Baharampur

▪ India

also spelled  Berhampur  or  Berhampore 

      city, central West Bengal state, northeastern India, lying just east of the Bhagirathi River. Baharampur was founded and fortified in 1757 by the British East India Company and continued as a cantonment until 1870. It was the scene of the first major confrontation of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The city has major rail and road connections and is an important agricultural trade centre. Silk weaving, rice and oilseed milling, ivory carving, and gold, silver, and brass working are important industries. Constituted a municipality in 1876, it is the site of a hospital, the Bengal Silk Technological Institute, and several colleges affiliated with the University of Kalyani. Kasimbazar, now an industrial suburb, was an important town in the 18th century with a flourishing silk industry; it contains the palace of the maharaja of Kasimbazar. Nearby is a large thermal power-generating plant. Pop. (2001) 160,143.

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