Khidderpore, Garden Reach and Kolkata Port Trust

While passing the Bascule bridge

From the Bascule bridge 

• As East India Company gained control over Kalikata, Sutanuti and Gobindapur, independent zamindars were given alternative land for settlement in order to make space for the construction of new Fort William. Gokul Ghoshal, the founder of the Bhukailas zamindar family, who was dewan of Harry Verest, thus built a palatial rajbati in Kidderpore and named it Bhukailas. Here one finds two temples 9established in 1781) said to have the tallest Shivalinga in eastern India. The family deity Durga is worshipped as an 8 metal alloy. The descendants of one of the oldest zamindar family still reside here.

(picture from internet)

Bhukailash Rajbari (picture from internet)

• Khidderpore probabably derives its name from Khidrpur or Khizarpur, Khizr/Khidr being the guardian saint of the seas to the fishing communities of Bengal. Others say that the area was named after James Kyd, a 19th-century engineer who designed and supervised the building of the lock gate that connects the nearby port to the Hooghly River. 

• H.E.A. Cotton wrote in1909, "Kidderpore, which lies to the west of Alipore, is extensively populated principally by natives."

• In the early years of British rule, Kolkata port was a river anchorage where sailing ships would load and unload in mid-stream. The Kidderpore Bridge, the earliest stone-and-iron suspension bridge in India was constructed in 1826. he canal; called previously as Govindpore Creek and later as Tolly's nullah (excavated by Colonel Tolly) now runs into the Circular Canal, which again communicates with the Hooghly, forming the great inlet for country boats. The Nullah is here joined by a bridge once known by the name of Edward Surman, the head of the Embassy to Delhi in 1717, but now called Kidderpore Bridge. It was traversed by two bridges, One of them was later converted to the Draw bridge. 

• The shore-based Calcutta jetties, with cranes and sheds, came into operation in 1869. 

• Construction of Draw bridge was completed in November 1966 by an Austrian Company Waagen Biro Bridge System AG. This bridge allows higher vessel clearance. This bridge is called as the Nazrul setu and is one of the three Bascule bridges in India. It is a crucial link between Garden Reach and Kolkata. During upward swing it makes way for riverine traffic and when lowered down allows road vehicles to ply. 

Khidderpore Draw Bridge (picture from internet)

• The Swing bridge was constructed by Westwood Bailey Company in 1890 for low height vessel passage.  It provides easy connectivity to South Eastern Railway's headquarters in Garden Reach, the King George Docks and the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd.

Swing Bridge (picture from internet)

• In 1884, Kidderpore was selected as the site for the wet docks of the Port of Kolkata, and it's construction was completed in 1892. 

• King George (later renamed Netaji Subhas) Dock was added in 1928. 

• Haldia Dock System is part of Kolkata port. Its first unit, Haldia oil jetty, was commissioned in 1969. Kolkata port was the premier port of India till the early 1950s. 

• Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India. It is the oldest operating port in India and was constructed by the British East India Company. The port has two distinct dock systems — Kolkata Docks at Kolkata and a deep water dock at Haldia Dock Complex, Haldia.

• Notable poets such as Rongolal Bandhopadhyay, Hemchandra Bandopadhyay, and Michael Madhushudan Dutta dwelled at Khidderpore.

• A number of age old educational institutions still exists, pointing out to the intellectual environment prevalent at one time. Among these St. Thomas School (established in 1798), and century old Michael Madhusudan Library and Hem Chandra Library deserve special mention. 

• The Indentured Indian Laborer's Monument was raised in 2011 to commemorate the indenture migration that took place from 1834 to 1920. This was a joint project undertaken by The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of West Bengal and Kolkata Port Trust to meet the long standing demand of descendants of migrant workers (People of Indian Origin) to set up a memorabilia of their ancestors of Indian origin. Kolkata has a particular significance as the majority of indentured workers sailed from its port till recruitment began in the region around Chennai. Each recruiting colony set up a depot where the indentured/ contractual workers from Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh were housed till a ship arrived.to take them to their workplace. Depots were set up by Jamaica, Fiji Islands, France, Mauritius, Suriname and British Guiana. In 1905. Interestingly Demerara is the name of one of the regions of British Guiana, from which the Demerara sugar gets its name. The commemorative plaque is to be placed on the Clock Tower at the Demerara Depot. In 1905, 24 such ships carrying 10,554 passengers faced horrendous mortality rate due to shipwreck, cholera and starvation.  

Clock tower established in 1899

Suriname Ghat memorial and Mai Baap Statue (picture from internet)

• On February 26, 1873, sailship Lalla Rookh set off from what is now known as Suriname Ghat (Garden Reach) with 410 men and women on board employed as coolies by the Dutch who owned sugarcane plantations in Suriname (South Africa).  In the years that followed, 63 more ships left Kolkata port for Suriname. The Mai Baap statue is a replica of the Baba and Mai monument in Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital, which symbolizes the first Indian man and woman to set foot on Suriname. Today, there are 170,000 people of Indian origin in Suriname out of a total population the of 558,368. These people have retained a fondness of their Indian ancestry evident from their cultural preferences.
  

• The Bengal Nagpur Railway Complex established in 1907 houses the huge red coloured headquarters of South eastern Railway. At the entrance one finds the model Steam engine. In 1952 a plaque was built to honor RAF 978 Balloon Squadron. This regiment floated huge balloons to deflect the Japanese bomb raid. The complex has a famous Sports club where many famous sports personalities received training. One also finds the house of the famous Indologist Sir William Jones. The Ball signal to control rail traffic is the only restored one of its kind in the world. The residential area of the present General Manager, SE Railways was occupied by emperor Wajid Ali Shah. 

BNR complex (picture from internet)

Balloon squadron that protected Calcutta from the Japanese (picture from the internet) 

• The exiled Nawab (famous for introducing potato in Bengal Biriyani) resided in a house which he had built resembling mini Lucknow. Inspite of losing his kingdom, Wajid Ali Shah received a handsome monthly pension of Rs 1Lac. Later he was shifted to Metiaburuj when Lord Dalhousie started capturing the princely states. Probably being descendants of this famous dynasty, residents of Metiaburuj speak refined Urdu language and are of the Shia sect.

Wajid Ali Shah's residence, now within BNR complex (picture from internet0

Date of visit: 21.11.2021

Personal connections: Mr. Kanai Lal Gupta served the Kolkata Port Trust in the capacity of a Civil Engineer. He was involved in the construction of the Howrah Bridge, Khidderpore Bascule Bridge and Haldia Port. He held the post of Deputy Chief Engineer but had to embrace voluntary retirement on health grounds immediately after promotion as Chief engineer. He was my maternal grandfather, unfortunately whom  I never met.

References:

1.https://amitavghosh.com/blog/?p=157

2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidderpore

3.immerssive trails virtual tour on 15.08.2021. 

4. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraphindia.com%2Fmy-kolkata%2Fplaces%2Fkidderpores-historic-bhukailash-temple-hidden-in-plain-sight%2Fcid%2F1846950&psig=AOvVaw2eGz8K-0xgxam483MTqa1u&ust=1643778666491000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwiumajt3t31AhUFT3wKHQPvC1kQr4kDegQIARBLx

5. https://www.deccanherald.com/content/127693/finally-memorial-honour-indias-indentured.html

6. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/61801563.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

7. https://puronokolkata.com/2015/01/22/kidderpore-bridge-calcutta-1826-2/