Naihati

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Naihati
Naihati
State - District(s)	West Bengal - North 24 Parganas
Coordinates	22.9° N 88.42° E
Area - Elevation	- 15 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	215,432 -
Municipality Chairman	Rabindranath Bhattacharya ^[1]

'Naihati is a town and an important railway junction station on the Indian Railways network, in the district of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Transport
4 Education
5 Famous people
6 Culture
7 References
8 See also

[edit] Geography

Naihati is located at 22.9° N 88.42° E^[2]. It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Naihati had a population of 215,432. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Naihati has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 70%. In Naihati, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The Jute Mills drew in a large labour force from the neighbouring states of Bihar and Orissa, as well as eastern Uttar Pradesh, quite often forming an overwhelming majority of the population in the area, living in shanty towns and bustees dotting the mill area. ^[3]

With the partition of India there was a massive influx of refugees from East Pakistan into Kolkata and its peripheral areas. Of over a million refugees who entered West Bengal in 1950 alone settled mostly in squatter colonies between Naihati and Sonarpur on the east bank of the Hooghly and between Mogra and Uluberia on the west bank. ^[4]

[edit] Transport

It takes one hour to reach Sealdah station by train. It is 38 km from Sealdah. It is connected to Bandel on the Howrah-Bardhaman main line. The journey takes abot 20 minutes. ^[5] Naihati is also connected to Kolkata by ferry. You can find a railway bridge over the river Hoogly which was built by the British Government in 1865.

[edit] Education

There is a famous college named Rishi Bankim Chandra College which is affiliated to the University of Calcutta. There are many Bengali medium schools as well as English meidum schools in Naihati.

[edit] Famous people

Kanthalpara in Naihati is the birth place of the famous Bengali literary giant Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. It is situated in the industrial regions of the suburban Calcutta. Life in the town revolves around the Hooghly River. Haraprasad Shastri, the academician was born in Naihati. It is also the birthplace of Bengali singer Shyamal Mitra and modern Bengali story writer Samaresh Bose.

[edit] Culture

Durga Puja and Kali Puja are celebrated in Naihati.

 Sourav Bhattacharyya

[edit] References

^ Official District Administration site
^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Naihati
^ Goswami, Onkar, Calcutta’s Economy 1918-1970 The fall from Grace in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol II, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, p 90, Oxford University Press, ISBN 019563697 X
^ Chatterjee, Nilanjana, The East Bengal Refugees – A Lesson in Survival, in in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol II
^ Eastern Railway time table.