About Baharampur

Baharampur is located in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It is located in the center of the state. Baharampur is considered to be among the largest cities in the state of West Bengal. In the year 2011, the city was nominated so that it would become the municipal corporation. The place got its name from all the Brahmin families that resided here. Baharampur is also the headquarters of the district of Murshidabad. It is located almost two hundred kilometers away from the city of Kolkata, which is the capital of West Bengal.

Baharampore shares the name with an important city of New Zealand, and it is Berhampore. The Major’s daughter married George Hunter who was a landowner. In order to show respect to the Major, George Hunter named the suburb Berhampore.

Geography of Baharampur

Baharampore is situated at 24.1 degrees North and 88.25 degrees East. The city is known to have the average elevation of around eighteen meters or fifty-nine feet. Baharampore is located 200 m away from the capital city Kolkata, and it is located close to the Bhagirathi river, which is one of the major distributaries of river Ganga.

According to the Indian census of 2011, the Baharampore Urban Agglomeration was known to have around 305,609 people. Out of this, there were 156,489 males and 149,120 females. The population that belongs to the age group of zero to six years was around 23182. The effective literacy rates for the population group of the age of seven years and above was 88.38%.

According to the Indian census of 2001, Baharampore was known to have 160,168 people. Among these, there was 51 percent of men and around 49 percent of the females. The literacy rate of Baharampore is 79 percent which is higher than the average of the national literacy rate which is 59.5 percent. Around 53 percent males are literate, and the female literacy rate is 43 percent. An average of nine percent of the population is below the age of six years.

Economy and Shopping in Baharampur

There was a time when a maximum of the people who resided in Baharampore were the government employees. There were hardly any agricultural trader or silk trader. As time progressed, the importance of this city started growing, particularly because of the geographic location of the city. The city has also turned into an important business hub now. The city has a rich and diverse history which attracts many tourists to the city, and make tourism an important industry of Baharampore. The major industries of Baharampore include the industries that are related to agriculture like the oilseed mills and the rice mills.

The home crafts that include ivory carving, silk weaving, and other works that are related to precious metals is also a very important industry of the city. Khagra is a neighborhood of the city of Baharampore, and it is very famous for manufacturing the brass utensils and the bell metals and also wood carving. A very reputed metal, referred to as the Khagaria Kansha is made here which is used for making the bells. This type of metal is used for manufacturing utensils like the bowls and dishes.

The city is famous for a number of huge shops that have now become the main tourist destination. The Express Bazaar which is located near Mohana Bus Stand is considered to be the most important point of the city. Other shopping centers like Manmohini, Style Bazaar, Metro Bazaar, and Sunita are very famous and they are located in Khagra, which is known to be another important shopping area of the city of Baharampore. The best place to watch movies is the Silver Screen multiplex that is located near the railway station of Baharampore. The tickets to watch the movie from this multiplex is available from the renowned bookmyshow.com.

Baharampore is extremely famous because of the sweet that they produce, the 'Chana bora,’ the ‘Manohara.’ The place is also very famous for the Murshidabad Silk, which is known as Tassar. Kalika or Goddess Kali is worshipped in the sweet shops, the shops of the Goldsmiths and a number of other industries.

Art and Culture of Baharampur

The city of Baharampore has the patronage from Nawabs and the artists from a variety of the fields who have sowed their cultural heritage here. The lifestyle of the city is very calm and it is known for the rich and varied cultural heritage. All the families that are financially well off send their children to the school of fine art. This includes dancing, music, acting, painting, etc. There are many pieces and examples of hand crafts that are prevalent in this region. The hand crafts include making the carpets, jute crafts, bamboo crafts, miniature paintings, etc.

Baharampore is considered to be one of the main and most important cultural hubs of the state of West Bengal. Rabindra Sadan is a place that is named after Rabindranath Tagore. All the indoor cultural programs of the city are held here. There are a number of renowned theatre groups like the 'Berhampore Repertory Theatre,’ the 'Chandik,’ the 'Rangaram,’ the 'Prantik,’ and they are all based in this town. All of these groups are known to organize the theatre festivals especially during the season of winter. These festivals bring out the people from the towns, villages and the interior of the city to witness the spectacular performances given by the theatre groups. A number of theatre groups even come from various parts of the state.

Transport of Baharampore

Baharampore is extremely well connected to the other cities and other parts of the state.

Rail Transport in Bharampore

Baharampore is almost 186 km away from the city of Kolkata, the capital of the state, by train. The name of the station is Berhampore Court Railway Station or BPC. The main trains that pass through the railway lines here are the Bhagirathi Express, the Dhano Dhanye Express, the Hazarduari Express, etc. The local trains include the Sealdah- Lalgola, the Ranaghat Jn- Lalgola Memu, the Sealdah- Berhampore Court Memu, etc.

The Khagraghat road is known to stand on the Howrah Azimganj line. The most important trains are the Sealdah-New Alipurduar Teesta-Torsa express, the Kolkata- Radhikapur express, the Howrah- Dibrugarh Kamrup Express, the Digha- New Jalpaiguri Paharia express and so on.

Road Transport in Baharampore

The city of Baharampur is the headquarters of the district of Murshidabad. It also stands in the middle of West Bengal, thereby acting as a link between South Bengal and North Bengal. The NH 12 and the NH 34 connect the city. The local transports include the rickshaws and the toto cars. Bus services are available for the commuters who travel to North Bengal or South Bengal. There are two important bus stands in the city. One stand is for the bus services provided by the government, and the other stand is for the private bus services, which are known as Mohona. The buses connect different parts of the city like Asansol, Burdwan, Siliguri, Malda, Bolpur, and so on.

Water Transport in Baharampore

The city of Baharampore is located on the eastern banks of the Bhagirathi River. The north of the city is connected to the south via the launch boats. Boat transport is also available for the commuters who commute to important towns like Jiaganj and Azimganj.