Location
The Maidan, located in the middle of Calcutta, is one of the
largest city parks in the world. It is 1km wide and 3km from north
to south. It is bound by Strand Rd along the river to the west and
by Chowringhee Rd, lined with shops, offices, hotels and eating
places, to the east. The stream known as Tolly's Nullah forms its
southern boundary, and here you will find a racecourse and the
Victoria Memorial. In the north-west corner of the Maidan is Eden
Gardens, while Raj Bhavan overlooks it from the north. Running along
the west side of the park is the Hooghly River, and on the east side
is Jawaharlal Nehru Rd (Chowringhee Rd).
Fort William is situated on the east bank of the river Hooghly and
was named after King William III of England. It was constructed in
1781 after the unfortunate happenings of 1756 in which many British
soldiers with their families were killed by Siraj-Ud-Daula. Large
area around the village of Govindpur was cleared off the forests and
this fort was constructed, which for some time also lent its name to
the city. The fort is still in use and it can only be visited with
special permission, which is hard to get. Even the trenches and deep
fortifications surrounding the fort's massive walls seem to be out
of bounds. It was built with a cost of 2 million.
The Structure of Fort William
The Fort is a brick-and-mortar structure built in the shape of an
irregular octagon surrounding 5 square km of which five sides look
landward and three on the river, surrounded by a fosse 9 meter deep
and 15 meter broad which can be flooded in times of emergency. There
are six gates Chowringhee, Plassey Calcutta, Water gate St Georges
and Treasury Gate. A telephone office, recreation club, canteen,
cinema hall, restaurant, swimming pool and wide moat surround it.
For the tourist, there is a museum housing arms and armours, swords,
muskets and machine guns. Another section has photographs of the
Burma campaign and of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The Arsenal
inside is worth visiting with a prior permission required from the
Commanding Officer.
Withing the Fort
Inside the Fort is the St. Peter's Church which was constructed in
1928. Swimming pool, Boxing stadium, Firing Range and other
necessary arrangements are present within the Fort. There is also a
provision for ten thousand interns of the Fort. The Fort has huge
archways, one of which is known as 'Plassey Gate'. It is said that
this is the only Fort in the world from where not a single bullet or
cannon-ball has ever been shot.
Nearby Attraction
Indian Museum, Sahid Minar, Victoria Memorial, Rabindra Sadan, Race
Course and Eden Garden are its nearby spots.
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