Basirhat City, India

History

According to different historians, there are various sources of the name of Basirhat. At the time of formation of the sub-division, the place of administrative work was Bagundi village in present Soladana on the banks of Ichamati river. Bagundi was chosen by the East India Company as the center of the salt trade and the 'Salt Superintendent' office was established there. Salt was made from the saline water of Ichamati. Because of that, during the British period, salt balls were made in different villages of Basirhat along the Ichamati river. Basirhat city was a trading center for salt. In 1822, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore became the 'Nimki Dewan' or Serestadar. Dwarkanath used to come to Bagundi from Baranagar Ghat in Calcutta by way of Ichamati River. Taki's zamindar Munshi Kalinath Roychowdhury had his accommodation. Another product of trade here was indigo. Indigo cultivation started in Basirhat in 1810. Neelkuthi is built on both sides of Ichamati. British ran the business of salt and indigo cultivation centered on Basirhat. Hat on the banks of the Ichamati river in 1840 and the old bazaar of Basirhat was established 60 years later in 1900. Basirhat New Market was established in 1922. Rivers were the means of communication at will. Goods were brought by the river and sold in the market.

From the History section of Basirhat on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.