Banshihari is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Gangarampur Subdivision of Dakshin Dinajpur District in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
Dinajpur district was constituted in 1786. In 1947, the Radcliffe Line placed the Sadar and Thakurgaon subdivisions of Dinajpur district in East Pakistan. The Balurghat subdivision of Dinajpur district was reconstituted as West Dinajpur district in West Bengal. The new Raiganj subdivision was formed in 1948. In order to restore territorial links between northern and southern parts of West Bengal which had been snapped during the partition of Bengal, and on the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission a portion of the erstwhile Kishanganj subdivision comprising Goalpokhar, Islampur and Chopra thanas (police stations) and parts of Thakurganj thana, along with the adjacent parts of the erstwhile Gopalpur thana in Katihar subdivision were transferred from Purnea district in Bihar to West Bengal in 1956, and were formally incorporated into Raiganj subdivision in West Dinajpur. The township of Kishanganj and its entire municipal boundary remained within Bihar. With the introduction of the Community Development Programme in 1960-61, community development blocks were set up in West Dinajpur district. In 1992, West Dinajpur district was bifurcated and Dakshin Dinajpur district was established.
Geography
Banshihari is located at .
Dakshin Dinajpur district is physiographically a part of the Barind Tract. The area is generally flat and slightly undulating. The elevation of the district is about 15 metres above mean sea level. However, the soil varies. CD Blocks such as Balurghat, Hili and Kumarganj have alluvial soil, Tapan CD Block has laterite soil. There are three main rivers. The Atreyee comes from Bangladesh, flows through Kumarganj and Balurghat CD Blocks and goes back to Bangladesh. The Punarbhaba flows through Gangarampur and Tapan CD Blocks. The Tangon flows through Kushmandi and Bansihari CD Blocks. There is a small river named Jamuna in the Hili CD Block. All rivers, flowing from north to south, overflow during the monsoons and cause floods.
Bansihari CD Block is bounded by Kushmandi CD Block on the north, Gangrampur and Tapan CD Blocks on the east, Bamangola and Gazole CD Blocks in Malda district on the south and Harirampur CD Block on the west,
Bansihari CD Block has an area of 196.52 km2.It has 1 panchayat samity, 4 gram panchayats, 97 gram sansads (village councils), 161 mouzas and 160 inhabited villages. Bansihari police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is in Buniadpur.Buniadpur is a City & Municipality
Gram panchayats of Banshihari Block/ panchayat samiti are: Brojoballavpur, Ellahabad, Ganguria and Mahabari.
Demographics
Population
As per 2011 Census of India, Bansihari CD Block had a total population of 141,286, all of which were rural. There were 72,161 (51%) males and 69,125 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 17,179. Scheduled Castes numbered 17,506 (12.39%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 31,017 (21.95%).
As per 2001 census Bansihari block had a population of 122,091 of which 62,534 are males and 59,557 are females.
Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Bansihari CD Block were (2011 population in brackets): Elahabad (4,220) and Bagduar (4,003).
City & Municipality - Buniadpur is the main City and a Municipality of Banshihari Block. Buniadpur is the Headquarter of Banshihari Block & a Sub-divisional town of Gangarampur Sub- Division.
Decadal growth of population in Bansihari CD Block for the period 2001-2011 was 15.72%. Decadal growth of population in Dakhin Dinajpur district during the same period was 11.52% down from 22.15% in the previous decade. Decadal growth of population in West Bengal for the corresponding periods was 13.93% and 17.77% respectively.
The large scale migration of the East Bengali refugees (including tribals) started with the partition of Bengal in 1947. Up to around 1951, two-fifths of the refugees settled in South Bengal, the balance settled in the North Bengal districts of West Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. Erstwhile West Dinajpur alone received around 6.5% of the early entrants. The steady flow of people into Dakshin Dinajpur has continued over the years from erstwhile East Pakistan and subsequently from Bangladesh.