Thus, with the capital investment of the British the commercial town of Serampore was transformed into an industrial one. The deciding force behind the process was the laying of the railway line from Howrah to Burdwan in 1854. It ushered in a great change in the social composition of the town. Between 1866 and 1915, six more jute mills were established at Rishra, Serampore and Chandannagar. The local landlords, "thikadars", and mill-owners made arrangements for the habitation of the labour force around the factories. Thus at Mahesh, Akna, and Tarapukur "mouzas" adjacent to the Ganges, workers' colonies like Odiabasti, Gayaparabasti, Chhapra Basti and Telengi para Basti were established. Because of the arrival of these migrant workers, the population in Serampore increased from 24,440 to 44,451 between 1872 and 1901. The habitations of labourers were unhygienic, overcrowded slums. There was no provision for even the bare minimum of civic amenities in their dwellings.