Summary:
The coercive "salt tax" that finally led to Gandhiji's salt satyagraha was decided in this hub.At a state tourism department and Unesco meeting over the city's riverfront development last year, the railways presented the case of the Salt Gola ruins. The 21-acre property itself stands on the banks of the Hooghly -the Howrah bridge looming in the distance -with the water threatening to swamp it. They have discovered under the knee-high shrubs the remains of a rail track that was used to roll in salt from the salt works of Orissa (now Odisha), Midnapur (Midnapore) and Bhuj in Gujarat. A stone's throw away, modern life rushes on oblivious to the 181-year-old ruin.The Salt Golah of Salkia that lent its name to Golabari police station, is a massive maze of 244 godowns built by the British around 1835 to stack salt. "We were stunned to know about these ruins," said G M Kapur, state convenor of Intach, who is co-ordinating the project..