Basanti is an administrative division in Canning subdivision of South 24 Parganas district

South 24 Parganas district

South 24 Parganas district is an important district of West Bengal State with its district headquarters in Alipore. It has the urban fringe of Calcutta on one side and the remote riverine villages in the Sundarbans....

 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...

. Basanti police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Sonakhali

Sonakhali

Sonakhali is a village in Canning subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a popular starting point for a trip to Sundarbans.-Geography:Sonakhali is located at ....

.

Geography

Sonakhali is located at 22.2127090°N 88.6863710°E.

Basanti 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 286.03  km².

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 Basanti block/panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...

 are: Amjhara, Basanti, Bharatgarh, Charavidya, Chunakhali, Jharkhali, Jyotishpur, Kanthalberia, Masjidbati, Nafarganj, Phulmalancha, Ramchandrakhali and Uttar Mokam Baria.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Basanti block had a total population of 278,543, out of which 142,487 were males and 136,056 were females. Basanti block registered a population growth of 22.72 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for South 24 Parganas district was 20.89 per cent.Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Scheduled castes at 112,246 formed more than one-third the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 21,020.

Literacy

As per 2001 census, Basanti block had a total literacy of 56.98 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 68.95 per cent female literacy was 44.33 per cent. South 24 Parganas district had a total literacy of 69.45 per cent, male literacy being 79.19 per cent and female literacy being 59.01 per cent.

Health

Certain areas of South 24 Parganas district has been identified where ground water 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...

.High levels of arsenic in ground water were found in twelve blocks of the district. Water samples collected from tubewells in the affected places contained arsenic above the normal level (10 microgram a litre as specified by the World Health Organisation). The affected blocks are Baruipur, Bhangar I, Bhangar II, Bishnupur I, Bishnupur II, Basanti, Budge Budge, Canning I, Canning II, Sonarpur, Mograhat II and Joynagar.