Kolkata Pincodes

The largest and capital city of the Indian state of West Bengal is Kolkata. Situated 80 km (50 mi) west of the Bangladeshi border, it is situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River. It serves as eastern and northeastern India’s main hub for trade and finance. With an estimated 4.5 million people living in the city proper, Kolkata is the seventh most populated city in India (0.45 crore). With a population of more than 15 million (1.5 crore), it serves as the hub of the Kolkata Metropolitan Region, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the world.

History

The discovery and excavation of Chandraketugarh, which is located 35 km (22 mi) north of Kolkata, have shown that the area has been inhabited for more than two millennia. With the arrival of the English East India Company in 1690, which was strengthening its trade enterprise in Bengal, Kolkata’s recorded history began. Although Job Charnock is frequently recognized as the city’s founder, the Calcutta High Court declared in 2003 that the city did not have a founder in response to a public petition.

Geography

Kolkata is located in eastern India’s lower Ganges Delta, roughly 75 km (47 mi) west of Bangladesh’s international border. The city is broadly spread out north-south along the east bank of the Hooghly River, at an elevation of 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft). Over the years, a large portion of the city that had once been a wetland was reclaimed to make room for the growing population. A “wetland of international importance” was declared for the remaining undeveloped regions, referred to as the East Kolkata Wetlands, by the Ramsar Convention (1975).

Climate

Kolkata receives the majority of its yearly rainfall of 1,850 mm (73 in) from rains carried in by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west summer monsoon, which lashes the city between June and September. July and August saw the highest total monthly rainfall. The average monthly temperature is between 19 and 30 °C (66 and 86 °F); the annual average is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F). Maximum temperatures can surpass 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June during dry spells. Summers (March–June) are hot and muggy with lows in the 30s.

Economy

The Calcutta Stock Exchange is located in Kolkata, which serves as the financial and economic center of East and North-East India. It is one of five cities in eastern India with an international airport, and it is a significant military and economic port. Once the most important city in India, Kolkata saw a steady collapse in its economy in the decades after independence as a result of sharp population growth and an expansion in militant trade-unionism, which included regular strikes supported by left-wing organizations. Businesses moved and several factories shuttered between the 1960s and the late 1990s.

Demography

Residents of Kolkata are referred to as Calcuttan and Kolkatan. The population of the 185 sq km (71 sq mi) Kolkata district, as per the provisional results of the 2011 national census, was 4,486,679, with a population density of 24,252/sq km (62,810/sq mi). This indicates a 1.88% decrease for the 2001–2011 period. The gender ratio is below the national average by 899 females for every 1000 males. The increase of working men from West Bengal’s surrounding rural areas, who frequently leave their families behind, lowers the ratio.

Culture

Kolkata, the historic capital of India, is renowned for its revolutionary, artistic, and literary traditions. It also gave rise to contemporary Indian literary and creative thought. Kolkata has been dubbed the “cultural [or literary] capital of India” in addition to the “City of Furious, Creative Energy”. The city is distinguished by the existence of paras, or neighborhoods with a strong sense of community. Every para usually has a community club and perhaps a playing field. Addas, or casual conversations, are enjoyed by the residents and frequently take the shape of unstructured, thought-provoking dialogue.