Dhakuria is a locality in the city ofKolkata,, in West Bengal, India. It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/ Garia in the south and Lake Gardens/ Jodhpur Park in the west. It has a Postal Index Number code of 700 031. Some localities adjacent to Golpark and Jodhpur Park also have Postal Index Number code of 700 029 and 700 068 respectively. The locality is sometimes referred to as the middle class and currently growing very well off upper-middle-class people's locality in South Kolkata. Though it is surrounded by its rich and famous areas, over the years it still remains primarily a nice upper-middle-class neighbourhood. Apart from its critical location in South Kolkata/Calcutta, it is also a place inhabited by prominent people with strong social, artistic and cultural background. The place has got homes of many celebrities and up coming artists, social workers, thinkers, entrepreneurs and visionaries who reside in Kolkata and some outside India. The important landmarks that signify this locality are Dhakuria railway station, 37 no private bus terminal, Dhakuria AMRI Hospital and Gariahat Road.
Etymology
The word Dhakuria is from the word 'Dhaakur' which means lakes, ponds. Previously, this area had many lakes. Others say, Dhakuria is also name of a place in East Pakistan . Peoples of East Pakistan who were migrated here and lived here. In memory of their old living place they were called the same name for this place.
History
The history of Dhakuria stretches back at least two hundred years to early 1800s. Even after large scale modernization in the last decade involving demolition of older homes and buildings, there are several buildings that still exist today that predate 1900. The rapid population growth of Dhakuria, similar to rest of the City of Kolkata, can be traced back to the late fifties. At that time the southern city limits were up to Ballygunge Lake areas. By early sixties, neighbouring Jodhpur Park, which was earlier a sparsely populated area, also had become a favorite destination for several upscale single family residential home development projects. The areas beyond the Eastern railway tracks at Golpark started developing with large numbers of people building up their homes there. The area was very different from the neighbouring Ballygunge. While Ballygunge dotted the homes of the rich, wide tree lined roads, Dhakuria was marked with comparatively narrow lanes and bylanes. The nomenclature of most of the sub localities of this area bear the mark of age old family dominances viz. Roypara, Bannerjeepara, Daspara, Ghoshpara, Mukherjeepara, Biswaspara, Naskarpara etc. The Pakrashi’s were amongst the first few families who came and started residing here since early 1820s. The Dhakuria Kalibari was founded by the Pakrashi family only. After the introduction of Dakshinapan, a multi-stage shopping mall and one of the first of its kind in Kolkata, at the west boundary of Dhakuria in early 80s, the area started getting an upmarket look. Since then, Dhakuria's population is swelling with well educated, middle-class people because of its good neighbourhood and schools, low crime rate and proximity to other city amenities. The area is spread over four wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, namely Ward No. 90, 91, 92 and 93. Dhakuria is currently under Rashbehari Assembly Territory and Kasba Assembly Territory. Both Assembly Territories are under Kolkata Dakshin Parliamentary Constituency. With time Dhakuria has become one of the prominent locations of South Kolkata.
