| Shibpur | |
|---|---|
| — Neighbourhood in Howrah — | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| City | Howrah |
| Ward | |
| Parliamentary constituency | Howrah |
| Assembly constituency | Shibpur |
| Government | |
| • MLA | Jatu Lahiri |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | |
Shibpur (Bengali: শিবপুর) is a residential area located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is well known for being the location of the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, the Bengal Engineering College and the Hazar Hath Kaali Temple. The famous Bengali linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji was born in Shibpur. During British Raj, its name was written as Seebpore.
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The area was home to many royal landlords (jamindars) in Bengal. During the era of the British rule in India, the landlords sold their possessions to build jute mills. These included the successful jute mills such as the Howrah Jute Mill and the Bengal Jute Mill amongst others. The proximity to Kolkata's southern district and the central business district which is just across the river brought many middle class office goers to seek cheaper lodging in Shibpur. Some of the old jamindar's house in shibpur is like the Roy Choudhury's. The family stayed in Shibpur for near about 500 years at Sanjher Attchala. Botanical Garden was a British determent area. Then after freedom Indian government took a long place from the garden and made the college. The most old banyan tree is in the B Garden. Its original root has been destroyed many years ago and the tree sprayed a lot through its brunches. This tree was taken from Africa by the British govt. Temple of batai chandi (considered an avatar of goddess Kali) is another famous place.
Before the Vidyasagar Setu project a vast tract of land near used to be a marsh and only dotted by few villages. Which is a dream of distant past now after building the iconic bridge and the Kona express way easily connecting the place with heart of Kolkata and the national highway and the industrial sector in Dasnagar. Notably the Kolkata port was connected to the rest of India easier than the other existing route through Howrah Bridge and Bally bridge which are famous for their congested rush hour traffic. As a result of that the place has good an attention recently over again. The town saw an immediate rush for land after the proposal for the bridge. Now various important buildings of district is located in the town namely the water purifying plant at Padmapukur and the Dumurjala stadium and a good number of women's hockey clubs. It has also turned up in the recent real estate boom the metropolis over the last 10 years Shibpur has developed into a popular residential community. Many multi-storied apartment complexes have been built (e.g. Panchsheel Apartments) attracted by the location near the River Ganges, as well as by the easy connection to South Kolkata over the Vidyasagar Setu bridge. Newly constructed roads have made access to the area very easy. Many parts have turned up as a transportation gateway to Kolkata.
The eminent novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay lived in Baje Shibpur, at north of Shibpur. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, the author of the first complete English translation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata (1883–1893) also lived in Shibpur.[1]
Shibpur is notorious for its narrow lanes and high density built up town space. Shibpur has a chequered history in the field of culture. The residents of this place are well known for their interest in music, the arts and literature. Many luminaries of West Bengal in the fields of sports and athletics reside here. The only indoor stadium in Howrah, the Dumurjala Indoor Stadium, is located in the western fringe of Shibpur along the Drainage Canal road.
Being a largely populated city Shibpur has its share of areas and places that play the role of landmarks and "hangout" points, such as - Mandirtala: the Shibpur entrance to the Vidyasagar Setu, a very popular jogging track and rendezvous point. It was named 'Mandirtala' due to two popular Mandirs of Lord Shiva situated here. Nearby popular places are Shashthitala & Shibpur Bazar, Hazar Hath Kalitala, Dumurjola Stadium. Shibpur Bazaar is a busy marketplace, where most of Shibpur's shops and stalls are located.
Shalimar is a terminus station for south eastern railway, is also a port. Shalimar port is even older than the Kolkata port made by the colonial rulers. Shalimar port was in function during the Mughal Empire, which was connected to the rest of the country with Grand Trunk Road.
Shibpur contain many of the good schools and colleges in West Bengal. The eminent institution Bengal Engineering College, the second oldest engineering college in India, was given the status of a university making it the first university in Howrah. The university was renamed the Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur. Shibpur Hindu Girls' High School, Vabani Balika Vidyalaya, Tara Sundari Valika Vidyalaya, Howrah Zilla School, Shibpur Srimat Swami Projnanananda Saraswati Vidyalaya, Howrah Vivekananda Institution, Shibpur Sri Ramkrishna Vidyalaya, Shibpur Shikshalaya, Sri Ramkrishna Sikshalaya are well known school in the state for its large number of good students.
Dumurjala adds to sports excellence of Howrah which is known for the football talents like Sailen Manna. The newly built indoor stadium is encircled with a clubs devoted to various sports and athletic activities like swimming, hockey and cricket, not to mention football.
Even after all the improvement in the recent two decades the place is not free of the usual problems with Howrah. The amount of road space to the population in Howrah is too small compared to even smaller towns by populations like Berhampur.
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