Top Places to visit in Hooghly, Chinsurah, West Bengal

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 Hooghly-Chinsura (Chuchura). There are four subdivisions: Chinsura Sadar, Serampore, Chandannagar, and Arambag.

Historical places

Bandel Basilica

Kamarpukur is the birthplace of Sri Sri Ramakrishna dev.

Tarakeswar is a renowned place of pilgrimage and the greatest centre of the Shiva sect in West Bengal.

Serampore: The Ratha Yatra of Mahesh in Serampore is the oldest Ratha Yatra after Puri Ratha-Yatra. Serampore was the Danish colony. The first university in Asia was established in Serampore – Senate of Serampore College (University)

Rishra: One of the most crowded city has many different religion people and industries like aditya birla's jayasree textile.First jute mill of Asian was in Rishra.Arjuna Awardee Indian Footballer Sudhir Karmakar and Ex-Indian Football Captain Sishir Ghost are from Rishra.historical places to visit in Rishra Are Nilkuthi,sideshwari kalibari,Bose House,Hesting jute mill etc.

Nalikul is famous for Raash Mela (রাস মেলা) & Rathayatra (রথযাত্রা) festivals. There is a big vegetable market.

Bandel is famous for the Bandel ChurchWest Bengal's oldest church . Bandel is the birthplace of the eminent writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Chandannagar is an important town of Hooghly famous for Jagaddhatri puja, lighting work and French colonial monuments.

Chinsurah is the district headquarters and a historical town of Hooghly. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay composed the "Vande Mataram," the national song of India, at Chinsurah. The Dutch villa is separated at Joraghat and Townguard. They are called 'Mondol Bari' as they are now under the aristocratic ownership of the Mondal family. One can see the Dutch lioness murals on the entrance doors and allied wooden motifs. In spite of such historical background, a major portion of the original Dutch villa at Townguard road, where once nationalist leaders used to held meetings and conferences, was demolished and gone into the hands of builders/promoters. The back portion and the joraghat Mondal house with Dutch acknowledgment are intact. The hierarchy of inheritance is becoming weak and the landmark assets needs urgent preservation as well as heritage status application.

Guptipara is famous for Rathayatra and Rashmela. There are few historical Terracotta temple in Brindabanchandra Math.

The historical triple cities of Chandanagar-Chinsurah-Serampore are called Little Europe as these were all European colonies.

Tribeni and Bansberia

Tarakeswar Temple

The Taraknath temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva worshiped as Taraknath, is a major pilgrimage spot in the town of Tarakeswar. Built in 1729, the temple is an ‘atchala’ structure of Bengal temple architecture 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. Thousands of pilgrims visit Tarakeswar on the occasions of Shivaratri and ‘Gajan’, the former taking place in Phalgun (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 seen to be auspicious for Shiva when celebrations are held on each Monday.

Divisions

Administrative subdivisions

Subdivision of Hooghly district map

The district comprises four subdivisions: Chinsurah, Chandannagore, Srirampore and Arambagh.

Chinsurah subdivision consists of two municipalities (Hugli-Chuchura and Bansberia) and five community development blocs: Balagarh, Chinsurah–Mogra, Dhaniakhali, Pandua and Polba–Dadpur.

Chandannagore subdivision consists of Chandannagar municipal corporation and three municipalities (Bhadreswar, Champdani and Tarakeswar) and three community development blocs: Haripal, Singur and Tarakeswar.

Srirampore subdivision consists of six municipalities (Serampore, Uttarpara Kotrung, Dankuni, Konnagar, Rishra and Baidyabati) and four community development blocks: Chanditala–I, Chanditala–II, Jangipara and Sreerampur Uttarpara.

Arambagh subdivision consists of Arambag municipality and six community development blocks: Arambag, Khanakul–I, Khanakul–II, Goghat–I, Goghat–II and Pursurah.

Hugli-Chuchura is the district headquarters. There are 23 police stations, 18 development blocks, 12 municipalities and 210 gram panchayats in this district.

Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks that are divided into rural areas and census towns.There are 41 urban units: 12 municipalities and 32 census towns.

Chinsurah subdivision

Two municipalities: Hugli-Chuchura and Bansberia

Balagarh community development block consists of rural areas with 13 gram panchayats and one census town: Badhagachhi.

Chinsurah–Mogra community development block consists of rural areas with 10 gram panchayats and eight census towns: Kodalia, Raghunathpur, Madhusudanpur, Amodghata, Shankhanagar, Chak Bansberia, Kulihanda, Simla.

Dhaniakhali community development block consists of rural areas only with 18 gram panchayats.

Pandua community development block consists of rural areas with 15 gram panchayats and three census towns: Boinchi, Pandua and Batika.

Polba–Dadpur community development block consists of rural areas only with 12 gram panchayats.

Chandannagore subdivision

Chandannagar municipal corporation

Three municipalities: Bhadreswar, Champdani, and Tarakeswar

Haripal community development block consists of rural areas only with 15 gram panchayats.

Singur community development block consists of rural areas with 16 gram panchayats and one census town: Singur.

Tarakeswar community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.

Serampore subdivision

Six municipalities: Serampore, Uttarpara Kotrung, Konnagar, Rishra, Dankuni and Champdani

Chanditalal–I community development block consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats and 2 census towns: Masat, Gangadharpur, Aniya, Bhagabatipur, Haripur, Krishnarampur, Kumirmorah, Nawabpur, Sheakhala.

Chanditala–II community development block consists of rural areas with 11 gram panchayats and 10 census towns: Purba Tajpur, Kharsarai, Begampur, Chikrand, Pairagachha, Monoharpur, Barijhati, Garalgachha, Krishnapur and Mrigala.

Jangipara community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.

Sreerampur Uttarpara community development block consists of rural areas with six gram panchayats and six census towns: Raghunathpur, Dakshin Rajyadharpur, Bamunari, Rishra, Nabagram and Kanaipur.

Arambagh subdivision

One municipality: Arambag.

Arambag community development block consists of rural areas only with 15 gram panchayats.

Khanakul–I community development block consists of rural areas only with 13 gram panchayats.

Khanakul–II community development block consists of rural areas only with 11 gram panchayats.

Goghat–I community development block consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats.

Goghat–II community development block consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats.

Pursurah community development block consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats.

Transport

Rail

The railway communication of the district, especially at the suburban area, is very developed.

There are four junction stations in Hooghly:

Bandel Junction railway station

Dankuni Junction railway station

Sheoraphuli railway station, Serampore

Kamarkundu

The railway is under Howrah Division. The Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Route passes through the district, which is one of the most important routes of the country. This route comes under Howrah division and is under the jurisdiction of Sr Den/2/Hwh assisted by AEN/2/LLH. The first train of ER started its journey from Howrah to Hooghly at 14 August 1854 (First halt was Bally (Howrah) and second halt was Serampore) . Hooghly station was announced as the heritage station.

Chinsurah railway station is very useful.

Education

Chandernagore Govt. College

There are 2992 primary schools, 408 high schools, 127 higher secondary schools, 22 colleges, and 6 technical institutes in Hooghly district.

The most notable institutions among them are:

Government College of Engineering & Textile Technology Serampore

Mahesh Sri Ramkrishna Ashram Vidyalaya (Higher Secondary)

Saroj Mohan Institute of Technology, Guptipara

Serampore College

Serampore Girls' College

Serampore Union Institution

Akna Girl's High School