Send Flowers to Durgapur

Durgapur experiences a somewhat transitional climate between the tropical wet and dry climate of Kolkata and the more humid subtropical climate further north. Summers are extremely hot, lasting from March to the middle of June, with average daily temperatures near 32 °C. They are followed by the monsoon season with heavy precipitation and somewhat lower temperatures. Durgapur receives most of its annual rainfall of around 52 inches during this season. The monsoon is followed by a mild, dry winter from November to January. Temperatures are quite moderate, with average daily temperatures near 20 °C. There is a short autumn at the end of October and a short spring in February, both of which have relatively moderate temperatures of around 25 °C.

An airport city, Aerotropolis (an integrated city with contemporary infrastructure for industries, a logistics hub, I.T., hospitality, healthcare, education, retail and residence) is being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (B.A.P.L.) at Andal near Durgapur. The project is being developed over an initial 2,182 acres (8.83 km2) plot of land. The airport, as a part of this Aerotropolis, is being designed by the world-renowned Changi Airport of Singapore, who will operate the airport for an initial period of about two years. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India has already granted “In Principle Clearance” to the project developers for this airport at the proposed site near Andal.

Durgapur is a new industrial city. The administrative setup came in stages. Once the British settled down to ruling the country in the nineteenth century, they started effecting administrative changes. In 1837, when Bankura district was formed, Durgapur area was part of it. In 1847, Ranigunj subdivision was formed with three police stations – Ranigunj, Kanksa and Neamatpur – and it was made a part of Bardhaman district. In 1906, the subdivisional headquarters was shifted to Burdwan and the subdivision renamed accordingly. In 1910, the police stations in Asansol subdivision were Asansol, Ranigunj, Kanksa, Faridpur and Barakar. On 14 April 1968, Durgapur subdivision was carved out of Asansol subdivision.

Randiha – The Anderson Weir (named after John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, who inaugurated it), a diversion constructed in 1932, 19 km downstream of Durgapur Barrage on river Damodar is a wonderful serene tourist spot located in the Chaktentul Gram Panchayet in Galsi I block. Across the river lies Sonamukhi. A tourist to Randiha must visit the Ancient Mound at Bharatpur on the Silampur-Randiha Road, a monument of National Importance, has been excavated jointly by the Archaeological Survey of India and the University of Burdwan has yielded evidence of habitational sequence from the Chalcolithic times to the 12th century. Randiha is about 10 km from Panagarh railway station.

Within the city private mini-buses are the cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. They operate from Prantika to Station terminus, via different routes through the city. Some of them operate to other termini from Prantika, like Nadiha, Madhaipur, Kasba, Sillyaghat, etc. Recently, CNG autos have been introduced plying between City Center and other parts of the city. They are non-polluting, environment friendly, convenient, less time-consuming, and cheap mode of transport. Cycle-rickshaws are available for traveling smaller distances, as a preferred commute. Recently, pre-paid taxis were introduced in the city from Station and City Center Terminus.

There was a massive follow up – Durgapur Steel Plant (commissioned 1960), Alloy Steels Plant (commissioned 1965), Durgapur Projects Ltd. (established 1961), Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation, ACC-Vickers Babcock (later ACC-Babcock and now Alstom Power Boilers Ltd.), Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation, Philips Carbon Black Ltd., Sankey Wheels (a unit of GKW), Bharat Ophathalmic Glass Ltd, Durgapur Cement Ltd. (now Birla Cement) (established 1975), Graphite India Ltd. (established 1967), Durgapur Chemicals Ltd. (DCL) was incorporated on 31 July 1963, Ispat Forgings and many others, large and small. A great new industrial city was bubbling with enthusiasm.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the railway traversed the Durgapur area; even fairly recent pre-independence travelers describe Durgapur as a small station, with dim kerosene lanterns burning at night, where only a few passenger trains stopped. Local chieftains such as Bhabani Pathak and Ichhai Ghosh were the heroes of the jungle-territory and probably held many a great emperor at bay. Many of them must have passed through looking for wealth in the famed granaries of Bengal further east but probably never found the place attractive enough to show their prowess.

Durgapur is the preferred gateway to the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, and Purulia, which are not well connected. NH 2 and SH 9 pass through the city jurisdiction. NH 60 passes through the north-western suburb of Pandabeswar and finally passes through Raniganj and heads away towards Orissa. It happens to be one of the very few cities that have an Asian Highway (AH) passing directly through the city jurisdiction. The AH1 links Japan with Turkey, through Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

This continued for some years, resulting in many of the sick industries declining to the verge of closure. It was evident that some of the industries were technically unsound; for example, Durgapur Steel Plant was technologically obsolete and needed huge investment for modernization. The political chaos submerged all such concerns and no investor considered the region safe for any major investment. When unemployment started pinching, the left was settled comfortably in power. There was rethinking about revival of industries in West Bengal.

