Madhupur

Anchal Madhupur, Jila Deoghar, Jharkhand.
Madhupur is a Nagar Parishad city in district of Deoghar, Jharkhand.
The Madhupur Nagar Parishad has population of 55,238 as per report released by Census India 2011.
Straddling the two WW's, from 1910 to 1970, a virtual Who's Who of Calcutta visited this little town during the Summer, Durga Pooja and Christmas vacations. Mr Deb Narayan Kundu, GS/O Mr Bijoy Narayan Kundu of Itachuna, Hooghly, Bengal built 32 holiday bungalows for the use of "changers" from Calcutta. These were 1/2, 3, 4/5, 6/7, 8/9, 10, 11/12, 31, 29/30, 27/28, 25/26, 23/24, 21/22, 19/20, 32, 13/14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. "Changers" from Calcutta rarely got to use them, as most of them were taken on long leases mainly by retired people. Most eminent citizens of Bengal also built their own places - Gangaprasad House built by Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee (Banglar Bagh!) was a veritable palace.

Capt Debendra Chandra Mazumdar from Netrokona, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, was a famous physician who lived here from 1945 till his death in the late sixties. The much-admired Mr Uma Prasad Mookerjee, third son of Sir Ashutosh, used to spend a quarter of his time here and did much of his writing (I know, I proof-read many of his galleys).

Another eminent personality had been Mr Nitya Gopal Roy (of Hooghly), Retd DM from Bengal. He had been a sub-tenant of Capt D C Mazumdar at No. 15 Kundu Bungalow.

Mr Ashwini Kumar Chattoraj was the Govt-appointed Municipal Administrator during the mid-sixties. Dr Pande (Father of Shanti) was the BDO vet around that time. After their transfers the town gradually slipped into poor decay. This is particularly sad for a town whose Municipality, covering Lal Garh, Khalasi Mahalla, Bahanno Bigha, Pathar Chapti, Meena Bazar, Shekhpura, Barbad, Kushma and Kundu Bungalow, was inaugurated by a young lawyer from South Africa, Mr Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1910!

Some respectability has been now brought back by the La Opala factory and the well-known school Madhusthali Vidyapeeth. Also, with the upcoming extension upto Koderma of the 150-year old Madhupur-Giridih railway branch line some growth can be expected.