1.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
West Bengal
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West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
3.
City
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A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, a big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas. Once a city expands far enough to another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. Damascus is arguably the oldest city in the world, in terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai. There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities, some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces. The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution, the Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunter-gatherers to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to settle near others who lived by agricultural production, the increased population density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. In his book, Cities and Economic Development, Paul Bairoch takes up position in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form. According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of raw materials to support trade and a relatively large population. To illustrate this point, Bairoch offers an example, Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, when the cost of transport is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometres. Bairoch noted that this is roughly the size of Great Britain, the urban theorist Jane Jacobs suggests that city formation preceded the birth of agriculture, but this view is not widely accepted. In his book City Economics, Brendan OFlaherty asserts Cities could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages, OFlaherty illustrates two similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are concepts usually associated with businesses. Their applications are seen in more basic economic systems as well, increasing returns to scale occurs when doubling all inputs more than doubles the output an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost. To offer an example of these concepts, OFlaherty makes use of one of the oldest reasons why cities were built, in this example, the inputs are anything that would be used for protection and the output is the area protected and everything of value contained in it. OFlaherty then asks that we suppose the protected area is square, the advantage is expressed as, O = s 2, where O is the output and s stands for the length of a side. This equation shows that output is proportional to the square of the length of a side, the inputs depend on the length of the perimeter, I =4 s, where I stands for the quantity of inputs. So there are increasing returns to scale, O = I2 /16 and this equation shows that with twice the inputs, you produce quadruple the output
4.
Kolkata
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Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtɑː/ is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Areas economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, in the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was enough to abolish Nizamat. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement, it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics, following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football, there are several explanations about the etymology of this name, The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô, meaning Field of Kali. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra, alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or flat area. The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning canal, followed by kaṭa, according to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata, hence, it was called Kolikata. The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh,35 kilometres north of Kolkata, Kolkatas recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. The area occupied by the city encompassed three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a village, Sutanuti was a riverside weavers village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor and these rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698. In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and his warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked, he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta. A force of Company soldiers and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year, declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1772. In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took control of the city
5.
Garia
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Garia is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, India and home to Netaji Subhash Engineering College. It is bounded by Jadavpur to the north, Bansdroni/Tollygunge to the north-west, Santoshpur to the north-east, Narendrapur/Sonarpur to the south, the southern part of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass runs through the heart of the region. Garia is one of the oldest settlements around the region, and is located on the Tollys Nullah connecting Kolkata to the Vidhyadhari River to the east and it was primarily a peaceful residential neighbourhood before. The partition of India changed the fabric of the area. Overnight refugees came and settled down in the lands and country houses of the rich landowners of Kolkata in Garia. Garia became another refugee settlement along with Jadavpur and Tollygunge in the fringes of the city. Slowly, after the initial upheaval, development of the area started, but again another change was coming to the region. With the expansion of Kolkata to the east and the south during the 1990s, Garia was the southern end of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, the next Chowringhee of Kolkata. Already home to two bus terminus, Garia became the transport and commercial hub for the region. First settlements were on the north of the point of N. S. C. Bose road, Garia main road & Raja Subodh Chandra Mullick road. This locality is now home to some of the finest upcoming apartment complexes in the city, Hiland Park, Avanis Victoria Greens, Westwind, Orbit City, Sugam Park, Sherwood Estate and Bengal Ambujas Upohar are the most famous apartment complexes in Garia. Metro railway has added a new feather in terms of communication which connects Central & North Kolkata to save time & have a comfortable journey, New Garia is a fast-growing neighbourhood in the eastern part of Garia. The terminal metro station of Kolkata metro in the south is located here, chak Garia, also known as Chakgaria, is a posh neighbourhood in the eastern part of Garia. It is dotted with highrises like Hiland Park and Bengal Ambuja Upohar, baishnabghata-Patuli Township is a township located in the northern part of Garia. Baishnabghata-Patuli Township is a World Bank–funded project on the EM Bypass, currently, it is one of the most promising parts of south Kolkata. Mahamayatala is a known place in Garia. Even one of the most renowned posh localities in Garia, there are many residential apartments or complex, diagnostic centers, shops, bars etc. all required stuffs for living. Mahamayatala is known for its famous Maa Mahamaya Temple and this is a residential place between Mahamayatala and Hindustan More
6.
