Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Etymology. During the 19th century the area was home to the Dum Dum Arsenal, a British Royal Artillery facility. It was here that, in the early 1890s, Captain Neville Bertie-Clay developed a bullet with the jacket cut away at the tip to reveal its soft lead core (see hollow-point bullet), known informally as a  dum-dum or more correctly as an expanding bullet. The previous name of Dum Dum was "Domdoma". History. Dum Dum was sparsely populated before the British came. The area was slightly elevated. On 6 February 1757, an accord was signed at Dum Dum by the Nawab of Bengal to allow the British to build forts at Calcutta, Dacca and Kashim Bazar. In 1783 a cantonment was established at Dum Dum. Military barracks were built and civilians started coming in to provide essential services to the military personnel. A Cantonment Board was formed to provide civic amenities. The ordnance factory was  established at Dum Dum in 1846. It may be noted that both North Dumdum Municipality and South Dumdum Municipality were established in 1870 thereby somewhat defining administratively the different parts of an earlier undefined Dum Dum "area". Dum Dum was a separate subdivision for a short period (See Barrackpore subdivision for more information). During the early years of the cantonment the British waged several imperial wars, out of which the wars in Burma, Nepal, the Deccan and Afganisthan were costly in blood and lives. Two monuments were erected to commemorate their memory. During the 1857 disturbances the Indian sepoys posted  at Dum Dum were affected and Mangal Pandey was hanged from a tree at Dum Dum cantonment (he/ his dead body was probably hanged at both Barrackpore and Dum Dum). Dum Dum cantonment was closed down and the Cantonment Board was replaced by Dum Dum Municipality in 1929. The temporary set back to Dum Dum arising from abolition of the cantonment and departure of British troops, was partially made up with the shifting of Jessop & Co. from Howrah to Dum Dum in 1928 and establishment of the Gramophone Company at Dum Dum in 1929. Bengal Flying Club, established in 1920 , had a small fleet of single engine moth planes. The independence movement led to the sudden development of the Central Jail, where many top leaders and more numerous unknown patriots were lodged. The old military barracks made way for multi-storied jail barracks. The environment quite often reverberated with the chanting of "Vande Mataram". With the partition of Bengal in 1947, "millions of refugees poured in from erstwhile East Pakistan." In the initial stages bulk of the refugees were non-agriculturists. A few of them made their own arrangements, but "it was squatters who made the East Bengali refugees famous  or infamous." Squatting ("jabardakhal" in Bengali) ranged from the forcible occupation of barracks to the collective take-over of private, government and waste land. "This happened as early as 1948 with middle class refugees in the Jadavpur area: first on government land and then on private property, leading to violent clashes. Having won the battle, the elated squatters named their colony ‘Bijaygarh’, the Fort of Victory." By 1949, there were 40 such colonies in Jadavpur, Kasba, Santoshpur, Garia and Behala, in the south-eastern part of the city, and 65 in the Dum Dum and Panihati zone in the north . Subsequently squatters colonies also came up along the west bank of the Hooghly and by 1950, there were 150 such colonies. It has to be borne in mind that the squatters were in a way "self-settlers" in the absence of adequate official arrangements for rehabilitation. Within a very short time the refugees (quite often with government/ administrative support) not only found a place to stay but developed a society with markets, schools, temples and sometimes even colleges, hospitals and recreational centres. Efforts have been made in more recent years to regularise land/property rights in the refugee colonies. Geography . Location. Dum Dum is located at . It has an average elevation of 11 metres (36 feet). Dum Dum is bounded by North Dumdum (Municipality) on the north and partly on the west, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation area on the east and South Dumdum (Municipality) on the south and partly on the west. 96% of the population of Barrackpore subdivision (partly presented in the map alongside, all places marked on the map are linked in the full screen map) lives in urban areas. In 2011, it had a density of population of 10,967 per km The subdivision has 16 municipalities and 24  census towns. Police station. Dum Dum police station under Barrackpore Police Commissionerate