Durgapur is home to various institutions of national repute. National Institute of Technology, Durgapur is an autonomous institution in eastern India of national importance. It is one of the 30 NITs in the country. NIT Durgapur is one of the 8 old RECs established in 1956. DSMS is a management college. NSHM is another hotel management college in Durgapur. Engineering colleges at Durgapur are B. C. Roy Engineering College, Bengal College of Engineering and Technology which is better known as BCET, Aryabhatta Institute Of Engineering & Management (also known as Aryabhatta Engineering College / AIEMD), Durgapur Institute Of Advanced Technology and Management (also known as DIATM), Kanksa Academy of technology and Management, also known as KATM, Institute of Engineering & Industrial Technology, Durgapur (IEIT), ABS Academy-College of Science, Technology and Management and NSHM- College Of Engineering & Technology. Most of the colleges here are affiliated with West Bengal University of Technology Recently, National Institute of Management, popularly known as NIM Durgapur, is making a debut in the field of education. Detail- National Power Training Institute, previously known as PETS is also an engineering and technical institute in the region. Situated in City Center, under the Ministry of Power (Govt. of India), it offers courses in power engineering, post graduate diploma course and PDC. There are many other graduation colleges in Durgapur. Durgapur Government College (University of Burdwan) is the only NAAC-accredited college in the region, and received a grade of B++. Durgapur Women’s College is a reputed college for over 40 years now. Michael Madhusudhan College is another new graduation college in Durgapur.
Durgapur being an industrial city, the civic amenities of different company/ plant townships are taken care by the respective company/ plant authorities. However, there are civil localities such as the area around the railway station (what was the original Durgapur), the City Centre, Sepco, Bidhannagar, Benachitty, Muchipara and so on, which need civic facilities. In 1962, Durgapur Notified Area Authority was formed for the purpose. It was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 7 October 1996 and the company/ plant townships included in it, although civic amenities continue to be provided by the respective companies/ plants. Presently Durgapur Municipal Corporation (DMC) has 43 administrative divisions or Wards. The Wards are organised under 5 boroughs. It is one of the cleanest corporations of India. Asansol-Durgapur Developmeent Authority or ADDA was established under the provision of West Bengal Town and Country (Planning & Development) Act 1979, (West Bengal Act XIII of 1979)by the merger of the former Asansol Planning Organization, Asansol, which was established in 1964, and the erstwhile Durgapur Development Authority, Durgapur established in 1958. ADDA started its functioning from 1 April 1980. Jurisdiction of ADDA is co-terminus with the jurisdictions of Asansol Municipal Corporation, Kulti Municipality, Jamuria Municipality, Jamuria Panchayet Samiti, Raniganj Municipality, Community Development Blocks of Andal, Pandabeswar and Durgapur-Faridpur, Durgapur Municipal Corporation and a small part of Kanksa Community Development Block.
Durgapur has many educational institutions. Schools include St. Peter’s School (formerly Benachity High School, the oldest ICSE school in Durgapur), St. Xavier’s School, Carmel Convent High School (MAMC), Carmel High School (Steel), St. Michael’s School, Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, Durgapur Projects Boys High School (H. S.), Durgapur Projects Township Boys High School (H.S.), Durgapur MAMC Township Modern High School (H. S.), Kendriya Vidyalaya (CMERI and CRPF), DAV Model, Surenchandra Modern School (High), Durgapur Ispat Vidyalaya(DIV), Hem Sheela Model School, R. P. Vivekananda Vidyapith, Gopalmath High School, Durgapur AVB High School, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Aurobindo Vidya Mandir, Pranavananda Vidya Mandir, AG Church, Amrita Vidyalayam and Bidhan Chandra Institution. Other schools include A-Zone M.P. Boys High School, B-Zone M.P.Boys High School, Kashiram Das Road Boys High School, Joydev Boys, Joydev Girls, GMPS, Akbar Road Girls High School, and Benachity (Mohiskapur plot) High School (H. S.). There are quite a few new schools founded in the last few years. Notable among them are Beachwood School, DICV School, Nirjhar Day Boarding School, Durgapur Public School, Durgapur Public Institute, and Zoom School. The schools are mainly affiliated with WB Board, ICSE or CBSE boards. Others are seeking NOC and affiliation. There are also Hindi medium schools like the Benachity Netaji Vidyalaya (H.S.), Nepali Para Hindi (H. S.), and the Bharatiya Hindi (H. S.).