E.M. Bypass
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The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, or simply E. M. Bypass, is a major road on the east side of Kolkata that connects Bidhannagar on the northeast to southern parts of Kolkata. It was designed like a bypass or beltway on the side of Kolkata to lessen the perennial traffic congestion on the entire stretch of Gariahat Road. Subsequent to the construction of road, several connectors have been built to connect Gariahat Road to the EM Bypass to deviate traffic away from the Gariahat Road. This, along with moving significant parts of public and private offices to Bidhannagar is deemed necessary to maintain the growth of Kolkata. Plans are currently underway to extend the road to the Falta Export Processing Zone at Falta on the Hooghly River, a number of connectors or connecting roads link the bypass to major hubs of the city all along its route. From north to south, these are Maniktala connector connecting Maniktala market Beleghata connector connecting Sealdah railway station J B S Haldane Avenue connecting the Park Circus area, the former can be taken to commute to Howrah, which is a prime transport hub of the metropolis. The connector meets the bypass at a junction where a major landmark, the latter connects to Gariahat, a prime market and shopping area of the city. It meets the bypass at the Ruby Hospital, landmarks and institutions like these dot both the sides of the bypass, and have become the sign of the newly resurgent Kolkata economy. The Gateway Hotels & Resorts is on the Bypass, the Acropolis mall cum commercial building is coming up on this major connector. The Ruby crossing is known as the New Dalhousie of kolkata. Some prominent flyovers facilitate quicker flow of traffic along the bypass, one is Chingrighata flyover connecting Salt Lake, Sector V and Rajarhat. In January 2011, the Ultadanga flyover connecting VIP road was opened for public and this flyover bypasses the traffic-dense Ultadanga crossing for a quicker access to the airport from south through VIP Road. The Bypass is undergoing an expansion, under the JnNURM. The road, presently with four lanes, is being expanded to eight lanes of traffic, of which four are to be reservlaces. Moreover, there are concerns regarding the drainage and this, added with the construction of the overhead Metro Railway lines and a number of flyovers has taken its toll on the road, which is even more evident during monsoon. However, repairs work is done in parts, although service roads and this poses problems for commuters, often causing traffic snarls. A long flyover is being constructed near Parama Island which will run along the Park Circus Connector, however, the flyover will virtually help in making a seamless, no signal traffic corridor from EM Bypass to Alipore. The flyover is stated to be connected with the existing AJC Bose Road Flyover, construction of another connector from Padmapukur, Baruipur to Kamalgazi, Rajpur Sonarpur is in full swing. E. M Bypass has seen a real estate surge and is one of the most sought after areas in Kolkata
7.
Kolkata Metro
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The network currently consists of one operational line of 27.22 km from Noapara to Kavi Subhash with five other lines in various phases of construction. The Kolkata Metro was the first metro railway in India, opening for services from 1984. On 29 December 2010, Metro Railway, Kolkata became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways, there are 300 metro services daily carrying over 650,000 passengers making it the second busiest metro system in India. After independence in 1947, the problem of Kolkata drew the attention of city planners. It was soon realized something had to be done quickly in order to cope with the situation. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, first conceived in 1949, a survey was done by a team of French experts, but nothing concrete came of this. With a view to finding solutions to alleviate the suffering of commuters. The MTP, with help of Soviet specialists and East German engineers, prepared a plan to provide five rapid-transit lines for the city of Kolkata. However, only three were selected for construction.45 km, and the work on this project was sanctioned on 1 June 1972. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, on 29 December 1972, B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury - often against the prevailing socio-political stance of his contemporaries in the West Bengal government. The first metro was driven by Tapan Kumar Nath and Sanjoy Sil, the service was quickly followed by commuter services on another 2.15 km stretch in the north between Dum Dum and Belgachhia on 12 November 1984. The commuter service was extended up to Tollygunge on 29 April 1986 covering a distance of 4.24 km making the service available over a distance of 9.79 km. However, the services on the section were suspended with effect from 26 October 1992. After a gap of more than eight years, the 1.62 km Belgachhia-Shyambazaar section, another 0.71 km stretch from Esplanade to Chandni Chowk was commissioned shortly afterwards, on 2 October 1994. The Shyambazaar-Shobhabazar-Girish Park and Chandni Chowk-Central sections were opened on 19 February 1995, services on the entire stretch of the Metro were introduced from 27 September 1995 by bridging the vital gap of 1.80 km in the middle. The latest extension constructed was the 2.59 km elevated corridor from Dum Dum to Noapara on 10 July 2013, the state government has also prepared a detailed project report on a proposed extension of East West Metro from Howrah Maidan to Santragachhi. Rites, the agency for the 10 km East-West Metro extension project from Howrah Maidan to Santragachhi bus terminus, is set to start work on the corridor early in 2017. In 2010, the Railway Ministry announced plans for the construction of five new metro lines, commuters of Line 1 will be able to interchange trains going towards the Airport via Line 4
8.
