Calcutta - More Information | Worlds Biggest Cities

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Climate

Main article: Climate of Kolkata

Monsoon clouds over Howrah Bridge.
Monsoon clouds over Howrah Bridge.

Kolkata has a tropical wet-and-dry climate (Koppen climate classification Aw). The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 19 °C (66.2 °F) to 30 °C (86.0 °F).[35] Summers are hot and humid with temperatures in the low 30’s and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during May and June.[35] Winter tends to last for only about two and a half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9 °C – 11 °C (54 °F – 57 °F) between December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41.0 °F).[35]On an average, May is the hottest month with daily temperatures ranging from a low of 27 °C (80.6 °F) to a maximum of 37 °C (98.6 °F), while January the coldest month has temperatures varying from a low of 12 °C (53.6 °F) to a maximum of 23 °C (73.4 °F). Often during early summer, dusty squalls followed by spells of thunderstorm or hailstorms and heavy rains with ice sleets lash the city, bringing relief from the humid heat. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and is locally known as Kal baisakhi (কালবৈশাখী, Nor’westers).[36]

Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of South-West monsoon[37] lash the city between June and September and supplies the city with most of its annual rainfall of 1,582 mm (62 in). The highest rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August—306 mm (12 in)). The city receives 2,528 hours of sunshine per annum, with the maximum sunlight occurring in March.[38] Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata, and the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level is high when compared to other major cities of India,[39][40][dead link] leading to regular smog and haze. Severe air pollution in the city has caused rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments such as lung cancer.[41]

[edit] Economy
Cognizant Technology Solution building at Salt Lake Sector-V, Electronics Complex
Cognizant Technology Solution building at Salt Lake Sector-V, Electronics Complex

Main article: Economy of Kolkata

Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the northeastern states. It is home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange — India’s second-largest bourse.[42] It is also a major commercial and military port, and the only city in the region to have an international airport. Once India’s leading city and Capital, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the years following India’s independence due to the prevalent unstabilised political condition and rise in trade-unionism.[43] Between the 1960s to the mid 1990s, flight of capital was enormous as many large factories were closed or downsized and businesses relocated.[43] The lack of capital and resources coupled with a worldwide glut in demand in the city’s traditional industries (e.g. jute) added to the depressed state of the city’s economy.[44] The liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s has resulted in the improvement of the city’s fortunes.
Vendors selling flowers in a market. Informal economy in the form of hawkers has traditionally been a major part of the city’s economy
Vendors selling flowers in a market. Informal economy in the form of hawkers has traditionally been a major part of the city’s economy

Until recently, flexible production had always been the norm in Kolkata, and the informal sector has comprised more than 40% of the labour force.[45] For example, roadside hawkers generated business worth Rs. 8,772 crore (around 2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005.[46] State and federal government employees make up a large percentage of the city’s workforce. The city has a large unskilled and semi-skilled labour population, along with other blue-collar and knowledge workers. Kolkata’s economic revival was led largely by IT services, with the IT sector growing at 70% yearly — twice that of the national average.[26] In recent years there has been a surge of investments in the housing infrastructure sector with several new projects coming up in the city.[47] Kolkata is home to many industrial units operated by large Indian corporations with products ranging from electronics to jute. Some notable companies headquartered in Kolkata include ITC Limited, Bata India, Birla Corporation, Coal India Limited, Damodar Valley Corporation, United Bank of India, UCO Bank and Allahabad Bank. Recently, various events like adoption of “Look East” policy by the government of India, opening of the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim as a border trade-route with China and immense interest in the South East Asian countries to enter the Indian market and invest have put Kolkata in an advantageous position.[48] [49]

[edit] Civic administration

Main article: Civic administration of Kolkata
See also: Kolkata Municipal Corporation

Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court

The civic administration of Kolkata is executed by several government agencies, and consists of overlapping structural divisions. At least five administrative definitions of the city are available; listed in ascending order of area, those are: 1) Kolkata District, 2) the Kolkata Police area, 3) the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area (”Kolkata city”), 4) “Greater Kolkata”, which includes the KMC area and a few neighbourhoods adjacent to it, and 5) the urban agglomeration or Kolkata Metropolitan Area (Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is responsible for the statutory planning and development of the metroplitan area).

