Garden Reach

Garden Reach
Neighbourhood in Kolkata (Calcutta)
South Eastern Railway Headquarters, BNR Southern Generating Station CESC Shahi Imambara of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Garden Reach Flyover Paharpur Road Nature Park Garden Reach Water Works
Garden Reach Location in Kolkata
Coordinates: 22°32′36″N88°17′39″E / 22.5432°N 88.2942°E / 22.5432; 88.2942
Country	India
State	West Bengal
City	Kolkata
District	Kolkata [1] [2] [3]
Kolkata Suburban Railway	Santoshpur railway station
Municipal Corporation	Kolkata Municipal Corporation
KMC wards	80, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	700018, 700024, 700043, 700044, 700066, 700088
Area code	+91 33
Lok Sabha constituency	Kolkata Dakshin and Diamond Harbour
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Kolkata Port and Metiaburuz

Garden Reach is a neighbourhood of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. It is situated in the south-western part of Kolkata on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. Localities within Garden Reach include Metiabruz, BNR Colony, Bandhabartala, Bartala, Badartala, Rajabagan and Santoshpur. ^[4]

History

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in Exile

South Eastern Railway Headquarters

BNR House, S.E Railway Colony

Bichali Ghat (Metiabruz Ferry Ghat)

This area is connected to the history of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, eleventh and last King of Oudh, who after being ousted by the East India Company, made Garden Reach his refuge. Accompanied by his close relatives, musicians, cooks and animals from his menagerie, he came ashore at Bichali Ghat near Metiabruz on 13 May 1856. A year later when the Indian Rebellion of 1857 spread to Lucknow and the rebelling sepoys installed one of his sons to the throne of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah was imprisoned in Fort William by the East India Company along with his Prime Minister, due to the fear that he could become a rallying figure for the rebellion. H.E.A. Cotton wrote that "on Panic Sunday (June 14, 1857), there was wide spread apprehension among the white inhabitants of Kolkata because he had one, two, three thousand (no one knew) armed men under him". After his release from Fort William, he was "allotted" a building called BNR House, ^[5] in Garden Reach-BNR Colony area, now a part of headquarters of South-Eastern Railway, Kolkata. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Grave of Wajid Ali Shah at Sibtainbad Imambara, Metiabruz

Heartbroken after leaving Lucknow, he tried to carve out a miniature of Lucknow in Metiabruz. In his exile in Metiabruz, complete with grand Islamic structures and cultural hubs, he arranged dance and music events and nurtured his love of poetry and the arts. He kept the sweet memories of his Lucknow alive by recreating the musical evenings of his Qaisarbagh Baradari. The king spent his life lavishly out of his income of 12 lakhs rupees per annum and a second Lucknow arose in this area. The Imambaras he created stands at the centre of Metiabruz. ^{[9] [10]} He established a zoo of exotic animals, Kabootarbazi (pigeon flying), Kite flying and brought along secret recipes from royal kitchens to feed the entourage. His royal chefs knew the recipes of the Awadhi Kitchen, which arrived in Kolkata with them. Awadhi cuisine was distinguished by its delicious biryani, a dish of spiced rice and meat that was popular for its aromatic richness and flavour balance. Due to a shortage of funds following the banishment, the cooks started using potatoes and eggs instead of a large quantity of meat to maintain the royalty. These skilled chefs adapted their traditional recipes to suit the local taste buds, resulting in the birth of Kolkata Biryani . ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Surinaam Ghat

Baba & Mai statue at Suriname Ghat

Owned by the Port Trust of India this Ghat is situated at the eastern bank of Hooghly river near Kolkata Port. It is named after the South American Caribbean country Suriname commemorating the indentured migration of Indian workers from this ghat to that country. A total of 64 sailing ships carried 34,300 workers to the country from 1873 to 1917. ^[14] Suriname ghat is also popularly known as Balu Ghat. ^[15]

In the Honour of Indian indentured workers who had migrated to Suriname, an aluminium statue of a plainly-dressed couple carrying a potli which symbolizes the first Indian man and woman to set foot on Suriname was set up as a memorial. It was unveiled by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 7 October 2015. The statue is a replica of the Baba and Mai monument in Paramaribo, Suriname's capital and is gifted by the government of Suriname. ^{[16] [17]}

Geography

Location

750m
780yds

Garden Reach

  

Garden Reach, located in the south-western part of the city, is bounded by the Kidderpore in the east, Taratala and Behala in the south and Maheshtala in the south west. ^[18]

