Purulia district

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Purulia district
District of West Bengal
Chhau dance of Purulia
Chhau dance of Purulia
Purulia district is located in West Bengal
Purulia district
Purulia district
Location in West Bengal
Coordinates: 23°20′N 86°22′E / 23.34°N 86.36°E / 23.34; 86.36Coordinates: 23°20′N 86°22′E / 23.34°N 86.36°E / 23.34; 86.36
Country India
StateWest Bengal
DivisionMedinipur division
HeadquartersPurulia
Area
 • Total6,259 km2 (2,417 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total2,930,115
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy64.48
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Average annual precipitation1000-1600 mm
Websitepurulia.gov.in

Purulia district is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal.

History[edit]

Purulia district was created on 1 November 1956 by partitioning of the erstwhile Manbhum district, then in Bihar, by the States Reorganisation Commission under Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act 1956.[1]

Geography[edit]

Purulia district covers an area of 6259 sq. km.[2]

Purulia district is part of the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.[3] It has an undulating topography with plateaux, hills, low valleys and high ridges. A number of rivers flow through the district mostly having easterly or south-easterly courses – Damodar, Kangsabati, Kumari, Dwarakeswar and Subarnarekha. The annual rainfall is in the range of 1,000-1,600 mm. It has a forest cover of 75,050 hectares.[4]

Purulia district is bounded by Paschim Bardhaman district and Dhanbad district of Jharkhand on the north, Bankura district and Paschim Medinipur district on the west, West Singhbhum district and East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand on the south and Bokaro district and Ranchi district of Jharkhand on the west.[4]

Map of Purulia district showing the community developmet blocks

Subdivisions in Purulia district are: Purulia Sadar, Manbazar, Jhalda and Raghunathpur.[5]

Community development blocks in Purulia district are: Arsha, Balarampur, Hura, Purulia I, Purulia II, Barabazar, Bandwan, Puncha, Manbazar I, Manbazar II, Baghmundi, Jhalda I, Jhalda II, Joypur, Kashipur, Neturia, Para, Raghunathpur I, Raghunathpur II and Santuri.[5]

Demographics[edit]

As per the 2011 census, Purulia district had a total population of 2,930,115. 87.86% of the population lived in rural areas and 12.74% lived in urban areas.[6]

Purulia district had 2,459 inhabited villages, 3 statutory towns and 25 census towns.[6]

Purulia district had a literacy rate of 64.48%.[6]

Economy[edit]

Agriculture[edit]

Purulia is a predominantly agriculture district. Cultivators form 21.51% and agricultural labourers form 39.39% of the total population. About 60% of the total cultivated land is upland and about 73% belongs to ‘small and marginal farmers having scattered and small holdings’. Cultivation is mostly monsoon dependent singe-cropped and only 15% cropped area is multi-cropped. 21.57% of the cropped area is irrigated. kharif paddy cultivation covers 83% of the net cropped area.[6] Main crops are: rice, wheat, pulses, oil seeds and potatoe. It also produces fruits and vegetables.[7]

Forest[edit]

According to Satellite imagery data forests cover 29.69% of the total land in the district.[6]

Industry[edit]

In the Purulia district, in 2013-14, 316 registered industrial units provided employment to 1170 persons. Damodar Ispat Pvt. Ltd. at Nabagam in Neturia block and Santaldih Thermal Power Station at Santaldih in Raghunathpur II block are classified as large industrial units.[4]Damodar Valley Corporation has commissioned the Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station in 2016.[8]

Poverty[edit]

In Purulia district, 66.7% of the population is below the poverty line. It is one of the 100 districts in India with the highest poverty rates.[9]

Education[edit]

In Purulia district there are 2971 primary schools, 144 high schools, 1 high madrasa, 86 higher secondary schools, 11 degree colleges, 1 B Ed college, 1 polytechnic and 1 industrial training institute. 258,596 students are enrolled in primary schools, drop outs from class I to IV was 43.16%, children out of school was 79,394. Enrolment in secondary education was 174,357.[10]

The following institutions are located in Purulia district:

Note: More Information about private engineering colleges and degree colleges are available in the subdivision pages.

Culture[edit]

Chhau dance is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions.[14] It originates from Purulia district.[15] It involves people as a whole. Male dancers are trained by gurus.[16]

Purulia has many old temples with wonderful artistic work. These temples are mainly Brahmanical with Jain influence at many places. The Banda Deul is an attractive historical structure. It is 72 feet high. The oldest temple at Para is a 40 feet high stone structure etched with decorations focusing on both social life and floral designs. Next to it is a 45 feet high brick temple with exquisite designs. Some of the other temples are at Pakbirra, Deulghata, Budhpur and Suisa.[17]

Tourism[edit]

Some interesting tourist spots in Purulia district are:[18]

Healthcare[edit]

The major medical facilities in the district are:[19]

  • Deben Mahata Government Medical College and Hospital at Purulia has 536 beds.
  • Raghunathpur Superspeciality Hospital at Raghunathpur has 300 beds.
  • Raghunathpur Subdivisional Hospital at Raghunathpur has 200 beds.
  • Purulia Jail Hospital at Purulia has 33 beds.
  • Purulia Mental Hospital at Purulia has 190 beds.
  • Purulia Police Hospital at Purulia has 10 beds.
  • Santaldih Thermal Hospital at Santaldih has 10 beds.
  • South Eastern Railway Hospital at Kashipur has 198 beds.

Note: The subdivision and community development block pages provide information about medical facilities within their jurisdiction.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Purulia". About District-History. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Purulia district, West Bengal". Facts & Figures. IndiaOnline Network. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Sir John Houlton, Bihar, the Heart of India, p 170, Orient Longmans, 1949.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "District Industrial Profile: Purulia 2018-19" (PDF). Climate, Topograhy, Forest, Location and Geographical Area. Ministry of MSME, Government of India. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Purulia". About District-Administrative Setup-Block & Municipality. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Purulia". About District-District Profile. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "District Wise Crop Production in West Bengal". Purulia. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "RaghunathpurThermal Power Station of DVC was successfully commisioned". PSU Connect. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Table 1". Vani Barooah. Research Gate. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Purulia". Departments-Education. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Sidho-Kano-Birsha University". SKBU. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Purulia Government Medical College & Hospital". PGMCH. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Ramkrishna Mahato Government Engineering College". RKMGEC. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Williams 2004, pp. 83-84, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial, tribal and folk origins..
  15. ↑ "Chhau Dance of Purulia". Utsavpedia. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Chhau Dance". Indian Culture. Government of India. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Rediscover Purulia's Timeless Heritage". Amitabha Gupta. Outlook traveller. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "Places to visit in urula". Trip Advisor. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Directory of Medical Institutions: West Bengal (as on 31 March 2018" (PDF). Bankura, page 5. Directorate of Health Services, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
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