Haldia

Haldia is an industrial port city in Purba Medinipur in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a major river port and industrial belt located approximately 124 kilometres southwest of Kolkata near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the distributaries of the Ganges. The Haldia Township is bordered by the Haldi River an offshoot of the Ganges River. Haldia is a centre for many petrochemical businesses, and is being developed as a major trade port for Kolkata.

Haldia
City
Nickname(s): 
Port City
Haldia
Haldia
Coordinates: 22.0667°N 88.0698°E / 22.0667; 88.0698
Country India
State West Bengal
DistrictPurba Medinipur district
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • Body
  • Haldia Municipality
  • Haldia Development Authority
Area
 • City109 km2 (42 sq mi)
 • Metro1,982 km2 (765 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • City200,762
 • Metro2,749,364

Geography
Cities and towns in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district
M: municipal city/ town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, S: port
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Location

Haldia is located at 22.03°N 88.06°E / 22.03; 88.06.[4] It has an average elevation of 8 metres (26 ft).

Demographics

As of 2011 census, Haldia had a population of 200,762, out of which 104,852 were males and 95,910 were females. The 0–6 years population was 21,122. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 89.06 per cent.[5]

See also: List of cities in West Bengal

As of 2001 India census, Haldia had a population of 170,695. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. In Haldia, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.[6]

Administration

The city of Haldia is governed by the Haldia Municipality. Earlier Haldia Municipality had 26 wards. In 2015, the number of wards was increased to 29.[7]

Haldia Municipality falls under the jurisdiction of two police territories, served by Haldia and Bhabanipur police stations. Haldia police station is located in Chinranjibpur, and covers an area of 98 km2 with a population of 65,000. Bhabanipur police station is located in Bhabanipur, and covers an area of 115 km2 with a population of 124,906.

Haldia is also a base of the Indian Coast Guard. Indian coast guard DHQ 8 (Headquarters for West Bengal) is located at Haldia. There is a hoverport to house four of the eighteen hovercraft belonging to the Indian Coast Guard. The Indian coast guard also has a pontoon jetty to berth a fleet of ships. Presently two fast patrol vessels, one inshore patrol vessels, and one small craft are based at Haldia.

Climate

Haldia has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw), with winter temperatures ranging from a low of around 7 °C (45 °F) degrees Celsius to a high of 22 °C (72 °F). Summers can be very hot and humid. Usual summer temperatures in May, the hottest month range from a low of 24 °C (75 °F) degrees to highs around 39 °C (102 °F) degrees. Although summers are hot and humid, Kalbaishakhis provide a relief to the people, albeit killing some in the process. Rainfall is heavy during monsoons, with an average rainfall of 3,650 mm (144 in) and the rainy months are between May and September.

Climate data for Haldia (1981–2010, extremes 1981–2007)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.3
(90.1)		 37.7
(99.9)		 37.8
(100.0)		 40.4
(104.7)		 40.9
(105.6)		 39.9
(103.8)		 38.2
(100.8)		 36.9
(98.4)		 35.8
(96.4)		 36.9
(98.4)		 35.5
(95.9)		 32.0
(89.6)		 40.9
(105.6)
Average high °C (°F) 25.8
(78.4)		 28.6
(83.5)		 31.9
(89.4)		 33.1
(91.6)		 33.7
(92.7)		 33.1
(91.6)		 31.8
(89.2)		 31.8
(89.2)		 31.9
(89.4)		 31.9
(89.4)		 30.0
(86.0)		 27.2
(81.0)		 30.9
(87.6)
Average low °C (°F) 14.7
(58.5)		 18.5
(65.3)		 22.8
(73.0)		 25.8
(78.4)		 26.8
(80.2)		 27.2
(81.0)		 26.8
(80.2)		 26.7
(80.1)		 26.3
(79.3)		 24.6
(76.3)		 20.2
(68.4)		 15.7
(60.3)		 23.0
(73.4)
Record low °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4)		 10.4
(50.7)		 15.7
(60.3)		 18.3
(64.9)		 10.7
(51.3)		 21.0
(69.8)		 22.3
(72.1)		 22.0
(71.6)		 22.0
(71.6)		 19.3
(66.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 10.9
(51.6)		 9.1
(48.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 15.7
(0.62)		 28.2
(1.11)		 36.3
(1.43)		 63.5
(2.50)		 108.0
(4.25)		 308.8
(12.16)		 380.7
(14.99)		 367.8
(14.48)		 343.5
(13.52)		 160.7
(6.33)		 47.9
(1.89)		 3.1
(0.12)		 1,864.3
(73.40)
Average rainy days 1.0 1.6 1.8 3.3 6.3 12.5 17.4 17.4 14.1 6.2 1.6 0.4 83.8
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 58 60 66 75 78 81 84 84 83 74 67 61 73
Source: India Meteorological Department[8][9]

Transportation

Road-way

Haldia is connected to Kolkata by bus. Recent efforts have seen introduction of new air-conditioned buses which takes less than three hours from the place to Kolkata.. Haldia is also connected to Kharagpur by bus.

Rail-way

Haldia railway station is the major railway station connecting the city to Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi. For long-distance trains except one or two weekly for Delhi and chennai you have to go to either Mecheda or Kolkata or Kharagpur.

Water-way

Haldia is also connected via the 1620 km long inland waterway, National Waterway 1 that runs from Prayagraj across Ganges, Bhagirathi and Hooghly river system to Haldia (Sagar). A catamaran service used to operate from Kolkata to Haldia, but was withdrawn due to its high price and unpopularity among tourists.

Industry

Haldia has several major factories, including South Asian Petrochemicals Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Haldia Energy Limited, Exide, Shaw Wallace, Tata Chemicals, Haldia Petrochemicals, India Power Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Lever, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporations, S.J.Constructions and LTC&Co. Other major logistical companies are JAY ROAD CARRIERS which provide affordable logistics across India.

Sports

The Indian Football Association and Tata Football Academy have been operating for years in the city to scout and promote football talent. A new project called Haldia International Sports City is also under construction.

Japanese community

The Japanese community of Haldia are mostly engineers and top executives at the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation purified terephthalic acid plant in the city.[10] The community have been living in the mini Japanese township called Sataku (Japantown) for many years. Sataku has many Japanese restaurants and a local Japanese news station. Japanese movies are shown in local theaters. Haldia is the only Indian city to have a Japantown.[11]

References
  1. "Haldia City" (PDF).
  2. "Haldia Info".
  3. "HDA".
  4. "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Haldia, India". www.fallingrain.com.
  5. "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  6. "Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4, (erstwhile) Medinipur District". Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  7. Desk, India com News (17 August 2017). "Haldia Municipality Election Result: Complete List of 29 Winners". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com.
  8. "Station: Haldia Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 309–310. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  9. "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M235. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ": Expats in new India". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  • Haldia travel guide from Wikivoyage
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