Dhakuria

Dhakuria (Bengali: ঢাকুরিয়া) is a locality in the city of Kolkata (previously,'Calcutta'). It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/Garia in the south and the Lake Gardens and Jodhpur Park areas in the west. It has a Postal Index Number (PIN) code of 700 031.

The locality is sometimes referred to as the middle class and currently growing very well off upper-middle-class people's locality in South Kolkata. Though it is surrounded by its rich and famous areas, over the it still remains primarily a nice upper-middle-class neighbourhood. Apart from its critical location in south Calcutta, it is also a place inhabited by prominent people with strong social and cultural background.

The two most important landmarks that signify this locality are the Dhakuria railway station, its bus terminal and the Gariahat Road (South).

History

The history of Dhakuria stretches back at least two hundred years to early 1800s. Even after large scale modernization in the last decade involving demolition of older homes and buildings, there are several buildings that still exist today that predate 1900.

The rapid population growth of Dhakuria, similar to rest of the City of Kolkata, can be traced back to the late fifties & sixties, when a large influx of Hindu Refugees had started from Bangladesh. At that time the southern city limits were up to Ballygunge Lake areas (now known as Golpark).

The areas beyond the Eastern railway tracks at Golpark started developing with large numbers of people building up their homes there. The area was very different from the neighbouring Ballygunge. While Ballygunge dotted the homes of the rich, wide tree lined roads (at Golpark, Southern avenue), Dhakuria was marked with comparatively narrow lanes and bylanes.

By early sixties, neighboring Jodhpur Park, which was earlier a sparsely populated area, had become a favorite destination for several upscale single family residential home development projects. With the introduction of Dakshinapan, a multi-stage shopping mall and one of the first of its kind in Kolkata, in Jodhpur Park but just next to Dhakuria boundary in early 80s, the area started getting an upmarket look. Since then, Dhakuria's population is swelling with well educated, middle-class people because of its good neighbourhood and schools, low crime rate and proximity to other city amenities.

Educational institutions

• The Modern Academy (ICSE/ISC)
• Dhakuria Ram Chandra High School
• Binodini Girls High School
• Dhakuria Sree Ramkrishna High School
• Sree Ram Roy Institution
• Lake Point Convent School
• Pareshnath Balika Bidyalaya
• Andrews High School

Places of interest

• Dhakuria Post Office
• Dakshinapan
• Dhakuria Lake
• Babubagan and CIT Scheme — famous for Sharbojanin Durga Puja
• Japanese Buddhist Temple
• Miniature of Howrah Bridge at Dhakuria Lake ( Known as Hanging Bridge), Swimming Pool & Rowing Clubs
• Lake Kali Bari, Birla academy, 60 ft Idol of lord Krishna at Birla Academy
• Rabindra Sarabor Stadium
• Maharaja Tagore Road
• Madhusudan Mancha (A theatre for Arts and Cultural performances)
• 95 Pally Association,Jodhpur Park: also famous for Sarbojajin Duraga Ustab

Famous people from Dhakuria

• Sunirmal Basu,juvenile writer
• Gajendra Kumar Mitra, eminent writer
• Abhik Basu, Poet
• Suchitra Bhattacharya, eminent writer
• Abhijit Bandopadhaya, eminent music director
• Agnibha Bandopadhaya, eminent singer

See also

• Dhakuria (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
• Jadavpur
• Jodhpur Park