Purba Medinipur district


Purba Medinipur district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The headquarters in Tamluk. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Medinipur into Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur which lies at the northern and western border of it. The state of Odisha is at the southwest border; the Bay of Bengal lies in the south; the Hooghly river and South 24 Parganas district to the east; and Howrah district to the north-east.
Purba Medinipur is formed of the sub-divisions of Tamluk, Contai and Haldia of erstwhile Medinipur district. Another sub-division, Egra has been created out of the erstwhile Contai sub-division during the partition of Medinipur. In 2011, the state government has proposed to rename the district as Tamralipta district after the ancient port city of Tamralipta which used to lie near the modern district headquarters.
Purba Medinipur saw many political movements during the British Raj. A parallel government named the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar was formed during the Quit India Movement in Tamluk. In 2007, Purba Medinipur witnessed the Nandigram violence, an incident of police firing that killed 14 farmers.

History

Tamralipta

, the port in ancient India, is believed by scholars to have been around modern-day Tamluk. It is mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy, the Greco-Egyptian writer, as well as Faxian and Xuanzang, Chinese monks and travellers. It was the main port used by Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor. With too much siltation the port lost its importance around 8th century A.D.

Geography

Overview

Purba Medinipur district is part of the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain and Eastern coastal plains. Topographically, the district can be divided into two parts – almost entirely flat plains on the west, east and north, the coastal plains on the south. The vast expanse of land is formed of alluvium and is composed of younger and coastal alluvial. The elevation of the district is within 10 meters above the mean sea level. The district has a long coastline of 65.5 km along its southern and south eastern boundary. Five coastal CD Blocks, namely, Khejuri II, Contai II, Contai I, Ramnagar I and II, are occasionally affected by cyclones and tornadoes. Tidal floods are quite regular in these five CD Blocks. Normally floods occur in 21 of the 25 CD Blocks in the district. The major rivers are Haldi, Rupnarayan, Rasulpur, Bagui and Keleghai, flowing in north to south or south-east direction. River water is an important source of irrigation. The district has a low 899 hectare forest cover, which is 0.02% of its geographical area.

Major cities and towns

Major cities and towns include Panskura, Tamluk, Nandakumar, Contai, Egra, Haldia, Mecheda, Mahishadal, Digha, Mandarmani, Khejuri, Ramnagar, Patashpur, Kolaghat, Nandigram.

Divisions

Administrative subdivisions

Purba Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:
SubdivisionHeadquarters
Area
km2		Population
Rural
Population %
Urban
Population %
TamlukTamluk1084.301,791,69594.085.92
HaldiaHaldia683.94959,93479.1920.81
EgraEgra940.96958,93996.963.04
ContaiContai1251.211,385,30793.556.45
Purba Medinipur districtTamluk4,713.005,095,87591.718.29

Tamluk subdivision consists of Tamluk municipality, Panskura municipality and seven community development blocks: Nandakumar, Moyna, Tamluk, Shahid Matangini, Panskura-I, Panskura-II and Chandipur. Haldia subdivision consists of Haldia municipality and five community development blocks: Mahishadal, Nandigram-I, Nandigram-II, Sutahata and Haldia. Egra subdivision consists of Egra municipality and five community development blocks: Bhagawanpur-I,Egra-I, Egra-II, Pataspur-I and Pataspur-II. Contai subdivision consists of Contai municipality and eight community development blocks: Kanthi-I, Kanthi-II, Kanthi-III, Khejuri-I, Khejuri-II, Ramnagar-I and Ramnagar-II, Bhagawanpur-II.
Tamluk is the district headquarters. There are 21 police stations, 25 development blocks, 5 municipalities and 223 gram panchayats in this district.
Other than in the municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 10 urban units: five municipalities and five census towns. Panskura municipality was established in 2001.

