Dakshineshwar
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Dakshineswar is a locality in the North 24 Parganas under the jurisdiction of
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is the statutory planning and development authority for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) in the state of West Bengal, India. The organisation used to be known as Calcutta Metropolitan Developm ...
and is very close to
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. This place is historically famous for
Dakshineswar Kali Temple Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu navaratna temple in Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali, otherw ...
, locally known as Maa Bhabatarini Mandir.


Geography


Location

Dakshineswar is located at . Surrounded by Alambazar,
Baranagar ("City of hogs") , settlement_type = City , image_seal = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia , pushpin_label_ ...
(separated by Belghoria Expressway) in South, Ariadaha in North, Dunlop in East and
Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
(locally called
Hooghly River The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...
) in West.
Hooghly River The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...
is considered sacred to Hindus and its water is considered holy.


Police station

Belgharia Belgharia is a locality in Kamarhati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and a vital locality in Kolkata metropol ...
police station under
Barrackpore Police Commissionerate ) , mission = , formedyear = 2012 , formedmonthday = 20 January , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = Commissioner of Police Deputy commissioners Additional Deputy Commissioners Assistant Commissioners Pol ...
has jurisdiction over Kamarhati Municipal area.


Pilgrimage centre

Dakshineswar is the most important international pilgrimage centre in the district.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu navaratna temple in Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali, otherw ...
was built in 1855 by
Rani Rashmoni Rashmoni Das, popularly known as Rani Rashmoni, also spelled as Rani Rasmani (28 September 1793 – 19 February 1861), was an Indian businesswoman, Zamindar, philanthropist and the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata and remaine ...
. The temple is famous for its association with Shri Ramkrishna Paramahamsha Dev, a mystic of 19th Century Bengal. Large number of people gather at Dakshineswar throughout the year especially on the day of Shyama Puja, Shiva Chaturdashi, Bengali New Year's Day (''naba barsha''), Akshaya Tritiya and on 1 January every year on the occasion of Kalpataru Utsava (the day Shree Ramkrishna attained ''siddhi'') As per the ''District Statistical Handbook'', "Panchabati Ban is the place where Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansha Dev planted five (pancha) trees i.e. Asvattha, Bata, Bel, Asok and Amlaki, under which he used to meditate. The Panchamundi Asan is called so because there are five human skulls buried underneath and Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansha Dev used to sit and meditate on the ''asan'' (seat) and attained ''siddhi'' (enlightenment/attainment with the Holy Spirit i.e. the God; in his case Goddess Kali)." Adyapeath Ashram, located nearby at Dakshineswar, is the house of deities of Sri Adya Shakti.


Military Camp

Dakshineswar is also home to
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
,
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
camps, Border Security Forces. There are various Military housing facilities for the armed forces with a primary school in the camp. The navy also uses the river for various water sports.


Economy


Industry

WIMCO, a Swedish match company, which established in the 1920s a factory at Dakshineswar, was taken over by
ITC Limited ITC Limited is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata. ITC has a diversified presence across industries such as FMCG, hotels, software, packaging, paperboards, specialty papers and agribusiness. The company has 13 businesses in ...
in 2011. Emami Paper Mills Ltd. manufactures newsprint from waste paper. It is one of the largest producers of newsprint in the country. It has two plants – one at Dakshineswar and the other at Balgopalpur, Balasore.


Tourism

Dakshineswar is one of the most important religious shrine for the Hindus and people from all over the World visit the Dakshineswar Kali Temple everyday in numbers. Along with the Kali temple, there are other important Hindu temples like the Adyapeath temple,
Ramakrishna Sarada Math Ramakrishna Sarada Math is a religious monastic order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was established in 1929 at Bagbazar, Kolkata.''Swami Nirmalananda- His Life and Mission'' – Ottapalam Ramakrishna Ashrama. History In 19 ...
and many more. Because of a large number of temples in the town and the Ganges River flowing by, it is also regarded as a twin town of Varanasi by the locals.


