Gaighata 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

Bangaon subdivision Bangaon subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History In 1883 Bangaon subdivision was transferred from Nadia district to Jessore district. At the time of Partition of Ben ...

North 24 Parganas district North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...

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 ...

Geography

Situated on the banks of the river Jamuna, Gaighata is located at . Gaighata CD Block is bounded by

Bangaon Bangaon is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bangaon subdivision. Geography Location Bangaon is located at . It has an average elevation of 7 m ...

CD Block in the north,

Sharsha Upazila Sharsha ( bn, শার্শা) is an upazila of Jessore District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Geography Sharsha is located at . It has 46,084 households and a total area of 336.34 km2. Sharsha Upazila is bounded by Bagdah CD ...

Jessore District Jessore District (Bengali: যশোর, pronounced Jaw-shore, Anglicised: Jessore), officially spelled Jashore District from April 2018, is a district in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna Distr ...

of Bangladesh in the east,

Swarupnagar Swarupnagar is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Swarupnagar is located at . Swarupnagar CD Block is bounded by ...

and

Habra I Habra I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Barasat Sadar subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Sadpur, a census town in Habra I block, is located at . Ha ...

CD Blocks in the south and

Haringhata Haringhata is a town and a municipality of the Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Haringhata is located at . It has an average elevation of 10 metres (33 feet). Municipality Haringhata, earlier ...

CD Block in Nadia district in the west. Gaighata CD Block is part of the Ichhamati-Raimangal Plain, one of the three physiographic regions in the district located in the lower Ganges Delta. It contains soil of mature black or brownish

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

to recent

alluvium 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 ...

. The Ichhamati flows through the eastern part of the district. Gaighata CD Block has an area of 243.30 km². It has 1 panchayat samity, 13

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, 201 gram sansads (village councils), 105

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 105 inhabited villages, as per the District Statistical Handbook: North 24 Parganas.

Gaighata 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. Geography Situated on the banks of the river Jamuna, Gaighata is located ...

police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Chandpara Bazar.

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 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.

Demographics

Population

As per

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 ...

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 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 162,281 (49.13%) 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 14,432 (1.76%). 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.

Census towns 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 Gaighata CD Block were (2011 census figures in brackets):

Chandpara Chandpara is a census town in the Gaighata CD block in the Bangaon subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Chandpara is located at . Area overview The area shown in the map was a ...

,(7,113),

Chhekati Chhekati is a census town in the Gaighata CD block in the Bangaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Chhekati is located at . Area overview The area shown in the map was a par ...

(4,995),

Sonatikiri Sonatikiri is a census town in the Gaighata CD block of the Bangaon subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Sonatikiri is located at . It has an average elevation of . Nearest towns- ...

(6,919),

Dhakuria Dhakuria is a locality in the city of Kolkata, (previously Calcutta), in West Bengal, India. It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/ Garia in the sout ...

(10,165),

Chikanpara Chikanpara is a census town in the Gaighata CD block in the Bangaon subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Chikanpara is bounded by Katakhali and Ganti villages on the north, Shimulp ...

(9,594),

Shimulpur Shimulpur is a census town in the Gaighata CD block in the Bangaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Shimulpur is located at . Area overview The area shown in the map was a par ...

(20,803) and Bara (5,172). Large villages in Gaighata CD block were (2011 census figures 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). (

Thakurnagar Thakurnagar is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to the border with Bangladesh. It is situated on the east side of the Jessore Road. Thakurnagar is famous for "Baruni Mela". History Thakurnagar was actually a vast jungle ...

is not identified as a place in 2011 census data). Other villages in Gaighata CD block include (2011census figures in brackets):

(3,878) and Manikhira (2,898). North 24 Parganas district is densely populated, mainly because of the influx of refugees from East Pakistan (later Bangladesh). With a density of population of 2,182 per km² in 1971, it was 3rd in terms of density per km² in West Bengal after Kolkata and Howrah, and 20th in India. According to the District Human Development Report: North 24 Parganas, “High density is also explained partly by the rapid growth of urbanization in the district. In 1991, the percentage of urban population in the district has been 51.23.” Decadal

Population Growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

Rate (%) The decadal growth of population in Gaighata CD Block in 2001-2011 was 9.88%. The decadal growth of population in Gaighata CD Block in 1991-2001 was 16.79%. The decadal growth rate of population in North 24 Parganas district was as follows: 47.9% in 1951-61, 34.5% in 1961-71, 31.4% in 1971-81, 31.7% in 1981-91, 22.7% in 1991-2001 and 12.0% in 2001-11. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal in 2001-11 was 13.93%. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal was 17.84% in 1991-2001, 24.73% in 1981-1991 and 23.17% in 1971-1981. Only a small portion of the border with Bangladesh has been fenced and it is popularly referred to as a porous border. It is freely used by Bangladeshi infiltrators, terrorists, smugglers, criminals, et al.

Literacy

As per the 2011 census, the total number of literates in Gaighata CD Block was 247,838 (83.32% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 134,183 (86.89% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 113,655 (77.51% of the female population over 6 years). The

gender disparity Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

(the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 9.39%. See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

Language and religion

As per census definition, mother-tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person. As a mother-tongue,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

has decreased its share from 91.3% of the population of North Twenty Four Parganas district in 1961 to 87.9% in 2001,

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 ...

has increased its share from 5.0% in 1961 to 8.3% in 2001,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

North 24 Parganas: minority concentrated district

Rural poverty

22.70% of households in Gaighata CD Block lived

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 2001, against an average of 29.28% in North 24 Parganas district.

