North Dinajpur
Uttar Dinajpur or North Dinajpur (Bengali: উত্তর দিনাজপুর জেলা) is a district
of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the
erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur.
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 Maithilispeaking people live in Islampur sub-division.
Census Data
| Description |
2011 |
2001 |
| Actual Population |
3,000,849 |
2,441,794 |
| Male |
1,550,219 |
1,259,737 |
| Female |
1,450,630 |
1,182,057 |
| Population Growth |
22.90% |
28.72% |
| Area Sq. Km |
3,140 |
3,140 |
| Density/km2 |
956 |
778 |
| Proportion to West Bengal Population |
3.29% |
3.05% |
| Sex Ratio (Per 1000) |
936 |
938 |
| Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) |
946 |
965 |
| Average Literacy |
60.13 |
47.89 |
| Male Literacy |
66.65 |
58.48 |
| Female Literacy |
53.15 |
36.51 |
| Total Child Population (0-6 Age) |
469,971 |
513,266 |
| Male Population (0-6 Age) |
241,547 |
261,202 |
| Female Population (0-6 Age) |
228,424 |
252,064 |
| Literates |
1,521,933 |
923,477 |
| Male Literates |
872,285 |
583,960 |
| Female Literates |
649,648 |
339,517 |
| Child Proportion (0-6 Age) |
15.66% |
21.02% |
| Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) |
15.58% |
20.73% |
| Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) |
15.75% |
21.32% |
Divisions
Administrative subdivisions
The district comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur. Raiganj consists
of Raiganj municipality, Kaliaganj municipality and four community development blocs:
Hemtabad, Itahar, Kaliganj and Raiganj. Islampur subdivision consists of Islampur
and Dalkhola municipalities and five community development blocs: Chopra, Goalpokhar–I,
Goalpokhar–II, Islampur and Karandighi. Raiganj is the district headquarters.
There are 9 police stations, 9 development blocks, 4 municipalities, 98 gram
panchayats and 1516 villages in this district. Other than municipality area,
each subdivision contains community development blocs which in turn are divided
into rural areas and census towns.In total there are 10 urban units: 4 municipalities
and 2 census towns. Raiganj and Kasba form an urban agglomeration. Dalkhola was
a census town in census 2001, but it was promoted to be a municipality in 2003.
Raiganj subdivision
- Raiganj: Municipality
- Kaliaganj: Municipality
- Hemtabad (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 5 gram
panchayats.
- Itahar (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 12 Gram Panchayats.
- Kaliaganj (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 gram
panchayats.
- Raiganj (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 14 Gram Panchayats
and two census towns: Nachhratpur Katabari and Kasba.
Islampur subdivision
- Islampur: Municipality
- Dalkhola: Municipality
- Chopra (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 Gram Panchayats.
- Goalpokhar I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 14
Gram Panchayats.
- Goalpokhar II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 11
Gram Panchayats.
- Islampur (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 13 Gram Panchayats.
- Karandighi (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 13 Gram Panchayats.