Transport

Belghoria Expressway is a tolled
expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...
connecting the junction points of NH 19 and NH 16 at Rajchandrapur (near
Dankuni Dankuni is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is now part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is considered posh area in Hooghly. Geography Location Da ...
) to Dakshineswar, across
Nivedita Setu Second Vivekananda Bridge (also called Nivedita Setu) is a multi-span extradosed bridge completed 2007 over Hooghly River connecting Howrah with Kolkata, in West Bengal. It runs parallel to and about 50 m downstream of the old Vivekananda Setu ...
and then to NH 12 (
Jessore Road Jessore Road is a road connecting Shyambazar through Dum Dum, both neighbourhoods in Kolkata, India, to Jessore in Bangladesh. While the Dum Dum-Barasat sector is now part of NH 12, the Barasat-Petrapole sector is now part of NH 112. It conti ...
), near Dumdum/Kolkata Airport. Dakshineswar is also connected by ordinary toll-free PWD Road to
Dankuni Dankuni is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is now part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is considered posh area in Hooghly. Geography Location Da ...
across
Vivekananda Setu Vivekananda Setu (also called Willingdon Bridge and Bally Bridge) is a bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It links the city of Howrah, at Bally, to Kolkata, at Dakshineswar. Completed on 1931, it is a multispan truss bridge ...
(old Bally Bridge) and to Dunlop More on Barrackpore Trunk Road (part of both SH 1 and SH 2). Dakshineswar is also connected to
Ariadaha Ariadaha is a locality in Kamarhati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). History Ariada ...
via Ramkrishna Paramhansa Dev Road-Rabindranath Tagore Road-D.D. Mondal Ghat Road and to
Baranagar ("City of hogs") , settlement_type = City , image_seal = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia , pushpin_label_ ...
via Surya Sen Road-Deshbandhu Road. Many buses ply along these roads.Google maps
Dakshineswar railway station Dakshineswar railway station is a station of Eastern Railway. It is 13 km away from and 9 km from Dankuni Junction on the Sealdah–Dankuni line of Eastern Railway. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system. Dankuni and Bardha ...
is 13 km from
Sealdah railway station Sealdah (station code:SDAH) is one of India's major railway terminals serving the city of Kolkata. The other main railway stations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are , , and Santragachi. Sealdah Railway station is the busiest railway stat ...
on the Calcutta Chord line linking Dum Dum Junction railway station with Dankuni Junction railway station. Dakshineswar-
Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. The t ...
and Dakshineswar-
Uttarpara Uttarpara or Uttarpara Kotrung is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Uttarpara is located at , within 10 k ...
ferry services are available across the Hooghly from Maa Bhabatarini Jetty.


Skywalk

The 350 m long and narrow Rani Rashmoni Road links Dakshineswar bus stand and railway station to the Kali temple. This road is used annually by 13 million devotees. On festival days 1
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...
people visit Dakshineswar. On 17 March 2015, the Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...
laid the foundation stone of a 400 m long, 10.5 m wide elevated
walkway In American English, walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. ''The New Oxford American Dictionary'' also defines a walkway as "a passage or path for walking along, esp. a ...
over the congested road to be built at a cost of Rs. 63 crore. The road below would be widened and used only by vehicles. The skywalk will have 12 escalators, 4 elevators and 8 staircases. There is provision for 200 shops inside the skywalk. The Skywalk, named Dakshineswar Rani Rashmoni Skywalk, was inaugurated by Banerjee, on 5 November 2018.


Metro

The extension of
Kolkata Metro Line 1 The Line 1, Blue Line, also known as North–South Metro of the Kolkata Metro, is a rapid transit system serving South 24 Parganas, Kolkata and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. It consists of 26 operational stations from Dakshi ...
from Dum Dum to
Dakshineswar Dakshineswar is a locality in the North 24 Parganas under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is very close to Kolkata. This place is historically famous for Dakshineswar Kali Temple, locally known as Maa Bhabata ...
was sanctioned in 2010–11. It was extended up to Noapara in 2013. The subsequent work was held up because of the encroachments on railway land. The extension was inaugurated on 22 February 2021 by
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
and now is a part of Kolkata Metro's North- South Line.


Education

Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women was established at Dakshineswar in 1959. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, sociology, history, political science, philosophy, education, journalism, music, geography, economics, zoology, botany, food & nutrition, psychology, chemistry and general courses in BA and B Sc.
Adyapeath Annada Polytechnic College Adyapeath Annada Polytechnic College , is a government sponsored polytechnic located in Dakshineshwar, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. This polytechnic is affiliated to the West Bengal State Council of Technical & Vocational Educatio ...
is a government sponsored college and was established at Dakshineswar in 2016. It offers diploma engineering courses in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering. Adyapeath Annada B.Ed. College was established at Dakshineswar in 2013. Schools like Ariadaha Kalachand High School, Dakshineswar High School (oldest educational institution of the area), Dakshineswar Sri Sri Sarada Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Dakshineswar Bharati Bhaban Girl's School are there for Primary and secondary education.


External links

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References

{{Temple towns in West Bengal Cities and towns in North 24 Parganas district Neighbourhoods in North 24 Parganas district Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Kolkata Metropolitan Area de:Dakshineshwar