Kalyani is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located around 50 kilometres(31 mi) from Kolkata — the capital of West Bengal, forming the northern most boundary of Kolkata metropolitan area. Kalyani is the administrative headquarters of Kalyani subdivision, a part of Nadia district. Situated on the banks of Hooghly River, the city is spread over an area of 29.14 squ
are kilometres (11.25 sq mi). According to the 2011 census, Kalyani had a population of 100,620. During the World War II, Kalyani was site of an American Airbase, known by the name of Roosevelt Town. It was developed as a planned town in early 1950s by the Government of West Bengal on behest of Bidhan Chandra Roy - the second Chief Minister of West Bengal for hosting the Indian National Congress meeting and to accommodate the housing needs of the growing population of Calcutta. Kalyani being a planned town, it is characterised by underground sewerage system, paved roads forming rectangular grids, tree lined avenues and community parks. Kalyani has a dedicated industrial zone having numerous industries including Andrew Yule and Company, Kalyani Breweries (Kingfisher Beer), and Dabur; though many of the industries have closed or stopped production. It is an important center of education in West Bengal, with two universities — University of Kalyani and Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya; three engineering colleges and other institutes of higher education and research. Kalyani Stadium has emerged as an alternative location to Kolkata for holding numerous I-League football matches and other sporting events. The Bengal Cricket Academy and a stadium has been established by Cricket Association of Bengal in Kalyani for promotion and development of cricket. Geography and urban structure
Kalyani is located in the Nadia district of West Bengal, within the Kolkata metropolitan area. Kalyani lies along the east bank of the Hooghly River, within the upper Ganges Delta. As with most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin. Kalyani is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.[3] According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone III; according to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk". Kalyani is a planned city, having underground drainage systems, tree lined avenues, community parks, paved roads intersecting each other at 90 degree. The city itself is divided into four blocks — Block A, Block B, Block C and Block D, which are further divided into sub-blocks. Block A is mostly residential in character with commercial market in A-2 and near the Kalyani Main Railway station. Development in Kalyani started from Block B, which has residential as well as mixed use patterns. The Kalyani Main Post Office, Kalyani Town Club, Industrial Training Institute, Electricity, Telephone offices and the Public Library along with offices of major Banks is situated in Block B. 2 No Market, Saptaparni Market and 3 No Market are the major markets in Kalyani, all of which is situated in Block B. Major parks like the Central Park, Lake Park and Picnic Gardens is located in Block B. Block C and Block D are located east of the Kalyani Simanta branch line. Block C is reserved for institutional use and is largely occupied by the Kalyani University and Kalyani Government Engineering College. Block D is the industrial zone, consisting of many small and medium sized industries. Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Kalyani has a population of 100,620. Kalyani has an average literacy rate of 88.75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 92.79%, and female literacy is 84.65%. In Kalyani, 7.55% of the population is under 6 years of age. The s*x ratio of Kalyani is 978. As per 2001 Census, the average household size of Kalyani is approximately 4.61. Percentage of main workers out of total population is 29%. Kalyani residents are a varied lot. Doctors, teachers, education, management and engineering professionals are all represented in large numbers. Government officers, Army personnel and other service professionals find Kalyani an attractive town to make their homes. A number of distinguished personalities stay here too. Civic administration and utility services
Kalyani has very quickly registered itself as a self-sufficient township. Its gradual development continued as a notified area. In 1995, it was upgraded to a municipality. The Kalyani Municipality received the best municipality award in 2004 along with the Durgapur Municipality of Burdwan district and Ingrejbajar Municipality of Malda district. Kalyani Municipality won the prestigious award of Best Municipality in India, in the year 2009. Transport
Kalyani main station is on the Sealdah-Ranaghat Line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway. Apart from the Kalyani main station, there are three other stations on the branch line which goes deeper into the Kalyani town — Kalyani Silpanchal, Kalyani Ghoshpara and Kalyani Simanta. Kalyani is connected directly with Kolkata through Kalyani Expressway, which is currently being expanded to four-lanes. An extension of Kalyani Expressway connects the National Highway 6 near Bansberia through Iswar Gupta Setu. Kalyani is also accessible through National Highway 34, which is around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away. Rickshaws and Auto-rickshaws are used for local conveyance. Intra-city buses to important cities and towns in West Bengal are operated by both Government and private operators. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located around 45 kilometres (28 mi) south, operates domestic and international flights. Education
Kalyani has two major universities:
• University of Kalyani
• Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, also known as Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University. Major colleges & research institutes in the city include:
• Kalyani Government Engineering College (KGEC)
• Kalyani Mahavidyalaya - a general degree college in Kalyani.
• JIS College of Engineering
• National Institute of Biomedical Genomics
• Eastern Regional Station of National Dairy Research Institute
• The S.K. Acharya Institute of Law providing education in the field of legal education
• College of Medicine & JNM Hospital, a newly established medical college.
• Kalyani Foundation for Media Science & Community research offers Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication & Videography. They also research upon Visual Culture and Social Upliftment. This town has several schools. The schools using Bengali as the instructional language are:
• Kalyani University Experimental High School
• Pannalal Institution
• Bidhan Memorial Girls High School
• Kalyani Shikshaytan. Kalyani Central Model School (CBSE), Springdale High School (WBBSE) and Julien Day School (ICSE & ISC) are the best known among the English medium ones. The main campus of The Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER-K) is located in nearby Haringhata. The main campus of BCKV, University college of West Bengal University of Technology is located at Mohanpur near Kalyani. Clinical training of the students of West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences are imparted at Mohanpur campus. Healthcare
Healthcare system in Kalyani consists of both government and private healthcare facilities. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, a 500 bedded hospital, is one of the major hospitals in the town. A medical college, College of Medicine & JNM Hospital, established in 2009, which acts as the University college of West Bengal University of Health Sciences. Gandhi Memorial Hospital has a dediacted cardiac surgery and cardiology department. ESI Hospital, provides healthcare to workers under Employees' State Insurance scheme. Netaji Subhash Sanatorium, a hospital for Tuberculosis patients for eastern India previously known as Army Hospital during Second World War made by American and British alliance is the first Hospital made at Kalyani. Later Former chief minister of West Bengal Dr. B.C. Roy converted it as T.B. Hospital in 1960's.
