Bidhannagar


Bidhannagar, also known as Salt Lake City, is a city and a municipal corporation of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Bidhannagar subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is located on the north-eastern side of Kolkata.
Bidhannagar's Salt lake is a planned region of Kolkata. It was planned and developed between 1958 and 1965 to accommodate the burgeoning population of Kolkata. Bidhannagar in Kolkata metropolitan area is under the administration of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. Keeping with its original name, it is commonly referred to as Salt Lake City.
The city is considered the main IT hub of Eastern India and Kolkata, West Bengal. The Nabadiganta Industrial area of Bidhannagar has always played a key role in the economic health of the city area. As of April 2019, Sector V of Bidhannagar had approximately 1,500 companies.

Etymology

The city is named after Bidhan Chandra Roy, the founder of Salt Lake area of the city, the second Premier of West Bengal and the first Chief Minister of West Bengal.

History

During the Salt Satyagraha, the people of Mahishbathan between present day Salt Lake and Rajarhat Newtown joined the Salt Satyagraha movement by preparing salt using indigenous methods. The main initiator of the movement was Lakshmikant Pramanik, the zamindar of Mahishbathan.
Bidhannagar's Master Planner and Chief Architect was Dobrivoje Tošković from SFR Yugoslavia, now Serbia.
Bidhannagar's architecture has modern landmarks, such as the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan or Salt Lake Stadium.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Bidhannagar Municipality had a population of 218,323 in an area of approximately 13.16 square km with a density of about 16,590 persons per square kilometre. However, the area of Bidhannagar Municipality was 33.50 square km because it includes East Kolkata Wetlands area, where very few floating people live. Bidhannagar Municipality has an average literacy rate of 90.44%, with male literacy of 93.08% and female literacy of 87.69%.

Geography

Salt Lake is located in the southeastern part of West Bengal. The city area sits within the lower Ganges Delta of eastern India. The Salt Lake area of Kolkata city was formed by land reclamation, which was done in the 1950s and 1960s to accommodate the growing population. Salt Lake is located on the north eastern area of Kolkata, the state capital; west of Ghojadanga, a border checkpoint; and north of Bakkhali.
According to the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, the city area has a total area of, with approx of it being land, and approx, or 45.5% of the total, being covered by water. It has an average elevation of 11 metres.
East Kolkata Wetlands, located within the city limits of Bidhannagar, lies across the southern part of the city. It is one of the two Ramsar sites in West Bengal, the other being the Sundarban Wetland.

Civic administration

Bidhannagar is administered by several government agencies. The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, or BMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 6 boroughs, which together encompass 41 wards. Each ward elects a councilor to the BMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets. The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation.
Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority was created in January 2006. It supplies water; maintains sewerage, roads, street signals; furnishes important buildings and collects property tax and fees in Sector - V.

Police

The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate is responsible for law enforcement in the city area. Out of 13 police stations of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, 9 police stations are engaged in controlling law and order in city area.

Transport

Bidhannagar has a bus terminal named Karunamoyee Bus Terminus. A variety of AC & Non-AC Buses depart from this terminus.
WBTC Bus
  • AC-9
  • AC-38
  • AC-23A
  • AC-14
  • EB-12
  • S-22
  • S-46
  • S-4
  • S-9
  • S-14
  • S-16
  • S-23A
  • 14A
  • AC-30S
  • S-12N
  • S-30A
  • S-64
Other WBTC buses which ply on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and Biswa Bangla Sarani are as follows:
  • AC-9B
  • AC-4B
  • AC-12
  • AC-37A
  • AC-43
  • AC-47
  • AC-49
  • AC-4A
  • EB-3
  • EB-14
  • EB-16
  • C-8
  • C-23
  • M-14
  • S-3W
  • S-4D
  • S-9C
  • S-12
  • S-12E
  • S-30
  • AC-37
  • AC-50A
  • V-1
The modes of transportation like other parts of Kolkata includes air conditioned/non-ac government/private buses, Yellow taxi and other popular options like auto rickshaw and e-rickshaws. The Howrah Maidan - Salt Lake Sector V - Teghoria Line of the Kolkata Metro is in operation since 14 February 2020, now connects Salt Lake Sector V and Sealdah. The New GariaDum Dum Airport Line of the Kolkata Metro, which passes through the Salt Lake Bypass, is under-construction with cost inflation and delays.

Education

Colleges

  1. All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health
  2. Bidhannagar Government College
  3. Bose Institute
  4. Government College of Engineering and Leather Technology
  5. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata
  6. Institute of Engineering and Management
  7. International School of Business and Media
  8. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology
  9. National Institute of Fashion Technology
  10. National Institute of Homoeopathy
  11. National Council of Science Museums
  12. Institute of Health Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata
  13. Rabindra Bharati University
  14. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
  15. S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
  16. Techno India University
  17. Jadavpur University's Second Campus
  18. University of Calcutta's Technology Campus
  19. Unitedworld School of Business
  20. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
  21. West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences

    Schools

Schools in Salt Lake include the:
  1. Pearl Rosary School, Affiliated to CBSE, BK Block, Near Tank 8
  2. Bidhannagar Government High School,
  3. Bidhannagar Municipal School, a combined primary and high school and
  4. a branch of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, named Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir,
  5. Salt Lake School,
  6. Kalyani Public School near CK Market, formerly Mother International School,
  7. Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education near Sector V Metro Station,
  8. Laban Hrad Vidyapith.
  9. Also, there are two Kendriya Vidyalaya in Salt Lake viz. K.V. No. 1 Salt Lake and K.V. No. 2 Salt Lake.
  10. Apeejay School Saltlake
Catholic schools include:
  1. St. Joan's School,
  2. Our Lady Queen of the Missions School and
  3. St. Francis Xavier School.