𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭

Paschim Medinipur district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. 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). On 4th April 2017, the Jhargram subdivision was converted into a district and present geographical area of Paschim Medinipur stands 6,308 km2 (2,436 sq mi).

Location of Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal

Country :

India

State :

West Bengal

Headquarters :

Midnapore

Government :

Lok Sabha constituencies :

Medinipur, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST) – all have assembly segments in adjoining districts, Arambagh – with one assembly segment in the district

Vidhan Sabha constituencies :

Dantan, Keshiary, Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur Rural, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona, Garbeta, Salboni, Keshpur, Medinipur.

Area :

Total -- 6,308 km2 (2,436 sq mi)

Map showing area of Paschim Medinipur (not to scale) :

Population (2011) :

Total -- 5,913,457
Density -- 940/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Urban -- 11.9 per cent

Demographics :

Literacy -- 79.04 per cent
Sex ratio -- 960

Time zone :

UTC+05:30 (IST)

Major highways :

NH 6, NH 60

Government :

Average annual precipitation :

2,111 mm

Website :

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 and soil. The landscape changes from dense dry deciduous forests in the west to marshy wetlands in the east.