Kali Poddar, the zamindar of Naldanga in Kaliganj, built the historic Jessore Road. According to various historical sources, zamindar Kali Poddar's mother Yashoda Devi took a vow of bathing in the Ganges on the road. In this situation, the zamindar built a road from Kaliganj in Jessore to Kalighat on the banks of the Ganges in present-day Kolkata in order to fulfill his mother's wishes. But even though the construction of the road was completed, Rajmata Yashoda Devi refused to travel in the hot sun. Later, raintree/kadai trees were planted on both sides of the road on the advice of Yashoda Devi. The road was named Jessore Road after Rajmata Yashoda Devi. Those centuries old trees are still adorning Jessore Road.
Hundreds of refugees took refuge on both sides of Jessore Road during the 1971 freedom struggle. American poet Alan Ginsberg wrote a poem called September on Jessore Road after seeing the suffering of refugees. Later, Indian singer Moushumi Bhowmik composed a Bengali translation of this poem.
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