Hooghly district

Understand

Name The Hooghly district gets its name from the old riverside town of Hooghly, founded by the Portuguese in 1579.

History Hooghly has thousands of years of rich heritage as part of the Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut, also known as Bhurishrestha. Its riverside urban area is called the "Little Europe of India", with each town having its unique fragrance of history and culture, as different European powers colonised them. For example, the Portuguese held Bandel, the Dutch held Chinsurah, the French held Chandannagar and the Danish held Serampore. However, many of these colonies later came under British rule, and most of their distinctive non-British colonial charms in their heydays are now lost. But Chandannagar remained under French rule, outside British hoards until 1954, when it came under India. The city is known for the conservation of its non-British colonial heritage. During the 20th century, the Hooghly district was home to many industrial complexes, including one of the largest car-making plants in India, the Hindustan Motors plant in Uttarpara. However, at the dawn of the 21st century, the once-flourishing manufacturing belt still has some units working well, but the industrial area is no longer in the pink of health and is often in the news for the wrong reasons.

Visitor information Official websites:

Hooghly District Chandannagar Police – covers the riverside towns Hooghly Rural Police – covers the rest of the district

Getting there

By train Hooghly is served by two main railway lines: Howrah-Bardhaman main and Howrah-Bardhaman chord, and three branch lines: Sheoraphuli-Bishnupur, Bandel-Naihati and Bandel-Katwa. Bandel, Sheoraphuli and Tarakeswar are major railheads in the district, served by trains from different districts.