New Delhi: Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly river, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its economic output as measured by gross domestic product ranked third among South Asian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.Watch in pics Kolkata - Then and now:Kolkata in old daysCalcutta now known as Kolkata became the centre of all cultural and political movements in entire IndiaA Kolkata street in late 19th centuryOld Mission Church in KolkataThe Nimtolla Mosque, largest Mohammedan mosque in KolkataBuffalo Herd on the Road, KolkataAerial view of Kolkata downtownHindustan building, one of the most modern in KolkataOld Kolkata in 1942Calcutta University in the year 1937View of Hooghly river Howrah Bridge This is immediate post-war picture of tram-workers on strike. The strike lasted nine days but employeess won par of their demands.The Hooghly river is lined with bathing ghats in 1945Kolkata bus stand near Howrah bridge in 1944 Busy streets of Kolkata in ancient daysKolkata - 1903People sleeping on streets during summers in Kolkata in 1953Temple in Kolkata Kolkata Temple in 1858
