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Introduction:Patna is an ancient town having political,

economic, educational, religious, and culturalvalue. It is located on the right bank of river Gangasouth of Hajipur. As Mahatama Gandhi Setuconnects it with Hajipur, it can be called twin city.This longest bridge of Asia also gives direct accessto the people of North Bihar in Patna.

Rapid growth of Patna after the constructionof Mahatama Gandhi Setu has attracted the authorto study the landscape and land-use of Patna. Alarger number of houses and colonies cropped upin different localities of Patna in which considerablenumber of working population and students fromall over Bihar and neighbouring states take rest.In this way, it acts as a dormitory town. On theoutskirts of Patna like Didarganj in the east,Danapur and Maner in the west, areas beyondthe 3rd Byepass Road in the south and Hajipur &Jadhua in the north, rental houses or price ofresidential land is comparatively cheaper thanPatna main town. Therefore, migrating peopleused to settle down in these areas.

Location of Patna is also ideal as it is situatedat a point which is surrounded by rivers like Ganga,Sone and Punpun making it almost a water-fortor jaldurg. There are many factors that attract theauthor to study about the correlation between thelandscape and land-use in Patna.Objective of the study:

The objective of the study, therefore, is toobserve and analyse a wide range of features of Patnain order to abstract and derive the operation of thissystem. The system can be thoroughly analysed toknow the inter-related processes. The main objectives of the study may be enumerated as follows:-

Patna: The Urban Landscape and Land-useDr. Md. Salahuddin Ahmad

i. Patna, its site and situationii. Growth of Patna and its morphologyiii. Transport network of Patnaiv. Urban land-use of Patna

Patna, the capital of Bihar, is one of theancient cities of India. It has witnessed manyvicissitudes in its historical past and after a longstruggle and evolution has formed the presentshape. During historical periods, it was known asKusumpura, Pushpapura and Pataliputra andGreeks called it as Palimbrotha. It was also knownas Shree Nagara during the reign of Pala dynasty.In medieval periods, it was named as Patna afterthe goddess Patan Devi and village Patan nearDanapur. This modern city’s real foundation waslaid by Bambina, Bindusara in ancient times andduring medieval period by Shershah Suri.The Urban Landscape of Patna:

The city of Patna has a good locationaladvantage, as it is located in the heart of the Gangaplain in Bihar. It is bounded by the river Ganga inthe north, Flood plain of the river Punpun in theSouth, Flood plain of the Son in the west and theconfluence of the river Punpun with Ganga nearFatuha in the east. This city is located between thelatitudes 25035’ N to 250 38’ N and longitudes3505’ E to 85016’ E having an area of 3,202 km2

with a population of 58.35 lakh people (2011census) which is 5.61% of the total population ofBihar, residing in its fold. It has been divided into47 municipal wards and 10 other wards (Fig.1). Itis situated on the levee of the river Ganga having alinear shape. It stretches east- west about 12 mileslong and has a very small width of one mile to threemiles only. Patna is well connected with other partsof the region by different means of transportation.

PGT, Department of Geography, D.A.V. School, BSEB Colony, Patna

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The main broad gauge railway line on EasternRailway (Howrah-New Delhi) runs parallel to theGanga along the southern margin of the city (Fig.-1). Patna- Gaya line connects it also with theGrand- Chord line of the Eastern Railway and alsoby South-eastern Railway to the industrially richregion of the Chotanagpur plateau.

Fig.-1Patna is located on the air-route of the Indian

Airlines and Royal Nepal Airways. These two routesprovide air services to Kathmandu, N. Delhi,Kolkata and Ranchi. At present, many private

airlines are also operating between Patna and othercities of India. These are Sahara Airlines, Air Deccan,Jet Airlines, and Kingfisher Airlines etc.Site and Location:

The site and location is considered maincontrolling factors in the growth and developmentof the urban centres. The present structure of thecity is the gift of its elongated levee land of the city.The river Ganga and its situation characterize thesite of Patna. The natural levee has provided a

favourable base for the expansion of the city. Theriver Ganga and the abandoned courses of the riverSon characterize the site of Patna. The higher landstretches west to east in the form of a levee for aconsiderable distance along the southern bank ofthe river Ganga. South of the elongated levee, thesurface of the land has a general slope towards thesouth. As such, low-lying areas run almost parallelto the levee resulting in water logging.

The present site on which the city stands isformed of natural levee of the river Ganga and itstributaries through the ages. In the early phase ofits evolution, the river Son was flowing through anarea where the present capital area has developed.The westward shifting course of the Son providednewer land surfaces for future expansion of thisurban centre to the west.

