Kharagpur, West Bengal - Kharagpur Today

Kharagpur Today

Kharagpur is a place where people from every religion and caste from all over the country reside. Kharagpur still retains its small-town charm. However night life in Kharagpur and its suburbs are gradually developing with the mushrooming of various malls and hotels. Kharagpur is also developing in the field of real estate there are lots of Projects going on such as housing complexes like The Regent Heritage, Diamond Tower I, II, III, IV, V and VI. There is also a real estate called The Atwals Real Estate where many banks are given place in rent to carry on their business. There is also a new Big Bazaar opened in Kharagpur and a shopping complex is going to be opened by The Regent Heritage as a part of its project. Kharagpur is fast developing as an industrial township with several existing and new industries coming up. The major industries present in Kharagpur are:

Existing Industrial Units:

• Bansal Cement Private Limited (Grinding Unit)
• Telecom Factory (taken over by BSNL since 2000)
• Aso Cement Ltd. (Slag Cement)
• Essen Fabricators Private Limited (Heavy Engineering Division)
• Siemens Pvt Ltd (Industrial Gears)
• Humboldt Wedag (I) Ltd. (Slurry Pumps)
• SE Railway Workshop (Carriage, Wagon, Steel and Diesel Locomotive Maintenance)
• Tata Bearings Ltd. (Bearings and its Castings)
• Tata Constructions & Projects Limited formerly Tata Davy Ltd. (Heavy Engineering) (This factory has been closed since 2003)
• Bengal Energy Limited (Pig & Sponge Iron)
• Tata Metaliks Ltd. (Pig Iron Plant)
• Kalimati Steel Pvt. Ltd. (Manufacturers and Processors of Low Ash Metallurgical Coke)
• Wellman Wacoma Ltd. (Coke Oven/Metallurgical Coke)
• Rashmi Metaliks (PIG Iron Manufacturing Unit)
• Ramswarup Lohh Udyog(Finished Steel)
• Sai Fertilizer Pvt Ltd (SSP manufacturer)
• KE Technical Textiles Pvt. Ltd. (Technical Textiles, Gauntlets, Fiber Glass Fabric)
• TELCON off the road vehicle plant.
• Avtec Limited
• Century Extrusions Ltd.
• Tata Kubata
• Keshar Tea & Co.
• Inox Air Products Ltd.

Upcoming Major Units:

• Aso Cement Ltd. (Cement (expansion))
• Century Iron & Steel
• Mittal Ferro Cast Pvt. Ltd

Development in the area is stimulated by the presence of the IIT campus, the proximity to Kolkata and the excellent rail connections.

There are marketplaces called Gole Bazaar, Puratan Bazaar and Gate Bazaar, a super market at co-operative Golebazar and one at Malancha. The place Subhaspally is a good place to live with Padmapukur on the north side. The BNR ground is a very large playground which can be developed and properly maintained.

Kharagpur has more stations in it like "Giri Maidan", "Hijli", "Nimpura", "Kalaikunda" etc. "Hijli" is going to be second important railway station in Kharagpur City. Kharagpur-Howrah sub-urban Local Trains will start from "Hijli" soon and also Delhi-bound express trains will be stationed here in "Hijli" very soon.

There are several railway residential areas namely Chhotta Ayma, Bara Ayma, Old Settlement, New Settlement, Mathurakati, Nimpura, South Side, Traffic etc., One of the major development in the town is grand opening of multi retail 'Puja Complex' near famous Jagannath Mandir with major stores like Big Bazaar, Pantaloons and many more. Recently the city witnessed another gala opening of a Shopping Mall named "Regent Station" beside Malancha Road.

Movie theaters include "Bombay Talkies", "Aurora", "Shitala", "South Cinema" etc. Bombay Cimema is now equipped with digital projection and surround sound system. But the conditions in other movie halls are pathetic. Also the good news is that the famous multiplex INOX is going to be opened at "Puja Complex" very soon.

Places of worship include a "Durga Mandir" at Gole Bazar,"Church" at Golebazar,"Gurudwara" at Subhaspally and one at Nimpura, "Masjid" near Gole Bazar, and several temples and churches. "Jagannath Mandir" near Gate Bazar is the newest temple in the City.

Nimpura is a place for housing of thousands of Railway Employees. From Nimpura a railway shuttle called Kooli Gari ran till Gate Bazar.

There is a long winding road from Nimpura to Hijli which goes through Tangrahut (Arambati), Talbagicha and another one from Kalaikunda to Gopali through Hiradihi,Talbagicha.

The south of Kharagpur is a planned area belonging to the Indian Railways which was established by Britishers as residential area. Nearby is the Kharagpur Municipality and the fire station. It also contains famous Telugu schools like Andhra High School and Telugu Vidya Peetham.

The most famous festivals here are Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja, Saraswati Puja, Kali Puja and Ammavaari Puja, etc. Also Raas, and Mata Puja is conducted in a year by locals in the whole railway colony. Rath Mela celebrated near the premises of Jagannath Temple. But the biggest festival of all is the "Dussehra" or "Ravan Pora" (in local terms).

Kharagpur also have its own bookfair called "Kharagpur-er Boimela" in Bengali,which started from 2000 and happen in January every year. A Flower Fair ("Ful Mela" in Bengali) is also organised every year.

Other upcoming projects in Kharagpur

• A Biotech Park on 300 acres of land is proposed in Kharagpur, with the assistance of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Other projects such as the proposed Iron and Steel Parks at Kharagpur and Guptamani as well as the auto components and IT SEZs will add significantly to the industrial prominence of this region.

• WBIDC has initiated steps to set up Iron & Steel Parks at Kharagpur and Guptamoni in West Midnapur district. WBIDC has identified 300 acres of land at Kharagpur and is in the process of acquiring it. It has also identifi ed 2,500 acres of land at Guptamoni to set up a Mega Iron and Steel Park. The site is adjacent to NH-6.

• JSW Steel plans to set up a 10 million tonne steel plant at Guptamuni near Kharagpur over an area of 5,000 acres with an investment of $2.2 billion. In the first phase, it would install a 4 million tonne plant along with a 1,000 MW thermal power unit. The capacity of the steel plant would be raised to 10 million tonnes in the second phase.