Kamarhati

Kamarhati is a city and a municipality[2] of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).

Kamarhati
City
Kamarhati Municipality, B.T. Road, Belgharia
Kamarhati Location West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Kamarhati Kamarhati (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 22.66862°N 88.3704°E / 22.66862; 88.3704
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	North 24 Parganas
Region	Greater Kolkata
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Kamarhati Municipality[1]
• Chairman	Tushar Chatterjee[1]
Area
• Total	10.96 km^2 (4.23 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	330,211
• Density	30,000/km^2 (78,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	700035, 700056, 700057, 700058, 700076, 700083, 700109
Telephone code	+91 33
ISO 3166 code	IN-WB
Vehicle registration	WB
Lok Sabha constituency	Dum Dum
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Kamarhati, Baranagar

History

Kamarhati was earlier a part of North Suburban Municipality. In 1881-82 it was renamed Baranagar Municipality and Kamarhati became a part of it. In 1899, Kamarhati was separated from Baranagar Municipality and Kamarhati Municipality came into existence.[3]

During the British Raj it was a place for bungalows and gardens where the rich 'Babu' of Kolkata used to come.

With the partition of Bengal in 1947, "millions of refugees poured in from erstwhile East Pakistan."[4] In the initial stages bulk of the refugees were non-agriculturists. A few of them made their own arrangements, but "it was squatters who made the East Bengali refugees famous or infamous." Squatting (jabardakhal in Bengali) ranged from the forcible occupation of barracks to the collective take-over of private, government and waste land. By 1949, there were 65 refugee colonies in the Dum Dum and Panihati zone. The squatters were in a way "self-settlers" in the absence of adequate official arrangements for rehabilitation. Within a very short time the refugees (quite often with government/ administrative support) not only found a place to stay but developed a society with markets, schools, temples and sometimes even colleges, hospitals and recreational centres.[5][6]

Geography

🌍

Cities and towns in the southern portion of Barrackpore subdivision in North 24 Parganas district M: municipal city/ town, CT: census town, N: neighbourhood Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Map of Municipal Corporations and Municipalities. Click for a larger view

Location

Kamarhati is located at 22.67°N 88.37°E / 22.67; 88.37. Neighbourhoods such as Belgharia, Ariadaha and Dakshineswar are part of this Municipality. The Kamarhati Municipality is located at Rathtala on B.T. Road. The sacred Dakshineshwar Kali Temple is situated in Kamarhati Municipal area.

Kamarhati is bounded by Khardaha and Panihati on the north, North Dumdum on the east, Baranagar on the south and the Hooghly River on the west.[7]

96% of the population of Barrackpore subdivision (partly presented in the map alongside, all places marked in the map are linked in the full screen map) lives in urban areas. In 2011, it had a density of population of 10,967 per km². The subdivision has 16 municipalities and 24 census towns.[8]

For most of the cities/ towns information regarding density of population is available in the Infobox. Population data is not available for neighbourhoods. It is available for the entire Municipal area and thereafter ward-wise.

Police station

Belgharia police station under Barrackpore Police Commissionerate has jurisdiction over Kamarhati Municipal area.[9][10]

Demographics

Population

Population of Kamarhati
Census	Population		%±
1901	13,216		—
1911	18,015		36.3%
1921	23,018		27.8%
1931	30,334		31.8%
1941	42,545		40.3%
1951	77,251		81.6%
1961	125,457		62.4%
1971	169,404		35.0%
1981	234,951		38.7%
1991	266,889		13.6%
2001	314,507		17.8%
2011	330,211		5.0%
Source:[11]

As per the 2011 Census of India, Kamarhati had a total population of 330,211, of which 170,293 (52%) were males and 159,918 (48%) were females. Population below 6 years was 25,350. The total number of literates in Kamarhati was 267,267 (87.67% of the population over 6 years). [12]

As of 2001 India census,[13] Kamarhati had a population of 314,334. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Kamarhati has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and female literacy is 72%. In Kamarhati, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Kolkata Urban Agglomeration

The following Municipalities, Census Towns and other locations in Barrackpore subdivision were part of Kolkata Urban Agglomeration in the 2011 census: Kanchrapara (M), Jetia (CT), Halisahar (M), Balibhara (CT), Naihati (M), Bhatpara (M), Kaugachhi (CT), Garshyamnagar (CT), Garulia (M), Ichhapur Defence Estate (CT), North Barrackpur (M), Barrackpur Cantonment (CB), Barrackpore (M), Jafarpur (CT), Ruiya (CT), Titagarh (M), Khardaha (M), Bandipur (CT), Panihati (M), Muragachha (CT) New Barrackpore (M), Chandpur (CT), Talbandha (CT), Patulia (CT), Kamarhati (M), Baranagar (M), South Dumdum (M), North Dumdum (M), Dum Dum (M), Noapara (CT), Babanpur (CT), Teghari (CT), Nanna (OG), Chakla (OG), Srotribati (OG) and Panpur (OG).[14]