Archeological excavations at Birbhanpur, on the bank of the Damodar, have revealed a number of stone implements. These are dated to be around 5000 BC. Many of these are hunting implements used by pre-historic hunters. Earlier, some of the excavations at Pandu Rajar Dhibi, on the banks of the Ajay, just beyond Durgapur but in Bardhaman district, revealed traces of a civilization possibly linked with the Indus Valley Civilisation. These are important historical finds and are yet to be fully explored.

The Durgapur Sub-Divisional Hospital located in Bidhannagar, is a municipal hospital, run by the state government offers quality treatments to the people of the city. The hospital has a total of over 500 beds for Male, Female and children word. Major facilities available in the hospital are emergency word, burn care unit, ICU, labour room, operation theatre any many more. More than 500 patients from all over Durgapur, Panagarh, Andal and many nearby areas come to this hospital for free treatment.

Durgapur saw the setting up of 10 to 15 middle/large scale industrial investments in the iron and steel manufacturing sector including value added products like sponge iron, wire rods, T.M.T. bars (thermo mechanical treatment) for construction, iron casting powder etc., during the years 2001-2007. The prominent investors are MB Group, Jai Balaji group, SPS group, Adhunik Group of Industries, Neo Metallic, Stolberg India, Super Smelters Ltd., Shyam Steel, UltraTech Cement etc.

Apart from this, South Bengal State Transport Corporation, popularly, SBSTC, which has headquarters in the city, has a separate depot, in Trunk Road Area. North Bengal State Transport Corporation or NBSTC has an office here, and operates buses to Siliguri, Maldah, Raiganj, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Kochbihar, Balurghat and Baharampur. Private operators like Prithvi Travels, Jai Dada Travels or Shyamoli operates AC or sleeper buses to Kolkata, Siliguri, Bhubaneshwar or Puri.

Two mighty rivers border it on the north and south. The Ajay River flows past unhindered in the north; the Damodar River on the south has two obstacles in its path – an earlier dam, or anicut, at Rondia and a massive 692-metre long Durgapur Barrage at Durgapur, constructed in 1955 and controlled by Damodar Valley Corporation. Two rivulets, Singaran and Tamla, flow through the area and join the Damodar River. Two other rivulets, Kunur and Tumuni, join the Ajay River.

It is unlikely that Bhabani Pathak of Durgapur was the same person linked with Devi Choudhurani, made famous by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Their area of activity was around Rangpur, now in Bangladesh. Although barges used to carry coal down the Damodar in those days and the river was more navigable than now, the area was never a watery haven as some areas of east or north Bengal were. However, legends have more impact on people than the hard realities of history.

Nehru Park, Burnpur – Originally named (& popular as Lahmeyer Park, after F.W.A.Lahmeyer, a General Manager of IISCO who had inaugurated it) Riverside Park, it has been renamed after Jawaharlal Nehru in 1989 on his birth centenary. Undulating terrain, meandering brook and a musical fountain are added attractions to the park. Located on the banks of the Damodar river in Burnpur. It is located 14 km south-west of the Asansol railway station with minibuses aplenty.

As the British industrialists left India after independence, many of the industrial empires they left behind were taken over by the Indian business community, who were mainly traders. With technological obsolescence the industries fell on bad times, labour unrest started and finally engulfed the state of West Bengal in the late 1960s. Even the new industries in Durgapur were affected by the militancy, and soon most of the industries in Durgapur were in shambles.

Durgapur Steel Plant was a showpiece of Indo-British cooperation in independent India. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India, came for the inauguration of the first blast furnace. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a regular visitor. He called these plants temples of new India. Many senior leaders and important foreign leaders visited Durgapur to see and to cheer. Displaying a rare gesture of solidarity, Queen Elizabeth came on a state visit.

Sidhu Kanu Indoor Stadium is one of the best indoor stadiums of East India . It houses many sporting organisation and sporting association of Burdwan district as well as of Durgapur. Among them Durgapur Sub-divisional Women’s Sports Association, School Sports Association-Durgapur Sub-division, Burdwan District Badminton Association, Burdwan District Table Tennis Association, Burdwan District Physical Culture Association are few to name.

The important high-speed railway track connecting Kolkata and Delhi passes through Durgapur. Andal Junction, situated in Andal (a western suburb of Durgapur, about 15 km from Durgapur City Centre) has a link with Sainthia on the Sahibgunj loop line. There are airstrips at Panagarh and Durgapur, the former with the Indian Air Force and latter with SAIL. A full-fledged domestic airport is coming up at Andal.