Santoshpur, Kolkata
| Santoshpur | |
|---|---|
| Neighbourhood in Kolkata (Calcutta) | |
| Santoshpur | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | West Bengal |
| City | Kolkata |
| KMC Ward | 103 |
| Railway station | Jadavpur |
| Parliamentary constituency | Jadavpur |
| Assembly constituency | Jadavpur |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 700075 |
| Area code(s) | +91 33 2416 |
Santoshpur (Bengali: সন্তোষপুর) is a neighbourhood in the southern part of Kolkata, India. It is loosely bounded by Garfa to the north, the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to the east, Jadavpur to the west and Bagha Jatin to the south.
This area was initially part of Jadavpur. The area was mainly shallow marshy lands and agricultural fields even as late as the seventies. Some houses were built in the fifties and sixties mostly on the eastern side of the Jadavpur Rail Station. Residents mostly East Bengali migrants walked to the station or to the Jadavpur Bus Stand to board Bus Routes 8B or 9. The seventies saw an uptick in the number of houses constructed and spread more to the east. It was common sight at this time to see agricultural fields, small dairy operations and residential houses coexist on the same street. The new residents would pitch in their money and arrange for truckloads of dirt to be dumped on the road to make them passable during the monsoon season.
Santoshpur started to grow faster and faster. Vacant plots were filling up fast. Agricultural lands were becoming scarce and could be found only on the other side of the Panchannagram canal (popularly called "khaal"). The cheaper land costs and proximity to the city proved to be an irresistible attraction for middle-class Bengalis. Government employees, bank employees, school teachers, college professors, and small businessmen started flocking to this new area. In the meantime, the area which were under Panchayats and saw little organized development morphed into the Jadavpur Municipality. The headquarters were established in the "Battala Bazaar" area – which became the heart of the new area. A new permanent market was planned a few hundred meters east of the street-side market. With the incorporation of the municipality in Kolkata Municipal Corporation as part of Borough 11 & 12, Santoshpur was poised for a quantum leap.
The opening of the southern stretches of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass provided the residents with the option to commute via either Jadavpur or the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. With the advent of rapid urbanization, in terms of large-scale real estate constructions, Santoshpur has seen a quantum leap in its quality of life from the late 90s; now, shopping malls and latest food chains not only make life trendy and smart, but also the complement the towering apartments in the vicinity. With the explosive population growth, traffic snarls became very common in and around Santoshpur; from the crossing at Ajoynagar to the Jadavpur railway crossing, thousands of people throng these roads, which, few years back, wore a rather deserted look. A railway overbridge, named "Sukanta Setu" over Jadavpur Railway Station connects Santoshpur Avenue with Raja Subodh Mullick Road, about half a kilometer to the south of the Jadavpur Bus Stand; construction of which was completed in record time. With travel time falling dramatically and new bus routes being introduced, Santoshpur became a sought after place to live for the Bengali middle-class.
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Wikipedia