Canning

History

H. E. A. Cotton writes, "The year 1864… It witnessed also the speculative mania over an unlucky scheme for the reclamation of the Sunderbans, of which nothing remains but the deserted wharves of Port Canning, but which resulted in ruin to many". The idea of developing a major port at the town faded with the choking of the Matla River as a result of inadequate headwater supply. Lord Canning had wanted to build a port that would be an alternative to Kolkata and a rival to Singapore. What no one heeded were the warnings of a lowly shipping inspector Henry Piddington, who had lived in the Caribbean and knew all about hurricanes and storms. He wanted the mangroves to be left alone, as they were Bengal's defensive barrier against nature's fury and absorbed the initial onslaught of cyclonic winds, waves and tidal surges. The settlement was built with a strand, hotels and homes, but in 1867 the Matla River surged and reduced the town to a "bleached skeleton". Port Canning was closed in 1871–2, and government facilities withdrawn. Today, the Canning House, which probably served as the office of Canning Port still stands. It is in dilapidated condition and is a protected monument under West Bengal Heritage Commission. In 1862, the Eastern Bengal Railway opened a southward line from what was then known as Beliaghata station to Port Canning. In the same year, the Eastern Bengal Railway had opened its line from Sealdah to Kushtia. The Eastern Bengal Railway was taken over by the government in 1887. Services on the eastern side of Hooghly River were unified under the Eastern Bengal State Railway and after further amalgamation in 1942, the Bengal Assam Railway.

Geography

Canning subdivision has a very low level of urbanization. Only 12.37% of the population lives in the urban areas and 87.63% lives in the rural areas. There are 8 census towns in Canning I CD block and only 2 in the rest of the subdivision. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta with numerous islands in the southern part of the region. The area (shown in the map below) borders on the Sundarbans National Park and a major portion of it is a part of the Sundarbans settlements. It is a flat low-lying area in the South Bidyadhari plains. The Matla River is prominent and there are many streams and water channels locally known as khals. A comparatively recent country-wide development is the guarding of the coastal areas with special a coastal force. Note: The map below presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. Canning is located at . It has an average elevation of . Canning is the gateway of the Sundarbans. It is situated on the western banks of the Matla River. One can cross the Matla River and then proceed to Basanti for a boat to the interior of the Sundarbans or hire a motor launch for travel to Sundarbans at the town itself. The first watch tower at Sajnekhali is about 5 hours away. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw). The overall climate of Canning is humid and warm. In summer, the maximum temperature goes 35 °C while in mild winters, minimum temperature drops 14 °C. The highest temperature ever was 42.5 °C, recorded on 17 May 1987. The lowest temperature ever dropped was 7.6 °C, dropped on 30 January 2007. The mean annual temperature is 26.5 °C. Average annual rainfall is…

Most-observed species

• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,259
• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  1,225
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,217
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  1,199
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  1,082
• Plain Prinia

  Prinia inornata Sykes, 1832 · Aves
  1,059
• Common Tailorbird

  Orthotomus sutorius (Pennant, 1769) · Aves
  1,041
• Asian Palm-Swift

  Cypsiurus balasiensis (J.E.Gray, 1829) · Aves
  1,020

Most recent

• M 5 — 2026-02-27
  24 km SSE of Sātkhira, Bangladesh
• M 4.5 — 2018-08-28
  6 km ENE of Gh?t?l, India
• M 4.1 — 2013-06-01
  22 km NE of Kultali, India
• M 4.2 — 2009-01-05
  10 km NE of Nagarukhra, India