Durgapur
Encyclopedia
Durgapur is a city of the state of West Bengal
, India, located about 160 km from Kolkata
, in the Burdwan District. It was a dream child of the great visionary Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the second chief minister of the state. The well laid out industrial township, designed by Joseph Allen Stein and Benjamin Polk is home to one of the largest industrial units in the state, Durgapur Steel Plant
, one of the integrated steel plants of Steel Authority of India Limited
. Alloy Steels Plant of SAIL and CMERI, a CSIR
laboratory, are also located here. There are a number of power plants, chemical and engineering industries etc. Some metallurgical units have come up in recent years. National Institute of Technology, Durgapur (Earlier known as Durgapur Regional Engineering College REC),is one of the most prominent seats of the Indian Central Government Engineering and Technological Educations of the country.
Durgapur is located in the Burdwan District of West Bengal, situated on the bank of the Damodar River
, just before it enters the alluvial plains of Bengal. The topography is undulating. The coal-bearing area of the Raniganj
coalfields lies just beyond Durgapur, although some parts intrude in to the area. The area was deeply forested till recent times, and some streaks of the original forests are still there, standing witness to its wild past.
Two mighty rivers border it on the north and south. The Ajay River
flows past unhindered in the north but the Damodar River
on the south has two obstacles in its path – an earlier anicut at Rondia and a massive 692-metres long Durgapur Barrage
at Durgapur, constructed in 1955 AD and controlled by Damodar Valley Corporation
. Two rivulets, Singaran and Tamla, flow through the area and join the Damodar River
. Two other rivulets in the area, Kunur and Tumuni, join the Ajay River
.
Durgapur subdivision is surrounded by Asansol
subdivision on the west, Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision
on the east, Bankura
district across the Damodar in the south, and Birbhum district across the Ajay River
to the north.
The Grand Trunk Road
(NH2) virtually bifurcates the area. This historically important arterial connector has now been widened into 2+2 Lane Highway as part of the Golden Quadrilateral
project. Another wide road takes off from Darjeeling Morh near Panagarh
for North Bengal. It also links Santiniketan to the Grand Trunk Road. The Durgapur Expressway, linking Dankuni with Memari on Grand Trunk Road, now allows fast communication between Kolkata and Durgapur, where one can maintain cruising speeds of 80–120 km/h. A road over the Durgapur Barrage
links Durgapur with Bankura and beyond in South Bengal.High Speed Volvo & Mercedes Benz Buses cruise regularly from Bokaro to Kolkata on this route along with SBSTC non-ac buses and City Liners non-ac buses.A Bus Trip from Kolkata to Durgapur takes roughly around 3.5 hours if there is no jam near Panagarh.
The important superfast railway track connecting Kolkata
and Delhi
passes through Durgapur. Andal
Junction, about 15 km from Durgapur 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. The airport is expected to be operational by 2011.
As of 2001 India census
, Durgapur had a population of 492,996. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Durgapur has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and, female literacy is 69%. In Durgapur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
, Mumbai
, Chennai
, Indore
, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Nagpur
, Guwahati
, Amritsar
, Jaipur
, Lucknow
, Kanpur etc. Long distance buses connect Durgapur to places like Jamshedpur, Dhanbad
, Bokaro, Siliguri, MaldaTown etc.
Due to its industrial and commercial importance, Durgapur city is connected to almost all major places of Bengal. Express/Mail trains and couple of inter-city superfast trains ply between Kolkata
and Durgapur on a regular basis. The Sealdah Rajdhani Express and the Howrah Ranchi
Shatabdi express also stops here. Poorva Express, Kalka Mail, Amritsar Mail, Mumbai Mail, Doon Express etc. are some important trains stopping at Durgapur.
There are regular and frequent well connected by road and rail, Durgapur is also the preferred gateway to the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia etc. which are not so well connected.
Within the city of Durgapur private mini-buses are cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. Recently CNG autos have been introduced plying between City Center and various parts of the city. They are non-polluting, environment friendly, convenient, less time-consuming and cheap mode of transport. Cycle-rickswaws are available for travelling smaller distances, as a preferred commute.
Nearest International Airport is at Dumdum, Kolkata (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
); a smaller private air strip at Panagarh
belonging to the Indian Air Force is rarely used. A new airport is coming up at Andal (15 km from Durgapur). It is expected to be completed in the next two years.
