Santoshpur, Kolkata

Santoshpur 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.Rise of SantoshpurFrom the fiftiesThis 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.Rapid developmentSantoshpur 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.