Paschim Medinipur district

Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (Pron: ˌmɪdnəˈpʊə) (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur. On 4 April 2017, the Jhargram subdivision was converted into a district.

Paschim Medinipur district
District of West Bengal
Malleshwar Shiva temple in Chandrakona
Location of Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal
CountryIndia
StateWest Bengal
DivisionMidnapore
HeadquartersMidnapore
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesMedinipur, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST) – all have assembly segments in adjoining districts, Arambagh – with one assembly segment in the district
 • Vidhan Sabha constituenciesDantan, Keshiary, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona, Garbeta, Salboni, Keshpur, Medinipur
Area
 • Total6,308 km2 (2,436 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total5,913,457
 • Density940/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
11.9 per cent
Demographics
 • Literacy79.04 per cent
 • Sex ratio960
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highwaysNH 6, NH 60
Average annual precipitation2,111 mm
Websitehttp://www.paschimmedinipur.gov.in/
Map of Paschim Medinipur district showing Midnapore

Geography

Overview

Paschim Medinipur, located in the south-western part of West Bengal, was created with the partition of the erstwhile Midnapore district, then the largest district of India, on 1 January 2002. It ranks second in terms of geographical area (9,295.28  km2) amongst the districts of the state, next to South 24-Parganas (9,960  km2). It ranks third in terms of rural population (4.58 million) following South 24-Parganas (5.82 million) and Murshidabad (5.13 million). It ranked fourth in terms of percentage of tribal population (14.87) following Jalpaiguri (18.87), Purulia (18.27) and Dakshin Dinajpur (16.12) in 2011.[1]

Broadly speaking, there are two natural divisions of the district. NH 14 and NH 16 (old numbering NH 60) from Bankura to Balasore, cuts across the district and roughly is the dividing line between the two natural divisions. To the east of this road, the soil is fertile alluvial and the area is flat. To the west, the Chota Nagpur Plateau gradually slopes down creating an undulating area with infertile laterite rocks and soil. The landscape changes from dense dry deciduous forests in the west to marshy wetlands in the east.[1]

The alluvial portion may be further subdivided into two divisions. First, it is a strip of purely deltaic country nearer to the Hooghly and the Rupnarayan, intersected by numerous rivers and watercourses subject to tidal influences. Second, it is rest of the eastern half of the district. It is a monotonous rice plain with numerous waterways and tidal creeks intersecting it. The tidal creeks are lined with embankments to prevent flooding of the fields. Much of the area is water-logged.[1]

Floods and drought

Paschim Medinipur district is subject to both floods and drought. Ghatal and parts of Kharagpur subdivision covering an area of 142,647 hectares (1,426.47 km2) are flood prone. Water logging during the rainy season affects Ghatal and the southern parts of Kharagpur subdivion and results in loss of crops in such areas as Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh CD Blocks.335,248 hectares (3,352.48 km2) Medinipur Sadar subdivision is drought prone. Although the district is away from the sea, cyclones hit it frequently in October–November.[1]

Major cities and towns

Midnapore is the district headquarters. Kharagpur is the largest city in the district. Other important towns and cities in the district include: Kharagpur, Ghatal, Belda, Chandrakona, Ramjibanpur, Garbeta, Balichak, Dantan, Mohanpur, Keshiari, Keshpur, Narayangarh, Sabang, Daspur.

Villages

Paschim Medinipur district is home to the most villages of any district in India. The 2011 census lists Paschim Medinipur as having 8,694 villages, of which 7,600 are populated, and 1,094 are uninhabited. The district with the next highest number of villages, Mayurbhanj, in the state of Odisha, has 3,950 villages, 3,751 of which are inhabited.

Economy and politics

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Paschim Medinipur one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[2] It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[2]

106 districts spanning 10 states across India, described as being part of Left Wing Extremism activities, constitute the Red corridor. In West Bengal the districts of Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum are part of the Red corridor. However, as of July 2016, there has been no reported incidents of Maoist related activities from these districts for the previous 4 years.[3] In the period 2009–2011 LWE violence resulted in more than 500 deaths and a similar number missing in Paschim Medinipur district.[4]

Divisions

Paschim Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:[5]

SubdivisionHeadquarters
Area
km2		Population
(2011)		Rural
population %
(2011)		Urban
population %
(2011)
Medinipur SadarMidnapore2,441.501,435,32186.0513.95
KharagpurKharagpur2,913.172,293,90985.6714.33
GhatalGhatal953.091,047,67987.9412.06

