Digha


Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is the most popular sea resort in West Bengal.

History

Originally, there was a place called Beerkul, where Digha lies today. This name was referred in Warren Hastings's letters as Brighton of the East.
An English businessman John Frank Snaith started living here in 1923 and his writings provided a good exposure to this place. He convinced West Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy to develop this place to be a beach resort. An old church is well famous in Digha, which can be seen near the Old Digha Main gate this place is also known as Alankarpur Digha. A new mission has been developed in New Digha which is known as Sindhur Tara which is beside Amrabati Park its a Church where it is possible to wish for the welfare of family and loved ones. The best way to visit is to book a local van rickshaw. There are so many place where one can travel which give mental refreshments, like Tajpur, Odisa Border, Science City etc.

Geography

Location

Digha is located at. It has an average elevation of.
It is located from Kolkata/Howrah via Mecheda and via Kharagpur, this proximity has probably helped this small hamlet to emerge as a popular weekend getaway with number of good hotels and tourist lodges. Digha is connected to Kolkata/Howrah by a highway and a rail-link via Tamluk. Now many trains including Howrah-Digha Super AC express, Tamralipta express, Kandari express and EMU locals from Santragacchi via Mecheda and Tamluk run between Digha and Howarh and other stations in eastern India.It is also located under Contai Sub division.

Police stations

Digha police station has jurisdiction over part of Ramnagar I CD Block. It covers an area of 3,153 km2 with a population of 35,054. It is located in old Digha.
Digha Mohana Coastal police station is located in Digha.

Urbanisation

93.55% of the population of Contai subdivision live in the rural areas. Only 6.45% of the population live in the urban areas and it is considerably behind Haldia subdivision in urbanization, where 20.81% of the population live in urban areas.
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.

Hospital

There is a District Hospital near old Digha which provides good medical facilities. There is Contai Sub divisional Hospital and Sanjiban Hospital 31 k.m from Digha.

Climate

There are mainly five seasons in Digha, namely summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. Summer starts in April and continues until June with a maximum temperature of. Although cold wind from the sea keeps the weather pleasant in this time. Next comes monsoon in July and lasts till the end of September. Digha generally experiences an average rainfall with high humidity in the monsoon season. Autumn sets in October and lasts till mid of December with an average temperature of around 25 degree Celsius. The weather remains very pleasant this time. Winter sets in the second half of December and lasts till mid February with an enjoyable average temperature of 15/16 degree Celsius. The spring is the most enjoyable season in Digha starting from mid February to mid April. The hotels remain full of their capacity as tourist inflow is the highest in this peak and best season. With different climatic influence through out the year with different scenic beauty
Digha is very much enjoyable round the year.

Transport

Bus service

There is frequent bus service to Digha from Dharmatala, Baruipur Garia and Joka bus stand of Kolkata, Burdwan, Bolpur, Siliguri, Asansol, Kirnahar, Baharampur, Serampore and many other parts of West Bengal. Buses are available from Howrah as well, a connection has been made from Sealdah to Digha where a private bus arrives at 8:30 am throughout the week. It takes the shortest route from Sealdah connecting S.N Banerjee road, Taltala, Wellington, Dharmatala to Howrah station, it departs from Howrah Station within 5 min to Digha. Digha is connected to Kolkata Metropolitan Area with E17, E17/1, E19, E19D, E45, E46, E54, E55, E56, ACT5, ACT8, ACT9, ST31 etc.

Train service

In 2004, train services have started for Digha railway station. There is one DMU service from Santragachi railway station and there are three new trains from Howrah Station too.
Train NameStart <-> Destination
Tamralipta ExpressHWH <-> DGH
Paharia ExpressNJP <-> DGH
Super AC ExpressHWH <-> DGH
Kandari ExpressHWH <-> DGH
Puri Digha Superfast ExpressPuri <-> DGH
Mecheda LocalMCA <-> DGH
Santragachi LocalSRC <-> DGH

Air

Digha's old beach is not as wide as it used to be due to heavy soil erosion. Big stones and concrete steps are used to hold together the beach. Another problem is the record number of storm surges that have caused many of the unplanned shacks and smaller hotels to succumb to the sea. Since it is one of very few popular beaches in West Bengal, it gets overcrowded, especially during the cooler winter break.
A new beach has been developed "New Digha" which is about from the old beach. This new beach is not only bigger than the old one, but might be considered a better one. It is clean and well-maintained and is not surrounded by a congested locality like the older beach. The latest attraction of New Digha is the Science Centre established by the National Council of Science Museums. The entire stretch of the Digha seaface from Old Digha to New Digha is filled with casuarina plantations, which looks beautiful.

Places of interest

Marine Aquarium and Research Centre (MARC)

It was established in the year 1989 during the Seventh Five Year Plan. The major objective of the Centre is to display the marine biodiversity of the region and impart its values to the common people and to carryout the research activities.

Lord Shiva Temple At Chandaneswar

This place is only away from Digha the century-old Temple of Lord Shiva at Chandaneswar, near Bengal and Orissa Border. Chandaneswar is part of Odisha. During the Bengali month of Chaitra, a popular annual fair is organised here. Nearly half million people and pilgrims visit the temple.