'Barasat' (
Bangla:
বারাসাত) is a city in the outskirts of
Calcutta,
West Bengal,
India and is the district head quarter of the district
North 24 parganas. It is a part of the area covered by
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.
[2]The town is an important railway and roadway junction. Barasat is also the name of a sub-division centering the city.
As an urban setup in the vicinity of the Kolkata, the town is within the area of Greater Calcutta. Several significant roads like
National Highway 34 (
Krishnanagar Road leading towards
North Bengal), Jessore road ( road leading to
Jessore in
Bangladesh via
Bongaon) ; Road leading to
Basirhat etc. cross through the town.
History
For a considerable time Barasat town was the headquarters of a joint magistracy, known as the Barasat District, but in 1861, on a readjustment of boundaries Barasat district was abolished by order of government, and was converted into a subdivision of the Twenty-four Parganas.
The town has important historical contributions, including historical landmarks such as the first Nilkuthi (establishments of the initial English settlers who started the cultivation of
indigo dye), the Bungalow of
Lord Hastings, the Bungalows of Magistrates of 24 Parganas and the site of hanging of
Maharaja Nandkumar.
In 1831 under the leadership of
Syed Ahmed and his disciples, Mear Niser Ali or
Titumir, Barasat witnessed movements like the
Ferazee disturbances against the British dominion in India before the
Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.
Geography
Barasat is located at .
[3] Barasat is located in the
Ganges Brahmaputra delta region in the district of
North 24 parganas,
West Bengal state in the eastern India. The
Bangladesh border - at
Petrapole is situated about 70/ 80 kms from the city.
The average altitude is 11
metres. No notable river flows by the river. The nearest one is
Ganges itself — about 15 km to the west. The city is in the
Gangetic plain lacking any hills.
Barasat is 23 km from
Sealdah Station on the Sealdah–
Bangaon branch line. It is at one end of the Barasat-
Basirhat-Hasnabad branch line of
Eastern Railway.
[4]
Climate
The climate is
tropical — like the rest of the Gangetic
West Bengal. The hallmark is the
Monsoon — from early June to mid September. The weather remains dry during the winter (mid November to mid February) and humid during summer.
Temperature :41
°C in May(Max) and 10
°C in January(Min)
Relative Humidity: Between 50% in March & 96% in July
Economy
An important trade centre for rice, legumes, sugarcane, potatoes, and coconuts, cotton weaving is the major industry in Barasat.
There are a major textile mill and a rubber factory near the town. However one can find many small industries in and around the town. The business of the city is mainly retailing, though there are dealers who supply mainly to the rest of the district.
The major occupation of the residents is service. The proximity to
Kolkata helps residents commute daily to
Kolkata.There are a lot of businessmen as well.
Administration
Barasat is the administrative headquarter of the district of
North 24 Parganas.All headquarters of the district administrative level are situated here. Barasat also has the District Court.
Barasat was constituted a municipality in 1869.Barasat is a municipal area under the governance of Barasat Municipality (Phone number (033) 2552-3211) .
Administrative Phone Numbers
Politics
The Lok Sabha constituency
Subrata Bose (
AIFB) was elected
MP
from Barasat (Lok Sabha constituency) in 2006. Following is the data of 14th Loksabha election
[1]: No. of Electors 1388,017 Polling Stations 1, 529 No. of Contestants 10 Polling percentageage 83.3
The Vidhan Sabha Constituency
The Legislative Assembly Constituency is Barasat.
The present
M.L.A is Bithika Mondal of
All India Forward Bloc.
Transport
Road
"cycle-van" and other vehicles on a railway-crossing
From
Calcutta,Take V.I.P Road (Najrul Islam Sarani) off
Ultadanga (V.I.P.Crossing) to reach Airport Gate No. 1 and take right to
Jessore Road (National Highway 34).Barasat is 8 kilometres straight drive from this crossing.
Barasat is a major roadway junction. The National Highway 34 (initially under the name
Krishnanagar Road) goes towards north ultimately to the north Bengal and is the major link between Calcutta and the
North-East India.
The Jessore road leads to Bongaon (National Highway 35) and ultimately to the
Bangladesh border at
Petrapole.
The Taki road leads to
Basirhat,
Hasnabad and
Taki, near the Bangladesh border.
The Barrackpore road links National Highway 35 at Barasat with Kalyani Expressway and
Barrackpore.
