Kudghat is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Location

Kudghat is located on either banks of the Adi Ganga, the main flow of the

Hooghly River The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, In ...

from the 15th to 17th century connecting

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

to the Bidyadhari River to the east. Further deepened by William Tolly for transportation and trade purposes, it has virtually dried up and now serve as a prime drainage outlet during the rainy seasons.

Transportation facilities

The large Kudghat bus depot serves as a terminus of a number of state buses and a private bus. The

Netaji Metro Station Netaji Metro Station is a station of the Kolkata Metro. This station is situated opposite to the Kudghat bus stand at Kudghat, in Tollygunge. History Early attempts In the September 1919 session of the Imperial Legislative Council at Shi ...

is the first of several to be constructed over the Adi Ganga which stretches on to New Garia as part of the first extension to the network of

Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four ...

. The naming of the station had given rise to a controversy as no historical evidence has been found showing any link between

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

and the Kudghat area.

Places of interest

Northern Side

The oldest extant structures in the entire area - four large domed Shiva temples - of which only one is currently in use, is situated in the middle of the northern side. The temples belong to one of the oldest residents in the area, who had moved in hundreds of years ago as landlords. The family still maintains their primary residence beside the temples. The campus of the Mansur Habibullah Memorial School (MHMS), an English medium,

Indian Certificate of Secondary Education The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private board designed to provide an examination in a course of general education, in accordance wi ...

board school is situated along the banks of the Adi Ganga. It caters to many students from the area and beyond. The campus was originally a large estate that had served as the ancestral property of the schools namesake, Syed Abul Mansur Habibullah who had been a stalwart in the erstwhile left front government in the state. Habibullah's primary residence, a double storied villa facing the Adi Ganga has been preserved by the school on the far end of the campus. The road leading to Tollygunge Tram Depot also houses the century-old Movietone studios that has been a pillar of

Cinema of West Bengal Tollywood, also known as Cinema of West Bengal, is an Indian film industry of Bengali-language motion pictures. It is based in the Tollygunge region of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The origins of the nickname Tollywood, a portmanteau of ...

. The original buildings were destroyed by a devastating in the 1980s and the entire premises were left deserted for the next 20 years. The dilapidated structures were partly replaced beginning 2012 and the premises of the old studio is now the shooting location for a number of television serials primarily distributed on

Star Jalsa Star Jalsha is an Indian Bengali language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It broadcasts Bengali-language programming, such as family dr ...

. Movietone studio, along with the Technician's Studio, New Theatres and Dassani Studio have been integral to the golden age of Bengali cinema in the 'roaring 50s'.

Southern Side

The Kudghat municipal bazaar, comprising a large vegetable market along with a number of shops selling groceries and sweets. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation announced in 2010 that the sprawling bazaar would be upgraded into a multi storied structure with wider retail spaces for shops, adequate parking facilities as well as a renovated road running through the middle of the area which will end the consistent congestion in the area. Work is yet to begin.

References