Garden Reach Police station

Police station

The area is served by the Garden Reach police, Metiabruz police, West Port police, Nadial Police, Rajabagan police and Rabindranagar police. ^{[19] [20]}

Post office

Garden Reach is a vast locality with many Postal Index Numbers:

Garden Reach has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700024 in the Kolkata South Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are K.C Mills and T.G Road. ^[21]

Bartala has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700018 in the Kolkata South Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post office with the same PIN is Rabindra Nagar. ^[22]

South Eastern Railway has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700043 in the Kolkata South Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post office with the same PIN is Sonai. ^[23]

Rajabagan Dock Yard has a non-delivery sub post office, with PIN 700044 in the Kolkata South Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post office with the same PIN is Badartala. ^[24]

Bidhangarh has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700066 in the Kolkata South Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. ^[25]

Crimes

• On 11 February 2013 a police officer, Tapas Choudhury, was shot dead as members of the students' wings of Indian National Congress and Trinamool Congress violently clashed at Harimohan Ghose College while filling the nomination papers for the students' union election. Four students were injured in the violence. ^{[26] [27]}
• On 18 March 1984 during a clash between residents, a mob clashed with the police and the police fired several rounds. As a result, a deputy commissioner, Vinod Mehta, and his bodyguard, Mokhtar Ali, were killed by anti-socials. ^{[28] [29]}

Economy

Industry

Some of the major industries in the Garden Reach area are:

GRSE Headquarters

Hindustan Unilever

Garden Reach Ship Builders & Engineers Main Unit

• Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers - the premier warship building company in India, ^[30] under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence. ^{[31] [32]}
• ITC Ltd., Garden Reach, the Kolkata-based largest cigarette manufacturer in India, which has diversified into Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), hotels etc. ^{[33] [32]}
• Hindustan Unilever, Garden Reach, consumer goods company. ^{[34] [32]}
• Everest Industries Limited, Garden Reach. ^[35]
• TIL Limited (formerly known as Tractors India Ltd.), Garden Reach. ^[36]
• Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd., Garden Reach, pioneers and leader in cooling towers. ^{[37] [32]}
• General Electricals Co. Ltd., Paharpur, Kolkata. ^[32]
• Marathon Electric Motors India Limited. ^[38]
• Britania Biscuit Co. Ltd., Hide Road, Kolkata. ^[39]
• Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd., Hide Road, Kolkata. ^[40]
• Videocon Glass and Appliances Factory. ^[41]
• Danieli India Limited, Hari Mohan Ghosh Rd, Garden Reach. ^{[42] [32]}
• Readymade Garments manufacturing at Metiabruz. ^[43]
• The Ananda Bag Tea Co. Ltd. ^[44]
• Victoria Jute Mill, Garden Reach. ^[45]
• Southern Generating Station CESC Limited.
• A bottling plant unit of Indian Oil Corporation.
• A bottling plant unit of Hindustan Petroleum.
• Santoshpur Industrial Estate. ^[46]

Education

The following institutions are located in the Garden Reach area:

Colleges:

• Harimohan Ghose College ^[47]
• Matiaburj College ^[48]
• Panchur College ^[49]

Government schools:

• Arya Parishad Vidyalaya ^[50]
• A P J Abdul Kalam English Medium School ^[51]
• Bengali Bazar High School ^[52]
• Bartala Girls High School ^[53]
• Badartala High School ^[54]
• Fatehpur Giribala Girls High School ^[55]
• Fatepur Hindi Nagari Pracharak Vidyalaya ^[56]
• Garden Reach Kesoram Cotton Mills High School ^[57]
• Garden Reach Maulana Azad Memorial Girls High School ^[58]
• Garden Reach Mudiali Girl's High School ^[59]
• Garden Reach Mudiali High School ^[60]
• Garden Reach Nut Behari Das Boy's High School ^[61]
• Garden Reach Nut Behari Das Girl's High School ^[62]
• Kendriya Vidyalaya Garden Reach ^[63]
• Garden Reach Madhyamik Vidyalaya ^[64]
• Maulana Hasrat Mohani Memorial Girls High School ^[65]
• Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Girls High School ^[66]
• Judge Abdul Bari Girls High School ^[67]
• Haji Ratan Multipurpose High School ^[68]
• Metiabruz High School ^[69]
• Metiabruz Girls' High School ^[70]
• Nadial High School ^[71]
• Santoshpur Shyama Prasad Vidyalaya For Girls ^[72]

Private schools:

