Kultali
Encyclopedia
Kultali is a town with a police station in Baruipur subdivision
of South 24 Parganas district
in the India
n state
of West Bengal
. While the poverty-stricken area is struggling for development, it is beset with crime. Violent clashes mark out the area as politically volatile.
. The islands in the area are accessible only by boat. About 85% of the population is very poor. They eke out an existence collecting non- timber forest produce like tiger prawn seeds, fishing, vending vegetables and fish, and by working for a daily wage.
, Basanti, Gosaba
and Canning
are honey collectors. The number of honey collectors has dwindled from around 1,500 a few years back to around 700 in 2007. From 1985 through 2004, about 75 honey collectors were killed by tigers in the forests. Now all honey collectors are insured for Rs. 50,000. The forest department has also intensified vigilance during the honey collection period. The range officers and guards are on full alert. No deaths have been reported since 2004.
, the Kultali area is not facing the problem.
Four launches with doctors carrying medicines, sophisticated portable X-ray and echo-cardiograph machines, provided by the French author Dominique Lapierre
move along the waterways of the Sundarbans to its furthest corners. Residents of such places as Sandeshkhali
, Basanti, Gosaba
and Kultali have felicitated him when he came in 2004. Since 1981, Lapierre has dedicated half of his royalty earnings from his books to sustain a humanitarian crusade in the slums of Kolkata and the deprived areas of rural Bengal. For his work, Lapierre was made a citizen of honour of Kolkata.
Baruipur subdivision
Baruipur subdivision , is a subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of three municipalities and seven community development blocks: Baruipur, Bhangar–I, Bhangar–II, Jaynagar–I, Jaynagar–II, Kultali and Sonarpur...
of South 24 Parganas district
South 24 Parganas district
South 24 Parganas district is an important district of West Bengal State with its district headquarters in Alipore. It has the urban fringe of Calcutta on one side and the remote riverine villages in the Sundarbans....
in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. While the poverty-stricken area is struggling for development, it is beset with crime. Violent clashes mark out the area as politically volatile.
Geography
Kultali is one of the largest islands in the SundarbansSundarbans
The Sundarbans [Sundarban Tour Booking-9051115228] is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language...
. The islands in the area are accessible only by boat. About 85% of the population is very poor. They eke out an existence collecting non- timber forest produce like tiger prawn seeds, fishing, vending vegetables and fish, and by working for a daily wage.
Crime
Ambikanagar, a remote village near Kultali is notorious for smuggling and piracy. Timber smuggling in the region has reached its peak. At times, fishermen are kidnapped by pirates.Honey collection
Around 20,000 kg of honey is collected every year from forests of Sundarbans. Mostly people from the Kultali, JoynagarJaynagar Mazilpur
Jaynagar Majilpur is a town and a municipality in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. Both the places are also identified separately a Jaynagar and Majilpur...
, Basanti, Gosaba
Gosaba
Gosaba is a village in the Canning subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the last inhabited area before the deep forests of the Sundarbans start. It has a police station, a community development block, and an assembly constituency...
and Canning
Canning, South 24 Parganas
Canning is headquarters of a subdivision of the same name, a town with a police station and a community development block in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Carrying the memory of an abandoned port, the town is dependent to some extent on the changing fortunes of...
are honey collectors. The number of honey collectors has dwindled from around 1,500 a few years back to around 700 in 2007. From 1985 through 2004, about 75 honey collectors were killed by tigers in the forests. Now all honey collectors are insured for Rs. 50,000. The forest department has also intensified vigilance during the honey collection period. The range officers and guards are on full alert. No deaths have been reported since 2004.
Social service
From 1982, the services and programs provided by Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha have grown to include two crèches for infants, a sustainable agriculture project, agro-equipment support service, community grain bank, savings and micro-credit ventures, disaster mitigation and emergency relief services, rural library and literacy programs. BTS serves nearly 2,800 households out of the estimated 25,000 households on Kultali.Health
Although groundwater in South 24 Parganas district is affected by arsenic contaminationArsenic contamination of groundwater
Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a natural occurring high concentration of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater, which became a high-profile problem in recent years due to the use of deep tubewells for water supply in the Ganges Delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of...
, the Kultali area is not facing the problem.
Four launches with doctors carrying medicines, sophisticated portable X-ray and echo-cardiograph machines, provided by the French author Dominique Lapierre
Dominique Lapierre
Dominique Lapierre is a French author.-Life:Dominique Lapierre was born in Châtelaillon-Plage, Charente-Maritime, France. At the age of thirteen, he traveled to America with his father who was a diplomat...
move along the waterways of the Sundarbans to its furthest corners. Residents of such places as Sandeshkhali
Sandeshkhali
Sandeshkhali I is an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sandeshkhali police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Najata Hatkhali.-Geography:Sandeshkhali is located at .The area is full of creeks...
, Basanti, Gosaba
Gosaba
Gosaba is a village in the Canning subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the last inhabited area before the deep forests of the Sundarbans start. It has a police station, a community development block, and an assembly constituency...
and Kultali have felicitated him when he came in 2004. Since 1981, Lapierre has dedicated half of his royalty earnings from his books to sustain a humanitarian crusade in the slums of Kolkata and the deprived areas of rural Bengal. For his work, Lapierre was made a citizen of honour of Kolkata.