The governance of the city proper—the area within which Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) functions—involves the following authorities: the KMC itself, the Collector of the Kolkata District, the Kolkata Police, the Collector/District Magistrate (DM) of South 24 Parganas District, and the Superintendent of Police (SP) of South 24 Parganas District. The area under KMC is divided into 141 administrative wards that are grouped into 15 boroughs. The corporation as the apex body discharges its function through the Mayor-in-Council, consisting of a mayor, a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members.[50] As of 2008, the CPI(M) led Left Front holds the power in KMC. The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata.

As the capital of the state and the seat of the Government of West Bengal, Kolkata houses not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the state Secretariat (Writers’ Building) and the Calcutta High Court. Kolkata also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The Kolkata Police, headed by the Police Commissioner, comes under the West Bengal Home Ministry. The city elects 3 representatives to the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house) and 21 representatives to the state Legislative Assembly.[51]

[edit] Utility services and media
VSNL tower of Tata Communications (previously known as VSNL), a major telecom service provider in the city
VSNL tower of Tata Communications (previously known as VSNL), a major telecom service provider in the city

See also: Kolkata in the media

The KMC supplies potable water to the city, sourced from the River Hooghly. The water is purified and treated at Palta water pumping station located in North 24 Parganas. Almost all of Kolkata’s daily refuse of 2500 tonnes is transported to the dumping grounds in Dhapa to the east of the town. Agriculture on this dumping ground is encouraged for natural recycling of garbage and sewer water.[52] Parts of the city still lack sewage facilities leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.[38] Electricity is supplied by the privately operated Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) to the city region, and by the West Bengal State Electricity Board in the suburbs. Frequent interruption of power supply was a problem until the mid 1990s; however the situation has since improved immensely with seldom power cuts occurring presently. The city has 20 fire stations (under West Bengal Fire Service) that attend to 7,500 fire and rescue calls on average per year.[53]

State-owned BSNL and private enterprises like Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city. Cellular coverage is extensive with both GSM and CDMA services being available. Broadband internet penetration has steadily increased with BSNL, Tata Indicom, Airtel and Reliance being the leading service providers.

Bengali language newspapers like Anandabazar Patrika, Aajkaal, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin and Ganashakti, Dainik Statesman are widely circulated. Regional and national English newspapers such as The Telegraph, The Statesman, Asian Age, Hindustan Times and The Times of India are sold in large numbers. Some major periodicals are Desh, Sananda, Unish Kuri, Anandalok and Anandamela. Being the biggest trading market in Eastern India, Kolkata has a substantial readership of many financial dailies including Economic Times & Business Standard.[54] Vernacular newspapers such as those in Hindi, Gujarati, Oriya, Urdu, Punjabi and Chinese are also read by a minority. Kolkata has ten local FM stations: AIR Kolkata (FM Rainbow & FM Gold), Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz), Red FM (93.5 MHz), Power FM (107.8 MHz), Aamar FM (106.2 MHz), Gyan Vani (105.4 MHz), Big FM (92.7 MHz), Meow FM (104.8 MHz), Friends FM (91.9 MHz)and Fever FM (104.0 MHz). The state-owned television broadcaster Doordarshan provides two free terrestrial channels, while four MSO provide a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English and other regional channels via cable. Bengali 24-hour television news channels include STAR Ananda, 24 Ghanta, Kolkata TV and Tara Newz.

