Sonatala 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 English Bazar CD block in the

Malda Sadar subdivision Malda Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Malda district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Geography Malda Sadar subdivision covers both the Barind Tract and the Diara, two of the three ph ...

Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. The capital of the Bengal Sultanate, Gauda and Pandua, was situated in this district. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this ...

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

Sonatala is located at .

Area overview

The area shown in the adjoining map is the physiographic sub-region known as the ''diara''. It "is a relatively well drained flat land formed by the

fluvial A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

deposition of newer

alluvium Alluvium (, ) 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. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

." The most note-worthy feature is the Farakka Barrage across the Ganges. The area is a part of the

, which is an overwhelmingly rural region, but the area shown in the map has pockets of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

with 17 census towns, concentrated mostly in the

Kaliachak I Kaliachak I is a Community development block in India, community development block that forms an administrative division in Malda Sadar subdivision of Malda district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. History Gau ...

CD block. The bank of the

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 ...

between Bhutni and Panchanandapur (both the places are marked on the map), is the area worst hit by left bank erosion, a major problem in the Malda area. The ruins of Gauda, capital of several empires, is located in this area. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Sonatala had a total population of 10,589, of which 5,309 (50%) were males and 5,280 (50%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,450. The total number of literate persons in Sonatala was 5,585 (61.11% of the population over 6 years).

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Maldah'', 2011, Sonatala covered an area of 3.6791 km². The protected water-supply involved river infiltration gallery, tap water from treated sources, hand pump. It had 1,329 domestic electric connections. Among the medical facilities it had 1 dispensary/ health centre, 1 family welfare centre, 3 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities, it had 6 primary schools, other school facilities at Niamatpur 1.5 km away, the nearest general degree college at Malda 12 km away. It had 2 non-formal education centres (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). Among the social, cultural and recreational facilities it had 1 public library, 1 reading room. It produced

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

, mango pickle. It had branch offices of 1 nationalised bank, 1 agricultural credit society.

References

{{Malda District Cities and towns in Malda district