Diamond Harbour is a town and municipality located in the
South 24 Parganas district
South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore previously, with its Zilla Parishad now in ...
of 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 ...
of
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 ...
. Situated on the eastern banks of the
Hooghly River
The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, it serves as the administrative headquarters of the
Diamond Harbour subdivision and forms part of the larger
Kolkata Metropolitan Area. Historically known for its strategic position near the river’s estuary, the town has evolved from a small port settlement into a local urban centre with educational institutions, administrative offices, and a growing population.
The town is known for its scenic riverside views, modest elevation, and proximity to
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 ...
, making it a notable point for regional transit and tourism. Governed by the
Diamond Harbour Municipality, the town covers an area of 10.36 square kilometres and had a population of 41,802 according to the
2011 Census. It is also an important constituency in both the
state assembly and the
national parliament.
History
Diamond Harbour was originally known as ''Hajipur'', as it was situated on the banks of the Hajipur creek. The name Diamond Harbour was applied by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, who used it for both river and sea shipping.
Geography
Area overview
Diamond Harbour subdivision is a rural subdivision with patches of urbanisation. 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 (shown in the map alongside) there are 11
census town
In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics.
India
In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...
s. The entire district is situated in the
Ganges Delta and the western part, located on the east bank of the
Hooghly River
The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, is covered by the Kulpi Diamond Harbour Plain, which is 5–6 metres above sea level.
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
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
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as
tropical wet and dry (Aw).
The overall climate of Diamond harbour is warm and humid. The summer temperature often crosses 35 °C when it drops 15 °C. The highest temperature ever was 43.0 °C, recorded on 21 May 2002. The lowest temperature dropped was 8.2 °C, on 13 January 2003. The annual average rainfall is 1600 mm. The air is moderately humid, around 76%.
Demographics
Population
According to the
2011 Census of India, Diamond Harbour had a total population of 41,802, of which 21,050 (50.36%) were males and 20,752 (49.64%) were females. It had a population density of with a sex ratio of 986 females for every 1000 males. There were 3,688 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years which is 8.82% of the total population. The Scheduled Castes numbered 5,221 (12.49%) and the Scheduled Tribes numbered 72 (0.17%). The total number of literate persons was 32,753 (85.93% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 17,193 (89.57% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 15,560 (82.25% of the female population over 6 years). Diamond Harbour had a total of 10,048 households as per report released by 2011 Census of India.
Language
At the time of the
2011 Census of India, 99.14% of the population spoke
Bengali, 0.82%
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and 0.03%
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
as their first language.
Religion
According to the
2011 Census of India, 85.98% of the population is
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 13.75%
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 0.11%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.10%
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
, 0.01%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and 0.01%
Jain. 0.04% did not state a religion in the census.
Civic administration
Municipality
Diamond Harbour Municipality covers an area of . It has jurisdiction over the entire town of Diamond Harbour. The municipality was established in . It is divided into 16 administrative wards. According to the 2022 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.
Transport
Diamond Harbour is on the National Highway 12.[Google maps]
Diamond Harbour railway station is on the Sealdah–Diamond Harbour line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway
The Kolkata Suburban Railway (colloquially called Kolkata local trains or simply locals) is a suburban rail, suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. Its network has 45 ...
.
Commuters
With the electrification of the railways, suburban traffic has grown tremendously since the 1960s. As of 2005–06, more than 1.7 million (17 lakhs) commuters use the Kolkata Suburban Railway
The Kolkata Suburban Railway (colloquially called Kolkata local trains or simply locals) is a suburban rail, suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. Its network has 45 ...
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
* Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and Hospital, established in 2019, is a full-fledged tertiary referral government medical college.
* Diamond Harbour Government Polytechnic, established in 2014, offers diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in Engineering and Technology and other allied fields.
* Diamond Harbour Women's University, established in 2013, is the first university of the state for women.
* Fakir Chand College, established in 1948, is affiliated with the 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 ...
. 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.
Healthcare
Diamond Harbour Subdivisional Hospital, with 250 beds, is the major government medical facility in the Diamond Harbour subdivision.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in South 24 Parganas district
Ports and harbours of West Bengal