Rajarhat
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This article is outdated. (November 2012) |
| New Town নিউ টাউন Rajarhat |
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| — Satellite City — | |
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 New Town
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| Coordinates: 22°21′N 88°17′E / 22.35°N 88.28°ECoordinates: 22°21′N 88°17′E / 22.35°N 88.28°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | North 24 Parganas |
| Area | |
| • Total | 28 km2 (11 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 271,781 |
| • Density | 9,706/km2 (25,140/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 700156 |
| Telephone code | Calcutta Telephone |
| Nearest city | Kolkata |
| Sex ratio | 939 ♂/♀ |
| Literacy | 76% |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Barasat |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Rajarhat New Town |
| Website | www.nkdamar.org |
New Town, formerly known as Rajarhat, is a neighbourhood of Kolkata (earlier, Calcutta), located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a fast-growing planned satellite city. This new information technology and residential hub is being developed on the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata. It consists of the two erstwhile villages Rajarhat and Gopalpur, which is now a statutory planned development area. The area mainly consisted of huge acres of cultivable lands and water bodies, which has been acquired and developed in a planned manner. The process of investing for residential and industrial facilities and infrastructural development of the area has mainly started under the leadership of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in the late 1990s. The master plan envisions a township which is at least three times bigger than the neighbouring planned Salt Lake City.[citation needed]
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Geography [edit]
New Town is located at 22°21′N 88°17′E / 22.35°N 88.28°E.[1] This city covers an area of 28 km2,[2] and is located in Barasat Sadar subdivision of North 24 Parganas district.
Urban structure [edit]
Being a planned township, New Town, has been divided into three Areas, Action Area - I, mainly consisting of Malls, a Sub- CBD, and planned residential and commercial plots; Action Area - II is supposedly planned to have a main Central Business District (CBD), institutional plots, IT Business Parks like DLF and Unitech, and plots for large apartment complexes, it will also house the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, a open Maidan with an Eco-park built around a waterbody; Action Area - III mainly consists of high rise residential complexes and mini sub-townships like Uniworld City and Sukhobristi.
Economy [edit]
New Town being 3 times the size of Saltlake have been alloted as the second IT Hub of Calcutta. Already several IT majors are operational, while others like TCS (alloted 40 acres ) and Wipro (allotted 45 acres) have been alloted space. Real estate companies like DLF, Bengal Unitech of Unitech group, Shapoorji Pallonji, Singapore based Keppel Land, Ambuja Realty, Bengal Peerless etc. are developing Commercial/Retail/Residential projects,some of which are largely operational today.[3][4]
Some of the operational IT Companies in New Town includes Cognizant, IBM, Genpact, Capgemini, Tech Mahindra, Ericsson, Accenture, Philips, HCL Technologies, eRevMax, Aegis, Xoriant Corp. and many mid-to small cap Tech firms. IT majors like TCS, CTS, Infosys and Wipro have also acquired prime land in New Town and their facilities will be ready by late 2011 or early 2012.
Demographics [edit]
With the completion of the establishment and development of the township, the population of the area is poised for a significant increase. The sex ratio, literacy rate and every other regional statistics will therefore see radical changes within a few years. The existing populace is mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and skilled and unskilled labour. The population intended to be settled there is the upper-middle and middle-classes of West Bengal.
Healthcare [edit]
Though major hospitals are yet to be built, this area has good connectivity with other parts of Calcutta which have sophisticated health centers. A handful of million dollar healthcare facilities are under projection, and most of them will be completed within the years 2010-2012. The most notable to mention is intensive care hospital and state-of-the-art Tata Cancer Centre by industrialist and international steel-baron Ratan Tata.Couple of new hospitals like UMRI (Uma Medical related Institute), Zoom healthcare and Charnock City exist here.
Transport [edit]
The main mode of transportation, like other parts of Kolkata includes Air Conditioned / Non-AC Government and Private Buses, Taxi, and other popular India transports like Auto Rickshaw. However, the buses are sporadic and the routes originating out are very few. The New Garia - Airport line of the Kolkata Metro is supposed to pass through New Town by 2014.[5][6] There is also a plan to extend the Circular Railway from Bidhannagar Road (Ultadanga) to New Town via lake town and salt lake.[7] The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is very near to the township, providing air connectivity to the rest of the World.
Leisure & entertainment [edit]
The area has, though not internationally excellent, one of the best entertainment facilities in the state of West Bengal. Apart from private clubs of every offices and estates, the area has a good number of children's parks and clubs. Notable mention among those will be a water park called Aquatica; a good children's park called Nicco Park; a huge picnic spot consisting of waterbodies called Nalban; and a club for adults with traditional Indian yoga and spa facilities, called Vedic Village.
Several international shopping malls are being constructed in the area, a few of them being already completed. Notable malls are Axis Mall and City Centre. Also, nearing completion is [DLF Galleria mall. The New Town area is a shopper's paradise in the real sense of the term, but all these malls have been planned especially keeping in mind the needs of the elite class. Some of the shopping malls in New Town include (complete as well as planned), City Centre, New Town, Axis Mall, The Terminus, DLF Galleria Mall, Home Town, Block-By-Block, Unitech Downtown Mall and Xtra Mall.
International five-star hotels like ITC Sonar and Hyatt Regency are situated nearby. These hotels have good multicuisine and pub facilities. Some more five-star and super luxurious hotels are planned, including one being recently announced in 2007 by Ratan Tata for his chain of Ginger hotels. The only operational five star hotel being Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista. Construction work of other five star hotels such as Novotel and Westin have begun.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Yahoo maps location of New Town". Yahoo maps. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ "Rajarhat Gopalpur Municipality". Official website of the Department of Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ "Real Estate boom in New Town...!!". PressReleasePoint. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^ "Wipro accepts West Bengal’s land proposal (Lead) - Thaindian News". Thaindian.com. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^ "Rail set to take over East-West". The Telegraph. Feb 8, 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Hidco clears route for Garia-airport Metro". Times of India. Sept 25, 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Metro - Urban - Suburban Systems". IRFCA. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rajarhat |
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