Durgapur English pronunciation: /d?u?rga?p??r/(Bangla: ?????????; Hindi:?????????), is a city of the state of West Bengal, India, located about 160 km from Kolkata, in the Burdwan District. It was a dream child of the great visionary Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the second chief minister of the state. The well laid out industrial township, designed by Joseph Allen Stein and Benjamin Polk is home to one of the largest industrial units in the state, Durgapur Steel Plant, one of the integrated steel plants of Steel Authority of India Limited. Alloy Steels Plant of SAIL and CMERI, a CSIR laboratory, are also here. There are three numbers of power plants (DPL,DVC,NSPCL), chemical and engineering industries etc. Some metallurgical units have come up in recent years. The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur (earlier known as Durgapur Regional Engineering College ) is one of the most prominent seats of the Indian Central Government’s Engineering and Technological Education and one power engineering college (govt.) and two private engineering college: B.C.Roy and Bengal Engineering. There also three degree colleges. Durgapur is also considered the commercial capital of Rarh region.
Fortunately, DSP management — with public support of the trade unions — was able to turn around the dire situation with thousands of job cuts through voluntary retirement schemes and modernizing efforts. Now Durgapur Steel Plant is operating at above its rated capacity and earning profits after deduction of substantial amount of interest and depreciation resulting from the massive investment in modernization. The plant is undergoing further expansion and is ready for a momentous future. A number of other industries, such as Alstom Projects India Limited (erstwhile ACC-Babcock Ltd), Philips Carbon Black Ltd., and Graphite India Ltd., were doing well. Alloy Steels Plant has turned the corner. MAMC has been taken over by power giant Damodar Valley Corporation, Coal India Limited, and BEML. Therefore, Durgapur presents a dual picture of growth and hope on one side and collapse on the other. The darker side covers such units as Bharat Ophthalmic and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation.
Durgapur is by far the most industrialised city in eastern India and the second planned city in India. It started with the first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru. His dream of transforming the backward agricultural country into an industrially advanced nation was picked up in West Bengal by Dr. B.C. Roy. At the earlier stages for the selection of a proper site for a new industrial township, Jnananjan Niyogi, a great business organizer and planner, was involved. Modernist American architect Joseph Allen Stein, invited to head the newly formed Department of Architecture and Planning at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta, plunged into a major project as soon as he reached India in 1952 – the designing of Durgapur city with Benjamin Polk, another American architect already living in Calcutta. Thereafter it was the task of local leaders such as Ananda Gopal Mukherjee and bureaucrats such as K.K. Sen to get Durgapur going.
Durgapur has been witnessing radical changes, along with rapid development in segments like industry, real estates, I.T. and I.T.E.S. firms, education etc., since the advent of the twenty-first century. The changes are with respect to infrastructure as well as industrial growth for steel (direct reduced iron), metal, cement and knowledge-based industries. roads]]More than 12 engineering and technology, management as well as professional study colleges opened up at Durgapur during the last five years . Housing co-operatives and flats, shopping malls, multiplexes, a science and energy park, a software technology park (STPI), hotels and stadiums have also come up. A shopping mall by A.D.D.A., named Suhatta, was opened by the then Chief Minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, in 2007. He inaugurated seven institutes that day including a polytechnic college. Star hotels like Peerless Inn, City Residency, Rose Valley etc. are here now.