No doubt, the whole land is featureless andflat between the river Ganga and Punpun in thesouth with general slope from north to south. Some

parts of the southern edge are not habitablebecause of the water logging by frequent floodingof river Punpun and rainwater logging. The linearshape of Patna is mainly the outcome of the leveeon which it is situated. Although the township hasdeveloped along the levee from Danapur toMaalsalami but only limited portion from KurjiHospital in the west to Gulbighat in the east is linedwith bricks and wooden poles, which protects thesouthern bank against erosion.

Although the stable southern bank of the riverGanga has influenced the growth of Patna byproviding almost permanent site but it has alsoworked as hindrance in the past for the northwardexpansion of the city. The whole area south of theriver Ganga bears imprint of the shifting courses ofthe river Son and Punpun. As the levee, upland alongthe southern bank of the Ganga restricts the flow oftributaries joining it from the south when river Gangais inundated and the Punpun also get flooded, the

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Fig.-1high rising water of Ganga does allow the entry ofwater and the flow of Punpun is reversed.

Urban Land use of PatnaRight from the time of its origin the city of

Patna has been a source of different service notonly for its citizens but also for the people of itsneighbouring area. That is why it has gainedmultifunctional character. Certainly, the functionalspecialization has been changing from time to timein trade & commerce, administration, education,health etc. Its haphazard, spontaneous andunplanned growth in greater part through a longperiod has resulted in the overlapping andintermixing of various land use. Although, theunplanned growth of the city has caused thedevelopment of mixed land use in most parts,except in the newly planned areas. However,dominance of various functions in various partscannot be rooted out. In Western Patna, severalnew residential areas like Shri Krishnapuri, L.I.C.Colony etc. have cropped up in a planned way.Patna is also famous for educational functions.Several educational institutions providing generaland technical education attract the people of mostpart of Bihar and neighbouring states. Most of thetechnical and medical educational institutions forma distinct zone in the middle of the city in north ofAshok Rajpath.The growth of western Patna is dueto administrative functions. Patna is dominated byadministrative functions because it is the capital city

of Bihar. The Raj Bhawan, Assembly Houses,Secretariat Buildings etc are engaged inadministrative functions. However, Patna is notknown for any big industry but there is a greatpotential for its development. A large number ofcottage and small-scale industries have developedin the city. In fact, about 13% of the total workingforce is engaged in manufacturing sector,whichshows its importance in the economy of thecity.Regarding the recreational facilities of Patna,

Road Pattern of PatnaThe road patterns and their designs are

greatly influenced by the elongated flood free leveeupland along the river Ganga. Other roads parallelto railway line and flood protected embankmenthave developed even in low-lying area in east-westdirection. However, the analysis of existing roadpattern explains the growth of parallel roads alongthe riverbanks. Here, these are three parallel roadstraversing its length as if other unplanned city Patnatoo has narrow and zigzag roads and lanesespecially in its central and eastern side.The bulkof the traffic is still commanded by the historicalAshok Rajpath, which runs parallel to Ganga onthe highest part of the levee.

Though Ashok Rajpath handles most of thetraffic flow of Patna still is neither straight noruniform in width. It is happened due toencroachment. At many places, the width of theroad is less than 20 feet particularly between

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Mahendru and Malsalaami. Patna Bye pass roadis another important road, which runs almostparallel, and to the railway line from Agamkuan toPatna Junction and then its one offshoot road againruns parallel to Patna-Gaya railway line whileanother one extended towards Danapur. Due tothe construction of New Bye pass the heavytransport has been diverted through this road andthe Danapur Bye pass is lessened with the heavyload of traffic. In spite of traffic diversion, it is notlosing its importance because of its locationbetween largest residential area of Kankarbaghand South Patna and railway line.

The New Bye pass has become the attractionof traffic as well as the businesspersons. Almost allheavy transport leading to North Bihar and SouthBihar have to pass through this newly constructedBye pass road..Western Patna presents plannedroads like the Bailey Road of 100 Feet to 200 Feetwide, King George Avenue, Serpentine Road,Boring road (East and West) etc. The Rajbhawanis the focus from where several roads radiate indifferent direction. In 2007, the Government of Biharhas decided to utilize the Ganga riverfront fordecongesting the load of traffic from the roads ofPatna. For this purpose the Government of Biharhas approved the construction of Loknayak GangaPath also known as Ganga Path or Ganga Drivewaywhich is  a  planned expressway acrossthe riverGanges in Patna, Bihar, India. It is expected to be

completed by the end of 2022.It is being jointlyconstructed by Housing and Urban DevelopmentCorporation (HUDCO) and the Government of Bihar.

