Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the larger cities of Bihar & is known all over East India for its highly strategic railway junction. The city of Katihar is one of the most well maintained cities in Bihar with the city well lighted up throughout the night. There are LED lamposts fixed to a stretch of up to 5-6 kilometers through the middle of two-laned road leading to Katihar Junction & further up to Binodpur area via a roadway bridge. There are also 2-3 walkover bridges to facilitate localites because the entire city is traversed through a wide space occupied by a network of railway tracks. Katihar is well connected to almost all major cities of the country due to the widespread railway network existing over here. Katihar is also called "The Gateway of North-East. "Almost every train heading forward towards the major cities of North East India be it Guwahati, Siliguri or Dimapur is bound to pass through Katihar with the city being a major halt for most of these trains. There are two Rajdhani Express trains which are bound for Delhi from Guwahati & Dimapur respectively & have got their major halt in Katihar. Barsoi station which is regulated under Katihar Junction also has a stoppage of New Jalpaiguri-Kolkata Shatabdi Express. Millions of passengers from almost entire Seemanchal region utilize Katihar junction everyday to reach to their desired destinations all over India. Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, New Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Bangalore & Ranchi to name a few are the major cities to which Katihar hosts trains for. Katihar Junction railway station is thus an important railway station on Indian railway map & one of the biggest junctions in entire East India.The number of platforms & passenger movements in Katihar are more than any of the other Tier-2 cities of India be it Kota, Mathura or Siliguri. Katihar Junction railway station is a division in NFR. Katihar Junction railway station is a six line junction: Katihar is also the headquarter of Katihar Railway Division. Katihar is not so well connected through road network to the neighbouring cities of Bihar and other neighbouring states due to its interior location. An excellent state highway however connects it to Purnia from where NH 31 , NH 57 & NH 107 passes through or starts through. The nearest commercial airport is located at Bagdogra (160 km) near Siliguri (West Bengal). There are several cinema halls namely Vasant Talkies, Prakash Talkies, Shyama Talkies for movie freaks. There is a stadium named after Dr. Rajendra Prasad which hosts many state level tournaments. There is a Railway Field near DRM building for sports lovers. The city of Katihar hosts one of the most extravagant Durga Puja & Kali Puja celebrations in entire Bihar & West Bengal. Lots of marvellous pandals come up in the city during these periods. Artisans from Kolkata are called for statue work of Godess Durga & allies. Katihar already has a significant Bengali population & this adds to the celebrations over here. There are lotteries & various competitions held all over the city by the Pandal hosting societies during this festive season of Katihar. Majority of people read Hindustan, Dainik Jaagran. Bengali newspapers are also available for Bengali readers. KBC News broadcasts the local news on television. People also tune into ALL INDIA RADIO for national news. The climate of Katihar is nearly moderate with widespread rainfall during the Monsoons sometimes bringing flood to the adjoining rural areas of the Katihar District.