Giria 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 II Raghunathganj II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Jot Kamal, a census town in Raghunathganj II block, is locate ...

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 ...

History

In 1740, a historical war, the

Battle of Giria The Battle of Giria refers to two battles that took place in Giria, India, Giria, a census town in Bengal, that were significant in the history of Bengal. The first occurred in 1740, arrising due to a succession dispute in the Bengal Subah, whil ...

, took place between the Nawab of Bihar

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequen ...

and the Nawab of Bengal

Sarfaraz Khan Sarfarāz Khān ( 1700 – 29 April 1740), born ''Mīrza Asadullāh'', was a Nawab of Bengal. Sarfaraz Khan's maternal grandfather, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) nominated him as the direct heir to him as there ...

Geography

Location

Giria is located at .

Area overview

Jangipur subdivision is crowded with 52

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 ...

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 Santhal Pargana division constitutes six district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Origin of name Santal Pargana derives its name from two words: " Santal", a major inhabited tribe in the region an ...

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 Sagardighi Thermal Power Station is a thermal power plant located at Manigram, 13 km north of Sagardighi, Murshidabad, Sagardighi in the Indian state of West Bengal. The power plant is operated by the West Bengal Power Development Corporatio ...

. 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, Giria had a total population of 17,131, of which 8,805 (51%) were males and 8,326 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 3,136. The total number of literate persons in Giria was 8,968 (64.08% of the population over 6 years).

Civic administration

CD block HQ

The headquarters of the

CD block are located at Giria.

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Murshidabad'', 2011, Giria covered an area of 6.1604 km². The protected water-supply involved hand pump. It had 1,125 domestic electric connections. Among the medical facilities it had 23 maternity homes. Among the educational facilities, it had 7 primary schools, 1 middle school, 1 secondary school in town, senior secondary school, general degree college at Jangipur 11 km away.

Healthcare

Raghunathganj II 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 II CD block is 875 mg/litre.

References

{{Murshidabad District Cities and towns in Murshidabad district