Page 6 - VIPNET CURIOSITY_Oct_2021

Jay Krishan Kumar
Flora and Fauna
Bihar has a forest area of 6,845 square km, which is 7.27% of its geographical area. The sub-Himalayan foothills of Someshwar and the Dun ranges in the Champaran district have moist decid- uous forests, mixed with shrubs, grass and reeds. High rainfall (above 1600 mm) promotes forests of Sal in these areas; other important trees are Sal Cedrela Toona, Khair and Semal. Decid- uous forests also occur in the Saharsa and Purnia districts, with common trees including Sal, Kendu, Arjun, Mahua etc.
Valmiki National Park covers about 8 square km of forest and is the 18th Tiger Reserve of India, ranked fourth in terms of density of tiger population. Vikram- shila Gangetic Dolphin sanctuary in Bhagalpur region is a reserve for the endangered South Asian River Dolphin. Other species in Bihar include leopard, bear, hyena, bison, chital and barking deer. Ghadiyal and Gangetic turtles can be found in the river systems.
Other notable wildlife sanctuaries in- clude Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhim- bandh Wildlife Sanctuary and Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary. Many varie- ties of local and migratory birds species can be seen in the natural wetlands of Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary, Baraila Lake, Kusheshwar Nath Lake, Udaypur,
Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary
Bihar:
The State of Knowledge
6
October 2021
ince ancient times, Bihar has been a centre of learning, literature, arts and culture. The name Bihar is derived
from the Sanskrit and Pali word, Vihara (Devanagari - fogkj), meaning ßabode”. The region roughly encompassing the present state had many Buddhists Vi- haras, the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval period. Bihar has given us legend like Aryabhatta, Chanakya, The Great Ashoka, Dr Ra- jendra Prasad, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Veer Kunwar Singh etc.
Bihar is located in the eastern part
of India. The state shares its border
with Nepal in the north, West Bengal
in the east, Uttar Pradesh in the west and Jharkhand in the south. It covers
a total area of 94,163 square km. It has three parts on the basis of physical and structural conditions: The Southern Plateau, The Shivalik Region and Bihar’s Gangetic plain.
The state enjoys a unique loca- tion-specific advantage because of its proximity to the vast markets of eastern and northern India and raw material sources and mineral reserves from the neighbouring states.
At the 2011 census, Bihar was the third most populous state of India. It was also India's most densely populated state with 1,106 persons per square km. Bihar has a literacy rate of 63.82%.
History
Chirand on the northern bank of the Ganga river, in Saran district, has an archaeological record from the neolithic age (2500-1345 BCE). Regions of Bihar such as Magadha, Mithila and Ang, are mentioned in religious texts and epics of
ancient India. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were separat- ed from the Bengal presidency as Bihar and Orissa province. On 1 April 1936, the province was partitioned into Bihar and the Orissa provinces and 22 March is celebrated as Bihar Diwas.
Rivers
The vast stretch of fertile Bihar plain is divided by the Ganga into two unequal parts - North Bihar and South Bihar. The River flows west to east and along with its tributaries, regularly floods parts of the Bihar plain. The main northern tributaries are the Gandak and the river known as the curse of Bihar, i.e., Koshi, which originate in the Nepalese Himalayas and the Bagmati, which originate in the Kathmandu val- ley. Other tributaries are the Son, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Phalgu.
Soil
There are three major types of soil in Bihar: Piedmont Swamp Soil - found
in the north western section of West Champaran districts; Terai Soil - found in the northern section of the state along Nepal-Bihar border; and Gangetic Alluvium-covering the Bihar plains.
Climate
Bihar lies completely in the subtropical region of the temperate zone and its climate type is humid subtropical. Its temperature is subtropical in general with hot summers and cold winters. Bihar had an average daily high tem- perature of only 26˚C. Bihar has some small hills in its central region, Kaimur range in south-west and Shivalik range in north.