Khardaha
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| ?Khardaha West Bengal • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| District(s) | North 24 Parganas |
| Population | 116,252 (2001) |
| Municipality Chairman | Brojo Gopal Saha[1] |
| Codes • Telephone |
• +91 33 |
Khardaha (Bengali: খড়দহ) is a city, a municipality and police station of Barrackpore subdivision[2]in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.[3]
Local stories date it back to the time of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. It is said that he once arrive to this place in a boat of hay ('Khar' in Bengali) and hence the name Khardaha. "Daha" means water bodies. It was full of water bodies at that time as it was for the entire southern part of Bengal.
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[edit] Geography
It is a rail-station on the Sealdah-Ranaghat section, sandwiched between Sodepur (to the south) and Titagarh (to the north). Usually, the western side of the rail-station is called Khardaha and the eastern side is called Rahara. Khardaha is only 20 km away from Calcutta city center.
The western part of Khardaha is a much older settlement. The eastern part Rahara is a much newer settlement. It used to be dense forest even 200 years back. The place was named after famous Portuguese dacoit "Rada" (pronunciation - Raw-ra) of late 17th Century.
Khardaha is 19 km from Sealdah Station, on the Sealdah-Naihati section of Eastern Railway.[4]
The culture of Khardah is very rich, Administration is very strong.
[edit] Economy
Over time it became prosperous because of its proximity to Calcutta. One jamindar (landlord of a vast area) built 26 Shiv Temples here similar to Benaras so that people didn't have to go to Benaras.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[5] Khardaha had a population of 116,252. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khardaha has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Khardaha, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Healthcare
North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination. [6]
[edit] Places of interest
- Kardaha Shyamsundar temple (Take AutoRishkaw From Khardah Railway station)
- Ramakrishna Mission, Rahara: An educational (and humanitarian) institution
- Radha-Krishna Mandir: A nice Vaishnav temple at the bank of the Ganges
- VivekaNand Stadium (Near Dangapara--Take riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
- 26 Shiv Temple (A great place to visit: make sure to visit there)
- Hari Sava Raharah
- Joydeep's House (Take Rishkaw From Khardah Railway station)
[edit] References
- ^ Official District Administration site
- ^ District-wise list of statutory towns
- ^ Base Map of Kolkata Metroploitan area. Kolkata Metroploitan Development Authority. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
- ^ Eastern Railway time table.
- ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
- ^ Groundwater Arsenic contamination in West Bengal-India (19 years study ). Groundwater arsenic contamination status of North 24-Parganas district, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal-India. SOES. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
[edit] See also
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