Mathurapur II

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Mathurapur II
মথুরাপুর II
Community development block
সমষ্টি উন্নয়ন ব্লক
Mathurapur II is located in West Bengal
Mathurapur II
Mathurapur II
Location in West Bengal
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Country  India
State West Bengal
District South 24 Parganas
Parliamentary constituency Mathurapur
Assembly constituency Raidighi
Area
 • Total 227.45 km2 (87.82 sq mi)
Elevation 8 m (26 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 220, 839
 • Density 860/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zone IST (UTC+5.30)
PIN 743383 (Raidighi)
743349 (Kashinagar)
Area code(s) 03174
Vehicle registration WB-19, WB-20, WB-22
Literacy Rate 77.77 per cent
Website http://s24pgs.gov.in/

Mathurapur II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Diamond Harbour subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

History

Land reforms

During 1946-1950 the Tebhaga movement in several parts of the 24 Parganas district led to the enactment of the Bargadari Act. Although the Bargadari Act of 1950 recognised the rights of bargadars to a higher share of crops from the land that they tilled, it was not implemented. Large tracts, beyond the prescribed limit of land ceiling, remained with the rich landlords. In 1967, West Bengal witnessed peasant uprising, against non-implementation of land reforms legislation, starting from Kheyadaha gram panchayat in Sonarpur CD Block. From 1977 onwards major land reforms took place in West Bengal under the Left Front government. Land in excess of land ceiling was acquired and distributed amongst the peasants. Subsequently, “Operation Barga” was aimed at securing tenancy rights for the peasants. In Mathurapur II CD Block 5,107.88 acres of land was acquired and vested. Out of this 4,526.23 acres or 88.68% of the vested land was distributed. The total number of patta holders was 8,310.[1]

Geography

Location

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Mathurapur II CD Block is bounded by Mathurapur I CD Block in the north and part of the west, Jaynagar II and Kultali CD Blocks in the east, Sundarbans forests in the south and Patharpratima in a part of the west.[2][3]

It is located 57 km from Alipore, the district headquarters.[2]

Area and administration

Mathurapur II CD Block has an area of 227.45 km2. Raydighi police station serves this CD Block. Mathurapur II panchayat samity has 11 gram panchayats. The block has 27 inhabited villages.[4]Headquarters of this block is at Baribhangabad.

Sundarbans settlements

Village in a clearing of Sundarbans. Drawing by Frederic Peter Layard after an original sketch of 1839
House in Sundarbans with a pond and rice fields, 2010

The Sundarbans area, in the south of the district, includes 102 deltaic islands, out of which 54 are inhabited and the rest is reserved forest. The area spread over 54,000 sq km is home to 3.9 million people or around 40% of the population of the district. As per December 2001 census there were 271 Royal Bengal tigers and other animals in the Indian portion of the Sundarban forest, spread across 42,000 sq km. The floor of the Sunderbans varies from 0.9 m to 2.11 m above sea level. Tidal saline water from the Bay of Bengal alternatively drowns and exposes the islands twice a day throughout the year. Around 3,500 km of earthen embankments, protecting the inhabited islands, have been facing the daily onslaught in a cycloe-prone area for more than a century. Clearing of the forests effectively started in 1781 and in about a century Hingalganj, Hasnabad, Sandeshkhali I and II, Minakhan, Haroa (all in North 24 Parganas district in 2016) Canning I and II, Jaynagar I and II, Mathurapur I and II, and Sagar (all in South 24 Parganas district in 2016) had been fully or substantially cleared of forests. Thereafter, much of the interiors of Kakdwip, Patharpratima, Basanti, Kultali and Gosaba were cleared for human settlement. People started moving in to the area. The refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan were the last to come in large numbers between 1951 and 1971. Canning I and II, Jaynagar I and II, Mathurapur I and II, Kakdwip and Namkhana are a little away from the forests and being attached/ connected to the mainland their conditions are similar to other mainland blocks in the district, but Basanti, Gosaba, Kultali, Patharpratima and Sagar are largely isolated from the mainland. These islands are mostly separated from the deep forest by a river. Electric connections are rare, and transport and communications, other than river transport, are not there. Around 95% people depend on rain-fed agriculture. Sagar lies at the mouth of the Hooghly, which carries fresh water and so things are a little different there. The sea level, around India, is estimated to be rising at 2.55 mm per year. In the last 70 years, 220 sq km of forest land has been submerged and the process continues.[5]

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayats of Mathurapur II block/panchayat samiti are: Dighipar Bakultala, Gilarchat, Kankandighi, Kashinagar, Kautala, Khari, Kumrarpara, Nagendrapur, Nandakumarpur, Radhakantapur and Raidighi.[6]

