Pilkhana is a slum

Slum

A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...

 in 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...

, West Bengal, India. It is part of Howrah, which is poor. It is the slum the best-seller The City of Joy has been written about. Pilkhana has at least tens of thousands of residents. It is not far from Howrah Station

Howrah station

Howrah Station is one of the four intercity train stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata railway station in Kolkata. Howrah is situated on the West bank of the Hooghly River, linked to Kolkata by the magnificent Howrah Bridge which...

. A Hallman High School exists. As for religious adherents, it has significant Hindu and Muslim populations. Pilkhana is of industrial character. It is part of Howrah Sadar constituency. The Salesians of Don Bosco

Salesians of Don Bosco

The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...

 are present in Pilkhana. Another notable slum in Kolkata is
Tikia Para

Tikia Para

Tikia Para is an area in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is close to Howrah Station. A Tikia Para railway station exists....

.