Deganga (community development block)

Deganga
Community development block

The mound of Khana-Mihir or Baraha-Mihir on Prithiba Road, Berachampa
Deganga

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 22°41′36″N 88°40′41″E / 22.69333°N 88.67806°E / 22.69333; 88.67806Coordinates: 22°41′36″N 88°40′41″E / 22.69333°N 88.67806°E / 22.69333; 88.67806
Country  India
State West Bengal
District North 24 Parganas
Area
 • Total 201.05 km2 (77.63 sq mi)
Elevation 6 m (20 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 319,213
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Literacy (2011)
 • Total literates 222,866 (79.65%)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 743423 (Beliaghata Bridge)
Telephone/STD code 03216
Vehicle registration WB-23, WB-24, WB-25, WB-26
Lok Sabha constituency Barasat, Basirhat
Vidhan Sabha constituency Deganga, Haroa
Website north24parganas.nic.in

Deganga is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Barasat Sadar subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Deganga police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Deganga. It is located 20 km from Barasat, the district headquarters. The area with an old history in a rural setting is facing the problem of arsenic contamination of groundwater.

History

The saga of the Vidyadhari River, which flows through the Deganga area, has been part of local folklore since time immemorial. The river had formed a major navigation route for earlier civilisations. In the 3rd century BC, the nearby river port of Chandraketugarh was on the banks of this river. There still are tell-tale signs of that bygone era, and efforts are on near Berachampa to find more evidence of a lost civilization, possibly Meryan. The source of the river is located near Haringhata in Nadia. Later it winds down through the area before meeting at Roymangal at the confluence of Sundarbans.[1][2]

Geography

Location

Berachampa, with the CD Block offices, is located at 22°41′36″N 88°40′41″E / 22.69333°N 88.67806°E / 22.69333; 88.67806.[3]

Deganga CD Block is bounded by Habra I CD Block in the north, Baduria and Basirhat I CD Blocks in the east, Haroa CD Block in the south and Barasat I and Barasat II CD Blocks in the west.[4][5]

Area

Deganga CD Block has an area of 201.05 km2.[6]

Physical features

North 24 Parganas district is part of the Gangetic delta, lying east of the Hooghly River. The country is flat. It is a little raised above flood level and the highest ground borders the river channels. The rivers in the district were formerly distributaries of the Ganges but their mouths have long been filled up and blocked. The area is described as a sort of a drowned land broken by swamps. Land in the north-east of the district is higher than that of the rest of the district. The sturdy peasants raise crops of rice, jute and sugarcane from the alluvial soil. There are clumps of palm and fruit trees in which village homesteads nestle. Industrial activity is concentrated in the narrow strip of land along the Hooghly River. The south-eastern part of the district gradually merges into the Sunderbans.[7] Parts of the metropolitan city of Kolkata extend over southern part of the district.

Gram panchayats

Deganga is an intermediate panchayat (local self-government) under North 24 Parganas district. Village panchayats under it are – Amulia, Berachampa I & II, Chakla, Champatala, Chaurashi, Deganga I & II, Hadipur-Jikhra I & II, Kolsur, Nurnagar and Sohai-Shetpur.[8]

Social turmoil

Land acquisition fear

Villagers in West Bengal are greatly worried about acquisition of land for industry. In March 2007, Sasthi Charan Ghosh, Block Development Officer, decided to inspect a fenced-up plot near Kalianibil in Deganga in connection with a plywood company's plans to set up a factory there. Later they were to meet to decide on the company's application. Barely had they finished the inspection when rumours spread that government officials were measuring land for acquisition. Over 1,000 villagers ambushed cars carrying the officials. Police rushed in to rescue them, but failed to stop the mob from setting ablaze two vehicles belonging to the circle inspector and zilla parishad. A number of policemen were injured.[9]