• Stella Maris Church & School ^[73]
• Birla Bharati ^[74]
• Al-Ameen Mission, Panchur ^[75]
• The Garden Reach School ^[76]
• Garden Reach Tiny Tots School ^[77]
• Guru Nanak Modern School ^[78]
• P.A.J's English Day School ^[79]
• Little Steps School (Ashoka Hall Group) ^[80]
• St. Annes Day School, Garden Reach ^[81]
• Mount Litera Zee School, Garden Reach ^[82]
• J D School, Metiabruz ^[83]
• Dar Al-Arqam International School ^[84]
• All Saints High School, Kolkata ^[85]
• Nalanda English Medium School ^[86]
• St. Mathew Convent School ^[87]
• St. Anthony's Day School ^[88]
• The Study Park ^[89]

Hospitals

• Garden Reach State General Hospital ^[90]
• Metiabruz Super-Speciality Hospital ^[91]
• S.E Railway Central Hospital ^[92]
• Garden Reach Maternity Hospital ^[93]
• Metiabruz Seva Sadan Hospital ^[94]
• Unipon Hospital & Medical Sciences Pvt Ltd ^[95]
• Susrut Eye Foundation ^[96]

Notable people

• Biman Banerjee – Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
• Arnab Mondal, footballer

Transport

Road

Garden Reach Flyover, Brooklyn

Transport system of Garden Reach has been improved. Although traffic jam occurs at late night after 11pm. Garden Reach Flyover, which connects Garden Reach with Majherhat, helps in smooth transportation of vehicles. The port area is congested primarily because of the trailers. ^[97] However, people of Garden Reach are now using this flyover from brook lane in the Garden Reach area to reach Diamond Harbour Road easily. The foundation stone of the flyover was laid on 1 March 2014, after being approved by Central Government. Its estimated project cost is of Rs 313.27 crore. ^[98] The project was completed in 2018. ^{[99] [100]}

Garden Reach Road

S.A Farooquie Road

Taratala Road

Karl Marx Sarani

Several buses ply on Garden Reach Road, Paharpur Road, Karl Marx Sarani, S.A Farooquie Road, Santoshpur Road and Taratala Road are:

Private Bus

• 227 BNR Colony - Bangur Avenue
• 1 Ramnagar - Mukundapur
• 1A Ramnagar - Mukundapur
• 1B Ramnagar - Garia Station
• 12 Rajabagan - Esplanade/Rajabazar
• 12/1 Ramnagar - Rajabazar
• 12A Rajabagan - Howrah Station
• 12B Kamal Talkies - Esplanade
• S-161 Metiabruz - Shyambazar
• S-123 Metiabruz - Howrah Station
• 42A Bichali Ghat - Picnic Garden
• 42B Bichali Ghat - Garia Station
• 12AD Akra Phatak - Howrah Station

WBTC Bus

• C-7 Harimohan Ghose College - Howrah Station
• 14-A Harimohan Ghose College - Karunamoyee
• S-62 Metiabruz (Bichali Ghat) - Kasba Bus Depot
• S-63 Metiabruz - Behala 14 No. Bus Terminus
• S-46 Rabindra Nagar - Karunamoyee (Salt Lake)

Ferry

Metiabruz Ferry Ghat (Bichali Ghat)

Metiabruz Ferry Ghat provides ferry service from Garden Reach (Bichali Ghat) to Nazirgunge near Botanical Garden in Howrah. ^[101]

Railway

Santoshpur railway station on the Budge Budge Branch line is situated nearby. Auto services are available from Bandhabartala, Bartala Rail line more, Haziratan Hati Park to Santoshpur railway station. ^[102]

See also

• Port of Kolkata
• Nature Park of India
• Kolkata Port Assembly constituency
• Metiaburuz Assembly constituency

