Cities in India

Kolkatta

CALCUTTA A mere village in the 17th century, Calcutta is today one of the biggest cities in the world. The sightseeing includes visit to Eden Gardens, The New Secretariat, High Court, Legislative Assembly, Jain temple, Victoria Memorial and the Race Course.

City (pop., 2001: city, 4,580,546; metro. area, 13,205,697), in northeastern part of India. Capital of West Bengal state, former capital (1772–1912) of British India, and India's second largest metropolitan area, it is located on the Hugli (Hooghly) River, about 90 mi (145 km) from the river's mouth.

The British established a trading centre at the site in 1690, which grew and became the seat of the Bengal presidency in 1707. It was captured by the nawab of Bengal, who in 1756 imprisoned the British there (in a prison that was later known as the Black Hole); the city was retaken by the British under Robert Clive. It was an extremely busy 19th-century commercial centre, but it began to decline with the removal of the colonial capital to Delhi in 1912.

The decline continued when Bengal was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947 and when Bangladesh was created in 1971. The flood of refugees from those political upheavals boosted the city's population but also significantly added to its widespread poverty. Despite its problems, Kolkata remains the dominant urban area of eastern India and a major educational and cultural centre.

Kolkata has a tropical climate. Summers are hot and humid and maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during May and June. Winter tends to last for only about two and a half months, with seasonal lows dipping to the 12 °C – 14 °C between December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43 °C (111 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).

The southeast monsoon rains lash the city between June and September and supplies the city with most of its annual rainfall of 1,582 mm. The highest rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August (306 mm).

Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata, and the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level is high when compared to other major cities of India, leading to regular smog and haze.

HOW TO REACH
By Air
From - Ahmedabad, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Munbai, Port Blair.

By Train
From - Agra, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhopal, Bhubanesswar, Cochin, Darjeeling, Delhi, Gwalior, Lucknow, Madra, Mumbai, Puri, Trivandrum, Varanasi, Vishakapatnam.

STD/ISD Codes
if dialing from India to Calcutta --- 033 (number)
if dialing from outside India to Calcutta ---- ++ 91-33 (number)