Kalyani, West Bengal

History

Kalyani, located in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, is a relatively young town. During the Second World War, Kalyani, was the site of an American military airbase, formed out of 45 villages in the district of Nadia. The military garrison town was named after the American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt as "Roosevelt Town" or "Roosevelt Nagar". Hangars and other reminders of the airfield are still visible in the 'A' Block and some areas around Kalyani University, whose buildings were built on or over the runways. After World War II, the American military left the base, and the airfield and hangars went into disuse.

Development of modern Kalyani is credited to then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, who named the city "Kalyani", after the daughter of Nilratan Sircar. After Independence of India, in 1950, the master plan of the town was developed and the foundation stone for the town was laid by then Governor of West Bengal, Kailashnath Katju, on 24 February 1951. This town was built in a short time in order to host the 51st Indian National Congress meeting in 1954. In the same year, the name of the current Kalyani railway station, was changed from "Chandmari Halt". In 1957, the Kalyani police station was formed. In 1979, the rail line was extended from Kalyani main to Kalyani Simanta station and also established direct connectivity to Kolkata through Kalyani local EMU trains.

In 1995, Kalyani Municipality was established, which has been crucial in development of infrastructure in Kalyani. In 2014, Kalyani was selected as a candidate for "Smart City" project.

Geography and urban structure

Kalyani is located in the Nadia district of West Bengal, within the Kolkata metropolitan area. Kalyani lies along the east bank of the Hooghly River, within the upper Ganges Delta. As with most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin. Kalyani is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone III; according to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk".

Kalyani is a planned city, having underground drainage systems, tree-lined avenues, community parks, paved roads intersecting each other at 90-degree angles. The city itself is divided into four blocks — Block A, Block B, Block C and Block D, which are further divided into sub-blocks. Block A is mostly residential in character with commercial market in A-2 and near the Kalyani Main Railway station. Development in Kalyani started from Block B, which has residential as well as mixed use patterns. The Kalyani Main Post Office, Kalyani Town Club, Industrial Training Institute, Electricity, Telephone offices and the Public Library along with offices of major Banks is situated in Block B. 2 No Market, Saptaparni Market and 3 No Market are the major markets in Kalyani, all of which is situated in Block B. Major parks like the Central Park, Lake Park and Picnic Garden is located in Block B. Block C and Block D are located north of the Kalyani Simanta branch line. Block C is reserved for institutional use and is largely occupied by the Kalyani University and Kalyani Government Engineering College. Block D is the industrial zone, consisting of many small and medium-sized industries.

In June 2015, the Government of West Bengal declared establishment of an "Analytics City" in Kalyani, which was projected to attract investments of more than Rs 3,000 crore in next three years. In the first phase, being developed over 52 acres off Kalyani Expressway, the hub will accommodate academic, residential and commercial centers apart from real estate projects.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Kalyani has a population of 100,620. Males constitute 50.55% of the population and females 49%. Kalyani has an average literacy rate of 88.75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 92.79%, and female literacy is 84.65%. In Kalyani, 7.55% of the population is under 6 years of age. The sex ratio of Kalyani is 978. As per 2001 Census, the average household size of Kalyani is approximately 4.61. Percentage of main workers out of total population is 29%.

Civic administration and utility services

The town is within the Bongaon Lok Sabha Constituency and elects one member to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Indian Parliament). The town area is covered by one assembly constituency, Kalyani that elects one member to the Vidhan Sabha, which is the West Bengal state legislative assembly. Kalyani town comes under the jurisdiction of the district police (which is a part of the state police); the Superintendent of Police oversees the town's security and matters pertaining to law and order. Kalyani is also the seat of the Subdivisional Court.

Kalyani quickly registered itself as a self-sufficient township. Its gradual development continued as a notified area. In 1995, it was upgraded to a municipality.

Transport

Kalyani main station is on the Sealdah-Ranaghat Line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway. Apart from the Kalyani main station, there are three other stations on the branch line which goes deeper into the Kalyani town — Kalyani Silpanchal, Kalyani Ghoshpara and Kalyani Simanta. Kalyani is connected directly with Kolkata through Kalyani Expressway, which is currently being expanded to four-lanes. An extension of Kalyani Expressway connects the National Highway 2 near Bansberia through Iswar Gupta Setu. Kalyani is also accessible through National Highway 34, which is around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away. Rickshaws, E- rickshaw and Auto-rickshaws are used for local conveyance. Intra-city buses to important cities and towns in West Bengal, including Kolkata and Siliguri are operated by both Government and private operators. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located around 45 kilometres (28 mi) south, operates domestic and international flights.

Education

Kalyani's schools are run by the state government or private organisations. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction. Schools in Kalyani follow the "10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, the ICSE, or the CBSE. They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science. Vocational programs are also available. Among the schools in Kalyani whose mode of instruction is English includes, Julien Day School, Springdale High School, Kalyani Central Model School, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya; while Kalyani University Experimental High School, Pannalal Institution, Bidhan Chandra Memorial Government Girls' High School, Kalyani Shikshaytan instructs in Bengali. There are some pre-schools in Kalyani, which include The Caterpillar Clubhouse, Tiny Tots, etc.

Kalyani has two universities — University of Kalyani and Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, (near Mohanpur); one central institute of higher importance - Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kalyani, three engineering colleges - Kalyani Government Engineering College, Ideal College of Engineering and JIS College of Engineering; One medical college - College of Medicine & JNM Hospital and other institutes of higher education and research, including National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Institute of Public Health and Policy, Eastern Regional Station of National Dairy Research Institute. Kalyani Mahavidyalaya - a general degree college under University of Kalyani and Snehansu Kanta Acharya Institute of Law are among the other institutes of higher education. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Telecom Training Center, Netaji Subhas Regional Institute of Cooperative Management and State Institute of Panchayats and Rural Development are among the state level training and development institutes in their respective field.

The main campus of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (IISER-K) is located in nearby Haringhata. The main campus of BCKV, University college of West Bengal University of Technology is located at Mohanpur near Kalyani. Clinical training of the students of West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences are imparted at Mohanpur campus.

Healthcare

Healthcare system in Kalyani consists of both government and private healthcare facilities. The Army hospital established during WWII by the American and British alliance was the first hospital in Kalyani. Later former Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr. B.C. Roy converted it into a hospital for tuberculosis patients in the 1960s, currently known as Netaji Subhash Sanatorium. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, a 500-bed hospital, is one of the major hospitals in the town. A medical college, College of Medicine & JNM Hospital, established in 2009, which acts as the University college of West Bengal University of Health Sciences. Gandhi Memorial Hospital has a dedicated cardiac surgery and cardiology department. ESI Hospital provides healthcare to workers under Employees' State Insurance scheme.

In June 2014, the central government gave in-principle clearance for setting up All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Kalyani. This project was shifted from earlier plans of setting up the AIIMS at Raiganj because of problems in land acquisition. The project will cost nearly Rupees 850 Crores.

Sports

Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, a cricket ground, hosts national level and club level cricket matches. It is also the home ground of Bengal cricket team. Kalyani Stadium hosts national level football matches.The Kolkata Giants Mohun Bagan, East Bengal FC and Mohammedan S.C. use Kalyani Stadium as their home ground in some national level matches. A swimming pool and well-equipped gymnasium are attached with the said Stadium.