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Mathurapur II CD Block had a total population of 220,839, all of which were rural. There were 113,831 (52%) males and 107,008 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 26,447. Scheduled Castes numbered 62,342 and Scheduled Tribes numbered 4,643.[7]

As per 2001 census, Mathurapur II block had a total population of 198,261, out of which 102,937 were males and 95,324 were females. Mathurapur II block registered a population growth of 14.61 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for South 24 Parganas district was 20.89 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent. Scheduled castes at 60,519 formed around one-third the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 5,676.[4][8][9]

Large villages

Large villages in Mathurapur II CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets): Khari (21,900), Uttar Kashinagar (12,321), Kautala (11,725), Gilarchat (25,897), Radhakantapur Abad (8,442), Baribhanga Abad (6,773), Raydighi Abad (20,467), Dighirpar Bakultala (14,080), Chaplarkhop (4,088), Kumarpara (17,682), Kankandighi (12,900), Paschim Jatardeul (5,797), Purbba Jatardeul (6,222), Baradanagar (4,715), Purbba Shridharpur (5,377), Nagendrapur (6,041), Damkal (5,936), Dakshin Jaykrishnapur (5,204), Nandakumarpur (5,570) and Mahabatpur (4,249).

Literacy

As per 2011 census the total number of literates in Mathurapur II CD Block was 151,186 (77.77% of the population over 6 years) out of which 83,316 (56%) were males and 65,870 (44%) were females.[7]

As per 2011 census, literacy in South 24 Parganas district was 77.51[10] Literacy in West Bengal was 77.08% in 2011.[11] Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.[11]

As per 2001 census, Mathurapur II block had a total literacy of 68.24 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 80.56 per cent female literacy was 54.89 per cent. South 24 Parganas district had a total literacy of 69.45 per cent, male literacy being 79.19 per cent and female literacy being 59.01 per cent.[4]


Language

Bengali is the local language in these areas.[2]

Human Development Report

According to the South 24 Parganas district Human Development Report, it is an overwhelmingly rural district with 85% of the population living in rural areas. An analysis of the district’s population shows that 33 percent of the district’s population belongs to Scheduled Castes. While 65.86% of people are Hindus, 33.24% are Muslims. 86% of the population resided in the 29 CD Blocks. In 2005, more than 4 lakh households were identified as living below poverty line, pushing the poverty ratio in the district to 34.11%, way above the state and national poverty ratios.[12]

Mathurapur II CD Block had a poverty ratio of 39.59% of the households in 2005. The Sundarbans region in general is afflicted with poverty with all the 13 CD Blocks recording above 30% and 8 CD Blocks recording more than 40% households in the BPL category.[12]

In standard of living Mathurapur II had a rank of 22 amongst all the 29 blocks. In infrastructure development it was 27th amongst all CD Blocks. In Mathurapur II, 5.75% households had access to electricity. The length of surfaced roads was 0.06 km per sq km area. The number of bank branches was 0.2 per 10,000 population. Lack of access to irrigation is a major problem for most of the CD Blocks in South 24 Parganas, but it assumes particular significance in the Sundarbans area, where there is limited scope for employment beyond the agricultural sector. In Mathurapur II, 58.42% of rural households were engaged as daily/ agricultural/ other physical labour, 21.47% were cultivators, 6.46% were self-employed rural artisans/ hawkers, 4.00% were engaged in labour oriented regular jobs in the unorganised sector, and 9.66% were engaged in the organised sector or work as professionals.[12]

As per 1991 census, while male literacy rate was 69.44% female literacy was 34.67% and there was a gender gap of 34.77% in Mathurapur II. In 2006, Mathurapur II had 31 secondary and higher secondary schools. All, but 3 of them, had library facility but 26 of them did not have computer facilities.[12]

In 2006, in Mathurapur II for 119 villages there were 45 health sub-centres and 4 rural hospital/public health centres having 82 beds with 10 medical officers, 23 nurses, 53 health assistants and 7 pharmacists and technicians. 52.5% of the 276 habitations in Mathurapur II CD Block were fully covered with safe drinking water (including tube wells and tap water), 42.8% habitations were partly covered and 4.7% habitations were not covered.[12]

Mathurapur II has 225.46 km of embankments. Breaches in these embankments varied from 3.3 km in 2005-06 to 18.5 km in 2006-07. Embankments raised along rivers are of critical importance for the safety of lives and protection of crops, against daily tides and tidal surges. Technologically the embankment structures are weak and there is need of proper drainage of accumulated rain water through sluice gates. Crude cuts in embankments for drainage of accumulated rain water and channels built for providing water to large fisheries (bheris) also add to the hazards. Cyclones and tropical depressions are regular threats.[12]


References

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