The Port of Kolkata

The Port of Kolkata is a riverine port in the city of Kolkata. It is the oldest operating port in India and was constructed by the British East India Company. The Port has two distinct dock systems – Kolkata Docks at Kolkata and a deep water dock at Haldia Dock Complex, Haldia. From 1838 to 1917, the British used this port to ship off over half a million Indians from all over India — mostly from the Bhojpuri Belt, Bengal, and Tamil Nadu — and take them to places across the world, such as Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Belize, and the Caribbean Islands as indentured laborers.