Rishra

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Rishra | type = city | latd = 22.71 | longd = 88.35
locator_position = right | state_name = West Bengal
district = Hugli
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude = 16
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 113,259| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone = 2672
postal_code = 712248|712249vehicle_code_range =
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
website =
footnotes =

Rishra is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. [cite web
url = http://www.cmdaonline.com/kma.html | title = Base Map of Kolkata Metroploitan area | accessdate = 2007-09-03 | last = | first = | work = | publisher = Kolkata Metroploitan Development Authority ]

Geography

Rishra is located at coord|22.71|N|88.35|E| [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/28/Rishra.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Rishra] ] . It has an average elevation of 16 metres (52 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census [GR|India] , Rishra had a population of 113,259. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Rishra has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 69%. In Rishra, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

Amongst the attractions and festivities of Rishra there is the Jagaddhatri puja, the invocation of Goddess Jagadhatri in the month of Oct-Nov. There is also the annual Rishra Fair that is held each year in the month of January and is a very exciting time to be in Rishra. Rishra has also produced famous Indian footballers like Sisir Ghosh and Sudhir Karmakar.

Rishra has a vibrant community life and has more linguistic diversity than most other towns in West Bengal with a healthy mix of Bengali speakers and speakers of various dialects of Hindi from Rajasthan, UP and Bihar among others.

Education

It has some good schools like Vani Bharati and Mahesh Sri Ramkrishna Ashram which are considered as some of the the best schools in the district. It is also home to a lot of entrepreneurs who daily commute to Calcutta using the local trains to carry on their activities.

Economy

It is situated on the bank of river Hooghly. It is a major industrial area having factories like Jayashree Textiles, ICI, Hindustan Glass, Kusum, Shaw Wallace, Hindustan Glass, Phosphate Fertilisers and numerous jute mills.

Rishra, as most of the Hooghly district, is also a sign of the decline of the Jute industry in Bengal after the partition of India in 1947. Rishra was home to the first jute mill in India under the British rule (Fort Gloster).

Politics

The municipality is being run for the last few elections by the CPI(M) party of India with Mr Dilip Sarkar as the present chairman.

Problems

In recent years due to high realty boom, the town has become very congested leading to slight deterioration of civic amenities.

References

ee also