Sealdah railway station
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Sealdah railway station is one of the major railway stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station, Santragachi Junction and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest railway stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal, after completion, Kolkata Metro Line 2 will pass through Sealdah. Sealdah Railway station was started in 1869, before 1978, there was a tram terminus at Sealdah station. Trams departed from here towards Rajabazar, Howrah Station, High Court, Dalhousie Square, Park Circus, the first horse tram service of Kolkata was also started from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat, following the currently route 13,14 &16 between Lebutala & Dalhousie Square. The Sealdah-Lebutala & Dalhousie Square-Armenian Ghat stretch is now closed and that terminus was demolished in 1978 also with the Sealdah-Lebutala tram track stretched through Boubazar Street for construction of the Sealdah flyover. Now tram services between Rajabazar-Esplanade, Parkcircus-Burrabazar and other services pass through Sealdah, currently, a car parking exists in place of the old tram terminus. There are three terminals at Sealdah, Sealdah North, Sealdah Main and Sealdah South. The North section consists of Sealdah North and Sealdah Main buildings and it has 13 platforms numbering 1 to 4, 4A, and 5 to 9C, 9A & 9B. The South section consists of Sealdah South terminal, with 7 platforms, the north and south sections have separate set of emerging tracks. The north and south section is connected by two links, one is Dumdum-Majherhat link, and other is Bidhannagar-Parkcircus link and these two links were constructed to quickly travel between the two sections avoiding Sealdah. For the financial department, There are DRMs, Sr. DFMs and ADFMs to look over. Sealdah North acts as the train terminal for 2 divisions, the main division. The main division of Sealdah north operates trains plying between Kolkata and Bandel, Gede, Ranaghat, Shantipur, Krishnanagar, Baharampur, Lalgola, Dankuni, Kalyani, Kalyani Simanta and others. A narrow gauge line earlier used to connect Shantipur and Krishnanagar and this line continues to Nabadwip Ghat. These narrow gauge lines are served by DMU trains, There is a plan to extend the suburban train service from Krishnanagar to Plassey, which is currently served by electric loco hauled trains. Dankuni line connects Eastern Railways Howrah line at Bali and Dankuni, Bandel line connects Eastern Railways Howrah line at Bandel. The Bongaon division handles trains for Kolkata Airport, Bangaon, Hasnabad, Bangaon and Ranaghat are also connected. Sealdah Main is the terminal for long distance trains to northern, north-western, north-eastern & eastern India, through Dankuni line. Krishnanagar line is also serving long distance intrastate trains, the South section, consisting of Sealdah South terminal, acts as the terminal for local trains plying between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour-Budgebudge, Canning, and Namkhana
9.
