Bhatpara is a city and a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 under Jagatdal police station of Barrackpore

Barrackpore

Barrackpore or Barrackpur is headquarters of Barrackpore subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town was a military and administrative center under British rule, and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century...

 subdivision in North 24 Parganas district

North 24 Parganas district

North 24 Parganas district is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the [tropical zone] from latitude 22º11'6" north to 23º15'2" north and from longitude 88º20' east to 89º5' east...

  in the state of West Bengal

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

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is situated on the bank of Hoogly river. It is mainly known for its rich traditions in the field of Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 learning. Actually the name 'Bhatpara' originates from the ancient name "Bhatta-Palli" where 'Bhatta' denotes the sect of bramhin Sanskrit pandits and 'palli' denotes locality or village. It is one of the oldest municipalities in West Bengal and it was constituted a municipality in 1899, when it was separated from the Naihati municipality. In the British era and afterwards it had become an important industrial hub on Hoogly river bank mainly for the high density of jute processing plants.

Geography

Bhatpara is located at 22.87°N 88.41°E. It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet). The main town is sandwiched between the Hoogly river in the east and railway track linking Sealdah and Krishnanagar in the west.

Bhatpara has a rail station named 'Kankinara' which connects it to 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...

 through Sealdah

Sealdah

Sealdah is one of the major train stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest rail stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal...

 main line to Krishnanagar and Ranaghat. It is approximately one hour train journey 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...

 to Bhatpara. It also has boat services to the other bank of Hoogly river, connecting it to Chinsura and Chandannagar

Chandannagar

Chandannagar, formerly known as Chandernagore or Chandernagar , is a small city and former French colony located north of Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is head quarters of a subdivision in Hooghly District. It is one of the 6 municipal corporations in West Bengal. It is a part of the area...

. The main roadway passing through Bhatpara is called Ghose Para Road.

Weather

Bhatpara features hot and humid summer and dry winter, typical of West Bengal. The rainy season is typically from mid-July to mid or late October. Average temperature during summer can goes as high as 38 degree Celsius and in winter the mercury plunges to below 10 degree Celsius.

Demographics

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...

, Bhatpara had a population of 441,956. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Bhatpara has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 78% and female literacy of 66%. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The jute mills drew in a large labour force from the neighbouring states of Bihar and Orissa, as well as eastern Uttar Pradesh, quite often forming an overwhelming majority of the population in the area, living in shanty town

Shanty town

A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...

s and bustees dotting the mill area.

Education

Although Bhatpara was renowned for its Sanskrit cultural heritage and learning, much of that ancient tradition has faded, quality of education is worst.Most of the people are uneducated. However, modern educational practices are upheld by several high schools such as Kankinara Arya Vidyalaya, Bhatpara Amar Krishna Pathsala, Bhatpara High School, Bhatpara Central Girls' School, Taraknath Balika Bidyamandir, Himayatal gurba High school,Chasm-i-rahamat High School, Kankinara High School etc. Although Bhatpara does not have any college within its territorial boundary, prominent colleges in nearby Naihati

Naihati

Naihati is a town and an important railway junction station on the Indian Railways network, in the district of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.-Geography:Naihati is located at...

 and Barrackpore

Barrackpore

Barrackpore or Barrackpur is headquarters of Barrackpore subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town was a military and administrative center under British rule, and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century...

 provide easy access to higher education for the youth of Bhatpara Kankinara and Jagatdal. Many students also go to Kolkata for University and technical education.Education quality is worst In Govt.added Primary schools in this locality need to be correct.

Culture

Bhatpara is famous for its Durgapuja. Although, family-based pujas were more common a few decades ago, it has become a community-centric affair in modern times. The youth communities or clubs(amara kojon type) organize these pujas and due to sheer number of these clubs, one can find over fifty pujas being arranged within a square kilometre of area.
The best school in Bhatpara is Kankinara Arya Vidyalayain hindi medium whereas Ramkrishna Pathshala is best in Bengali medium.
Under Bhatpara Municipality Kankinara is famous for Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi , also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is the Hindu festival of Ganesha also called Vinayagar in Tamil Nadu, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees in the duration of this festival...

and Chatth puja.

Economy

Earlier, a significant portion of population was engaged in some form of job in the local jute mills. Economic instability related to jute industry in West Bengal forced many of these mills to be shut down. Nowadays, people of Bhatpara are mostly engaged in services in the private and public sector outside the area (in Kolkata and neighborhood) and small personal businesses within the locality. A significant number of Bhatparans have moved on and shifted to cities outside West Bengal and even India, in search of better prospects.Most of the people of this area is unemployed and this is the main cause of all problems of this town.

Kankinara Bazar is main market area for the people of Bhatapara and it's really by places like Rathtalla, Jagatdal, Authpur etc.

Balaram Sarkar Ghat

It is a wonderful ghat beside ganges.Time flows with the tides in the ganges when you are enjoying the nature and silence here.

Panch Mukhi Hanuman Mandir

Just 200 mtr from Kankinar Bazar towards the Kankinara Ghat The Panch Mukhi Hanuman mandir is there and it is one of the best temple in Bhatpara.
The evening Arti of lord Hanuman is also famous.

Rupasree Kali Temple

It is a renowned temple in this locality.Temple is right beside the holy river and the beautiful ghat named Balaram Sarkar Ghat.

Panchmandir

It is a bunch of temples constructed nearly 400 years ago.There are five temples altogether.

Ashta goli

It is a famous kul-de-sac.It is famous for being extremely narrow and having eight turns.

Madrail Hanuman Mandir(Madral Mahaveer Mandir)

It is one of the best temple of Kankinara to visit.The Idol of god is in lying position, situated at 10 feet below the surface .This temple is Located 2.5KM from Kankinara railway station.Along with this a Shiva temple is also situated nearby to it.Beside this Vaishnav, Kali, and Vishwakarma temples are also situeted nearby to this temple.These temples are required to be renovated.

Other Places to visit in Kankinara

Except these, there is a lot of ghats on Ganges,having different moods and hues of nature and silence.