Katwa is located at. It has an average elevation of. It is situated between the Ajay River and the Hooghly River and so bounded by water to the east, west and north.
Police station
Katwa police station has jurisdiction over Katwa and Dainhat municipalities, and Katwa I and Katwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km2.
Urbanisation
88.44% of the population of Katwa subdivision live in the rural areas. Only 11.56% of the population live in the urban areas. The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
History
The small town has a historical background of five hundred years. The earliest name of Katwa was Indranee Pargana. Later the name was changed to Kantak Nagari. In January 1510, Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu received "Diksha" from his guru Kesava Bharati at the site of the current Sri Gauranga Bari Temple in Katwa. Since then, this small township has been a sacred place for Vaishnavites. The location of the town at the confluence of two navigable rivers, Ajay and Bhagirathi, made the town strategically important. Katwa was considered the gateway to Murshidabad, the erstwhile capital of the subah of Bengal. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, Nawab of Bengal, first established a chowki at Katwa during his reign. Between 1742 and 1751, Katwa was invaded by the Bargis several times, as part of the Maratha invasions of Bengal. It was the site of the First Battle of Katwa and the Second Battle of Katwa, with Nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal defeating the Marathas both times. In the Battle of Plassey, on 19 June 1757, Katwa was the last Nawabi garrison conquered by British forces before heading to Plassey. Robert Clive held a council of war in Katwa on 21 June 1757, where the decision was taken to cross the Hooghly River to Plassey. On 19 July 1763, Katwa was once again the scene of action during the Third Battle of Katwa, where British troops fought and defeated a contingent of troops loyal to Nawab Mir Qasim. Under the aegis of the British East India Company, Katwa became an urban settlement, encouraged by the presence of missionaries such as William Carey Jr., the son of William Carey. By the 1800s, Katwa had become a thriving trading town with the principal economic activity being the riverine trade in salt. The modern town of Katwa was established in 1850, when it was granted the status of a subdivisional town under the 10th Act of Municipal Rules. The Municipality of Katwa as a governing entity was established on 1 April 1869. The urbanization of Katwa received a further boost with the construction of railroads in the early 20th century: Katwa-Azimganj, Katwa-Bandel, Katwa-Bardhaman, Katwa-Ahmedpur.
Demographics
As per the 2011 Census of India Katwa had a total population of 81,615, of which 41,350 were males and 40,265 were females. Population below 6 years was 6,799. The total number of literates in Katwa was 65,187. In 2011, the population breakdown by religion was: Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist, Jains, Unspecified/Not Stated.Katwa has a total area of 8.53 km² with a population density of 9,681/km². A steady flow of refugees from East Pakistan increased the population of the area in the fifties.
Economy
The economy of Katwa is based on agriculture and agro-related trades. The fertile soil of the surrounding areas is enriched by the alluvium from the Hooghly, Ajay and Damodar rivers. The major crops that are farmed in the countryside surrounding Katwa include rice, jute, mustard, sugarcane and various tropical vegetables. Katwa is an important center for marketing the region's agricultural products and for providing retail and consumer services to the surrounding population. Industries are limited to cottage industries and small-scale agro-related industries, e.g. rice mills, jute products, etc. Within the urban area, as of 2011, 0.81% of workers are employed in the primary sector, 5.96% of workers are employed in the secondary sector, and 93.70% of workers are employed in the tertiary sector. The Katwa Super Thermal Power Station is a super critical 1320 MW coal-fired power plant currently under construction by NTPC at Srikhanda Village, 8 km from Katwa.
Tourism
Areas of tourism interest in the town include:
Sri Gauranga Bari Temple: where Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu received "Diksha" from his guru Kesava Bharati.
Katwa Government Primary Teachers’ Training Institute
Library
Katwa Sub-Divisional Library
Public health
Katwa Sub-Divisional Hospital is a 250-bed public facility providing secondary healthcare to Katwa sub-divisional area. There are a number of private nursing centers that serve the town, as well. Anandaniketan Society for Mental Health Care is a not for profit organisation situated five kilometers outside of Katwa, providing residential care to 350 children, adolescents and adults who have physical, mental and/or intellectual disabilities.
Public safety
Purba Bardhaman District Police's Katwa Police Station has jurisdiction over Katwa and Dainhat municipality areas and Katwa I and Katwa II CD Blocks. The area covered is 351.03 km2.
Culture
The dominant culture of Katwa is identical to that of most of West Bengal and is deeply influenced by Hindu Bengali culture. Some of the popular festivals in Katwa include:
Katwa and its surrounding areas are especially well known for their raucous Kartik Puja, colloquially known as Kartik Ladai. The object of worship is the boy-faced deity, Kartik, locally referred to as Nangto Kartik or Naked Kartik, in reference to the youth of the deity. In the greater Katwa area, over 250 separate organizations organize pujas and unofficially compete with each other over the sophistication of the theme or the sculpture of the deity. After the day of the puja, the deities are paraded throughout town on their way to be ritually submerged in the nearby Hooghly River. The processions usually feature loud music and dancing, leading to a town-wide, festival-like ambiance enjoyed by all participants and spectators.
Katwa is the site of a floating terminal on National Waterway 1 consisting of a pontoon placed on water front with a berth of 30 m.
Government and politics
The town of Katwa is divided into twenty administrative wards. Each ward elects a councilor to the governing body, Katwa Municipality. Municipal elections are held every five years, with the most recent election held in 2015.
