Chingri Khal Fort – Diamond Harbour

How come there are no forts in Calcutta? Was it not the capital of British India once? I asked my dad. He thought for a while and replied that there is “Fort William” which, being a fort, has never seen a war at it’s footstep. Later in life, when I had started blogging, I came across the forts on the Hooghly River, which I had blogged about, like the Dutch Fort in Falta, Budge Budge Fort & Makwa Tana Fort. Then there was Fort Gloster and Diamond Harbour Fort, which I had not visited earlier; that all changed recently when I visited Diamond Harbour for a weekend trip and managed to visit what remains of the famous Chingri Khal Fort.

Why Were So Many Forts Build Around The Hooghly River?

The answer is very simple, as the main purpose of these forts was to guard the river and keep an eye on the ships entering the river from the delta. The region around the delta of Bengal has numerous rivers, creeks, rivulets, feeder, etc., and these posed a challenge to the ships entering the Hooghly River as they were prone to being attacked by pirates.

These pirates would hide amongst the numerous smaller water bodies connecting the Hooghly River, and out of nowhere would get on board and plunder the ships. The presence of a fort gave some sort of security, as these forts were equipped with cannons with long ranges. The pirates would fear retaliatory attacks from these fortifications.

Another purpose was to prevent an attack by hostile kingdoms and nations that might use the river route to infiltrate into the city of Calcutta.

Every ship used to have its own cannons, but due to its limited size would often be smaller in size with a shorter range. The ships would also carry their own gunpowder for these cannons, as well as for signalling. These posed another challenge as a ship full of gunpowder was stationed in the ports of Calcutta; if it were to be ignited then would cause a serious threat to the port as well as the surrounding city near the port.

This is the reason why ships were made to deposit their gunpowder at Moyapur Barood Ghar before entering Calcutta and had to carry just enough for signalling. When the ships would be sailing back, they would collect their portion of the gunpowder.

Short History Of Diamond Harbour

We won’t dig into a detailed history of the region, but just an overview. If you see old river maps used by the ships entering the river, then you would see a placement on the map called “Diamond Point” and right above it “Buffalo Point”. This Diamond Point is where we now have what we now know as “Diamond Harbour”, and a town grew all around it on the eastern banks. Out here, you will find the Diamond Harbour Canal (Khal). By river route, Calcutta was another 79 kilometres from here.

Previously, this place was known as “Hajipur” and the canal known as “Hajipiur Khal”. Diamond Harbour had the Salt Revenue Department and also had a quarantine facility. This was necessary for the Hajj pilgrims returning to the country.

Historic records suggest that at Hajipur, most of the European ships would load and unload their goods before Calcutta became the main trading hub for ships and the main port. One can still see some link to this in the local Christian Cemetery, where one can see graves dating back centuries of Europeans who might have died during the journey and were buried here.

Rogue’s River

You might wonder as to why this is being mentioned here and what might be its connection to Diamond Harbour. Ironically, this is the canal that gives its name to the fort that was once located here.

If you see current maps or use a map app on your mobile, you will not see anything marked as “Chingri Khal”, which, when translated to Bangla, would mean “Prawn Canal”. As the name suggest this canal must have been once famous for its prawns, which were caught by the local fishermen, but this place also hides another side. This canal was known as the “Rogue’s River” by the Europeans, and the reason is quite sinister.

This is where the pirates, mostly Portuguese, Maghs from Chittagong & Arakan (present-day Rakhine State in Myanmar) would hide waiting for their opportunity to strike on passing ships. Back then, most of the canals were interconnected, and one could sail all the way to present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar using these canals.

I tried to place the possible location of this Chingri Khal on the map using Google maps and the nearest canal that I could pinpoint was one just below the Diamond Harbour.

One important aspect that one should always keep in consideration is that rivers and canals do not always follow the same path as they tend to keep shifting, thus if you try to exactly position an old map on a recent satellite map, it will never match.

Chingri Khal Fort

Considering the history of piracy in this part of the river, it was logical to build a fort out here to scare off the pirates. Usually, the forts around the river were small in size but would be equipped with various types and sizes of guns and cannons to fend off the pirates.

The first report that we see is from the year 1854 by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Yule (renowned orientalist and geographer). The basis on which a study was done and a report prepared on the 23^rd of June, 1859, by Lieutenant Colonel R. Baird Smith on behalf of the Public Works Department regarding the defence of Hooghly.

He had studied the possible situation where a sudden attack on Calcutta was carried out on the river by ships or an organised attack wherein the river route was chosen as a point of entry towards Calcutta. He suggested that Diamond Harbour and specifically the land next to Chingri Khal be used to have some sort of fortification along with a battery consisting of cannons and guns, which can be used to protect the river route.

Even if the enemy ships disembark below Diamond Harbour, the only place that they can go is in Culpee (Kulpi), which again would be a manageable distance to protect from Diamond Harbour – Chingri Khal. Beyond Culpee would be inhospitable terrain consisting of swamps and marshland from where troops would be unable to move forward.