Administrative subdivisions

The district comprises three subdivisions: Kharagpur, Medinipur Sadar and Ghatal. Kharagpur subdivision consists of Kharagpur municipality and ten community development blocks: Dantan–I, Dantan–II, Pingla, Kharagpur–I, Kharagpur–II, Sabang, Mohanpur, Narayangarh, Keshiari and Debra. Medinipur Sadar subdivision consists of Midnapore municipality and six community development blocks: Medinipur Sadar, Garhbeta–I, Garhbeta–II, Garhbeta–III, Keshpur and Shalboni. Ghatal subdivision consists of five municipalities (Ramjibanpur, Chandrakona, Khirpai, Kharar and Ghatal) and five community development blocks: Chandrakona–I, Chandrakona–II, Daspur–I, Daspur–II and Ghatal.[6]

Midnapore is the district headquarters. There are 28 police stations, 29 development blocks, 8 municipalities and 290 gram panchayats in this district.[6][7]

Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 12 urban units: 8 municipalities and 4 census towns.

Kharagpur subdivision
  • One municipality: Kharagpur.
  • Dantan I community development block consists of rural areas with 9 gram panchayats and one census town: Chaulia
  • Dantan II community development block consists of rural areas only with 7 gram panchayats.
  • Pingla community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.
  • Kharagpur I community development block consists of rural areas with 7 gram panchayats and two census towns: Kharagpur Railway Settlement and Kalaikunda.
  • Kharagpur II community development block consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats.
  • Sabang community development block consists of rural areas only with 13 gram panchayats.
  • Mohanpur community development block consists of rural areas only with 5 gram panchayats.
  • Narayangarh community development block consists of rural areas with 16 gram panchayats and one census town: Deuli.
  • Keshiari community development block consists of only rural areas with 9 gram panchayats.
  • Debra community development block consists of rural areas with 14 gram panchayats and one census town: Balichak.

Medinipur Sadar subdivision
  • One municipality: Midnapore.
  • Midnapore Sadar community development block consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats.
  • Garhbeta I community development block consists of rural areas with 12 gram panchayats and two census towns: Garbeta and Amlagora
  • Garhbeta II community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.
  • Garhbeta III community development block consists of rural areas with 8 gram panchayats and three census towns: Durllabhganj, Dwari Geria and Naba Kola.
  • Keshpur community development block consists of rural areas only with 15 gram panchayats.
  • Salboni community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.

Ghatal subdivision
  • Five municipalities: Ramjibanpur, Chandrakona, Khirpai, Kharar and Ghatal.
  • Chandrakona I community development block consists of rural areas only with 6 gram panchayats.
  • Chandrakona II community development block consists of rural areas only with 6 gram panchayats.
  • Daspur I community development block consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats.
  • Daspur II community development block consists of rural areas only with 14 gram panchayats.
  • Ghatal community development block consists of rural areas only with 12 gram panchayats.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
19011,520,130—    
19111,537,618+0.11%
19211,453,390−0.56%
19311,525,569+0.49%
19411,738,975+1.32%
19511,830,743+0.52%
19612,380,446+2.66%
19713,035,385+2.46%
19813,697,899+1.99%
19914,486,279+1.95%
20015,193,411+1.47%
20115,913,457+1.31%
source:[8]

Religion in Paschin Medinipur district (2011)[9]

  Hinduism (85.52%)
  Islam (10.49%)
  Christianity (0.39%)
  Other (3.23%)
  Atheist (0.37%)

Paschim Medinipur district (2011).[10][11]

  Bengali (86.90%)
  Santali (6.23%)
  Hindi (2.85%)
  Telugu (0.93%)
  Odia (0.75%)
  Urdu (0.72%)
  Others (1.62%)

According to the 2011 census Paschim Medinipur district has a population of 5,913,457,[12] roughly equal to the nation of Eritrea[13] or the US state of Missouri.[14] This gives it a ranking of 14th in India (out of a total of 640).[12] The district has a population density of 636 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,650/sq mi) .[12] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 14.44%.[12] Paschim Medinipur has a sex ratio of 960 females for every 1000 males,[12] and a literacy rate of 79.04%.[12]

