The Grand Trunk Road (NH 2) runs across the subdivision. The highway has been broadened as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and now allows two lane traffic each way. A highway bypass avoids the areas of Asansol, Neamatpur, Kulti and Barakar. Asansol is connected to Kolkata by road with daily Volvo buses as well as non-ac government buses run by the South Bengal State Transport Corporation which ply at half-an-hour interval duration and this 224 km distance is taking 4 to 4.5 hours approximately. The South Bengal State Transport Corporation also plies buses in various other routes such as Malda, Siliguri, Midnapur, Bankura, Burdwan, Kalna, Habra, Barackpore, Digha, Berhampore etc. Also there are many Private Operators which ply express and Super Fast as well as Deluxe Buses to various other towns of the State as well as Outside the State to places such as Dhanbad, Bokaro Steel City, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Giridih, Hazaribag etc. Government Bus Service operators also includes the North Bengal State Transport Corporation which plies buses to towns of North Bengal such as Malda, Raiganj, Siliguri, Coochbihar etc.
The railway track from Kolkata to Delhi passes through the subdivision and bifurcates into the main line and the grand chord line, at Sitarampur railway junction, a little to the west of Asansol. Another railway track links Asansol with Adra and then to Jamshedpur via Purulia and Kharagpur via Bankura. A branch line connects Andal with Sainthia on the Sahibgunj loop. Almost all of the trains linking Kolkata with north India connect Asansol with Kolkata as well as with north India. The Howrah – Indore Shipra Express and the Howrah-Gwalior-Agra Cant. Chambal Express are the trains that connects the city to Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jhansi and other central Indian cities. Other trains like Asansol-Mumbai express, Asansol-Ahmedabad Express, connects Asansol with couple of other major cities of India. Asansol-Tata Express, Asansol-Gorakhpur Express and Asansol-Gonda Express are the three new trains introduced in 2011 Rail Budget.
Some of the schools are Asansol Ramakrishna Mission, Rahamania High School, Haji Quadam Rasool High School, Danisgah Islamia High school, Subhaspalli Bidyaniketan, Chelod high school, Dhadka NCL Vidyamandir, Joharmull Jalan Institution, Asansol Arunoday High School, Chelidanga High School, Domohani Kelejora High School, Umarani Gorai Mahilakalyan, Manimala Girls, Eastern Railways High School, St. Joseph’s High School, St. Mary Goretti Girls’ High School, D.A.V. Higher Secondary School, Dayanand Vidyalaya High school,St. Patrick’s Higher Secondary School, St. Vincent’s High and Technical School, Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School, Loreto Convent, Assembly of God Church School, Wonder Land High School and Chelidanga High School. There are a few schools run by IISCo authority, including Burnpur Boys High School, Burnpur Girls School, Burnpur Riverside School, and Chhotodighari Vidyapith.
Asansol is located in the Burdwan District of West Bengal. While most of Bengal is flat alluvial plain Asansol subdivision lies on exposed Gondwana rocks and consists mostly of undulating laterite soil. It forms the lower Chota Nagpur plateau, which occupies most of Jharkhand. It is located between the Damodar and Ajay rivers. Another river, Barakar, joins the Damodar near Dishergarh. A small rivulet, Nunia, flows past Asansol. While Dhanbad district lies on the western side, Durgapur sub division of Bardhman district lies on the eastern side. To the south, across the Damodar river are the Purulia and Bankura districts. To the north are Dumka and Birbhum districts. Dhanbad district across the Barakar river in Jharkhand is also a major mining area and has close links with Asansol. Both lie in the Damodar valley.
Burdwan became a major administrative centre for the Muslim rulers and the subdivision was a part of the Muslim kingdoms in the region. It later became a part of the Bardhaman Raj functioning under the Mughals. When Mir Kassem, then Nawab of Sube Bangala, ceded Bardhaman along with Medinipur and Chittagong to East India Company in 1760 (three years after the Battle of Plassey), it was the beginning of an eventful chapter for the region. Till that time the area was a wilderness of forest and jungle, dotted at long intervals with tiny settlements. The countryside was ravaged and plundered by outlaws.