Mighty emperors reigned in this region over the centuries but it is difficult to pinpoint as to who exactly held sway over the area at different points of time. Historians talk of this region being a part of the Maurya
and Gupta
empires, the empire of Harsha Vardhan and the Mughals. Being a geographical border region, it could have been on either side of the virtually unmarked and flexible borders of the mighty empires. Moreover, the infertile soil with deep impenetrable forests and wild animals was probably not a very inviting proposal for any emperor on the look out for wealth and treasures. Even when coal mining made forays into the adjoining Asansol-Ranigunj area from the late eighteenth century, and factory chimneys reared their heads in the sky somewhat later, Durgapur remained an impenetrable jungle that few dared to trespass
into.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the railway track traversed the Durgapur area but even fairly recent pre-independence travellers describe Durgapur as a small station, with dim kerosene lanterns burning at night, where only a few passenger trains stopped. It was local chieftains such as Bhabani Pathak and Ichhai Ghosh, who were the heroes of the jungle-territory, and probably held many a great emperor at bay. Many of them must have passed through the area on the look out for wealth in the famed granaries of Bengal further east but probably never found the place attractive enough to show their prowess.
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.
The area was part of the Bardhaman Raj
, who ruled on the basis of a firman from the Mughal emperor. Mir Kassem, then Nawab of Sube Bangala, ceded Bardhaman
along with Medinipur and Chittagong to the East India Company
in 1760 (three years after the Battle of Plassey), and the Bardhaman Raj continued to function under British tutelage.
However, there are some interesting historical points. 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 civilisation possibly linked with the Indus Valley Civilisation. These are important historical finds and are yet to be fully explored.
. His dream of transforming the backward agricultural country into an industrially advanced nation was picked up in West Bengal by Dr. B.C. Roy. At the earlier stages for the selection of a proper site for a new industrial township, Jnananjan Niyogi
, a great business organizer and planner, was involved. Modernist American architect [Joseph Allen Stein], invited to head the newly formed Department of Architecture and Planning at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta, plunged into a major project as soon as he reached India in 1952—the designing of Durgapur city along with Benjamin Polk,
another American architect already living in Calcutta at that time. Thereafter it was the task of local leaders such as Ananda Gopal Mukherjee and bureaucrats such as K.K. Sen to get Durgapur going.
Prior to independence, only one small refractory plant of the Martin Burn group was located at Durgapur, the abandoned chimney of which is still visible near the station. Damodar Valley Corporation
constructed Durgapur Barrage in 1955 and shortly followed with the Durgapur Thermal Power Station
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, Ispat forgings and many others, large and small. A great new industrial city was bubbling with enthusiasm.
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.
As the numerous chimneys merrily belched out smoke – black, white and reddish brown – as pollution control norms were still some way off (for the past few years all the 65 chimneys of Durgapur Steel Plant are pollution free), the townships grew and prospered. Regional Engineering College (established 1960) (now renamed National Institute of Technology
) and Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI, CSIR) (established 1958) added to the stature of the new township. Schools, hospitals, parks, and playgrounds – all came up. It was new life in new India.
That continued for some years but the result was that many of the sick industries were on the verge of closure. It was evident that some of the industries were technically unsound; as 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.
The late eighties witnessed a turn around in the fortunes of SAIL, with Durgapur Steel Plant being one of the plants to be modernized at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crore. However, The plant continued to make huge operating losses and by mid-nineties even rumours of a slow death of the plant along with the city was making the rounds.
Fortunately, DSP management with public support of the trade unions was able to turn around the dire situation with thousands of job cuts through voluntary retirement schemes and modernizing efforts. Now Durgapur Steel Plant is operating at above its rated capacity and earning profits after deduction of substantial amount of interest and depreciation resulting from the massive investment in modernisation. The plant is undergoing further expansion and is all set for a momentous future. A number of other industries, as for example Alstom Projects India Limited (erstwhile ACC-Babcock Ltd), Philips Carbon Black Ltd. and Graphite India Ltd., had been doing well. Alloy Steels Plant has also turned the corner. MAMC has been taken over by power giant Damodar Valley Corporation, Coal India Limited and BEML. Therefore, Durgapur presents a dual picture of growth and hope on one side and collapse on the other. The darker side covers such units as Bharat Ophthalmic and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation.
(direct reduced iron), metal, cement industries & knowledge based industries.
Durgapur during the last five years got more than 12 Engineering and Technology, management as well as professional study colleges (under graduate level). Housing co-operatives and flats, shopping malls, multiplex
, science and energy park, Software Technology park (STPI), Hotels and stadiums have also come up. In 2007, a shopping mall by ADDA, named Suhatta was opened by Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharya. He inaugurated 7 institutes that day including a Polytechnic college. Currently Durgapur has several Shopping malls and multiplex.Durgapur even has a three-star hotel called peerless inn.
During the years 2001-2007 Durgapur saw the setting up of 10 to 15 middle/ large scale industrial investment in iron and steel manufacturing sector including value added products like sponge iron, Wire Rod, TMT bar (Thermo Mechanical Treatment) for construction, Iron Casting powder etc. 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.
