Bangaon subdivision

Bangaon subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Bangaon subdivision
Subdivision
Coordinates: 23.07°N 88.82°E / 23.07; 88.82
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	North 24 Parganas
Headquarters	Bangaon
Government
• MP	Shantanu Thakur (BJP)
Area
• Total	838.17 km2 (323.62 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,063,028
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	743232 (Bagdah) 743270 (Helencha) 743297 (Sindrani) 743235 (Bongaon) 743251 (Ganrapota) 743262 (Gopalnagar) 743701 (Palla) 743249 (Gaighata) 743245 (Chandpara) 743287 (Thakurnagar) 743290 (Nahata) 743710 (Mendia/Media Hat)
ISO 3166 code	IN-WB
Vehicle registration	WB
Website	wb.gov.in

History

In 1883 Bangaon subdivision was transferred from Nadia district to Jessore District.^[1][2] At the time of Partition of Bengal (1947) the police station areas of Bangaon and Gaighata of Jessore district, forming Bangaon subdivision, were placed in India, and the rest of Jessore district in East Pakistan.^[3]

Geography

Bangaon subdivision 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 to recent alluvium. The Ichhamati flows through the eastern part of the district.^[4]

Subdivisions

North 24 Parganas district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:^[5][6]

Subdivision	Headquarters	Area km2	Population (2011)	Urban Population % (2011)	Rural Population % (2011)
Bangaon	Bangaon	838.17	1,063,028	16.33	83.67
Barasat Sadar	Barasat	1,002.48	2,789,611	54.67	45.33
Barrackpore	Barrackpore	334.51	3,668,653	96.02	3.98
Bidhannagar	Bidhannagar	33.50	216,609	100.00	0
Basirhat	Basirhat	1,777.02	2,271,880	12.96	87.04
North 24 Parganas district	Barasat	4,094.00	10,009,781	57.27	42.73

Religion

Given below is an overview of the religion-wise break-up of the population across the subdivisions of North 24 Parganas district, as per 2011 census:^[7]

Religion in North 24 Parganas
Hindu			73.45%
Muslim			25.82%
Christian			0.24%
Sikh			0.48%
Source: Census Report of 2011, Government Of India

Subdivision	Population (2011)	Hindu %	Muslim %	Christian %	Others %
Bangaon	1,063,028	85.63	13.73	0.26	0.38
Barasat Sadar	2,789,611	65.18	34.26	0.16	0.40
Barrackpore	3,668,653	88.61	10.32	0.35	0.71
Bidhannagar	216,609	95.26	2.56	0.45	1.73
Basirhat	2,271,880	51.37	48.37	0.14	0.13
North 24 Parganas district	10,009,781	73.45	25.82	0.24	0.48

North 24 Parganas district with 24.22% Muslims (in 2001) was identified as a minority concentrated district by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. A baseline survey on religious minority population was carried out under the aegis of Indian Council of Social Science Research and funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.^[8] For information on the survey see North 24 Parganas: minority concentrated district.

Population movement

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.^[9] 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.”^[10]

As per the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department of the Government of West Bengal, the census figures show the number of refugees from East Pakistan in 1971 was nearly 6 million and in 1981, the number was assessed at 8 million.^[11] A district-wise break-up in 1971, shows the main thrust of the refugee influx was on 24-Parganas (22.3% of the total refugees), Nadia (20.3%), Bankura (19.1%) and Kolkata (12.9%).^[12]

The North 24 Paraganas district has a 352 km long international border with Bangladesh, out of which 160 km is land border and 192 km is riverine border.^[13] Only a small portion of the border has been fenced and it is popularly referred to as a porous border. There are reports of Bangladeshi infiltrators.^{[14][15][16][17]} The CD Block pages carry decadal population growth information.

An estimate in 2000 placed the total number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India at 1.5 crore, with around 3 lakh entering every year. The thumb rule for such illegal immigrants is that for each illegal person caught four get through. While many immigrants have settled in the border areas, some have moved on, even to far way places such as Mumbai and Delhi. The border is guarded by the Border Security Force.^[18] During the UPA government, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, had made a statement in Parliament on 14 July 2004, that there were 12 million illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators living in India, and West Bengal topped the list with 5.7 million Bangladeshis. More recently, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs in the NDA government has put the figure at around 20 million.^[19]

Administrative units

4km
2.5miles

B

A

N

G

L

A

D

E

S

H

S

Betna River

R

Ichhamati River

T

Bibhutibhusan
Wildlife Sanctuary

R

Petrapole check post

R

Palla

R

Nahata

R

Helencha

R

Gopalnagar

R

Gaighata

R

Bagdah

R

Thakurnagar

M

Bangaon

CT

Sonatikiri

CT

Shimulpur

CT

Dhakuria

CT

Chikanpara

CT

Bara

CT

Chhekati

CT

Chandpara

   

