Haora district General information

owrah district is a district of the West Bengal state in eastern India. The district is named after its headquarters, the city of Howrah.

History

Howrah, the second largest city of West Bengal and twin of Kolkata is said to have a rich history that dates back to 500 years. The name itself is possibly derived from a village named Harirah which was located in  or about the site of modern day Howrah City. Venetian explorer Ceasare Federici was the first european who mentioned  a place called Bator in his journal in 1578 AD which is identifiable with the modern day place around the Howrah City. The Bengal Council of East India Company, on the accession of the Emperor Farrukshiyar to the throne of Delhi in AD 1713, sent a deputation to him praying for a settlement of the villages 'Salica' (Salkia), 'Harirah'(Howrah), 'Cassundeah'(Kasundia),   'Ramkrishnopoor' (Ramkrishnapur), and 'Battar'(Betor) to the west of river Bhagirathi and once the settlement was made in favour of the East India Company the places were quickly adopted as exit and entry point of sea fareing business hubs and the modernisation of Howrah city as we know it now, began.

Geography

This smallest district in West Bengal is situated between 22o12’ 30” and 22o46’ 55” north latitude and 88o22’ 10” and 87o50’ 45” east longitude. It was recently transferred from the Burdwan Division to the Presidency Division under Government of West Bengla Notification No. 999-G.A. dated March 4, 1963.

            It is bounded on the north by the Arambagh and Serampore subdivisions of the Hooghly district; on the east by Calcutta and the Barrackpur, Alipur and Diamond Harbour subdivisions of the 24-Parganas district; on the south by the Tamluk subdivision of the Midnapur district; and on the west partly by the Tamluk and Ghatal subdivisions of the latter district and partly by the Arambagh subdivision of the Hooghly district. The boundaries are partly natural and partly artificial. On the west and south-west the Rupnarayan, and on the east and south-east the Bhagirathi constitute natural boundaries, while on the north, except for small stretches to the north-east and north-west bounded by the Baly Khal and the Damodar respectively, the boundary is formed by an artificial line marking the southern limits of the Hooghly district.

Tourist Place

The Howrah Bridge or the Rabindra Setu
 
The old Howrah Bridge, a floating pontoon Bridge, was opened in October 1874 and made over to Port Commissioners who managed and maintained it. Designed by the late Sir Bradford Leslie, it had a total length of 1528 feet between centres of abutments and provided a 48’ feet roadway and two 7’ feet footways. The most novel feature was the removable section which when floated out gave a 200’ feet clear openings, with a head room of 22’ feet, were also provided for smaller crafts. The adjusting ways or shore spans, one at each end of the bridge, consisted of three 160’ feet long bow string girders.

The Great Banyan Tree
 
This tree is the  chief attraction and also the pride and glory of the Garden. It resembles more like a forest than a single tree and evokes awe and wonder in the minds of the vast multitude of daily visitors. The tree has sent down innumerable roots from its branches vertically to the ground and the roots have grown thick and shout to bear all the appearance of so many trunks. The striking development of the aerial roots from branches is peculiarity of the Banyan tree. The main trunk of the Banyan tree was about 51 feet in girth in December, 1894 and the aerial roots which actually reached the ground at that date numbered 378 and the roots newly formed which did not reach the ground numbered 100. It may be observed that aerial roots are thrown out from such places where support for the horizontally spreading branches is mostly required. The circumference of the leafy dead of the tree, if its sinnosities be followed, is 976 ft. otherwise it is 858 feet. The tree is not symmetrical and the main stem does not stand on the centre of the space covered by it. The long diameter of the space is 287 ft. and the short diameter is 264 feet. during the great Cyclones of 1864 and 1867 several of the largest limbs on the northern and western sides were removed. Breaking of branches by frequent severe storms of wind during the hot season is a regular feature. The southern side has however hitherto entirely escaped damage by storms. The age of the tree is not actually known but according to current of tradition prevailing in the neighbourhood, in 1786 when the garden was established, the tree was quite a small tree growing on the top of a wild date-tree under which a Sadhu used daily to sit. According to this tradition the age of the tree would be 235 years now in 2004.

Belur Math & temple

Belur Math is situated just outside the boundary of Howrah Municipal Corporation on the north and stands on the West Bank of the river Hooghly. It was founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda, the great savant of India, and other disciples of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa, who is regarded by the Hindus as an incarnation of God and occupies a place of great honour amongst the religious leaders of the world. A magnificent temple has been built at a great cost by the unique munificence of two pious American ladies, Miss Helen Rubel and Mrs Auna Worcester.

 Garchumuk

Situated at the confluence of the Hooghly and the Damodar, this spot has a quiet scenic beauty. The undulating irrigation canal connecting the two  rivers  add to the beauty of the spot.

There are two Bungalows of Howrah Zilla Parishad. The new Bungalow is situated in the vicinity of the confluence. There is also one deer park within the campus of the old bungalow.        
            Though the spot is yet to take a place in the tourist map, it can be developed as a major tourist spot with adequate publicity, proper maintenance of the deer park and beautification of the embankment.

Panitras-Samtaber

It is the home place of the immortal Bengali novelist Sri Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Though he was a Bengali writer, his great novels and short stories dealing in human emotions are translated in almost all major languages of India. His two-storied dwelling house is situated at Panitras or Samtaber village on the bank of the river Rupnarayan in a perfect lonely village atmosphere of Bengal. The building is now preserved as a Museum where mementoes of Saratbabu like table, chair, chappals, stick, bed, writing tables are kept apart from his works(books),some manuscripts and personal  letters. Saratbabu spent twelve years(1926-1938) of his literary life in this place before permanently settling at Kolkata. During this period he created some of his finest stories & novels such as Abagir Swarga, Bamuner Meye, Palli Samaj, Ramer Sumati, Mahesh, Srikanta(4th part).

Second Hooghly Bridge or Vidyasagar Setu

Vidyasagar Setu – otherwise known as the Second Hooghly Bridge opened to the traffic in 1992 is the finest product of modern architecture and technology. It is intricately connected with the cities of Kolkata and Howrah by a series of over-bridges and situated at a distance of 1.5 k.m. southwards of Ravinrda Setu.It is erected on only four pillars and hanged on 121 number of iron ropes. The bridge is 458 metres long and 115 metres wide. One can have a glimpse of a large part of

Kolkata standing at the middle of the bridge. The beauty of the bridge and its background is largely utilized by the Film Industries of India for shooting purposes.