Some other important changes are Regional Engineering College being upgraded to National Institute of Technology - the first Deemed University in Durgapur, 'SRIJONI'- a public hall equipped with technically advanced systems (audio & video).
City Centre has now grown to be the most happenning place in Durgapur and most people desire to reside there.
An Airport City - Aerotropolis (an integrated city with contemporary infrastructure for industries, logistics hub, IT, hospitality, healthcare, education, retail and residential) is being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) at Andal
near Durgapur. The project is being developed over an initial 2182 acres (8.8 km²). The Airport, as part of this Aerotropolis, is designed by the world-renowned Changi Airport of Singapore
who will also operate the Airport for an initial period of about 2 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.
Software giants like Wipro
, TCS
are moving towards Durgapur. DLF and Shapoorji Pallonji are investing millions for integrated townships and IT Park. The IT park has been named as Infocity. IT firms like Hinduja Global Solutions Limited
have already made Durgapur as its Eastern Developmental Centre. A mall, called the Junction is coming up.
State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp [ONGC] has produced first shale gas in the country at Icchapur in Durgapur district of West BengalThe gas reserve spread over 12,000 square km in the Durgapur-Ranigunj area - is the world's third shale gas find."ONGC finds maiden shale gas reserves in India"Business standard, 28 January 2011.
Durgapur being an industrial city, the civic amenities of different company/ plant townships are taken care by the respective company/ plant authorities. However, there are civil localities such as the area around the railway station (what was the original Durgapur), the City Centre,Sepco, Bidhannagar, Benachitty, Muchipara and so on, which need civic facilities. In 1962, Durgapur Notified Area Authority was formed for the purpose. It was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 7 October 1996 and the company/ plant townships included in it, although civic amenities continue to be provided by the respective companies/ plants.
Durgapur is home to various institutions of National Repute.
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
is an institution in eastern India. It is one of the 20 NITs in the country.
DSMS is a management college. NSHM is another hotel management college in Durgapur.
Other Engineering
colleges at Durgapur are Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur
, Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Aryabhatta Institute Of Engineering & Management
(AIEMD better known as Aryabhatta Engineering College / AIEMD ), Durgapur Institute Of Advanced Technology and Management which is better known as DIATM, Kanksa Academy of technology and Management, also known as KATM, Institute of Engineering & Industrial Technology, Durgapur (IEIT) and NSHM-College Of Engineering & Technology. Most Of The colleges here are affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology
.
Nowadays National Institute of Management, popularly known as NIM Durgapur, is making a debut in the field of education.Detail- http://www.nimdurgapur.com/
National Power Training Institute, previously known as PETS is also an engineering and technical institute in the region. Situated in City Center, under the Ministry of Power(Govt. of India), it offers courses in power engineering, post graduate diploma course and PDC.
There are many other graduation colleges in Durgapur. Durgapur Government College (University of Burdwan) is the only NAAC-accredited college in the region, and received a grade of B++. Durgapur Women's College is a reputed college for over 40 years now. Michael Madhusudhan College is another new graduation college in Durgapur.
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India, located about 160 km from Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, in the Burdwan District. It was a dream child of the great visionary Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the second chief minister of the state. The well laid out industrial township, designed by Joseph Allen Stein and Benjamin Polk is home to one of the largest industrial units in the state, Durgapur Steel Plant
Durgapur Steel Plant
Durgapur Steel Plant is one of the integrated steel plants of Steel Authority of India Limited, located in Durgapur, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. It has played a historically important part in the industrial development of India. Although not a separate company, it is the largest...
, one of the integrated steel plants of Steel Authority of India Limited
Steel Authority of India Limited
Steel Authority of India Limited from 116950 The company's current chairman is C.S Verma. With an annual production of 13.5 million metric tons, SAIL is the 14th largest steel producer in the world....
. Alloy Steels Plant of SAIL and CMERI, a CSIR
CSIR India
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research established in 1942, is an autonomous body and India's largest Research and Development organization, with 39 laboratories and 50 field stations or extension centers spread across the nation, with a collective staff of over 17,000...
laboratory, are also located here. There are a number of power plants, chemical and engineering industries etc. Some metallurgical units have come up in recent years. National Institute of Technology, Durgapur (Earlier known as Durgapur Regional Engineering College REC),is one of the most prominent seats of the Indian Central Government Engineering and Technological Educations of the country.
Geography
Durgapur is located at 23.48°N 87.32°E. It has an average elevation of 65 metres (213.3 ft).Durgapur is located in the Burdwan District of West Bengal, situated on the bank of the Damodar River
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
, just before it enters the alluvial plains of Bengal. The topography is undulating. The coal-bearing area of the Raniganj
Raniganj
Raniganj is a city and a municipality in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Raniganj is located at . It has an average elevation of 91 metres ....
coalfields lies just beyond Durgapur, although some parts intrude in to the area. The area was deeply forested till recent times, and some streaks of the original forests are still there, standing witness to its wild past.