Kolkata Suburban Railway
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The Kolkata Suburban Railway is a suburban rail system serving the suburbs surrounding the city of Kolkata. Railways such as this are important and heavily used infrastructure in India and it is the largest suburban railway network in India by track length and number of stations. It has 348 stations and a length of 1,172 km. The suburban railway operates 1450 EMU services and 159 MEMU services carrying 3.1 million people daily and it runs from 4 a. m to 2 a. m in the night. The suburban railway services in Kolkata are operated by Eastern Railway, the Kolkata Metro operates the underground Metro services in the city as well. There is a separate Circular Railway corridor in the city operated by ER. The Howrah line of Eastern Railways has a stock of 12 coach EMU made by Jessop. BEML emus have also been bought but they are not in use, the Sealdah line has a rolling stock of 9,10,12 car EMU made by Jessop and ICF.2 BEML EMU trains of 9 coaches are also operational. The south eastern railways uses both 9 and 12 coaches emu made by Jessop and ICF, operated by the South Eastern Railway, this section of the line serves the south western suburbs of Greater Kolkata. The destination stations lie, In the south part of Howrah district like Santragachi, Shalimar, Andul, Uluberia, Bagnan. In the East Midnapore district like Digha, Tamluk, Haldia, Panskura, Kolaghat, in the eastern and southern part of West Midnapore district like Balichak, Kharagpur, Midnapore and Jhargram. The central part of Bardhaman district connecting the towns of Bardhaman, Gangpur, Saktigarh, Palsit, Rasulpur, Nimo, Memari, Bagila, Palla Road, Chanchai, Masagram, Nabagram, Jaugram, Jhapandanga. From Bardhaman, another suburban service connects the cities of Durgapur, Howrah to Bardhaman is reached by two corridors popularly known as the Main Line and the Chord Line. The main Line runs through the towns of Serampore, Chandernagore, Chinsurah, the Chord Line runs through the towns of Dankuni, Baruipara, Kamarkundu and Masagram. Tamluk, Nandakumar, Laban Satyagraha Smarak, Deshapran, Heria, Nachinda, Kanthi, Sitalpur, Sujalpur, Ashapurna Devi, Badalpur, Ramnagar, Tikra, Digha. Howrah, Liluah, Belur, Bally However, at Liluah, the destinations facilitated by this line are, In North 24 Parganas district along the banks of the Hooghly like Dum Dum, Barrackpore, Naihati. In North 24 Parganas district towards the north east and towards the Bangladesh border like Bongaon, Basirhat, the areas served are, The southern suburbs like Ballygunge, Jadavpur, Garia, Budge Budge, Sonarpur. In the South 24 Parganas district like Port Canning, Diamond Harbour, Lakshmikantapur, within Greater Kolkata, Sealdah, Bidhannagar Road, Dum Dum Jn
10.
Alipore
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Alipore is the headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area is the most posh and costliest locality in Kolkata, the postal code of Alipore is Kolkata 700027. One of the most historical, eventful and elite localities of the city of Kolkata and it was in the middle parts of the 18th century that the British began exploring the areas outside their settlements of Fort William and the Dalhousie Square area beyond the Race Course. The Belvedere Estate was one of the oldest establishments in Alipore, the then Governor General Warren Hastings built it for himself and it became the Governors residence until the Government House came up later. It was about this period of time that Alipore started attracting more and more British settlers who built their mansions and bungalows with gardens. In 1820, William Carey built the Agri Horticultural Gardens behind the Belvedere Estate, also, the Alipore Zoological Gardens was thrown open to the public in 1875. The locality was also witness to the Alipore bomb case and a spectator to the struggle of the Indian revolutionaries. Post independence of India, Alipore became popular among the elite of the city. The Pauls, the Birlas, the Goenkas, the Dalmiyas, the Jalans, the Kotharis, in 1952, the Imperial Library shifted to its present premises on Belvedere Estate. The Alipore Mint was also inaugurated the same year, several consulates like those of Russia, Germany, France, Italy and residences of Hon. Consul General of Canada, Denmark, Greece, Peru, etc. are located in Alipore, by the late eighties and nineties other places like New Alipore and Ballygunge competed with Alipore as the most elite areas of Kolkata. Alipore is located at 22. 53°N88. 33°E /22.53,88.33 and it has an average elevation of 14 metres. Alipore area is bordered by the following roads - AJC Bose Road to the north, D L Khan Road to the East, Diamond Harbour Road to the West, Alipore is connected to all parts of the city by extensive bus services. Alipore is served by the Majherhat and New Alipore railway stations on the Budge Budge section of Kolkata Suburban Railway, the Kalighat metro station of the Kolkata Metro as well as the Jatin Das Park station is close to Alipore. Some of the best healthcare options in the city are located in Alipore Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital, Alipore Road CMRI, Diamond Harbour Road B. M
11.
