Ward No. 126, Kolkata Municipal Corporation

Ward No. 126, Kolkata Municipal Corporation is an administrative division of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in Borough No. 16(previously 14), covering parts of Sarsuna and Paschim Barisha neighbourhoods in the Indian state of West Bengal.

History
The establishment and evolution of Kolkata Municipal Corporation followed a long process starting from around the middle of the 19th century. The Municipal Consolidation Act of 1888 and certain steps taken thereafter saw the addition of peripheral areas in the eastern and southern parts of the city to the corporation area. In 1888, there were 75 commissioners, 50 of whom were elected, 15 appointed by the government and 10 nominated from bodies like Chambers of Commerce, Trades Associations and the Port Commissioners. The Calcutta Municipal Act of 1923 brought about important changes. The adjacent municipalities of Cossipore, Chitpore, Manicktola and Garden Reach, as well as the New Dock Extension area, were amalgamated with Kolkata. Garden Reach was later taken out.

Post-independence developments saw the introduction of adult franchise in municipal elections in 1962. The number of wards increased from 75 to 100. Tollygunge was merged with Kolkata in 1953. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act 1980, which came into effect in 1984, extended the boundaries of Kolkata by including South Suburban, Garden Reach and Jadavpur municipalities in Kolkata. With the addition of Joka to Kolkata, the number of wards rose to 144.

Geography
Ward No. 126 is bordered on the north by Ho Chi Minh Sarani; on the east by Diamond Harbour Road; on the south by Smashan Kalitola Road, Narayan Roy Road, K.K. Roy Road and Paschim Barisha mauza; and on the west by a line drawn along Paschim Barisha and Sarsuna mauzas, Baghpota Road, Jadab Ghosh Road and Sarsuna Main Road.

The ward is served by Thakurpukur police station of Kolkata Police.

Behala Women police station covers all police districts under the jurisdiction of the South West Division, i.e. Sarsuna, Taratala, Behala, Parnasree, Thakurpukur and Haridevpur.

Demographics
As per the 2011 Census of India, Ward No. 126, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, had a total population of 31,631, of which 15,756 (50%) were males and 15,875 (50%) were females. Population below 6 years was 1,983. The total number of literates in Ward No. 126 was 27,803 (93.78% of the population over 6 years).

Kolkata is the second most literate district in West Bengal. The literacy rate of Kolkata district has increased from 53.0% in 1951 to 86.3% in the 2011 census.

See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

Census data about mother tongue and religion is not available at the ward level. For district level information see Kolkata district.

According to the District Census Handbook Kolkata 2011, 141 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation formed Kolkata district. (3 wards were added later).

Election highlights
The ward a city municipal corporation council electoral constituency and is a part of Behala Paschim (Vidhan Sabha constituency).