Bhatar (community development block)

There are Sati temples at Mondalpara and Maidal burning ghat in Bonpas village, and in Mohanpur village bearing witness to the now-defunct practice of sati in the area. In the 18th century the area faced massive attacks of the Bargi warriors. This being a canal-irrigated area had faced agitations, in the 1930s, against the imposition of taxes for canal water. ==Geography==

Location Bhatar is located at . Bhatar CD Block is part of the Bardhaman Plain, the central plain area of the district. The area is surrounded by the Bhagirathi on the east, the Ajay on the north-west and the Damodar on the west and south. Old river channels and small creeks found in the region dry up in the dry season, but the Bardhaman Plains are sometimes subject to heavy floods during the rainy season. The region has recent alluvial soils. Bhatar CD Block is bounded by Mongalkote CD Block on the north, Manteswar CD Block on the east, Burdwan I CD Block on the south and Ausgram I CD Block on the west. Bhatar CD Block has an area of 415.01 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 14 gram panchayats, 201 gram sansads (village councils), 107 mouzas and 104 inhabited villages. Bhatar police station serves this block. Gram panchayats of Bhatar block/panchayat samiti are: Amarun I, Amarun II, Aruar, Balgona, Bamunara, Barabelun I, Barabelun II, Bhatar, Bonpas, Mahachanda, Mahata, Nityanandapur, Sahebganj I and Sahebganj II. ==Demographics==

Population As per the 2011 Census of India Bhatar CD Block had a total population of 263,064, all of which were rural. There were 134,096 (51%) males and 128,968 (49%) females. Population below 6 years was 28,732. Scheduled Castes numbered 85,325 (32.44%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 25,626 (9.74%). census, Bhatar block had a total population of 236,397, out of which 121,066 were males and 115,331 were females. Bhatar block registered a population growth of 12.33 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for Bardhaman district was 14.36 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent. Scheduled castes at 77,921 formed around one-third the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 23,654. Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Bhatar CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Orgram (13,554), Kashipur (5,457), Mahata (5,443), Eruar (10,863), Mahachanda (4,281), Karjjana (4,684), Bamshore (7,997), Muratipur (5,516), Balgona (7,203), Nityanandapur (4,760), Bhatakul (5,607), Nasigram (7,503), Bara Belun (11,261), Banpash (6,702) and Hanrgram (5,301). See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate Languages and religion In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 192,567 and formed 73.20% of the population in Bhatar CD Block. Muslims numbered 67,537 and formed 25.67% of the population. Christians numbered 1,097 and formed 0.42% of the population. Others numbered 1,863 and formed 0.71% of the population. In Bardhaman district the percentage of Hindu population has been declining from 84.3% in 1961 to 77.9% in 2011 and the percentage of Muslim population has increased from 15.2% in 1961 to 20.7% in 2011. At the time of the 2011 census, 91.57% of the population spoke Bengali and 8.21% Santali as their first language. ==Rural poverty==

As per poverty estimates obtained from household survey for families living below poverty line in 2005, rural poverty in Bhatar CD Block was 33.52%. ==Economy==

Livelihood In Bhatar CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators formed 19.01%, agricultural labourers 56.67%, household industry workers 3.20% and other workers 21.13%. Bhatar CD Block is part of the area where agriculture dominates the scenario but the secondary and tertiary sectors have shown an increasing trend. Infrastructure There are 136 inhabited villages in Bhatar CD block. All 104 villages (100%) have power supply. All 104 villages (100%) have drinking water supply. 39 villages (37.50%) have post offices. 98 villages (94.23%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones). 59 villages (56.73%) have a pucca (paved) approach road and 84 villages (80.77%) have transport communication (includes bus service, rail facility and navigable waterways). 20 villages (19.23%) have agricultural credit societies. 4 villages (3.85%) have banks. In 2013–14, there were 147 fertiliser depots, 34 seed stores and 65 fair price shops in the CD Block. Following land reforms land ownership pattern has undergone transformation. In 2013–14, persons engaged in agriculture in Bhatar CD Block could be classified as follows: bargadars 6.36%, patta (document) holders 14.46%, small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 5.31%, marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 17.55% and agricultural labourers 56.32%. In 2013–14, Bhatar CD Block produced 170,832 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop, from 49,157 hectares, 82,165 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 21,888 hectares, 52 tonnes of wheat from 28 hectares, 21,780 tonnes of potatoes from 1,492 hectares and 1,081 tonnes of sugar cane from 14 hectares. It also produced pulses and oilseeds. In 2013–14, the total area irrigated in Bhatar CD Block was 28,857.99 hectares, out of which 28,360.80 hectares were irrigated by canal water, 437.71 hectares were irrigated by river lift irrigation and 59.48 hectares by deep tube wells. Banking In 2013–14, Bhatar CD Block had offices of 11 commercial banks and 5 gramin banks. Major Banks in the vicinity include Allahabad Bank at Barabelun, State Bank of India at Bhatar. ==Transport==

Bhatar CD Block has 9 originating/ terminating bus routes. There are stations at Karjana, Karjanagram, Amarun, Bhatar and Balgona railway station. State Highway 7 (West Bengal) running from Rajgram (in Birbhum district) to Midnapore (in Paschim Medinipur district) and State Highway 14 (West Bengal) running from Dubrajpur (in Birbhum district) to Betai (in Nadia district) pass through this block. ==Education==

In 2013–14, Bhatar CD Block had 169 primary schools with 14,053 students, 20 high schools with 13,283 students and 16 higher secondary schools with 13,702 students. Bhatar CD Block had 2 technical/ professional institutions with 200 students and 457 institutions for special and non-formal education with 15,530 students More than 6,000 schools (in erstwhile Bardhaman district) serve cooked midday meal to more than 900,000 students. ==Healthcare==

In 2014, Bhatar CD Block had 1 rural hospital, 6 primary health centres and 2 private nursing homes with total 84 beds and 10 doctors (excluding private bodies). It had 38 family welfare subcentres. 7,886 patients were treated indoor and 398,904 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. Bhatar CD Block is one of the areas of Bardhaman district which is affected by a low level of arsenic contamination of ground water. ==External links==