Ghoraghata
Ghoraghata is a village and a Gram panchayat in Uluberia in the Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located between Howrah and Kharagpur on the South Eastern Railway (India), approximately 49 kilometers from the Howrah station. This railway halt is located between the stations Bagnan and Deulti.
| Ghoraghata ঘোড়াঘাটা | |
|---|---|
| village turned town | |
  Ghoraghata Location in West Bengal, India | |
| Coordinates: 22°27′N 87°56′E / 22.45°N 87.94°ECoordinates: 22°27′N 87°56′E / 22.45°N 87.94°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Howrah |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9 km2 (3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 9,000 |
| • Density | 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 711303 |
| Telephone code | 03214 |
Geography
Ghoraghata is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 5 m (16 ft). It is situated about 3 kilometers away from the bank of Rupnarayan River. The main road passing through the heart of the town is "Station Road" commonly referred to as the "Baadh" (a kind of breakwater created to protect the villages from floods). It is also connects to National Highway 6 (India), called the Bombay Road. This is an unplanned town.
"Ghoraghata" refers to the railways station including the surrounding localities. However, this place has been referred to using different names over time including, Brindabanpur. Ghoraghata includes wholly or partially a number of localities surrounding the railway station viz. Brindabanpur (Ghoraghata itself is sometimes referred to by this name for postal and electoral requirements), Durlluvpur, Nabasan, Pipulan, Kantapukur, Madari etc.
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The remodelled overbridge at the station
History
The Ghoraghata railway station was inaugurated in 1972.
The Sen para (suburb) was a prominent place in Ghoraghata. The 'Sen' family has substantial arable land in the region; they were 'zamindars' till the mid twentieth century.
Historically the 'Sen' family were the direct descendents of the Sen dynasty who ruled Bengal from 1070 AD to 1230 AD. The Sen's were originally from Karnata in South India who immigrated to Bengal. Prominent rulers of Bengal were Hemanta Sen, Vijay Sen, Ballal Sen, and Lakshman Sen. Lakshman Sen was succeeded by two of his sons Vishwarup Sen and Keshab Sen. The family tree after the fall of the Sen dynasty is not easily available.
The name Ghoraghata came from the Bengali words 'Ghora' (horse) and 'Ghat' (river crossing). During the British rule, horses used to be stationed for the Rupnarayan river crossing.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[2] Ghoraghata has a population of around 9000. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Ghoraghata has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 58%. In Ghoraghata, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Hindus and Muslims together form about 99% of the population.
Transport
Located on the South Eastern Railway (India), it is close to the National Highway 6 (India), also known as Bombay Road. It is about 50 km by rail and 60 km by road from Kolkata. Thus, proximity to Kolkata with good means of connectivity gives this place and added benefit and room for future growth.
The local transports exists in the form of rickshaws, rickshaw-vans, Trekker (kind of jeep). Recently, new routes have been started using trekkers from Ghoraghata station to neighboring regions such as Bakshi, Chakur etc. This has resulted in a significant growth in the number of daily commuters from these areas who; people of areas such as Bakshi would avail the trekker service to reach the Ghoraghata train station and then travel by train. These "Daily passengers" (as referred to in the local parlance) is gradually making Ghoraghata a more happening and busy station.
Economy
Paper Mill
The controversial Krishna Tissue paper mill was set up near the National Highway 6 (India) with 1 km from the Ghoraghata railway station. Initially, it was a welcome move in the region as it promised jobs for the localities as well as development of the region. However, it later turned out that the paper mill was a source of huge pollution in the region. Any paper mill uses huge amounts of water and is normally located close to a river for its supply of water. However, in this case it is located far off from the nearest river and that is because primarily of its locational advantage near the highway. In this case it draws huge amount of underground water and environmentalists worry that this may lead to a drop in the underground water table level in the long run. The discharge of poisons gases such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide was a cause of major concern for the neighboring people. A protest-group was formed which demanded that the factory discharges must be adhered to the pollution norms and some even demanded close-down of the factory. The strife between the factory management and the locals ("Krishna Tissue Dushon Protirodh Committee") is still on. Only time tell the future of such industrialization movement.