Two mighty rivers border it on the north and south. The Ajay River
Ajay River
The Ajay River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The word “Ajay” means “not conquered”.-Geography:The Ajay River originates on a small hill about 300 metres high, south west of Munger in Bihar. It then flows through Jharkhand and enters West Bengal at Simjuri, near Chittaranjan...
flows past unhindered in the north but the Damodar River
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
on the south has two obstacles in its path – an earlier anicut at Rondia and a massive 692-metres long Durgapur Barrage
Durgapur Barrage
Durgapur Barrage is across the Damodar River at Durgapur in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Overview:The Damodar River Valley Project on the Damodar River and its principal tributary, the...
at Durgapur, constructed in 1955 AD and controlled by Damodar Valley Corporation
Damodar Valley Corporation
The Damodar Valley Corporation, popularly known as DVC, is the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India. The corporation came into being on July 7, 1948 by an Act of the Constituent Assembly of India . It is modelled on the Tennessee Valley Authority of the USA. Jawaharlal...
. Two rivulets, Singaran and Tamla, flow through the area and join the Damodar River
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
. Two other rivulets in the area, Kunur and Tumuni, join the Ajay River
Ajay River
The Ajay River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The word “Ajay” means “not conquered”.-Geography:The Ajay River originates on a small hill about 300 metres high, south west of Munger in Bihar. It then flows through Jharkhand and enters West Bengal at Simjuri, near Chittaranjan...
.
Durgapur subdivision is surrounded by Asansol
Asansol
Asansol is a coal mining and industrial metropolis and one of the busiest commercial centres in India. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in West Bengal after Kolkata and the 19th largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is located in the western part of the Burdwan...
subdivision on the west, Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision
Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision
Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision is a subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Bardhaman municipality, Guskara municipality and six community development blocks: Ausgram — I, Ausgram–II, Bhatar, Burdwan–I, Burdwan–II and...
on the east, Bankura
Bankura
Bankura is a city and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura District.-Etymology:...
district across the Damodar in the south, and Birbhum district across the Ajay River
Ajay River
The Ajay River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The word “Ajay” means “not conquered”.-Geography:The Ajay River originates on a small hill about 300 metres high, south west of Munger in Bihar. It then flows through Jharkhand and enters West Bengal at Simjuri, near Chittaranjan...
to the north.
The Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
(NH2) virtually bifurcates the area. This historically important arterial connector has now been widened into 2+2 Lane Highway as part of the Golden Quadrilateral
Golden Quadrilateral
The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway network connecting India's four largest metropolises: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts. Four other top ten metropolises: Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Surat, are also served by the network...
project. Another wide road takes off from Darjeeling Morh near Panagarh
Panagarh
Panagarh is a small town in India, located in Kanksa police station of Durgapur subdivision in Bardhaman District of West Bengal. Both the Indian Army and Air Force have their establishment here. An airport is also located here which is extensively used by Indian Air Force.-Geography:Panagarh is...
for North Bengal. It also links Santiniketan to the Grand Trunk Road. The Durgapur Expressway, linking Dankuni with Memari on Grand Trunk Road, now allows fast communication between Kolkata and Durgapur, where one can maintain cruising speeds of 80–120 km/h. A road over the Durgapur Barrage
Durgapur Barrage
Durgapur Barrage is across the Damodar River at Durgapur in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Overview:The Damodar River Valley Project on the Damodar River and its principal tributary, the...
links Durgapur with Bankura and beyond in South Bengal.High Speed Volvo & Mercedes Benz Buses cruise regularly from Bokaro to Kolkata on this route along with SBSTC non-ac buses and City Liners non-ac buses.A Bus Trip from Kolkata to Durgapur takes roughly around 3.5 hours if there is no jam near Panagarh.
The important superfast railway track connecting Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
passes through Durgapur. Andal
Andal
Andal is the the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of...
Junction, about 15 km from Durgapur has a link with Sainthia on the Sahibgunj loop line. There are airstrips at Panagarh
Panagarh
Panagarh is a small town in India, located in Kanksa police station of Durgapur subdivision in Bardhaman District of West Bengal. Both the Indian Army and Air Force have their establishment here. An airport is also located here which is extensively used by Indian Air Force.-Geography:Panagarh is...
and Durgapur, the former with the Indian Air Force and latter with SAIL. A full-fledged domestic airport is coming up at Andal. The airport is expected to be operational by 2011.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Durgapur Urban Agglomeration had a population of 581,409, out of which 301,700 were males and 279,709 were females. The 0-6 years population was 51,930. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 87.70.As of 2001 India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Durgapur had a population of 492,996. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Durgapur has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and, female literacy is 69%. In Durgapur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Transport
Durgapur is well connected via roads. It is also well connected by rail to major parts of India such as DelhiDelhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
, Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
, Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Kanpur etc. Long distance buses connect Durgapur to places like Jamshedpur, Dhanbad
Dhanbad
Dhanbad features climate that is transitional between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical wet and dry climate. Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid-June. Peak temperature in summer can reach 47oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall...
