Tarakeswar is a town 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...

 in Hooghly District

Hooghly District

Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...

 in the 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...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 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...

. It is a police station in 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...

 subdivision. Tarakeswar is a renowned place of pilgrimage and the greatest centre of the Shiva sect in West Bengal. 58 km away from Kolkata, Tarakeswar can be reached conveniently by train.

Geography

Tarakeswar is located at 22.89°N 88.02°E. It has an average elevation of 18 metre

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s (59 feet).

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...

, Tarakeswar had a population of 28,178. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Tarakeswar has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 66%. In Tarakeswar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Temple of Taraknath

The principal attraction is the temple of Taraknath, an 'atchala' structure with a 'natmandir' in front. Close by are the shrines of Kali and Lakshmi-Narayan. Dudhpukur, a tank to the north of the Shiva temple is believed to fulfil the prayers of those taking a dip in it.

Pilgrims visit the temple throughout the year, especially on Mondays. But thousands of pilgrims visit Tarakeswar on the occasions of 'Shivaratri' and 'Gajan

Gajan (festival)

Gajan is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is associated with such deities as Shiva, Neel and Dharmathakur.-Etymology:...

', the former taking place in Falgun (Feb-March) while the latter lasts for five days ending on the last day of Chaitra (mid-April). The month of Sravana (mid-July to mid-August) is auspicious for Shiva when celebrations are held on each Monday.

Education

In Tarakeswar there are several Primary school namely Anandamarg , Sishu Niketan , Ankur , Sahapur. There are three High schools situated here Tarakeswar Boys School, Tarkeswar Girls School , Bikash Bharati Blooms Day School. Kendriya Vidyalaya has been opened recently but will run with full functionality later. Tarakeswar Mahavidyalay is a School affiliated to WBCHSE (Class XI - XII only). Degree College is the only college situated in Tarakeswar affiliated to Burdwan University.

Transport

The Howrah-Tarakeswar line was opened in 1885. Tarakeswar was also a terminal for the Bengal Provincial Railway

Bengal Provincial Railway

The Bengal Provincial Railway Company was a gauge railway opened in 1895 from Tarakeswar on the East Indian Railway to Magra, also on the East Indian Railway broad gauge. Built by local interests, the line was 32 miles long, until extended a further 2 miles to Tribeni in 1904. The railway mostly...

.It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway

Kolkata Suburban Railway

The Kolkata Suburban Railway is the rail system for the suburbs surrounding the city of Kolkata . Railways such as this are important and heavily-used infrastructure in India....

 system. Tarakeswar Railway Station is Declared as a MultiFunctional Station.The present Railway Line between Sheoraphully and Tarakeswar is being extended to Bishnupur.

Communication

Champadanga area exchange with code 03212 serves: Begampur

Begampur

Begampur is a census town in Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is under Chanditala police station in Srirampore subdivision.-Geography:Begampur is located at . It has an average elevation of 15 metres ....

, Bhagabatipur, Champadanga

Champadanga

Champadanga is a village under Tarakeswar bloc and police station in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Economics:This is a rich agricultural area with several cold storages. Chief products are potato and rice....

, Chanditala

Chanditala

Chanditala II is an administrative division in Srirampore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Chanditala and Dankuni police stations serve this block. Headquarters of this block is at Chanditala...

, Dihi-badpur, Dwarhatta, Eksara, Gopinagar, Haripal

Haripal

Haripal is an administrative division in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Haripal police station serves this block...

, Harinkhola, Jangipara

Jangipara

Jangipara is an administrative division in Srirampore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Jangipara police station serves this block...

, Jinpur,Dulalbati, Masat, Nalipur, Rajbalhat, Shaympur, Tarakeswar.