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But Saharsa
district has not been so dismal always. The great temple of Singheshwar at one end of the
district could not have been there otherwise. Saharsa was once the granary of North Bihar
with fertile lands, plenty of food crops and mangoes.
The water-communication brought
boats laden with merchandise to the villages. Nathpur, Bhaptihahi, Nirmali were prosperous
villages with flourishing trade and commerce. The first two have completely disappeared
and half of Nirmali has gone into the Kosi bed. Before many of the railway sections were
washed away some of the areas could export jute and foodgrains.
There were indigo plantations owned by Europeans at one time in various pockets of the
district and they did quite good business and lived in peace and amity with the people.
One of them, John Christian, composed many bhajans in Hindi. This area has produced
earlier a large number of poets and philosophers.
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