Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar (/ˌkuːtʃ bɪˈhɑːr/), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality lying on the bank of River Torsa in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at 26°22′N 89°29′E. Cooch Behar is a planned city. Being one of the main tourist destinations of West Bengal, housing the Cooch Behar Palace and Madan Mohan Temple, it has been declared a heritage city. It is the maternal home of Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur.
Cooch Behar
Koch Bihar | |
|---|---|
City | |
Top: Cooch Behar Palace, bottom: skyline of the city in 2018 | |
Cooch Behar Location in West Bengal, India Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (India) | |
| Coordinates: 26°19′27.084″N 89°27′3.6″E | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Cooch Behar |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Cooch Behar Municipality |
| • Chairman | Rabindra Nath Ghosh (All India Trinamool Congress) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.29 km2 (3.20 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 2,819,086 |
| • Density | 832/km2 (2,150/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali |
| • Additional official | English, Rajbongshi |
| • Regional | Bengali, Rajbongshi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 736101 |
| Telephone code | 03582 |
| Vehicle registration | WB-64/63 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Cooch Behar (SC) |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Cooch Behar Uttar (SC), Cooch Behar Dakshin, Natabari |
| Website | coochbehar |
During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch Kingdom of often described as the Shiva Vansha, tracing their origin from the Koch tribe of North-eastern India. After 20 August 1949, Cooch Behar District was transformed from a princely state to its present status, with the city of Cooch Behar as its headquarters.