Introduction

South 24 Parganas instead of being an urban fringe stretches from the border of Kolkata to the remoter zone.
History of South 24 Parganas is documented since the British has achieved the grant of Diwani of Bengal. The battle of Plassey and the beginning of the British rule shares an important part in depicting the history and nomenclature of South 24 Parganas. The battle of Plassey concluded the British supremacy In Bengal and Mir Jafar who was consecrated as the puppet Nawab of the British, yielded to the company the right of 24 Mahals. The treaty by which the British were entitled as the sovereign lord of the Mahals, declares that all the areas to the south of Calcutta as far as the Culpee shall be under the Zamindary of the British". The tract of landed conceded to the British include the present area of South 24 Parganas.

History Of South 24 Parganas District

As the history of South 24 Parganas depicts, a district named "24 parganas" started taking shape according to the Clause no 2,3 & 9 under the Regulation Act of the 1793. Under those Clauses, the district of 24 Parganas include all those 24 Mahals, which have been ceded to the British. By integrating all those areas, the British established a single district with the name 24 Parganas for the administrative convenience. As far the history of 24 Parganas concerns, it existed principally as revenue collecting area and the civil and the criminal jurisdictions for 24 Parganas have been demarcated by the Britishgovernment in the Regulation Act.

As is evident from the historical background of 24 Parganas, the original district came into existence during the British imperialism in India. Before the British, when Bengal was under the indigenous and the Muslim rulers, there was no separate administrative unit of 24 Parganas. Finally in 1986, 24 Parganas was again subdivided into North and south divisions. South 24 Parganas, from 1st March 1986, came to be existed as the separate functional unit of West Bengal Government.

The district of South 24 Parganas spans from metropolitan Kolkata up to the remote villages situated at the edge of Bay of Bengal. 

The nomenclature of the state was done ages ago in 1757. During this period Mir Jafar, the Nawab Of Bengal gave up the possession of 24 mahals to the British East India Company. This possession by the British was recorded by a treaty according to which the land that lies at the south of Kolkata up to Culpee would be under the Zamindari and the officers belonging to this Zamindari would be under the jurisdiction of East India Company. The notice or `parwana` that declares the effect of the treaty had the mention of the names of the 24 units of granted land.

The district was then stared to form under Clause Nos.2, 3 and 9 of the Regulation of 1793. The regulations also demarcated the revenue jurisdiction of the District Collector and the respective jurisdictions of the criminal and civil courts for the district. Till the year 1800, this arrangement remained valid.

On 1st March 1986, the present district of South 24 Parganas came into existence. The district was then divided into two subdivisions viz. Diamond Harbour and Alipore and 30 blocks. Later five subdivisions of the district were made including Kakdwip, Diamond Harbour, Canning, Baruipur and Alipore, 7 Municipalities and 29 blocks.

Economy of South 24 Parganas District

The Bay of Bengal is the principal source of the economy of South 24 Parganas. The confluence of river Ganga with the sea here forms a congenial physical feature for Pisciculture. Canning is the major center for the transaction of fish in the market. The commissioner agent receives the fish and sells them and the wholesalers transported them in the Kolkata auction market. The network of fish transaction largely supports the economy of South 24 Parganas.

Agriculture is the main stay of the people of the northern area. The northern tract of South 24 Parganas has the uniform landscape encourages the growth of agriculture. Rice, sugarcane, timber and betel nuts are the principal agricultural products. The agriculture mainly supports the local rural economy. A considerable amount of people draw their living from the agricultural sector.

Livestock breeding also shares a part in the economy of South 24 Parganas. Garole breed of Sheep and the Chinae Hans of Muscuovy ducks. The wool that is extracted fro the sheep are exported, which is also the source of the rural economy of South 24 Parganas.