Durgapur is home to a large number of electronic media houses. In fact, it is next, only to Kolkata and Guwahati, in serving as the operation bases and headquarters for the largest number of electronic media channels in Eastern India. Express News, Express Plus, Axes Info Media, TV 7, Shaan (formerly HTV), VOX 24×7, Bangla Live, Natun Bangla, DSTV (Cannel owned by DSP), Naadia TV, Hallow India, TV Bangla are some of them. Ganashakti, I-Core Ekdin, Sakalbela, Good Morning Asansol, Shilpanchal Express, are printed from the city. Anandabazar Patrika is published from Ghutgoria, near Durgapur, in Bankura District, and has a separate Asansol-Durgapur edition. Dainik Jagaran has a Durgapur Edition, too. Durgapur do not have any F.M. stations. However 92.7 Big FM and 93.5 Red FM has stations at Asansol, and serves the twin cities of Asansol and Durgapur.
The Grand Trunk Road (NH2) virtually bifurcates the area. This historically important arterial connector has now been widened into 2+2-lane highway as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project. Another wide road takes off from Darjeeling Morh near Panagarh for North Bengal. It also links Santiniketan to the Grand Trunk Road. The Durgapur Expressway, linking Dankuni with Memari on the Grand Trunk Road, allows fast communication between Kolkata and Durgapur, where one can maintain cruising speeds of 80–120 km/h. A road over the Durgapur Barrage links Durgapur with Bankura and beyond in South Bengal. High-speed Volvo and Mercedes Benz buses cruise regularly from Durgapur to Kolkata on this route along with SBSTC and City Liners non-AC buses. A bus trip from Kolkata to Durgapur takes around 3 hours if there is no traffic jam near Panagarh.
Durgapur is well connected via roads. It is the preferred gateway to the Rarh Region, which has under-developed transportation infrastructure. NH 2 and SH 9 pass through the city. Panagarh-Morgram Highwqay originates from Panagarh, a suburb of Durgapur, and joins NH 60 near Dubrajpur; this makes Durgapur a major road junction and an important destination for transportation toward North Bengal and North East India. SH 9 joins with NH 60 and connects Durgapur with Orissa and South India. It is also well connected by rail to major parts of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Gorakhpur, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Guwahati, Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, and others. Long distance buses connect Durgapur to places such as Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro Steel City, Siliguri, and MaldaTown.
Mighty emperors reigned in this region over the centuries, but it is difficult to pinpoint who held sway over the area at different times. Historians talk of this region being a part of the Maurya and Gupta empires, the empire of Harsha Vardhan and the Mughals. Being a border region, it could have been on either side of the unmarked and flexible borders of the mighty empires. Moreover, the infertile soil with deep impenetrable forests and wild animals was probably not a very inviting proposal for any emperor on the look out for wealth and treasures. Even when coal mining made forays into the adjoining Asansol-Ranigunj area from the late eighteenth century, and factory chimneys reared their heads somewhat later, Durgapur remained an impenetrable jungle that few dared to trespass into.
Due to its industrial and commercial importance, Durgapur city is connected to almost all major places of Bengal. Express/mail trains and a few inter-city high-speed trains shuttle between Kolkata and Durgapur on a regular basis. The Sealdah Rajdhani Express and the Howrah Ranchi Shatabdi express stop here. Poorva Express, Kalka Mail, Amritsar Mail, Mumbai Mail, and Doon Express are some important trains stopping at Durgapur. The main railway station is Durgapur railway station . Andal Junction , is the main junction of the city. It is located at Andal, a western suburb of Durgapur, 15 km from Durgapur City Centre. The Andal-Sainthia branch line of Eastern Railway Zone originates from this station and terminates at Sainthia on Sahibganj Loop.
Durgapur experiences a somewhat transitional climate between the tropical wet and dry climate of Kolkata and the more humid subtropical climate further north. Summers are extremely hot, lasting from March to the middle of June, with average daily temperatures near 32 °C. They are followed by the monsoon season with heavy precipitation and somewhat lower temperatures. Durgapur receives most of its annual rainfall of around 52 inches during this season. The monsoon is followed by a mild, dry winter from November to January. Temperatures are quite moderate, with average daily temperatures near 20 °C. There is a short autumn at the end of October and a short spring in February, both of which have relatively moderate temperatures of around 25 °C.
