Gosaba

For the river with the same name, see Gosaba River.

Village in West Bengal, India

Gosaba

Village

Gosaba Police Station

Gosaba

Location in West Bengal

Show map of West Bengal

Gosaba

Location in India

Show map of India

Coordinates: 22°09′55″N 88°48′28″E﻿ / ﻿22.1652°N 88.8079°E﻿ / 22.1652; 88.8079
Country|  India
State|  West Bengal
District| South 24 Parganas
CD Block| Gosaba
Area

• Total

| 3.19 km2 (1.23 sq mi)
Elevation

| 6 m (20 ft)
Population

(2011)

• Total

| 5,369
• Density| 1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi)
Languages

• Official| Bengali[1][2]
• Additional official| English[1]
Time zone| UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN|

743370

Telephone code| +91 3218
Vehicle registration| WB-19 to WB-22, WB-95 to WB-99
Lok Sabha constituency| Jaynagar (SC)
Vidhan Sabha constituency| Gosaba (SC)
Website| www.s24pgs.gov.in

Gosaba is a village and a gram panchayat within the jurisdiction of the Gosaba police station in the Gosaba CD block in the Canning subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

## History

[edit]

House of Sir Daniel Hamilton at Gosaba

Sir Daniel Mackinnon Hamilton, a Scotsman, had travelled to Kolkata to work for MacKinnon & McKenzie, a company with which he had family connections. The company sold tickets for the P&O shipping line, then one of the largest in the world. Hamilton became head of the company and master of an immense fortune, one of the richest men in British India. Another man may have taken his money and gone away but Hamilton set his eyes on the deltaic islands in south Bengal. In 1903, he bought 40 square kilometres (10,000 acres) of the tide country from the government – it included such islands as Gosaba, Rangabelia, and Satjelia. His efforts at developing these places brought in other people into these islands. They were people who dared not only to struggle against nature but also the predators that lived there – tigers, crocodiles, sharks and lizards. They killed so many people that Hamilton gave rewards to people who killed them.[3] In December 1932 Rabindranath Tagore visited and stayed at Gosaba in the house of Sir Daniel Hamilton.[4][5]

## Geography

[edit]

8km
5miles

Matla River

Bidyadhari River

Sundarbans National Park

Matherdighi

Chhota Mollakhali

Pathankhali

Gosaba

Jharkhali

Bhangonkhali

Sonakhali

Basanti

Deuli

Makhal Tala

Tangrakhali

Jibantala

Canning

Dighirpar

Matla

Bayarsingh

Taldi

Rajapur

Banshra

Gaur Daha

Kalaria

Places in Canning subdivision (Canning I & II, Basanti, Gosaba CD blocks) in South 24 Parganas district
R: rural/ urban centre
Places linked with coastal activity are marked in blue
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

### Area overview

[edit]

Canning subdivision has a very low level of urbanization. Only 12.37% of the population lives in the urban areas and 87.63% lives in the rural areas. There are 8 census towns in Canning I CD block and only 2 in the rest of the subdivision. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta with numerous islands in the southern part of the region. The area (shown in the map alongside) borders on the Sundarbans National Park and a major portion of it is a part of the Sundarbans settlements. It is a flat low-lying area in the South Bidyadhari plains. The Matla River is prominent and there are many streams and water channels locally known as khals. A comparatively recent country-wide development is the guarding of the coastal areas with a special coastal force.[6][7][8]

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

### Location

[edit]

Gosaba is located at 22°09′55″N 88°48′28″E﻿ / ﻿22.1652°N 88.8079°E﻿ / 22.1652; 88.8079. It has an average elevation of 6 metres (20 ft).[9]

