Saltora (community development block)

Saltora
শালতোড়া সমষ্টি উন্নয়ন ব্লক
Community development block
Saltora

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 23°32′00″N 86°56′00″E / 23.5333°N 86.9333°ECoordinates: 23°32′00″N 86°56′00″E / 23.5333°N 86.9333°E
Country  India
State West Bengal
District Bankura
Area
 • Total 314.13 km2 (121.29 sq mi)
Elevation 153 m (502 ft)
Population (2001)
 • Total 121,810
 • Density 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 722 158
Telephone code 91 3241
Lok Sabha constituency Bankura
Vidhan Sabha constituency Saltora
Website bankura.gov.in

Saltora (community development block) is an administrative division in Bankura Sadar subdivision of Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Saltora police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Saltora.[1][2]Government of West Bengal has planned a Special Economic Zone in Saltora.[3]

Geography

Saltora is located at 23°32′00″N 86°56′00″E / 23.5333°N 86.9333°E. It has an average elevation of 153 metres (505 feet.[4]

Biharinath, the tallest hill of Bankura District (447.8m/ 1481 ft), and one of the dense forest areas of the district, is situated about 14 km north-east of Saltora town.[5]

Saltora community development block has an area of 314.13  km2.[2]

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayats of Saltora block/ panchayat samiti are: Bamuntore, Dhekia, Gogra, Kunuri, Pabra, Salma, Saltora and Tiluri.[6]

Soil conditions

The soil is undulating, red and latté rite based. Climatically the zone is within tropical dry sub-humid area having rainfall ranging from 1100 to 1400 mm and temperature maximum 45 °C and minimum 10 °C normally. This region is undulating with mounds and valleys. Soils are well drained and are susceptible to soil erosion due to rapid external drainage or run off, soil reaction ranges from acidic in ridges and near neutral in valleys. Agriculture in this region mostly depends on rain. Ground water is not easily and economically tappable.[7]

Demographics

In the 2001 census, Saltora community development bloc had a total population of 121,810 of which 62,357 were males and 59,453 were females. Decadal growth for the period 1991-2001 was 9.81% for Saltora, against 13.79% in Bankura district. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84%.[2]

Saltora Bloc had a total scheduled caste population of 41,461 and a scheduled tribe population of 24,214.[8] There are 45 villages with the scheduled tribe population more than 40 per cent.[9]

Economics

Government of West Bengal has planned a Special Economic Zone in the less fertile area of Saltora. It has also earmarked certain blocs of Bankura district, considered by some to be a “neglected” district, for industrial development.[3][10]

As the Saltora area is located just opposite, across the Damodar River, to the flourishing Burnpur industrial zone of Bardhaman district, the viability of the proposed SEZ is assured.[3]Steel Authority of India Limited is funding the construction of a bridge across the Damodar, connecting Burnpur with Madhukunda nearby.[11]

The proposed area for the SEZ comprises 126 acres (0.51 km2), out of which 55.16 acres (223,200 m2) are vested and in possession of the state land and land reforms department. Besides the SEZ proposal another 3,000 acres (12 km2) are proposed to be acquired to set up a complete industrial hub. There are hints of political opposition to the land acquisition.[10]

An all-party delegation met the chief minister of the state on 18 June 2007 and demanded that the state government should take steps to invite entrepreneurs to invest in those areas of the district which are lying unused for decades. Subsequently, the opposition party SUC has staged a protest demonstration in front of the bloc development office and the district chairman of Trinamool Congress has demanded ”the publication of a white paper clarifying that not a single furlong of agricultural land is to be destroyed out of the bid.”[10] Comparatively more fertile areas of the state at Singur and Nandigram have seen agitations, even violence, against acquisition of agricultural lands.

Education

Saltora has three colleges. - 1.Netaji Centenary College (Degree College), 2. B.Ed.College, 3. D.El.Ed.College(Saltora Elementary Teacher Educational Programme Institute)

Culture

There is an old temple at the foot of Biharinath hill. With the discovery of Paleolithic tools in the Biharinath area, the hill and the surrounding areas have come into focus of archaeologists.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Contact details of Block Development Officers". Bankura district. West Bengal Government. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4, Bankura District". Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "State plans Sez in Bankura". Bengal Plus. The Statesman, 11 January 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  4. ↑ "Saltora, India Page". West Bengal. Falling rain genomics. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Biharinath". West Bengal. india9.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  6. ↑ "BRGF Allotment Order No. 16". Bankura district. Government of West Bengal - Department of Panchayats & Rural Development. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Bankura". Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  8. ↑ "TRU for all Districts (SC & ST and Total)". Census 2001. Census Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  9. ↑ "List of Villages with Census Codes for ST Population >= 40% of Total Population". Census Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Trinamul volte-face on Bankura SEZ". Bengal Plus. The Statesman, 1 August 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  11. ↑ "SAIL funds bridge over Damodar". The Hindu Business Line, 19 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  12. ↑ "Status of Prehistoric studies in the twenty first century in India". C01-13 Progress of Prehistory in Bengal: a cultural overview. UISPP / IUPPS │ XV Congress. Retrieved 2008-03-13.

External links

Biharinath travel guide from Wikivoyage