Howrah (India)

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Howrah
Howrah
State - District(s)	West Bengal - Howrah District
Coordinates	22.59° N 88.31° E
Area - Elevation	- 12 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density - Sex ratio	1,008,704 - - 852
CPI(M)	Gopal Mukherjee

Howrah (Bengali হাওড়া) (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India. It is also the name of the Howrah administrative district which includes the city and its surroundings. It is on the west bank of the Hoogli River, and is Kolkata's twin city. It is West Bengal's second largest city. The two cities are linked by the famous Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu), as well as the Vidyasagar Setu (the second Howrah Bridge) and the Vivekananda Setu bridges. The city also contains Howrah Station, one of the major train stations serving Kolkata as well as Howrah.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History of Howrah
4 Attractions in Howrah
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Howrah is located at 22.59° N 88.31° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Howrah had a population of 1,008,704. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Howrah has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Howrah, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] History of Howrah

The name came from the word "haor" -- meaning in Bengali, a place for exit of water and mud.

It was back in 1713, The Bengal Council of British East India Company decided to lease five villages in this region from Farroq Shah (the grand son of Aurengzeb)

Among those 5 villages, "Howbra" was the largest one and in 1714 the lease agreement was concluded and the British East India Company marked this entire area as "Howrah" .

Today, Howrah is famous for Howrah Station, the terminus for trains to all parts of India and for the traffic jams across the Howrah Bridge encountered enroute to catching the trains.

It is a city of where people are extremely talented with skills like machining, tailoring and confectionery, jewellery crafts. Most intricate machine tools and precision jobs for companies like Siemens, ABB, Bofors, etc., are carried out here.

[edit] Attractions in Howrah

There are many notable attractions in Howrah:

[edit] Belur Math

One of the attractions in Howrah is Belur Math. Belur Math, founded by Swami Vivekananda , the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, is situated in Belur, North Howrah. The Ramakrishna temple and gardens are thought of as tourist attractions. Besides the temple there are several educational institutes also at Belur Math.

Belur Math : Ramkrishna Temple

[edit] Shibpur

Shibpur, literally "Lord Shiva's City", through the centuries has been synonymous with the Great Banyan Tree. The terminus of the Grand Trunk Road, the legendary route that traverses the gangetic plain and the Punjab and ends at Landi Kotal almost 2,500 kM away at the foot of the Khyber Pass. The Great Banyan Tree boasts of having the largest canopy in the world. It continues to grow and covers many city blocks and looks like a forest all by itself. The British established the Indian Botanical Gardens in 1786 between the Great Banyan Tree and the Hoogly River. The Bengal Engineering College is also located in Shibpur; the second oldest engineering college in India, and was also the preemient institution until it was overshadowed by the Indian Institutes of Technology. The Shibpur area is now said to be a popular neighbourhood, with the proximity of the Vidyasagar Setu -the new bridge across the Hoogly River to Kolkata.

[edit] Salkia

Salkia is the cultural hub of Howrah. The center is Haraganj Bazar which stretches about a mile from "Salkia Chowrasta" to the Hoogly River - the western-most distributary of the River Ganges. At the river end is Bandaghat with ferry service across the Hoogly to Ahiritollah Ghat on the other side. Five Movie theaters - Parijat, Piccadilly, Rakhee, Maya and Ashok anchor the entertainment scene. The Grand Trunk Road is the backbone of Salkia with frequent bus service along the route from Howrah station to Bally. Bus route No. 51, 54, 54/1, 54/2, and 56 are legendary in these parts. Minibuses ply from Salkia to Esplanade and the daily commuters have a hectic time during the office hours. Salkia also has a large Muslim community concentrated around Nishat Cinema and an Anglo-Indian community based around the Eastern Railway colonies; the heroic stories of engine drivers from this community, saving the train while sacrificng their own lives is passed on through the generations.Salkia Chowrasta is the hub of this place,where two legendary roads meet-G.T.Road & Beneras Road.The name Salkia is associated with decent and simple people. Although there is no college in Salkia , students have to go to colleges in Kolkata or go to Bijay krishna Girl's College near Howrah Station or Narasingha Dutta College or Lal Baba College.

[edit] Liluah

Liluah is the first stop on the Eastern Railway mainline - the artery that extends all the way to Delhi and Amrtisar. The Eastern Railway workshop provides the anchor to this small town and employs many thousands. Liluah is an industrial suburb with iron foundries and soap factories. The level of pollution is high and perhaps not a great place to raise a family. Migrant workers from Bihar are concentrated here. The primary festival is Vishwakarma Puja - homage to the Hindu God of workers and crafts people. On this day, all the factories shut down and the migrant workers find escape in hymms and "bhang" - hemp extract in sweet milk. The living situation in Liluah is quite poor; open sewers and drains have not been improved in fifty years. During the monsoon, the roads are impassable with raw sewage floating down the streets. The non-Bengali majority in Liluah and its voting pattern has led to zero investment by the communists who have controlled Bengal politics for thirty years. Even Mother Teresa is said to have avoided Liluah. The only silver lining in Liluah is Don Bosco High & Technical School, Liluah, which is run by Roman Catholic missionaries, originally from Turin,Italy. It was here during the sixties and seventies that legendary science teacher, Brother Maurice Nicholson, B.Sc. (Hons.), singlehandedly graduated legions from this impoverished area to the Indian Institutes of Technology and other great institutions and then on to careers around the world. With "tough love" and a passion for science, Brother Maurice was the inspiration for hundreds of high school boys who without him were unlikely to escape Liluah. A school for girls was set up in 1995 by the Agrasain Society and the school is called Agrasain Balika Siksha Sadan on Agrasain Street, this school is the only girls school in liluah at a large scale, it has various activity groups like, Guides. MCKVIE, which is an engineering college in Liluah is another silver lining in the town & has produced many engineers since 1999,when the institute was formally founded. Another school- MCKV, has cropped up recently.

[edit] Amta

A very peaceful green village on the bank of Damodar River. One can visit ‘Ma Melai Chandi Mandir’ (one of the 51 parts of Satee ma ) near to Amta bazaar. If anybody wants to write poems, he should come to bank of Damodar river. Also,‘Ma Betai Chandi Mandir’ is there in nearby village called Betai. Some very old schools are there in Amta (Amta Pitambar High School, Estd. 1857).

[edit] Other attractions

For the pious as well as the tourists with an archaeological bend of mind the Temple of Madangopaljiu Bagnan of 1651 at the Mellak village is a must visit. While in the temple, do check out the awesome pieces of terracotta art. At Howrah do visit the village of Gadiara, which is the point of convergence of the Damodar, the Rupnarayan and the Hoogli rivers. Gadiara in the lap of nature is a popular spot with the localities as well as the tourists. At Gadiara the Fort Mornington Point and the lighthouse will not fail to catch your eye. Another famous place is 'Hazar hath kali' - a statue of Goddess Kali with 1000 hands.