Mission Clean Krishnanagar

Krishnanagar is an age-old town having some distinctive features in respect of its historical and cultural background. The town Krishnanagar is the administrative HQ. of the district of Nadia in the state of West Bengal. It is situated at about 110 K. m. north of Kolkata by the side of N.H.-34 and is on the bank of River Jalangi. Topographical/Geographical Parameters i) Location : 230 24` N Latitude and 880 31` E Longitude. ii) Elevation : 14 meters (on an average) iii) Area : 15.96 Sq. Km. iv) Population : 1,53,062(as per Census, 2011) v) No. of wards : 25 The town is situated on the flat terrain of the Gangetic West Bengal and the type of soil is alluvial. The difference of altitude of the highest and the lowest part of the town is not more than three feet. The climatic character is tropical by nature. The average yearly rainfall is about 1480 m. m. and the average humidity is about 75%. The highest temperature often attains 450 Celsius, while the lowest is about 7 to 80 Celsius. Communication Krishnanagar is well connected with Kolkata, the capital of the state with roads and railways. A broad gauge railway line and the NH-34 connecting Kolkata with Assam and adjoining states via North Bengal run just by the west of Krishnanagar town. The erstwhile narrow-gauge railway line linking Santipur and Nabadwip, the two places for pilgrimage of the Vaisnabas, were taken up for conversion into broad gauge. The line from Krishnagar to Santipur has already been converted and regular B.G. trains are plying, while the other is under the process of conversion. The town is also directly connected by road with Mayapur, the H.Q. of ISKCON in India. Historical & Cultural Background As per the historical information so far available, the ancestor of Maharaja Krishnachandra of Nadia district, started living in a village named ‘Reui’ after migrating from their the then residence at Matiara, Banpur situated at south-east of present Krishnagar. Maharaja Raghab, the grandson of Bhabananda Majumder (the first person of the Royal family), constructed a ‘Palace’ at Reui for their living. Afterwards, Maharaja Rudra Roy, the son of Maharaja Raghab named the place as ‘Krishnanagar’ as a mark of respect and reverence to Lord Krishna, while some persons believe that it was so named after the great annual Krishna-festival of the milkmen-community, the original residents of Reui. However, in the mid-18th Century during the reign of Maharaja Krishnachandra, one of their successors in the 3rd or 4th generation and a contemporary of the then Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Doulya, the major developments in the field of Art, Culture & Literature took place. His royal court used to be graced by a galaxy of learned courtiers, some of them being well versed in Sanskrit literature. The great poet Bharat Chandra was his court-poet and during his tenure in the court Bharat Chandra composed the noted book of verse named ‘Annada Mangal’. In appreciation of his talent Maharaja awarded him the title of ‘Gunakar’. Another courtier was Sankar Taranga, who was brave, witty and an eloquent Speaker. However, the common belief of the existence of ‘Gopal Bhanr’ as the court-jester is not seconded by the historians. Such character might be an imaginary one, may be in resemblance of Sankar Taranga.