Guskara
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Guskara is a town and a municipality under the Ausgram police station in
Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. Overview The uneven laterite territory found in the western part of Paschim Bardhaman district extends up to ...
of
Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Suba ...
in the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
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 ...
.


History

The area between the Damodar and Ajay was previously known as Gopbhum.


Geography


Location

Guskara is located at . It has an average elevation of 38 metres (125 feet). Guskara is located in the alluvial flood plains of several rivers. Kunur River flows past it.


Urbanisation

73.58% of the population of Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision lives in rural areas. Only 26.42% of the population lives in urban areas, and that is the highest proportion of urban population amongst the four subdivisions in Purba Bardhaman district. 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.


Guskara Airfield

Guskara Airfield is a former wartime
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
airfield in India used during the Burma Campaign 1944–1945. Guskara was a photo-recon base for the Tenth Air Force. Several aircraft including
Northrop P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider '' Latrodec ...
and
Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
operated from this airfield. It is now abandoned.


Economy

Guskara has a wholesale market. The area thrives on brick kilns, woodcraft, and cloth sales. This area depends on the agro-based economy. Potato, Paddy, and Arum are the main agricultural produce of the area. Arum of this area is famous for its taste. Huge amounts of potato and paddy are produced in this area. As fish cultivation and breeding is becoming more popular, fishery is becoming a larger factor within the local economy. Poultry farms are becoming another factor in the growing economy of this area.


Demographics

As per the 2011 Census of India, Guskara had a total population of 35,888, of which 18,573 (51%) were males and 17,315 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 3,544. The total number of literates in Guskara was 25,525 (72.13% of the population over 6 years). India
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, Guskara had a population of 31,863. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Guskara has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 59%. In Guskara, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. The steady flow of refugees from East Pakistan increased the population of the area in the fifties. Recently, an influx of people from outskirt villages has further increased the population of the area.


Education

Guskara has sixteen primaries, one upper primary, one secondary, and three higher secondary schools. It also has one college. Gushkara Mahavidyalaya was established at Guskara in 1955. It offers honors courses in Bengali, Sanskrit, English, history, geography, political science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, botany, zoology, nutrition, and B.Com. Guskara Purnananda Public Institution, a coeducational institution, is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. The school has got a very good academic record. It got President's Medal during the decade of the 1950s and was received by former Head Master of the school Nirod Boron Mahata. Sushila Jangeswar Public High School, a coeducational institution, is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. Guskara Balika Vidyalaya is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. A private polytechnic college was established in 2010 " Gobindapur Sephali Memorial Polytechnic" which is recognized by the West Bengal state council of technical education.


Art

The area is renowned for its
dhokra Dhokra (also spelt ''Dokra'') is non–ferrous metal casting using the lost-wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. One of the earliest known lost wax artifacts is the ...
art castings.Dokra Art
The craftsmen and craftswomen are very poor. Middlemen buys dokra artifacts from them and sell them in markets. The middlemen earn the profit. The poor craftsmen and women cannot gain much from their produce as they cannot reach prospective markets to sell their products themselves. Moreover, the craftsmen and women usually take loans from the nearby grocery shops for their daily needs of sustenance. The grocery or shop owners take artifacts from the craftsmen and women as a mortgage for loans. The craftsmen and women are unable to repay the loan. So, the mortgage items become the items of sale in the grocery or shop owners. The last but not the least of the problem that has beset the craftsmen and women is the lack of health and sanitary consciousness.


Transport


Train

Guskara (station code-GKH) is well connected with Bardhaman, Howrah, and Sealdah station on down line and Bolpur, Rampurhat, Malda Town and New Jalpaiguri on up line by train. 20 pairs of train run through
Guskara railway station Guskara railway station is a railway station of Sahibganj loop line under Howrah railway division of Eastern Railway zone. It is situated beside Guskara–Dignagar Road at Guskara in Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal ...
every day. It is a part of the
Sahibganj Loop The Sahibganj loop is a railway line connecting Khana Junction and Kiul Junction. Originally a part of the Howrah–Delhi main line, it was opened to traffic in 1866. With the construction of a shorter railway line for a part of the route, th ...
of Eastern Railway. It consists of two platforms and has features like waiting room, pay and use washroom and one station one product stall.


Road

National Highway named NH114 (previously named as NH2B) passes through which connects Bardhaman and Kolkata on the south, Bolpur and Rampurhat on the north. Another State Highway named SH14 is also going through Guskara which connects Mankar and Durgapur on the west, Balgona and Katwa on the east.


Bus

One bus-depot (Guskara Bus Stand) is here. Many buses of different routes go from here. The common routes are Guskara-Bardhaman (mainly via Orgram and some via Galsi), Guskara-Asansol (via Mankar), Guskara-Durgapur (via Mankar), Guskara-Katwa (mainly via Balgona and some via Natunhat) and Guskara-Bolpur.


E-Rickshaw

There are many toto (e-rickshaw) which are convenient and affordable for intra-town transport.


Rented Taxis

There are rented taxi available without prior booking at taxi stand at Guskara railway station (beside platform 1). It is useful for personalized destination.


References

{{Purba Bardhaman topics Cities and towns in Purba Bardhaman district