Kalyani, West Bengal

City in West Bengal, India

Kalyani, located in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, is a relatively young town. During the Second World War, Kalyani, was the site of an American military airbase, formed out of 45 villages in the district of Nadia. The military garrison town was named after the then sitting President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt as "Roosevelt Town" or "Roosevelt Nagar", with "nagar" meaning "town" in many Indo Aryan languages, including Bengali. Hangars and other reminders of the airfield are still visible in the 'A' Block and some areas around Kalyani University, whose buildings were built on or over the runways. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone III; according to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk". In the first phase, being developed over 52 acres off Kalyani Expressway, the hub will accommodate academic, residential and commercial centers apart from real estate projects. The total area covered by the police station is 64 km2 and the population covered is 201,871 (2001 census).

As of 2011 Census of India, Kalyani has a population of 100,620. Males constitute 50.55% of the population and females 49%. Kalyani has an average literacy rate of 88.75%, higher than the national average of 69.5%: male literacy is 92.79%, and female literacy is 84.65%.

The town is within the Bongaon Lok Sabha Constituency and elects one member to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Indian Parliament). The town area is covered by one assembly constituency, Kalyani that elects one member to the Vidhan Sabha, which is the West Bengal state legislative assembly. Kalyani town comes under the jurisdiction of the district police (which is a part of the state police); the Superintendent of Police oversees the town's security and matters pertaining to law and order. Kalyani is also the seat of the Subdivisional Court. Kalyani quickly registered itself as a self sufficient township. Its gradual development continued as a notified area. In 1995, it was upgraded to a municipality.

Kalyani railway station is on the Sealdah Ranaghat Line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway. Apart from Kalyani main station, there are three different stations on the branch line which goes deeper into the Kalyani town — Kalyani Silpanchal, Kalyani Ghoshpara and Kalyani Simanta. Bandel Junction railway station is 12 kilometres from the city. Other railway stations which are near about 10 Kilometres from the city can also be accessed via the Iswar Gupta Bridge over Hooghly River. They are Adisaptagram Railway Station, Magra Railway Station on the Howrah Barddhaman Main Line ; Tribeni and Bansbaria Railway Station on the Bandel Katwa Line. Kalyani is connected directly with Kolkata through Kalyani Expressway, which is currently being expanded to four lanes. An extension of Kalyani Expressway connects the National Highway 2 near Bansberia through Iswar Gupta Setu. Kalyani is connected directly to Magra and Tribeni Railway Stations via Public Transport and also from Bandel Junction Railway Station by Private Auto and Personal Vehicles. Kalyani is also accessible through National Highway 12, which is around away. Rickshaws, E rickshaw and Auto rickshaws are used for local conveyance. Intra city buses to important cities and towns in West Bengal, including Kolkata and Siliguri are operated by both Government and private operators. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located around south, operates domestic and international flights.

Kalyani's schools are run by the state government or private institution. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction. Schools in Kalyani follow the "10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, the ICSE, or the CBSE. Gandhi Memorial Hospital has a dedicated cardiac surgery and cardiology department. ESI Hospital provides healthcare to workers under Employees' State Insurance MB Scheme. There is also a branch of National Institute of Homoeopathy with 25 acres herb garden which was established in 1975. In June 2014, the central government gave in principle clearance for setting up All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani at Basantapur village in the Saguna Panchayat in Kalyani. This project was shifted from earlier plans of setting up the AIIMS at Raiganj because of problems in land acquisition. The project was completed in 2019.

Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, a cricket ground, hosts national level and club level cricket matches. It is also the home ground of Bengal cricket team. Kalyani Stadium hosts national level football matches. The Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan, East Bengal FC, Mohammedan S. C. and United SC use Kalyani Stadium as their home ground in some national level matches. A swimming pool and well equipped gymnasium are also attached with the stadium.