It was on 8th January 2017. Morning alarm at 5AM woke me to get ready for my office at Deshapriya Park. Now office at 7 AM!!!!!!!!. Yeah, I headed towards office on that day. However, it was not a casual work. I and my colleagues gathered there for a office fun and picnic at Falta.
Falta was once a village, now becomes the town near the bank of Bhagirathi. Falta now turns into a weekend destination for fun and picnic. During winter months, especially from November to February, Falta will become a hotspot for local picnic. A long drive from Kolkata is a treat.
We at 8 am began our driving from Deshopriya Park office via James Long Sarani to Diamond Harbour Road (NH 117). Bread Toast was our official breakfast then. On the road, we got some traffic jams mostly in Ushti Road. At 10 am sharp, we finally reached Falta leaving BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Konchouki. From the car, we saw the house of Acharaya Jagadish Chandra Bose, which is an attraction here. But on Sunday, I think it is closed.
Falta is a sub urban town at the southern fringe with a Special Economic Zone of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Today’s Falta does bears any history. But from annals, it was found that Falta was an important port like Frasergaunj during the rule of British East India Company. When Siraj-ud-Daulah, the the then ruler of Murshidabad sacked Kolkata in the year 1756, the English residents and the generals moved to Falta temporarily. After that, Falta lost its importance. In the postcolonial times, Falta became a dying village. But in mid 1980’s Falta became a place of Special Economic Zone. The Government of India at Falta established an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in 1984. It later became a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and subsequently became a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the West Bengal SEZ Act, 2003. It was the first SEZ act passed by any State Government In India. Therefore, the Falta SEZ was the first SEZ in India. After the government of India passed the SEZ Act in 2005, the Falta SEZ came under the purview of this act. This Special Economic Zone in Falta is a specially a delineated duty-free enclave and is deemed to be foreign territory for the purpose of trade operations and duties and tariffs. The units in Falta in the zone have to export their entire production and are granted certain entitlements.
As it is winter, many people went for picnic. So there is a sanctity of space here to gather. We didn’t stepped down from the car. The locals visit there, but the crowd and its rush made to move us from Falta to Diamond Harbour, which is far more developed than Falta. We had our lunch at Hotel Sagarika. To know more click on Diamond Harbour.
How to Visit: To visit Falta, there is no compulsion fro having a car. It is accessible from train also. Firstly, get down at Diamond Harbour Railway Station (Sealdah- Diamond Harbour Local), then move to Falta by bus or shared cab. You can also get buses from Esplanade and Taratala (SD14, SD 30, SD9/1 and SD22/1). I recommend train will be best to go. No traffic congestion will be there. But, the road way will give you many traffic jams near Taratala, Behala and off Diamond Harbour Road.
Accommodation: Ritz Riveria:
+91-7059607074
+91-8145457882
+91-8697026997
Hotel Sea Bird International
Falta Industrial Estate, Sector IV
South 24 Parganas (W.B)
Phone : 031742 22989/960/657
Fax : 031742 22989
http://hotelseabirdinternational.com/
Hotel Artland
Pailan, Joka,
Kolkata – 700104
09339787730
09330618355
09330618357
CHOL PALAI 
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