Overview :
Tollygunge, situated in the south of Kolkata is a premium locality in the state of West Bengal. The locality has experienced rapid development and is the center of Bengali Film Industry, Known as Tollywood. It comes under the supervision of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. It is surrounded by the Eastern Railway south suburban line to the north, Lake Gardens and Golf Green in the east, the Paschim Putiary and Purba Putiary in the south, and Behala in the west. The neighborhood is served by Mahanayak Uttam Kumar metro station of Kolkata Metro. Sahapur, Chetla, Santoshpur, Barisha, Alipore, Ballygunge, Kalighat, Jadavpur, Naktala, Srishti, Kalitola are its neighboring localities. Other prominent neighborhoods in the area include Kudghat, Ranikuthi, Naktala. It is among the poshest neighborhoods of South Kolkata. The Tollygunge Club, Kolkata, is the only Country Club of its kind in India and ranked amongst the top 20 Clubs of the world. It is spread over a hundred acres with a Club House that is over 220 years old. This club is located in the southern part of Kolkata, only 9 Kms from the center of the city. Some of the key residential projects in Tollygunge are Nathany Shrivats, Noble Pearl, Merlin Verve, Sugam Diamond Morya, Orbit Cosmos, PJ Royal among others.
Connectivity :
The locality is well connected by roads and transport networks such as metro, buses, auto-rickshaws, and taxis. Mahanayak Uttam Kumar metro station is the nearest metro station located at a distance of 450 mt via Deshapran, a major stop in the Kolkata Metro system, is located in this region. It had been a terminal station of the Kolkata Metro from 1984-2009.
Tollygunge serves as terminal points of several transport services including the tram, city buses of the Calcutta Tramways company and the metro station. Tollygunge Tram Depot is very close to the locality.
It has excellent connectivity to Netaji Subhash Chandra International Airport, which is located at a distance of 26 km via Thakurnagar - Panchpota Road.
Lake Gardens Station and Tollygunge Station are the main railway stations in the region from where most intercity trains can be boarded. However, Howrah and Sealdah Junction are the major railway station from where one can get the trains for almost all the metro cities which are located at a distance of 13.3 and 10.6 km respectively.
The first electric Tramcar in Kolkata ran from Esplanade to Khidirpur in 1902, and tracks were laid up to Tollygunge in 1903. The Calcutta Tramways Company depot in Tollygunge serves as a terminal point for the tram service (which links it to Ballygunge and B.B.D. Bagh) and city buses operated by the same company.
Bus services connect to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (established in 2009) and the line connecting Kudghat and Unitech passes through it.
Factors for growth in the Past
Tollygunge can attribute its growth to the fact that the Bengali film industry is centered in this region. The area has many studios and media-related ventures. This brought investment into the region and helped develop the existing infrastructure of the area. The booming film industry also created many job opportunities in other economic sectors, which resulted in huge population flow into the region and was capitalized by real estate developers who moved in and accelerated the pace of residential and commercial project development in Tollygunge by bringing in malls, hospitals, and educational institutions. As a result, locality has seen tremendous demand for rental property in Tollygunge.
Factors for Growth in the Future
With Tollygunge being the focal point of movies in India, it receives a lot of attention from developers. Lots of projects have been developed, while many are under development. Tollygunge enjoys close proximity to major regions in the city, and its value in term of real estate is expected to rise considerably.
Upcoming and planned infrastructure :
CM of West Bengal has recently announced a number of flyovers both in the north and southern parts of the city to end traffic congestion. These flyovers will come up from Ganesh Chandra Avenue to New Market, from Taratala to Tollygunge and then from Tollygunge to Jadavpur via Prince Anwar Shah Road.
Infrastructural Development (Social & Physical) :
Tollygunge has a number of good educational institutions. National Public School, St. Frank High School, South City International School, Ashok Hall School For Junior Girls, Narmada High School, Jack-N-Jill Art School to name a few.
Healthcare facilities are also good in the locality. Some of the renowned hospital providing healthcare facilities to the residents of Tollygunge are M R Bangur Hospital, RSV Hospital, BP Poddar Hospital & Medical Research Ltd. and Lions North Kolkata Hospital & Medical Centre.
Malls located near Tollygunge to cater the daily needs of the people are South City Mall, Acropolis Mall, Lake Mall, Bazaar Kolkata, and Gariahat Mall.
