Diamond Harbour
Diamond Harbour is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is the headquarters of the Diamond Harbour subdivision and Diamond Harbour police district.
History
Earlier known as Hajipur, the city was named Diamond Harbour by the British. It used to be considered a safe resting spot for oceangoing ships and had views of the river. After the Rupnarayan River joins the Hooghly River, the river bends south and widens out to a form a huge expanse of water. A little further down, the Haldi River joins it.In earlier days Diamond Harbour was a stronghold of Portuguese pirates. The ruins of the fort of Chingrikhali can still be seen. There is an old lighthouse nearby.
Geography
Area overview
Diamond Harbour subdivision is a rural subdivision with patches of urbanization. Only 14.61% of the population lives in the urban areas and an overwhelming 85.39% lives in the rural areas. In the western portion of the subdivision there are 11 census towns. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta and the western part, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, is covered by the Kulpi Diamond Harbour Plain, which is 5-6 metres above sea level. Archaeological excavations at Deulpota and Harinarayanpur, on the bank of the Hooghly River indicate the existence of human habitation more than 2,000 years ago.Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Location
Diamond Harbour is located at. It has an average elevation of.Climate
classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry.Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Diamond Harbour had a total population of 41,802, of which 21,050 were males and 20,752 were females. There were 3,688 people in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people was 32,753, which constituted 78.4% of the population with male literacy of 81.7% and female literacy of 75.0%. The effective literacy of population over 6 years of age was 85.9%, of which male literacy rate was 89.6% and female literacy rate was 82.2%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 5,221 and 72 respectively. Diamond Harbour had a total of 10,048 households as of 2011.According to the 2001 Census of India, Diamond Harbour had a total population of 37,234. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. It has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 67%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Civic administration
Municipality
Diamond Harbour Municipality covers an area of. It has jurisdiction over parts of the Diamond Harbour. The municipality was established in. It is divided into 16 wards. According to the 2015 municipal election, it is being controlled by the All India Trinamool Congress.Police stations
Diamond Harbour police station covers an area of. It has jurisdiction over parts of the Diamond Harbour Municipality, and the Diamond Harbour I and Diamond Harbour II CD blocks.Diamond Harbour women police station has jurisdiction over parts of the Diamond Harbour Municipality, and the Diamond Harbour I and Diamond Harbour II CD blocks.
CD block HQ
The headquarters of the Diamond Harbour I CD block are located at Diamond Harbour.Economy
The area being in the proximity of the Bay of Bengal, there is scope for development of ports and shipping activity. The special economic zone at Falta is one of the eight such zones of the Government of India. It has container-handling jetty. The Government of West Bengal proposes to construct a minor port at Kulpi with facilities for handling containers.As large oceangoing ships with full load of goods cannot enter the river ports at Kolkata and Haldia, the need for a seaport in the area has been felt for a long time. Such a future port would obviously be located at south of Diamond Harbour but would enhance the importance of the place as a base for the port.
Kolkata Port Trust is considering construction of cargo handling jetties at Diamond Harbour.
Transport
Diamond Harbour is on the National Highway 12.Diamond Harbour railway station is on the Sealdah–Diamond Harbour line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.
Commuters
With the electrification of the railways, suburban traffic has grown tremendously since the 1960s. As of 2005-06, more than 1.7 million commuters use the Kolkata Suburban Railway system daily. After the partition of India, refugees from East Pakistan/ Bangladesh had a strong impact on the development of urban areas in the periphery of Kolkata. The new immigrants depended on Kolkata for their livelihood, thus increasing the number of commuters. Eastern Railway runs 1,272 EMU trains daily.Education
, established in 1948, is affiliated with the University of Calcutta. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, history, political science, philosophy, economics, geography, education, mathematics and accounting & finance, and general degree courses in arts, science, and accounting & finance.Diamond Harbour Women's University, established in 2013, is the first university of the state for women.
Diamond Harbour Government Polytechnic, established in 2014, offers diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in Engineering and Technology and other allied fields.
Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and Hospital, established in 2019, is a full-fledged tertiary referral government medical college.
Diamond Harbour High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational school. It was established in 1888 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Diamond Harbour Girls High School is a Bengali-medium school for girls. It was established in 1948 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Diamond Harbour Balika Vidyaniketan Up High School is a Bengali-medium school for girls. It was established in 1972 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Diamond Harbour High Madrasha High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational school. It was established in 1995 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Dhanberia High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational school. It was established in 1955 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Roynagar K S Poura Vidyalaya Up High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational school. It was established in 1983 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class XII.
Bharat Sevashram Sangha Pranab Vidyapith Up Secondary School is a Bengali-medium school for boys. It was established in 1964 and has facilities for teaching from class V to class X.