Gaighata (community development block)

Gaighata
গাইঘাটা সমষ্টি উন্নয়ন ব্লক
Community development block
Gaighata

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 22°56′N 88°44′E / 22.93°N 88.73°E / 22.93; 88.73Coordinates: 22°56′N 88°44′E / 22.93°N 88.73°E / 22.93; 88.73
Country  India
State West Bengal
District North 24 Parganas
Area
 • Total 243.52 km2 (94.02 sq mi)
Elevation 12 m (39 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 330,287
 • Density 1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Literacy (2011)
 • Total literates 247,838 (82.32%)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 743249 (Gaighata)
743245 (Chandpara Bazar)
Telephone/STD code 03216
Vehicle registration WB-23, WB-24, WB-25, WB-26
Lok Sabha constituency Bangaon
Vidhan Sabha constituency Gaighata, Bangaon Dakshin
Website north24parganas.nic.in

Gaighata is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Bangaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Gaighata police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Chandrapara Bazar. It is located 73 km from Barasat, the district headquarters.

Geography

Location

Situated on the banks of the river Jamuna, Gaighata is located at 22°56′N 88°44′E / 22.93°N 88.73°E / 22.93; 88.73.

Gaighata CD Block is bounded by Bangaon CD Block in the north, Sharsha Upazila in Jessore District of Bangladesh in the east, Swarupnagar and Habra I CD Blocks in the south and Haringhata CD Block in Nadia district in the west.[1][2]

Area

Gaighata CD Block has an area of 243.52 km2.[3]

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.[4] Parts of the metropolitan city of Kolkata extend over southern part of the district.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayats of Gaighata block/ panchayat samiti are: Chandpara, Fulsara, Jaleswar II, Sutia, Dharmapur I, Ichapur I, Jhaudanga, Dharmapur II, Ichapur II, Ramnagar, Duma, Jaleswar I and Shimulpur.[5]

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Gaighata CD Block had a total population of 330,287, of which 265,526 were rural and 64,761 were urban. There were 169,216 (51%) males and 161,071 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 29,228. Scheduled Castes numbered 162,281 and Scheduled Tribes numbered 14,432.[6]

In 2011, Gaighata (village) had a population of 3,878.[6]

As per 2001 census, Gaighata block has a total population of 300,418 out of which 177,515 were males and 166,459 were females. Gaighata block registered a population growth of 16.72 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the district was 22.40 per cent.[3] Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.[7]

Census towns and large villages

Census towns in Gaighata CD Block were (2011 census figures in brackets): Chandpara (7,113), Chhekati (4,995), Sonatikiri (6,919), Dhakuria (10,165), Chikanpara (9,594), Shimulpur (20,803) and Bara (5,172).[6]

Large villages in Gaighata CD Block were (2011 census fgures in brackets): Hanspur (4,113), Patabuka (4,845), Dharmpur (5,090), Jaleshwar (5,602), Narikela (5,222), Rampur (6,936), Ichhapur (5,999), Karola (4,127), Bagchara (5,745), Phulsara (8,716), Mondalpara (5,607), Angrail (6,978), Barnagaria (4,789), Bishnupur (4,119), Barasat (7,441), Panchpota (8,312) and Ramnagar (4,521).[6]

Literacy

As per 2011 census the total number of literates in Gaighata CD Block was 247,838 (82.32% of the population over 6 years) out of which 134,183 (54%) were males and 113,655 (46%) were females.[6]

As per 2011 census, literacy in North 24 Parganas district was 84.06 (including urban areas outside the CD Blocks).[8] Literacy in West Bengal was 77.08% in 2011.[9] Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.[9]

Language

Bengali is the local language in these areas.[1]

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.[10]

Gaighata CD Block had a population density of 1,172 persons per km2. It was ranked 14 amongst the 22 CD Blocks for density of population in 2001. It had a literacy rate of 74.85%, ranking of 4. Male literacy rate was 82.16% and female literacy rate was 67.11%. Percentage distribution of main workers in Gaighata CD Block was cultivators 21.45, agricultural labourers 26.77, household industry workers 6.10 and other workers 45.69 (non-agricultural, non-household). 22.71% of households in this CD Block lived below poverty line.[10]

In the Gaighata CD Block 15 villages had secondary schools and for 94.29% villages a college was more than 5 km away. Gaighata had 19 high schools with 16,810 students and 290 teachers. It had 12 higher secondary schools with 17,574 students and 331 teachers.[10]

In Gaighata, 91.43% of the villages had electricity for domestic use, 83.81% villages had paved approach roads, 100% villages had primary schools, 20.95% of the 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 Gaighata CD Block, 105 villages had tube wells for drinking water. Gaighata CD Block had 174 km surfaced roads and 749 km unsurfaced roads.[10]

North 24 Parganas is one of the leading districts in the formation and development of self-help groups. In Gaighata there were 1,280 such groups. The major activities done by these groups were vermi-compost production, animal husbandry, poultry and goat rearing. Gaighata CD Block had 5 health centres and 46 sub-centres.[10]

Transport

Gaighata is on NH 35 from Barasat to Bangaon and the Bangladesh border. A privately operated express bus (No. 250) from Esplanade to Bangaon goes via Gaighata (It's Close From 2008).[11] Gaighata now has good connectivity with all surrounding villages by means of autorikshas and trekars. One can easily reach Ranaghat and Basirhat by bus. Recently another privately operated bus ( No. DN 44 ) from ( Bangaon to Dakshineswar ) also goes via Chandpara, Gaighata, Habra, Barasat, Madhyamgram, Birati.

Healthcare

Gaighata block is one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination.[12] According to the findings of the Arsenic Dushan Protirodh Committee (ADPC), a national-level NGO which aims to spread awareness of arsenic and prevent arsenic poisoning through water, found at least 70 tube-wells were reportedly supplying water highly contaminated with arsenic. The ADPC tested water from wells across Gaighata block in North 24-Parganas as well as urine samples of 100 school children.[13]

The possibility of a low cost river water treatment plant utilizing water from Yamuna-Ichhamati at Gighata has been considered. However, this is not considered feasible because the river is highly polluted, costs would considerably increased because of installation of chemical treatment plant to remove pollutants, and the volume of water in the river in summer season is not sufficient.[14]

Project Well, a NGO, is implementing a self-supporting community-based mitigation program in Gaighata to provide arsenic safe water by constructing 20 modified conventional dugwells along with education on water related health effects to change behaviour.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Gaighata Block". onefivenine. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "North 24 Parganas District". Map Gallery – CD Blocks. North 24 Parganas district administration. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. ↑ LSS O’Malley. "Bengal District Gazzetteers: 24 Parganas". p 1-4. Google Books. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ↑ From Barasat Sadar subdivision page.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ "Provisional Population Totals, West Bengal. Table 4". Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 26 September 2003. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  8. ↑ "District Census 2011". Population Census 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. ↑ "Travel - Transport". Kolkata Bus Routes. calcuttaweb. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  12. ↑ "Groundwater Arsenic contamination in West Bengal-India (20 years study )". Groundwater arsenic contamination status of North 24-Parganas district, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal-India. SOES. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  13. ↑ "Arsenic mitigation programme". sos- arsenic.net. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  14. ↑ "An assessment of alternative methods of providing arsenic free water in villages of North-24-Parganas, West Bengal, India". Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  15. ↑ "India, West Bengal - Arsenic Safe Drinking Water: Gaighata". info@blueplanetrun.org. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
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