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Digha-Brighton of the East
West Bengal, the land to travel to, a haven of cultural delights, a civilization to tour through, no doubt can be also called a travel destination. Tourists come to West Bengal for its wealth of sights, cultural exuberance, diversity of terrain and in search of that special something, an extra punch that only a place like West Bengal promises and delivers. Apart from the richness of the City of Joy, Kolkata, West Bengal has quite a few number of tourist spots located outside the city. Places like Digha, Puri, etc are worth mentioning. A ride to these destinations is not a bad idea for a short trip away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.
When we speak of sea beaches, the name Digha comes to our mind. Digha can be called West Bengal’s most popular sea resort and tourist spot, located south-west of Calcutta. It was discovered in the late 18th century by the British. Originally known as Beerkul, it is named as the “Brighton of the East” in one of Warren Hasting’s letters (1780 AD) to his wife. In 1923, an English tourist John Frank Smith was charmed by the beauty of Digha and started living there. John Frank Smiths’ writings about Digha, slowly gave exposure to this place. After independence, he convinced the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy to develop Digha as a beach resort. Digha is 187 km from Calcutta and can be termed as one of the best places for a soothing holiday. The place has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach with gentle waves, which extends 7 kms in length. In Digha, the sea starts about a mile away from the start of the beach. The scenic beauty of this place is soothing and luring. The beach is girdled with casuarinas plantations along the coast enhancing the beauty of this place. These trees apart from beautifying the sands also aid in reducing the erosion on the dunes.
What To see:
One can view both sunrise and sunset at Digha sea beach. The sunsets and sunrises reflecting off the salty waters of the Bay of Bengal is something straight off an artist’s easel. The sea at Digha is calm and shallow for about a mile from the beach, making it quite safe for swimming. Digha is a hard beach, where one can drive during low tide. However, the beach is facing the problem of sea erosion. Therefore, bathing is advisable only during the low tide. One can view both sunrise and sunset at Digha sea beach. A small town, Digha is crowded with hotels generally around one main road. It can boast of a wide and unspoiled beach, caesarian groves by the side of a gentle sea and a good climate round the year. Bathing is advisable only during the low tide.
The Digha market is open at low tide. Curios made of sea-shell, Shell jewelry, moderate varieties of reputed Madur of Midnapore (hand-woven mat made of weeds) in colourful designs; Cottage crafts of Digha and Midnapore are available at the beach and at other outlets in town. To bring home a keepsake, try the cottage crafts of Digha and Midnapore.
New Digha: New Digha is an extension of Digha. It too has several hotels. There is also a small park with a lake.
Chandaneshwar: Only 8 kms from Digha, Chandaneshw ar is the site of an old Shiva temple. Also Lankeswari (14 km.) and Kapal Kundala Temple (45 km.) near Contai may be visited.
Road:
Route 1. Calcutta-Howrah-Mechheda-Norghat-Contai-Ramnagar-Digha: 185 km.
Route 2. Calcutta-Deulti-Kolaghat-Kharagpur-Digha: 243 km.
Route 3. Tarakeswar-Harinkhola-Arambag-Vishnupur-Kharagpur-Digha: 355 km
Bus Service
Bus services in Digha are very frequent. Express buses ply from Esplanade (Calcutta) from 0630 hours to 1000 hours (Fare Rs.30/-). Luxury buses from West Bengal Tourist Bureau, 3/2 B.B.D.Bagh departs daily at 0700 hours (Fare Rs.40/-). It is almost a 5 hour journey from Kolkata. Bus service is also available from towns across West Bengal, such as Asansol, Midnapore, Howrah, Bankura and also from Orissa via Balasore (Baleswar). C.S.T.C.
Train Service
In 2004, train services started in Digha. Digha is well connected with Rail from Howrah as well as Kharagpur. From Howrah daily 2 trains and from Kharagpur weekly 1 train is running. There are trains from Shalimar railway station and there are a few trains from Howrah Station too. Shalimar-Digha Express Train no.2867 departs from Shalimar at 08.00 hrs and arrives at Digha station at 11.15 hrs. Return train no. 2868 departs Digha station at 13.40 hrs to arrive Santragachi station (about 8 km from Howrah) at 16.40 hrs. These pair of trains runs six days a week except Sundays. For Sundays there are 2867A Up and 2868A Dn trains which originate from and terminate at Howrah station. The Dn train arrives Howrah (189 km) at 17.00 hrs.
Accommodation:
The Government accommodation is also available at both old digha and new digha. The advance reservation opens three months in advance and closes days before the actual date of occupation. There are numerous hotels and Tourist Lodge of wide range is available both in Digha and New Digha. The hotels are generally around one main road. Its proximity to Calcutta (187 kms) attracts tourists throughout the year.
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Source by Bipasha Chowdhury
