French
Deutsch
.svg)
Purba Medinipur or East Midnapore (পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর Pūrbo Medinīpur) is a coastal district of West Bengal. It was once a part of Midnapore district until 2003, which got split into two districts: Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur.
Cities
[edit | edit source]
- 1 Tamluk (তমলুক Tomluk) — district headquarters
- 2 Contai (কাঁথি Kānthi) — the gateway to Midnapore's beach towns
- 3 Haldia (হলদিয়া Holdiyā) — a developing port city
- 4 Kolaghat (কোলাঘাট Kōlāghāṭ) — a popular picnic spot
- 5 Mahishadal and Geonkhali — Mahishadal is known for its Rajbari complex, while Geonkhali is a picnic spot at the confluence of Hooghly and Rupnarayan rivers.
- 6 Panskura (পাঁশকুড়া Pānshkuṛā) — home to Bengal's famed "Valley of Flowers"
Beach towns
[edit | edit source]All four beach towns below are connected to Contai via Saikat Sundari Road, popularly called the Marine Drive.
- 7 Digha (দীঘা Dīghā) — the main town
- 8 Mandarmani (মন্দারমণি Mondārmoṇi) —
- 9 Shankarpur (শঙ্করপুর Shonkorpur) —
- 10 Tajpur (তাজপুর Tājpur) —
Understand
[edit | edit source]Purba Medinipur is an economic and tourist hub of West Bengal. It is home to the Haldia Port, a major seaport acting as a feeder to the Port of Kolkata. Most of the well-known beach spots are in Southwest Bengal.
Purba Medinipur was once an epicentre of political movements during the British Raj. Freedom activist Matangini Hazra, fondly known as "Gandhi Buri" (literally "Old Lady Gandhi", a reference to the old Mahatma Gandhi), was killed by a gunshot in 1943. During the Quit India Movement, a parallel government named "Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar" was formed in Tamluk.
Visitor information
[edit | edit source]Official websites:
Get in
[edit | edit source]By train
[edit | edit source]Panskura and Tamluk are two railway junctions in this district.
By car
[edit | edit source]National Highway 16 (NH 16) crosses over Kolaghat and Panskura. NH 116, a spur road of NH 16, runs over Tamluk and Haldia. Its spur road, NH 116B, runs over Contai and Digha.
See
[edit | edit source]Itineraries
[edit | edit source]- Saikat Sundari (Marine Drive) — a 29 km (18 mi) long scenic road from Digha to Soula (near Contai), connecting the beach towns of Shankarpur, Tajpur and Mandarmani.
Do
[edit | edit source]Eat and drink
[edit | edit source]Stay safe
[edit | edit source]Purba Medinipur has faced several cyclonic storms, most notably Aila (2009) and Amphan (2020). Monsoon rains may reach terrible levels and breed diseases like malaria or dengue. Keep yourself updated with the latest weather news and take precautions against such natural disasters.
Go next
[edit | edit source]- Odisha — if you travel further west from Digha, you'll find yourself in a different state, which is famous for beaches and pilgrimage sites.