Debra is a

community development block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

that forms an administrative division in the

Kharagpur subdivision Kharagpur subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Subdivisions Paschim Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions, after separation of Jhar ...

Paschim Medinipur district Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (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 M ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

History

Naxalite movement in Debra-Gopiballavpur

In 1968 many revolutionary intellectuals, broadly termed as Naxalites, settled in Gopiballavpur. Amongst them was

Santosh Rana Santosh Rana (1942 – 29 June 2019) was an Indian politician. In the 1960s, he was a prominent figure in the armed struggle of the Naxalites led by Charu Majumdar. Rana received Ananda Puraskar for his book ''Rajnitir Ek Jibon'' in 2018. A ...

, who was a local person. In September 1969 a guerrilla squad killed an oppressive landlord. The landlords fled to the towns and a big peasant movement began. Landlords’ crops were forcibly harvested. Around 150 people were killed. Santosh Rana was the key figure in virtually “liberating” Debra, Gopiballavpur and neighbouring areas in West Bengal, as well as in Odisha and Jharkhand (then it was Bihar). The movement gradually split and collapsed in the early seventies.

Geography

Debra CD block is largely a flood prone marshy wetland. In this block 100% of the cultivated area has highly productive

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

soil. Debra is located at . Debra CD block is bounded by

Daspur I Daspur I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography In Daspur I CD block, the area is a flat deltaic country intersecte ...

CD block in the north,

Panskura Panskura is a town and a municipality in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as Kasai and Cossye). Etymology 1. According to many references, the ...

CD block, in Purba Medinipur district, in the east,

Pingla Pingla is a village in the Pingla CD block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Pingla is located at . Area overview Kharagpur subdivision, shown partly in the ...

CD block in the south and

Kharagpur II Kharagpur II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Kharagpur subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Kharagpur police station serves this block. Headquarters of this blo ...

and Keshpur CD blocks in the west. It is located 28 km from

Midnapore Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...

, the district headquarters. Debra CD block has an area of 342.41 km². It has 1 panchayat samity, 14

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s, 214 gram sansads (village councils), 477

mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

s and 460 inhabited villages.

Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...

police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD block is at

Balichak Balichak is a census town in the Debra CD block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Balichak is located at . It has an average elevation of 12 metres (42& ...

. Debra CD block had a forest cover of 540 hectares, against a total geographical area of 34,231 hectares in 2005-06.

Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s of Debra block/ panchayat samiti are: Bhabanipur, Bharatpur, Debra I, Debra II, Duan I, Duan II, Golgram, Jalimanda, Khanamohan, Malighati, Radhamohanpur I, Radhamohanpur II, Satyapur and Snarpur Lowada.

Demographics

Population

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 ...

, Debra CD block had a total population of 288,619, of which 274,835 were rural and 13,784 were urban. There were 145,559 (50%) males and 143,060 (50%) females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 31,859.

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 37,503 (12.99%) and

Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 59,122 (20.48%). As per 2001 census, Debra block had a total population of 255,196, out of which 129,109 were males and 126,087 were females. Debra block registered a population growth of 15.80 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the combined Midnapore district was 14.87 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.45 per cent.

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 ...

s in Debra CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets):

(13,784). Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Debra CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Baragar (4,329). Other villages in Debra CD block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Debra (2,347), Bhawanipur (1,700), Bharatpur (826), Golgram (3,984), Malighati (2,379), Satyapur (3,091), Jalimanda (2,263), Duan (3,497), Radhamohanpur (3,604), Khana Mohan (559), Shanrpur (1,252),

Loyada Loyada ( ar, لويعدا , so, Lowyacadde) is a small town in Djibouti. Located in the Arta Region, it is the only official border crossing from Djibouti into Somaliland. It is situated on the west coast of Gulf of Aden, from the capital, Djib ...

(1,520) and

Chak Bajit Chak Bajit is a village in the Debra CD block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Chak Bajit is located at . Area overview Kharagpur subdivision, shown partly ...

(560).

Literacy

As per the 2011 census the total number of literates in Debra CD block was 210,618 (82.03% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 114,992 (88.78% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 95,626 (75.16% of the female population over 6 years). The gender gap in literacy rates was 13.62%.

Language and religion

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Paschim Medinipur, 2011 census,'' as of 2001, Bengali was the mother-tongue of 90.5% of the population of Paschim Medinipur district, followed by Santali (4.6%),

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

(1.4%), Kurmali Thar (0.7%),

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

(0.6%),

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

(0.4%), Mundari (0.2%), Koda/ Kora (0.1%), Munda (0.1%) and Nepali (0.1%). There were people, forming lesser proportion of population, having other languages as mother-tongue. People with other mother-tongues formed 0.7% of the population. According to the West Bengal Official Language Act 1961 and the West Bengal Official Language (Amendment Act) 2012, the Bengali language is to be used for official purposes in the whole of West Bengal. In addition to Bengali, the Nepali language is to be used for official purposes in the three hills subdivisions, namely Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, in the district of Darjeeling, and Urdu is to be used for official purposes in district/subdivision/ block/ municipality where the population speaking Urdu exceeds 10% of the total population. The English language will continue to be used for official purposes as it was being used prior to the enactment of these laws. The West Bengal Official Language (Second Amendment) Bill, 2012, included Hindi, Santhali, Odiya and Punjabi as official languages if it is spoken by a population exceeding 10 per cent of the whole in a particular block or sub-division or a district. Subsequently, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi and Kurmali were also included in the list of minority languages by the West Bengal Official Language (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018. However, as of 2020, there is no official / other reliable information about the areas covered. Census 2011 provides language data only at the district and above level. In the 2011 census Hindus formed 88.16% and Muslims formed 10.34% of the population. Others including Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Santal, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Sarna, Alchchi, Bidin, Sant, Saevdharm, Seran, Saran, Sarin, Kheria, Christian and other religious communities. formed 1.50% of the population.

