KHARAGPUR OUR DREAMLAND

Kharagpur (KGP) pronunciation (help·info) (Bengali:  is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.
Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and are internationally recognised for their academic and technical excellence. Unlike other IITs, IIT Kharagpur has been long known for its ability to offer unusual courses not offered in other IITs. The campus is located in Hijli.

Location
Kharagpur also has one of the biggest railway workshops in India with the longest railway platform in the world [1072.5 m].^[1] Kharagpur has the first underground Air Force station in Kalaikunda and it also has one more Air Force station in Salua.
Location
Kharagpur, the fifth largest city of West Bengal in area, lies on the latitude of 22 02’ 30” & longitude 87 11’ 0”, covering an area of about 30 km² located in the south-west part of Midnapore. This sub-division town is formed with Dalma Pahar and alluvial tract of Midnapore. It is intersected by numerous waterways, the important rivers being Subarnarekha, Keleghai and Kangsabati.
HISTORY
Historically, Kharagpur was a part of Hijli Kingdom and ruled by Hindu Oriya rulers as a feudatory under Gajapati Kings of Orissa.Historians claim that as early as the 16th century, Kharagpur was still a small village surrounded by dense forests. The village was on high rocky barren land. The only inhabited settlement near Kharagpur was Hijli. Hijli was a small island village on the banks of River Rasulpur in the delta of Bay of Bengal. It developed into a Port town in 1687. Hijli was also a Province and was in existence till 1886. It covered parts of Bengal and Orissa. It had important towns like Tamluk, Panskura, Debra along with Kelghai & Haldi rivers on the North, the South and East sides bounded by Bay of Bengal and Kharagpur, Keshiary, Dantan and Jaleswar on the West.
Hijli was ruled by Taj Khan who was the disciple of Guru Peer Mackdram Sha Chisti. It was also ruled by Kushan, Gupta and Pal dynasties and also by the Mughals. It is said that Hijli had excellent business and trade centers with Judiciary, Jail and Administrative offices during the reign of Hindu Kings and during the Moghul Raj. It was at its peak in 1754 AD and the prosperity of Hijli Province during this period was beyond description. The capital of Hijli was in Bahiri up to 1628 A.D. and was shifted to Hijli afterwards.
In the 18th century another Port town Khejuri came into existence, primarily set up by the British for carrying out trade with European countries. Khejuri was also an island set up on the banks of River Koukhali in the delta region. Development of this region because of Khejuri and Hiji Port can be gauged by the fact that the first Indian Telegraph Office was established in 1852 connecting Khejuri with Calcutta. In the devastating cyclone of 1864, both the ports got destroyed. The islands have since got merged with the mainland.
Captain Nicolson was the first English colonialist to invade Hijli and captured the Port only. In 1687 Job Charnock with 400 soldiers and warships captured Hijli defeating Hindu & Mughul defenders. After the war with the Mughals, a treaty was signed between Job Charnock and the Mughul Emperor. The loss suffered by Job Charnock forced him to leave Hijli and proceed towards Uluberia while the Mughul Emperor continued to rule the Province. From there they finally settled at Sutanuti in Kolkata for establishing their business in Eastern India. This was the start of East India Company in India. Hijli as we know it today, is only a very small part of erstwhile Hijli Province and was created for establishing administrative offices by the British in the 19th century. It is curious that almost the entire Kharagpur division of today has boundaries identical to Hijli Province.
It is said that the name of Kharagpur derived from the name of old Shiva temple called ‘Khargeswar’ located at the outskirts of Kharagpur. It is also said that the Temple was established by King Kharag Singh Pal and was named after him. The place of Kharagpur has mythological importance too. As depicted in Mahabharata, this area was ruled by the Demon King Hiramba. Pancha Pandavas spent a part of their repatriation years here. Bhim had fallen in love with Hirimba, sister of Hiramba. This annoyed Hiramba who clashed with Bhim. Hiramba was killed by Bhim at the same place where Khargeswar Temple is located.

Schools in Kharagpur

Nimpura Aryya Bidyapith,Kharagpur-4 *Siddheswari High School,Arambati *Janta Vidyalya ward no -16 *Hitkarini High Secondary School *Kharagpur Atulmoni Polytechnic High (H.S.) School *Sacred Heart High School *Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2, Kharagpur *Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2, Kalaikunda *Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, Kalaikunda *Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Kharagpur *Kendriya Vidyalaya, Salua *St. Agnes High School *S E Rly Higher Secondary School (English Medium) *S E Rly Boys Higher Secondary School, Near Gole Bazar *S E Rly Girls Higher Secondary School, Near Gole Bazar *S E Rly High School, New Settlement *Splendour high school, Salua *DAV Model School,IIT *Christophers Day School, Malancha *Kharagpur Silver Jubilee High School *Hijli High School,IIT KGP *Inda valika Vidyalaya *Inda Krishnalal Siksha Niketan *South Side Girls High School *South Side High School *Andhra Higher Secondary School, New Settlement *Utkal Vidyapitha, Giri Maidan *St. Josephs High School, Old Settlement *Ward Memorial Church School, Kharida *Balarampur Abhoy Ashram Naitalim Vidyapith, Balarampur *Janakalyan Boys & Girls Higher Secondary School, Subhaspally *Telugu Vidhya Peetham *Chhattisgarh High school,Ayma.

Kharagpur Today

Kharagpur is a place where people from every religion and castes from all over the country reside. Kharagpur still retains its small-town charm and literally shuts down at 10 o'clock every night but for the IIT Kharagpur zone. 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 complex 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 Bazar 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)
• 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

Upcoming Major Units:

• Aso Cement Ltd. (Cement (expansion))
• Century Iron & Steel

This area promises to be an ideal destination for investment due to the presence of the IIT campus, its proximity to Kolkata and also because it is well-connected with the rest of the nation by rail. There are marketplaces called Gole bazar, Puratan Bazar and Gate Bazar, 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 on 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 going expresses and some more express trains will be stopped 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 Jaganath 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" in 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 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 an 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 Side 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 "Dashera" or "Ravan Pora"(in local term).
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..