Virtual Trail: Hooghly River Arrivals- Budge Budge & Achipur

Once Kolkata was a flourishing port and ships from all over the world made their way up the river Hooghly to trade at one of the oldest ports of the country. In those days the high seas were never a safe area. For protection against pirates, the ships had their own share of defensive mechanism, along with an ample share of gunpowder. But carrying gunpowder in the crowded docks of the Kolkata port was never safe and a single spark could trigger off devastation.

So the port authorities followed a simple but effective plan. The ships entering the port had to deposit the gunpowder long before they enter the port and they would pick it up on the return journey before they hit the high seas. The practice has long stopped but the massive buildings used to store the gun powder still remains.

Tong Achew, a Chinese tea trader also…