Economy

Livelihood

In Gaighata CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 21,115 and formed 17.38% of the total workers, agricultural labourers numbered 38,700 and formed 31.79%, household industry workers numbered 5,920 and formed 4.86% and other workers numbered 55,944 and formed 45.96%. Total workers numbered 121,719 and formed 36.85% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 208,568 and formed 63.15% of the population. In more than 30 percent of the villages in North 24 Parganas, agriculture or household industry is no longer the major source of livelihood for the main workers there. The CD Blocks in the district can be classified as belonging to three categories: border areas, Sundarbans area and other rural areas. The percentage of other workers in the other rural areas category is considerably higher than those in the border areas and Sundarbans area. Note: In the census records a person is considered a cultivator, if the person is engaged in cultivation/ supervision of land owned by self/government/institution. When a person who works on another person’s land for wages in cash or kind or share, is regarded as an agricultural labourer. Household industry is defined as an industry conducted by one or more members of the family within the household or village, and one that does not qualify for registration as a factory under the Factories Act. Other workers are persons engaged in some economic activity other than cultivators, agricultural labourers and household workers. It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on.

Infrastructure

There are 100 inhabited villages in Gaighata CD Block, as per the District Census Handbook: North 24 Parganas. 100% villages have power supply and drinking water supply. 23 villages (23.00%) have post offices. 97 villages (97.00%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones). 48 villages (48.00%) have a pucca approach road and 50 villages (50.00%) have transport communication (includes bus service, rail facility and navigable waterways). 22 villages (22.00%) have agricultural credit societies and 20 villages (20.00%) have banks.

Agriculture

The North 24 Parganas 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 ...

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. With a high urbanisation of 54.3% in 2001, the land use pattern in the district is changing quite fast and the area under cultivation is declining. However, agriculture is still the major source of livelihood in the rural areas of the district. From 1977 on wards major

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 ...

took place in West Bengal. Land in excess of land ceiling was acquired and distributed amongst the peasants. Following land reforms land ownership pattern has undergone transformation. In 2010-11, persons engaged in agriculture in Gaighata CD Block could be classified as follows:

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 1,405 (2.23%), patta (document) holders 4,578 (7.26%), small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 3,630 (5.76%), marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 24,655 (39.11%) and agricultural labourers 28,766 (45.64%). Gaighata CD Block had 164 fertiliser depots, 30 seed stores and 60 fair price shops in 2010-11. In 2010-11, Gaighata CD Block produced 21,351 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop from 9,116 hectares, 32,024 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 9,038 hectares, 3,030 tonnes of Aus paddy (summer crop) from 1,172 hectares, 733 tonnes of wheat from 275 hectares, 84,532 tonnes of jute from 4,158 hectares, 48,718 tonnes of potatoes from 1,116 hectares and 42,625 tonnes of sugar cane from 525 hectares. It also produced pulses and oilseeds. In 2010-11, the total area irrigated in Gaighata CD Block was 3,320 hectares, out of which 687 hectares were irrigated by tank water, 780 hectares by river lift irrigation, 745 hectares by deep tube well, 125 hectares by shallow tube well and 983 hectares by other means.

Pisciculture

In 2010-11, the net area under effective pisciculture in Gaighata CD Block was 2,173.72 hectares. 12,497 persons were engaged in the profession. Approximate annual production was 65,211.6 quintals.

Banking

In 2010-11, Gaighata CD Block had offices of 9 commercial banks and 5 gramin banks.

Transport

In 2010-11, Gaighata CD Block had 3 originating/ terminating bus routes. NH 112 (old numbering NH 35) (also known as

Jessore Road Jessore Road is a road connecting Shyambazar through Dum Dum, both neighbourhoods in Kolkata, India, to Jessore in Bangladesh. While the Dum Dum-Barasat sector is now part of NH 12, the Barasat-Petrapole sector is now part of NH 112. It conti ...

) and SH 3 has a common route through this block. There are stations at Chandpara railway station and Thakurnagar railway station on the Sealdah-Bangaon line

Education

In 2010-11, Gaighata CD Block had 162 primary schools with 16,368 students, 10 high schools with 4,243 students and 27 higher secondary schools with 33,632 students. Gaighata CD Block had 489 institutions for special and non-formal education with 16,175 students. As per the 2011 census, in Gaighata CD Block, amongst the 100 inhabited villages, all villages had a school, 70 villages had more than 1 primary school, 52 villages had at least 1 primary and 1 middle school and 42 villages had at least 1 middle and 1 secondary school.

Healthcare

In 2011, Gaighata CD Block had 1 block primary health centre and 4 primary health centres, with total 37 beds and 6 doctors (excluding private bodies). It had 46 family welfare subcentres. 1,210 patients were treated indoors and 87,823 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. Chandpara Rural Hospital at

with 30 beds is the main medical facility in Gaighata CD Block. There are primary health centres at Gaighata (with 6 beds), Dharampur (with 6 beds), Ramchandrapur (Baduria PHC with 10 beds) and Ghonja (Dr. B.R.Roy PHC with 6 beds). Gaighata block is one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination. 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. Project Well, a

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, 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.

References

{{North 24 Parganas topics Community development blocks in North 24 Parganas district