Bandel

Today Bandel, is a busy industrial town, connected by rail from Howrah (39 km) and Sealdah (46km). Bandel is an old Portuguese settlement and houses the oldest church in Bengal. Built in 1599 the church has gone through several extension & renovation and nothing much remains of its past.

A little away from the Bandel lies the Hooghly Imambara. Imambara literally means the residence of the Imam, but In the Indian subcontinent, the word stands for a house or an assembly hall built by the Shiites for observing Muharram. Build in the memory of the great philanthropist Hazi Muhammad Mohsin, the imposing structure was took 20 years to build and was completed in 1861.