[edit] Transport
VIP Road, a thoroughfare to the airport
VIP Road, a thoroughfare to the airport
Kolkata is the only Indian city with trams
Kolkata is the only Indian city with trams
Vidyasagar Setu bridge connecting Kolkata with Howrah
Vidyasagar Setu bridge connecting Kolkata with Howrah

Public transport is provided by the Kolkata suburban railway, the Kolkata Metro, trams and buses. The suburban network is extensive and extends into the distant suburbs. The Kolkata Metro, run by the Indian Railways, is the oldest underground system in India.[55] It runs parallel to the River Hooghly and spans the north-south length of the city covering a distance of 16.45 km. Buses are the preferred mode of transport and are run by both government agencies and private operators. Kolkata is India’s only city to have a tram network, operated by Calcutta Tramways Company.[56] The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging due to heavy rains during the monsoon sometimes interrupts the public transport.[57][58]

Hired forms of mechanised transport include the yellow metered taxis, while auto rickshaws ply in specific routes. Almost all the taxis in Kolkata are Ambassadors. This is unlike most other cities where Tata Indica or Fiats are more common. In some areas of the city, cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled rickshaws are also patronised by the public for short distances. Private owned vehicles are less in number and usage compared to other major cities due to the abundance in both variety and number of public vehicles.[59] However, the city witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.[60] The road space (matched with population density) in the city is only 6%, compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai, creating major traffic problems.[61] Kolkata Metro Railway and a number of new roads and flyovers have decongested the traffic to some extent.

Kolkata has two major long distance railway stations at Howrah Station and Sealdah. A third station named Kolkata has been launched in early 2006.[62] The city is the headquarters of two divisions of the Indian Railways — Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway.[63]

The city’s sole airport, the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum to the north of the city, operates both domestic and international flights. Kolkata is also a major riverport in eastern India. The Kolkata Port Trust manages both the Kolkata docks and the Haldia docks.[64] There are passenger service to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and cargo ship service to various ports in India and abroad, operated by the Shipping Corporation of India. Also there are ferry services connecting Kolkata with its twin city of Howrah.

[edit] Demographics
One of Kolkata’s slums
One of Kolkata’s slums

See also: Ethnic communities in Kolkata

[show]Kolkata population
Census Pop. %±
1981 9,194,000
—
1991 11,021,900 19.9%
2001 13,114,700 19.0%
Source: Census of India[65]

Residents of Kolkata are called Calcuttans. As of 2001, Kolkata city had a population of 4,580,544, while the urban agglomeration had a population of 13,216,546. The sex ratio is 828 females per 1000 males[66] – which is lower than the national average, because many working males come from rural areas, where they leave behind their families. Kolkata’s literacy rate of 80.86%[67] exceeds the all-India average of 64.8%.[68][dead link] Kolkata Municipal Corporation area has registered a growth rate of 4.1%, which is the lowest among the million-plus cities in India.[69]

Bengalis comprise the majority of Kolkata’s population (55%), with Marwaris,Oriya and Bihari communities forming a large portion of the minorities (20%)[70]. Some of Kolkata’s minor communities include Chinese, Tamils, Nepalis, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Punjabis, Malayalees and Parsis. Major languages spoken in Kolkata are Bengali, Hindi, English, Oriya, and Bhojpuri.

According to the 2001 census, 77.68% of the population in Kolkata is Hindu, 20.27% Muslim, 0.88% Christian and 0.75% Jains. Other minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhist, Jews and Zoroastrian constitute the rest of the city’s population.[71] 1.5 million people, who constitute about a third of the city’s population, live in 2,011 registered and 3,500 unregistered (occupied by squatters) slums.[72]

Kolkata reported 67.6% of total Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes registered in 35 Indian mega cities in 2004.[73] Kolkata police district registered 10,757 IPC cases in 2004, which was 10th highest in the country.[74] The crime rate in the city was 71 per 100,000 against the national rate of 167.7 in 2006, which is the lowest among all the mega cities in India.[75] Kolkata’s Sonagachi area, with more than 10,000 sex workers,[76] is one of Asia’s largest red-light districts.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Kolkata culture
See also: List of notable Calcuttans

Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata
Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata
The Tipu Sultan Mosque
The Tipu Sultan Mosque
Kolkata is a centre of culture in India. Shown here is the National Library
Kolkata is a centre of culture in India. Shown here is the National Library

Kolkata has long been known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. As the former capital of India, Kolkata was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkatans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of welcoming new talent has made it a “city of furious creative energy”.[77]

A characteristic feature of Kolkata is the para or neighbourhoods having a strong sense of community. Typically, every para has its own community club with a clubroom and often, a playing field. People here habitually indulge in adda or leisurely chat, and these adda sessions are often a form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[78] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures to propaganda.

Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic (including Mughal) motifs. Several major buildings of the Colonial period are well maintained and have been declared “heritage structures”, while others are in various stages of decay. Established in 1814, the Indian Museum is the oldest museum in Asia and houses vast collection of Indian natural history and Indian art.[79] The Victoria Memorial, one of the major tourist attractions in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city’s history. The National Library of India is India’s leading public library. Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions.

The city has a tradition of dramas in the form of jatra (a kind of folk-theatre), theatres and Group Theatres. Mainstream Hindi films are popular, as are films from the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed “Tollywood”. Tollygunj in Kolkata is the location of Bengali movie studios and the name “Tollywood” (similar as Hollywood, USA) is derived from that name. Its long tradition of filmmaking includes acclaimed directors such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Ritwik Ghatak to contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh.

Key elements of Kolkata’s cuisine include rice and macher jhol (fish curry),[80] with rasagolla,sandesh and mishti doi (sweet yoghurt) as dessert. Bengal’s vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes various hilsa preparations (a favorite among Bengalis). Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (deep fried crêpe with tamarind and lentil sauce) and Chinese food from China Town in the eastern parts of the city are quite popular.[81][82]

Bengali women commonly wear the shaŗi as per tradition and global/western outfits. Among men, western dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear panjabi with dhuti, which developed as a trend during the renaissance period of Bengal. Kolkatans are becoming brand conscious, which is attracting global brands to set up base there.

Durga Puja is the most important and the most glamourous event in Kolkata.[83] Other notable festivals include Jagaddhatri Puja, Diwali, Eid, Holi, Christmas, poila boishak (new year), Saraswati puja, Rath Yatra and Poush parbon (harvest festival). Some of the cultural festivals are Kolkata Book Fair, Dover Lane music festival, Kolkata Film Festival and National Theatre Festival.

The city is also noted for its appreciation of Indian classical music as well as Bengali folk music such as baul. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Bengali literature was modernized in the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The rich literary tradition set by these authors has been carried forward in the works of Jibanananda Das, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay,Ashapurna Debi, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Samaresh Majumdar, Sanjeev Chattopadhyay and Sunil Gangopadhyay among others.

From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence and popularisation of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul and Jazz by several Bangla bands, as well as the emergence of what has been called Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism) by artists like Kabir Suman, Anjan Dutta, and bands like Chandrabindoo, Cactus, Lakkhichhara, Fossils and Insomnia.

The city holds an annual gay pride parade in the middle of Summer, the oldest in India.[84]

Kolkata is sister city to Long Beach, California in the United States
Kolkata has a tropical wet-and-dry climate (Koppen climate classification Aw). The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 19 °C (66.2 °F) to 30 °C (86.0 °F).[35] Summers are hot and humid with temperatures in the low 30’s and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during May and June.[35] Winter tends to last for only about two and a half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9 °C – 11 °C (54 °F – 57 °F) between December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41.0 °F).[35]On an average, May is the hottest month with daily temperatures ranging from a low of 27 °C (80.6 °F) to a maximum of 37 °C (98.6 °F), while January the coldest month has temperatures varying from a low of 12 °C (53.6 °F) to a maximum of 23 °C (73.4 °F). Often during early summer, dusty squalls followed by spells of thunderstorm or hailstorms and heavy rains with ice sleets lash the city, bringing relief from the humid heat. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and is locally known as Kal baisakhi (কালবৈশাখী, Nor’westers).[36]

[edit] Economy
Cognizant Technology Solution building at Salt Lake Sector-V, Electronics Complex
Cognizant Technology Solution building at Salt Lake Sector-V, Electronics Complex

Main article: Economy of Kolkata

[edit] Civic administration

Main article: Civic administration of Kolkata
See also: Kolkata Municipal Corporation

Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court

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Worlds Biggest Cities