Sandeshkhali II is an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision

Basirhat subdivision

Basirhat subdivision , is a subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of three municipalities and ten community development blocks: Baduria, Basirhat–I, Basirhat–II, Haroa, Hasnabad, Hingalganj, Minakhan, Sandeshkhali–I and...

 of North 24 Parganas district

North 24 Parganas district

North 24 Parganas district is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the [tropical zone] from latitude 22º11'6" north to 23º15'2" north and from longitude 88º20' east to 89º5' east...

 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...

. Sandeshkhali police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Kumarjola.

Geography

Sandeshkhali is located at 22.36°N 88.90°E.

The area is full of creeks and swamps in the deltaic region of southern Bengal. The wide Dalma and Besti rivers flow through the area.

Sandeshkhali II community development block

Community Development Block in India

The Community development block is a rural area earmarked for administration and development in India. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer...

 has an area of 197.27 sq km.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...

s of Sandeshkhali II block/ panchayat samiti are:
Bermajur I, Durgamandop, Khulna, Manipur, Bermajur I, Jeliakhali, Korakati and Sandeshkhali.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Sandeshkhali II block has a total population of 136,247 out of which 70,114 were males and 66,133 were females. Sandeshkhali II block registered a population growth of 14.59 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the district was 22.40 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Power

The remote villages and hamlets situated in the area suffer from chronic shortage of energy due to non-availability of grid power. It is extremely difficult to extend high voltage transmission lines because of technical limitations in an area with inhospitable terrain and prohibitive cost. A scheme is being formulated to cover about 750,000 people in the difficult areas of Sundarbans with non-conventional energy power within the year 2012. The scheme covers Gosaba, Sagar, Pathar Pratima, Namkhana, Kultali, Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali.

Micro-credit

Micro credit is serving as an effective tool of economic emancipation of women, empowering them to fight against many social evils and the age-old atrocities in the villages. JYDC an NGO, in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has established 1047 self-help groups with 12000 members spread over 24 villages (mouza). SHG members of Sandeshkhali raised Rs.40,000/-loan from Bank of Baroda to start a poultry farm.(31 March 2008, BDO, SDK-II)

Health

Although in North 24 Parganas district groundwater is affected by arsenic contamination

Arsenic 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...

, tubewells in Sandeshkhali II block are arsenic

Arsenic

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...

 safe according to Indian standard (50 µg/L) and in Sandeshkhali I block only 0.6% tubewells exceed 50 µg/L.(study conducted by JYDC an NGO). A lab was setup by JYDC in collaboration with UNICEF and govt. of West Bengal to monitor drinking water in the area. The probable reason may be, in Sandeshkhali, most of the tubewells are deep tubewells. Shallow tubewells are saline, so people do not construct shallow tubewells. A study of iodine deficiency disorder amongst children found that prevalence of goitre

Goitre

A goitre or goiter , is a swelling in the thyroid gland, which can lead to a swelling of the neck or larynx...

 amongst school children was very high at Sandeshkhali.

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, 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

Kultali

Kultali is a town with a police station in Baruipur subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian 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.-Geography:Kultali is...

have felicitated him when he came in 2004.