Shyamnagar, West Bengal

Geography

Shyamnagar is located at 22.83°N 88.37°E / 22.83; 88.37 in the Ganges Delta at an elevation of 2 m (6.6 ft). It is spread linearly along the banks of the River Hooghly in a north-south direction. Much of the city was originally a vast wetland, reclaimed over the decades to accommodate the city's burgeoning population. The remaining wetland, known as East Calcutta Wetlands has been designated a "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.

Like the most of the Indo-Gangetic plains, the predominant soil and water type is alluvial. Quaternary sediments consisting of clay, silt, various grades of sand and gravel underlie the city. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds, the lower one at depths between 250 m (820 ft) and 650 m (2,133 ft) and the upper one ranging between 10 m (33 ft) and 40 m (131 ft) in thickness. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing proneness to earthquakes) while the wind and cyclone zoning is "very high damage risk", according to UNDP report.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Shyamnagar under Barrackpur sub div. had a population of 441,956. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Shyamnagar has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 78% and female literacy of 66%. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The jute mills drew in a large labour force from the neighbouring states of Bihar and Orissa, as well as eastern Uttar Pradesh, quite often forming an overwhelming majority of the population in the area, living in shanty towns and bustees dotting the mill area.Also, a sizeable portion of the youths are engaged in the foreign and Indian Multinational companies who are opening their offices in the Salt Lake and Rajarhat area of Kolkata.

History

During the rule of Raja Krishnachandra Roy of Krishnanagar, the king gave the village called 'Mulajore' along with a title of ROY GUNAKAR to his court poet Bharatchandra Ray. In memory of Bharat Chandra Roy Gunakar there is a old and historic library named Bharat Chandra Library. It is situated close to the railway station.

Relatives of Rabindranath Tagore had set up Mulajor Kalibari at Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas and it is unknown to many people. Visit the temple beside Hooghly River that is located in an eye soothing natural scene. One of the priests said the temple was constructed on 31 Baishak in 1219 Bengali year around 200 years ago beside Hooghly River even before Dakhineswar Kali temple was set up by Rani Rashmoni Devi. Six priests are engaged for offering puja to goddess Kali and one of the temple priests said. "No dedicated book had been written on this temple and gradually history is fading away but we know relatives of Rabindranath Tagore constructed this temple".

Srijit Thakur is the surviving member of the Thakur family whose ancestors set up the temple, lives in ‘Rajbari’at Pathuriaghata Street near Natunbazar in Kolkata. Once upon a time Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestor Khitish Kusari came from Jessore District in Bangladesh to West Bengal and his next generation was Bhattanaryan and later Dinanath Kusari. "Dinanath’s son Panchanan got the title thakur since then his family member used to write the title Thakur instead of Kusari," said a priest . Jairam Thakur (Kusari) was latter generation had four sons- Anandiram, Nilmoni, Darpanarayan and Gobindaram. Prince Dwarkanath Tagore was the next generation of Anandiram, whose son was Debendranath and Rabindranath was his eighth son. Rabindranath however became "bramho" and did not believe in idol worshipping. It had not been known whether he ever visited the temple. Gopimohan Thakur, the son of Darpanarayan founded the temple. Gopimohan had two sons Prsanna Kumar and Harakumar and daughter Brahmamoyee.

Prasanna Kumar had one son Pradut Kumar and Harakumar had Jatindramohan. Surviving member Srijit Thakur is the son of Prabirendra mohan, who was the son of Pradut Kumar. According to local tale that the present place of the Kali temple was occupied of ‘Nandi’ (caste) and ‘Pirali’ so experienced priest from ‘Bhatpara toll (Sanskrit educational institution) ’ used to refuse offering puja to the goddess Mulajore Shyamnagar Kali as a result priests were brought from Bankura, Burdwan and other places. Later a Sanskrit College was set up by the king Gopimohan Thakur as a matter of pride and to make erudite Sanskrit students. Students were accommodated in this college hostel they used to take Prasad in the temple as a lunch and dinner. Ramkumar Chattopadhyaya, elder brother of Ramakrishna Dev was the student of this college. But that building was dilapidated and Rabindra Bhawan was set up by municipality replacing the college.

Overview

Shyamnagar is situated on the east bank of the Ganges. A famous Kali Temple is situated in between Shyamnagar railway station and river Ganges is known as Mulajore Kalibari. An auditorium named Rabindra Bhavan was built by Bhatpara Municipality by the side of this Kali Temple.It was said that there was a Sanskrit College in the Nineteenth century and Pandit Vidyasagar used to visit over there. A fair called Poush Mela is organised every year in Poush Mash according to Bengali calendar and between December and January in English calendar. The place becomes holy with the blessings of the goddesses Kali and Ganga. The Shyamnagar Book Fair is organised by Shubhas Shanga Club Battala every year at the time of Poush Mela at Kalibari area. Other than the Mulajore Kalibari there are three other famous Kali Bari (Kali Temple) situated in Shyamnagar. They are Chowrangi Kalibari, Sidhheswari Kalibari and Rakshakali temple. There is also one Buddhist monastery situated by the railway line.

