Gobardanga is a city and a municipality in
North 24 Parganas district
North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...
in the
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 ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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 ...
. Founded on 20 April 1870, it is one of the oldest municipalities 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 ...
.
Etymology
The word ''Gobardanga'' derives from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. It consists of three words, go-bar-danga. ''Go'' means "world/earth", ''bar'' means "greatest" and ''danga'' refers to "place" which literally means, ''the greatest place on earth''.
Geography
Location
Gobardanga is situated on the banks of the river
Jamuna. It is located 22.880149°N and 88.760791°E in the district of North 24 parganas of West Bengal.
There is a horse bow lake named ''Kankona Baorh'' at Media, Gobardanga. It is an open mouthed bangle shaped water body. The lake resembles a Kankon, worn by ladies hence it is being named Kankona Baorh. It is a beautiful lush green place with scenic as well as touring potential. Lots of migratory birds come here in the winter time.
Area overview
The area covered in the map alongside is largely a part of the north Bidyadhari Plain. located in the lower
Ganges Delta. The country is flat. It is a little raised above flood level and the highest ground borders the river channels.54.67% of the people of the densely populated area lives in the urban areas and 45.33% lives in the rural 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.
History
It has a wide prevailing history. Gobardanga had been governed by
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
Zamindars of bharadwaj gotra in pre-old days. Their descendants still reside in their ancestral home and maintaining all regulations, worship Goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around co ...
as per their tradition during the Durga Puja days. Close to it is the Gobardanga Prasannomoyee Kali Mandir. Established by then Zamindar Kaliprassana Mukhopaddhyay, the temple faced southwards has Goddess Kali along with 12 other shrines of Lord
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
distributed into 6 shrines on either side of the temple. According to certain theories and statements, Rani
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 ...
, founder of
Dakshineshwar 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, other ...
,
Dakshineshwar
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 ...
, Kolkata, had once travelled down the Jamuna river and reached Gobardanga and came across the temple, from which she got the idea of constructing the Dakshineshwar Kali temple along with 12 other shrines of Lord Shiva. This temple is quite popular and people from nearby and far away areas often visit this temple for their prayers.
Transport
Gobardanga railway station
Gobardanga railway station is one of the oldest railway stations in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. Its code is GBG. It serves Gobardanga town. Its next Station towards Bangaon Junction railway station, Bangaon is Thakurnagar railway st ...
is 58 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
Sealdah–Bangaon branch line of
Eastern Railway. From Sealdah it is next to
Maslandapur railway station
Machhalandapur railway station is on the Sealdah–Bangaon branch line. It is 53.5 km from Sealdah and is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.
Maslandapur, Nokpul, Sadpur and Betpuli form a cluster of census towns, south of Go ...
and before
Thakurnagar railway station. Road distance between Bongaon and Gobardanga is almost 25 km.
Buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
,
Auto-rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
,
Electric rickshaw
Electric rickshaws (also known as electric tuk-tuks or e-rickshaws or toto or e-tricycles) are small 3-wheeled vehicles powered by an electric motor and battery ranging from 650 to 1400 Watts. They save on fuel costs compared to auto rickshaws ...
are the most commonly used mode of transport.
Demographics
As per the
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Gobardanga had a total population of 45,377, of which 23,025 (51%) were males and 22,352 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 3,481. The total number of literates in Gobardanga was 38,461 (91.80% of the population over 6 years).
As of 2001 India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Gobardanga had a population of 41,618. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Gobardanga has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 75%. In Gobardanga, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Education
Higher education
Gobardanga has a degree college named
Gobardanga Hindu College which is affiliated with
West Bengal State University
West Bengal State University (WBSU) is a public university situated in Berunanpukuria, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal, India. It was established by an Act of the Legislative Assembly on 2007.
History
The Government of West Bengal through ...
. It also has a
B.Ed
A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...
college within the campus.
School Education
* Gobardanga Khantura High School
* Khantura Girls' High School
* Gobardanga Sri Chaitanya Vidyalaya
* Khantura Pritilata Shikskha Niketan for Boys
* Khantura Pritilata Shikskha Niketan for Girls
* Netaji Vidyapith
* Gobardanga Collegiate High School
* Gobardanga Girls High School
* DPB Deshbandhu Prathamik Vidyalaya
* Khantura Pritilata Shishu Shiksha Niketan
* Oxebow English School
* Subhash Vidyamandir FP School
* Sri Ramakrishna Vidyabhawan
* Sudhir Memorial Institute
* Angel Day School
Recreation
Gobardanga has a park named 'Kankana park', trivially called 'Coacher Bagan'.
Notable residents
*
Pramatha Nath Bose
Pramatha Nath Bose (12 May 1855 – 1934) was a pioneering Indian geologist and paleontologist. Bose was educated at Krishnagar Government College and later at St. Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta when he obtained a Gilchrist s ...
,
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
and
Paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
*
Prabhavathi Devi Saraswathi
Prabhavathi Devi Saraswathi (5 March1905- 14 May 1972) was an Indian Bengali writer and novelist.
Early life
Prabhavathi was born in 1905 in Khantura, Gobardanga, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, British India. Her father was Gopalchandr ...
, Bengali writer and novelist.
Healthcare
North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where ground water is affected by
arsenic contamination.
See also
Map of Habra I CD Blockon Page 289 of District Census Handbook. It also shows the location of Gobardanga.
References
{{Municipalities of West Bengal
Cities and towns in North 24 Parganas district
Cities in West Bengal