Khardaha

Khardaha
—  city  —
Khardaha Location of Khardaha in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	22°43′N 88°23′E
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	North 24 Parganas
Municipality Chairman	Tapas Paul
Parliamentary constituency	Dum Dum
Assembly constituency	Khardaha
Population	116,252 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 15 metres (49 ft)
Codes • Telephone • +91 33
Website	north24parganas.nic.in

Khardaha (Bengali: খড়দহ) is a city, a municipality and police station of Barrackpore subdivision 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.

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.

Overview

Khardah is five railway stations away from Sealdah on the Sealdah-Ranaghat Line. Along with Belgharia and Agarpara, this township falls in what used to be the industrial belt of Bengal. The thousands of workers who had migrated here about a century ago from Bihar and Orissa form a large part of the populace and give it a distinctive colour. Close by, what used to be known as the coolie lines are several paras where caste Hindus live. Unlike the warren of tiny airless brick boxes where the workforce survives, most of the houses of upper caste Bengalis are well constructed. They have seen better days, but are still distinguished by columns, thakurdalans and ornamental grilles. Rabindranath had sojourned in Khardah in a house swallowed by the river. The Vaishnavite cult has left its mark on Khardah. Nityananda Prabhu, a disciple of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, had settled in a thatched hut here. It is now a humble brick structure known as Kunjabati. His son Bir Bhadra Goswami had started the worship of Shyamsundar that subsequently became the presiding deity of Khardah. It is said that about 250 years ago, a woman named Pateswari Ma Goswami had raised the famous Shyamsundar temple that dominates Raskhola, after her husband, who had been imprisoned by Nawab Alibardi Khan, was released. The temple compound has a large kitchen and natmancha, and close to the Hooghly banks are the ratha-shaped Rasmancha and Dolmancha. The sanctity of the Dolmancha has been violated by blocking the archway. Recent attempts at decorating the main temple with white panels depicting Krishnalila are quite appalling. Adjacent to the Shyamsundar temple is a smaller one dedicated to Madanmohan. Khardah is famous for its Ras and Dol celebrations. A short walk from Shyamsundar leads to another fascinating complex of 26 dochala Shiva temples. These are mostly dilapidated but are being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. They were constructed in the early 19th century by Ramhari Biswas and his son Prankrishna, whose ambition it was to establish a Ratnabedi like the one in Puri with one lakh Shiva lingas. He managed to gather about 80,000 before his death. The ornamented door frames of the 26 temples are from the Gaur ruins. The navaratna Mahaprabhu temple with nine spires is on the way to the temple complex. A large chunk of the mill labour force in Khardah is Muslim. In 1907 these poor workers had built a magnificent mosque on MG Road (formerly Trever Road). Its portal and minarets and walls of the inner sanctum are richly embellished with tiny ceramic tiles in bright hues that create the effect of minakari. Calcutta once had several mosques decorated with crazy China mosaic. The glazed surfaces of most are chipped. But the Khardah mosque is in mint condition.

Geography

Khardaha is located at 22.72°N 88.38°E / 22.72; 88.38. It has an average elevation of 15 m (49 ft). 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.

The culture of Khardah is very rich, Administration is very strong.

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. The majority of population work in service sector in nearby Calcutta. Some grow vegetables in the nearby fields. There are also some manufacturing units located on the main arterial road BT road. Rest are traders and there are many small trades in the area.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, 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 75%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Khardaha, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age. An overwhelming majority of the population is Hindu Bengali having fled from what is now Bangladesh following religious persecution in the hands of Muslims majority of that area. Bengali is the most widely spoken language, though Hindi and English is also understood.

Healthcare

North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination. There is one state run Hospital named Balaram hospital located at Khardah.There is a local municipality run clinic at Kalyannagar locality having dialysis facility.There are also a few private nursing homes.

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
• Vivekananda Stadium (Near Dangapara—Take riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
• 26 Shiv Temple (A great place to visit: make sure to visit there)
• Hari Sava Rahara
• Khardah Gosto Mandir
• Khardaha Kunja Bati Yatri Nibas newly open(auto from station)
• Vasha Sahid Uddyan - A great place to visit: make sure to visit there- Near Feri Ghat--- Take Auto or Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
• Balaram Hospital,Khardah,(Take Auto or Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
• Goodwill Hospital, Rahara ( Near Uttarpara---- take Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
• Famous Bengali Singer Parnava Banerjee & Emon Chatterjee are lives here at Madhyapara,& Kalyan Nagar, Rahara.