BPL families

In Debra CD block 37.37% families were living

below poverty line Below Poverty Line is a benchmark used by the government of India to indicate economic disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from s ...

in 2007. According to the District

Human Development Report The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual Human Development Index report published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first HDR was launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist ...

of Paschim Medinipur: The 29 CD blocks of the district were classified into four categories based on the poverty ratio. Nayagram, Binpur II and Jamboni CD blocks have very high poverty levels (above 60%). Kharagpur I, Kharagpur II, Sankrail, Garhbeta II, Pingla and Mohanpur CD blocks have high levels of poverty (50-60%), Jhargram, Midnapore Sadar, Dantan I, Gopiballavpur II, Binpur I, Dantan II, Keshiari, Chandrakona I, Gopiballavpur I, Chandrakona II, Narayangarh, Keshpur, Ghatal, Sabang, Garhbeta I, Salboni, Debra and Garhbeta III CD blocks have moderate levels of poverty (25-50%) and Daspur II and Daspur I CD blocks have low levels of poverty (below 25%).

Economy

Infrastructure

458 or 96% of mouzas in Debra CD block were electrified by 31 March 2014. 473 mouzas in Debra CD block had drinking water facilities in 2013-14. There were 84 fertiliser depots, 36 seed stores and 37 fair price shops in the CD block.

Agriculture

Although the Bargadari Act of 1950 recognised the rights of

bargadar Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

s to a higher share of crops from the land that they tilled, it was not implemented fully. Large tracts, beyond the prescribed limit of land ceiling, remained with the rich landlords. From 1977 onwards major land reforms took place in West Bengal. Land in excess of land ceiling was acquired and distributed amongst the peasants. Following

land reforms Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

land ownership pattern has undergone transformation. In 2013-14, persons engaged in agriculture in Debra CD block could be classified as follows:

s 6.76%, patta (document) holders 19.74%, small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 3.63%, marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 23.33% and agricultural labourers 46.53%. In 2005-06 the nett cropped area in Debra CD block was 29,287 hectares and the area in which more than one crop was grown was 25,376 hectares. The extension of irrigation has played a role in growth of the predominantly agricultural economy. In 2013-14, the total area irrigated in Debra CD block was 26,730 hectares, out of which 2,200 hectares were irrigated by tank water, 23,700 hectares by deep tubewells and 830 hectares by river lift irrigation. In 2013-14, Debra CD block produced 4,635 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop, from 5,299 hectares, 224 tonnes of Aus paddy (summer crop) from 121 hectares, 65,627 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 18,987 hectares, 27 tonnes of wheat from 12 hectares and 135,764 tonnes of potatoes from 5,235 hectares. It also produced pulses and oilseeds.

Banking

In 2013-14, Debra CD block had offices of 14 commercial banks and 2 gramin banks.

Transport

Debra CD block has 5 ferry services and 13 originating/ terminating bus routes. The Howrah-Kharagpur line passes through this CD block. Balichak is a station on this line. The Dankuni-Kharagpur sector of

National Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia - Thompsons Road (Victoria) - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Yellowhead H ...

( old number NH 6) passes through this block.

Education

In 2013-14, Debra CD block had 206 primary schools with 15,473 students, 13 middle schools with 941 students, 18 high schools with 7,963 students and 21 higher secondary schools with 19,923 students. Debra CD block had 1 general college with 1,688 students, 2 technical / professional institutions with 200 students and 585 institutions for special and non-formal education with 19,938 students. The

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

considers the combined primary and secondary enrolment ratio as the simple indicator of educational achievement of the children in the school going age. The infrastructure available is important. In Debra CD block out of the total 206 primary schools in 2008-2009, 76 had pucca buildings, 54 partially pucca, 6 kucha and 70 multiple type. Debra Thana Sahid Kshudiram Smriti Mahavidyalaya is a co-educational college established in 2006 at

Gangaram Chak Gangaram Chak is a village, in the Debra CD block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Gangaram Chak is located at . Area overview Kharagpur subdivision, shown ...

. Affiliated to

Vidyasagar University Vidyasagar University was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the ''Calcutta Gazette'' on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It o ...

, it offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, history, philosophy, geography, education, physics and mathematics.

Culture

The Debra CD block has several heritage temples. File:Sitalananda Nava Ratna temple at Satyapur Marhtala under Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 01.jpg, Satyapur: the Shiv Durga ''sikhar deul'' , the Satyeswar ''sikhar deul'' and '' nava ratna'' Sitalananda temple (in picture). File:Shikhar Deul of Radhagobinda Jiu temple at Loada under Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 05.jpg,

: Radhagobindajiu '' sikhar deul'' with porch in front, built in 1860. File:Sapta Ratha Deul of Sridharjiu and Gour Nitai at Chak Bajit under Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal 10.jpg,

: Sridharji and Gour Nitai ''rekha deul''.

Healthcare

In 2014, Debra CD block had one superspeciality hospital, 1 rural hospital, 5 primary health centres and 14 private nursing homes with total 232 beds and 14 doctors. It had 44 family welfare sub centres and 1 family welfare centre. 5,851 patients were treated indoor and 123,807 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. Debra Rural Hospital, with 40 beds at Debra Bazar, is the major government medical facility in the Debra CD block. There are primary health centres at: Satyapur (PO Marotala) (with 6 beds), Pasang (with 10 beds), Trilochanpur (PO Sijgeria) (with 6 beds) and Kankra Shibrampur (PO Kankra Ataram) (with 6 beds).

References

{{Paschim Medinipur topics Community development blocks in Paschim Medinipur district