Uttar Dinajpur district

Geography

Uttar Dinajpur district lies between latitude 25°11' N to 26°49' N and longitude 87°49' E to 90°00' E occupying an area of 3142 km² enclosed by Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur districts of Bangladesh on the east, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar districts of Bihar on the west, Darjeeling district and Jalpaiguri district on the north and Malda district and Dakshin Dinajpur district on the south. Uttar Dinajpur is well connected with the rest of the state through National Highways, State Highways and Railways. NH-31 and NH-34 pass through the heart of the district. The regional topography is generally flat with a gentle southerly slope towards which the main rivers like Kulik, Nagar, Mahananda. The District forms a part of the basin lying between Rajmahal hills on the east. The older alluvium is estimated to be Pleistocene age. Uttar Dinajpur is bestowed with a very fertile soil. The soil is very rich in nature due to the alluvial deposition which helps to grow Paddy, Jute, Mesta and Sugarcane etc. Raiganj on the banks of the River Kulik is the District Headquarters where the "Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary", the second largest bird sanctuary in Asia, is situated. In Uttar Dinajpur district, there are 2 sub-divisions, Raiganj and Islampur, 110 km (68 mi) apart from each other. There are 4 Municipalities, 9 Blocks and 99 Panchayats covering 1577 villages. The total population is nearly 25 lakh (2.5 million), consisting mainly of rural masses. Bengali is the main language but a sizeable number of Urdu, Hindi and Maithili speaking people live in Islampur sub-division. It is one of the most backward districts of India educationally and economically owing to state neglect. The major native dialect is called locally Surjapuri or Rangpuri (or even Dinajpuri ) and one of the sweet dialects of the Bengali language in the North Bengal region.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Uttar Dinajpur 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). but now Dalkhola the main commercial, business town with well connected railway and roadways. increasing the economy of Dalkhola and Uttar Dinajpur District.

Sub-divisions

Uttar Dinajpur District comprises 2 subdivisions:

Assembly constituencies

The district is divided into 7 assembly constituencies:

1. Chopra (assembly constituency no. 28),
2. Islampur (assembly constituency no. 29),
3. Goalpokhar (assembly constituency no. 30),
4. Karandighi (assembly constituency no. 31),
5. Raiganj (SC) (assembly constituency no. 32),
6. Kaliaganj (SC) (assembly constituency no. 33),
7. Itahar (assembly constituency no. 34) and
8. Kushmandi (assembly constituency no. 35).

Raiganj and Kaliaganj constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Along with five assembly constituencies from Darjeeling district, Chopra and Islampur constituencies form the Darjeeling (Lok Sabha constituency). Goalpokhar, Karandighi, Raiganj and Itahar constituencies are part of the Raiganj (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains three assembly constituencies from Malda district. Along with six assembly constituencies from South Dinajpur district, Kaliaganj forms the Balurghat (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates.

Impact of delimitation of constituencies

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 9 assembly constituencies:

1. Chopra (assembly constituency no. 28),
2. Islampur (assembly constituency no. 29),
3. Goalpokhar (assembly constituency no. 30),
4. Chakulia (assembly constituency no. 31),
5. Karandighi (assembly constituency no. 32),
6. Hemtabad (SC) (assembly constituency no. 33),
7. Kaliaganj (SC) (assembly constituency no. 34),
8. Raiganj (assembly constituency no. 35),
9. Itahar (assembly constituency no. 36) and

Hemtabad and Kaliaganj constituencies will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Along with six assembly constituencies from Darjeeling district, Chopra constituency will form the Darjeeling (Lok Sabha constituency). Islampur, Goalpokhar, Chakulia, Karandighi, Hemtabad, Kaliaganj and Raiganj constituencies will form the Raiganj (Lok Sabha constituency). Along with six assembly constituencies from South Dinajpur district, Itahar will form the Balurghat (Lok Sabha constituency).

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Uttar Dinajpur district has a population of 3,000,849, roughly equal to the nation of Albania or the US state of Mississippi. This gives it a ranking of 124th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 956 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,480/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.9%. Uttar Dinajpur has a sex ratio of 936 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 60.13%.

Flora and fauna

In 1985 Uttar Dinajpur district became home to the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 1.3 km² (0.5 sq mi).

Transport

Three major railway stations are Raiganj, Dalkhola and Aluabari Road Junction (Islampur). Although Kishanganj is most important stoppage but it belongs to Bihar. NH 34 and NH 31 are two main roadways throughout this District. Dalkhola is most famous place for traffic jam. Approximately two to three trains passes every hour through this railway station. The government has so far taken no steps on this critical problem.