Subdivisions

Murshidabad district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:^[3]

8km
5miles

B

A

N

G

L

A

D

E

S

H

Kiriteswari Temple

H

Rosnaiganj

H

Nashipur

H

Baranagar

H

Gorba
Nala

Bhairab
River

Jalangi
River

Padma River

Bhagirathi River

Khushbagh

H

Shaikhpara

R

Sagarpara

R

Sadikhanr Diar

R

Raninagar

R

Kasbagoas

R

Jalangi

R

Domkal

R

Bhagirathpur

R

Ranitala

R

Nasipur

R

Nabagram

R

Lalgola
border checkpost

R

Krishnapur

R

Kismattatla

R

Bhagawangola

R

Azimganj

M

Jiaganj

M

Murshidabad

M

Islampur

CT

Harharia Chak

CT

  

Cities, towns and locations in the Lalbag and Domkal subdivisions, Murshidabad district
M: municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, H: historical place
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Administrative units

Domkal subdivision has 4 police stations, 4 community development blocks, 4 panchayat samitis, 38 gram panchayats, 240 mouzas, 203 inhabited villages and 2 census towns. The census towns are: Islampur and Harharia Chak. The subdivision has its headquarters at Domkal.^[4][5]

Police stations

Police stations in Domkal subdivision have the following features and jurisdiction:^[6][7]

Murshidabad district has a 125.35 km long international border with Bangladesh of which 42.35 km is on land and the remaining is riverine.^[8]

There are reports of Bangladeshi infiltrators entering Murshidabad district.^[9][10] An estimate in 2000 placed the total number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India at 15 million, with around 0.3 million entering every year. The thumb rule for such illegal immigrants is that for each illegal person caught four get through. While many immigrants have settled in the border areas, some have moved on, even to far way places such as Mumbai and Delhi. The border is guarded by the Border Security Force.^[11] During the UPA government, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, had made a statement in Parliament on 14 July 2004, that there were 12 million illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators living in India, and West Bengal topped the list with 5.7 million Bangladeshis. More recently, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs in the NDA government has put the figure at around 20 million.^[12] Critics point out that the Bengali politicians, particularly those from the ruling Trinamool Congress and the CPI (M), believe that a soft approach to the problem help them to win Muslim votes.^[13]

Blocks

Community development blocks in Domkal subdivision are:^[14][15]

Gram Panchayats

The subdivision contains 34 gram panchayats under 4 community development blocks 21 Ward comprising 23 mouzas under Domkal Municipality:^[16]

• Domkal CD Block – Garaimari, Sarangpur, Bhagirathpur, Garibpur, Juranpur, Dhulauri, Ghoramara, Madhurkul and Raipur.
• Raninagar–I CD Block – Herampur, Islampurchak, Paharpur, Hurshi, Lochanpur and Tenkaraipur Balumati.
• Raninagar–II CD Block – Kalinagar–I, Katlamari–II, Rajapur, Kalinagar–II, Malibari–I, Raninagar–I, Katlamari–I, Malibari–II and Raninagar–II.
• Jalangi – Choapara, Ghoshpara, Khayramari, Sahebnagar, Debipur, Jalangi, Sadikhanderah, Faridpur, Katabari and Sagarpara.

River bank erosion

As of 2013, an estimated 2.4 million people reside along the banks of the Ganges alone in Murshidabad district.^[17] The main channel of the Ganges has a bankline of 94 km along its right bank from downstream of Farakka Barrage to Jalangi. Severe erosion occurs all along this bank. The encroaching river wiped out 50 mouzas and engulfed about 10,000 hectares of fertile land. The following blocks have to face the brunt of erosion year after year: Farakka, Samserganj, Suti I, Suti II, Raghunathganj II, Lalgola, Bhagawangola I, Bhagawangola II, Raninagar I, Raninagar II and Jalangi. As per official estimate, till 1992–94 more than 10,000 hectares of chars (flood plain sediment island) have developed in main places, which have become inaccessible from the Indian side but can be reached easily from Bangladesh.^[18]

See also – River bank erosion along the Ganges in Malda and Murshidabad districts

Infrastructure

All inhabited villages in Murshidabad district have power supply.^[19]

See the individual block pages for more information about the infrastructure available.

Agriculture

Murshidabad is a predominantly agricultural district. A majority of the population depends on agriculture for a living. The land is fertile. The eastern portion of the Bhagirathi, an alluvial tract, is very fertile for growing Aus paddy, jute and rabi crops. The Kalantar area in the south-eastern portion of the district, is a low-lying area with stiff dark clay and supports mainly the cultivation of Aman paddy. The west flank of the Bhagirathi is a lateritic tract intersected by numerous bils and old river beds. It supports the cultivation of Aman paddy, sugar cane and mulberry.^[20]

Given below is an overview of the agricultural production (all data in tonnes) for Domkal subdivision, other subdivisions and the Murshidabad district, with data for the year 2013–14.^[21]