| Paschim Medinipur | |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Mapsize: | 300 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | West Bengal |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Midnapore |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Midnapore |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Area Total Km2: | 6,308 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 47,76,909 |
| Population Urban: | 11.9 per cent |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 79.04 per cent |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 960 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Medinipur, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST) – all have assembly segments in adjoining districts, Arambagh – with one assembly segment in the district |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Dantan, Keshiary, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona, Garbeta, Salboni, Keshpur, Medinipur |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | NH 16, NH 60 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Average annual precipitation |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 2,111 mm |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 0.620[1] |
Paschim Medinipur (English: West Medinipur, alternative spelling Midnapore) district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur. On 4 April 2017, the Jhargram subdivision was upgraded to a district. GDP of West Midnapore district is 12 billion USD.
Paschim Medinipur, located in the south-western part of West Bengal, was created with the partition of the erstwhile Midnapore district, then the largest district of India, on 1 January 2002. It ranks second in terms of geographical area (9,295.28 km2) amongst the districts of the state, next to South 24-Parganas (9,960 km2). It ranks third in terms of rural population (4.58 million) following South 24-Parganas (5.82 million) and Murshidabad (5.13 million). It ranked fourth in terms of percentage of tribal population (14.87) following Jalpaiguri (18.87), Purulia (18.27) and Dakshin Dinajpur (16.12) in 2011.[2]
Broadly speaking, there are two natural divisions of the district. NH 14 and NH 16 (old numbering NH 60) from Bankura to Balasore, cuts across the district and roughly is the dividing line between the two natural divisions. To the east of this road, the soil is fertile alluvial and the area is flat. To the west, the Chota Nagpur Plateau gradually slopes down, creating an undulating area with infertile laterite rocks and soil. The landscape changes from dense dry deciduous forests in the west to marshy wetlands in the east.[2]
The alluvial portion may be further subdivided into two divisions. First, it is a strip of purely deltaic country nearer to the Hooghly and the Rupnarayan, intersected by numerous rivers and watercourses subject to tidal influences. Second, it is rest of the eastern half of the district. It is a monotonous rice plain with numerous waterways and tidal creeks intersecting it. The tidal creeks are lined with embankments to prevent flooding of the fields. Much of the area is water-logged.[2]
Paschim Medinipur district is subject to both floods and drought. Ghatal and parts of Kharagpur subdivision covering an area of 142647ha are flood prone. Water logging during the rainy season affects Ghatal and the southern parts of Kharagpur subdivision and results in loss of crops in such areas as Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh CD Blocks. 335248ha Medinipur Sadar subdivision is drought prone. Although the district is away from the sea, cyclones hit it frequently in October–November.[2]
Midnapore is the district headquarters. Kharagpur is the largest city in the district. Other important towns and cities in the district include: Salboni, Ghatal, Belda, Chandrakona, Ramjibanpur, Garbeta, Balichak, Dantan, Mohanpur, Keshiari, Keshpur, Narayangarh, Sabang, Daspur, Goaltore and Debra.
Paschim Medinipur district is home to the most villages of any district in India. The 2011 census lists Paschim Medinipur as having 8,694 villages, of which 7,600 are populated, and 1,094 uninhabited. The district with the next highest number of villages, Mayurbhanj, in the state of Odisha, has 3,950 villages, 3,751 of which are inhabited.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Paschim Medinipur one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[3]
106 districts spanning 10 states across India, described as being part of Left Wing Extremism activities, constitute the Red corridor. In West Bengal the districts of Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum are part of the Red corridor. However, as of July 2016, there has been no reported incidents of Maoist related activities from these districts for the previous 4 years.[4] In the period 2009–2011 LWE violence resulted in more than 500 deaths and a similar number missing in Paschim Medinipur district.[5]
Paschim Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:[6]
| Subdivision | Headquarters | Area km2 | Population (2011) | Rural population % (2011) | Urban population % (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medinipur Sadar | Midnapore | 2,441.50 | 1,435,321 | 86.05 | 13.95 |
| Kharagpur | Kharagpur | 2,913.17 | 2,293,909 | 85.67 | 14.33 |
| Ghatal | Ghatal | 953.09 | 1,047,679 | 87.94 | 12.06 |
The district comprises three subdivisions: Kharagpur, Medinipur Sadar and Ghatal. Kharagpur subdivision consists of Kharagpur municipality and ten community development blocks: Dantan–I, Dantan–II, Pingla, Kharagpur–I, Kharagpur–II, Sabang, Mohanpur, Narayangarh, Keshiari and Debra. Medinipur Sadar subdivision consists of Midnapore municipality and six community development blocks: Medinipur Sadar, Garhbeta–I, Garhbeta–II, Garhbeta–III, Keshpur and Shalboni. Ghatal subdivision consists of five municipalities (Ramjibanpur, Chandrakona, Khirpai, Kharar and Ghatal) and five community development blocks: Chandrakona–I, Chandrakona–II, Daspur–I, Daspur–II and Ghatal.[7]
Midnapore is the district headquarters. There are 28 police stations, 21 development blocks, 7 municipalities and 290 gram panchayats in this district.[7] [8]
Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 11 urban units: 7 municipalities and 4 census towns.