Diamond Harbour, also, by then was connected to Calcutta by road link, thus managing a steady supply to the proposed fort would be easy, along with the already available river route from Calcutta.

The report also mentioned that the possibility of an attack from the Mutlah River (Matla) is negligible, and thus was not considered.

Therefore, he suggested the construction of an earthen battery consisting of eight heavy guns. This battery would be closed in the rear and open in the front. This part of the river was famous for its floods, and as per earlier records, the maximum that the river had risen was three feet, so the construction height should keep this in mind.

Of the eight heavy guns, five would cover the lower channel, and three would cover the upper channel. A raised platform measuring twenty feet by twenty feet on which the guns would be placed. One 68-pounder or 8-inch gun & four 32-pounders would be facing the lower channel, and one 68-pounder or 8-inch gun & two 32-pounders would face the upper channel.

For each of the guns ammunitions would need to be stored at the magazine located in the field nearby. The stock should be 100 rounds per gun.

To man the fort, a garrison should support six officers, sixty gunners, one hundred battery guard, plus thirty-four miscellaneous personnel.

Additionally, a war steamer was proposed to be stationed at Diamond Harbour and provision for temporary staffing huts. The war steamer was never allotted, and the actual number of personnel managing the Chingri Khal fort would be much less in number.

Basis of this report, an approval was received from Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Yule on the 28^th of June 1859. In his response, he had instructed to use Garrison Engineers to start building the battery at Chingri Khal.

Arms And Ammunitions At Chingri Khal Fort

Initially, the plan was to have only eight guns mounted at the battery as stated in the 1859 report; however, in the report of 1891, we see new arms being installed at the Chingri Khal Fort.

4 quantity BL 6-inch naval gun. BL stands for Breech Loader, wherein the ammunition is loaded from the rear end of the barrel.

3 quantity 38 ton RML. Here, RML stands for Rifled Muzzle Loader.

2 quantity 40 pr RML.

3 quantity 6 pr QF. This is a naval and coastal defence gun. Here, QF stands for Quick Firing.

5 quantity RCM guns. Here, RCM stands for Recoil Compensated Mounting

2 quantity rifle-calibre machine guns.

To maintain these armaments year-round, the following positions were allotted. One Master Gunner – 3^rd class, four 1^st class lascars, four 2^nd class lascars, one Bhistie (water carrier) & one Sweeper. This low number of personnel was a stark contrast to what was mentioned in the 1859 report. Back then, the government wanted to safeguard against a naval attack, but later on, this was reduced as the threat of an attack from the river declined, resulting in a much lower number of men managing the fort. Just enough people to fire and maintain the guns. 

In the 1903 report, we can see some of the BL 6-inch guns sent back to England for conversion. There was a debate if that would leave Fort Chingri Khal defenceless, but the argument was in favour that no immediate threat was seen for an attack on Chingri Khal, thus the guns could be sent back to England for the purpose of upgradation. 

Firing Of The Guns & Cannons From Chingri Khal Fort

The cannons from the Chingri Khal fort were fired from time to time, and this was not done just as a tradition but also a requirement, as the guns needed to be in perfect working condition, and the only way to test would be to fire them to the maximum capacity.

Gunpowder, cannon balls, and projectile shells were expensive; thus, firing them randomly all the time was not possible, and there was a procedure that had to be followed. Written permission was sought from Fort William, and only after their approval were they fired.

The firing of the cannons posed another problem, Hooghly River was like a lifeline for the people of Bengal and most villages were located around it. To test the gun’s smooth functionality, it was necessary to test as per the calibre of the gun, and that would mean the villages around the river would obviously come within the firing trajectory. Risking lives was not an option by assuming that the cannons and the shells would fly over the villages.

To mitigate the risk, the villages were emptied for a time being, and this was also accompanied by compensation provided to the villagers for this disruption. The range of this would be around two miles, within which the villages were emptied. At a later stage, this two-mile limit was extended, which was met by a lot of resistance from the local villagers.

A report from 1893 suggests that there were quarterly firings of the guns using paper mache shots. Only during the annual testing did they use proper projectiles. The report also suggests that during the annual firing of the guns, some houses suffered damages and compensations amounting to a total of 23 Rupees were handed out in 1889, 32 Rupees in 1890 and 44 Rupees in 1891. Apart from this, around 700 Rupees in compensation were handed out to the villagers for moving out during the annual firing of the guns. It is to be noted here that the amounts mentioned include villages both at Diamond Harbour and Falta. At a later stage, a fixed rate of 2 Rupees per house was sanctioned for whoever needed to be moved out during the test firing.

The main issue faced by the gunners when firing shells into the river is the effect of hydrodynamic lift, which makes a shell hit the surface of water and then skid upwards. These sometimes would head towards the villages and causes damages.

Land Around Chingri Khal Disposed

By 1922, things started looking grim for the Chingri Khal fort. Overall, things had changed, and by now the British were in full control of the region, and open piracy on the Hooghly River near Diamond Harbour was a rare thing.

