Cooch Behar district is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the district's namesake town. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty.
Divisions
Sub-divisions
The district of Cooch Behar comprises five sub-divisions:
Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision
Dinhata subdivision
Mathabhanga subdivision
Tufanganj subdivision
Mekhliganj subdivision
Assembly constituencies
The district is divided into 8 assembly constituencies:
Sitalkuchi (SC) (assembly constituency no. 2),
Mathabhanga (SC) (assembly constituency no. 3),
Cooch Behar North (assembly constituency no. 4),
Cooch Behar West (assembly constituency no. 5),
Sitai (assembly constituency no. 6),
Dinhata (assembly constituency no. 7),
Natabari (assembly constituency no. 8) and
Tufanganj (SC) (assembly constituency no. 9).
Mekliganj, Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga and Tufanganj constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency is part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar North, Cooch Behar West, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district.
Impact of delimitation of constituencies
As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 9 assembly constituencies:
Mathabhanga (SC) (assembly constituency no. 2),
Cooch Behar Uttar (SC) (assembly constituency no. 3),
Cooch Behar Dakshin (assembly constituency no. 4),
Sitalkuchi (SC) (assembly constituency no. 5),
Sitai (SC) (assembly constituency no. 6),
Dinhata (assembly constituency no. 7),
Natabari (assembly constituency no. 8) and
Tufanganj (assembly constituency no. 9).
Mekliganj, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency will remain part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which will also contain six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies will continue to form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency), which will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Tufanganj constituency will remain a part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which will also contain six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district.
Transport
Coochbehar Airport
Rickshaws, auto rickshaws and Totos are the most widely available public transport in Cooch Behar town. Most of Cooch Behar's residents stay within a few kilometres of the town centre and have their own vehicles, mostly motorcycles and bicycles.
New Cooch Behar in 2019
The New Cooch Behar railway station is around 5 km from town and is well connected to almost all major Indian cities including Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Guwahati. All express and Superfast trains going towards North East have a stoppage here. The station came up in 1966 when Assam link was constructed through North Bengal. Now this station lies on New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section of Barauni-Guwahati line. As of 2018, it is the largest Railway Junction of Northeast Frontier Railway with six routes towards New Changrabandha, New Jalpaiguri, New Bongaigaon, Alipurduar Junction, Dhubri and Bamanhat. New Cooch Behar railway station is given a beautiful look similar to Cooch Behar Palace.
Cooch Behar is very well connected by road with neighbouring areas and other cities of West Bengal and rest of the country. Cooch Behar is a major roadway junction after Siliguri towards Northeast India and Bangladesh. Cooch Behar is headquarters of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation, which runs regular bus service to places in West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. Private buses are also available. Most buses depart from the Central Bus Terminus near Cooch Behar Rajbari. Hired vehicles are available from the taxi stand near Transport Chowpathi. City buses and autos serve inside and outskirts of the city.
The Cooch Behar Airport has modern passenger facilities but no airlines operate here. Steps are being taken to resume flights.
The nearest airport is Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri, about 160 km (99 mi) from Cooch Behar. IndiGo and Spice Jet are the major carriers that connect the area to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangkok, Paro and Chandigarh.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooch_Behar_district