Cities, towns and locations in Bangaon subdivision, North 24 Parganas district
M: municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, T: place of tourist interest
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Bangaon subdivision has 6 police stations including 1 women PS, 3 Community development blocks, 3 panchayat samitis, 38 gram panchayats, 363 mouzas, 355 inhabited villages, 1 municipality and 7 census towns. The municipality is at Bangaon. The census towns are: Chandpara, Chhekati, Sonatikiri, Dhakuria, Chikanpara, Shimulpur and Bara. The subdivision has its headquarters at Bangaon.^[5][20]

Police stations

Bangaon being a border adjacent area, in May 2019,Government of West Bengal has formed Bangaon as a new Police district for better policing and administration, dividing it from Barasat police district. Tarun Halder, was appointed as the first SP of Bangaon.^[21] Since its bifurcation, Bongaon is now the smallest Police district having only 6 police stations under its jurisdiction.^[22]

Police stations in Bangaon subdivision have the following features and jurisdiction:^[5][23]

Police station	Area covered (km2)	Border (km)	Municipal town/ city	Camp	CD Block
Bagadah	233.055	58	–	Baksa, Nataberia, Gadpukuria	Bagdah
Bangaon	140.5	9.8	Bangaon	PS Camp SAP, Ganrapota, Bongaon TOP	Bangaon partly
Gaighata	248.64	21.72	–	Sutia, Thakurbari	Gaighata
Gopalnagar	154	0	–	Champta (SAP), Nahata (SAP), Shimulia	Bangaon partly
Petrapole	16.5	8.6	–	–	Bangaon partly
Women PS (Bangaon)	same jurisdiction area of Bongaon PS

Blocks

Community development blocks in Bangaon subdivision are:^{[5][6][20][7]}

CD Block	Headquarters	Area km2	Population (2011)	SC %	ST %	Hindus %	Muslims %	Literacy Rate %	Census Towns
Bagdah	Bagdah	233.47	242,974	54.81	5.33	82.00	17.42	75.30	-
Bangaon	Bangaon	336.70	380,903	46.60	3.61	78.17	18.47	79.71	-
Gaighata	Chandpara Bazar	243.30	330,287	49.13	1.76	93.27	6.42	83.32	7

Gram panchayats

The subdivision contains 38 gram panchayats under 3 community development blocks:^[24]

• Gram panchayats in Bagdah CD Block are: Asharu, Helencha, Malipota, Bagda, Koniara–I, Ranghat, Bayra, Koniara–II and Sindrani.
• Gram panchayats in Bangaon CD Block are: Akaipur, Chhaighoria, Gangrapota, Kalupur, Bairampur, Dharam Pukuria, Ghatbour, Palla, Chawberia–I, Dighari, Gopalnagar–I, Sundarpur, Chawberia–II, Ganganandapur, Gopalnagar–II and Tengra.
• Gram panchayats in Gaighata CD Block are Chandpara, Fulsara, Jaleswar–II, Sutia, Dharmapur–I, Ichapur–I, Jhaudanga, Dharmapur–II, Ichapur–II, Ramnagar, Duma, Jaleswar–I and Shimulpur.

Municipal towns/ cities

An overview of the only municipal city in Bangaon subdivision is given below.^[7][25]

Municipal town/city	Area (km2)	Population (2011)	Hindus %	Muslims %	Slum population %	BPL Households  % (2006)	Literacy% (2001)
Bangaon	15.57	108,864	96.66	2.85	14.53	37.45	84.16

Education

North 24 Parganas district had a literacy rate of 84.06% (for population of 7 years and above) as per the census of India 2011. Bangaon subdivision had a literacy rate of 80.57%, Barasat Sadar subdivision 84.90%, Barrackpur subdivision 89.09%, Bidhannagar subdivision 89.16% and Basirhat subdivision 75.67%.^[26]

Given in the table below (data in numbers) is a comprehensive picture of the education scenario in North 24 Parganas district for the year 2012-13:^[26]

Subdivision	Primary School		Middle School		High School		Higher Secondary School		General College, Univ		Technical / Professional Instt		Non-formal Education
	Institution	Student	Institution	Student	Institution	Student	Institution	Student	Institution	Student	Institution	Student	Institution	Student
Bangaon	533	54,361	1	36	31	14,654	83	107,745	4	11,031	1	95	1,594	54,016
Barasat Sadar	920	120,670	19	2,734	93	63,707	171	246,098	14	40,466	23	6,190	2,887	130,522
Barrackpore	948	126,453	29	5,716	193	165,924	205	215,713	25	44,818	20	6,345	2,483	160,236
Bidhannagar	20	12,317	-	-	1	900	17	22,536	1	865	15	5,432	1	552
Basirhat	1,256	139,737	25	10,165	124	101,536	118	105,724	5	15,248	-	-	3,800	164,833
North 24 Parganas district	3,677	453,538	74	18,651	442	346,721	594	697,816	49	112,428	59	18,062	10,765	439,560

