Cooch Behar (/ˌkuːtʃ bɪˈhɑːr/), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality on the bank of River Torsa in the Indian state of West Bengal.

[6] Being one of the main tourist destinations of West Bengal, housing the Cooch Behar Palace and Madan Mohan Temple, it has been declared a heritage city.

The new invaders fought with the local Bhuyan chieftains and the Ahom king Suhungmung and lost control of the region.

[citation needed] The first important Koch ruler was Bisu, later called Biswa Singha, who came to power in 1515 CE.

[12] Nara Narayan's younger brother, Shukladhwaj (Chilarai), was a noted military general who undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom.

Rup Narayan, on the advice of an unknown saint, transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati (now called Cooch Behar town) on the banks of the Torsa river between 1693 and 1714.

However, Mir Jumla, the subedar of Bengal under the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb, attacked Cooch Behar and conquered the territory, meeting almost no resistance.

In response, Cooch Behar entered into a defence treaty with the English East India Company on 5 April 1773, to drive out the Bhutanese invaders.

[15] Once the Bhutanese were expelled, Cooch Behar was reinstated as a princely state under the aegis of the British East India Company.

The turbulent water carries huge amounts of sand, silt, and pebbles, which hurt crop production as well as the hydrology of the region.

[21] Cooch Behar is a flat region with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers of the district flow.

Six rivers that cut through the district are the Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsha, Kaljani, Raidak, Gadadhar, and Ghargharia.

The local flora includes palms, bamboo, creepers, ferns, orchids, aquatic plants, fungi, timber, grass, vegetables, and fruit trees.

The municipality consists of a board of councillors, elected from each of the 20 wards[36] and a few members nominated by the state government.

The town is in the Cooch Behar constituency and elects one member to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Indian Parliament).

Cooch Behar is a well-planned town,[38] and the municipality is responsible for providing essential services such as potable water and sanitation.

The Public Works Department is responsible for road maintenance and the streets connecting Cooch Behar with other regional cities.

Health services in Cooch Behar include a government-owned District Hospital, a Regional Cancer Centre, and private nursing homes.

[44] Farming is a significant source of livelihood for the nearby rural populace, and it supplies the town with fruits and vegetables.

Poorer sections of this semi-rural society are involved in transport, primary agriculture, small shops, and manual labour in construction.

Cooch Behar has witnessed radical changes and rapid development in segments like industry, real estate, information technology firms, and education since the advent of the twenty-first century.

Though income from tourism is low,[45] Cooch Behar is one of the major tourist attractions in West Bengal.

Cooch Behar Municipality organises the fair in Ras Mela ground near ABN Seal College.

The Ras Chakra is considered a symbol of communal harmony because an artisanal Muslim family builds it from scratch.

A huge crowd gathers in Cooch Behar from neighbouring Assam, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and the whole North Bengal during the fair.

The Palace is fronted on the ground and first floors by a series of arcaded verandahs with their piers arranged alternately in single and double rows.

[47] Cooch Behar is very well connected by road to neighbouring areas, other cities of West Bengal and the rest of the country.

Apart from this, state highways including SH-16 and SH-12A, pass through Cooch Behar, connecting different places in West Bengal.

Private buses are also available, which operate from bus stops or designated pick-up spots to various tows in Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Cooch Behar's schools usually use English and Bengali as their medium of instruction, although the use of the Hindi language is also stressed.