An airport city, Aerotropolis (an integrated city with contemporary infrastructure for industries, a logistics hub, I.T., hospitality, healthcare, education, retail and residence) is being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (B.A.P.L.) at Andal near Durgapur. The project is being developed over an initial 2,182 acres (8.83 km2) plot of land. The airport, as a part of this Aerotropolis, is being designed by the world-renowned Changi Airport of Singapore, who will operate the airport for an initial period of about two years. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India has already granted “In Principle Clearance” to the project developers for this airport at the proposed site near Andal.
Durgapur is a new industrial city. The administrative setup came in stages. Once the British settled down to ruling the country in the nineteenth century, they started effecting administrative changes. In 1837, when Bankura district was formed, Durgapur area was part of it. In 1847, Ranigunj subdivision was formed with three police stations – Ranigunj, Kanksa and Neamatpur – and it was made a part of Bardhaman district. In 1906, the subdivisional headquarters was shifted to Burdwan and the subdivision renamed accordingly. In 1910, the police stations in Asansol subdivision were Asansol, Ranigunj, Kanksa, Faridpur and Barakar. On 14 April 1968, Durgapur subdivision was carved out of Asansol subdivision.
Randiha – The Anderson Weir (named after John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, who inaugurated it), a diversion constructed in 1932, 19 km downstream of Durgapur Barrage on river Damodar is a wonderful serene tourist spot located in the Chaktentul Gram Panchayet in Galsi I block. Across the river lies Sonamukhi. A tourist to Randiha must visit the Ancient Mound at Bharatpur on the Silampur-Randiha Road, a monument of National Importance, has been excavated jointly by the Archaeological Survey of India and the University of Burdwan has yielded evidence of habitational sequence from the Chalcolithic times to the 12th century. Randiha is about 10 km from Panagarh railway station.
Within the city private mini-buses are the cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. They operate from Prantika to Station terminus, via different routes through the city. Some of them operate to other termini from Prantika, like Nadiha, Madhaipur, Kasba, Sillyaghat, etc. Recently, CNG autos have been introduced plying between City Center and other parts of the city. They are non-polluting, environment friendly, convenient, less time-consuming, and cheap mode of transport. Cycle-rickshaws are available for traveling smaller distances, as a preferred commute. Recently, pre-paid taxis were introduced in the city from Station and City Center Terminus.
There was a massive follow up – Durgapur Steel Plant (commissioned 1960), Alloy Steels Plant (commissioned 1965), Durgapur Projects Ltd. (established 1961), Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation, ACC-Vickers Babcock (later ACC-Babcock and now Alstom Power Boilers Ltd.), Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation, Philips Carbon Black Ltd., Sankey Wheels (a unit of GKW), Bharat Ophathalmic Glass Ltd, Durgapur Cement Ltd. (now Birla Cement) (established 1975), Graphite India Ltd. (established 1967), Durgapur Chemicals Ltd. (DCL) was incorporated on 31 July 1963, Ispat Forgings and many others, large and small. A great new industrial city was bubbling with enthusiasm.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the railway traversed the Durgapur area; even fairly recent pre-independence travelers describe Durgapur as a small station, with dim kerosene lanterns burning at night, where only a few passenger trains stopped. Local chieftains such as Bhabani Pathak and Ichhai Ghosh were the heroes of the jungle-territory and probably held many a great emperor at bay. Many of them must have passed through looking for wealth in the famed granaries of Bengal further east but probably never found the place attractive enough to show their prowess.
Durgapur is the preferred gateway to the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, and Purulia, which are not well connected. NH 2 and SH 9 pass through the city jurisdiction. NH 60 passes through the north-western suburb of Pandabeswar and finally passes through Raniganj and heads away towards Orissa. It happens to be one of the very few cities that have an Asian Highway (AH) passing directly through the city jurisdiction. The AH1 links Japan with Turkey, through Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.