See also: List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

Culture

Tourism
  • Patachitra Village (Naya,Pingla)
  • Gopegarh Heritage Park
  • Hatibari Forest banglow and Jhilli Pakhiralay
  • Gurguripal Heritage Park
  • Parimalkanan park, CKT
  • Gangani Garhbeta
  • Rameshwar Temple, near Rohini (On the bank of Subarnarekha river with nearby green forest called Tapoban)
  • Gourya Temple, near Kharagpur
  • Bisnu Temple, Kultikri
  • Rashikananda Memorial, Rohini
  • Mogolmari Boudhabihar, Mogolmari,Dantan
  • Prayag Film City, Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City at Chandrakona Road[15]

Notable personalities
  • Khudiram Bose – Mohobani, situated under the Keshpur Police Station in the Medinipur.The youngest martyrs of the Indian Independence Movement.
  • Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar – Birsingha.a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance. He was a philosopher, academic educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer and philanthropist.
  • Rajnarayan Basu, writer and proponent of Young Bengal movement.He served as the headmaster of Midnapore Zilla School (later known as Midnapore Collegiate School) which was also the forerunner of Midnapore College.
  • Hemchandra Kanungo, an Indian nationalist and a member of the Anushilan Samiti.He was one of the creators of the Calcutta flag, based on which the first flag of independent India
  • Birendranath Sasmal, social activista lawyer and political leader. He was known as Deshpran because of his work for the country and for his efforts in the Swadeshi movement..Birendranath Sasmal was born in Contai, in undivided Midnapore district.
  • Satish Chandra Samanta, social activist
  • Nirmal Jibon Ghosh, revolutionary
  • Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Chief Minister of Bengal during British period, Prime Minister of Pakistan and founder of the Awami League
  • Narayan Chandra Rana,Rana has left his mark in many branches of Astrophysics and in Amateur Astronomy in India.
  • Soumya Sankar Bose – Midnapore
  • Mahasweta Devi, writer and Magsaysay Award winner
  • Byomkes Chakrabarti, Linguist, writer and poet - Kharar & Jhargram

Education

Universities and colleges

Healthcare

The table below (all data in numbers) presents an overview of the subdivision-wise medical facilities available and patients treated, after the separation of Jhargram, in the hospitals, health centres and sub-centres in 2014 in Paschim Medinipur district.[16]

Subdivision Health & Family Welfare Dept, WB Other
state
govt
depts		 Local
bodies		 Central
govt
depts /
PSUs		 NGO /
private
nursing
homes		 Total Total
number
of
beds		 Total
number
of
doctors		 Indoor
patients		 Outdoor
patients
Hospitals
 Rural
hospitals
 Block
primary
health
centres
 Primary
health
centres
Medinipur Sadar 2 5 1 15 3 - 1 26 53 2,117 323 121,486 1,375,817
Kharagpur 2 8 2 27 2 1 2 54 98 1841 197 93,110 1,814,309
Ghatal 1 4 1 15 - - - 46 67 988 66 46,006 742,984
Paschim Medinipur district 5 17 24 77 5 1 3 126 208 4,946 586* 260,602 3,933,110
  • Excluding nursing homes
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References
  1. "District Human Development Report: Paschim Medinipur" (PDF). Chapter I Introduction and Human Development Indices for Paschim Mednipur. Development and Planning Department, Government of West Bengal, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  3. Singh, Vijayita. "Red Corridor to be redrawn". The Hindu, 25 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. "District Human Development Report: Paschim Medinipur" (PDF). May 2011. Page 271. Development & Planning Department, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  5. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Paschim Medinipur". Table 2.2, 2.4(a). Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. "Directory of District, Sub division, Panchayat Samiti/ Block and Gram Panchayats in West Bengal, March 2008". West Bengal. National Informatics Centre, India. 19 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  7. "Administration Setup". Official website of Purba Medinipur district. Archived from the original on 25 April 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  8. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  9. "C-1 Population By Religious Community". Census. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  10. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html
  11. "DISTRIBUTION OF THE 22 SCHEDULED LANGUAGES-INDIA/STATES/UNION TERRITORIES - 2011 CENSUS" (PDF).
  12. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  13. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Eritrea 5,939,484 July 2011 est.
  14. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Missouri 5,988,927
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Paschim Medinipur". Table 3.1, 3.3. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
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