HOWRAH

also called Habara, or Haora city, east-central West Bengal state, northeastern India. Howrah lies along the west bank of the Hooghly River directly opposite Calcutta. It is Calcutta's largest satellite city and is the second largest city in West Bengal state. Howrah has major Grand Trunk Road connections and is the eastern terminus of major rail lines traversing eastern, northern, and central India. The city is connected to Calcutta across the Hooghly River by the massive and heavily traveled Howrah (1943) and Hooghly (1987) bridges. Howrah's river port is lined with shipbuilding and repairing docks, and on the riverbank and elsewhere are jute, flour, rice, oilseed, and cotton mills; sawmills; iron and steel rolling mills; and factories making chemicals, glass, hosiery, cigarettes, and batteries. Sibpur, a southern suburb of Howrah, contains light industry and railway workshops, as well as a botanical garden founded in 1786. Constituted a municipality in 1862, Howrah has several colleges. The city is situated in a deltaic alluvial tract intersected by numerous rivers, and the area becomes flooded during the rainy season. Pop. (1981) city, 744,429.