2010 anti-Hindu riots

Main article: 2010 Deganga riots

The 2010 Deganga riots began on 6 September when an muslim mob resorted to arson and violence on the Hindu localities of Deganga, Kartikpur and Beliaghata under the Deganga police station area. The violence began late in the evening and continued throughout the night into the next morning. The district police, Rapid Action Force all failed to stop the mob violence, Central Reserve Police Force was finally deployed.[10][11][12][13] The Central Reserve Police Force staged a flag march on the Taki Road, while Islamist violence continued unabated in the interior villages off the Taki Road, till Wednesday in spite of army presence and promulgation of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC. The violence finally calmed down on 9 September after Several of Hindu business establishments and residences were looted, destroyed and burnt, dozens of Hindus were severely injured and several Hindu temples were desecrated and vandalized.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Deganga CD Block had a total population of 319,213, of which 309,550 were rural and 9,663 were urban. There were 163,154 (51%) males and 156,059 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 39,415. Scheduled Castes numbered 39,027 and Scheduled Tribes numbered 2,560.[14]

Deganga (village) had a population of 3,377 as per 2011 census.[14]

In the 2001 census, Deganaga community development block had a population of 276,049 out of which 141,545 were males and 134,504 were females.[6]

Census towns and large villages

There is only one census town in Deganga CD Block (2011 census figure in brackets): Deulia (9,633).[14]

Large villages in Deganga CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets): Fazilpur (4,084), Sohai (4,858), Biswanathpur (4,585), Kaliani (5,525), Chyandana (7,188), Khejurdanga (4,370), Belgachhia (4,026), Subrnapur (6,380), Parpatna (6,558), Uttar Kalsur (9,051), Dakshin Kalsur (6,731), Basudebpur (4,580), Matikumra (4,651), Amulia (4,443), Alipur (7,801), Kaukepara (8,707), Nandipara Kuchemora (4,936), Jadabpur (6,390), Chandpur (8,780), Keadanga (4,682), Hadipur Churijhara (9,971), Jhikra (4,315) and Abjan Nagar (5,544).[14]

Literacy

As per 2011 census the total number of literates in Deganga CD Block was 222,866 (79.65% of the population over 6 years) out of which 118,553 (53%) were males and 104,313 (47%) were females.[14]

As per 2011 census, literacy in North 24 Parganas district was 84.06 (including urban areas outside the CD Blocks).[15] Literacy in West Bengal was 77.08% in 2011.[16] Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.[16]

Language

Bengali is the local language in these areas.[4]

Human Development Report

According to Census 2001, 54% of the population of North 24 Parganas district lived in the urban areas. The district had 1,571 inhabited villages spread over 22 community development blocks. In the urban area there were 27 municipalities, 20 census towns, 7 urban outgrowths and one town under Cantonment Board. The North 24 Parganas district Human Development Report opines that in spite of agricultural productivity in North 24 Parganas district being rather impressive 81.84% of rural population suffered from shortage of food. The number of families living below the poverty line varied widely from block to block. Even in some municipal areas, such as Baduria, Gobardanga, Taki, Basirhat, Bangaon and Habra surveys have revealed large percentage of people living in poverty. Several poverty alleviation schemes are under implementation mostly at the block level. North 24 Parganas district with a population density of 2,192 persons per square km, was the third densest in West Bengal, after Kolkata and Howrah. The high density of population in the district is largely because of large scale migration of refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan, particularly in the period 1947 to 1955. In 2004, life expectancy at birth of a female was 71 years and that of a male was 66 years. With a literacy rate of 68.74% in 2001, the district was second only to Kolkata in the state in literacy. There were 6,139 habitations in the rural areas of North 24 Parganas. Out of these 2,331 habitations have primary schools within the villages and another 3,334 habitations have primary schools within 1 km. There are 474 habitations with primary schools beyond 1 km from the village. There were 258 high schools in the rural areas of the district.[17]

Deganga CD Block had a population density of 1,363 persons per km2. It was ranked 8 amongst the 22 CD Blocks for density of population in 2001. It had a literacy rate of 68.34%, rank 14. Male literacy rate was 74.88% and female literacy rate was 61.42%. Percentage distribution of main workers in Deganga CD Block was cultivators 27.63, agricultural labourers 29.03, household industry workers 3.70 and other workers 39.64 (non-agricultural, non-household). 14.29% of households in this CD Block lived below poverty line.[17]

