# Behala

Behala is a locality of South West Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala is a part of Kolkata Municipal Corporation area. It is broadly spread across Ward Nos. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 and 132 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and is divided into two Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Behala Paschim and Behala Purba. This area is served by the South West Division of Kolkata Police also known as Behala Division (The division comprises Behala, Taratala, Parnasree, Sarsuna, Thakurpukur and Haridevpur).
Behala is one of the oldest residential areas of the city. The Sabarna Roy Choudhury's, one of the oldest zamindar families of western Bengal and the trustee of Kalighat Kali Temple lives here. It is also home to Sourav Ganguly, former Indian national cricket captain and Sovan Chatterjee, the former Mayor of Kolkata.
The Durga Puja celebration of Sabarna Roy Choudhury family at Barisha was launched in 1610 by Laksmikanta Majumdar, making it the second oldest family Durga Puja in western Bengal. Today Durga Puja at Behala is marked by exotic theme-based sarbojanin pujas. Barisha Chandi Mela is a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792.

## Etymology

The word Behala is commonly believed to have its root in Behula, the name of the female protagonist of Manasamangalkavya. Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term Bahulapur ("land of many rivers" or "dark city"). "Bahula" is also an epithet of the goddesses Chandi and Kali. Rev. James Long, who used to live in this parts, described Behala as Byala in one of his early writings. It is also known that Behala comprised many small villages before the whole place was urbanised and each village here had a suffix -behala with its name i.e. Bazarbehala, Tamtelbehala, Bnorshebehala (Barisha), Sorshunnobehala (Sarsuna) etc. Names like Rajarbaganbehala, Sahapurbehala, Naskarpurbehala and Santoshbatibehala are also found in the old proceedings of South Suburban Municipality.

## History
### Modern day

Behala encompasses one of the largest suburban agglomerations of the city of Kolkata. It consists of many small localities like Sahapur, New Alipore (partially), Parnasree Pally, Behala Bazaar, Manton, Behala Chowrasta (Barisha), Muchipara, Sakherbazaar, Silpara, Bakultala, Shakuntala Park, Kadamtala, Thakurpukur, Haridevpur, Dakshin Behala, Sarsuna and Joka. Huge growth of population especially since the early eighties resulted in the area being on the radar of both the daily wage earners, common populace and educated classes. Due to this enormous and unplanned growth, the traffic is by and large dependent on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road, in spite of the availability of the parallel James Long Sarani (Commonly known as Rail Line since the old and now defunct Kalighat Falta Railway ran here) as an option. During the construction the Taratala flyover, a large portion of traffic flowed through James Long Sarani to avoid construction activity, causing development of other areas of Behala.
Encroachments by street-hawkers of the sidewalks on both sides of the busy Diamond Harbour Road is a major problem. Areas like Behala Bazar, Behala Chowrasta and Behala Sakherbazaar have been added to the 'Calcutta Green Zone' and traffic moves at a snail's pace during the peak office hours.
Previously there were tram lines along the middle of Diamond Harbour Road from Joka to Mominpur and often people used the trams to go to Esplanade. The service on this stretch has been withdrawn now. Mominpur to Behala Bazaar service was closed in 2006 due to the Taratala flyover. Behala Bazaar to Joka service was also closed in 2011 due to the elevated metro railway construction on the Diamond Harbour road, which will run from Joka to Esplanade (Purple Line).
SL Dhanuka Girls' hostel that has come up at Behala on Diamond Harbour Road, inaugurated on 24 March 2017 by the Chief minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee.

## Geography
### Police district

The localities of behala area are served by South West Division (Behala Division) of Kolkata Police. It includes Taratala Police station, Behala Police station, Thakurpukur Police Station, Parnashree Police station, Sarsuna Police station and Haridevpur Police station.
Behala Women police station, located at the same address as Behala Police station, covers all police districts under the jurisdiction of the South West division i.e. Sarsuna, Taratala, Behala, Parnasree, Thakurpukur and Haridevpur.

## Education

There are many educational institutions situated in Behala.

### Colleges:-

* Behala College
* Sarsuna College
* Sarsuna Law College
* Vivekananda College (Thakurpukur)
* NSHM Knowledge Campus
* Behala Government Polytechnic College
* Behala Institute of Allied Health Sciences
* Kanyashree College
* Kishore Bharati Bhagani Nivedita College
* Sister Florence College of Nursing
* Vivekananda College for Women

### Schools:-

* Barisha High School
* Behala High School
* Bratachari Vidyasram (H.S.)
* M P Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School
* Meghmala Roy Education Centre
* Arya Boys School
* Baidyapara Girls' High School
* Barisha Asar Vidyapith For Boys
* Barisha Girls' School
* Barisha Janakalyan Vidyapith for Girls (HS)
* Barisha Purba para High School
* Barisha Shashibhusan Janakalyan Vidyapith
* Barisha Uchcha Balika Vidyamandir
* Barisha Vivekananda High School for Girls
* Barisha Vivekananda High School
* Basudevpur High School
* Behala Arya Vidyamandir
* Behala Girls High school
* Behala Kishore Bharati Girls High School
* Behala Parnasree Bidyamandir
* Behala Sharda Vidyapith for Girls
* Behala Sourindra English Medium Co-Ed School
* Bidya Bhaban School
* Children Academy Co-ed High School (Bengali Medium)
* D. A. V. Public School
* G.B. Memorial Institution, Sarsuna
* K. E. Carmel School, Sarsuna
* K.E Carmel school, Behala
* Kamala Vidyamandir
* Kisor Bharati School
* Kolkata Model School
* Mothers Mission School
* National Gems H.S. School
* Navadiganta High School, Sarsuna
* Nivedita Mission School
* Orient Day School
* Oxford Academy, Behala
* Sarsuna Girls' High School
* Sarsuna High School
* Shaw Public School
* Shibrampur Nanilal Vidyapith
* Shyama Sundari Girls High School
* Sourindra Government English Medium School
* St. James School, Behala
* St.Elizabeth Girls' School
* Thakurpukur Brahmachari P.K. Vidyamandir for Girls
* The Good Shepherd Mission School

## Transport

Various buses are available to move around Kolkata. Majerhat Bridge is one of the major roads connecting Behala to the rest of Calcutta has led to massive traffic snarls in the area. Now, a new bridge has been made which successfully connects Behala with other areas.
Some notable buses connecting Behala with central and north Kolkata are:
* 12C: Connecting Behala With central Kolkata and Howrah
* SD4: Connecting Behala with other parts of South Kolkata
* 21/1: Connecting Behala with Exide More area
* 18b: Connecting inner regions of Behala with central Kolkata and Howrah
* 75: Connecting the outer fringes of Behala with Babughat and Prinsep Ghat
* 235: Connecting Behala with Salt Lake in Kolkata

### Tram

Trams used to be popular vehicles connecting Behala with Esplanade (Route 35). After the construction of Taratala flyover, the route was truncated and trams would ply only along Behala-Joka stretch. In 2011, the route finally closed as a result of the Esplanade-Joka Metro Project.

### Railway

Behala is served by Majherhat, Brace Bridge and New Alipore railway stations on the Sealdah South section of Kolkata Suburban Railway.
Behala was also served by Gholesapur, Sakherbazar and Thakurpukur railway station of Kalighat Falta Railway (KFR), which has been closed in 1957.

### Airport

Behala Airport more commonly referred as Behala Flying Training Institute (BFTI) or Behala Flying Club (BFC) is the second of the two airports in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and other being the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. There are plans to upgrade the airport. Previously there was helicopter service from behala airport to digha and durgapur, but it was later suspended by the authority. Currently, there is no commercial helicopter service available from behala flying club.

### Metro Railway

Former President Ms. Pratibha Patil laid the foundation stone of Joka to Esplanade Metro Rail Project (Purple Line) in presence of Union Finance Minister and Governor of West Bengal in September 2010.
The metro has partially started from Joka to Taratala, and has been inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 30 December 2022. Currently six stations are active that are Joka Metro Station, Thakurpukur Metro Station, Sakherbazar Metro Station, Behala Chowrasta Metro Station, Behala Bazaar Metro Station, Taratala Metro Station and Majherhat metro station.
The construction of Majherhat metro station - Esplanade metro station portion is expected to be completed by 2029.

## Healthcare

The whole Behala region is surrounded by numerous hospitals and medical centres. The State General Hospital for region Behala is Vidyasagar State General Hospital, which is beside the Behala bazar metro station and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Behala.
Nearby Behala, at Thakurpukur M.G Road, another famous hospital and medical research centre situated named as "Saroj Gupta Cancer Research Institute" locally knows as "Thakurpukur cancer hospital". It is one of the oldest cancer treatment centres in Kolkata.
Some other hospitals in Behala are:-
* Behala Balananda Brahmachari Hospital And Research Centre, Pathakpara
* South Suburban Clinic, Taratala
* Disha Eye Hospital, Chowrasta
* UMRI Hospital, James Long Sarani
* Narayan Memorial Hospital, Manton
* James Long Clinic, James Long Sarani
* Drishti Eye Care Centre, Barisha Sakherbazar Sabarna Para
* Kasturi Medical Research Centre, 3A bus stand
* Kolkata Eye
* Vivekananda Hospital & Research Institute, Parnasree
* BMRI Hospital, 3A bus stand
* ESIC Hospital and Medical College, Joka Metro Station/Diamond Park
* Apollo Clinic Taratala, Sahapur
* Apollo Clinic Thakurpukur, 3A bus stand
* DM hospital, James Long Sarani
* Swadesh Bose Hospital, Thakurpukur
* Bharat Sevashram Sangha Hospital Joka
* Vidyasagar Government Hospital

## Festivals

Barisha Chandi Mela, a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792, attracts people from all over the city. There are various stalls, rides and plenty of shops for people of all age groups. On some days during the fair, the crowd count crosses One Lakh as well. Many popular artists also perform during this festival.
During Christmas, all Behala roads lead to St. Peter's Church, CNI located inside the Oxford Mission compound, Infant Jesus Church located next to Ellora Cinema hall, Sacred Heart Church and many other churches located near Behala and Thakurpukur.
A big Rath Yatra festival and mela also occur every year on Diamond harbour road, Thakurpukur. The festival and mela starts from day of Ratha Yatra and the mela ends at the day of Ulta Ratha Thakurpukur rath Mela is the biggest Rath Yatra Mela of Behala area. Apart from Thakurpukur rath yatra mela, Barisha rath yatra mela(Sakherbazar), Sarsuna(Badamtala) Rath Yatra Mela and Sonamukhi Rath Yatra Mela(Sarsuna and Maheshtala Border) also occurs every year.
Rath made of brass of sonar Durga Bari made in 1871, is bring outside every year during Rath Yatra Celebration. Jagatdhatri Puja is also celebrated in many Localities of Behala.
Just Like rest of Kolkata, Behala is also famous for Durga Puja, some of the popular Durga Puja pandals are
* Behala Nutan Sangha
* Behala Notun Dal
* Behala Adarshapally
* Behala KFR Math Durga Puja
* Behala Shree Sangha
* Behala Trishakti Club
* Behala Nafar Chandra Das Road
* Behala Jadu and Mitra Colony
* Behala Friends.
* Barisha Club
* Behala 11 pally
* Haridevpur 41 pally
* Royde Park Welfare Association
* Thakurpukur State Bank Park
* The most Traditional puja is held at Roy House, at Roy Bahadur Road. SABORNO ROY CHOWDHURY HOUSE and Behala Sonar Durga Bari.
At kalipuja, Chamunda Kali Puja and a big Mela also happen every year at Bahadur Math in Dakshin Behala Road, Sasthir More.
Other famous Kali Puja of Behala is
* Behala Parnashree
* Behala Chatapark
The biggest celebration of the festival of Eid is held at Behala 18 Bigha Masjid.

## Business

The Diamond Harbour Road is dotted on both sides with shops and eateries. Clothes, jewellery, electronic items, sports goods, books and footwear can be found in a multitude of stores all along the stretch from Taratala to Manton. Recent additions to the shopping scene include shopping malls and factory outlets.
Apart from the standard stores, the pavements of Behala are crowded with hawkers selling everything from toothpicks to bedsheets.

## Places of interest

* Sonar Durga Temple
* Siddheshwari Kali temple
* 72, Banamali Naskar Lane, Behala, Kolkata-60
Famous place described as Residence of Ghanada(Mess-Bari) in "Ghanada" a Bengali Science fiction novel written by Ghanashyam Das.
* Douglas Grounds (Oxford Mission)
* Behala Chanditala Maa Mangal Chandi Temple
* State Archaeological Museum, Satyen Roy Road
* Adi Shiva Temple, Barisha Silpara
* Sabarna Roy Chowdhury Family houses at Barisha
* Sabarna Sangrahashala, Baro Bari, Barisha
* St. Peter's Church, CNI
* 12 Temples of Lord Shiva (also known as Dwadash Mandir), more than 350 years old, in Sabarna Para, Sakherbazar
* Behala Gourio Math
* Behala Gajantala Shitala Mandir.
* Behala AC Market (new Ladies Own)
* Behala Siddeshwari Market (Debnath Electric, the oldest electrical shop in Behala), Homeo pharmacy and many more.
* Behala Parnashree Lake