Tourism of South 24 Parganas District

Presently the tourism industry has earned prominence in the pockets of the district. The tourism supplements a major part of the financial set up of South 24 Parganas.The tourism of south 24 Parganas supports the economy to a large scale presently. The tourism in the South 24 Parganas centers round the places like Sundarbans, Sajnekhali, bakkhali and Diamond Harbor.The tourism in Sundarban develops round the vast tract of forest and the swampy land forming the lower part of Ganga delta. The principal attraction of the Sundarbans is the network of estuaries and the Royal Bengal tiger.The Royal Bengal tiger is the only of its type has its abode in the Sundarbans of West Bengal. Sundarbans is named so because the area is infested with the "forest of sundari". The shallow swampy coastal area is crocodile- infested and is virtually inhabited. The world`s largest Delta region, Sundarbans spreads over two countries (India and Bangladesh) and over 54 islands. Just opposite to Kolkata, Sundarbans presents a unique ecosystem in this part of the world. Sundarbans is declared by UNESCO as the heritage place. It holds the largest number of wild tigers in its core. Sundarbans absorb the key interest about the tourism of South 24 Parganas.The scenic beauty and the bird sanctuary is the primary attention of the Sajnekhali division. The Mangrove Interpretation center is of immense interest to the visitors. There are watchtowers in the Sajnekhali region and in the adjacent parts.

In the tourism industry, Bakkhali and Diamond Harbor earned popularity as the picnic spot mainly for the Calcuttans. The Bakkhali beach resort is only 132 kms from Kolkata. Very close to Bakkhali, there is Fraserganj beach resort, which is equally important as a tourist spot. Diamond Harbor constitute as the famous picnic spot because of its close proximity with Kolkata. The Diamond Harbor Road, which connects the town with Kolkata, has a number of lodges and resorts on the highway.

Tourism in South 24 Pargana is a fulfilling experience. The various places pf tourism located in the district are both places of scenic beauty as well as of worship.

Pilgrimage tourism in South 24 parganas district
Some of the pilgrimage tourism sites of South 24 Parganas District are:

Gangasagar
Gangasagar is a beautiful and serene spot for most of the year. It is windblown, quiet and has sweeping views of the mighty Ganga River ending her journey into the sea, and a lovely island they call Sagardwip beach. Come mid-January ( the last day of the month of Pous in the Bengali calendar), the place is absolutely transformed from being a spot of calm and scenic beauty to one of the holiest places of pilgrimage. Divinity seems to descend from the blue sky overhead on to the waters and the beach at Sagardwip. It is believed that bathing in the waters of the Ganga at this point in time will help absolve one`s sins. Thus millions of pilgrims and devotees from all over India come to take a dip in the freezing waters here to cleanse all their sins away and offer worship at the temple of Kapil Muni. A huge and colourful fair takes place on this occasion- aptly named the Gangasagar Mela - which is held once a year during Makar Sankranti. To reach the place, one needs to take a bus from Kolkata to Lot 8/ Harwood point, cross on the ferry and board another bus to Sagar. There are a number of tourist hostels, cottages, tents etc available for the purposes of accommodation.

Leisure tourism in South 24 parganas district
One of the most famous sites of pilgrimage in the South 24 pargana district, and in fact all of West Bengal, are the Sundarbans. It is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest which is home to the Royal Bengal Tigers. The forest lies at the foot of the Ganga River and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests. Declared as a world heritage site, the Sundarbans form the world`s largest estuarine forest- one of the very few in the world still having its flora and fauna intact. One of the moat remarkable features of the forest is that the bayonet-like roots of mangrove forests stick out above the water levels. The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger, as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. It is estimated that there are now 500 Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area. Sundarbans can be reached by means of the launch trips organised by the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation or private vessels going from Canning, Gosaba or Basanti. Accommodation is available at the tourist lodges in Sajnekhali, Bakkhali, Gangasagar.

Bakkhali and Frasergunj are twin towns forming one continuous locality. Bakkhali beach is a seaside resort located in the district of South 24 pargana. Most of the islands are part of the Sunderbans, barring a few at the fringes. Some of these are joined together with bridges over narrow creeks. This small island juts out into the vast expanse of the Bay of Bengal. Casuarina trees line the beach. Except on an occasional holiday the beach is not crowded. Even if one part is crowded on a particular day, there will be plenty of barren pockets. One can laze around and relax on the beach, take long walks, go shell-picking, catch the phosphorescent gleam of the rolling waves and the hard beach is also suitable for cycling and driving. Bakkhali-Frasergunj can be reached by road from Kolkata. Lodges and hotels are available for accommodation purposes.