has jurisdiction over Dum Dum and parts of South Dumdum Municipal areas. Under Dumdum PS there are some Police Out Posts named- Post Offices. Dum Dum is a vast locality with many Postal Index Numbers: Dum Dum has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700028 in the Kolkata North Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. Other post offices with the same PIN are Rajabagan, Kamalapur, Kumarpara, Nagerbazar and Ordnance Factory. Jessore Road has a non-delivery sub post office, with PIN 700080 in the Kolkata North  Division of Kolkata district in Calcutta region. The only other post office with the same PIN is Mall Road. Italghacha has a delivery sub post office, with PIN 700079 in the North Presidency Division of North 24 Parganas district in Calcutta region. There is also 700081 for area Rajbari, Nalta area. Demographics. Population. Per the 2011 Census of India, Dum Dum had a total population of 114,786, of which 58,566 (51%) were males and 56,220 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 8,259. The total number of literates was 97,997 (91.99% of the population over 6 years). As of  2001 India census, Dumdum had a population of 102,319. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dumdum has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: Male literacy is 85% and female literacy is 78%. In Dumdum, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kolkata Urban Agglomeration. The following municipalities, census towns, and other locations in Barrackpore subdivision were part of Kolkata Urban Agglomeration in the 2011 census: Kanchrapara (M), Jetia (CT), Halisahar (M), Balibhara (CT), Naihati (M), Bhatpara (M), Kaugachhi (CT), Garshyamnagar (CT), Garulia (M), Ichhapur Defence Estate (CT ), North Barrackpur (M), Barrackpur Cantonment (CB), Barrackpore (M), Jafarpur (CT), Ruiya (CT), Titagarh (M), Khardaha (M), Bandipur (CT), Panihati (M), Muragachha (CT) New Barrackpore (M), Chandpur (CT), Talbandha (CT), Patulia (CT), Kamarhati (M), Baranagar (M), South Dumdum (M), North Dumdum (M), Dum Dum (M), Noapara (CT), Babanpur (CT), Teghari (CT), Nanna (OG), Chakla (OG), Srotribati (OG), and Panpur (OG). Economy. Industry. The following industrial units are located in Dum Dum: Infrastructure. As per the District Census Handbook 2011, Dum Dum Municipal city covered an area of 9.23 km. Amongst the civic amenities it had open drains. Amongst the medical facilities  It had 13 medicine shops. Amongst the educational facilities it had 31 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, 19 senior secondary schools, 1 degree college for arts/science/commerce and 77 non-formal education centres. Amongst the social, recreational and cultural facilities it had 10 auditorium/ community halls, 11 public libraries and 1 reading room. Amongst the commodities manufactured were rail wagons, gun and shell and music CD. It had 6 bank branches. KMDA. Dum Dum municipality is included in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area for which the KMDA is the statutory planning and development authority. Transport. Dum Dum Cantonment and Durganagar  railway stations are on the Sealdah-Bangaon line. NH 12 (previously NH 34) running from Dalkhola to Bakkhali, locally popular as Jessore Road, passes through Dum Dum. A large number of Buses ply along Jessore road: 3C/1, 3C/2, 30D, 79B, 91, 91A, 93, 211A, 219, DN8, DN18, S10, Esplanade-Central Jail Mini, Bagbazar-Birohi, R.G.Kar-Barasat, Rajchandrapur-Saltlake white bus etc. The minor road on which bus plies is Gorabazar-Dum Dum Cantonment Road (30D). Travel within Dum Dum and South Dum Dum. There are a plenty of blue-yellow private buses, mini-buses and taxis, as well as a  few WBTC buses in Dum Dum. Autos are plentiful and can be used for short stretches. Nagerbazar is the hub of autos where there are 4 routes originates viz: In addition, there are taxis: Nagerbazar and Dum Dum Airport are the largest taxi stands. The other popular means of travel over short distances is the rickshaw, newly battery operated rickshaws/e-rickshaws (locally called Totos) can also be seen. Education. The following institutions are located in Dum Dum- Healthcare. Dum Dum Municipal Specialised Hospital at 4 Hari Mohan Dutta Road, Dum Dum Cantonment, has been modernised and updated with the  objective of offering treatment on par with the best medical facilities in Kolkata. It has 105 beds. It has experienced doctors (4 doctors are available round-the-clock), qualified nurses, technicians and staff. It specialises in pace-maker implantation, total knee replacement, spinal surgery and has cardiac ambulance facility. Dum Dum Central Jail Hospital functions with 100 beds.