Rail
Barasat Junction is the railway station, on Bongaon line of
Sealdah Station(north section). This junction is where
Bongaon line and
Hasnabad-
Basirhat line of
Kolkata Suburban Railway separates.
The
Barasat Basirhat Railway line was originally run by Martin's Light Railway. Now it forms part of the
Sealdah division of
Eastern Railways.
Air
Dumdum Airport (
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport ) is 8 kilometres from Barasat.
Intra city transport
Mainly depends on cycle-rickshaws and, quite interestingly, the three-wheeled man-driven "cycle-vans".
Auto rickshaws ply between Barasat and nearby areas. Several buses connect the town with
Kolkata, other suburbs of
Kolkata and the other towns of
West Bengal.The bus service to
Kolkata is extremely frequent.
Demographics
Population is 237783 according to 2001 census.
[2] Again unit barasat-2 has a population of 168828
[3]
Population density 2223 per square km.
As of 2001 India
census[5], Barasat had a population of 231,515. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Barasat has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Culture
The culture milieu in Barasat reflects the usual culturel characteristics of similar small towns in
Bengal.The educated middle-class community continues to perpetuate the Bengali cultural manifestations like drama, recitation, classical music, songs and dances, while young turks take a rather revolutionary stand and let out their feeling in the form of minor 'Little Magazines' and socially relevant functions like health check up camps etc.
In Barasat some religious
ashrams like the ashrams of
Pranabananda,Prabhu Jagadbandhu
[4], Shibananda Dham, Hazarat Ekdil Shah Darga etc are located.
The cultural diversity has increased over the years with the infiltration of more people from
Bangladesh.An annual fair held in honour of a Muslim saint, Hazarat Ekdil Shah is attended by both Muslims and Hindus, since hundreds of years.
Education
The town's schools are either run by the state government or by private organisations. Schools mainly use
English or
Bengali as the
medium of instruction. The schools are affiliated with the
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the
Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), or the
West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Under the
10+2+3 plan, after completing their secondary education, students typically enrol in a 2 year
junior college (also known as a pre-university) or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with
West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. Students usually choose from one of three streams —
liberal arts,
commerce, or
science, though vocational streams are also available. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enrol in general or professional degree programmes.
Schools
Barasat Government High School
Colleges
Barasat Government College,K.N.C. Road, Barasat
Barasat College, previously Evening College, I, Kalyani Road, Barasat , 24- Paraganas
Coaching Center
Coach - A next home to learn Computer,Biology from Class 1 to Class 12 standard and Graduation Level courses.Coach provides coaching classes for DOEACC O and A level course curriculum,Certificate and Diploma course in Computer Application.So,Learn and Grow with Coach.Local Address: 97/1,Charakdanga Lane,Near Natunpukur Club, Barasat.(Phone number (033) 2584-1237 or 9433365039).
Media
Some small local newspapers and magazines (SABUJER ABHIJAN, KAMOR etc.) are there. However the scenario is dominated by the media of
Calcutta (Kolkata). Bengali language newspapers like ''
Anandabazar Patrika'', EKDIN, ''
Aajkaal'', ''
Bartaman'', ''
Sangbad Pratidin'' and ''
Ganashakti'' are widely circulated. Regional and national English newspapers such as ''
The Telegraph'', ''
The Statesman'', ''
Asian Age'', ''
Hindustan Times'' and ''
The Times of India'' are available. Kolkata's radio stations are available here. Seven local
FM stations:
AIR Kolkata (FM Rainbow & FM Gold),
Radio Mirchi (98.3
MHz),
Red FM (93.5 MHz),
Aamar FM (106.2 MHz),
Gyan Vani (105.4 MHz), and
Power FM (107.8 MHz) are available. The state-owned television broadcaster
Doordarshan provides two free terrestrial channels, while
MSO provide a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English and other regional channels via
cable.
Sports
Football (soccer) is the passion of the citizens.
Cricket is also played with great fanfare. Besides Indian sports like
Kabbadi,
kho-kho are also played.
The Barasat stadium holds some matches of the
Kolkata football league and also several district-level, state-level and, infrequently, national level tornaments of several games like
Volleyball, soccer etc.
Healthcare
Barasat is one of the areas where ground water is affected by
arsenic contamination.
[6]
References
1. Official District Administration site
2. Base Map of Kolkata Metroploitan area
3. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Barasat
4. Easren Railway time table.
5.
6. Groundwater Arsenic contamination in West Bengal-India (19 years study )
External links
★
Census 2001 data
See also
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