Gosaba is one of the main deltaic islands in the Sundarban region, bounded by the Matla and Zilli rivers/ creeks. It is the last inhabited area before the deep forests start. Kolkata to Sonakhali (opposite Basanti) is 100 kilometres (62 mi); it takes about three hours by road. Sonakhali to Gosaba is about 1½ hours by powered boat.[10] Sundarbans are home to some 270 man-eating tigers. Sixteen of them have entered the villages of Gosaba between 2001 and 2004.[11]

## Demographics

[edit]

According to the 2011 Census of India Gosaba had a total population of 5,369, of which 2,681 (50%) were males and 2,688 (50%) were females. There were 503 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate persons in Gosaba was 3,994 (82.08% of the population over 6 years).[12]

According to the 2001 census, Gosaba community development block had a population of 222,764 out of which 113,827 were males and 108,937 were females. The entire population is classified as rural.[13]

## Civic administration

[edit]

### Gram panchayat

[edit]

Gosaba is an intermediate panchayat (local self-government) under the South 24 Parganas district. Village panchayats under it are – Amtali, Bali I and II, Bipradaspur, Chhota Mollakhali, Gosaba, Kachukhali, Kumirmari, Lahiripur, Pathankhali, Radhanagar-Taranagar, Rangabelia, Satjelia and Sambhunagar.[14]

### Police station

[edit]

Gosaba police station started functioning in 1965. It covers an area of 127 km2, consisting of 4 islands. It has jurisdiction over parts of the Gosaba CD block. Earlier, Gosaba PS had jurisdiction across 9 islands.[15][16]

### CD block HQ

[edit]

The headquarters of the Gosaba CD block are located at Gosaba village.[17]

## Economy

[edit]

### Tourism

[edit]

The main tourist centre in the region is Sajnekhali in the heart of the Sundarbans tiger reserve, where the state tourist department has a lodge with basic amenities. Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary is about 1½ hours by boat from Gosaba. Most tourist boats go past Gosaba. Some tourists travel to Gosaba on their way to Pakhiralay (the home of the birds). Foreigners need a special permit to enter Sunderbans, which is issued in Kolkata by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal.[10] A small Jungle Camp is at Bali island, outside the tiger reserve and Sunderban Tiger Camp at Dayapur, Gosaba.[18]

### Power

[edit]

Villages in the deltaic region of Sundarbans do not have access to conventional forms of energy. A 5x100 kW biomass-based power plant was installed at Gosaba island, in June 1997 and has been running successfully, serving about 650 consumers through a network of distribution lines. The power plant is being run on a commercial basis by the Gosaba Rural Energy Cooperative. A 500 kW gasifier-based power plant was commissioned in the remote island of Chhota Mollakhali in June 2001.[19]

Plans are afoot to set up a 3.6 MW power plant in Durgaduani creek using tidal water. The Durgaduani creek is between the rivers Bidyadhari and Gomdi Khal. It is about 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) long and has an average width of 145 metres (476 ft). Tidal water will be stored and then let out to generate electricity using four turbines. There will be two gates at either end at Gosaba and Sonagaon to form a low head.[20]

### Honey collection

[edit]

Around 20,000 kilograms (44,000 lb) of honey is collected every year from forests of Sundarbans. Mostly people from the Canning, Basanti, Gosaba, Kultali, Mathurapur, Patharpratima, Namkhana, Sagar and Kakdwip are honey collectors. The number of honey collectors has dwindled from around 1,500 a few years back to around 700 in 2007. From 1985 through 2004, about 75 honey collectors were killed by tigers in the forests. Now all honey collectors are insured for Rs. 50,000. The forest department has also intensified vigilance during the honey collection period. The range officers and guards are on full alert. No deaths have been reported since 2006.[21]

## Education

[edit]

