Sitamarhi is an Indian city and the district headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of Bihar and is a part of the Tirhut Division. The name of the city had kept as honours the birthplace of the goddess, Sita. The Bihar government declared Sitamarhi a municipal council.
In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was created within the Muzaffarpur district. Sitamarhi was detached from the Muzaffarpur district and made a separate district on 11 December 1972. It is situated in the northern part of Bihar. The district headquarters is located in Dumra, south of Sita temple.
Geography
Sitamarhi, located at , has an average elevation of .
There are multiple small towns that are famous in Sitamarhi, like Bairgania, Sursand and Bhitthamore which are located at Indo-Nepal border. Other famous places in Sitamarhi region are Bathnaha, Sonbarsa, Bajpatti, Pupri, Parihar, Runnisaidpur, Belsand (Vidhansabha constituency), Parsauni, and Dumra is near Sitamarhi which is known for all the government offices.
Culture
Sitamarhi dates back to the time of Ramayana and is considered as the place where King Janaka found Sita.
A temple dedicated to the goddess Sita, a subject of the epic Ramayana, is located at Punaura Dham Sitamarhi. A rock-cut sanctuary from the great Mauryan period is found near Sitamarhi.
Rama Navami is a spring festival in Dumra, widely celebrated with a large fair held to mark the occasion. Also in Janki Mandir popularly known as Janaki Sthan (temple with history from 1599) next to Urjiva Kund (where Sita was found in the heart of the earth) a marriage ceremony of Ram and Sita happens every year. Sama Chakeva is a prominent winter festival dedicated to celebrating brother-sister relationships. This is a major cultural event with marriage ceremonies and many cultural rituals that take much preparation.
Demographics
Sitamarhi District has a total population of around 1,06,093. There are around 56,693 males and 49,400 females. The numbers of literate males are 39,537, and that of literate females is 29,970. In total 69,507 people are literate. The average literacy rate is 52.04% in total, 60.64% for males, and 42.41% for females. The sex ratio is 899. The child sex ratio is 872.
Administration
Sitamarhi is a part of the Tirhut Division. Presently, Sitamarhi consists of three sub-divisions and seventeen blocks. Its headquarter is located at Dumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi. The district magistrate is the top-most official of revenue and civil administration and is assisted by ADM and other officers, posted in the district. The district has been divided into three subdivisions, namely Sadar, Pupri, and Belsand which are headed by sub-divisional officers either from I.A.S.(Indian Administration service) or B.A.S.( Bihar Administration Service) cadre. S.D.Os.(Sub-divisional officer) are under the direct authority of D.M.(District Magistrate) Subdivisions are divided into 17 development blocks where B.D.Os.( Block Development Officer) are posted who undertake development and welfare projects. Sitamarhi district has 845 revenue villages. The superintendent of police, Sitamarhi, is the head of the district police administration and is assisted by the deputy superintendent of police. In each subdivision of the district, the deputy superintendent of police is posted who keeps control of police administration. The judges and Munshif magistrates are posted at district and sub-division and administer and deliver the justice of different kinds.
Tourism
Sita Kund
Haleshwar Sthan
Transportation
National Highway 77 connects the area to the Mehsi, Muzaffarpur district and Patna. National Highway 77 and other roads connect to the adjoining districts. National Highway 104 (India) connects it to Sursand, Bhitthamore border, Charaut, and Jaynagar and Sheohar. State highways link it to Madhubani district in the East.
Sitamarhi Junction railway station is a five-platform station on the Darbhanga–Raxaul–Narkatiaganj line, which was converted to broad gauge in February 2014. Another broad-gauge track connects Sitamarhi to Muzaffarpur. Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi railway junction to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Guwahati (Kamakhya), Hyderabad, Kanpur and Mumbai.
The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Darbhanga Airport which is about away.
Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Many private buses (both AC and non-AC) operate between Sitamarhi and Patna.