A famous commercial place, this town holds importance in terms of its placement. This small town is located at a mere 12 kms from Biratnagar, the second biggest city in Nepal.
The city was given its present name from its British district collector and municipal commissioner, Alexander John Forbes (1807-1869). A.J. Forbes was a military adventurer and had taken part in the adventures of Northwest India. He was also in the team of Commissioner George Yule of Bhagalpur while fighting the rebels of 73rd native infantry. A.J. Forbes founded the Sultanpur estate and a number of indigo factories situated at different places in this district.
After independence, to give the town a more Indian oriented way, it was renamed as Forbesganj. The town is architecturally well defined and planned and British influence and relics still remain in many buildings and places.
The remains of the British premises can be seen at the banks of the famous landlocked water body Sultan Pokhar. This city is famous for its culture.The lives of citizens still remain unchanged tradition wise, but progress can be seen in lifestyle due to economic, medical and touristic advancement.
It has identity of being one of the highly commercialized cities. Bhatta Bazaar area famous for commercial activities. The famous pond of Sultan Pokhar is known and popular amongst the visitors. J.P. International gateIt is one of the most important places in the district and draws crowds from far and wide. The J.P. International gate between India and Nepal also lies in this city.
Major tourist places to visit here are College Chowk, Badi Masjid, Dal Bangla, Gandhi Maidan, Sultan Pokhar etc.
Phanishwar Nath (Mandal) Renu, one of the most successful and influential writers of modern Hindi literature was born on 4 March 1921 in a small village Aurahi Hingna near Simraha railway station near Forbesganj in Bihar.
Transport
Road
NH 27 Formerly NH-57 and NH 527 connects Forbesganj. Daily bus service is available from the Purnia, Patna, Siliguri, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Birpur, Jogbani, Saharsa, Darbhanga & Muzaffarpur.
Rail
Forbesganj Junction Railway Station lies on Barauni-Katihar, Saharsa and Purnia sections. There are direct trains available to the major cities (Delhi/Kolkata, etc.) of the country, apart from local trains running between Jogbani and Katihar. The Saharsa-Forbesganj section is under construction into Broad Gauge.
Air
Forbesganj Airport was a functional military airport between 1934 to 1942 (active during World War II) and again during the 1962 war with China. On 10 June 1973 a Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter Plane was hijacked en route to Kathmandu from Biratnagar. This airport has now fallen into disrepair and is not operational.
The nearest active airport to this place is Biratnagar (Nepal). Closest domestic airports are Darbhanga Airport in Darbhanga, Bihar and Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri, West Bengal, both about 160 km away. Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in the Bihar state’s capital city Patna is approximately 300 km. away. From Bagdogra Airport it takes 3–4 hours to reach the city by road.