Educational institutions in Gosaba - Sundarban Hazi Dasarat College (Pathankhali), Gosaba Rural Reconstruction (government-sponsored) Institution, Rangabelia High School, Sambhunagar High School, Bipradaspur High School (Manmathanagar), Mongol Chandra Vidyapith (Chotomollakhali), Satjelia Natavar Vidyayatan (Satjelia), Radhanagar Kali Bari High School (Radhanagar), Sri Gourangha High School (Dakshin Radhanagar), Jatindra Nath Sikshaniketan (Paschim Radhanagar), Satjelia Santigachhi High School, Dayapur P.C. Sen High School (Satjelia Dayapur), Rajat Jubilee High School (Rajat Jubilee, Lahiripur).[22]

## Notable People

[edit]

* Shyamal Bose (bishop)

## Healthcare

[edit]

Although in South 24 Parganas district groundwater is affected by arsenic contamination, in Gosaba all the tubewells analysed were arsenic safe (below 10 μg/L). The probable reason may be that being a coastal area most of the tubewells draw water from less contaminated deep aquifers.[23]

The World Wildlife Fund has organised workshops on the treatment of snakebite victims in Gosaba block with the local quacks, ojhas and gunins, people who attend the local patients, to enhance the scientific knowledge of such people.[24]

Four launches with doctors carrying medicines, sophisticated portable X-ray and echo-cardiograph machines, provided by the French author Dominique Lapierre move along the waterways of the Sundarbans to its furthest corners. Residents of such places as Sandeshkhali, Basanti, Gosaba and Kultali have felicitated him when he came in 2004.[25]

Gosaba Rural Hospital at Gosaba, with 30 beds, is the major government medical facility in the Gosaba CD block.[26]

## References

[edit]

* Islands portal

1. ^ a b "Fact and Figures". Wb.gov.in. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
2. ^ "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). Nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. p. 85\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
3. ^ Ghosh, Amitav, The Hungry Tide, 2004, pp. 49-53, HarperCollins/India Today, ISBN 81-7223-613-1.
4. ^ Rabindranath Tagore (26 June 1997). Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore. ISBN 9780521590181. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
5. ^ "Digitising Endangered Village Archives". Economic & Political Weekly. 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 (23, 23, 23, 23, 23): 7, 7, 7, 7, 7–8, 8, 8, 8, 8. 13 December 2014. ISSN 2349-8846. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
6. ^ "District Statistical Handbook 2014 South Twety-four Parganas". Table 2.1, 2.2, 2.4b. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
7. ^ "Census of India 2011, West Bengal, District Census Handbook, South Twentyfour Parganas, Series – 20, Part XII-A, Village and Town Directory" (PDF). Page 19, Physiography. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
8. ^ "District Human Development Report: South 24 Parganas". Chapter 9: Sundarbans and the Remote Islanders, p 290-311. Development & Planning Department, Government of West Bengal, 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
9. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Gosaba
10. ^ a b "Sunderban Tiger Tour". Retrieved 26 September 2007.
11. ^ "Man-eating tigers wreak havoc on India's island of widows". Daily Times, 22 December 2004. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
12. ^ "C.D. Block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". 2011 census: West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
13. ^ "Census of India 2001". Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4. Census Commission of India. Retrieved 24 August 2007. [dead link]
14. ^ "Details of West Bengal till Village Panchayat Tier". Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. Retrieved 24 August 2007. [dead link]
15. ^ "Sundarban Coastal Police Station" (PDF). Baruipur police district. West Bengal police. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
16. ^ "District Statistical Handbook 2014 South 24 Parganas". Table No. 2.1. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
17. ^ "BDO Offices under South 24 Parganas District". West Bengal Public Library Network, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
18. ^ "Sunderbans Trip Report". Water Birds of India. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
19. ^ "Biomass gasifier". Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
20. ^ "First for country: harnessing tides for electricity in the Sundarbans". Yahoo News. Retrieved 26 September 2007. [dead link]
21. ^ "Honey come lately". The Statesman, 24 April 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007. [dead link]
22. ^ "West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
23. ^ "Groundwater arsenic contamination status of South 24-Parganas district, one of the nine arsenic affected districts of West Bengal-India". SOES. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
24. ^ "Awareness and Skill Transfer Programme for the Treatment of Snakebite Victims". World Wildlife Fund India. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
25. ^ "Sundarbans gratitude to Lapierre". The Telegraph, 30 November 2004. Archived from the original on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
26. ^ "Health & Family Welfare Department" (PDF). Health Statistics – Rural Hospitals. Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Cities and towns in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal

