor Baptist Church, Abhoynagar
• Hallelujah Baptist Church, Gurkha Basti
• Capital Baptist Church, Nandannagar
• Palace Baptist Church, Palace Compound
• Aguli Baptist Church, TRTC
• Noyung Baptist Church, Haradhan Sangha
• St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Church, Durjoynagar
• Don Bosco Catholic Church, Nandannagar
• Catholic Church, Mariamnagar, the first Christian community in Tripura
• Presbyterian Church, Shyamali Bazaar
• Believers Eastern Church, Advisor Chowmuhani
• Evangelical Christian Fellowship, Red Cross Building, IGM Hospital Complex
• Trinity Worship Center, Rathore Bhawan, North Gate, Palace Compound

Transportation

Airport

Agartala Airport Departure Terminal

Entrance gate of the airport

Agartala is connected to other cities in India by air via Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Airport (Agartala Airport). There are direct flight connections to Kolkata, Imphal, Guwahati, Bangalore and New Delhi. Agartala airport is the third busiest airport in northeast India after Imphal International Airport in Manipur. The airport is located in Singerbhil 12.5 km (6.7 nautical miles) northwest from the heart of Agartala. The major airlines are Air India, IndiGo.The airport is under construction to make it the third international airport after Imphal.

Plans passed to upgrade the airport building with better facilities and modern equipment along with more apron, expansion of runways, better CAT and navigation system.

Roads

National Highway 8 connects Agartala to Assam and the rest of India by road, also known as the lifeline of Tripura. The highways (NH44, NH 44A) connect 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).

• National Highway 44 (India) – Connected to Tripura to Shillong and Mizoram(NH 44A)
• National Highway 44A (India) – Connected to Tripura to Mizoram

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 common public carriers, and cars and vans are usually used for private hire. The highway passes through hilly terrains, while travelling from the city towards the North one can experience the lavishing and lush green Baramura Hill Range, Atharamura Hills and the Longtharai Hills and while moving towards the South Debatamura Hills can be seen.

The main mode of public transportation within the city consists of a network of cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws and buses. To ease traffic congestion a 2.26 km long flyover is under construction.

Railways

Since 2008, Agartala has been connected to other cities in India by the Agartala Railway Station. The foundation stone for the 119-km Kumarghat-Agartala railway project was laid in 1996 by former prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda.

Agartala railway station

Agartala railway station

Agartala is the second capital city (after Guwahati, Assam) in the northeast which is connected to the country's railway network. The railway station is located approximately 5.5 km (2.96 nautical miles) from the heart of the city and a lot of modes of transportation are available to reach the city from the station. The lines connect from Lumding with a meter gauge track to Agartala and is almost in its way for a connection towards the extreme end point of the state to Sabroom. There were total 14 stations in Tripura with Churaibari being the last one in the North. New stations in South are under construction. The total length of track in this state is approximately 153 km following which the railway enters Assam.

Expansion of the station and laying more tracks is underway, which will increase the traffic and passenger capacity, and set up a completely new broadgauge track for faster trains and more comfortable travel.

Broad-gauge conversion work in the Lumding-Silchar segment was completed in March 2015. Gauge conversion work up to Agartala was completed by the end of March 2016, and railway traffic between Agartala and Silchar began. During the laying of rail lines from Kumarghat to Agartala, provisions were kept for swiftly converting it to broad gauge. Presently, local trains from Agartala to Dharmanagar and Silchar are functional. Work on express trains connecting Agartala to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati and Dibrugarh has started. Recently, local railway traffic between Agartala to Udaipur and Bishalgarh has become functional. Connecting with Tripura Train Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Janshatabdi, Garib Rath, Duronto, Yuva, AC Trains. A rail link between Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh was approved by the government of India in September 2011. IRCON is constructing this 15 km long track that will directly connect northeast India to Chittagong international sea port. The TripuraSundari Express and Rajdhani Express are two Super Fast weekly trains connecting Agartala to Anand Vihar Terminal, Delhi. Other trains like Deoghar express (weekly), Kanchanjungha Express to Sealdah runs four days a week, Agartala-Habibganj weekly special train and Bengaluru bound Bi-weekly Humsafar Express connects the city to the states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Cab and Auto Services

Recently, Jugnoo has started its Operation in Agartala, the cabs and autos can be booked online using their online App.

Communications

Radio stations

• AIR
• Big FM

All India Radio, Agartala Station

Television

Doordarshan (DD) has a television station in Agartala. Akash Tripura is one of the first television channels in Agartala. It is a full-time Agartala-based news channel. Other full-time based channels are Headlines Tripura, News Vanguard, Awaaz, and Amar Tripura.

There are other cable channels such as - Hallabol, T.TV, Sristi Tripura, Sristi music, sristi Bangla, sristi cinema, CITI, News all India, and Tripura pratidin, which are not 24 hours channel and are run by Siti & Sristi Cable networks.

There are also KokBorok channels like KokTripura, KhumpuiTV and ChiniKhorangTV Which are currently in service.

