Friday, October 11, 2024
Kolkota Travel Guide - Travel S Helper

Kolkota

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Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal, an Indian state. It is the important economic, cultural, and educational center of East India, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, and the Port of Kolkata is India’s oldest running port and its single significant riverine port. The city had 4.5 million people in 2011; the urban agglomeration, which included the city and its outskirts, had around 14.1 million, making it India’s third-most populated metropolitan region. Its gross domestic output (adjusted for purchasing power parity) was predicted to be US$104 billion in 2008, ranking third among Indian cities after Mumbai and Delhi. Kolkata, a major metropolitan metropolis in a developing nation, has significant urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overcrowding, and other logistical and social issues.

The three villages that preceding Kolkata were administered by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty in the late 17th century. Following the Nawab’s award of a trade license to the East India Company in 1690, the location was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading center. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah retook Kolkata in 1756 when the Company began dodging taxes and the fort’s militarization increased. The East India Company retook it the next year and beat the Nawab of Bengal (Mir Qasim) when he attempted to force them out of the area in 1764. Following the fight, the East India Company forged a contract with the Mughal emperor that granted them the power to collect taxes from the province, thereby making them the imperial tax collector. In 1793, the East India Company was powerful enough to remove Nizamat (local authority) and take complete control of the province. Kolkata served as the capital of British-held areas in India during Company rule and then under the British Raj until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, along with increasing nationalism in Bengal, led to a move of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a focal point of the Indian independence movement, and it continues to be a cauldron of current state politics. Following India’s independence in 1947, Kolkata—once the epicenter of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—experienced decades of economic stagnation.

Kolkata has indigenous traditions in drama, art, cinema, theater, and literature as a core of the 19th- and early-20th-century Bengal Renaissance and a religiously and ethnically diverse cultural center in Bengal and India. Many persons from Kolkata have made significant contributions to the arts, sciences, and other fields, including numerous Nobel laureates. Kolkata culture is characterized by quirks such as unusually close-knit neighbourhoods (paras) and spontaneous intellectual interactions (adda). The city is home to West Bengal’s part of the Bengali film industry, as well as historic cultural institutions of national significance such as the Academy of Fine Arts, the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum, and the National Library of India. Kolkata is home to the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India, and the Indian Public Health Association, among other professional scientific organizations. Despite having large cricketing stadiums and franchises, Kolkata is unique among Indian cities in emphasizing association football and other sports.

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Kolkata | Introduction

Kolkata – Info Card

POPULATION : • Megacity 4,496,694
• Metro 14,112,536
FOUNDED : 
TIME ZONE :  IST (UTC+05:30)
LANGUAGE :
RELIGION : Hindu 76.51%
Muslim 20.60%
Christian 0.88%
Jain 0.47%
Others 1.54%
AREA : • Megacity 185 km2 (79.151 sq mi)
• Metro 1,886.67 km2 (728.45 sq mi)
ELEVATION :  9 m (30 ft)
COORDINATES :  22°34′N 88°22′E
SEX RATIO :  Male: 51.70
 Female: 48.30
ETHNIC :
AREA CODE :  33
POSTAL CODE :  700 001 to 700 157
DIALING CODE :  +91-33
WEBSITE :   www.kmcgov.in

Tourism in Kolkata

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital of West Bengal and one of India’s most populous cities. It is the biggest metropolis in both Eastern India and the ancient Bengal area (today’s West Bengal and Bangladesh). Kolkata is a “in your face” metropolis that both shocks and attracts the unwary visitor. Long known as India’s cultural capital and the birthplace of the so-called Bengal Renaissance, ‘The City of Joy’ (the moniker gained popularity after the publication of Dominique Lapiere’s novel of the same name about the city’s struggle against poverty and corruption, later adapted into a Roland Joffe film) continues to produce generations of poets, writers, film directors, and Nobel Prize winners. If your journey only permits for a visit to one or two of India’s major cities, you should absolutely include Kolkata on your itinerary. Kolkata is probably India’s most socially, culturally, and politically progressive metropolis; love it or loathe it, you’ll never forget the ‘City of Joy.’

Climate of Kolkata

Summer, Monsoon, and Winter are the three primary seasons of Kolkata. Summer, from March through May, is hot and humid, with temperatures ranging from 38 to 42 degrees Celsius. The monsoon season begins in June and lasts until September or October. This is the time of year when heavy rains might cause water logging in a few spots. The winter season lasts from November through February. This is the greatest time to visit the city since the weather is mild, with temperatures ranging from 8 to 20°.

Geography of Kolkata

Kolkata is located in eastern India, near the banks of the Hooghly river.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 185 square kilometers. Today, the city proper is generally split into two halves along Mother Teresa Sarani (which was known during English rule as Park Street). North of Park Street is the busiest portion of town. South of Park Street, the city is significantly better developed. South Kolkata is more well-planned, with bigger roadways and a better-equipped police force to maintain peace and order. South Kolkata has superior planning since it was established much later. The North is the true, ancient Kolkata, and it is home to the majority of the city’s oldest families and structures. The city has grown to the south and east during the last several years.

