About Khardah Theke Bolchi in B.T. Road, Khardah

Khardaha is a city and municipality of Barrackpore subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

★ History :-

Local stories date it back to the time of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. It is said that he once arrive to this place in a boat of hay ('Khar' in Bengali) and hence the name Khardaha. "Daha" means water bodies. It was full of water bodies at that time as it was for the entire southern part of Bengal.

★ Geography : -

Khardaha is located at 22°43′N 88°23′E / 22.72°N 88.38°E. It has an average elevation of 15 m (49 ft). It is a rail-station on the Sealdah-Ranaghat section, sandwiched between Sodepur (to the south) and Titagarh (to the north). Usually, the western side of the rail-station is called Khardaha and the eastern side is called Rahara. Khardaha is only 20 km away from Calcutta city center.

The western part of Khardaha is a much older settlement. The eastern part Rahara is a much newer settlement. It used to be dense forest even 200 years back. The place was named after famous Portuguese dacoit "Rada" (pronunciation - Raw-ra) of late 17th Century.

Khardaha is 19 km from Sealdah Station, on the Sealdah-Naihati section of Eastern Railway.

★ Economy :-

Over time it became prosperous because of its proximity to Calcutta. One jamindar (landlord of a vast area) built 26 Shiv Temples here similar to Benaras so that people didn't have to go to Benaras. The majority of population work in service sector in nearby Calcutta. Some grow vegetables in the nearby fields. There are also some manufacturing units located on the main arterial road BT road. Rest are traders and there are many small trades in the area.

★ Demographics :-

As of 2001 India census, Khardaha had a population of 116,252. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khardaha has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 75%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Khardaha, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age. An overwhelming majority of the population is Hindu Bengali having fled from what is now Bangladesh following religious persecution in the hands of Muslims majority of that area. Bengali is the most widely spoken language, though Hindi and English is also understood.
© Khardah Theke Bolchi