Barasat Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Barasat Town
Head-quarters of the subdivision of the same name in the District of the Twenty-four Parganas, Bengal, situated in 22 43' N. and 88° 29' E., 14 miles north-east of Calcutta. Population (1901), 8,634. The town is very unhealthy, and the inhabitants are gradually moving to Calcutta and the higher country on the banks of the Hooghly. In the early years of the nineteenth century, there was a college here for cadets on their first arrival from Europe ; and, until 1 86 1, Barasat was the head-quarters of a separate District. It was constituted a municipality in 1869. The income and expenditure during the decade ending 1901-2 averaged Rs. 10,500 and Rs. 10,000 respectively. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 12,400, half of which was derived from a tax on vehicles, while a tax on persons brought in Rs. 3,000; the expenditure was Rs. 12,600. The town contains the usual public offices ; the jail, which has accommodation for 1 30 prisoners, is a three-storeyed building, popularly known as ' Vansittart Villa,' as it was formerly the country residence of Mr. Vansittart, a civil servant in the time of Warren Hastings. Kazipara, a suburb of the town, is the scene of an annual fair held in honour of a Musalman saint, named Pir Ekdil Sahib, which is attended by Hindus as well as Muhammadans. A light railway has recently been constructed between the town and Baslrhat.