Public Utility ServicesLike other urban centers, Patna has many

specialized service facilities especially meant forthe city and some service facilities for the othersalso. Important service facilities are health,education recreational, postal, sewage or sanitary,electricity, transport services etc. This urbancentre is well known for its health services. PatnaMedical College Hospital having severalspecialized doctors and treatment facilities servethe people of most parts of Bihar.

Regarding education Patna is one of the besteducational centres of Eastern India. PatnaUniversity is one of the most reputed and universallyacclaimed institutions of India. Besides it, manyreputed Degree colleges for Science, Arts, andCommerce disciplines are located here. Technicalinstitutes and all India fame coaching institutes ofvarious services are also functioning here. In Bihar,Patna ranks first in recreational facilities but itsposition is very backward in all India level. Meansof recreation have not been developed accordingto the requirement of the teeming population. Goodparks, play grounds, theaters, cinema halls, clubs,water sports centres, indoor and outdoor stadiums,swimming pools etc. are not present in sufficientnumbers. Most of them are concentrated in western

Fig. 2

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Patna and are not meant for common people. Theycater only to the affluent section of wealthy and socalled powerful people.

Kali Das Rangalaya near Gandhi Maidan andBhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir near Patna RadioStation are the only two theatres well known inPatna. Regarding transport facilities, Patna is verypoor. Bus service is very poor and recently thecity bus service is started to cater the people. Inaddition to bus service, petrol driven auto rickshawslocally called ‘Tempo’ and ‘Hawa Hawai’ handlePatna’s real transportation. During recent years,tempos and matadors run from various localitiesto the city centres. Hand driven rickshaws, horsecarts locally called Tamtam are also important andeasily available anywhere in the city. Boat andsteamer ferry services in river Ganga also help inthe movement of the people and their goods thoughon small scale.Post & Telegraph facilities are inhappy condition. Patna is divided in 36 PostalZones. All these zones have door-to-door postaldelivery system. Patna is comparatively in a betterposition regarding electricity supply. Al most alllocalities of Patna are electrified and 99% peopleare enjoying this facility.Conclusion:

In this study emphasis has been laid on theanalysis of the host society where migrants getshelter. The capital city of Patna having attractedmillions of migrants from different parts Bihar inparticular and India as a whole, became idealground for such investigation. Certainly, the analysisconcentrates on geographical approach with slightmulti-disciplinary orientation. As revealed by theanalysis of population growth data from 1951 thepopulation growth rate has increased about twoand a half times from 1981and half times in theyear 2001. No doubt, this rapid growth ofpopulation is partly responsible by natural growthrate but mostly by the rural-urban migration. As

such analysis of migrants coming from rural areasin large numbers have not only influenced theexisting socio-economic conditions of Patna butalso influenced the horizontal expansion,attainments and changes in occupational structure,educational attainments and social life of thepeople.The present study, therefore aims to analyzethe geographical factors influencing migrants to shiftfrom different rural areas to the city and the impactof rural-urban shift on the urban landscape of Patna.References:1. Agarwal, S.N (1966): Some Problems of

India’s Population, Bombay, Vora & Co.2. AdamsW.(1968): The Brain drain, New York.3. Ahmad E. (1965): Bihar: A Physical,

Economical And Regional Geography, Ranchi,Ranchi University Press.

4. Bose A. ( 1967) : Pattern Of PopulationChange in India 1951-61, Bombay:

5. Nelson, J.S (1968): The Mobility of FarmFamilies, Manchester.

6. Numelin, R.(1937): The Wandering Spirit: AStudy in Human Migration, London,McMillan.

7. Sovani, N.V.( 1970): Urbanization And UrbanIndia, New York: Asia Publishing House.

8. Waddel, L.A.(1973): Report On ExcavationsAt Pataliputra, Calcutta.Journals:

9. Ahmad E. & Spate O.H.K (1950):“Five CitiesOf Ganga Plain”Geographical Review, vol XI.

10. Ahmad E. ( 1961): “Migration In Bihar,”Bombay Geographical Magazine,vol. 8 & 9.

11. Ataullah, M.( 1979): “Urban Land-use InMajor Towns Along Ganga Plain in B iha r ”Unpublished Ph.D Thesis,Patna University, Patna.

12. Dayal, P & Thakur, B. ( 1976): “CommercialRibbons in Patna: Spatial Growth AndFunctional Structure,” National GeographicalJournal Of India, vol. 22,pp.164-177.