In the Deganga CD Block 19 villages had secondary schools and for 97.22% villages a college was more than 5 km away. Deganga had 13 high schools with 13,416 students and 158 teachers. It had 8 higher secondary schools with 8,646 students and 62 teachers.[17]

In Deganga CD Block, 93.52% of the villages had electricity for domestic use, 88.89% villages had paved approach roads, 88.89% villages had primary schools, 1.85% villages had maternity and child welfare centres, and 100% villages had drinking water. The tube well is the source of drinking water in 1,244 out of 1,572 villages in the district. In Deganga CD Block, 95 villages had tube wells for drinking water and 13 villages had tap water. Deganga CD Block had 331 km surfaced roads and 184 km unsurfaced roads.[17]

North 24 Parganas is one of the leading districts in the formation and development of self-help groups. In Deganga there were 801 such groups. The major activities done by these groups were kantha-stitching, hand embroidery, vegetable-dye and paper bag making. Deganga CD Block had 5 health centres and 37 sub-centres.[17]

Healthcare

Deganga is one of the areas where groundwater is affected by arsenic contamination.[18] In Kolsur in Deganga area, Pal Trockner's arsenic removal technology was used at an expenditure of over Rs 30 million. Experts feel that the entire expenditure has gone waste.[19] Aqua Welfare Society, a non government organization (NGO), has been providing arsenic safe water to the local through rain water harvesting. They are providing the water through modified dugwells, the water which is treated with chlorine regularly. AWS has organised several interactive workshops including one on water at Kolsur High School, on 26 November 2006. The participants were informed that by 2009 the state government had planned to provide water through pipelines that would either be treated river water or water from the third aquifer (deep tubewell) that is arsenic free. However, it was also mentioned that the remote villages where it would be difficult to provide the pipelines the villagers would need to use alternate sources for their drinking water.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Chatterjee, Rajib. "Health of Vidyadhari a cause for concern". The Statesman, 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Potential tourist hubs remain in obscurity". The Statesman, 22 April 2003. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  3. ↑ "Deganga Block Development Office (Berachampa)". North 24 Parganas. Wikimapia. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Deganga Block". onefivenine. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "North 24 Parganas District". Map Gallery – CD Blocks. North 24 Parganas district administration. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Census of India 2001, Provisional Population Totals, West Bengal, Table - 4". North Twenty Four Parganas District (11). Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  7. ↑ LSS O’Malley. "Bengal District Gazzetteers: 24 Parganas". p 1-4. Google Books. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Details of West Bengal till Village Panchayat Tier". Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  9. ↑ "Villagers on edge, suspicious of govt officials". Times of India 19 March 2007. 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  10. ↑ "Communal clash near Bangla border, Central Reserve Police Force deployed". Kolkata: The Times of India. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Central Reserve Police Force out after Deganga rioting". Kolkata: The Times of India. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  12. ↑ "Curfew in Bengal district, Army called in". Kolkata: Indian Express. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  13. ↑ Bose, Raktima (8 September 2010). "Youth killed in group clash". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "C.D. Block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "District Census 2011". Population Census 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Provisional population tables and annexures" (PDF). Census 2011:Table 2(3) Literates and Literacy rates by sex. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "District Human Development Report: North 24 Parganas" (PDF). Intro Pp 3, 6, 8, 22, 38, 202; Block specific Pp 20, 22, 27, 28, 31, 86, 89, 123, 145, 151, 189. Development & Planning Department, Government of West Bengal, 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Groundwater Arsenic contamination in West Bengal-India (19 years study )". Groundwater arsenic contamination status of North 24-Parganas district, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal-India. SOES. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  19. ↑ Surojit, Mahalanobis (2004-09-26). "'Use surface water. Stop digging'". Times of India, 27 September 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  20. ↑ "Report on the workshop ‘Jawl Somporkay Alochana’ held on 26th November, 2006 at Kolsur High School," (PDF). Aqua Welfare Society. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
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