Katwa | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Katwa Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Katwa Katwa (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:23°39′N88°08′E / 23.65°N 88.13°E /23.65; 88.13 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Purba Bardhaman |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Katwa Municipality |
| • Chairman | Samir Kumar Saha |
| • Vice Chairman | Lakhindar Mandal |
| • MP | Sunil Mondal |
| • MLA | Rabindranath Chatterjee |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.93 km2 (3.06 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 21 m (69 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 81,615 |
| • Density | 10,300/km2 (26,700/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali,English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 713130 |
| Telephone code | +91 3453 |
| Vehicle registration | WB 75 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Bardhaman Purba |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Katwa |
| Website | purbabardhaman |
Katwa is a sub-divisional town and railway junction inPurba Bardhaman district of the Indianstate ofWest Bengal. It is the headquarters of theKatwa subdivision. The town was built at the confluence of the Ganga and Ajay rivers. Katwa is a border city of three districts;Purba Bardhaman District,Nadia District andMurshidabad District.
Katwa is located at23°39′N88°08′E / 23.65°N 88.13°E /23.65; 88.13. It has an average elevation of 21 m (69 ft). It is situated between theAjay River and theHooghly River and so is bounded by water to the east, west, and north.
Katwa police station has jurisdiction over Katwa andDainhat municipalities, andKatwa I andKatwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km2.[2][3]
88.44% of the population of the Katwa subdivision live in rural areas. Only 11.56% of the population live in the urban areas.[4] The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked on the map are linked in the larger full-screen map.
Katwa (Skt. Kātādvīpa) has been proposed as the "Katadupa" mentioned byPliny the Elder (circa 24-74 CE), marking it as the city by which flows the River Amystis, taken to imply the Ajay River.[5]
The small town has a historical background of five hundred years. The earliest name of Katwa was Indranee Pargana. Later the name was changed to Kantak Nagari. In January 1510, Sri SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu received "Diksha" from his guru Kesava Bharati at the site of the current Sri Gauranga Bari Temple in Katwa.[6][7] Since then, this small township has been a sacred place forVaishnavites.
The location of the town at the confluence of two navigable rivers,Ajay andBhagirathi, made the town strategically important. Katwa was considered the gateway toMurshidabad, the erstwhile capital of thesubah of Bengal.[8] NawabMurshid Quli Khan, Nawab of Bengal, first established achowki at Katwa during his reign (1717-1727).[8] Between 1742 and 1751, Katwa was invaded by theBargis (break-away Maratha groups) several times, as part of theMaratha invasions of Bengal.[9][10] It was the site of theFirst Battle of Katwa (1742) and theSecond Battle of Katwa (1745), with NawabAlivardi Khan ofBengal defeating the Marathas both times. In theBattle of Plassey (1757), on 19 June 1757, Katwa was the last Nawabi garrison conquered by British forces before heading toPlassey.Robert Clive held a council of war in Katwa on 21 June 1757, where the decision was taken to cross theHooghly River to Plassey.[9][11] On 19 July 1763, Katwa was once again the scene of action during theThird Battle of Katwa, where British troops fought and defeated a contingent of troops loyal toNawab Mir Qasim.[11]
Under the aegis of theBritish East India Company, Katwa became an urban settlement, encouraged by the presence of missionaries such as William Carey Jr., the son ofWilliam Carey.[12][13] By the 1800s, Katwa had become a thriving trading town with the principal economic activity being the riverine trade in salt.[14] The modern town of Katwa was established in 1850 when it was granted the status of a subdivisional town under the 10th Act of Municipal Rules.[14] The Municipality of Katwa as a governing entity was established on 1 April 1869.[15] The urbanization of Katwa received a further boost with the construction of railroads in the early 20th century:Katwa-Azimganj (constructed in 1903), Katwa-Bandel (1912),Katwa-Bardhaman (1915),Katwa-Ahmedpur (1917).
