HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hooghly Riverfront is composed of the two banks of the
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 ...
, which runs between the city of
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 ...
on the east and the city of
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 ...
on the west in
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 ...
. On the east bank of the river, a beautification started in 2011, of which the first phase ended in 2012.


History

The banks of the Hooghly River (West Bengal, India) housed the trading posts of the British,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, Portuguese, Dutch and
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
in the 17th to 19th centuries. Later, large jute mills were built, and industrialisation started. With the reduction in the port activity, a decline in the jute industry and a change in political dynamics, the riverfront was further neglected. The once-grand warehouses, temples, ghats, and river-facing houses are in need of restoration. People visit it in the evenings on weekends to go boating on the river, stroll along the bank and purchase food from stalls there. One stall selling ice-cream and fast food has been there for more than 40 years. A 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) stretch of the beautified riverfront from Prinsep Ghat to Babughat (Baje Kadamtala Ghat) was inaugurated on 24 May 2012. It has illuminated and landscaped gardens and pathways, fountains and renovated ghats. One of the songs in the
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film '' Parineeta'' was shot here on the ghats. The riverfront includes Millennium Park, a millennium gift from the
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 ...
(KMDA/CMDA) that was inaugurated on 26 December 1999. The park was part of the first phase of the Kolkata Riverside Beautification Project.


References

{{reflist Kolkata Kolkata district Geography of Kolkata Tourist attractions in Kolkata Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in India