Malda
Malda district (Bengali: মালদহ জেলা)
is a district of West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata,
the state capital. Mango and silk are notable products of this district. The special
variety of mango produced in this region, popularly known by the name of the district,
is exported across the world and is acclaimed internationally. The folk culture
of gombhira is a feature of the district, being a unique way of representation of
joy and sorrow of daily life of the common people, as well as the unique medium
of presentation on national and international matters. District headquarters is
English Bazar, also known as Malda, which was once the capital of Bengal. The district
maintains the traditions of the past in culture and education. Old Maldah, the town
which lies just east of the confluence of the Mahananda and Kalindi rivers, is part
of the English Bazar urban agglomeration. The town rose to prominence as the river
port of the old capital of Pandua. During the 18th century it was the seat of prosperous
cotton and silk industries. It remains an important distributing centre for rice,
jute, and wheat. Historical monuments include the mosque Jami' Masjid (1566) and
the landmark Nimasari tower across the river. Constituted as a municipality in 1867,
it has several colleges affiliated with the University of North Bengal. Rice, jute,
legumes, and oilseed are the chief crops in the surrounding area. Mulberry plantations
and mango orchards occupy large areas; mango trade and silk manufacture are the
main economic activities. The Independence Day of Malda is 17 August 1947.
Geography
The latitude range is 24°40’20" N to 25°32’08" N, and the longitude
range is 87°45’50" E to 88°28’10" E. The district covers an area of
3,733.66 square kilometres (1,441.6 sq mi). The total population (as of 2001 Census)
was recorded as 3,290,160. Malda is called the gateway of North Bengal. It was once
the capital of Gour-Banga with its 3,733 square kilometres (1,441 sq mi) lay of
the land classified into Tal, Diara, and Barind. To the south is Murshidabad district,
to the north are North Dinajpur district and South Dinajpur district. To the east
is the international border with Bangladesh. To the west is Santhal Parganas of
Jharkhand and Purnea of Bihar
Census Data
| Description |
2011 |
2001 |
| Actual Population |
3,997,970 |
3,290,468 |
| Male |
2,061,593 |
1,689,406 |
| Female |
1,936,377 |
1,601,062 |
| Population Growth |
21.50% |
24.78% |
| Area Sq. Km |
3,733 |
3,733 |
| Density/km2 |
1,071 |
881 |
| Proportion to West Bengal Population |
4.38% |
4.10% |
| Sex Ratio (Per 1000) |
939 |
948 |
| Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) |
945 |
964 |
| Average Literacy |
62.71 |
50.28 |
| Male Literacy |
67.27 |
58.80 |
| Female Literacy |
57.84 |
41.25 |
| Total Child Population (0-6 Age) |
590,237 |
639,904 |
| Male Population (0-6 Age) |
303,540 |
325,888 |
| Female Population (0-6 Age) |
286,697 |
314,016 |
| Literates |
2,136,898 |
1,332,704 |
| Male Literates |
1,182,672 |
801,770 |
| Female Literates |
954,226 |
530,934 |
| Child Proportion (0-6 Age) |
14.76% |
19.45% |
| Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) |
14.72% |
19.29% |
| Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) |
14.81% |
19.61% |
Divisions
Administrative Subdivisions
The district comprises two subdivisions: Chanchal and Malda Sadar. Chanchal consists
of six community development blocks: Chanchal–I, Chanchal–II, Ratua–I,
Ratua–II, Harishchandrapur–I and Harishchandrapur–II. Malda Sadar
subdivision consists of Old Maldah municipality, English Bazar municipality and
nine community development blocks: English Bazar, Gazole, Habibpur, Kaliachak–I,
Kaliachak–II, Kaliachak–III, Manickchak, Old Maldah and Bamangola. English
Bazar is the district headquarters. There are 11 police stations, 15 development
blocks, 2 municipalities, 146 gram panchayats and 3,701 villages in this district.
Other than municipality areas, each subdivision contains community development blocs,
which in turn, are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are
10 urban units, 2 municipalities and 3 census towns. English Bazar and Old Maldah
form an urban agglomeration.
Chanchal subdivision
- Chanchal I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (8 Gram Panchayats).
- Chanchal II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (7 Gram Panchayats).
- Ratua I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (10 Gram Panchayats).
- Ratua II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (8 Gram Panchayats).
- Harishchandrapur I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (7
Gram Panchayats).
- Harishchandrapur II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (9
Gram Panchayats).
Malda Sadar subdivision
- English Bazar: Municipality
- Old Maldah: Municipality
- English Bazar (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (11 gram
panchayats).
- Gazole (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (15 Gram Panchayats).
- Habibpur, Malda (Community development block) consists of rural areas (11 Gram Panchayats)
and three census towns: Kachu Pukur, Kendua and Aiho.
- Kaliachak I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (14 Gram Panchayats).
- Kaliachak II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (9 Gram Panchayats).
- Kaliachak III (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (14 Gram Panchayats).
- Manikchak (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (11 Gram Panchayats).
- Old Malda (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (6 Gram Panchayats).
- Bamangola (Community development block) consists of rural areas only (6 Gram Panchayats).