Monteswar 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

Kalna subdivision Kalna subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. Overview Kalna subdivision is spread mostly across the Bhagirathi basin, with its western part intruding into the Bardhaman p ...

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

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

Administrative set up

When subdivisions were first formed by the British in 1860, Manteswar was one of the police stations of Kalna subdivision. It is also mentioned in Peterson's ''District Gazetteer'' of 1910.

Movements

In the wake of the movements against the partition of Bengal in 1905, Bandhab Samitis or Mahamaya Samitis were formed at Kalna, Manteswar and Purbasthali for physical training and revolutionary activities. In 1926–27, Damodar canal was developed for irrigation purposes. However, when canal tax was imposed opposition developed in

Memari Memari is a town and a municipality in Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Memari is located at . It has an average elevation of 25 metres (82 feet). Urbanisation 95.54% of the populatio ...

, Manteswar,

Bhatar Bhatar is a village in Bhatar CD block in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Police station Bhatar police station has jurisdiction over Bhatar CD Blocks. The area covere ...

, the Ausgram community blocks and other irrigated areas. In 1938–40 the Congress organisation was strengthened by Gopen Kundu, Narayan Choudhury and Abdur Rahman. In 1943, when

Damodar River Damodar River (Pron: /ˈdʌmoˌdaː/) is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Rich in mineral resources, the valley is home to large-scale mining and industrial activity. Earlier known as the Sorrow of Bengal bec ...

flooded the entire area, relief was organised in the Manteswar area by the Communist Party.

Geography

Location

Manteswar is located at . Manteswar CD Block is a part of the Bardhaman Plain, the central plain area of the district. The area is surrounded by the

Bhagirathi The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu fa ...

on the east, the Ajay on the north-west and the Damodar on the west and south. Old river channels and small creeks found in the region dry up in the dry season, but the Bardhaman Plains are sometimes subject to heavy floods during the rainy season. The region has recent

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 ...

soils. Manteswar CD Block is bounded by

Katwa I Katwa I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Katwa subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Srikhanda, a constituent gram panchayat of Katwa I block, is l ...

and

Katwa II Katwa II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Katwa subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Katwa II CD Block is part of the Bhagirathi basin. The Bhagirath ...

CD Blocks on the north,

Purbasthali I Purbasthali I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Kalna subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Nadanghat, a constituent panchayat of Purbasthali I bloc ...

and

Purbasthali II Purbasthali II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Kalna subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Patuli, a constituent gram panchayat of Purbasthali II CD Block ...

CD Blocks on the east,

Memari II Memari II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History During the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, Munshi S ...

and

Burdwan I Burdwan I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Baghar, a constituent panchayat of Burdwan ...

CD Blocks on the south and

CD Block on the west. Manteswar CD Block has an area of 305.19 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, 176 gram sansads (village councils), 144

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 136 inhabited villages.

Monteswar Monteswar is a village situated in Manteswar CD block in Kalna subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Most of the area between the Damodar and the Ajay, largely covering the later day Shergarh, ...

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

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 Manteswar block/

panchayat samiti Panchayat samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/mandal) level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat ...

are: Baghason, Bamunpara, Bhagra-Mulgram, Denur, Jamna, Kusumgram, Majhergram, Mamudpur I, Mamudpur II, Monteswar, Piplon, Putsuri and Susunia.

Demographics

Population

As per 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 ...

Manteswar CD Block had a total population of 237,398, all of which were rural. There were 120,940 (51%) males and 116,458 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 26,815.

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 56,862 (23.95%) 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 6,958 (2.93%). As per 2001 census, Manteswar block had a total population of 213,262, out of which 109,544 were males and 103,718 were females. Manteswar block registered a population growth of 15.59 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for Bardhaman district was 14.36 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

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 ...

at 51,705 formed around one-fourth the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 8,092. Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Manteswar CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets):

(9,331), Baghasan (4,974), Bamunpara (4,314), Putsuri (6,806), Denur (4,082),

Kusumgram Kusumgram is a large and famous village in Manteswar CD block in Kalna subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.It is a Muslim majority village with 80 percent Muslims. Demographics As per the 2011 Census of I ...

(11,707), Kulut (7,104), Raigram (7,185) and Bhagra (4,086). Other villages in Manteswar CD Block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Piplan (3,708), Mulgram (3,652), Shushuna (3,722), Mamudpur (3,129), Jamna (1,173), Majhergram (3,187), Routhgram (3,506) and Kaigram (1,719).

Literacy

As per the 2011 census the total number of literates in Manteswar CD Block was 153,892 (73.08% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 83,748 (78.04% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 70,144 (67.92% 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 10.12%. As per the 2001 census, Manteswar block had a total literacy of 65.94 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 73.70 per cent female literacy was 57.63 per cent. Bardhaman district had a total literacy of 70.18 per cent, male literacy being 78.63 per cent and female literacy being 60.95 per cent. See also –

List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate This is a list of districts in the Indian state of West Bengal ranked by literacy rate as per provisional data of 2011 census. With a literacy rate of 96.26% (male 90.69% and female 96.54%), above the national average of 90.04%, as per the 2011 Ce ...

Languages 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 82.3% of the population of Bardhaman district in 1961 to 79.9% 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 8.5% in 1961 to 10.9% in 2001 Santali has remained steady at around 4.9% during the period, and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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 2005,

rural poverty Rural poverty refers to poverty in rural areas, including factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the poverty found there.Janvry, A. de, E. Sadoulet, and R. Murgai. 2002“Rural Development and Rural Pol ...

in Manteswar CD Block was 40.45%.