Note: Primary schools include junior basic schools; middle schools, high schools and higher secondary schools include madrasahs; technical schools include junior technical schools, junior government polytechnics, industrial technical institutes, industrial training centres, nursing training institutes etc.; technical and professional colleges include engineering colleges, medical colleges, para-medical institutes, management colleges, teachers training and nursing training colleges, law colleges, art colleges, music colleges etc. Special and non-formal education centres include sishu siksha kendras, madhyamik siksha kendras, centres of Rabindra mukta vidyalaya, recognised Sanskrit tols, institutions for the blind and other handicapped persons, Anganwadi centres, reformatory schools etc.^[26]

The following institutions are located in Bangaon subdivision:

List of Colleges & University in Bongaon Sub-division

College Name	Place	Established	Ref
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Satabarshiki Mahavidyalaya	Helencha	2005	[27]
Dinabandhu Mahavidyalay	Bangaon	1947	[28][29]
Gobardanga Hindu College	Gobardanga	1947	[30][31]
Nahata Jogendranath Mandal Smriti Mahavidyalaya	Nahata	1985	[32][33]
P. R. Thakur Government College	Thakurnagar	2013	[34][35]
Harichand Guruchand University	Thakurnagar	2019	[36]

Healthcare

The table below (all data in numbers) presents an overview of the medical facilities available and patients treated in the hospitals, health centres and sub-centres in 2013 in North 24 Parganas district.^[37]

Subdivision	Health & Family Welfare Deptt, WB				Other State Govt Deptts**	Local bodies**	Central Govt Deptts / PSUs**	NGO / Private Nursing Homes**	Total	Total Number of Beds	Total Number of Doctors*	Indoor Patients	Outdoor Patients
	Hospitals	Rural Hospitals	Block Primary Health Centres	Primary Health Centres
Bangaon	1	1	2	10	-	-	-	-	14	417	24	11,587	650,349
Barasat Sadar	3	1	6	15	-	-	-	-	25	1,084	45	125,000	1,397,574
Barrackpore	7	-	2	2	-	-	-	-	11	1,081	8	94,042	1,010,820
Bidhannagar	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	`	1	100	-	6,567	117,136
Basirhat	1	5	5	23	-	-	-	-	34	703	77	69,034	897,725
North 24 Parganas district	13	7	15	50	6	27	3	233	354	3,385	154	306,230	4,073,604

.* Excluding nursing homes.
** Subdivision-wise break up for certain items not available.

Medical facilities available in Bangaon subdivision are as follows:

Hospitals: (Name, location, beds)^[38]
Dr. Jiban Ratan Dhar Subdivisional Hospital, Bangaon, 250 beds
Bangaon Railway Hospital, Bangaon, 4 beds
Male Vagrants Home (Petrapole), Bangaon, 10 beds

Rural Hospitals: (Name, block, location, beds)^[38]
Bagdah Rural Hospital, Bagda, 30 beds
Chandpara Rural Hospital, at Thakurnagar, 30 beds

Block Primary Health Centres: (Name, block, location, beds)^[38]
Sundarpur BPHC, Palla, 15 beds

Primary Health Centres: (CD Block-wise)(CD Block, PHC location, beds)^[38]
Bagdah CD Block: Nataberia PHC, Mangalganj (6), Sindrani PHC (10), Koniera PHC, Bena (6)
Bangaon CD Block: Akaipur PHC, Garibpur (6), Chowberia PHC (6)
Gaighata CD Block: Gaighata PHC (6), Dharampur PHC (6), Baduria PHC, Ramchandrapur (10), Dr. B.R.Roy PHC, Ghonja (6)

Electoral constituencies

Lok Sabha (parliamentary) and Vidhan Sabha (state assembly) constituencies in Bangaon subdivision were as follows:^[39]

Bangaon (Reserved for SC) consists of following Vidhan Sabha Constituency

Vidhan Sabha constituency	Reservation	Sub-division	CD Block and/or Gram panchayats and/or municipal areas
Bagdah	Reserved for SC	Bangaon	Bagdah CD Block, and Gangrapota, Sundarpur and Tengra GPs of Bangaon CD Block
Bangaon Uttar			Bangaon municipality, and Akaipur, Chhaigheria, Dharma Pukuria, Ganganandapur, Ghatbore, Gopalnagar I and Gopalnagar II GPs of Bangaon CD Block
Bangaon Dakshin			Bairampur, Chauberia I, Chauberia II, Dighari, Kalupur and Palla GPs of Bangaon CD Block, and Chandpara, Dooma, Fulsara, Jaleswar II, Jhaudanga, Ramnagar GPs of Gaighata CD Block
Gaighata			Gobardanga municipality, Dharmapur I, Dharmapur II, Ichapur I, Ichapur II, Jaleswar I, Shimulpur and Sutia GPs of Gaighata CD Block, and Bergum I, Bergum II and Machhalandpur I GPs of Habra I CD Block
Other assembly segments outside Bangaon subdivision
Vidhan Sabha Constituency	Reservation	Sub-division	CD Block and/or Gram panchayats and/or municipal areas
Kalyani	Reserved for SC	Kalyani
Haringhata
Swarupnagar		Basirhat