The West Bengal Government’s seat, as well as many other government agencies, are situated in the historic Central Business District (CBD). Several banks have corporate or regional headquarters in the B. B. D. Bagh area (named after the revolutionaries Binoy, Badol, and Dinesh who forced their way into The Writer’s Building, the epicentre of English government in West Bengal, and killed the officers who were famous for their rude and cruel treatment of the people and their various oppressive techniques). Many of Kolkata’s oldest commercial organizations have their headquarters here. The neighborhood has a combination of multi-story office buildings and colonial structures.

The modern CBD is located around Park Street, Camac Street, and AJC Bose Road to the south. There are many high-rise office buildings here, including some of Kolkata’s highest commercial structures, such as the Chatterjee International Centre, Tata Centre, Everest House, Industry House, and CGO Building. A modern CBD is being built in the Rajarhat (Newtown) neighborhood, between Salt Lake and the airport.

The Maidan (open field) is located between the Ganges and J.L.Nehru Road (or Chowringhee). It is supposed to be Kolkata’s lungs. Victoria Memorial, Eden Gardens, and other athletic clubs are all located amid the lovely green meadow. Kolkatans like strolling in the Maidan.

Many government offices have relocated to high-rise office buildings around Bidhan Nagar’s (Salt Lake) Central Park in an attempt to reduce congestion in the main metropolis.

The residential buildings are mostly lowrise and include of historic colonial structures as well as several contemporary four-story apartment flats. South Kolkata has seen a surge in the construction of ten- to twelve-story residential buildings. The city has reduced its high-rise development regulations, and twenty-story structures are becoming increasingly popular. The highest residential structures in eastern India, the four 35-story South City towers, have risen on Prince Anwar Shah Road.

Heavy building activities along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass is altering the city’s appearance. Luxury hotels, a conference center, specialty hospitals, condominium complexes, malls, and multiplexes are all being built at breakneck speed.

The development of a massive new city dubbed New Town close to the well-planned Bidhan Nagar is driving the city’s eastern growth. It is one of India’s biggest planned urban complexes, located in Rajarhat.

The neglected western section of the metropolitan agglomeration has lately received a boost with the signing of a deal with Chiputra, an Indonesian business, to construct the Kolkata West International City (KWIC). Dankuni is proposing yet another massive new township.

Slums and decaying buildings may be found in various parts of the city and house more than a quarter of the population (Census 2001). Slum rehabilitation projects have helped to improve living circumstances to some degree, but there is still much need for improvement in this region. Efforts to relocate slum inhabitants to newer projects have often met with opposition and failure since many of the slums are in prime sections of the city and slum dwellers who are integrated into the social structure of the neighborhood do not want to go.

Economy of Kolkata

Kolkata is quickly becoming a contemporary information-technology hub, with several private-sector enterprises establishing themselves here. The city’s scenery is likewise rapidly changing, with flyovers, gardens, and a slew of new commercial facilities. The metropolis of Kolkata has extended into its suburbs, with Greater Kolkata extending from Kalyani (in Nadia District) in the north to Diamond Harbour in the south (in the South 24 Parganas District).

Since the early 1990s, when the Indian economy was liberalized, the city’s fortunes have improved. Its economy has been one of the country’s fastest expanding. Popular attractions in the New Metro city include multiplexes, theaters, clubs, taverns, coffee shops, and museums.

Many industrial operations of significant Indian firms are located in Kolkata, and their product lines include engineering items, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewelry, frigates, vehicles, railway coaches, and wagons.

Several industrial estates are scattered across the metropolitan agglomeration, including Taratala, Uluberia, Dankuni, Kasba, and Howrah. Bantola has seen the construction of a massive leather complex. Falta has established an export processing zone. There are also specialized setups such as the country’s first Toy Park and a Gem and Jewellery Park.

Kolkata is likewise on its way to become a major IT (Information Technology) centre. Kolkata is gradually becoming a pro-IT town, with the creation of New Town at Rajarhat and the enlargement of Salt Lake’s Sector-V. More and more enterprises are relocating to Kolkata to establish up shop.

Internet, Comunication in Kolkata

Local, national, and international calls may be made from public call booths located around the city. Otherwise, a local sim card may be used to connect. Cell phone coverage is strong in the city, with all major mobile service carriers providing their services.

Kolkata’s area dialing code is 33. Dial +91 33 XXXX XXXX from outside India, or 033 XXXX XXXX from inside India. Dial +91 XXXXX XXXXX for mobile phones. There is just one area code in Kolkata (033).

Internet cafés are also plentiful, with prices ranging from $10 to $25 per hour. To use the internet at some cafes, you must present your identity card.

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