Market
The market is a major employment for the localities; there are as many as 250 shops for catering to a population of 5000 (including suburbs and remote areas). This main market place is located close to the station and is known as "Baadh"/"Station Bazar". This also becomes a place of 'adda' for the all sections of the society. All such shops are small retail stores which are often unable to apply economies of scale; rather they often charge a premium when compared with the larger markets in Bagnan, Kulgachia, etc.
Occupation
Agriculture
Agriculture was the primary occupation of the people in these parts. With declining margins in the agri sector, and increased risks the poor have been more involved in outsourced labour with small but guaranteed wages. Gradually, with industrialization, small mills (rice mills etc.) have started off.
Jaggery
Politics
Ghoraghata consists of a balance of power in so far as the local political parties are concerned. In 2008, the panchayet elections saw a major change ("Paribartan -er Hawa") similar to what happened in the rest of West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has gained considerable ground in the region.
Sultan Ahmed of the TMC has been the member of parliament for Uluberia since 2010. As a result, the TMC party wielded substantial power in the region.[3] With the defeat of Hannan Mollah, the new MP Sultan Ahmed has taken substantial steps in consolidating the party at grassroot levels.
The current MLA from Bagnan (SC) is Arunava Sen (Raja Da) of TMC, who won the seat in State elections of 2011.
Education
Education in this region has been mainly centered around primary and secondary. The reason for this is because of the fact that most of the students move to nearby colleges for higher education viz. Bagnan college (3 km), Bagnan High School, Adarsha High School. The notable schools in Ghoraghata are Ananda Niketan School; in addition, the Ghoraghata Primary School, Pipulyan Primary School, Ideal KG School caters to the beginners. Given the growth in this region a good school would be a prozed bet.
Places of interest
In spite being a small town located quite far off from Kolkata, Ghoaraghata has a number of places of interest.
Temple of Gangadhar
(West Pipulyan Village)This is an old temple of Lord Shiva (Gangadhar) is very "jaghgrata" and is known for doing miracles to its worshipers.
Anandaniketan School
Ananda Niketan started its health services to the people by establishing Seva Sadan in 1960. The then Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal was a great patronage of Ananda Niketan and Seva Sadan was renamed as “Bidhan Chandra Seva Sadan”. At present it maintains an Out-Patient Clinic includes both allopathic & homeopathy, from where a good number of patients from the locality and surroundings Villages receive free medical consultant and treatment. It provides a wide range of services to the society.
House of Eminent Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chatterji
However this place of interest is not located in Ghoraghat but in a separate village called Samtaber. The house of eminent Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chatterji is about 3.5 km from Ghoraghata in Panitras's Samtaber near Deulti.
River Beach in Kantapukur
The riverside at Kantapukur is just about 3 km from the railway station and is frequented for picnics, parties and gatherings.
Bhiteberer Kali Mandir
This old temple of Goddess Kali is very famous. This temple is situated at Kajibhuenrah, a village 2.5 km away from ghoraghat railway station.
Festive Seasons
The place starts buzzing during the Durga pujas and there are tens of puja pandals in this region
=KAli puja at NABACHAKRA CALTURAL
The oldest club in the neighborhood, Bandhab Samity (founded in the 1940s) celebrates Durga Puja with great pomp and show.
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Bandhab Samity Durga PujaPratima Idol
Ghoraghata nabachakra cultural societies (founded in the 1976).Kali puja of this club is very known.
See also
External links
- Map of Howrah district
- Indian Rail Info
- SE Railway Engineering Diagram of Ghoraghata
- Website of the Ananda Niketan School
References
- ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Ghoraghata or Brindabanpur
- ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ↑ Election results
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