Chanchal is a
census town
In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics.
India
In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...
in
Malda district
Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. ...
in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India. It is the headquarters of the
Chanchal subdivision
Chanchal subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Chanchal subdivision covers the Tal, one of the three physiographic sub-regions of the district. The Tal region gradually s ...
.
Geography
Area overview
The area shown in the adjacent map covers two physiographic regions – the ''
Barind Barind Tract (alternately called the Varendra Tract in English and Borendro Bhumi in Bengali) is the largest Pleistocene era physiographic unit in the Bengal Basin. It covers most of Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bogra, and Joypurhat d ...
'' in the east and the ''tal'' in the west. The eastern part is comparatively high (up to 40 metres above mean sea level at places) and uneven. The soils of the eastern region are “hard salty clays of a reddish hue and the ground is baked hard as iron.” It lies to the east of the
Mahananda River
The Mahananda River (Pron:/ˌməhɑːˈnʌndə or ˌmɑːhəˈnʌndə/) is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, and Bangladesh. It is an important tributary of the Ganges.
Course
The Mahananda ...
. The area lying to the west of the Mahananda River, the ''tal'', is a flat low land and “is strewn with innumerable marshes,
bils and
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
s.” The ''tal'' area is prone to flooding by local rivers. The total area is overwhelmingly
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
.
There are two important historical/ archaeological sites in the area –
Pandua and
Jagjivanpur
Jagajjibanpur or Jagajivanpur (in Bengali: জগজ্জীবনপুর) is an archaeological site in Habibpur block of Malda district in West Bengal state in eastern India. This site is located at a distance of 41 km east from English Ba ...
.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Location
Chanchal is located at . Chanchal is the headquarter of the
Chanchal subdivision
Chanchal subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Chanchal subdivision covers the Tal, one of the three physiographic sub-regions of the district. The Tal region gradually s ...
. Also, the headquarter of the Chanchal–I CD block is here.
There is an announcement that Chanchal and Gazole would be amongst the 22 new municipalities to be formed in West Bengal. The matter has also been reported in the press, but till November 2018, there has been no formal announcement or notification.
Climate
Chanchal has three distinct seasons: summer, winter and monsoon. In summer the temperature sometimes reaches 45 degree Celsius. Winters are generally chilled and cool and sometimes temperature goes below 3 degree Celsius. During the monsoons (between June and September), the town is lashed by moderate to heavy rains.
History
It was the home of Raja Saratchandra Rai Bahadur, who built the Chanchal palace. The King was married to Queen Dakshyani. One part of the palace was transformed into a government college in 1969.The other part of the Palace is now Chanchal Subdivisional Court.
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Chanchal had a total population of 5,570, of which 2,287 (51%) were males and 2,743 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 634. The total number of literate persons in Chanchal was 4,936 (78.04% of the population over 6 years).
Infrastructure
According to the ''District Census Handbook, Maldah'', 2011, Chanchal covered an area of 1.7896 km
2. The protected water-supply involved overhead tank, tube well/ borewell. It had 900 domestic electric connections, 400 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities it had 1 family welfare centre, 1 maternity & child welfare centre. Among the educational facilities, it had 1 primary school, 1 middle school, 1 secondary school, 1 higher secondary school, 1 general degree college. Among the social, cultural and recreational facilities it had 1 cinema theatre, 1 public library.
Civic administration
Police station
Chanchal police station under West Bengal police has jurisdiction over
Chanchal I and
Chanchal II CD blocks.
CD block HQ
The headquarters of Chanchal I CD block is at Chanchal.
[
]
Transport
Chanchal is on National Highway 31.
Roadways
Chanchal is connected by bus services like NBSTC
North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) is a state government run transport corporation in West Bengal, India. It plies buses mainly in North Bengal but operates services to other parts of West Bengal and neighboring states like ...
and private buses to cities like Balurghat, Berhampore
Berhampore (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. As of 2011 census, Berhampore urban agglomeration had a population of 305,609 and is the seventh largest city in West Bengal (after Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri, D ...
, Siliguri
Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...
, Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, Asansol
Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...
, Raiganj
Raiganj () is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Uttar Dinajpur district. The police station was set up 125 years ago and railway connectivity reached the place 115 years ago. The city h ...
, Malda, Dinhata
Dinhata is a city and a municipality in Cooch Behar district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Dinhata subdivision. Dinhata is known for arranging best Durga Puja in North Bengal.
Dinhata is famous for Sastho Mel ...
, Suri, Ranaghat
Ranaghat is a city and a municipality in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Ranaghat subdivision. It is compact but one of the densely populated cities of West Bengal. It is known for its handloom in ...
through National Highway 31 (India).
Education
* Chanchal Siddheswari Institution
* Chanchal College
Healthcare
Chanchal Super Speciality Hospital at Chanchal Roy Para, Chanchal (with blood bank and other digital facilities) is a major medical facility. There are primary health centres in Chanchal I CD Block at Kharba
Kharba is a village in Chanchal I CD Block in Chanchal subdivision of Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is located on the western banks of the Mahananda River.
Geography
Location
Kharba is located at . It has an aver ...
(with 10 beds) and Singia (Nadishik PHC) (with 10 beds).
Notable people
* Shibram Chakraborty
References
{{Malda District
Cities and towns in Malda district
Tourist attractions in Malda district