References

1. "South 24 Parganas".
2. "KMC Wards in South 24 Parganas".
3. "Map of Kolkata (Calcutta)".
4. "Garden Reach: Where Calcutta's original elite once built their homes". The Indian Express. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
5. "BNR headquarters in Garden Reach: Colonial glory by the Hooghly". The Telegraph. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
6. "Garden Reach: The Forgotten Kingdom of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah". 19 March 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
7. "Exploring Metiabruz – Kolkata's mini-Lucknow" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
8. "'Piya ka des': 165 years on, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's legacy lives on in Kolkata". The New Indian Express. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
9. "Forgotten history: How the last Nawab of Oudh built a mini Lucknow in Calcutta". 26 July 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
10. "Hauntings of Metiabruz: Urban Legends from The Mini-Lucknow of Kolkata". 31 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
11. "The royal legacy of Wajid Ali Shah and the Kolkata Biryani". The Telegraph. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
12. "Here's how Wajid Ali Shah made the Kolkata biryani". The Times of India. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
13. "How An Exiled Nawab Invented The Famous Kolkata Biryani". 8 June 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
14. "Suriname Ghat : Tracing the Journey of Suriname Indians". 18 January 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
15. "Suriname envoy at Kolkata ghat from where ancestors set sail". The Times of India. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
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18. Google maps
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22. "Bartala Post office" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
23. "South Eastern Railway Post office" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
24. "Rajabagan Dock Yard Post office" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
25. "Bidhangarh Post office" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
26. Cop killed in firing as student wings of Congress, Trinamool clash during Kolkata college election India Today | Kolkata | Soudhriti Bhabani |12 February 2013
27. "Police officer shot dead in violence at Calcutta college over elections". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
28. "I didn't want Kolkata to forget Vinod's murder: 1984 victim". The Times of India. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
29. "Horror retold: DC lost & found". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
30. "Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
31. "Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
32. "Brief Industrial Profile of Kolkata District" (PDF). Some major large scale industries. Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute, Kolkata. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
33. "ITC Ltd" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
34. "Hindustan Unilever" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
35. "Everest Industries". www.everestind.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
36. "TIL Limited". tilindia.in. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
37. "Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
38. "Marathon Electric Motors India Limited". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
39. "Britania". britannia.co.in. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
40. "Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd". www.balmerlawrie.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
41. "Videocon Industries Limited". www.videoconindustriesltd.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
42. "Danieli". www.danieli.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
43. "About Metiabruz Cluster" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
44. "The Ananda Bag Tea Co Ltd". www.zaubacorp.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
45. "Victoria Jute Company". www.victoriajute.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
46. "List of Industrial Commercial Estates under The WBSIDCL" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
47. "Harimohan Ghose College". harimohanghosecollegekol24.ac.in. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
48. "Matiaburj College". matiaburjcollege.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
49. "Panchur College". panchurcollege.ac.in. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
50. "Arya Parishad Vidyalaya" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
51. "A P J Abdul Kalam English Medium School". millenniumpost. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
52. "Bengali Bazar High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
53. "Bartala Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
54. "Badartala High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
55. "Fatehpur Giribala Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
56. "Fatepur Hindi Nagari Pracharak Vidyalaya" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
57. "Garden Reach Kesoram Cotton Mills High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
58. "Garden Reach Maulana Azad Memorial Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
59. "Garden Reach Mudiali Girl's High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
60. "Garden Reach Mudiali High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
61. "Garden Reach Nut Behari Das Boy's High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
62. "Garden Reach Nut Behari Das Girl's High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
63. "Kendriya Vidyalaya Garden Reach" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
64. "Garden Reach Madhyamik Vidyalaya" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
65. "Maulana Hasrat Mohani Memorial Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
66. "Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
67. "Judge Abdul Bari Girls High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
68. "Haji Ratan Multipurpose High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
69. "Metiabruz High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
70. "Metiabruz Girls' High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
71. "Nadial High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
72. "Pincode of New Santoshpur Road Shyamaprasad Balika Vidyalaya Bidhangarh Kolkata" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
73. "Stella Maris Church & School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
74. "Birla Bharati" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
75. "Al-Ameen Mission, Panchur". alameenmissionpanchur.org. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
76. "The Garden Reach School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
77. "Garden Reach Tiny Tots School" . Retrieved 20 December 2024.
78. "Guru Nanak Modern School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
79. "P.A.J's English Day School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
80. "Little Steps School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
81. "St. Annes Day School, Garden Reach" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
82. "Mount Litera Zee School" . Retrieved 1 January 2025.
83. "J D School, Metiabruz" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
84. "Dar Al-Arqam International School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
85. "All Saints High School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
86. "Nalanda English Medium School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
87. "St. Mathew Convent School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
88. "St. Anthony's Day School" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
89. "The Study Park" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
90. "Garden Reach State General Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
91. "Metiabruz Super-Speciality Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
92. "S.E Railway Central Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
93. "Garden Reach Maternity Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
94. "Metiabruz Seva Sadan Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
95. "Unipon Hospital" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
96. "Susrut Eye Foundation" . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
97. "Mob torches police bikes after accident". The Times of India. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
98. "Garden Reach flyover to be thrown open tomorrow". The Times of India. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
99. "CM inaugurates 4.4 km Garden Reach flyover". millenniumpost.in. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
100. "Police suggest flyover ramps for Garden Reach flyover" . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
101. "Rs 1,021 crore upgrade for river transport". Times of India. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
102. "Santoshpur station live status of trains". erail.in. Retrieved 22 November 2024.

External links

• Kolkata/South travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Kolkata/Southern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage