# Maheshtala

Maheshtala (Bengali:) is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).

## Geography
### Area overview

Alipore Sadar subdivision is the most urbanized part of the South 24 Parganas district. 59.85% of the population lives in the urban areas and 40.15% lives in the rural areas. In the northern portion of the subdivision (shown in the map alongside) there are 21 census towns. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta and the subdivision, on the east bank of the Hooghly River, is an alluvial stretch, with industrial development.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

### Location

Maheshtala is located at 22°30′31″N 88°15′12″E﻿ / ﻿22.5086210°N 88.2532182°E﻿ / 22.5086210; 88.2532182. It has an average elevation of 9 metres (30 ft).
Rameswarpur, Chata Kalikapur, Ganye Gangadharpur and Asuti form a cluster of census towns on the southern side of Maheshtala, as per the map of the Thakurpukur Maheshtala CD block on the page number 153 in the District Census Handbook 2011 for the South 24 Parganas district.

### Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).
Climate data for Maheshtala :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.4 (77.7) | 27.7 (81.9) | 31.4 (88.5) | 33.1 (91.6) | 33.4 (92.1) | 32.3 (90.1) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.8 (87.4) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.8 (87.4) | 28.1 (82.6) | 25.1 (77.2) | 30.0 (86.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.9 (67.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 27 (81) | 29.3 (84.7) | 30 (86) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.5 (83.3) | 27.5 (81.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 20 (68) | 26.3 (79.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 22.6 (72.7) | 25.6 (78.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.4 (79.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 25.9 (78.6) | 24.2 (75.6) | 19 (66) | 14.6 (58.3) | 22.5 (72.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 14 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 20 (0.8) | 34 (1.3) | 96 (3.8) | 244 (9.6) | 323 (12.7) | 322 (12.7) | 321 (12.6) | 172 (6.8) | 30 (1.2) | 1 (0.0) | 1,594 (62.8) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org (altitude: 9m) ||||||||||||||

## Demographics
### Population

According to the 2011 Census of India, Maheshtala had a total population of 448,317, of which 229,693 (51.23%) were males and 218,624 (48.77%) were females. It had a population density of 10,148 inhabitants per square kilometre (26,280/sq mi) with a sex ratio of 952 females for every 1000 males. There were 46,247 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years which is 10.32% of the total population. The Scheduled Castes numbered 54,645 (12.19%) and the Scheduled Tribes numbered 1,934 (0.43%). The total number of literate persons was 329,813 (82.03% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 176,135 (85.43% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 153,678 (78.45% of the female population over 6 years). Maheshtala had a total of 101,453 households as per report released by 2011 Census of India.

### Language

* Bengali (94.96%)
* Hindi (3.97%)
* Urdu (1.06%)
* Others (0.01%)
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 94.96% of the population spoke Bengali, 3.97% Hindi and 1.06% Urdu as their first language.

### Religion

Religion in Maheshtala (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 57.95% | 57.95% |
| Islam | Islam | 41.11% | 41.11% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 0.31% | 0.31% |
| Sikhism | Sikhism | 0.12% | 0.12% |
| Buddhism | Buddhism | 0.27% | 0.27% |
| Jainism | Jainism | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Others or not stated | Others or not stated | 0.21% | 0.21% |

## Civic administration
### Municipality

Maheshtala Municipality is one of the 108 municipal bodies in West Bengal located in South 24 Parganas and covers an area of 44.18 km$^2$ (17.06 sq mi). It has jurisdiction over parts of the Maheshtala. The municipality was established in 1993; 32 years ago (1993). It is divided into 35 wards.
According to the 2022 municipal election results, it is being controlled by the All India Trinamool Congress. Out of 35 wards of the Maheshtala Municipality, TMC won 34 wards whereas INC won 1 ward.

### Police stations

Maheshtala and Rabindranagar police stations are located in the Maheshtala municipal area. Maheshtala police station covers an area of 53.137 km$^2$ (20.516 sq mi) and Rabindranagar police station covers an area of 6 km$^2$ (2.3 sq mi). Both the police stations have jurisdiction over parts of the Maheshtala Municipality, and the Thakurpukur Maheshtala CD block.

## Economy

In 2007, a London-based company allied with Bengali NRI to develop a mini township with the Maheshtala Municipality, for which 21.22 acres (85,900 m$^2$) had been acquired near Nungi station. There was expected to be 2,240 middle income group flats in 44 buildings and improve the road infrastructure in the area.
Apart from the Calcutta Riverside residential township, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also announced in 2014 that Maheshtala would also get a 1,000-bed hospital to be developed by Apollo Hospitals and real estate major Hiland Group, a film city, sports academy and an international school conceptualized by cricketer Sourav Ganguly.
Batanagar located in Maheshtala is one of the places named after the multinational shoe company Bata. There is a plant of the Bata company here. The employees mostly reside in Batanagar. Not only the Bata India shoe factory, another very remarkable feature of Batanagar, is that shoe-making is a predominant cottage industry in the locality.

## Transport

Maheshtala is on the Budge Budge Trunk Road.
Santoshpur, Akra and Nangi railway stations are located nearby.

## Education

* Maheshtala College, established in 1971, is affiliated with the University of Calcutta. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, history, geography, political science, education, philosophy, computer science, mathematics and accountancy and general courses in arts, science and commerce.
* Techno International Batanagar, established in 2012, offers diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in Engineering and Technology and other allied fields.