South Dum Dum


South Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority bound by Sinthee and Cossipore to the west, Kolkata Airport and Rajarhat to the north, Shyambazar and Belgachia to the south and Salt Lake to the east. It is under the Rajarhat Gopalpur constituency. Flanked by commercial hubs Salt Lake and New Town, it is one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in northern suburbs of Kolkata.

Etymology

During the 19th century Dum Dum area was home to the Dum Dum Arsenal, a British Royal Artillery facility.

History

South Dumdum Municipality was established in 1870.
With the partition of Bengal in 1947, "millions of refugees poured in from erstwhile East Pakistan." In the initial stages, the bulk of these refugees were non-agriculturists. A few of them made their own arrangements, but "it was squatters who made the East Bengali refugees famous or infamous." Squatting ranged from the forcible occupation of barracks to the collective take-over of private, government, and wasteland. By 1949, there were a total of 65 refugee colonies in the Dum Dum and Panihati zones. The squatters were in a way "self-settlers" in the absence of adequate official arrangements for rehabilitation. Within a very short time, the refugees not only found a place to stay but developed a society that included markets, schools, temples and sometimes even colleges, hospitals and recreational centres.
Clive House on Rastraguru Avenue in Nagerbazar is mired in controversy. It is thought of as the first pucca brick and cement building in North Kolkata area and was possibly built by the Portuguese. Some say that it was the hunting lodge of an Indian prince or nobleman. What is known is that it was used by British soldiers when they first entered the country. Later, Robert Clive took the area over, renovated it, added a floor to the single-story building, and made it his country house around 1757-60. The house is located on raised ground in otherwise flat surroundings. When Clive House was excavated, a variety of artefacts were recovered, including coins, terracotta figures, sculptures, pottery and intelligence on a Portuguese fort. The articles found could be of the Sen period, or may alternatively have links with the ancient civilization unearthed earlier at Chandraketugarh. Clive House has been in the domain of the Archaeological Survey of India since 2004, but squatters inside and outside the structure have hindered restoration work.

Geography

Location

South Dumdum is located at.
South Dumdum is bounded by North Dumdum and Dum Dum on the north, Baguiati and adjacent areas of VIP Road on the east, Salt Lake on the south and Belgachia and Sinthee in Kolkata district and Baranagar on the west.
South Dum Dum consists of localities such as Nagerbazar, Amarpally, Motijheel, Subhas Nagar, Bediapara, Jheelbagan, Jawpore, Ghughudanga, Purba Sinthee, Seth Bagan, Kalindi, Lake Town, Bangur Avenue, Shyamnagar, Satgachhi, Patipukur, Dakshindari, Dum Dum Park etc.
96% of the population of Barrackpore subdivision lives in urban areas. In 2011, it had a density of population of 10,967 per km2. The subdivision has 16 municipalities and 24 census towns. For most of the cities/towns, information regarding the density of population is available in the Infobox. Population data is not available for neighbourhoods. It is available for the entire municipal area and thereafter ward-wise.

Police station

police station under Barrackpore Police Commissionerate has jurisdiction over Dum Dum and parts of South Dumdum Municipal areas. Lake Town police station under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate also has jurisdiction over parts of South Dum Dum.

Post Offices

South Dum Dum is a vast locality with many Postal Index Numbers:
Motijheel has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700074 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are Dum Dum Road and Jawpore.
Sethbagan has a non-delivery sub post office, with PIN 700030 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are Purba Sinthee and Ghughudanga.
Subhas Nagar has a non-delivery sub post office, with PIN 700065 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post office with the same PIN is Health Institute. Bediapara has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700077 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region.
Nagerbazar has a non-delivery sub-post office, with PIN 700028 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Another post office with the same PIN is Jugipara Satgachhi.
Bangur Avenue has a delivery sub-post office, with PIN 700055 in the Kolkata East Division of North 24 Parganas district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are Dum Dum Park and Shyamnagar.
Lake Town has a delivery sub-post office, with PIN 700089 in the Kolkata East Division of North 24 Parganas district in Calcutta region. Another post office with the same PIN is Kalindi Housing Estate.
Patipukur has a non-delivery sub-post office, with PIN 700048 in the Kolkata East Division of North 24 Parganas district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are Sreebhumi and Sadhana Ausudhalaya Road.

Demographics

Population

As per the 2011 Census of India, South Dum Dum had a total population of 403,316, of which 202,214 were males and 201,102 were females. Population below 6 years was 28,703. The total number of literates in South Dum Dum was 344,971.
India census, South Dumdum had a population of 392,150. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. South Dumdum has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 80%. In South Dumdum, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Kolkata Urban Agglomeration

The following Municipalities, Census Towns and other locations in Barrackpore subdivision were part of Kolkata Urban Agglomeration in the 2011 census: Kanchrapara, Jetia, Halisahar, Balibhara, Naihati, Bhatpara, Kaugachhi, Garshyamnagar, Garulia, Ichhapur Defence Estate, North Barrackpur, Barrackpur Cantonment, Barrackpore, Jafarpur, Ruiya, Titagarh, Khardaha, Bandipur, Panihati, Muragachha New Barrackpore, Chandpur, Talbandha, Patulia, Kamarhati, Baranagar, South Dumdum, North Dumdum, Dum Dum, Noapara, Babanpur, Teghari, Nanna, Chakla, Srotribati and Panpur.

Economy

South Dumdum municipality is included in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area for which the KMDA is the statutory planning and development authority.

Transport

, running from Dalkhola to Bakkhali, locally popular as Jessore Road, passes through South Dum Dum. In 2012, a flyover was opened from Amarpally to Nagerbazar Sarojini Naidu Women College to decongest the heavy traffic on Jessore Road towards Dumdum/Kolkata Airport.
Several buses ply on Jessore Road, Dum Dum Road and Lake Town Road.
Dum Dum Junction railway station, on the Sealdah-Ranaghat line, is 7 km from Sealdah railway station. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system. Two lines branch out after Dum Dum Junction railway station – the Calcutta Chord line linking Dum Dum Junction railway station with Dankuni Junction railway station and the Sealdah-Bangaon line.
Kolkata Metro, the first underground metro in India, was initially constructed from Dum Dum to Tollygunge. It was progressively commissioned, the full length of 16.45 km being commissioned in 1995. Dum Dum metro station is located adjacent to Dum Dum Junction railway station.

Travel within South Dum Dum and Dum Dum

There are a plenty of blue-yellow private buses, mini-buses and taxis, as well as a few WBTC buses in South Dum Dum. Autos are plentiful and can be used for short stretches.
Nagerbazar is the hub of autos where there are 4 routes originates viz:
1) Nagerbazar - Dum Dum Junction,
2) Nagerbazar - Dum Dum Cantonment,
3) Nagerbazar - Airport 1 no. gate,
4) Nagerbazar - Lake Town.
In addition, there are taxis: Nagerbazar has a large taxi stand. The other popular means of travel over short distances is the rickshaw, newly battery operated rickshaws can also be seen.

Travel within South Dum Dum and North Dum Dum

Education

The following institutions are located in South Dum Dum:
South Dumdum Maternity Home functions with 15 beds.
ILS Hospital, near Nagerbazar Flyover, is a 120-bed multi-speciality hospital. It offers 14 surgical facilities and 2 speciality clinics – bariatric and diabetic.
A new municipality hospital is under construction, located on Jessore Road, near Shyamnagar Bus stop. Though the work is halted for many years due to some issues.

Market and Entertainment

Major markets in South Dumdum are-
Entertainment areas like-