Guskara
Guskara is a city and a municipality under the Ausgram police station in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History. The area between the Damodar and Ajay was previously known as Gopbhum. Geography. Location. Guskara is located at . It has an average elevation of 38 metres (125 feet). Guskara is located in the alluvial flood plains of several rivers. Kunur River flows past it. Urbanisation. 73.58% of the population of Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision lives in rural areas. Only 26.42% of the population lives in urban areas, and that is  the highest proportion of urban population amongst the four subdivisions in Purba Bardhaman district. 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. Guskara Airfield. Guskara Airfield is a former wartime United States Army Air Forces airfield in India used during the Burma Campaign 1944–1945. Guskara was a photo-recon base for the Tenth Air Force. Several aircraft including Northrop P-61 Black Widow and Lockheed P-38 Lightning operated from this airfield. It is now abandoned. Economy. Guskara has a wholesale market. The area  thrives on brick kilns, woodcraft, and cloth sales. This area depends on the agro-based economy. Potato, Paddy, and Arum are the main agricultural produce of the area. Arum of this area is famous for its taste. Huge amounts of potato and paddy are produced in this area. As fish cultivation and breeding is becoming more popular, fishery is becoming a larger factor within the local economy. Poultry farms are becoming another factor in the growing economy of this area. Demographics. As per the 2011 Census of India, Guskara had a total population of 35,888, of which 18,573 (51%) were  males and 17,315 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 3,544. The total number of literates in Guskara was 25,525 (72.13% of the population over 6 years). The steady flow of refugees from East Pakistan increased the population of the area in the fifties. Recently, an influx of people from outskirt villages has further increased the population of the area. Education. Guskara has sixteen primaries, one upper primary, one secondary, and three higher secondary schools. It also has one college. Gushkara Mahavidyalaya was established at Guskara in 1955. It offers honors courses in Bengali, Sanskrit, English, history, geography, political  science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, botany, zoology, nutrition, and B.Com. Guskara Purnananda Public Institution, a coeducational institution, is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. The school has got a very good academic record. It got President's Medal during the decade of the 1950s and was received by former Head Master of the school Nirod Boron Mahata. Sushila Jangeswar Public High School, a coeducational institution, is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. Guskara Balika Vidyalaya is affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. A private polytechnic college was established in 2010 "Gobindapur  Sephali Memorial Polytechnic" which is recognized by the West Bengal state council of technical education. Art. The area is renowned for its dhokra art castings. The craftsmen and craftswomen are very poor. Middlemen buys dokra artifacts from them and sell them in markets. The middlemen earn the profit. The poor craftsmen and women cannot gain much from their produce as they cannot reach prospective markets to sell their products themselves. Moreover, the craftsmen and women usually take loans from the nearby grocery shops for their daily needs of sustenance. The grocery or shop owners take artifacts from the  craftsmen and women as a mortgage for loans. The craftsmen and women are unable to repay the loan. So, the mortgage items become the items of sale in the grocery or shop owners. The last but not the least of the problem that has beset the craftsmen and women is the lack of health and sanitary consciousness. Transport. There are many totos (e-rickshaw) which are plying here & there. It is a good communication medium of going anywhere at the town. Without it, there are taxis (beside the station) for going far distances. Train. Guskara (station code-GKH) is well  connected with Bardhaman, Howrah, and Sealdaha station on down line & Bolpur, Rampurhat, Malda Town & New Jalpaiguri on up line by train. 20 pairs of train run through Guskara railway station every day. It is a part of the Sahibganj Loop of Eastern Railway. Road. Here National Highway named NH114 (previously named as NH2B) is gone through which the road connects Bardhaman & Kolkata on the south, Bolpur & Rampurhat on the north. Another State Highway named SH14 is also going through Guskara which connects Mankar & Durgapur on the west, Balgona & Katwa on the east. Bus. One bus-depot is here. Many buses  of different routes are gone from here. The common routes are Guskara-Bardhaman (via Galsi & via orgram both), Guskara-Durgapur, Guskara-Katwa (via Balgona mainly & via Natun hat) & Guskara-Bolpur.