Kaliaganj is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in North Dinajpur district in the Indian state 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 ...

. Kaliaganj is a growing business and commerce region in North Dinajpur district, with rapid urbanisation and improved roadways.

Etymology

The word "Kaliyaganj" is derived from "Kali" + "Ganj", meaning the City of Ma "

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

", and it hosts the famous temple of "Boira Kali Maa". It is a successor city to "Hat Kaliyaganj", a village near Kaliyaganj.

Geography

Police station

Kaliaganj police station under West Bengal police has jurisdiction over Kaliaganj town and Kaliaganj CD block. It is 22 km from the district headquarters and covers an area of 301.9 km². There is a Town Outpost under this PS.

CD block HQ

The headquarters of Kaliaganj CD block is at Kaliyaganj town. In the map alongside, all places marked on the map are linked in the full screen version.

Demographics

As per the 2011 Census of India, Kaliyaganj had a total population of 53,530, of which 27,321 (51%) were males and 26,209 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 5,105. The total number of literates in Kaliyaganj was 41,622 (85.95% of the population over 6 years).

Transport

Kaliyaganj has a station on the Barsoi-Radhikapur branch line. New broad gauge line from Kaliyaganj to

Buniadpur Buniadpur is a city and a municipality in North Bengal in the Dakshin Dinajpur district, West Bengal, India. Geography Location The municipality is located at the coordinates . It is divided into 14 wards. In the map alongside, all places m ...

(33.10 km) was included in the budget 2010-11. 157.938 ha of land is to be acquired. As of August 2018, project work by

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across N ...

is held up mainly because of paucity of funds. State Highway No. 10A, running from

Raiganj Raiganj (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on the bank of the Kulik river. This city is the headquarters of the Uttar Dinajpur district. The city situated in the narrow strip which joins the Northern and Southern p ...

passes through Kaliyaganj town. Kaliyaganj is connected to major cities like

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 ...

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

etc. via trains and buses as public transportation.

Economy

Although Kaliyaganj is an urban centre, the economy depends greatly on agriculture. There is no specific heavy industry in Kaliyaganj, although there are some smaller ones, especially oil mills. Vivekananda More (Vivekananda Lane) is the main commercial, shopping and business hub of Kaliagnj. It is located directly near the Kaliyaganj Railway Station as well as the Kaliyaganj bus terminus. It is also located close to Tara Bazar, one of the two main agricultural markets in Kaliyaganj. The other important market is located at Mahendraganj. Mahendraganj was once visited by former

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 ...

Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...

Education

* Kaliyaganj College was established in 1968. Affiliated to the

University of Gour Banga University of Gour Banga is a public state university located in Malda, West Bengal, India. It is one of the newest state universities established in 2008 by the Government of West Bengal on Act XXVI 2007. History The university completed ...

, it offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, political science, history, philosophy, economics, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and accounting, and general courses in arts, science and commerce. * Kaliyaganj College of Education at Krishnabati, Kaliyaganj, offers BEd and D.El.Ed. courses. * Kaliyaganj Parbati Sundari High School is a co-educational higher secondary school at Schoolpara, Kaliyaganj. Established in 1931, it has arrangements for teaching from class V to XII. * Kaliyaganj Milanmayee Girls’ High School is a girls only higher secondary school at Schoolpara, Kaliyaganj. Established in 1949, it has arrangements for teaching from class VI to XII. * Kaliyaganj Sarala Sundari High School. * Kaliyaganj Manomohan Girls' High School is a girls' school situated at Roy Colony, Kaliyaganj. It is a higher secondary school and was established by Shri Makhanlal Saha in 1968. * Puria Maheshpur High School. * Dalimgaon High school (H.S.) * Pranamananda Vidyapith, associated with

Vidya Bharati Vidya Bharati (short for Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan) is the educational wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It runs one of the largest private network of schools in India, operating 12,000 schools with over 3.2 Millio ...

. * Nivedita Academy, affiliated to ICSE.

Healthcare

Kaliyaganj State General Hospital, with 60 beds is a major medical facility at Kaliyaganj.

Kaliyaganj Municipality

Kaliaganj Municipality (abb. KM) is the civic body responsible for the development and administration of the town of Kaliaganj. It consists of 17 municipal wards.

History

Kaliyaganj Municipality was founded in the year 1987, comprising Akhanagar, Chirail Para, Chak majlispur, Majlispur, Dhankoil, Rasidpur, Rasidpur, Hariharpur, Mahadevpur, Ratan, Bhander and Shergram, taking only nine wards, when the total population was 26,000.

Departments

Administration

There are 17 wards in the Kaliyaganj Municipality. As per the 2022 West Bengal municipal elections, the

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...

has the majority with 10 wards, while in the opposition, the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

has 6 wards and there is one

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

too. Ram Niwas Saha is the incumbent

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Tourist spots

* Vivekananda More * Loknath Mandir * Boira Kali Temple * Radhikapur * Kaliyaganj municipal park

Notable people

* Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi – Former

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers is the Cabinet (government), principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India' ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. * Pramatha Nath Ray – Former Cabinet Minister in First Mamata Banerjee ministry,

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

References

{{Municipalities of West Bengal Cities and towns in Uttar Dinajpur district Cities in West Bengal