, Bokaro, Siliguri, MaldaTown etc.
Due to its industrial and commercial importance, Durgapur city is connected to almost all major places of Bengal. Express/Mail trains and couple of inter-city superfast trains ply between Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and Durgapur on a regular basis. The Sealdah Rajdhani Express and the Howrah Ranchi
Ranchi
-Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...
Shatabdi express also stops here. Poorva Express, Kalka Mail, Amritsar Mail, Mumbai Mail, Doon Express etc. are some important trains stopping at Durgapur.
There are regular and frequent well connected by road and rail, Durgapur is also the preferred gateway to the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia etc. which are not so well connected.
Within the city of Durgapur private mini-buses are cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. Recently CNG autos have been introduced plying between City Center and various parts of the city. They are non-polluting, environment friendly, convenient, less time-consuming and cheap mode of transport. Cycle-rickswaws are available for travelling smaller distances, as a preferred commute.
Nearest International Airport is at Dumdum, Kolkata (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose...
); a smaller private air strip at Panagarh
Panagarh
Panagarh is a small town in India, located in Kanksa police station of Durgapur subdivision in Bardhaman District of West Bengal. Both the Indian Army and Air Force have their establishment here. An airport is also located here which is extensively used by Indian Air Force.-Geography:Panagarh is...
belonging to the Indian Air Force is rarely used. A new airport is coming up at Andal (15 km from Durgapur). It is expected to be completed in the next two years.
Climate
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.History
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...
and Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
empires, the empire of Harsha Vardhan and the Mughals. Being a geographical border region, it could have been on either side of the virtually unmarked and flexible borders of the mighty empires. Moreover, the infertile soil with deep impenetrable forests and wild animals was probably not a very inviting proposal for any emperor on the look out for wealth and treasures. Even when coal mining made forays into the adjoining Asansol-Ranigunj area from the late eighteenth century, and factory chimneys reared their heads in the sky somewhat later, Durgapur remained an impenetrable jungle that few dared to trespass
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
into.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the railway track traversed the Durgapur area but even fairly recent pre-independence travellers describe Durgapur as a small station, with dim kerosene lanterns burning at night, where only a few passenger trains stopped. It was local chieftains such as Bhabani Pathak and Ichhai Ghosh, who were the heroes of the jungle-territory, and probably held many a great emperor at bay. Many of them must have passed through the area on the look out for wealth in the famed granaries of Bengal further east but probably never found the place attractive enough to show their prowess.
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
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
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.
The area was part of the Bardhaman Raj
Bardhaman Raj
The Bardhaman Raj was a zamindari estate that flourished from about 1657 to 1955, first under the Mughals and then under the British in the province of Bengal in India...
, who ruled on the basis of a firman from the Mughal emperor. Mir Kassem, then Nawab of Sube Bangala, ceded Bardhaman
Bardhaman
'Bardhaman or Burdwan , is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman District....
along with Medinipur and Chittagong to the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1760 (three years after the Battle of Plassey), and the Bardhaman Raj continued to function under British tutelage.
However, there are some interesting historical points. Archeological excavations at Birbhanpur, on the bank of the Damodar
Damodar
Damodar can refer to:* Damodar Das Arora a famous Punjabi Poet* Damodar River in India* Damodar * Damodar * Damodar Pande - First Prime Minister of Nepal...
, 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 civilisation possibly linked with the Indus Valley Civilisation. These are important historical finds and are yet to be fully explored.
Industrialisation
Durgapur is by far, the most industrialised city in the entire eastern India and second planned city in India. It all started with the dreamer first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
. His dream of transforming the backward agricultural country into an industrially advanced nation was picked up in West Bengal by Dr. B.C. Roy. At the earlier stages for the selection of a proper site for a new industrial township, Jnananjan Niyogi
Jnananjan Niyogi
Jnananjan Niyogi was actively associated with the Indian independence movement and was a social reformer.-Early life:The son of Braja Gopal and Sumangala Niyogi, he was born at Gaya on 7 January 1891...
