Jamalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated 9 km from the Munger city centre. Jamalpur is a part of Munger-Jamalpur twin cities.It is main railhead for reaching Munger city. Jamalpur is best known for the Jamalpur Locomotive Workshop, which employs more than 25,000 people at its training institution, The Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Annual turnover is Rs. 10.56 billion with 111,485 employees. This is Asia's largest and oldest locomotive railway workshop. The city was established in 1862 during the British Raj, with the Railways Institute forming its cultural hub.

Etymology

Jamalpur is named after 16th century Sufi saint Jamal Baba, whose dargah (shrine) is still present at East Colony Hospital Road, Jamalpur.

History

The city was established in 1862 during the British Raj, with the Railways Institute forming its cultural hub. The paleolithic site of "Kali Pahar," atop Jamalpur Hill, was the location of an important find of Early and Middle Stone Age quartzite implements.

Geography

Jamalpur is located at 25.31424°N, 86.48953°W with an average elevation of 151 m. The suburb is a part of the Munger city. The city centre of Munger is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of the Jamalpur area of Munger city. There is a road as well as a rail link, Munger Ganga Bridge, which was completed recently. Jamalpur is an overnight rail or road journey from Kolkata. The nearest airport is Munger Airport near the Safiyabad area of Munger city. The nearest commercial, domestic airport is Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna, 199 km away. The nearest international airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, 460 km from Jamalpur on NH 33.

Demographics

, Jamalpur had a population of 399,697, with a ratio of 880 females for every 1,000 males. The average literacy rate is 87.38%; for men it is 92.58%, and for women it is 81.40%. There are 15,543 children in Jamalpur aged 0 to 6, with a ratio of 876 girls for every 1,000 boys.

Industry and culture

Locomotive workshop

The Jamalpur Locomotive Workshop was the first full-fledged railway workshop facility in India, founded on by the East Indian Railway Company. The Jamalpur site was chosen for its proximity both to the Sahibganj loop, which was the main trunk route at the time and to the communities of gunsmiths and other mechanical craftsmen in Bihar. The workshop was initially for repairing locomotives and assembling new ones from salvaged parts. By the early 20th century, however, it had progressed to producing its own locomotives. It produced the first one, CA 764 "Lady Curzon", in 1899. In 1893, it became the site of the first railway foundry in India. It also had a workshop for repairing and building boilers. Today it has foundry, metallurgical lab facilities, and machine tool facilities. Its rolling mill and nut and bolt shop ceased operation in 1984. The school attached to the workshop eventually became the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE).

Ananda Marga

The Ananda Marga movement was founded in Jamalpur by native Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in 1955.

Places of interest

Education

Colleges

Schools