Bally, Howrah

Bally, Howrah Bally বালি (Bengali)
City
Bally, Howrah Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 22°39′N 88°20′E / 22.65°N 88.34°E / 22.65; 88.34Coordinates: 22°39′N 88°20′E / 22.65°N 88.34°E / 22.65; 88.34
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Howrah
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Bally Municipality
AreaMunicipality
• Total	11.81 km2 (4.56 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	291,972
• Density	25,000/km2 (64,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	711201
Lok Sabha constituency	Howrah
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Bally
Website	www.ballymunicipality.org

Bally (Bengali: বালি) is a city municipality in Howrah District, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.^[1] It is a town of historical importance. Located at the north-eastern tip of the Howrah district, on the banks of the River Hooghly, it is just across the river from the Dakshineswar Kali Temple and near the Belur Math.

Geography

Bally is located at 22°39′N 88°20′E / 22.65°N 88.34°E / 22.65; 88.34.^[2] It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet). There is a man-made canal named the 'Bally Khal' that marks the boundary between Bally and the adjoining town of Uttarpara in Hooghly District. Once Uttarpara was the northern part of Bally; Uttarpara means "Northern Ward." The Hooghly river separates it from Dakshineswar of Kolkata district.

Temples

Kalyaneshwar Mandir is a Shiva temple situated in Bally, Howrah, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is more than 500 years old and is visited by thousands of monks and devotees every year. It is surrounded by Kali, Ganesh, Vishnu and Bajrangbali Temples. It is situated at the north-eastern tip of the Howrah district, on the banks of the River Hooghly, across the river from the Dakshineswar Kali Temple and near the Belur Math. The temple was set-up by villagers more than 500 years ago, sponsored by the Jamindar (local land lord) of that time. Legends say that Ramakrishna Dev visited the temple frequently along with his followers from Ramakrishna Mission, including Swami Vivekananda and Swami Brahmananda. This ritual is still followed by the monks of Ramakrishna Mission.

Bhadrakali Mandir

Festivals

The famous festivals in this temple are Maha Shivaratri and Charaksankranti. Other important festivals include Ramnavami and Rash mela. Apart from all these the Saraswati Puja of Bally is so famous which pulls crowd from neighbouring areas.

Transportation

Bally is well connected by road, rail and water. Three major railway lines connect Bally, the Howrah-Barddhaman or Tarakeswar Main Line, the Howrah-Barddhaman Chord Line and the Sealdah-Dankuni Line. There are five railway stations (Bally Ghat, Bally Halt, Bally, Rajchandrapur, Bally Main and Belanagar) (also known as the Calcutta Chord Rail). The Grand Trunk Road passes through Bally. The town is connected with the northern bank of the Ganges by the Vivekananda Setu (formerly known as Bally Bridge) and the Second Vivekananda Bridge (also known as Nivedita Setu). Central Kolkata is 10 km from Bally. Bally has a ferry pier - Bally Ghat. Bally is a suburb of Kolkata. A large part of its population goes to Kolkata for work. One major improvement in Bally in terms of transportation is the introduction of TukTuk (locally called ToTo) in 2014, which are electric battery powered auto rickshaw. It is completely pollution free and less in noise.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[3] Bally had a population of 261,575. Males constitute 57% of the population and females 43%. Bally has an average literacy rate of 77%. male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 74%. 8% of the population above 6 years of age.

References