, a great business organizer and planner, was involved. Modernist American architect [Joseph Allen Stein], invited to head the newly formed Department of Architecture and Planning at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta, plunged into a major project as soon as he reached India in 1952—the designing of Durgapur city along with Benjamin Polk,
Prior to independence, only one small refractory plant of the Martin Burn group was located at Durgapur, the abandoned chimney of which is still visible near the station. Damodar Valley Corporation
Damodar Valley Corporation
The Damodar Valley Corporation, popularly known as DVC, is the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India. The corporation came into being on July 7, 1948 by an Act of the Constituent Assembly of India . It is modelled on the Tennessee Valley Authority of the USA. Jawaharlal...
constructed Durgapur Barrage in 1955 and shortly followed with the Durgapur Thermal Power Station
Durgapur Thermal Power Station
Durgapur Thermal Power Station B is located near Waria Railway Station, 5 km from Durgapur city in West Bengal. The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of DVC-Power plant:...
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, Ispat forgings and many others, large and small. A great new industrial city was bubbling with enthusiasm.
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.
As the numerous chimneys merrily belched out smoke – black, white and reddish brown – as pollution control norms were still some way off (for the past few years all the 65 chimneys of Durgapur Steel Plant are pollution free), the townships grew and prospered. Regional Engineering College (established 1960) (now renamed National Institute of Technology
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , formerly the Regional Engineering College , Durgapur, was established under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1960 as one of the eight RECs...
) and Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI, CSIR) (established 1958) added to the stature of the new township. Schools, hospitals, parks, and playgrounds – all came up. It was new life in new India.
The Revival
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 sixties. Even the new industries in Durgapur were affected by the militancy and in no time, most of the industries in Durgapur were in shambles.That continued for some years but the result was that many of the sick industries were on the verge of closure. It was evident that some of the industries were technically unsound; as for example, Durgapur Steel Plant was technologically obsolete and needed huge investment for modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
. 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.
Fortunately, DSP management with public support of the trade unions was able to turn around the dire situation with thousands of job cuts through voluntary retirement schemes and modernizing efforts. Now Durgapur Steel Plant is operating at above its rated capacity and earning profits after deduction of substantial amount of interest and depreciation resulting from the massive investment in modernisation. The plant is undergoing further expansion and is all set for a momentous future. A number of other industries, as for example Alstom Projects India Limited (erstwhile ACC-Babcock Ltd), Philips Carbon Black Ltd. and Graphite India Ltd., had been doing well. Alloy Steels Plant has also turned the corner. MAMC has been taken over by power giant Damodar Valley Corporation, Coal India Limited and BEML. Therefore, Durgapur presents a dual picture of growth and hope on one side and collapse on the other. The darker side covers such units as Bharat Ophthalmic and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation.
Recent Changes in Durgapur
2002 onwards, Durgapur has been witnessing radical changes, with rapid development in different segments like Industry, Real estates, IT, Education etc. The changes are with respect to infrastructure as well as industrial growth for steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
(direct reduced iron), metal, cement industries & knowledge based industries.
Multiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...
, science and energy park, Software Technology park (STPI), Hotels and stadiums have also come up. In 2007, a shopping mall by ADDA, named Suhatta was opened by Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharya. He inaugurated 7 institutes that day including a Polytechnic college. Currently Durgapur has several Shopping malls and multiplex.Durgapur even has a three-star hotel called peerless inn.
During the years 2001-2007 Durgapur saw the setting up of 10 to 15 middle/ large scale industrial investment in iron and steel manufacturing sector including value added products like sponge iron, Wire Rod, TMT bar (Thermo Mechanical Treatment) for construction, Iron Casting powder etc. The prominent investors are MB Group, Jai Balaji group
Jai Balaji group
Jai Balaji Group is a Primary Steel Plant with Captive Power Generation and plants in nine locations. It also has plans to set up a Mega Steel, Cement and Power Project at Raghunathpur.-The Group:...
, SPS group, Adhunik Group of Industries, Neo Metallic, Stolberg India, Super Smelters Ltd, Shyam Steel, UltraTech Cement
UltraTech Cement
UltraTech Cement Limited is India's biggest cement company and India’s largest exporter of cement clinker based in Mumbai, India. The company is part of Aditya Birla Group. It has an annual capacity of 52 million tonnes.-Products:...
etc.
Some other important changes are Regional Engineering College being upgraded to National Institute of Technology - the first Deemed University in Durgapur, 'SRIJONI'- a public hall equipped with technically advanced systems (audio & video).
City Centre has now grown to be the most happenning place in Durgapur and most people desire to reside there.
An Airport City - Aerotropolis (an integrated city with contemporary infrastructure for industries, logistics hub, IT, hospitality, healthcare, education, retail and residential) is being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) at Andal
Andal
Andal is the the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of...
near Durgapur. The project is being developed over an initial 2182 acres (8.8 km²). The Airport, as part of this Aerotropolis, is designed by the world-renowned Changi Airport of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
who will also operate the Airport for an initial period of about 2 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.
