Sandeshkhali I | |
|---|---|
Community development block | |
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 | |
| Coordinates: 22°27′16″N 88°50′45″E / 22.454532°N 88.845834°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | North 24 Parganas |
| Government | |
| • Type | Representative democracy |
| Area | |
| • Total | 182.30 km2 (70.39 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 164,465 |
| • Density | 900/km2 (2,300/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Literacy (2011) | |
| • Total literates | 100,978 (71.08%) |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 743439 (Hatgachha) |
| Telephone/STD code | 03217 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-WB |
| Vehicle registration | WB-23, WB-24, WB-25, WB-26 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Basirhat |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Sandeshkhali |
| Website | north24parganas |
The Hungry Tide
In the beginning…there was nothing but forests here. There were no people, no embankments, no fields. Just kada and bada, mud and mangrove. At high tide most of the land vanished under water. And everywhere you looked there were predators – tigers, crocodiles, sharks, leopards…This was a time when people were so desperate for the land that they were willing to sell themselves for a bigha or two.[1]
Sandeshkhali I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
- ^ Ghosh, Amitav, The Hungry Tide, p. 51, Harper Collins/India Today group