Kharagpur is an important industrial town in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is multi-cultural and cosmopolitan town. It is the most populated city of Paschim Medinipur district.The first Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), a group of Institutes of National Importance, was founded in Kharagpur as early as in May 1950.It is 116 km from Kolkata and forms an important station on Howrah-Mumbai, Howrah-Chennai road and railway route. This town also has one of the largest railway workshops in India, and the third longest railway platform in the world (1072.5 m).Kharagpur has an Air Force base in Kalaikunda, and another in Salua. There have been plans by the IAF to allow civil flights in Kalaikunda.
History
The name of Kharagpur comes from the name of the old Shiva temple Khargeswar, located at Kharagpur The Temple was established by King Kharag Singh Pal and was named after him. The land has mythological importance too. As depicted in the ancient epic narrative Mahabharata, this area was ruled by the Demon King Hiramba. Pancha Pandavas spent a part of their repatriation years here. Bhim had fallen in love with Hirimba, sister of Hiramba. This angered Hiramba, who fought with Bhim. It was believed that Hiramba was killed by Bhim at the very place where Khargeswar Temple is located.
Railways
The first railway establishment at Kharagpur started with the commissioning of the rail link between Cuttack – Balasore – Kharagpur and from Sini to Kolaghat via Kharagpur. Kharagpur as a junction station was established in Railway map in December 1898. The public mood and the reaction of society on introduction of rail transport in this region has been nicely depicted by the famous Bengali Novelist Dr Ramapada Choudhury (who was born and raised in Kharagpur) in his novel Prothom Prohor. It is said that the people were initially afraid to travel by train for fear of the bridge collapsing, and for fear of getting outcaste or Dalit status, since there were no separate seating arrangement for different castes and religions. However, things changed due to famines in the early 20th century. The railway company came forward and offered jobs to the local unemployed men, gave them free ride by train, and even offered a blanket for travelling by train. This promotional scheme broke the taboos and made rail transport acceptable to the society.
IIT Kharagpur
The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (or IIT KGP) is a public engineering, management, medical and law institution established by the government of India in 1951. The first of the IITs to be established, it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the government of India.
The institute was established to train scientists and engineers after India attained independence in 1947. It shares its organisational structure and undergraduate admission process with sister IITs. The students and alumni of IIT Kharagpur are informally referred to as KGPians. Among all IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the largest campus (2,100 acres),the most departments, and the highest student enrolment. IIT Kharagpur is known for its festivals: Spring Fest (Social and Cultural Festival), Kshitij (Techno-Management Festival), GES(Global Entrepreneurship Summit) and Annual Alumni Meet.
Geography
Kharagpur, the fourth largest city of West Bengal in area after Kolkata, Durgapur and Asansol and fifth most populated city of West Bengal after Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri, Durgapur - located at 22.330239°N 87.323653°E, covering an area of about 127 km2 located in south-western Midnapore.It has an average elevation of 29 metres (95 ft). This sub-division town is formed with Dalma Pahar and alluvial tract of Midnapore. It is intersected by numerous waterways, the important rivers being Subarnarekha, Keleghai and Kangsabati.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Kharagpur Urban Agglomeration had a population of 372339, out of which 190141 were males and 182896 were females. The 0–6 years population was 25,130. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 85.61.As of 2001 India census,Kharagpur had a population of 207,984 (municipality area) and 88,339 (railway sattlement area), the fourth largest in West Bengal. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Kharagpur has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 52%. In Kharagpur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kharagpur acquires its unique place in India as a town of mixed ethnicity and linguistic diversity.
Civic administration and utility services
Kharagpur Municipality looks after civic affairs in the city. There is a proposal to upgrade it to a Municipal Corporation after including railway area under its jurisdiction. As of now responsibility of civic amenities in railway area lies with the Divisional Railway Manager, Kharagpur Division who is also the head of railway establishment in Kharagpur.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Aircel, and Tata DoCoMo, are the leading telephone, cell phone and internet service providers in the city.
Railway
It is the busiest junction station in South Eastern Railway Zone after Howrah. Hence, it is often termed as Gateway to South Eastern Railway.Kharagpur has the longest platform of the world, Everyday approximately 275 trains pass through kharagpur which includes freight. So, in a bid to decongest Kharagpur station and speed up locomotives, South Eastern Railway has decided to develop Hijli (where IIT is located) as an alternative station for Kharagpur. In future, trains coming from Balasore side and going towards Adra or Tatanagar will stop at Hijli and bypass Kharagpur. The Howrah-Kharagpur section has been identified as one of the high density Automatic Block Section routes on Indian Railways. Thus plans are to deploy TPWS (Train Protection and Warning System) on this section to mitigate the risk of Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) by train drivers leading to accidents. It has also been identified as one of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) - on the East-West (Howrah-Mumbai), on the East-Coast (Kharagpur-Vijayawada). These routes would be operational well before 2020. This would create adequate capacity to meet the freight demand and also elevate the quality of service to global standards. Kharagpur has more stations in it like "Giri Maidan", "Hijli", "Nimpura" and "Kalaikunda".
Road Transport
Kharagpur also well connected with various places by road. There are many buses going to different places from Kharagpur Central Bustand situated beside Kharagpur Railway station. Different routes are Kharagpur-Jhargram, Kharagpur-Digha, Kharagpur-Tata, Kharagpur-Dhumsai, Kharagpur-Gopiballavpur, Kharagpur-Kolkata, Kharagpur-Haldia, Kharagpur-Siliguri, Kharagpur-Bankura, Kharagpur-Asansol,Kharagpur-Durgapur, Kharagpur-Baripada, Kharagpur-Keshiyari,Kharagpur-Rohini, Kharagpur-Tarakeswar (via Kamarpukur and Arambagh), etc.NH-6(Bombay-Kolkata Road) passes through this city.
Culture
Kharagpur is home to people from every religion and caste, from all over the country. At the same time, Kharagpur retains its small-town charm. Movie theaters include "Bombay Talkies," "Aurora," "Sitala," and "South Cinema." Bombay Cinema is now equipped with digital projection and surround sound system. People from various parts of the country have made Kharagpur their home and have settled there. Apart from Bengali, Hindi, English and Telugu are widely spoken languages.
Places of worship include a "Durga Mandir" at Gole Bazar,Sitala Mandir at Puratan Bazar, "Jagannath Mandir" near Gate Bazar, "Church" at Golebazar, "Gurudwara" at Subhaspally and at Nimpura, "Masjid" near Gole Bazar, Jalaram Temple at Jhapatapur and several temples and churches. The most famous festivals here are Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja, Saraswati Puja, Kali Puja, Ammavaari Puja, Navratri and others. Also Raas, and Mata Puja is conducted in a year by locals in the whole railway colony. Rath Mela celebrated near the premises of Jagannath Temple. Navratri festival is celebrated by the local Gujarati community every year by performing Garba/Raas at Gujarati School and Jalaram Temple. The biggest festival of all is the Dussehra or Ravan Pora.
Kharagpur has a Book Fair ("Kharagpur-er Boimela" in Bengali) which started in 2000 and happens every January. A Flower Fair ("Ful Mela" in Bengali) is also organized every year.
Digha is a popular tourist destination which is just 100 km from Kharagpur and hence one of the popular weekend getaway and picnic spot. Apart from this Kansai River also forms an important picnic spot for localites.
Reproduced from Wikipedia
