Charka 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 the Raghunathganj I CD block in the

Jangipur subdivision Jangipur subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal, India. West Bengal's Chief minister, CM Mamata Banerjee announced that a new Farakka subdivision will be created from the Farakka (communit ...

of the

Murshidabad district Murshidabad district is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of and having a population 7.103 million (according to 2011 census), it ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Geography

Location

Charka is located at .

Area overview

Jangipur subdivision is crowded with 52 census towns and as such it had to be presented in two location maps. One of the maps can be seen alongside. The subdivision is located in the

Rarh region ''Rarh region'' () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to vari ...

that is spread over from adjoining Santhal Pargana division of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

. The land is slightly higher in altitude than the surrounding plains and is gently undulating. The river

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, along with its distributaries, is prominent in both the maps. At the head of the subdivision is the 2,245 m long Farakka Barrage, one of the largest projects of its kind in the country. Murshidabad district shares with Bangladesh a porous international border which is notoriously crime prone (partly shown in this map). The subdivision has two large power plants - the 2,100 MW Farakka Super Thermal Power Station and the 1,600 MW Sagardighi Thermal Power Station. According to a 2016 report, there are around 1,000,000 (1 million/ ten lakh) workers engaged in the

beedi A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or cigar, mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (''Diospyros melanoxylon'') or ''Piliostigma racemosum'' leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It ...

industry in Jangipur subdivision. 90% are home-based and 70% of the home-based workers are women. As of 2013, an estimated 2.4 million people reside along the banks of the

alone in Murshidabad district. Severe erosion occurs along the banks. Note: The two maps present some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the maps are linked in the larger full screen maps.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Charka had a total population of 8,451, of which 4,319 (51%) were males and 4,132 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,329. The total number of literate persons in Charka was 4,723 (66.32% of the population over 6 years). India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Charka had a population of 5878. Males constitute 45% of the population and females 55%. Charka has an average literacy rate of 41%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 50% and female literacy of 35%. 20% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Murshidabad'', 2011, Charka covered an area of 1.15 km². The protected water-supply involved river infiltration gallery, hand pump. It had 293 domestic electric connections. Among the medical facilities it had 1 mobile health clinic. Among the educational facilities, it had 3 primary schools, 1 middle school, 1 secondary school in town, general degree college at Jangipur 6 km away. It produced

Healthcare

Raghunathganj I CD block is one of the areas of Murshidabad district where ground water is affected by a high level of arsenic contamination. The

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

guideline for arsenic in drinking water is 10 mg/ litre, and the Indian Standard value is 50 mg/ litre. The maximum concentration in Raghunathaganj I CD block is 3,003 mg/litre.

References

{{Murshidabad District Cities and towns in Murshidabad district