After 235 years, Bishnupur, the ancient temple town of Bankura, is rechristened as a district headquarters after chief minister Mamata Banerjee declared to form a new district splitting the existing demography and boundary of Bankura district. This, however, has lent a breeze among the residents repenting the loss of their British era ‘glory’. “It’s a highly positive gesture by the chief minister that is set to bring government services closer to the people. This will definitely help the Bishnupur residents,” said Tanmoy Ghosh, MLA, Bishnupur.
The MP, Bishnupur, Soumitra Khan however reserved his comment on the development, today. The President of the Bishnupur district Trinamul Congress Alok Mukherjee said, “This rather reflects how the state government has planned to take the governance to the doorsteps of the people.” Bishnupur, an ancient temple town where the Mallya dynasty ruled during the 17th century, however, was ruled under the Samudra Gupta dynasty. For almost a thousand years it was the capital of the Mallya kings and was titled as Mallabhum till their power waned during the times when Mughal empire weakened under the last monarchs of the dynasty.
On 29 March, 1787, during the British era, Bishnupur was declared as the headquarters of a joint district together with Birbhum. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today declared: “The new Bishnupur district will have a command area currently possessed by the Bishnupur sub-division.” Spread over 1,870 square km, Bishnupur sub-division accommodates six community development blocks and six police stations. It has two municipal towns, Bishnupur and Sonamukhi. As per the 2011 census, it accommodates 11.19 lakh people with a population density of 570 persons per square km.