History

Paschim Bardhaman district is a predominantly urban mining-industrial district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Asansol. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after bifurcation of the erstwhile Bardhaman district as the 23rd district of West Bengal. ASANSOL is located on the banks of river Damodar. Durgapur subdivision was carved out of Asansol subdivision in 1968. The rocky undulating topography with laterite soil found in Paschim Bardhaman district is a sort of extension of the Chota Nagpur plateau. For ages the area was heavily forested and infested with plunderers and marauders. The discovery of coal in the 18th century led to industrialisation. Most of the forests in the coal-bearing areas have been cleared but some areas in the eastern part of the district remained thickly forested till more recent times and some are still there. Famous Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was born at CHurulia Village at Asansol on 25 May 1899. He was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, film actor and the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry and music with themes that included religious devotion and rebellion against oppression.Nazrul’s activism for political and social justice earned him the title of “Bidrohi Kobi” (Rebel Poet). His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Geeti (Music of Nazrul).

The district comprises two subdivisions: Asansol Sadar subdivision and Durgapur subdivision.

Asansol is the district headquarters. There are 16 police stations, 8 development blocks, 2 municipal corporations, 62 gram panchayats in this district.According to the Kolkata Gazette notification of 3 June 2015, the municipal areas of Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria were included within the jurisdiction of Asansol Municipal Corporation.As per the 2011 Census of India data Paschim Bardhaman district, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2016, had a total population of 2,882,031. There were 1,497,479 (52%) males and 1,384,452 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 322,268.

As per the 2011 census data the total number of literates in Paschim Bardhaman district, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2017, was 2,015,056 (78.75% of the population over 6 years).Chittaranjan Locomotive Works is one of the largest electric locomotive manufacturers in the world. There is only one university in the district namely Kazi Nazrul University. Maa Kalyaneshwari is a 500-year-old centre of Shakti worship. Legend has it that human sacrifices were offered at Kalyaneshwari in the remote past. The present temple, however, is not very old and was constructed by the Panchkot Raj. Maithon Hydel Power Station (MHPS) is located on the river Barakar about 12.9 km above its confluence with the Damodar near the border of Dhanbad & Burdwan districts of the states of Jharkhand & West Bengal respectively. The unique feature of this is that it is located underground in the left bank of the river and is the first of its kind in India. The power station has a total generating capacity of 60 MW with 3 units of 20 MW each. MHPS is located at almost 100 feet below the water level, and is the first of its kind, in South East Asia. Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate carved out from the district of Burdwan, West Bengal has started functioning from September 1, 2011. It has been formed with an objective to quickly respond to the complex problems of public order, crime and internal security in a comprehensive way.
The District court of Paschim Bardhaman started functioning at its headquarters at ASANSOL since 9th September, 2018. There are 23 courts at Asansol sadar and 11 courts at Durgapur sub-division. The district legal services authority works from Asansol. There is a Subdivisional legal services authority working at Durgapur sub division.