Tilpara Barrage & Suri Town

The Tilpara Barrage, built across the Mayurakshi river just outside Suri, is one of the pleasant natural attractions of central Birbhum. Constructed in the early 1950s as part of the Mayurakshi river project — working together with the Massanjore Dam upstream — the barrage regulates irrigation water for hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland across Birbhum and Murshidabad, part of independent India's first wave of river-valley development. The long barrage with its lock gates offers a striking sight, especially in and after the monsoon when sheets of water thunder through the open gates. In winter the calm reservoir upstream attracts flocks of migratory birds — river terns, ducks, herons and kingfishers — making it a favourite spot for birdwatchers and photographers. Sunset over the wide Mayurakshi from the barrage is particularly beautiful. Suri, the district town beside it, is one of the oldest municipal towns of Bengal and a convenient base: its landmarks include the district collectorate buildings of the colonial era and the tomb-shrine of the Sufi saint at nearby Patharchapuri, with which Tilpara is usually combined on a day trip. For visitors from Tarapith, Tilpara makes an easy scenic stop en route to Bakreshwar or Massanjore — a quiet place to experience the river that shapes the life of Birbhum.