Cities, municipal
and census towns|

| Alipore Sadar subdivision|

* Abhirampur
* Amtala
* Asuti
* Balarampur
* Barkalikapur
* Benjanhari Acharial
* Bhasa
* Birlapur
* Bishnupur
* Bora Gagangohalia
* Bawali
* Budge Budge
* Buita
* Chak Alampur
* Chak Enayetnagar
* Chak Kashipur
* Chanddandaha
* Chata Kalikapur
* Dakshin Raypur
* Daulatpur
* Ganye Gangadharpur
* Hanspukuria
* Kalua
* Kanganbaria
* Kanyanagar
* Kriparampur
* Maheshtala
* Nadabhanga
* Nahazari
* Nischintapur
* Patharberia
* Poali
* Pujali
* Ramchandrapur
* Rameswarpur
* Ramkrishnapur
* Samali
* Uttar Raypur

|

Baruipur subdivision|

* Alipur
* Baharu
* Baruipur
* Baruipur (P)
* Bhangar Raghunathpur
* Bidyadharpur
* Chak Baria
* Champahati
* Danga
* Garia
* Gobindapur
* Hariharpur
* Jaynagar Majilpur
* Kalikapur
* Kalikapur Barasat
* Khodar Bazar
* Komarhat
* Mallikpur
* Maricha
* Naridana
* Nimpith
* Panchghara
* Petua
* Radhanagar
* Rajpur Sonarpur
* Ramchandrapur
* Raynagar
* Sahebpur
* Salipur
* Solgohalia
* Tulshighata
* Uttar Durgapur
* Uttarparanij

Diamond Harbour subdivision|

* Ajodhyanagar
* Bamna
* Baneshwarpur
* Bangsidharpur
* Berandari Bagaria
* Bilandapur
* Chandpala Anantapathpur
* Chandpur
* Dhamua
* Dhola
* Diamond Harbour
* Dihi Kalas
* Durganagar
* Fatepur
* Ghola Noapara
* Hasimnagar
* Kalikapota
* Krishna Chandrapur
* Lalpur
* Magrahat
* Masat
* Mathurapur
* Mohanpur
* Nainan
* Patdaha
* Purba Bishnupur
* Purba Ranaghat
* Sangrampur
* Shyampur
* Sirakol
* Swangrampur
* Usthi
* Uttar Bishnupur
* Uttar Kalas
* Uttar Kusum

Kakdwip subdivision|

* Kakdwip

Canning subdivision|

* Basanti
* Banshra
* Canning
* Dighirpar
* Gaur Daha
* Kalaria
* Matla
* Rajapur
* Taldi

Locations other than
Cities, municipal
and census towns|

| Alipore Sadar subdivision|

* Bakrahat
* Burul
* Dongaria
* Doultabad
* Nadakhali
* Vidyanagar

|

Baruipur subdivision|

* Dakshin Barasat
* Dhosa
* Jamtala
* Jiran Gachhi
* Kalyanpur
* Kheadaha
* Kultali
* Maipit
* Nalmuri
* Tilpi
* Uttar Kasipur

Diamond Harbour subdivision|

* Baneswarpur
* Baribhanga Abad
* Bhushna
* Chhatrabhog
* Falta
* Harindanga
* Krishnpur
* Kulpi
* Lakshmikantapur
* Mandirbazar
* Netra
* Parulia
* Punya
* Raydighi Abad
* Raychak
* Ramnagar
* Sarisha

