HOOGHLY-CHINSURA

town, Hooghly district, West Bengal state, northeastern India. The town lies just west of the Hooghly River and is a major road and rail connection. Rice milling and rubber-goods manufacture are the chief industries. Hooghly, also spelled Hugli, was founded by the Portuguese in 1537 following the decline of Satgaon, the mercantile capital of lower Bengal; it was also the first English settlement (1651) in lower Bengal until it was abandoned in 1690 for Calcutta. Chinsura was an important 17th-century settlement of the Dutch, who built a factory (trading station) there in 1656. In 1825, Chinsura and other Dutch settlements were ceded to the British in exchange for holdings in Sumatra. Important historical buildings include a Muslim imam-barah (meeting place), a Portuguese church (1660), and a Sandeswar temple. Hooghly and Chinsura, constituted a joint municipality in 1865, have three colleges affiliated with the University of Calcutta and three affiliated with the University of Burdwan. Hooghly district (area 1,214 sq mi [3,145 sq km]) comprises a fertile, low-lying alluvial tract dotted with marshes and abandoned river channels and drained by the Rupnarayan (q.v.) and Damodar rivers. Rice, jute, sugarcane, and potatoes are the main crops; bananas and mangoes are cultivated. The Hooghly's riverbank is densely populated and heavily industrialized, with jute, rice, and cotton mills and rubber and chemical factories. Early European settlements include Shrirampur and Chandernagore (qq.v.). Pop. (1981) town, 125,193; district, 3,557,306.