West Midnapur
| Paschim Medinipur district | |
|---|---|
| District of West Bengal | |
 Location of Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal |
|
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| Administrative division | Midnapore |
| Headquarters | Midnapore |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Medinipur, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST) - all have assembly segments in adjoining districts, Arambagh - with one assembly segmant in the district |
| • Assembly seats | Dantan, Keshiary, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona, Garbeta, Salboni, Keshpur, Medinipur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,345 km2 (3,608 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 59,43,300 |
| • Density | 640/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 11.9 per cent |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 79.04 per cent |
| • Sex ratio | 960 |
| Major highways | NH 6, NH 60 |
| Average annual precipitation | 2,111 mm |
| Website | Official website |
Paschim Medinipur district (Pron: pɔʃʧɪm med̪iːniːpur) or West Midnapore district (Pron: ˌmɪdnəˈpʊə) (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur. On 4 April 2017, the Jhargram subdivision was converted into a district.
Paschim Medinipur, located in the south-western part of West Bengal, was created with the partition of the erstwhile Midnapore district, then the largest district of India, on 1 January 2002. It ranks second in terms of geographical area (9,295.28 km2) amongst the districts of the state, next to South 24-Parganas (9,960 km2). It ranks third in terms of rural population (4.58 million) following South 24-Parganas (5.82 million) and Murshidabad (5.13 million). It ranked fourth in terms of percentage of tribal population (14.87) following Jalpaiguri (18.87), Purulia (18.27) and Dakshin Dinajpur (16.12) in 2011.
Broadly speaking, there are two natural divisions of the district. NH 14 and NH 16 (old numbering NH 60) from Bankura to Balasore, cuts across the district and roughly is the dividing line between the two natural divisions. To the east of this road, the soil is fertile alluvial and the area is flat. To the west, the Chota Nagpur Plateau gradually slopes down creating an undulating area with infertile laterite rocks/ soil. The landscape changes from dense dry deciduous forests in the west to marshy wetlands in the east.
The alluvial portion may be further subdivided into two divisions. First, it is a strip of purely deltaic country nearer to the Hooghly and the Rupnarayan, intersected by numerous rivers and watercourses subject to tidal influences. Second, it is rest of the eastern half of the district. It is a monotonous rice plain with numerous waterways and tidal creeks intersecting it. The tidal creeks are lined with embankments to prevent flooding of the fields. Much of the area is water-logged.
Paschim Medinipur district is subject to both floods and drought. Ghatal and parts of Kharagpur subdivision covering an area of 142,647 hectares (1,426.47 km2) are flood prone. Water logging during the rainy season affects Ghatal and the southern parts of Kharagpur subdivion and results in loss of crops in such areas as Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh CD Blocks.335,248 hectares (3,352.48 km2) in Jhargram and Medinipur Sadar subdivisions are drought prone. The drought situation is particularly severe in Jhargram subdivision. Although the district is away from the sea, cyclones hit it frequently in October–November.
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