Bidhannagar (

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

: ''Bidhānanagar''), also known as Salt Lake City, is a city and a municipal corporation of

North 24 Parganas district North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. It is the headquarters of the

Bidhannagar subdivision Bidhannagar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. After transferring Rajarhat, Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality and Rajarhat (Community deve ...

. It is a part of the area covered by

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is the statutory planning and development authority for the Kolkata metropolitan area in the Indian state of West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a S ...

(KMDA) and is located on the north-east side of Kolkata. Bidhannagar's Salt lake is a planned region of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. It was planned and developed between 1958 and 1965 to accommodate the burgeoning population of

. Bidhannagar (including Salt lake) in

Kolkata metropolitan area The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous ...

is under the administration of

Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation is the local government responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of Salt Lake and Rajarhat areas in Greater Kolkata. Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation was headed by Administrator Pawan K ...

. Keeping with its original name, it is commonly referred to as Salt Lake City. The city is considered the main IT hub of

Eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

and

. The Nabadiganta Industrial area of Bidhannagar has always played a key role in the economic health of the city area. As of April 2019, Sector V of Bidhannagar had approximately 1,500 companies.

Etymology

The city is named after

Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like ...

, the founder of Salt Lake area of the city, the second Premier of West Bengal (1948–1950) and the first

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

History

During the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

, the people of Mahishbathan between present day Salt Lake and Rajarhat Newtown joined the Salt Satyagraha movement by preparing salt using indigenous methods. The main initiator of the movement was Lakshmikant Pramanik, the

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

of Mahishbathan. Bidhannagar's Master Planner and Chief Architect was Dobrivoje Toskovic from

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, now

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Bidhannagar's architecture has modern landmarks, such as the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan or Salt Lake Stadium.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Bidhannagar Municipality had a population of 218,323 (males 111,363; females 106,960) in an area of approximately 13.16 square km with a density of about 16,590 persons per square kilometre. However, the area of Bidhannagar Municipality was 33.50 square km (much bigger than Salt Lake City) because it includes

East Kolkata Wetlands The East Kolkata Wetlands (officially known as East Calcutta Wetlands) (22 0 27’ N 88 0 27’ E), are a complex of natural and human-made wetlands lying east of the city of Calcutta (Kolkata), of West Bengal in India. The wetlands cover 1 ...

area, where very few floating people live. Bidhannagar Municipality has an average literacy rate of 90.44% (higher than the national average of 74%), with male literacy of 93.08% and female literacy of 87.69%.

Geography

Salt Lake is located in the southeastern part of West Bengal. The city area sits within the lower Ganges Delta of eastern India. The Salt Lake area of Kolkata city was formed by land reclamation, which was done in the 1950s and 1960s to accommodate the growing population. Salt Lake is located on the north eastern area of

, the state capital; west of Ghojadanga, a border checkpoint; and north of Bakkhali. According to the

, the city area has a total area of , with approx of it being land, and approx , or 45.5% of the total, being covered by water. It has an average elevation of 11

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s (49 ft).

, located within the city limits of Bidhannagar, lies across the southern part of the city. It is one of the two

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Sundarban Wetland.

Government and public services

Civic administration

Poura_Bhavan_-_Bidhannagar_Municipality_-_FD_415A_-_Salt_Lake_City_-_Kolkata_2013-10-11_3305-3306

Bidhannagar is administered by several government agencies. The

, or BMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 6 boroughs, which together encompass 41 wards. Each ward elects a councilor to the BMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets. The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation. Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) was created in January 2006. It supplies water; maintains sewerage, roads, street signals; furnishes important buildings and collects property tax and fees in Sector - V (excluded from the jurisdiction of

Police

The

Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate Bidhannagar City Police (Bengali: বিধাননগর সিটি পুলিশ), established on 20 January 2012, is a police force with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Bidhannagar Municipal Corpor ...

is responsible for law enforcement in the city area. Out of 13 police stations of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, 9 police stations are engaged in controlling law and order in city area.

Transport

Waterside Ring Road Sector V - Salt Lake City - Kolkata 2017-06-21 2866

The modes of transportation like other parts of

includes air conditioned/non-ac government/private buses, Yellow taxi and other popular options like

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

and e-rickshaws. The Howrah Maidan - Salt Lake Sector V - Teghoria (Haldiram) Line ( Green Line) of the

Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a Urban rail transit in India, rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid trans ...

is in operation since 14 February 2020, now connects Salt Lake Sector V and Sealdah. The New Garia –

Dum Dum Airport Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport () is an international airport serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, the capital metropolis of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the primary aviation hub for eas ...

Line ( Orange Line) of the

, which passes through the Salt Lake Bypass, is under-construction with cost inflation and delays.

Education

Colleges

# All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (Second campus) # Bidhannagar Government College #

Bose Institute Bose Institute (or Basu Bigyan Mandir) is a premier public research institute of India for biological sciences and also one of its oldest. The Bose Institute Kolkata is a Tier 1 Natural Science Research Institute in India, sharing the podium wit ...

# Government College of Engineering and Leather Technology # Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata # Institute of Engineering and Management # International School of Business and Media #

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal (MAKAUT, WB), formerly known as West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), is a public technical university located in Haringhata, West Bengal, India. Established in 2001 by the ...

National Institute of Fashion Technology National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is an autonomous institute offering courses in fashion, technology, and management. Its head office is located in New Delhi, India. History NIFT was established in 1986 under the Ministry of Tex ...

# National Institute of Homoeopathy #

National Council of Science Museums National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) is an autonomous scientific organization functioning under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India for science communication through its network of science museums or science centres spread acr ...

# Institute of Health Sciences,

Presidency University, Kolkata Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on 8 May 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. I ...

# Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics # S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences # Techno India University # Jadavpur University's Second Campus #

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

's Technology Campus # Unitedworld School of Business #

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) is a premier research and development unit of the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. The VECC has three campuses located in Kolkata, India and performs research in basic and applied nuclear ...

West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS or NUJS or NLU Kolkata) is a National Law Universities, National Law University (NLU) located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. In 2023, it was ranked 4th among law co ...

Schools

Schools in Salt Lake include the: # Pearl Rosary School, Affiliated to CBSE, BK Block,Near Tank 8 # Apeejay School, # Bidhannagar Government High School, # Bidhannagar Municipal School, a combined

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and # a branch of

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent institut ...

, named Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir, # Salt Lake School, # Kalyani Public School near CK Market, formerly Mother International School, # Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education near Sector V Metro Station, # Laban Hrad Vidyapith. # Also, there are two Kendriya Vidyalaya in Salt Lake viz. K.V. No. 1 Salt Lake and K.V. No. 2 Salt Lake. Catholic schools include: # St. Joan's School, # Our Lady Queen of the Missions School and # St. Francis Xavier School.

References

External links

*
Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation

Bidhannagar City Police
{{Municipalities of West Bengal Cities and towns in West Bengal Planned cities in West Bengal Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Populated places established in 1962 High-technology business districts in India Central business districts in India 1962 establishments in West Bengal Kolkata Metropolitan Area Bidhannagar