In 1774, Suetonius Heatly and John Sumner of the British East India Company realised that local people were using coal in the region of which Asansol is a part. Their early explorations and mining operations were carried out in a haphazard manner and demand was limited. Regular mining operations started in 1820, led by an agency house, Alexander and Co. In 1835, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore bought over the collieries and Carr and Tagore Co. led the field. For the entire 19th century and a major part of the 20th century, Ranigunj coalfields in the Asansol region was the major producer of coal in the country.
Asansol is the third largest city and urban agglomeration in West Bengal after Kolkata and Howrah and the 39th largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is located in the Burdwan District of India. Its hinterland is Bankura and Purulia districts and North Bengal, linked to parts of Orissa and Jharkhand states. According to a report released by International Institute for Environment and Development, a UK-based policy research non-governmental body, Asansol is among the 11 Indian cities in the list of 100 fastest growing cities in the world with a rank of 42.
Although Asansol is predominantly a Bengali speaking city today, Asansol has mixed population of Bengali, Hindi and Urdu speaking people, English is the language of business communication and once widely spoken. After the railway works came, there was a substantial British and Anglo-Indian population. English medium schools started to impart education in English from as early as 1877. The first Christian Brother School in India St. Patrick’s School was started in 1891.
Today, Asansol is a corporation administered by the Asansol Municipal Corporation. In 1850, a union committee was formed to look after the civic needs of Asansol. The municipality was approved in 1885 but started functioning effectively in 1896. It has been upgraded to the status of a corporation in 1996. Since 2011 it has had its own Police Commissionerate.
There are three general degree colleges – Banwarilal Bhalotia College, Asansol, Bidhan Chandra College, Asansol and Asansol Girls College. Asansol Engineering College offers undergraduate courses in its eponymous field., while Gupta College of Technological Sciences is Pharmacy College offers pharmacy-related courses.
Apart from these, there are also smaller health-centres and dispensaries including ESI, Kalna SD Hospital and smaller nursing homes like PR Mukherjee, Daffodil Nursing Home.
An aerodrome is located at Burnpur in Asansol. Another airport is expected to be operational by 2013 at Andal, about 25 km from the heart of Asansol city.
NH-60 connects Asansol with Orissa via. Raniganj- Mejia-Gangajalghati-Bankura-Bishnupur-Salboni-Kharagpur-Belda-Dantan-Jaleswar.
The Asansol Sub-Divisional Hospital located on S.B. Gorai Road , is a municipal hospital, run by the state government.
Established in 1925, Asansol Division is one of the oldest divisions of Indian Railways.
IISCO Hospital is a multi specialty Hospital catering to the employees of IISCO and their families.
A Modernized Bus Stop in Asansol, inaugurated by Hon. Mayor Sri Tapas Banerjee on 2 August 2010
Asansol is the only Mission City in West Bengal after Kolkata under JnNURM Development Scheme
The Grand Trunk Road (NH 2) runs across the subdivision. The highway has been broadened as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and now allows two lane traffic each way. A highway bypass avoids the areas of Asansol, Neamatpur, Kulti and Barakar. Asansol is connected to Kolkata by road with daily Volvo buses as well as non-ac government buses run by the South Bengal State Transport Corporation which ply at half-an-hour interval duration and this 224 km distance is taking 4 to 4.5 hours approximately. The South Bengal State Transport Corporation also plies buses in various other routes such as Malda, Siliguri, Midnapur, Bankura, Burdwan, Kalna, Habra, Barackpore, Digha, Berhampore etc. Also there are many Private Operators which ply express and Super Fast as well as Deluxe Buses to various other towns of the State as well as Outside the State to places such as Dhanbad, Bokaro Steel City, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Giridih, Hazaribag etc. Government Bus Service operators also includes the North Bengal State Transport Corporation which plies buses to towns of North Bengal such as Malda, Raiganj, Siliguri, Coochbihar etc.