Software giants like Wipro
Wipro
Wipro Limited formally Western India Products Limited is a global IT services and consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. As of 2011, Wipro is the second largest IT services company by turnover in India and employs more than 120,000 people worldwide as of March 2011...
, TCS
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services Limited is a global IT services, business solutions and outsourcing company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is the largest provider of information technology in Asia and second largest provider of business process outsourcing services in India...
are moving towards Durgapur. DLF and Shapoorji Pallonji are investing millions for integrated townships and IT Park. The IT park has been named as Infocity. IT firms like Hinduja Global Solutions Limited
Hinduja Global Solutions Limited
Hinduja Global Solutions Limited, is a pure play BPO service provider headquartered in Bangalore and part of the Hinduja Group. Formerly known as HTMT Global, the company re-branded itself as HGSL in line with the group policy.- ShareHolders :...
have already made Durgapur as its Eastern Developmental Centre. A mall, called the Junction is coming up.
State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp [ONGC] has produced first shale gas in the country at Icchapur in Durgapur district of West BengalThe gas reserve spread over 12,000 square km in the Durgapur-Ranigunj area - is the world's third shale gas find."ONGC finds maiden shale gas reserves in India"Business standard, 28 January 2011.
Administrative changes
Durgapur is a new industrial city. The administrative setup for the city came up 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 Asansol 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.Durgapur being an industrial city, the civic amenities of different company/ plant townships are taken care by the respective company/ plant authorities. However, there are civil localities such as the area around the railway station (what was the original Durgapur), the City Centre,Sepco, Bidhannagar, Benachitty, Muchipara and so on, which need civic facilities. In 1962, Durgapur Notified Area Authority was formed for the purpose. It was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 7 October 1996 and the company/ plant townships included in it, although civic amenities continue to be provided by the respective companies/ plants.
Education
Durgapur has many educational institutions. Schools include St. Peter's School, St. Xavier's School, Carmel Convent (Steel and MAMC), St. Michael's school,Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, Durgapur Projects Boys High School (H.S.), Durgapur Projects Township Boys High School (H.S.), Durgapur MAMC Township Modern High School (H.S.), Kendriya Vidyalaya (CMERI and CRPF),DAV Model, Durgapur Ispat Vidyalaya(DIV), Hem Sheela Model School, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pranavananda Vidya Mandir, AG Church and Bidhan Chandra Institution. Other schools include A-Zone M.P. Boys High School, B-Zone M.P.Boys High School, Kashiram Das Road Boys High School, Joydev Boys, Joydev Girls, GMPS, Akbar Road Girls High School. There are quite a few new schools that have come up in the last few years. Notable among them are Beachwood School,DICV School, Nirjhar Day Boarding School, Durgapur Public School and Zoom School. While some are affiliated to WB Board, others are trying to seek NOC and affiliation. There are also Hindi medium schools like the Nepali Para Hindi High School and the Bharatiya Hindi High School.Durgapur is home to various institutions of National Repute.
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , formerly the Regional Engineering College , Durgapur, was established under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1960 as one of the eight RECs...
is an institution in eastern India. It is one of the 20 NITs in the country.
DSMS is a management college. NSHM is another hotel management college in Durgapur.
Other Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
colleges at Durgapur are Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur
Dr. B.C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur
Dr. B.C. Roy Engineering College is a private engineering college in Durgapur, India. It was established on 21 August 2000 with its first batch of students.-The Campus:...
, Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Aryabhatta Institute Of Engineering & Management
Aryabhatta Institute Of Engineering & Management
Aryabhatta Institute Of Engineering & Management Durgapur is a private engineering college in Durgapur, India. It was established in 2003 with its first batch of students.- About College :...
(AIEMD better known as Aryabhatta Engineering College / AIEMD ), Durgapur Institute Of Advanced Technology and Management which is better known as DIATM, Kanksa Academy of technology and Management, also known as KATM, Institute of Engineering & Industrial Technology, Durgapur (IEIT) and NSHM-College Of Engineering & Technology. Most Of The colleges here are affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology
West Bengal University of Technology
The West Bengal University of Technology, commonly referred to as WBUT or UTech, is a public state university located in the suburban satellite township of Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal, India...
.
Nowadays National Institute of Management, popularly known as NIM Durgapur, is making a debut in the field of education.Detail- http://www.nimdurgapur.com/
National Power Training Institute, previously known as PETS is also an engineering and technical institute in the region. Situated in City Center, under the Ministry of Power(Govt. of India), it offers courses in power engineering, post graduate diploma course and PDC.
There are many other graduation colleges in Durgapur. Durgapur Government College (University of Burdwan) is the only NAAC-accredited college in the region, and received a grade of B++. Durgapur Women's College is a reputed college for over 40 years now. Michael Madhusudhan College is another new graduation college in Durgapur.
