Dankuni
Dankuni is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is now part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.
Geography
Location
Dankuni is located at.Kharsarai, Tisa, Kapashanria, Jaykrishnapur, Purba Tajpur, Begampur, Baksa, Panchghara, Chikrand, Janai, Pairagachha, Naiti, Barijhati, Garalgachha and Krishnapur, all the census towns form a series from the northern part of Chanditala II CD Block to its southern part. The only municipality in the area, Dankuni, located outside the CD Block, occupies the south-east corner of the entire cluster.
Police station
Dankuni police station has jurisdiction over Dankuni Municipal area and parts of Chanditala II and Sreerampur Uttarpara CD Blocks.Urbanisation
Srirampore subdivision is the most urbanized of the subdivisions in Hooghly district. 73.13% of the population in the subdivision is urban and 26.88% is rural. The subdivision has 6 municipalities and 34 census towns. The municipalities are: Uttarpara Kotrung Municipality, Konnagar Municipality, Serampore Municipality, Baidyabati Municipality, Rishra Municipality and Dankuni Municipality. Amongst the CD Blocks in the subdivision, Uttarapara Serampore had 76% urban population, Chanditala I 42%, Chanditala II 69% and Jangipara 7%. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.Demographics
In the 2011 census, Dankuni Urban Agglomeration had a population of 249,840, out of which 128,139 were males and 121,701 were females. The 0–6 years population was 22,956. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 85.69 per cent.Dankuni Urban Agglomeration
As per the 2011 census, Dankuni Urban Agglomeration includes: Dankuni, Purba Tajpur, Kharsarai, Begampur, Chikrand, Pairagachha, Barijhati, Garalgachha, Krishnapur, Baruipara, Borai, Nawapara, Basai, Gangadharpur, Manirampur, Janai, Kapashanria, Jaykrishnapur, Tisa, Baksa, Panchghara and Naiti.Economy
Commercial and Industrial activity
Some of the units engaged in commercial and industrial activity in and around Dankuni are:- Diesel Locomotive Component Factory of the Indian Railways was inaugurated by Mamata Banerjee at Dankuni in 2012. It produces high horse power diesel locomotive underframes etc. It functions as a sister unit of Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi.
- Electric Loco Assembly and Ancillary Unit of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works of Indian Railways at Dankuni has started functioning in 2016.
- The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will have its eastern terminus at Dankuni. The 1,839 km long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni, is part of the total Dedicated Freight Corridor Project, presently with two corridors. The Son Nagar-Dankuni sector of the eastern corridor, will have electrified double line. There is provision for extension of the lines to the proposed deep-sea port in the Kolkata area. The Sonnagar-Dankuni sector is to be implemented through the PPP mode. The eastern corridor will serve primarily the steel and coal sectors. The Government of India approved the project in 2006 at an estimated initial cost of Rs. 28,181 crores. As of 2015, the project is delayed and needs additional sanctions for cost over runs.
- Mother Dairy, Kolkata was set up as a part of Operation Flood launched by the National Dairy Development Board in the 1970s. It covered the 4 metros and all the units were named Mother Dairy. Eventually, NDDB moved out and West Bengal Cooperative Milk Producers Federation took over in 1996. This is separate from the Delhi-based Mother Dairy. Kolkata Mother Dairy’s main plant at Dankuni produces 4.5 lakh litres of milk daily. Apart from milk, it produces dahi, yoghurt, paneer, ghee and drinking water.
- Dankuni Coal Complex, a Low Temperature Carbonisation Plant set up by Coal India Limited in the 1980s, and currently operated under lease, by South Eastern Coalfields Limited, at Dankuni, to produces 1,000 MT per day of solid Smokeless fuel branded as "CIL Coke™" and 18 million cft per day of Coal gas for supply in and around Kolkata and Howrah, through the Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corporation Limited ; Tar Chemicals, etc.
- Bhusan Power and Steel started with a cold rolling and galvanising plants in 2001 at Bangihati, Mallickpara, Dankuni and have subsequently expanded.
- Dankuni Poly Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. was incorporated in 1982. It manufactures refined petroleum products.
- Nezone Tubes Ltd., Delhi Road, Village: Chakundi, DCC Township, Dankuni, was established in 2000. It produces galzanised tubes, steel tubes and galvanised pipes.
- Bengal Beverages Pvt. Ltd. was established at Dankuni in 1984. The authorised bottlers of Coca-Cola, its key products include Thumps Up, Sprite, Coca-Cola, Fanta, Limca, Maaza, Kinley Soda and Kinley Water.
- Patco Tech India Private Limited was established at Dankuni in 2007. It manufactures and exports discharge and collecting electrodes and air preheater baskets, used in thermal power and steel industries.
- Vikrant Forge Limited was established at Dankuni in 1985. It manufactures and exports forgings up to 8 tonnes for the power, steel and other industries.
- Anmol Industries., one of the leading biscuit manufacturers, was established in 1993. It produces 8 lakh cartons per month. It has manufacturing units at Dankuni and Noida.
- Ifabex Technologies formed in 2012.Engineering company and channel partner for fault tolerant solutions.
Township project
In addition to this, there was a plan for a new township at Dankuni. The project area was of which was township area and was earmarked as industrial area. The project area covered 20 mouzas – 5 full and 15 part, spread across four police stations, namely Dankuni, Chanditala, Singur and Serampore. Important railway stations in the project area were Gobra, Janai Road and Begampur, apart from the important station at Dankuni itself, all on the Howrah-Bardhaman chord. Important road corridors cutting across the project area were Durgapur Expressway, Delhi Road, Naity Road and Serampore-Siakhala Road. The Delhi-based DLF, which had entered into an agreement with KMDA for development of the township, withdrew from the project in 2009, primarily because KMDA was unable to procure land.
Transport
Both NH 19 and NH 16 terminate at Dankuni. The Palsit-Dankuni section of NH 19 is also referred to as Durgapur Expressway. Other major arteries meeting at Dankuni are Belghoria Expressway connecting to NH 12, SH 13/ Dankuni-Mogra Delhi Road and SH 15.Dankuni railway station is located on the Howrah-Bardhaman chord line, which was constructed in 1917. It is an important yard of the Howrah division. The Calcutta Chord from Dum Dum to Dankuni over the Willingdon Bridge was opened in 1932. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system. Already, there is a growing presence of freight and wagon movements around Dankuni Railway Station, which is important as it connects Eastern Railway with South Eastern Railway with a link line. Dankuni has a fast-growing freight yard, where goods traffic is moved, sorted and packed to deliver at other destinations.