Shibpur

Shibpur (Bengali: শিবপুর) is a residential area located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is well known for being the location of the Indian Botanical Garden, the Bengal Engineering College and the "Hazar Hath Kaali" Temple. The famous Bengali linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji was born in Shibpur.

History

The area was home to many royal landlords (jamindars) in Bengal. During the era of the British rule in India, the landlords sold their possessions to build jute mills. These included the successful jute mills such as the "Howrah Jute Mill" and the "Bengal Jute Mill" amongst others. The proximity to Kolkata's southern district and the central business district which is just across the river brought many middle class office goers to seek cheaper lodging in Shibpur.

Recent developments

Before the Vidyasagar Setu project a vast tract of land near used to be a marsh and only dotted by few villages. Which is a dream of distant past now after building the iconic bridge and the Kona express way easily connecting the place with heart of Kolkata and the national highway and the industrial sector in Dasnagar. Notably the Kolkata port was connected to the rest of India easier than the other existing route through Howrah Bridge and Bally bridge which are famous for their congested rush hour traffic. As a result of that the place has good an attention recently over again. The town saw an immediate rush for land after the proposal for the bridge. Now various important buildings of district is located in the town namely the water purifying plant near Amtala and the Dumurjala stadium and a good number of women's hockey clubs. It has also turned up in the recent real estate boom the metropolis over the last 10 years Shibpur has developed into a popular residential community. Many multi-storied apartment complexes have been built (e.g. Panchsheel Apartments) attracted by the location near the River Ganges, as well as by the easy connection to South Kolkata over the Vidyasagar Setu bridge. Newly constructed roads have made access to the area very easy. Many parts have turned up as a transportation gateway to Kolkata.

Culture

The eminent novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay lived in Baje Shibpur, at north of Shibpur. Shibpur is notorious for its narrow lanes and high density built up town space. Shibpur has a chequered history in the field of culture. The residents of this place are well known for their interest in music, the arts and literature. Many luminaries of West Bengal in the fields of sports and athletics reside here. The only indoor stadium in Howrah, the Dumurjala Indoor Stadium, is located in the western fringe of Shibpur along the Drainage Canal road.

Popular Areas

Being a largely populated city Shibpur has its share of areas and places that play the role of landmarks and "hangout" points, such as - Mandirtala: the Shibpur entrance to the "Vidyasagar Setu", a very popular jogging track and rendezvous point. It was named 'Mandirtala' due to two popular Mandirs of Lord Shiva situated here. Nearby popular places are Sashthitala & Shibpur Bazar, Hazar Hath Kalitala, Dumurjola Stadium. Shibpur Bazaar is a busy marketplace, where most of Shibpur's shops and stalls are located.

Shalimar is a terminus station for south eastern railway, is also a port. Shalimar port is even older than the Kolkata port made by the colonial rulers. Shalimar port was in function during the Mughal Empire, which was connected to the rest of the country with Grand Trunk Road.

Shibpur contain many of the good schools and colleges in West Bengal. The eminent institution Bengal Engineering College, the fourth oldest engineering college in India, was given the status of a university making it the first university in Howrah. The university was renamed the Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur. Vivekananda Institution is a well known school in the state for its large number of good students.

Dumurjala adds to sports excellence of Howrah which is known for the football talents like Sailen Manna. The newly built indoor stadium is encircled with a clubs devoted to various sports and athletic activities like swimming, hockey and cricket, not to mention football.

Problems

Even after all the improvement in the recent two decades the place is not free of the usual problems with Howrah. The amount of road space to the population in Howrah is too small compared to even smaller towns by populations like Berhampur. Even though being the second largest urban area in the state the city saw almost no development in the last century. The emigrant labor force from the rest of the state's rural areas and neighbor states take refuge in the cheaper quarters in Howrah bringing the already poor infrastructure of the town to the brink of collapse. Recent activities like broadening the national highways and several town roads will surely be a relief to the bottle necked connectivity of the town. New industrial proposals in the town along with the reallocation of smoky old foundry industry away from the city will bring a fresh breeze in the lungs of Howrah. Shibpur being in the heart of the district will surely improve its quality of life (which is already comparably better than the rest of Howrah).

Politics

Shibpur is part of Howrah (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web
url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S25/WB_Dist_PC_AC.pdf
title = Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies
accessdate = 2008-10-02
work = West Bengal
publisher = Election Commission of India ]

External links