Dum Dum

Dum Dum (Bengali: দমদম Damdam) is a northern suburb of Kolkata and an important transport hub of the city. It is home to Kolkata's only international airport. Dum Dum is also an important food and leisure hub in West Bengal, having a lot of international fast-food chains and shopping malls.

Understand
Dum Dum (DAWM-dawm) is mostly known to people outside Greater Kolkata for its airport. However, Dum Dum is a significant part of the military history of India. The British Raj had a major arsenal at Dum Dum which manufactured, among other things, expanding bullets which are still sometimes called "dum-dum bullets". They were later banned in warfare by the Hague Convention as being "too inhumane".

Dum Dum, along with Barrackpore, was a major centre of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It is rumoured that the paper cartridges provided to Indian soldiers were laced with pig lard or cow fat, resulting to the revolt of the soldiers in Dum Dum Cantonment.

However, the importance of Dum Dum in military declined by the late 1920s when Dum Dum Cantonment was closed down and became a separate municipality. With the growth of Dum Dum Airport (later Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport), the city transforms into a major transport hub of Greater Kolkata, alongside Howrah, Esplanade and Sealdah. The Kolkata Circular Railway has a terminus at Dum Dum Junction railway station, which is connected with metro and bus routes.

Orientation
This article covers the three municipalities of Dum Dum, North Dum Dum and South Dum Dum. However, except in Dum Dum municipality, the locals generally refer to their locations with respective neighbourhoods rather than municipalities. Some notable neighbourhoods include Birati, Dum Dum Park, Durganagar, Lake Town, Motijheel and Nagerbazar.

By plane
Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is close by and is more normally referred to as Dum Dum Airport. It is only a short drive away from Dum Dum. Buses and taxis are available between the airport and the city.

By train
There are several railway stations in Dum Dum, of which is the busiest. There are metro and bus routes to and from the station.

By metro
The North–South Line of the Kolkata Metro runs over the Eastern Line with a stop at Dum Dum.