Garden Reach

Gate of Sibtainbad Imambara, Metiabruz, Kolkata

Grave of Wajid Ali Shah at Sibtainbad Imambara, Metiabruz, Kolkata

This area is connected to the history of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, fifth King of Oudh, who after being ousted by the British made Garden Reach his refuge. Accompanied by his close relatives, musicians, cooks and animals from his menagerie, he came ashore at Bichali Ghat near Metiabruz on 13 May 1856. A year later when the First War of Independence spread to Lucknow and the sepoys installed one of his sons to the throne of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah was imprisoned in Fort William by the British along with his Prime Minister, due to the fear that he could become a rallying figure for the sepoys. HEA Cotton wrote that "on Panic Sunday (June 14, 1857), there was wide spread apprehension among the white inhabitants of Kolkata because he had one, two, three thousand (no one knew) armed men under him".[6] After his release from Fort William, he was "allotted" a building called BNR House, in Garden Reach-BNR Colony area, now a part of headquarters of South-Eastern Railway, Kolkata.[7]

Heartbroken after leaving Lucknow, he tried to carve out a miniature of Lucknow in Metiabruz. In his exile in Metiabruz, he tried to keep the sweet memories of his Lucknow era alive by recreating the musical environments of his Kaisarbagh Baradari. The king spent his life lavishly out of his income of 12 lakhs (i.e., 1.2 million) rupees per annum and a "second Lucknow" arose in this area.[6]The Imambaras he created stands at the centre of Matiaburj.

Owned by the Port Trust of India this Ghat is situated at the eastern bank of Hooghly river near Kolkata Port. It is named after the Caribbean country Suriname commemorating the indentured migration of Indian workers from this ghat to that country. A total of 64 sailing ships carried 34,300 workers to the country from 1873 to 1916.[8] Suriname ghat is also popularly known as Balu Ghat.

In the Honour of Indian indentured workers who had migrated to Suriname, an aluminium statue of a plainly-dressed couple carrying a potli which symbolizes the first Indian man and woman to set foot on Suriname was set up as a memorial. It was unveiled by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 7 October 2015. The statue is a replica of the Baba and Mai monument in Paramaribo, Suriname's capital and is gifted by the government of Suriname.[8][9]

Some of the major industries in the Garden Reach area are:

• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers - the premier warship building company in India, under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence. [10][11]
• ITC Ltd., Garden Reach, the Kolkata-based largest cigarette manufacturer in India, which has diversified into Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), hotels etc.[12][11]
• Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd., Garden Reach, pioneers and leader in cooling towers.[13][11]
• General Electricals Co. Ltd., Paharpur, Kolkata.[11]
• Hindustan Unilever, Garden Reach, consumer goods company.[11]
• Britania Biscuit Co. Ltd., Hide Road, Kolkata.[11]
• Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd., Hide Road, Kolkata.[11]
• Videocon Glass and Appliances Factory
• CESC Limited
• Danieli
• A bottling plant unit of IOCL.
• HPCL
• Ready-made Garments Manufacturer