Basirhat - Facts

Basirhat in Bengal is located in India – some 834 mi (or 1343 km) South-East of New Delhi, the capital. It was constituted a municipality in 1869.

Basirhat is located at 22.66°N 88.89°E. It has an average elevation of 6 metres (19 feet).  Basirhat situated near the Ichamati River which is a branch river of Ganges. It is well connected with Kolkata by rail (65 km) as part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and road. It is very near to Bangladesh. It is 42 km from Barasat on the Barasat-Basirhat-Hasnabad branch line of Eastern Railway.

Agriculture is the main source of income. Connected by road and rail with Barasat, it is a major trade depot for the rice, jute, mustard, legumes, dates, and potatoes produced in the surrounding agricultural area. Sugar milling and metalware manufacture are the chief industries. Other industries like brick making and fisheries are also dominant in this area. Two other things are very popular from Basirhat are: Sweet called Nolen Gurer Sandesh, and Hand made towel called Gamcha.

One of place of interest is Taki, a nice place in the western bank of Ichamati river under Hasnabad Police station of Basirhat Subdivision. Taki can claim as one of the best weekend trips around Kolkata with the calm and quite existence in the river bank. This is the Bangladesh Border and the other side of the river is Bangladesh Khulna district. Watch another country (known as “Opar Bangla”) through Ichamati is a nice feeling indeed. By law there is an imaginary borderline in the river assuming half is for India and half for Bangladesh. All the boats must have a Country flag. Swimming is strictly prohibited.

Watching the sunrise over Ichamati river can give you a feeling that rising the sun is a holy event we miss everyday. Cornel Shankar Roy Chowdhury has his ancestral house in Taki which is now a tourist attraction.

Every year many people come to see the Durga bhasan ceremony. For that special occasion all the barriers between the border gets down and people come across the border.