West Bengal is the state with the second highest population density in India. The state is dotted with several large and medium cities and towns. Historically, the main source of income of the people of West Bengal has been farming, and, as a consequence, the state previously had a large rural population skew. At the turn of the 20th century, however, the role of industry in West Bengal increased substantially, leading to a population move into urban areas.[1]
In 1947, when India gained independence, the erstwhile British Indian province of Bengal was divided into two parts: the eastern region formed East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh in 1971, and the western part joined India as the state of West Bengal. Scores of refugees from the eastern part came to West Bengal, leading to the start of new urban areas, and contributing to the congestion of already established cities like Kolkata.[2]
Current scenario
editAccording to the 2011 Census of India, 128 cities and towns in West Bengal[a] are classified into the following categories:[7][8]
Municipal Corporations (West Bengal, India)
editMunicipalities
editNotified Area
editSl. No. | Name |
---|---|
1 | Cooper's Camp |
2 | Mirik |
3 | Taherpur |
Major cities
editRank | Name | District | Type[9] | Population 2011[10] | Male | Female | Population below 5 yrs |
Literacy rate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kolkata | Kolkata, North 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly |
UA | 14,112,536 | 7,319,682 | 6,792,854 | 1,063,394 | 88.33 |
2 | Asansol | Paschim Bardhaman | UA | 1,243,008 | 647,831 | 595,177 | 132,560 | 80.00 |
3 | Siliguri | Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri | UA | 701,489 | 359,750 | 341,739 | 72,252 | 82.05 |
4 | Durgapur | Paschim Bardhaman | UA | 581,409 | 301,700 | 279,709 | 51,930 | 87.70 |
5 | Bardhaman | Purba Bardhaman | UA | 347,016 | 177,055 | 169,961 | 25,069 | 88.62 |
6 | English Bazar | Malda | UA | 324,237 | 175,073 | 149,164 | 44,186 | 81.32 |
7 | Baharampur | Murshidabad | UA | 305,609 | 156,489 | 149,120 | 23,182 | 88.38 |
8 | Habra | North 24 Parganas | UA | 304,584 | 154,861 | 149,723 | 23,023 | 91.03 |
9 | Kharagpur | Paschim Medinipur | UA | 293,719 | 150,487 | 143,232 | 25,130 | 85.61 |
10 | Shantipur | Nadia | UA | 288,718 | 147,299 | 141,419 | 24,006 | 82.67 |
11 | Dankuni | Hooghly | UA | 249,840 | 128,139 | 121,701 | 22,956 | 85.69 |
12 | Dhulian | Murshidabad | UA | 239,022 | 119,151 | 119,871 | 45,483 | 60.06 |
13 | Ranaghat | Nadia | UA | 235,583 | 119,578 | 116,005 | 18,575 | 86.10 |
14 | Haldia | Purba Medinipur | City | 200,762 | 104,852 | 95,910 | 21,122 | 89.06 |
15 | Raiganj | Uttar Dinajpur | UA | 199,758 | 104,966 | 94,792 | 22,028 | 81.71 |
16 | Krishnanagar | Nadia | UA | 181,182 | 91,583 | 89,599 | 13,663 | 88.09 |
17 | Nabadwip | Nadia | UA | 175,474 | 90,810 | 84,664 | 13,049 | 84.57 |
18 | Medinipur | Paschim Medinipur | City | 169,127 | 85,362 | 83,765 | 14,365 | 90.01 |
19 | Jalpaiguri | Jalpaiguri | UA | 169,013 | 85,226 | 83,787 | 14,522 | 86.03 |
20 | Balurghat | Dakshin Dinajpur | UA | 164,593 | 82,466 | 82,127 | 10,349 | 91.66 |
21 | Basirhat | North 24 Parganas | UA | 144,891 | 73,491 | 71,400 | 12,578 | 86.88 |
22 | Bankura | Bankura | City | 138,036 | 70,734 | 67,302 | 10,760 | 87.27 |
23 | Chakdaha | Nadia | UA | 132,855 | 67,135 | 65,720 | 9,829 | 90.95 |
24 | Darjeeling | Darjeeling | UA | 132,016 | 65,839 | 66,177 | 7,382 | 93.17 |
25 | Alipurduar | Alipurduar | UA | 127,342 | 64,898 | 62,444 | 10,545 | 89.16 |
26 | Purulia | Purulia | UA | 126,894 | 65,334 | 61,560 | 12,116 | 81.53 |
27 | Jangipur | Murshidabad | UA | 122,875 | 62,734 | 60,141 | 16,299 | 75.71 |
28 | Bangaon | North 24 Parganas | City | 110,668 | 56,416 | 54,252 | 8,452 | 90.25 |
29 | Cooch Behar | Cooch Behar | UA | 106,760 | 53,803 | 52,957 | 7,910 | 91.75 |
List of urban areas (district-wise)
editSee also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "India at a glance: Population Density". Census of India, 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ^ "List of Million Plus Cities of India". Census of India. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
- ^ a b c "Push for two new municipalities in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar". Telegraph India. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "রাজ্যে ২ নয়া পুরসভা". Bartaman (in Bengali). 23 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Civic polls in Kol & Howrah on Dec 19". Millennium Post. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Bally Municipality: হাওড়া পুরসভা থেকে আলাদা হয়ে গেল বালি". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b c "Category, Year of Establishment, Area, SC, ST and total population in ULBs in West Bengal" (PDF). Department of Municipal affairs, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ "Urban Agglomerations and Cities" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ "List of Census Towns, West Bengal, 2001". Census of India, Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 15 December 2008.