Culture

The place is rich in culture and sports especially football.It is proud of the three exponents, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty in classical music, and Subrata Bhattacharya in football. Other prominent footballers from Shyamanagar are ex-Olympian Kesto Pal, Mahabir Prasad & Asoklal Banerjee, Prasanta Mitra, Sumit Mukherjee etc. An annual book fair is held in the Kali Bari grounds during the first week of January. This bookfare was started by a group of Some young man in 2001. Notable Bengali writer Troilokyanath Mukhopadhyay had his origin from Rahuta in Shyamnagar.

Shyamnagar is the famous for Durga Puja and Kali Puja. Visharjan (Immersion) of Maa Durga on Dusserha is also famous. It attracts many people to enjoy the Visharjana. Ganga is an eminent point at the time of Visharjana.

The most Prominent Clubs of Shyamnagar are:

1. Battala Netaji Subhash Sangha
2. Pratik Sangha
3. Basudebpur Road Sarbojanin
4. Tarun Dal,
5. Sabuj Sangha,
6. Yuger Pratik,
7. Tarun Sangha,
8. Provati Sangha
9. Nabajiban Sangha,
10. Santigarh Young Association,
11. Battala Young Star Club,
12. Jhautala Friends' Club
13. Athpur Aguan Anushilani
14. Surya Sena Sporting Club
15. Chhatra Sangathan Club
16. Saheb bagan sporting club
17. Subrata Pally
18. Rahuta Football Ground Club
19. Young Staff, Shalbagan
20. Suhrid Sangha, Gurdaha
21. Kalyan Sangha Club, Gurdaha Nutan Pally.
22. Sangharshi Club
23. Companion Athletics Friends' Club
24. Nagbagan Elo-Melo Sangha, Nagbagan
25. Udayan Sangh, Shyamnagar
26. Sitalapara Sporting Club
27. kalyan sangha club•
28. Sastitala Young Star Club

Exide Industries Limited

Nicco Corporation Limited - Cable Division

Nicco Corporation Limited - Cable Division, an ISO 9001:2008 & 14001:2004 certified unit, is located on East Ghosh Para Road, Athpur, Shyamnagar, on the banks of river Ganga.

The plant at Shyamnagar produces the following types of cables:-

Ramsarup Industries Limited

Apart from the above factories, there are other renowned factories:

1. Annapurna Cotton Mills
2. Gouri Shankar Jute Mills
3. Hindustan Lever (Dalda Division) - presently changed the name.

Trains

Local and passenger trains are available every now and then to go to Kolkata. Sealdah-Ranaghat and Barddhaman (via Bandel) main railway line crosses from the heart of the town.The famous Maitri Express, connecting not just two cities Kolkata to Dhaka but two countries, passes from this town.

Aeroplanes

Dum Dum Airport, better known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is less than 30 km from here and well connected by roadways.

Buses

It is served by two major roadways of the district - Ghoshpara Road and Kalyani Expressway. Both of them are well connected with the capital city of west Bengal, Kolkata. Few bus services available from various locations are: 1. Route no. 85 - a private bus service connecting Kanchrapara on one side to Barrackpore on the other. 2. WBSTC - a government bus service connecting shyamnagar to Garia (South Kolkata). 3. WBSTC - a government bus service connecting shyamnagar to Technopolis [JM 8] (From Naihati). 4. CSTC - another bus service connecting Shyamnagar to Digha (From Habra Bus Depot).

Ferry

Regular ferry services are available on river hooghly from Shyamnagar to Bhadreshwar (Chandanagore) at a regular interval of 15 minutes.

Education

Shyamnagar's schools are either run by the state government or by private organisations. Schools mainly use Bengali or English as the medium of instruction, though Hindi is also used. The schools are affiliated with any of the following — West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), and the National Institute of Open School (NIOS). Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in a 2-year junior college (also known as a pre-university) or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, ICSE or CBSE. Students usually choose from one of three streams — liberal arts, commerce, or science, though vocational streams are also available. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enrol in general or professional degree programmes.

List of some Reputed Schools in Shyamnagar :

1. St. Augustines' Day School
2. Authpur National Model H.S School
3. Shyamnagar Kanti Chandra High School
4. Mulajore Sitanath Pathsala High School
5. Shyamnagar Balika Vidyalaya (HS)
6. Authpur High (H/S) School
7. Authpur Balika Vidyalaya (HS)
8. Rishi Aravinda School (Boys)
9. Rishi Aravinda Balika Vidyalaya (Girls)
10. Jawharlal Nehru Smrity Vidya Mandir
11. Mandalpara Boys' High School
12. Mandalpara Girls' High School
13. Shree Gouri Shanker Jute Mills High School
14. Swami Vivekananda High school ;(vocational education/ civil engineering & Agriculture )x+2 Level
15. Brahmamayee Vidyamandir
16. Shantigarh Nivanani Smriti Vidyapith
17. Harakh Chand Kankaria Jain Vidyalaya
18. Green Park School Kankinara
19. Shyama Chandra H.S School

Administrative