Habra I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Barasat Sadar subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Sadpur, a census town in Habra I block, is located at .
Habra I CD Block is bounded by Gaighata CD Block in the north, Swarupnagar and Baduria CD Blocks in the east, Deganga and Barasat I CD Blocks in the south, and Habra II CD Block in the west.
Habra I CD Block is part of the North Bidyadhari Plain, one of the three physiographic regions in the district located in the lower Ganges Delta. The area is full of marshes and salt water lakes. The Bidyadhari originates in this block and has a long course through the central part of the district. The Jamuna passes through this block.
Habra I CD Block has an area of 117.36 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 7 gram panchayats, 129 gram sansads (village councils), 58 mouzas and 58 inhabited villages, as per the District Statistical Handbook: North 24 Parganas. Habra police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Habra.
Gram panchayats of Habra I block are: Bergoom-I, Bergoom-II, Kumra, Machhlandapur-I, Machhlandapur-II, Prithiba and Routara.
Demographics
Population
As per 2011 Census of India Habra I CD Block had a total population of 225,200, of which 175,651 were rural and 49,549 were urban. There were 116,027 (52%) males and 109,173 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 22,325. Scheduled Castes numbered 77,965 (34.62%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 6,376 (2.83%).
As per 2001 census, Habra I block has a total population of 188,112 out of which 97,146 were males and 90,966 were females. Population of the rural areas in the block was 165,216 and that of the urban areas was 22,096.
Census towns in Habra I CD Block were (2011 census figures in brackets): Nokpul (7,737), Maslandapur (10,790), Sadpur (7,773), Betpuli (9,404), Anarbaria (5,895) and Purbba Narayanpur (7,950).
Large villages in Habra I CD Block were (2011 census figures in brackets): Janaphul (9,515), Lakshmipul (4,238), Dakshin Sarai (5,285), Marakpur (5,053), Mahisa Machhlandapur (6,488), Sonakene (6,933), Bergum (6,989), Krishna Nagar (5,187), Phultala (7,775), Kashipur (5,877), Kumra (5,410) and Rajballabhpur (6,909).
North 24 Parganas district is densely populated, mainly because of the influx of refugees from East Pakistan (later Bangladesh). With a density of population of 2,182 per km2 in 1971, it was 3rd in terms of density per km2 in West Bengal after Kolkata and Howrah, and 20th in India. According to the District Human Development Report: North 24 Parganas, “High density is also explained partly by the rapid growth of urbanization in the district. In 1991, the percentage of urban population in the district has been 51.23.”
Decadal Population Growth Rate (%)
The decadal growth of population in Habra I CD Block in 2001-2011 was 17.10%. The decadal growth of population in Habra I CD Block in 1991-2001 was 19.68%.
The decadal growth rate of population in North 24 Parganas district was as follows: 47.9% in 1951-61, 34.5% in 1961-71, 31.4% in 1971-81, 31.7% in 1981-91, 22.7% in 1991-2001 and 12.0% in 2001-11. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal in 2001-11 was 13.93%. The decadal growth rate for West Bengal was 17.84% in 1991-2001, 24.73% in 1981-1991 and 23.17% in 1971-1981.
Only a small portion of the border with Bangladesh has been fenced and it is popularly referred to as a porous border. It is freely used by Bangladeshi infiltrators, terrorists, smugglers, criminals, et al.
Literacy
As per the 2011 census, the total number of literates in Habra I CD Block was 168,687 (83.15% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 91,058 (87.11% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 77,629 (78.94% of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 8.17%.
See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
Language and religion
In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 165,537 and formed 73.51% of the population in Habra I CD Block. Muslims numbered 58,132 and formed 25.81% of the population. Others numbered 1,531 and formed 0.68% of the population.