In letters exchanged between government officials to the headquarters of the Eastern Command, we can see that a request was made to dispose of some land, which was a part of the Chingri Khal Fort, for the construction of a cold storage facility. By now, Diamond Harbour had become a major hub for the fishing industry, and businessmen saw the opportunity for opening a cold storage depot in order to facilitate the storage and distribution of fish to other parts of the country.

A gentleman named (Major) Sir Edward Oswald Every wanted to start this business, which the military department had firmly denied, stating that no lands could be given as they might be required by the department later. An alternate arrangement was done, and different plots of land were shown for this purpose.

One of the main concerns was the proposed height of the chimney of the factory, which could be seen from a distance and could easily be used by the enemy to pinpoint the location of the fort. Fortunately, the fort observation tower was higher than the proposed height of the chimney. This gives us a fair idea of how the fort would have looked with a high observation point.

There was already a debate whether Calcutta needed a defence from the sea, and there was no need to maintain a large presence at Chingri Khal Fort. The fort needed men to run and maintain the arms and also ammunitions which was hitting the budget of the department.

A portion of land on the northern side of the fort was leased for the construction of the cold storage. I tried my best to pinpoint the location of this cold storage, and with some reference, I came to the conclusion that the place where we now see the SDO Ground is where the Cold Storage was once located.

There was another proposal that was also floating around at the time, which was to extend a railway line (Eastern Bengal Railway) to the banks of the river near the fort so as to provide visitors direct access to the harbour river side. This, however, did not materialize but if you see the recent satellite map of the area, you can clearly see one line which is used as a buffer line (siding), which has terminated midway leading towards the fort grounds (Kellar Math).

Chingri Khal Fort Now

The first thing that one would feel after seeing what remains of Chingri Khal fort is a big disappointment. Only few portions of the walls and foundation remains visible that too most of the time due to the tide these remain below the waterline. You need to visit during low tide when the water recedes, and you will be able to see these sections.

To locate these, one needs to go to the place known as Kellar Math, which was once the camping ground around the Chingri Khal fort and once you reach the open ground located right next to the rive you need to walk south, where the ground ends and start walking amongst the trees and bushes till you reach an empty spot. From here, during low tides, if you look towards your right while facing south, you will be able to see the remains of the wall and foundation of the fort.

A word of caution that the water out here is very deep, and add to that the water currents are very strong, so one needs to be extremely careful while approaching these broken sections. Also, keep in mind the tides, as during high tides the water rises significantly.

I would advise not visiting alone and having people accompany you, as this spot is a bit desolate and there have been recent incidents where some miscreants have caused unnecessary trouble. Also, only visit during the daytime and visiting this place later in the evening after the sun sets is never recommended.

The ground out here most of the time is full of soft mud, so look carefully and feel the ground first to see if it’s soft and slippery or hard enough to walk on. I almost slipped a few times on slippery mud.

Diamond Harbour is a major fish trading point, and the market is located very near the fort. Nagendra Bazar Fish Market is one of the biggest in this region.

A special thanks to Pallob Baidya for showing me around the town, especially for helping in reaching the fort remains.

How To Visit Diamond Harbour

Diamond Harbour is a very good weekend destination, and with its close proximity to Kolkata, it’s easily manageable by car or motorcycle. It would take around two to two and a half hours to reach by road, considering the traffic. Diamond Harbour is very well connected by bus from Esplanade, which can be a cheap option. The fastest and cheapest option is by local train departing from Sealdah (South Section). From the station and the bus terminus, one can catch a shared toto (e-rickshaw) and reach Kellar Math.

Where To Stay At Diamond Harbour

There are many options ranging from budget accommodations to full-service resorts. During my trip, I stayed at Sagarika Tourist Lodge, which I would rate as average but with a fantastic view of the riverfront. Other popular ones are Girish Hotel & Resort, Ananda Dhara Villa Cum Guest House & Punyalakshmi Resort.

What To Eat At Diamond Harbour

This place is a hub when it comes to fish trading, and if you are a fish lover, then I would surely recommend you try some at the hotel where you are staying, as most of them would have a restaurant. Additionally, try numerous food stalls located near the Diamond Harbour Jetty opposite the I Love Diamond Harbour Signage. You will get fish, chicken, momos, kebabs, etc. If you have a sweet tooth, then do check out Nandalal & Sons.

Location Of Chingri Khal Fort On The Map

Other Related Blogs

Locating Fort Budge Budge And Fort Makwa Tana
Falta Dutch Fort
Moyapur Achipur Barood Ghar Magazine
Barrackpore Park Latbagan
Flagstaff House Barrackpore

Reference

Report on Native Papers 1903
Report on Native Papers in Bengal 1901
Bengal District  Gazetteers – 24 Parganas by L.S.S. O’malley
The Diary of William Hedges (1681-1697)
The Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908-09
The Times of India
ETV Bharat
Journal Of The Calcutta Historical Society 1923
Military Department Records of 1859, 1891, 1893, 1903, 1927
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library