South Dum Dum

South 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 the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and a vital locality in Kolkata Metropolitan Area. It is a city on the northern part of Kolkata with a municipality called South Dum Dum municipality. It is well connected to the developed part of the city through railways and roads. It is very near to Kolkata Airport, Shyambazar (epicenter of North Kolkata), Newtown (the IT hub of Kolkata), Esplanade (the employment hub of Kolkata and central business district). It is well connected to Alipore, Ballygunge and Jadavpur by suburban railways.

South Dum Dum Municipality was established in 1870. With the partition of Bengal in 1947, "millions of refugees poured in from erstwhile East Pakistan." In the initial stages, the bulk of these 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 wasteland. By 1949, there were a total of 65 refugee colonies in the Dum Dum and Panihati zones. 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 that included markets, schools, temples and sometimes even colleges, hospitals and recreational centres. Clive House on Rastraguru Avenue in Nagerbazar is mired in controversy. It is thought of as the first pucca brick and cement building in North Kolkata area and was possibly built by the Portuguese. Some say that it was the hunting lodge of an Indian prince or nobleman. What is known is that it was used by British soldiers when they first entered the country. Later, Robert Clive took the area over, renovated it, added a floor to the single story building, and made it his country house around 1757 60. The house is located on raised ground in otherwise flat surroundings. When Clive House was excavated, a variety of artefacts were recovered, including coins, terracotta figures, sculptures, pottery and intelligence on a Portuguese fort. The articles found could be of the Sen period, or may alternatively have links with the ancient civilization unearthed earlier at Chandraketugarh. Clive House has been in the domain of the Archaeological Survey of India since 2004, but squatters inside and outside the structure have hindered restoration work.

South Dum Dum is located at
South Dum Dum is bounded by North Dumdum (Municipality) and Dum Dum (Municipality) on the north, Baguiati and adjacent areas of VIP Road on the east, Salt Lake on the south and Belgachia and Sinthee in Kolkata district and Baranagar (Municipality) on the west. South Dum Dum consists of localities such as Nagerbazar, Amarpally, Motijheel, Subhas Nagar, Bediapara, Jheelbagan, Jawpore, Ghughudanga, Purba Sinthee, Seth Bagan, Kalindi, Lake Town, Bangur Avenue, Shyamnagar, Satgachhi, Patipukur, Dakshindari, Dum Dum Park etc. 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 km2. The subdivision has 16 municipalities and 24 census towns. For most of the cities/towns, information regarding the density of population is available in the Infobox. Population data is not available for neighbourhoods. It is available for the entire municipal area and thereafter ward wise.

Dum Dum police station under Barrackpore Police Commissionerate has jurisdiction over Dum Dum and parts of South Dum Dum Municipal areas. Lake Town police station under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate also has jurisdiction over parts of South Dum Dum.

As per the 2011 Census of India, South Dum Dum had a total population of 403,316, of which 202,214 (50%) were males and 201,102 (50%) were females. Population below 6 years was 28,703. The total number of literates in South Dum Dum was 344,971 (92.09% of the population over 6 years). as of 2001 India census, South Dumdum had a population of 392,150. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. South Dum Dum has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 80%. In South Dum Dum, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.

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 Dum Dum (M), North Dumdum (M), Dum Dum (M), Noapara (CT), Babanpur (CT), Teghari (CT), Nanna (OG), Chakla (OG), Srotribati (OG) and Panpur (OG).

South Dum Dum municipality is included in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area for which the KMDA is the statutory planning and development authority.

South Dum Dum Maternity Home functions with 15 beds. ILS Hospital, near Nagerbazar Flyover, is a 120 bed multi speciality hospital. It offers 14 surgical facilities and 2 speciality clinics – bariatric (weight loss) and diabetic. A new municipality hospital is under construction, located on Jessore Road, near Shyamnagar Bus stop. Though the work is halted for many years due to some issues.

NH 12 (previously NH 34), running from Dalkhola to Bakkhali, locally popular as Jessore Road, passes through South Dum Dum. In 2012, a flyover was opened from Amarpally to Nagerbazar Sarojini Naidu Women College to decongest the heavy traffic on Jessore Road towards Dumdum/Kolkata Airport. Several buses ply on Jessore Road, Dum Dum Road and Lake Town Road. Dum Dum Junction railway station, on the Sealdah Ranaghat line, is 7 km from Sealdah railway station. and the Sealdah Bangaon line. Kolkata Metro, the first underground metro in India, was initially constructed from Dum Dum to Tollygunge. It was progressively commissioned, the full length of 16.45 km being commissioned in 1995. Dum Dum metro station is located adjacent to Dum Dum Junction railway station.