Kakdwip subdivision|

* Bakkhali
* Fraserganj
* Ganespur
* Gangasagar
* Gobardhanpur
* Harinbari
* Harwood Point
* Namkhana
* Patharpratima
* Ramganga
* Rudranagar

Canning subdivision|

* Bhangonkhali
* Chhota Molla Khali
* Deuli
* Gosaba
* Jharkhali
* Jibantala
* Mather Dighi
* Pathankhali
* Sonakhali
* Tengra Khali

Neighbourhoods|

* Batanagar
* Harinavi
* Kamalgazi
* Narendrapur
* Nungi
* Subhashgram

Related topics|

* South 24 Parganas topics
* People from South 24 Parganas district
* Villages in South 24 Parganas district
* Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary
* Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary
* Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary
* Sundarbans Reserve Forest
* Sundarban National Park

India portal

* v
* t
* e

South 24 Parganas topics

General|

* Bonbibi
* Gangaridai
* Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary
* Jaynagarer Moa
* Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary
* Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary
* Sundarbans Reserve Forest
* Sundarbans National Park
* Sundarbans settlements
* Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans
* The Hungry Tide

Subdivisions|

* Alipore Sadar
* Baruipur
* Canning
* Diamond Harbour
* Kakdwip

Islands|

* Ghoramara Island
* Hemry Island
* Lohachara Island
* Sagar Island

Municipalities|

* Baruipur
* Budge Budge
* Diamond Harbour
* Jaynagar Majilpur
* Maheshtala
* Pujali
* Rajpur Sonarpur

Community development
blocks|

| Alipore Sadar subdivision|

* Bishnupur I
* Bishnupur II
* Budge Budge I
* Budge Budge II
* Thakurpukur Maheshtala

|

Baruipur subdivision|

* Baruipur
* Bhangar I
* Bhangar II
* Jaynagar I
* Jaynagar II
* Kultali
* Sonarpur

Canning subdivision|

* Basanti
* Canning I
* Canning II
* Gosaba

Diamond Harbour subdivision|

* Diamond Harbour I
* Diamond Harbour II
* Falta
* Kulpi
* Magrahat I
* Magrahat II
* Mandirbazar
* Mathurapur I
* Mathurapur II

Kakdwip subdivision|

* Kakdwip
* Namkhana
* Patharpratima
* Sagar

Archaeological sites|

* Deulpota
* Dhosa
* Harinarayanpur
* Tilpi

Educational institutes of higher learning|

* Diamond Harbour Women's University

Rivers|

* Adi Ganga
* Bidyadhari
* Gosaba
* Hatania Doania
* Hooghly
* Matla
* Muri Ganga
* Piyali
* Saptamukhi
* Thakuran

Transport|

* NH 12
* SH 1
* Kalighat–Falta Railway
* Eastern Railway zone
* Kolkata Suburban Railway
* Sealdah South lines

Lok Sabha constituencies|

* Diamond Harbour
* Jadavpur
* Jaynagar
* Mathurapur

Vidhan Sabha
constituencies|

* Gosaba
* Basanti
* Kultali
* Patharpratima
* Kakdwip
* Sagar
* Kulpi
* Raidighi
* Mandirbazar
* Jaynagar
* Baruipur Purba
* Canning Paschim
* Canning Purba
* Baruipur Paschim
* Magrahat Purba
* Magrahat Paschim
* Diamond Harbour
* Falta
* Satgachia
* Bishnupur
* Sonarpur Dakshin
* Bhangar
* Kasba
* Jadavpur
* Sonarpur Uttar
* Tollyganj
* Behala Purba
* Behala Paschim
* Maheshtala
* Budge Budge
* Metiaburuz

Former Vidhan Sabha
constituencies|

* Mathurapur
* Garden Reach
* Dhakuria
* Kabitirtha
* Alipore

See also|

* Cities, towns and locations in South 24 Parganas district
* People from South 24 Parganas district

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template