Newspapers

Bengali-language media is dominant in the city. Major news publications are:

• Dainik Sambad (Bengali)
• Syandhan Patrika (Bengali)
• Tripura Darpan (Bengali)
• Tripura Times (English)
• Ajker Fariad (Bengali)
• Bartaman (Bengali)
• Daily Desher Katha (Bengali)
• Sakalbela (Bengali)
• Aajkaal (Bengali)'
• Tripura Samay
• Dainik Ganadoot(Bengali)
• Kalamer Shakti(Bengali)
• Sandho Tripura(Bengali)
• Agartala News(Bengali/ English)

Education

Universities

• Tripura University- A Central University
• ICFAI University, Tripura
• Maharaja Bir Bikram University
• IGNOU Center, MBB College
• Sikkim Manipal University Agartala Center
• National Institute of Technology Agartala

Colleges

General Degree Colleges

• Maharaja Bir Bikram College
• Bir Bikram Memorial College
• Women's College, Agartala
• Ramthakur College
• Holy Cross College, Agartala

Technical Colleges

• Techno India, Agartala
• National Institute of Technology, Agartala
• Tripura Institute of Technology
• College of Agriculture, Tripura

Medical and Nursing Colleges

AGMC Main Academic Building at Night

• Agartala Government Medical College
• Tripura Medical College & Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital, Agartala

Other Professional Colleges

• Tripura Government Law College

Prominent schools

Umakanta Academy

• Umakanta Academy
• St Paul's School, Agartala
• Holy Cross School
• Bhavan's Tripura Vidya Mandir
• Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Amtali
• Netaji Subhash Vidyaniketan
• Sri Krishna Mission School

Sports

Swami Vivekananda Maidan, Agartala

Tripura is an important state in the northeast India regarding sports, many sports and games are played. Cricket is the most important sport in the state side by side football also has an important role.

Football

There are lots of football fans are present here. UK mini stadium is an important venue for this game. Tripura Football Association organises a football league known as Agartala League every year to popularise the sport in the state. The main football stadiums are the Badarghat Stadium and the Umakanta Academy Mini-Stadium.

Cricket

Tripura has a state team which plays under the auspices of the Tripura Cricket Association in the Eastern division of the Ranji Trophy championship, the national first-class cricket competition of India. The most important cricket grounds are Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium and Polytechnic Institute Ground, Narsingarh. Some other notable grounds are Astabal ground and the Pragati School Cricket ground. Tripura Cricket Association organises Cricket tournaments at the U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels where clubs affiliated to Tripura Cricket Association compete against each other.

Stadiums

The following are the stadiums in Agartala-:

• Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium - the premier cricket stadium in the city with a capacity of 30,000 persons.
• Badharghat Stadium - the premier football stadium in the city.
• Polytechnic Institute Ground- the second cricket stadium in the city with capacity of 15,000 persons.
• Swami Vivekananda Stadium - another multi-purpose stadium in the capital city of Tripura in Agartala. Located around 2 km away from the city centre, the stadium has a sitting capacity around 8000 including a grand stand and press gallery. The area of the inner ground is 7350 sqm. Considered as the most highly moderniser and the best stadium in entire northeast India
• Umakanta Academy Mini-Stadium

Tourism

Places of interest

• College Tilla – Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Tripura University buildings, football ground, international cricket stadium, picturesque lush landscapes and serene natural lakes. It is also a National Bird Sanctuary

Ujjayanta Palace as seen from Laxmi Narayan Bari

• Ujjayanta Palace – Palace of the Tripura kings, was converted to state legislative assembly and now into a museum, situated in the area of Palace Compound is one of the eye catching attraction in the state. Its a former royal palace in Agartala, and also served as the meeting place of the Tripura Legislative Assembly until 2011. The area has decoded from the ruling landmark of the kings to the citizens. Tours are conducted by the Tripura Tourism Department. The name Ujjayanta Palace was given by the poet Rabindranath Tagore, who visited the state of Tripura quite a number of times. Maharaja Bir Bikram was the last king of Tripura and the last king who stayed in his house in the palace.
• Jagannath temple — Hindu temple of the Vaishnava school of thought. It has now been transformed into a museum named Ujjayanta Museum and it was inaugurated by Dr. Hamid Ansari, the vice-president of India
• Venuban Buddha Vihar - Distance of around 2 km inside the city from the city centre is located the Venuban Vihar where a Buddha shrine houses a metal idol of Buddha. The idol was primitively created in Burma and was later transported to Venuban Vihar for installment into this shrine. The function of Buddha Poornima is yearly celebrated with full colour and fervor. The solemnisations are followed by a large fair.
• Agartala Amusement Park Amtali

Parks and playgrounds

Main gate of the Heritage park

• Heritage Park: The most visited of all the parks in the city, the most notable features here are the miniature models of various monuments of the state, the Ayurvedic herb-garden and the fountain.
• Rabindra Kanan: A park in the vicinity of the former Raj Bhavan of Tripura and the Malancha Nivas, this park annually holds the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, after whom the park is named. It is not far from the Heritage Park.
• Lembucherra Park: The latest addition to Agartala's parks
• Nehru Park
• Children's Park

Museums

Tripura State Museum

• Tripura State Museum is located at the Ujjayanta Palace.
• Science Museum, located in Sukanta Academy
• Haveli Museum, located in Kashipur

and multiplexes

• Rupasi Multiplex: One of the established multi-screen movie theaters in Agartala is the Rupasi Cinema, ML Plaza, Agartala.
• Balaka Cinema: Located in the City Center is a single screen movie theater.

Notable people

• S. D. Burman, music director in Bollywood
• R. D. Burman, music director in Bollywood
• David Dhawan, Bollywood film director
• Somdev Devvarman, professional Indian tennis player
• Sourabhee Debbarma, singer (winner of Indian Idol 4)
• Reema Debnath, actress in Bollywood
• Dipa Karmakar, Gymnast
• Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder of Bandhan Bank
• Sudip Roy Barman
• Naresh Mitra, Bengali actor and director

See also

• List of cities and towns in Tripura
• Tourism in North East India
• Centre for Forest Based Livelihood and Extension Agartala
• Advanced Research Centre for Bamboo and Rattan
• Jagannath Bari, Agartala

External links

• Agartala Municipal Corporation
• Agartala travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Agartala Encyclopædia Britannica entry