Tamluk subdivision

According to the 2011 census Purba Medinipur district has a population of 5,095,875, roughly equal to the United Arab Emirates or the US state of Colorado. This gives it a ranking of 20th in India. The district has a population density of. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.32%.
Purba Medinipur has a sex ratio of 936 females for every 1000 males,

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Purba Medinipur one of the country's 250 most backward districts. It is one of the 11 districts in West Bengal receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.
Concentration of Handicraft Activities in Purba Medinipur

  • Horn Craft - Kolaghat
  • Pata Chitra - Chandipur, Nandakumar,
  • Sea Shell – Ramnagar I & II, Patashpur I
  • Mat & Mat Diversified Products – Ramnagar I, Egra I & II, Patashpur I
  • Brass & Bell Metal – Ramnagar I, Mahisadal, Patashpur II, Egra I
  • Diversified Jute Products – Ramnagar II, Nandakumar, Kolaghat, Shahid Matangini
  • Cane & Bamboo Products - Chandipur, Nandakumar, Kolaghat, Shahid Matangini
  • Sola Craft - Tamluk, Kolaghat
  • Pottery/Terracotta - Panskura, Tamluk, Sahid Matangini, Nandakumar
  • Wood Craft - Tamluk
  • Zari work- Sutahta, Mahishadal, Haldia, Nandakumar

Literacy and education

According to the 2011 census, the district has a literacy rate of 87.66 up from 80.20% of 2001 census. As per 2001 census, this district had a male literacy rate of 89.1% and female literacy rate was 70.7%. The education index of this district is 0.74 and it is ranked first in literacy in comparison to other districts of West Bengal.
Given in the table below is a comprehensive picture of the education scenario in Purba Medinipur district for the year 2013-14. It may be noted that 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, polytechnics, 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.

Healthcare

The table below presents an overview of the medical facilities available and patients treated in the hospitals, health centres and sub-centres in 2014 in Purba Medinipur district.

Tourism

The coastal region of Purba Medinipur district is in the face of river Hoogly. With good coastal, landform, seasonal, rural and heritage diversity, it offers the potential for tourism in its typical coastlines and rural areas. The famous tourist spots are

Tamluk (Tamralipta)

Tamluk, district headquarters of Purba Medinipur district is situated on the bank of river Rupnarayan which is a very popular picnic spot. The other places are:
It is a municipality upgraded in 2002. It is one of the busiest towns in East Midnapore district. Panskura is known as "Valley of Flowers" with large supplies of flowers to other places. Panskura is also known for its green vegetables wholesale market near the Panskura Junction railway station. It is open every day after 10 pm till 7 am the next morning with a regular gathering of lakhs of people. Panskura is one of the busiest railway stations which extends up to Digha or Haldia directly through this station or by bus. The river Kansabati is a good picnic spot and Mahakali temple nearby old Panskura bazar is a pilgrimage spot. Panskura is also well known for its cultural side. Many cultural schools and institutes are there. Panskura is famous for the recitation institute Chandabani . There is also a Digital Marketing company that offers SEO, Website development, and SMM services. It is called founded by Sk Saif Ali

Mahishadal

Mahishadal is only 16 km from Tamluk town where tourists can visit the Mahishadal Rajbari, the museum there and Gopal Jiu temple. Geonkhali is a place 8 km from Mahishadal, a perfect picnic spot at the junction of three rivers.

Digha

is a seaside resort town of Purba Medinipur district and, at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, is the most popular seaside resort of West Bengal. Renowned for its beaches, Digha is visited by thousands of tourists every year.

Mandarmani

Mandarmani is a small virgin beach on the Bay of Bengal under Kalindi Gram Panchayat, only 14 km from Digha-Contai Road from Chaulkhola Bus Stop. It is a small fishing harbour and a fast developing tourist spot.

Haldia

Haldia, a city and a municipality in Purba Medinipur, is a major seaport approximately 250 km southwest of Kolkata near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the tributaries of the Ganges. It is being developed as a major trade port for Kolkata, intended mainly for bulk cargoes.