Infrastructure

As per the District Census Handbook 2011, Kamarhati Municipal city covered an area of 10.96 km². Amongst the civic amenities it had both open and covered drains. Amongst the educational facilities It had 97 primary schools, 39 secondary schools, 21 senior secondary schools, 2 degree colleges for arts/science/commerce and 20 non-formal education centres. Amongst the social, recreational and cultural facilities it had 1 cinema/theatre, 3 auditorium/ community halls and 30 public libraries. It had 15 bank branches.[15]

According to Barrackpore administration, the educational facilities available in Kamarhati are: 97 primary schools, 20 secondary schools, 18 private English-medium schools, 21 higher secondary schools and 2 degree colleges. Medical facilities are: College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital (with 150 beds) at Kamarhati, ESI Hospital at Kamarhati, Sri Ramkrishna Matrimangal at Ariadaha, Sahid Khudiram Health Institute at Belgharia and Arogya at Belgharia. Amongst the other facilities are: 268.95 km of roads (260.80 km pucca, 6.15 km kucha), 456.17 km drains (422.67 km pucca, 33.5 km kuchha), 16 markets, 3 post offices, 8 sub post offices, 3 cinema halls, 30 libraries, 1 ferry ghat, 24 play grounds (4 big and 20 small), 1 electric crematorium, 2 burning ghats and 2 Muslim burial grounds. 22,533 houses have water connection and there are 595 street taps. [16]

See also Cities and towns in Barrackpore subdivision

Economy

Industry

Some of the industries in Kamarhati are:

• Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd., with five manufacturing units. Founded in 1939 by K.K. Birla, it is now the flagship company of the Adventz Group, headed by Saroj Poddar.[17]
• Kamarhatty Company Ltd., founded in 1877 by Jardine Henderson Ltd., is one of the oldest functioning composite jute mills in the world. It is now part of the Kamarhatty Group, under the leadership of B.P. Agarwal.[18][19]
• Agarpara Jute Mills caters to both foreign and Indian markets.[18][20]
• Prabartak Jute Mills Ltd., incorporated in 1935, is presently headed by Brij Mohan Mall.[18][21]

• 
  Agarpara Jute Mills
• 
  Prabartak Jute Mills

• NTC Industries Ltd., incorporated in 1931 as the National Tobacco Company of India, is one of the oldest manufacturer of cigarettes in India. The present management team is composed of Upamanyu Pathak, Gourav Somani and others.[22]
• TIL Ltd (Tractors India), established in 1944, it is one of the leading material handling, lifting and port equipment designers and manufacturers in India. Sumit Mazumdar is the Chairman and Managing Director.[23]
• WIMCO, a Swedish match company, which established in the 1920s a factory at Dakshineswar, was taken over by ITC Limited in 2011.[24][25]
• ESSDEE Aluminium, the pioneers and one of the largest producers of aluminium foils in Asia, was initially established as Venesta Foils in 1905 at Kamarhati.[26]
• Allied Ceramics Private Limited, manufacturer and exporter of high and low tension porcetrical poceleilain insulators etc. was established at Belgharia in 1977.[27][28]
• Emami Paper Mills Ltd. manufactures newsprint from waste paper. It is one the larger producers of newsprint in the country. It has two plants – one at Dakshineswar and the other at Balgopalpur, Balasore.[29]

KMDA

Kamarhati Municipality is included in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area for which the KMDA is the statutory planning and development authority.[30][31]

Transport

Rail

Kamarhati has one important rail station nearby on Sealdah-Ranaghat line by the Eastern Railway suburban network: Belgharia railway station.[32][33]

Road

The B.T. Road which passes through the heart of the town provides ample road transport. Additionally other roads are there for smooth transport, like Feeder Road, D.D. Mondal Ghat Road etc.

Education

There are many schools in this locality like Ariadaha Kalachand High School, Ariadaha Sarbamangala Balika vidyalaya, Belgharia High School, Belgharia Mahakali Uchcha Balika Vidyalaya, Dakshineswar High School, Ariadaha Girls' High School, Kamarhati High School, Kamarhati Sagar Dutta free high school, Belgharia Deshapriya Vidyalaya etc. There some private schools like Techno India Group school, Adamas International School etc.

