Barpeta

Barpeta (Pron: bə(r)ˈpeɪtə / bə(r)ˈpi:tə ) is a town in Barpeta district of the state of Assam in India and is district headquarters. The city is located north west of Guwahati and is one of the major cities in Western Assam. It is also called Satra Nagari (Temple town) of Assam due to the presence of various Vaishnavite Satras in the vicinity. It is located at . It has an average elevation of 35 metres (114 feet). It is 40 km away from Manas National Park. Three rivers - Chaulkhowa, Mora Nodi (Dead River) and Nakhanda, both of which are tributaries to Brahmaputra run through the town. The Barpeta was earlier known as 'Tatikuchi', where Tati stands for weaver and Kuchi means cluster of villages in native Barpetia dialect, i.e. the land of weavers. In ancient times, it was central part of erstwhile ancient Kamrup, included in Kamapitha of Kamarupa Pithas, the ancient divisions of old Kamrup region. In nineteenth century, Barpeta town and adjoining areas became part of Undivided Kamrup district, as Barpeta subdivision. In 1983, the subdivision attained district status. Barpeta is the gateway to Manas National Park, one of the National Parks of Assam and one of the few tiger reserves of India. Hindus form the majority of the town's population, followed by Muslims. India census, Barpeta had a population of 42,649. Population of Children within age of 0-6 is 3673 which is 8.61% of total population of Barpeta. The female Sex Ratio is of 1008 against state average of 958. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Barpeta is around 994 compared to Assam state average of 962. Literacy rate of Barpeta city is 90.77% higher than state average of 72.19%. In Barpeta, Male literacy is around 94.86% while female literacy rate is 86.73% . Bengali is spoken by 23,827 people, Assamese is spoken by 6,193, hindi by 4242, Bodo by 884 and 7,509 people speak other languages. Most of these people are Bengali Hindus and Muslims, Assamese people, Hindi speaking people and others. Bengali, Assamese and Hindi are the major languages spoken in the town.