There are 15 assembly constituencies in Paschim Medinipur district. They belong to four Lok Sabha constituencies. Medinipur and Ghatal constituencies both comprise six constituencies of Paschim Medinipur district and one from Purba Medinipur district. Jhargram constituency contains two constituencies of Paschim Medinipur district, while Arambagh contains one constituency.
| No. | Name | Lok Sabha constituency | MLA | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 219 | Dantan | Medinipur | Bikram Chandra Pradhan | ||
| 223 | Keshiary (ST) | Paresh Murmu | |||
| 224 | Kharagpur Sadar | Hiran Chatterjee | |||
| 225 | Narayangarh | Surja Kanta Atta | |||
| 226 | Sabang | Ghatal | Manas Bhunia | ||
| 227 | Pingla | Ajit Maity | |||
| 228 | Kharagpur | Medinipur | Dinen Roy | ||
| 229 | Debra | Ghatal | Humayun Kabir | ||
| 230 | Daspur | Mamata Bhunia | |||
| 231 | Ghatal (SC) | Sital Kapat | |||
| 232 | Chandrakona (SC) | Arambagh | Arup Dhara | ||
| 233 | Garbeta | Jhargram | Uttara Singha | ||
| 234 | Salboni | Srikanta Mahata | |||
| 235 | Keshpur (SC) | Ghatal | Seuli Saha | ||
| 236 | Medinipur | Medinipur | June Malia | ||
According to the 2011 census Paschim Medinipur district has a population of 5,913,457,[9] roughly equal to the nation of Eritrea[10] or the US state of Missouri.[11] This gives it a ranking of 14th in India (out of a total of 640).[9] The district has a population density of 636PD/sqkm.[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 14.44%.[9] Paschim Medinipur has a sex ratio of 960 females for every 1000 males,[9] and a literacy rate of 79.04%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes collectively account for 33.96% (SC: 19.08% and ST: 14.88%) of the district's total population. The prominent communities in this group, in terms of the district's total population, are Santal (9.05%), Bagdi/Duley (6.27%), Bhumij (1.65%), Lohar (1.33%), Namasudra (1.3%), Munda (1.13%), Jalia Kaibartta (1.02%), Lodha/Kharia (0.88%), Dhoba (0.83%), Hari/Mehtar (0.81%), Bauri (0.76%), Mal (0.6%), Dom (0.56%), Chamar (0.53%), Bhuiya (0.53%), Kora (0.49%), Rajbanshi (0.43%), Pan/Sawasi (0.38%), Sunri (excluding Saha) (0.34%), Keot/Keyot (0.33%), Kandra (0.31%), Savar (0.31%), Rajwar (0.26%), Ho (0.25%), Mahar (0.24%), Kadar (0.23%), Baiga (0.22%), Mahali (0.21%), Khaira (0.2%), and Pod/Poundra (0.19%).[12] [13]
After bifurcation, the district had a population of 4,776,909, of which 655,250 (13.72%) live in urban areas. The divided district has a sex ratio of 963 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 892,763 (18.69%) and 546,167 (11.43%) of the population, respectively.
At the 2011 census, 87.15% spoke Bengali, 6.29% Santali, 2.49% Hindi and 0.93% Telugu as their first language. Other languages spoken in the district include Odia, Urdu, Kudmali/Kurmali, Mundari and Koda.[14]
See also: List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate.
There are many tourist attractions in the district:
The table below (all data in numbers) presents an overview of the subdivision-wise medical facilities available and patients treated, after the separation of Jhargram, in the hospitals, health centres and sub-centres in 2014 in Paschim Medinipur district.[16]
| Subdivision | Health & Family Welfare Dept, WB | Other state govt depts | Local bodies | Central govt depts / 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 | |||||||||||||
| Medinipur Sadar | 2 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 3 | align="center" | - | 1 | 26 | 53 | 2,117 | 323 | 121,486 | 1,375,817 | ||
| Kharagpur | 2 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 54 | 98 | 1841 | 197 | 93,110 | 1,814,309 | |||
| Ghatal | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 46 | 67 | 988 | 66 | 46,006 | 742,984 |
| Paschim Medinipur district | 5 | 17 | 24 | 77 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 126 | 208 | 4,946 | 586* | 260,602 | 3,933,110 | |||