As per the2011 Census of India, Katwa had a total population of 81,615, of which 41,350 (51%) were males and 40,265 (49%) were females. The population below 6 years was 6,799. The total number of literates in Katwa was 65,187 (79.87% of the population over 6 years).[16]
In 2011, the population breakdown by religion was: Hindus (66,899), Muslims (14,488), Sikhs (50), Christians (44), Buddhists (9), Jains (4), and Unspecified/Not Stated (121).[17]
Katwa has a total area of 8.53 km2 with a population density of 9,681/km2.[18] A steady flow of refugees from East Pakistan increased the population of the area in the fifties.[19]
The economy of Katwa is based on agriculture and agro-related trades. The fertile soil of the surrounding areas is enriched by the alluvium from the Hooghly, Ajay and Damodar rivers.[20] The major crops farmed in the countryside surrounding Katwa include rice, jute, mustard, sugarcane,tea, coffee and various tropical vegetables.[21] Katwa is an essential center for marketing the region's agricultural products and for providing retail and consumer services to the surrounding population.[14] Industries are limited to cottage industries and small-scale agro-related industries, e.g. rice mills, jute products, etc.
Within the urban area, as of 2011, 0.81% of workers are employed in the primary (agricultural) sector, 5.96% of workers are employed in the secondary (manufacturing) sector, and 93.70% of workers are employed in the tertiary (services) sector.[8]
TheKatwa Super Thermal Power Station is a super critical (660MW x2) 1320 MW coal-fired power plant currently in planning stage byNTPC atSrikhanda Village, 8 km from Katwa.[22]
Areas of tourism interest in the town include:
Katwa Sub-Divisional Hospital is a 250-bed public facility providing secondary healthcare toKatwa sub-divisional area.[29] There are a number of private nursing centers that serve the town, as well.[14]
Anandaniketan Society for Mental Health Care is a not-for-profit organization situated five kilometers outside of Katwa, providing residential care to 350 children, adolescents, and adults who have physical, mental, and/or intellectual disabilities.[30]
Purba Bardhaman District Police's Katwa Police Station has jurisdiction over Katwa andDainhat municipality areas andKatwa I andKatwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km2.[31][32]
The dominant culture of Katwa is identical to that of most ofWest Bengal and is deeply influenced byHindu Bengali culture. Some of the popular festivals in Katwa include:
Katwa and its surrounding areas are especially well known for their peaceful Kartik Puja, colloquially known asKartik Larai (Larai means "battle" in Bengali).[33][34] The object of worship is the boy-faced deity,Kartik in reference to the youth of the deity. In the greater Katwa area, over 250 separate organizations organize pujas and joyfully compete with each other over the sophistication of the theme or the sculpture of the deity.[33][35] After the day of the puja, the deities are paraded in carnival throughout town on their way to be ritually submerged in the nearby Hooghly River. The processions usually feature religious music and dancing, leading to a town-wide, festival-like ambiance (jovially namedladai or battle) enjoyed by all participants and spectators.[33]
Katwa is served byWB State Highway 6,also known as STKK Road, connecting Katwa toSuri, Birbhum in north andNabadwip,Kalna City,Bansberia andGrand Trunk Road in south, andWB State Highway 14 connecting Katwa toBalgona,Bardhaman,Guskara,National Highway 19(previously known asNational Highway 2) in the west andPalashi in the east. The closest bridge crossing over theHooghly River is at Gouranga Setu atNabadwip-Mayapur (41 km away).South Bengal State Transport Corporation(SBSTC),North Bengal State Transport Corporation(NBSTC) and private operators operate buses fromAsansol,Baharampur,Bolpur,Esplanade,Krishnanagar,Ranaghat,Kalyani,Malda,Raiganj andSiliguri. Katwa is well connected by bus with numerous places all around. Most of the buses arrive and leave from Katwa bus stand.
Katwa Junction is a railway junction on5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge railway line fromHowrah railway station toNew Jalpaiguri railway station viaAzimganj Junction railway station. Although Katwa is a railway junction, the number of trains running through this station is less.
TheBardhaman-Katwa line, after conversion from narrow gauge to electrified broad gauge, was opened to the public on 12 January 2018.[36]
TheAhmedpur-Katwa Railway line has been converted from narrow gauge to broad gauge which provides access toRampurhat Junction railway station.[37]
Katwa is the site of a floating terminal onNational Waterway 1 consisting of a pontoon placed on the waterfront with a berth of 30 m (98 ft).
The town of Katwa is divided into twenty (20) administrative wards.[38] Each ward elects a councilor to the governing body, Katwa Municipality.[39] Municipal elections are held every five (5) years, with the most recent election held in 2022.[40]
Mir Qasim battle katwa.
'Religion flourishes at Katwa more than at any other station in the Mission.' (p. 277)
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Cities, towns and locations inPurba Bardhaman district,Burdwan division | ||||||||||
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