Economy

Livelihood

In Manteswar CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators formed 20.42%, agricultural labourers 50.60%, household industry workers 3.84% and other workers 25.14%. Manteswar CD Block is part of the area where agriculture dominates the scenario but the secondary and tertiary sectors have shown an increasing trend.

Infrastructure

There are 136 inhabited villages in Manteswar CD block. All 136 villages (100%) have power supply. All 136 villages (100%) have drinking water supply. 44 villages (32.35%) have post offices. All 136 villages (100%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones). 66 villages (45.83%) have a pucca (paved) approach road and 79 villages (58.09%) have transport communication (includes bus service, rail facility and navigable waterways). 29 villages (21.32%) have agricultural credit societies. 11 villages (8.09%) have banks. In 2013–14, there were 70 fertiliser depots, 9 seed store and 78 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 Manteswar CD Block could be classified as follows:

s 4.68%, patta (document) holders 15.54%, small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 8.17%, marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 24.71% and agricultural labourers 46.90%. In 2003-04 net cropped area in Manteswar CD Block was 25.502 hectares and the area in which more than one crop was grown was 15,850 hectares. In 2013–14, Manteswar CD Block produced 3,340 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop from 1,142 hectares, 731 tonnes of Aus paddy (summer crop) from 262 hectares, 91,570 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 23,572 hectares, 15 tonnes of wheat from 5 hectares, 348 tonnes of jute from 16 hectares, 28,709 tonnes of potatoes from 1,206 hectares and 565 tonnes of sugar cane from 9 hectares. It also produced pulses and oilseeds. In Bardhaman district as a whole Aman paddy constituted 64.32% of the total area under paddy cultivation, while the area under Boro and Aus paddy constituted 32.87% and 2.81% respectively. The expansion of Boro paddy cultivation, with higher yield rates, was the result of expansion of irrigation system and intensive cropping. In 2013–14, the total area irrigated in Manteswar CD Block was 29,266.87 hectares, out of which 26,808.20 hectares were irrigated by canal water, 984.34 hectares were irrigated by river lift irrigation and 1,474.33 hectares by deep tube wells.

Banking

In 2013–14, Manteswar CD Block had offices of 8 commercial banks and 3 gramin banks.

Transport

Manteswar CD Block has 4 ferry services and 10 originating/terminating bus routes. The Bardhaman-Katwa line, after conversion from narrow gauge to electrified broad gauge, was opened to the public on 12 January 2018.

State Highway 8 (West Bengal) State Highway 8 (West Bengal) is a state highway in West Bengal, India. Route SH 8 originates from Santaldih and passes through Cheliyama, Raghunathpur, Santuri, Saltora, Chhatna, Bankura, Beliatore, Sonamukhi, Patrasayer, Khandaghosh, Mirzapu ...

running from Santaldi (in Purulia district) to Majhdia (in Nadia district) and

State Highway 15 (West Bengal) State Highway 15 (West Bengal), is a state highway in West Bengal, India. Route SH 15 originates from junction with SH 6 and SH 14 at High Road Morh, near Dainhat (in Bardhaman district) and passes through Chandrapur, Monteswar, Kusumgram, Memar ...

running from Dainhat (in Bardhaman district) to Gadiara (in Howrah district) cross at Kusumgram in this block. A bridge is located between Maldanga and Monteswar across the Khari river.

Education

In 2013–14, Manteswar CD Block had 180 primary schools with 12,570 students, 28 high school with 18,652 students and 9 higher secondary schools with 8,712 students. Manteswar CD Block had 1 general college with 2,668 and 402 institutions for special and non-formal education with 17,969 students As per the 2011 census, in Manteswar CD block, amongst the 136 inhabited villages, 3 villages did not have schools, 89 villages had two or more primary schools, 45 villages had at least 1 primary and 1 middle school and 38 villages had at least 1 middle and 1 secondary school. More than 6,000 schools (in erstwhile Bardhaman district) serve cooked midday meal to more than 900,000 students.

Dr. Gourmohan Roy College Dr. Gourmohan Roy College, established in 1986, is the general degree college in Monteswar, Purba Bardhaman district,West Bengal, India. It offers undergraduate (UG) courses in arts and commerce. It is affiliated to University of Burdwan. De ...

was established at

in 1986.

IID (Imperial Institute of Design) The IID (Imperial Institute of Design) is a design school in Monteswar, Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. The institute functions as an autonomous body certified under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of ...

, recognized by the

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is the ministry in the Government of India. It is the apex executive body for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws relating to micro, small and medium enterprises ...

government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, is located in

Culture

Monteswar has a multi-cultural heritage.

Healthcare

In 2014, Manteswar CD Block had 1 block primary health centre, 3 primary health centres and 1 private nursing home with total 47 beds and 5 doctors (excluding private bodies). It had 32 family welfare subcentres. 10,173 patients were treated indoor and 210,847 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. Monteswar Rural Hospital at

(with 30 beds plus a 20 bed maternity ward) is the main medical facility in Manteswar CD block. There are primary health centres at Dhanyakherur, PO Majhergram (with 10 beds), Moinampur, PO Katsihi (with 6 beds) and Putsuri (with 6 beds). Manteswar CD Block is one of the areas of Bardhaman district which is affected by a low level of arsenic contamination of ground water.

External links

District map showing blocks

References

{{Purba Bardhaman topics Community development blocks in Purba Bardhaman district