IT Firms
The One of the IT firm in Durgapur: Gates Consultants. Supporting Durgapur throughout its resurgence and working in R&D for more than 7 years enriching the students' community and technocratic society in general.(Advt)Places of interest
- Bhabani Pathak’s Tilla – near city centre of Durgapur. Earlier there was a tunnel system from here to the Damodar RiverDamodar RiverDamodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
, but now that is closed from public view. Now, people can visit only the Tilla. - Rahreswar Shib Mandir – 800 years old temple complex on the Muchipara-Shibpur road.
- Ichhai Ghosh’s garh - It is a fort – now in ruins - and the Shyamarupa temple.
- SantiniketanSantiniketanSantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
– location of Visva Bharati, established by Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
. It is about 60 km away from Durgapur. - Bishnupur – the famous terracotta temple town and home to major art and crafts. It is about 70 km away from Durgapur. The Bankura horseBankura horseBankura horse is the terracotta horse, produced in Panchmura village in Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has been praised for “its elegant stance and unique abstraction of basic values.” Originally used for village rituals, it now adorns drawing rooms across the world as...
, symbol of Indian handicrafts is produced at PanchmuraPanchmuraPanchmura is a gram panchayat under Taldangra intermediate panchayat, in Khatra subdivision of Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.It is from Bishnupur and is famous for the terracotta Bankura horse, a folk artefact and now the national symbol for Indian...
, near Bishnupur. It is also the home of the Baluchari sari, originally woven with motifs based on stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but now modernized. - Jaydev KenduliJaydev KenduliJaydev Kenduli is a village and gram panchayat in Ilambazar community development block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal...
– temple and birthplace of Sanskrit poet Joydeb, on the banks of the Ajay RiverAjay RiverThe Ajay River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The word “Ajay” means “not conquered”.-Geography:The Ajay River originates on a small hill about 300 metres high, south west of Munger in Bihar. It then flows through Jharkhand and enters West Bengal at Simjuri, near Chittaranjan...
. This place is about 30 km away from Durgapur. On the occasion of Makar Sankranti (Winter SolsticeWinter solsticeWinter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
), a fair is organized here. BaulBaulBaul .Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.-Etymology:The origin of the word...
s, religious singers with a detached philosophy and spontaneity of their own, participates in this fair, which is held in mid January every year. - BakreshwarBakreshwarBakreshwar is a town in the Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited is located some distance away from the town.-Etymology:...
– a hot spring and temple, lying about 60 km away from Durgapur. - ChuruliaChuruliaChurulia is a village under Jamuria block station of Asansol subdivion in Bardhaman district of the state of West Bengal, India.-History:It is the birthplace of Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, and the resting place of his wife Pramila Devi. Many of the manuscripts, medallions and other belongings...
- birthplace of the famous Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul IslamKazi Nazrul IslamKazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...
. He is considered the national poet of BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. The village is about 60 km from Durgapur, and contains a museum with his works and a memorial for him. - Durgapur BarrageDurgapur BarrageDurgapur Barrage is across the Damodar River at Durgapur in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Overview:The Damodar River Valley Project on the Damodar River and its principal tributary, the...
– A dam and a tourist spot on river Damodar. - Dreamplex- Its a shopping complex where the young crowd hangs out. It contains the Big BazaarBig BazaarBig Bazaar is a chain of hypermarket in India. Currently, there are 210 stores across 80 cities and towns in India. Big Bazaar is designed as an agglomeration of bazaars or Indian markets with clusters offering a wide range of merchandise including fashion and apparels, food products, general...
89 cinemas and other shopping and entertainment spots. - Benachity Bazar- This is the largest shopping market place in Durgapur. Thosands of people flock the streets of this widely popular market area especially during the Puja season marketing.
- '"Suhatta"' is another shopping complex intended for the higher social class which has famous brands & designer retail outlets.
- City Centre This is the only central business district of the city, and is the costliest area of the city.
- Junction Mall is the biggest shopping complex (excluding Kolkata) in Eastern India currently under finishing jobs. It is being developed by the shrachi group and has Pantaloons,Shopper's Stop,Crossword,Fabindia,Reebok,Adidas,Woodland,Café Coffee Day,United Colors Of Benneton, The Mobile Store,Bioscope(3 Screen 3D Multiplex),Food Court,Subway,KFC and many other popular brands is spread over an area of 4 hundred thousand sq. ft.
Non-Governmental Organisation
- Third Eye Durgapur: This club is Durgapur's first photography club and was created with an objective to promote photography in the city. Renowned photographer Mr. Abhishek Roy was the founder of this club and currently he is the director of Third Eye Durgapur.
- Swami Vivekananda Vani Prachar Samity: Influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, few like minded people of Durgapur Steel Township