Kanchrapara

Kanchrapara is a small city and a municipality under Bijpur police station of Barrackpore subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is the northernmost city of North 24 Parganas district and shares its border with Kalyani, Halisahar, and the river Hooghly river flows to its north.HistoryFrom early historical period, geographically, this area had been full of swamps, natural riverine lake, low land, water bodies sparse village-settlements surrounded by deep jungle infested with wild animals of all kinds. Barring a few pockets, the area was considered unfit for human habitation.However, around this area, there were several dozen villages more or less prosperous, such as Mallickerbaag, Kanchanpalli or Kanchrapara, Bhabanipur, Ghoshpara Chandua and Kampa. This area was opened to development in 1862, when the Sealdaha Kusthia Broad Gauge Railway Line, and the 1863 construction of a 132000 m² locomotive workshop and railway station on the northernmost tip of Bizpur Mouza, were completed by the Eastern Bengal State Railway. In 1914 a carriage and wagon shop were added. Subsequently, a planned Railway Township was laid and built to the East & South West of the Workshops with a wide range of infrastructure - roads, drains, bridges, street lights, internal Railway lines, parks, Institutes, Administrative Buildings, Technical School, Hospital, Co-operative shopping stores, Bazaar, playgrounds for football, Tennis, golf, theatres attached to each institute (Hindmarsh, Institute, Bell Institute, Spalding Institute), Officers’ Club etc. The resulting population increase caused the construction of huts and pucca buildings, necessitating laying out Municipal infrastructure beyond the Railway area.