| Sandeshkhali I | |
| — community development block — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District(s) | North 24 Parganas |
| Parliamentary constituency | Basirhat |
| Assembly constituency | Sandeshkhali |
| Population • Density |
140,446 (2001[update]) • 775 /km2 (2,007 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area | 181.20 square kilometres (69.96 sq mi) |
| Website | north24parganas.nic.in/ |
The Hungry Tide
In the beginning…there was nothing but forests here. There were no people, no embankments, no fields. Just kada and bada, mud and mangrove. At high tide most of the land vanished under water. And everywhere you looked there were predators – tigers, crocodiles, sharks, leopards…This was a time when people were so desperate for the land that they were willing to sell themselves for a bigha or two.[1]
Sandeshkhali I (community development block) (Bengali: সন্দেশখালি I সমষ্টি উন্নয়ন ব্লক) is an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sandeshkhali police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Najata Hatkhali.[2]
Contents |
Sandeshkhali is located at .
The area is full of creeks and swamps in the deltaic region of southern Bengal. The wide Dalma and Besti rivers flow through the area.
Sandeshkhali I community development block has an area of 181.20 km2.[3]
Gram panchayats of Sandeshkhali I block/ panchayat samiti are: Bayermari I, Kalinagar, Sarberia Agarhati, Bayermari II, Nazat I, Sehera Radhanagar, Hatgachhi and Nazat II.[4]
Daud Pur is one of the most valuable & updated place in Sandeshkhali.The river Bali passing from here.Gram Panchayat Office,Bank,H.S School all are here.Daud pur H.L Sikshanikatan its a H.S School & a reputed school in this area.Nowadays Solar Electricity,Good Road alls are available.This village is a boundary of 24pgs (n)& 24pgs(s).
As per 2001 census, Sandeshkhali I block has a total population of 140,446 out of which 71,912 were males and 68,534 were females. Sandeshkhali I block registered a population growth of 16.51 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the district was 22.40 per cent.[3] Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.[5]
The remote villages and hamlets situated in the area suffer from chronic shortage of energy due to non-availability of grid power. It is extremely difficult to extend high voltage transmission lines because of technical limitations in an area with inhospitable terrain and prohibitive cost. A scheme is being formulated to cover about 750,000 people in the difficult areas of Sundarbans with non-conventional energy power within the year 2012. The scheme covers Gosaba, Sagar, Pathar Pratima, Namkhana, Kultali, Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali.[6]
Micro credit is serving as an effective tool of economic emancipation of women, empowering them to fight against many social evils and the age-old atrocities in the villages. JYDC an NGO, in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has established 1047 self-help groups with 12000 members spread over 24 villages (mouza). SHG members of Sandeshkhali raised Rs.40,000/-loan from Bank of Baroda to start a poultry farm.[7](31 March 2008, BDO, SDK-II)
Although in North 24 Parganas district groundwater is affected by arsenic contamination, tubewells in Sandeshkhali II block are arsenic safe according to Indian standard (50 µg/L) and in Sandeshkhali I block only 0.6% tubewells exceed 50 µg/L.(study conducted by JYDC an NGO). A lab was setup by JYDC in collaboration with UNICEF and govt. of West Bengal to monitor drinking water in the area. The probable reason may be, in Sandeshkhali, most of the tubewells are deep tubewells. Shallow tubewells are saline, so people do not construct shallow tubewells.[8] A study of iodine deficiency disorder amongst children found that prevalence of goitre amongst school children was very high at Sandeshkhali.[9]
Four launches with doctors carrying medicines, sophisticated portable X-ray and echo-cardiograph machines, provided by the French author Dominique Lapierre move along the waterways of the Sundarbans to its furthest corners. Residents of such places as Sandeshkhali, Basanti, Gosaba and Kultali have felicitated him when he came in 2004.[10]
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