Bhairab Ganguly College was established at Belgharia in 1968. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, history, philosophy, political science, geography, education, physical education, physics, chemistry, mathematics, botany, zoology, physiology, economics, electronics, computer science, accountancy and general BA, BSc and B Com courses.[34][35]

Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women was established at Dakshineswar in 1959. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, sociology, history, political science, philosophy, education, journalism, music, geography, economics, zoology, botany, food & nutrition, psychology, chemistry and general courses in BA and B Sc.[36][37]

Adyapeath Annada Polytechnic College, Ramkrishna Mission Shilpapitha etc.

Healthcare

College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital (CMSDH)

College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital (CMSDH) has been started by the Government of West Bengal in 2010 and MBBS course was started in 2011. The hospital functions with 131 beds.[38][39]

ESI Hospital at Kamarhati

ESI Hospital, Kamarhati, functions with 350 beds.[38]

Ariadaha Hospital is another important hospital.

North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination.[40]

References

1. Kamarhati Municipality
2. District-wise list of statutory towns Archived 2005-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
3. "About Kmarhati Municipality". Historical background. Kamarhati Municipality. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
4. Chatterjee, Monideep, "Town Planning in Calcutta: Past, Present and Future", in "Calcutta, The Living City" Vol II, Edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Page 142, First published 1990, 2005 edition, ISBN 0-19-563697-X
5. Chatterjee, Nilanjana, "The East Bengal Refugees: A Lesson in Survival", in "Calcutta, The Living City" Vol II, Edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Pages 72-75, First published 1990, 2005 edition, ISBN 0-19-563697-X
6. Sen, Uditi. "The Myths Refugees Live By Memory and History of the Making of Bengali Refugee Identity". 2014, Page 48. Modern Asian Studies, 48, doi:10.1017/S0026749X12000613. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
7. "District Census Handbook North Twenty Four Parganas, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Map of Barrackpore II CD Block on Page 379. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
8. "District Statistical Handbook". North 24 Parganas 2013, Tables 2.1, 2.2, 2.4b. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
9. "District Statistical Handbook". North 24 Parganas 2013, Table 2.1. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
10. "Barrackpore Police Commissionerate". List of Police Stations with telephone numbers. West Bengal Police. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
11. "District Census Handbook North Twenty Four Parganas, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Section II Town Directory, Pages 781-783 Statement I: Growth History, Pages 799-803. Directorate of Census Operations V, West Bengal. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
12. "2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables". West Bengal – District-wise. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
13. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
14. "Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011" (PDF). Constituents of Urban Agglomeration Having Population Above 1 Lakh. Census of India 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
15. "District Census Handbook North Twenty Four Parganas, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Section II Town Directory, Pages 781-783 Statement I: Growth History, Pages 799-803; Statement II: Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, Pages 791-794; Statement III: Civic and other Amenities, Pages 795-796; Statement IV: Medical Facilities 2009, Pages 803-805 Section: Educational, Recreational and Cultural Facilities. Directorate of Census Operations V, West Bengal. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
16. "Kamarhati Municipality". Barrackpore administration. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
17. "Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd". Adventz. Texmaco. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
18. "Kamarhati Municipality". Barrackpore Municipality. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
19. "Kamarhatty Company Limited". KCL. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
20. "Agarpara Jute Mills". AJM. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
21. "Prabartak Jute Mills Ltd". Zauba Corp. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
22. "NTC Industries Ltd". NTCIL. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
23. "TIL Tractors India". TIL. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
24. "WIMCO Limited". ITC. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
25. "Wimco closure threat". The Telegraph, 18 September 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
26. "Ess Dee and India Foils". ESS DEE. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
27. "Allied Ceramics Pvt. Ltd". ACPL. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
28. "Allied Ceramics Private Limited". India Mart. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
29. "Emami Paper Mills Ltd". EPML. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
30. "Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authoity, Annual Report 2010-11". 1/1 Kolkata Metropolitan Area Map. KMDA. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
31. "Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, Annual Report 2010-11". 1 / 2 Role of KMDA. KMDA. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
32. "31311 Sealdah-Kalyani Simanta Local". Time Table. indiarailinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
33. Google maps
34. "Bhairab Ganguly College". BGC. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
35. "Bhairab Ganguly College". College Admission. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
36. "Hiralal Maumdar Memorial College for Women". HMMCW. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
37. "Hiralal Majumdar Memorial College for Women". College Admission. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
38. "Health & Family Welfare Department". Health Statistics. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
39. "College of Medicine & Sagar Dutta Hospital". CMSDH. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
40. "Groundwater Arsenic contamination in West Bengal-India (19 years study )". Groundwater arsenic contamination status of North 24-Parganas district, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal-India. SOES. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2007.

External links

• Kolkata/Northern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage