Digha is a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
town in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It lies in
Purba Medinipur
Purba Medinipur (English: ''East Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative d ...
district and at the northern end of the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.
History
Originally, there was a place called ''Beerkul'', where Digha lies today. This name was referred in
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
's letters (1780) as
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
of the East.
An English businessman John Frank Snaith started living here in 1923 and his writings provided a good exposure to this place. He convinced West Bengal Chief Minister
Bidhan Chandra Roy
Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician, educationist, and statesman who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962. Roy played a key role in the founding of several institutio ...
to develop this place to be a beach resort. An old church can be seen near the Old Digha Main gate. This place is also known as Alankarpur Digha. A new mission has been developed in New Digha which is known as Sindhur Tara which is beside Amrabati Park its a Church where it is possible to wish for the welfare of family and loved ones. The best way to visit is to book a local van rickshaw. There are so many place where one can travel which give mental refreshments, like Tajpur, Odisa Border, Science City etc.
Geography
Location
Digha is located at . It has an average elevation of .
It is located from
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 ...
/
Howrah
Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
via
Mecheda
Mecheda is a town in Shahid Matangini Block in West Bengal, India. The town is the entrance point of Purba Medinipur Dist. which lies upon the South Eastern Railway Zone and in proximity to Haldia, Tamluk, Digha and Contai, Egra.
Education
Me ...
and via
Kharagpur
Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...
, this proximity has probably helped this small hamlet to emerge as a weekend getaway with number of hotels and tourist lodges. Digha is connected to Kolkata/Howrah by a highway and a rail-link via
Tamluk
Tamluk () is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purba Medinipur district. Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present ...
. Now many trains including Howrah-Digha Super AC express, Tamralipta express, Kandari express and EMU locals from
Santragacchi via Mecheda and Tamluk run between Digha and Howarh and other stations in eastern India.It is also located under
Contai
Contai is a coastal and subdivisional city and a municipality in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Contai subdivision. It is the second most populated city of the district.According to the geologists, t ...
Sub division.
Police stations
Digha police station has jurisdiction over part of
Ramnagar I
Ramnagar I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Contai subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Purba Medinipur district is part of the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain a ...
(part) CD Block. It covers an area of 3,153 km
2 with a population of 35,054. It is located in old Digha.
Digha Mohana Coastal police station is located in Digha.
Urbanisation
93.55% of the population of Contai subdivision live in the rural areas. Only 6.45% of the population live in the urban areas and it is considerably behind Haldia subdivision in urbanization, where 20.81% of the population live in urban areas.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Hospital
There is a District Hospital near old Digha which provides good medical facilities. There is
Contai
Contai is a coastal and subdivisional city and a municipality in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Contai subdivision. It is the second most populated city of the district.According to the geologists, t ...
Sub divisional Hospital and Sanjiban Hospital 31 k.m from Digha.
Climate
There are mainly five seasons in Digha, namely summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. Summer starts in April and continues until June with a maximum temperature of . Although cold wind from the sea keeps the weather pleasant in this time. Next comes monsoon in July and lasts till the end of September. Digha generally experiences an average rainfall with high humidity in the monsoon season. Autumn sets in October and lasts till mid of December with an average temperature of around 25 degree Celsius. The weather remains very pleasant this time. Winter sets in the second half of December and lasts till mid February with an average temperature of 15/16 degree Celsius. The spring is the most enjoyable season in Digha starting from mid February to mid April. The hotels remain full of their capacity as tourist inflow is the highest in this peak season.
Transport
Bus service
There is frequent bus service to Digha from
Dharmatala
Dharmatala (archaic spelling Dhurrumtollah) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Dharmatala Street has been renamed after Vladimir Lenin, Lenin as Lenin Sa ...
, Baruipur
Garia
Garia ( Bengali:গড়িয়া) is a neighborhood in southern Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Jadavpur in the north, Bansdroni/Tollygunge in the north-west, Santoshpur/ Mukundapur in the north-east a ...
and
Joka bus stand of Kolkata,
Burdwan
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
,
Bolpur
Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan, Sriniketan and Prantik. The city is known as a Cultural a ...
,
Siliguri
Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...
,
Asansol
Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...
,
Kirnahar
Kirnahar is a village in Nanoor CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Location
Kirnahar is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Kirnahar is located in the south-eastern cor ...
,
Baharampur
Berhampore (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. As of 2011 census, Berhampore urban agglomeration had a population of 305,609 and is the seventh largest city in West Bengal (after Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri, ...
,
Serampore
Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampor ...
,
Tarakeswar
Tarakeswar (pronounced ''Tarokeshwar'') is a famous sacred city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Tarakeswar is called "Babar Dham" or "The city of Shiva". It is one of the major tourist and holy place ...
and many other parts of West Bengal. Buses are available from Howrah as well, a connection has been made from Sealdah to Digha where a private bus arrives at 8:30 am throughout the week. It takes the shortest route from Sealdah connecting S.N Banerjee road, Taltala, Wellington, Dharmatala to Howrah station, it departs from Howrah Station within 5 min to Digha. Digha is connected to Kolkata Metropolitan Area with E17 (Barasat), E17/1 (Barasat), E19 (Habra), E19D (Dumdum station), E45 (Joka), E46 (Saltlake Karunamoyee), E54 (Sreerampore), E55 (Madhyamgram), E56 (Baduria), ACT5 (Barasat), ACT8 (Habra), ACT9 (Saltlake Karunamoyee), ST31 (Dharmatala) etc.
Transport Department, Government of West Bengal: Bus Services
/ref>
Train service
In 2004, train services have started for Digha railway station
Digha is a terminal railway station on the Tamluk–Digha branch line and is located in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Digha sea-side area. The railway station is near New Digha beach.
History
The Pan ...
(Station Code : DGHA). There was a one DMU service from Santragachi railway station
Santragachi Junction railway station (station code: SRC) is a railway junction in South Eastern Railway Zone of Indian Railways, situated in Santragachhi, Howrah, India. It is one of five intercity railway stations serving Howrah and Kolkata. ...
but it discontinued. Now there are three new trains from Howrah Station
Howrah railway station, also known as Howrah Junction, is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is also the oldest and largest existing railway complex in India. It is one of the busiest train stations in the w ...
too.
Air
* Digha Heliport
Digha Heliport is located at Digha, West Bengal, India. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the new facility on 23 December 2015. The heliport's commercial service started on 26 December 2015.
The heliport, owned by the Government of We ...
Area
Digha's old beach is not as wide as it used to be due to heavy soil erosion. Big stones and concrete steps are used to hold together the beach. Another problem is the record number of storm surge
A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...
s that have caused many of the unplanned shacks and smaller hotels to succumb to the sea. Since it is one of very few popular beaches in West Bengal, it gets overcrowded, especially during the cooler winter break.
A new beach has been developed "New Digha" which is about from the old beach. This new beach is not only bigger than the old one, but might be considered a better one. It is clean and well-maintained and is not surrounded by a congested locality like the older beach. The latest attraction of New Digha is the Science Centre established by the National Council of Science Museums. The entire stretch of the Digha seaface from Old Digha to New Digha is filled with casuarina
''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...
plantations.
Places of interest
Marine Aquarium and Research Centre (MARC)
It was established in the year 1989 during the Seventh Five Year Plan. The major objective of the Centre is to display the marine biodiversity of the region and impart its values to the common people and to carryout the research activities.
Lord Shiva Temple At Chandaneswar
This place is only away from Digha the century-old Temple of Lord Shiva at Chandaneswar
Chandaneswar Temple is a famous Shiva temple located in Chandaneswar, Baleswar district of Odisha, India. A huge annual fair on the Pana Sankranti (Odia Hindu solar New Year), the first day of the Odia calendar, is celebrated on the premises. Man ...
, near Bengal and Orissa Border. Chandaneswar is part of Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
. During the Bengali month of Chaitra
Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar.
In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...
, an annual fair is organised here. Nearly half million people and pilgrims visit the temple.
Gallery
Old Digha
File:Express train at Digha station.jpg, Express train at Digha station
File:Bus Stand, Digha, India.JPG, Bus stand at Digha
File:Digha Gate .jpg, Digha Gate
File:THE BEACH MIRRORS THE SKY.jpg, Beach net fishing at Digha
New Digha
File:Beach Ghat - New Digha - East Midnapore 2015-05-03 9780.JPG, Sea of humanity at the sea beach
File:Inflatable Motor Boat Riding - New Digha Beach - East Midnapore 2015-05-01 8729.JPG, Inflatable motor boat riding
File:Horse Riding - New Digha Beach - East Midnapore 2015-05-01 8820.JPG, Horse riding
File:Ansuman Ray (Digha Sea Beach West bengal India) (2).jpg, Earning a living
Around Digha
File:Mandarmani sand beach.....jpg, Mandarmani
Mandarmani is a seaside resort village in the state of West Bengal, India, and lies in East Midnapore district, at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the largest seaside resorts of West Bengal, fast-developing.Any inquiry or adva ...
File:Sankarpur Beach - East Midnapore 2015-05-02 9132.JPG, Shankarpur
Shankarpur is a beach village located 14 km east of Digha in West Bengal, India. It is also a regular fishing harbour. Shankarpur contains a number of temples.
Geography
Location
Shankarpur is located in the Purba (East) Medinipur Dist ...
File:Chandaneswar Temple, Parba Medinipur.jpg, Shiva temple at Chandaneswar
Chandaneswar Temple is a famous Shiva temple located in Chandaneswar, Baleswar district of Odisha, India. A huge annual fair on the Pana Sankranti (Odia Hindu solar New Year), the first day of the Odia calendar, is celebrated on the premises. Man ...
(in Odisha), 8 km from Digha
File:Jagannath Deul temple at Dihi Bahiri under Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal 03.jpg, Jagannath deul, built in 1584, at Dihibahiri
Dihibahiri is a village in the Contai III CD block in the Contai subdivision of the Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India.
History
When the largest man-made waterbody in the area, Bhimsagar, was being dug, many antiqui ...
, off National Highway 116B
References
External links
BOOK Bakkhali Tour Package With Bakkhali Tourist Lodge
West Bengal Tourism site on Digha
*
{{Purba Medinipur District
Cities and towns in Purba Medinipur district
Tourist attractions in Purba Medinipur district
Populated coastal places in India
Beaches of West Bengal