Khejuri I

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 – (a) almost entirely flat plains on the west, east and north, (b) 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 metres above 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 (Deshapran), 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.

Location

Kamarda, a constituent panchayat of Khejuri I block, is located at 21°51′08″N 87°47′07″E.

Khejuri I CD Block is bounded by Bhagabanpur II and Nandigram II CD Blocks in the north, Nandigram I and Khejuri II CD Blocks in the east, Contai II and Contai III CD Blocks in the south and Bhagabanpur II CD Block in the west.

It is located 45 km from Tamluk, the district headquarters.

Area and administration

Khejuri I CD Block has an area of 130.51 km². It has 1 panchayat samity, 6 gram panchayats, 93 gram sansads (village councils), 42 mouzas and 42 inhabited villages. Khejuri police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Kamarda.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayats of Khejuri I block/ panchayat samiti are: Birbandar, Heria, Kalagechia, Kamarda, Lakshi and Tikashi.

Population

As per 2011 Census of India Khejuri I CD Block had a total population of 132,992, all of which were rural. There were 68,494 (52%) males and 64,498 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 15,925. Scheduled Castes numbered 17,744 (13.34%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 169 (0.13%).

As per 2001 census, Khejuri I block had a total population of 114,645, out of which 58,891 were males and 55,754 were females. Khejuri I block registered a population growth of 14.94 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the combined Midnapore district was 14.87 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Villages

Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Khejuri I CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets): Patna (5,772), Kulta (4,576), Chingur Dania (6,016), Jahanabad (7,174), Kamarda (11,658), Krishna Nagar (6,328), Mohati (4,761), Herya Atmarampur (4,102), Lakhi (13,109) and Tikashi (10,505).

Other villages in Khejuri I CD Block (2011 census figures in brackets): Kala Gachhia (2,277).

Literacy

As per 2011 census the total number of literates in Khejuri I CD Block was 104,075 (88.90% of the population over 6 years) out of which 56,122 (54%) were males and 47,953 (46%) were females.

As per 2011 census, literacy in Purba Medinipur district was 87.02%. Purba Medinipur had the highest literacy amongst all the districts of West Bengal in 2011. Literacy in West Bengal was 77.08% in 2011. Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.

See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

Language

Bengali is the local language in these areas.

Religion

In 2011 census Hindus numbered 121,175 and formed 91.11% of the population in Khejuri I CD Block. Muslims numbered 11,614 and formed 8.73% of the population. Others numbered 203 and formed 0.16% of the population.

In 2011, Hindus numbered 4,343,972 and formed 85.24% of the population in Purba Medinipur district. Muslims numbered 743,436 and formed 14.59% of the population. In West Bengal, Hindus numbered 64,385,546 and formed 70.53% of the population. Muslims numbered 24,654,825 and formed 27.01% of the population.

Human Development Report

According to the District Human Development Report of Purba Medinipur: the density of population (2001 census) at 1,028 persons per  km² was higher than the West Bengal average of 903 persons per  km². It is an overwhelmingly rural district with the urban population being only 7.23% of the total population. The scheduled castes form 19.05% of the total population and the scheduled tribes 5.41%, the former or the two together being the lowest in the state.

The agricultural sector is the lifeline of a predominantly rural economy. It is largely dependent on the Low Capacity Deep Tubewells (around 50%) or High Capacity Deep Tubewells (around 27%) for irrigation, as the district does not have a good network of canals, compared to some of the neighbouring districts. In many cases the canals are drainage canals which get the backflow of river water at times of high tide or the rainy season.

In 2007-08, around 85% of the mouzas in the district had electric connections and around 40% of rural households had electricity. Over 90% of the rural households had access to toilet facility. In rural areas the tubewell was taken to be a reliable source of drinking water till arsenic contamination put a question mark on it. Piped water supply is a distant dream for rural people. In the rural areas of the district 6% households enjoy piped drinking water supply facility. In Purba Medinipur, around 70% of the people have a low standard of living.

The average size of land holding in Purba Medinipur, in 2005-06, was 0.73 hectares against 1.01 hectares in West Bengal. In 2001, agricultural workers plus cultivators formed 55.41% of the total workers (main plus marginal). For rice cultivation, the area cultivated under Aman (or winter crop) is one and a half times that of the area under Boro (or summer crop). Purba Medinipur’s net district domestic product derives one fifth of its earnings from fisheries, the highest amongst all the districts of West Bengal. Betelvine is a major source of livelihood in Purba Medinipur district, particularly in Tamluk and Contai subdivisions. Betelvine production in 2008-09 was the highest amongst all the districts and was around a third of the total state production. In 2008-09, Purba Mednipur produced 2,789 tonnes of cashew nuts from 3,340 hectares of land.

The report has provided CD Block-wise data for Modified Human Poverty Index of the district. The information has been modified to suit this page and published in the table alongside. The CD Block-wise mean MHPI is estimated at 24.9. 11 out of 25 CD Blocks are found to be severely deprived in respect of grand CD Block average value of MHPI (CD Blocks with lower amount of poverty are better): All the CD Blocks of Haldia and Contai subdivisions appeared backward, except Ramnagar I & II, of all the blocks of Egra subdivision only Bhagabanpur I appeared backward and in Tamluk subdivision none appeared backward.

(Note: Certain topics, such as Literacy, Education, Healthcare etc., are not covered here and are covered elsewhere in this page.)

Infrastructure

In 2003-04 Khejuri I CD Block had 20 hectares of canals. Khejuri I CD Block had 23 km of surfaced roads under PWD, 16 km of surfaced roads under Zilla Parishad and 444 km of surfaced roads under Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti.

Agriculture

In 2003-04 the farmers of Khejuri I CD Block could be classified as follows: Bargadars 21.02%, patta (document) holders 23.88%, small farmers 2.53%, marginal farmers 31.44% and agricultural labourers 21.13%.

As of 2003-04, Khejuri I CD Block had 5,505 hectares vested land, out of which 3,057 hectares was distributed amongst 16,581 persons.

In 2003-04 net area sown in Khejuri I CD Block was 10,469 hectares and the area in which more than one crop was grown was 1,145 hectares.

In 2003-04 Khejuri I CD Block produced 20,230 tonnes of Aman paddy from 10,030 hectares, 5,050 tonnes Boro paddy from 1,630 hectares, 470 tonnes jute from 30 hectares and 3,090 tonnes of potatoes from 210 hectares.

Pisciculture

In Khejuri I CD Block 714 hectares was the nett area under effective pisiculture and 603 persons were engaged in the profession. Approximate annual production in 2003-04 was 12,488 qtl.

Transport

Khejuri I CD Block has 4 ferry services and 1 originating/ terminating bus route. The nearest railway station is 15 km from the CD Block headquarters.

Education

In 2003-04, Khejuri I CD Block had 107 primary schools with 13,287 students, 6 middle schools with 1,984 students, 16 high schools with 11,248 students and 5 higher secondary schools with 5,541 students. Khejuri CD Block had 1 professional/ technical institution with 150 students and 394 institutions with 12,009 students for special and non-formal education. Khejuri I CD Block had 84 mass literacy centres

Healthcare

Khejuri I CD Block had 2 health centres, 20 clinics and 2 dispensaries with 21 beds and 3 doctors in 2003.