Bhowanipore
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Bhowanipore or Bhabanipur is the oldest locality of South Kolkata. It is located just south of the Lower Circular Road. It is the second largest locality in South Kolkata after Ballygunge, Bhowanipore is perhaps the first posh south Kolkata neighbourhood. In the early 19th century, it was just a village on the southern outskirts of the city of Calcutta. By the early 1850s it developed into a home to many immigrants into the city from the countryside of East Bengal. These immigrants were literate and prosperous and just wanted to settle outside the more famous localities of northern Kolkata. The Lower Circular Road had just been constructed and the area just south of the road home to many Indians who wanted to live in proximity to the city. Many Englishmen also took fancy to the area and they began settling in the area. Initially the locality was bounded by Lansdowne Road to the east, Russa Road to the west, but it expanded much more to the west, far beyond Harish Mukherjee Road to the Tolly Nullah. The Jadu Babus Bazaar on Asutosh Mukherjee Road was the heart of south Kolkata before Gariahat even developed and it is still the major market for the locality. Bhowanipore was also known as the hall area of the city. Number of cinema halls like Purna, Indira, Bijoli, etc. screened Bengali, many of the halls are now closed down due to lack of patronage. Since the start of the 20th century, the area home to a large number of immigrants from other parts of India. Sikhs, Gujaratis and Tamils now form a population of the locality. Bhowanipore has also has its share of 21st century commercialization sweeping Kolkata and it is home to Kolkatas first mall-cum-multiplex - The Forum mall on Elgin Road with its Inox multiplex. Many big companies have their office in Bhowanipore, like Exide Industries Limited, Tata Tea Limited. The head office of Automobile Association Of Eastern India is also located in this area, a club in the name of Bhowanipore Club founded by one Nani Mitra stands at the entrance of the Maidan near the Rani Rashmani Statue and presently managed by the Sangbad Pratidin group. The Kolkata Metro serves the area with the Rabindra Sadan, Netaji Bhavan, united Missionary Girls High School, Mukherjee Road. Mitra Institution, Harish Mukherjee Road St. Johns Diocesan Girls Higher Secondary School Hartleys High/Pvt, bijon Bhattacharya, eminent theater artist, director and famous Bengali play writer, also husband of eminent international award winning social worker and writer Smt. Mahasweta Devi
12.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
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Kolkata Municipal Corporation or KMC is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. This civic administrative body administers an area of 200.71 km2 and its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali script. KMC is headed by Sovan Chatterjee the present Mayor of Kolkata, the KMC was established in 1876. Later mayors include Deshapriya Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, the city is divided into 144 administrative wards that are grouped into 15 boroughs. Each of these elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee consisting of the elected from the respective wards of the boroughs. The Corporation, through the committees, maintains government-aided schools, hospitals and municipal markets and partakes in urban planning. The corporation as the apex body discharges its function through the Mayor-in-Council, consisting of a mayor, assisted by a deputy mayor, the mayor is responsible for the overall functioning of the KMC and has a tenure of five years. At present, the All India Trinamool Congress holds the power in the KMC, recently the KMC has faced a lot of criticism for legalising unauthorized construction largely responsible for a number of deaths because of fire. This was also responsible of the growth in the city. The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata, the Sheriff presides over various city-related functions and conferences. Another ancillary civic body is the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority responsible for the statutory planning, the KMA includes a large suburban hinterland around the urban centres of Kolkata. The jurisdiction of the KMC covers the area covered by the Kolkata Police, according to KMC website, erstwhile Joka-I & Joka-II Gram Panchayats were added to municipal limits, although information on their distribution into wards was not available. This addition increases the area of KMC to 200.71 square kilometres, in 2011, it was announced that Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation area will be coterminous. Kolkata Postal District however extends right up to Barrackpur in the North, Barasat in the East, up to Baruipur in South-East and Joka in South, the Postal code in this entire area starts with 700, indicating Postal Sorting District of Kolkata. Thus Kolkata Postal area is bigger than the area of KMC. In general term, people identify a locality with its Postal address, Postal address of people residing in the delivery jurisdiction of any of the 160 Delivery Post offices of Kolkata will be having PIN Code no. from 700001 to 700160. So for all practical purpose, anyone residing in Kolkata Postal area, the KMC is responsible for administering and providing basic infrastructure to the city
India
Kolkata/East travel guide from Wikivoyage