the West Bengal, the district is presently divided into 9 assembly constituencies: Bandwan (ST) (assembly constituency no. 234) Balarampur (assembly constituency no. 239), Baghmundi (assembly constituency no. 240), Joypur (assembly constituency no. 241), Purulia (assembly constituency no. 242), Manbazar (ST) (assembly constituency no. 243), Kashipur (assembly constituency no. 244), Para (SC) (assembly constituency no. 245) and Raghunathpur (SC) (assembly constituency no. 246). Bandwan and Manbazar constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, while Para and Raghunathpur constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Banduan is an assembly segment of Jhargram (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Paschim Medinipur district. Balarampur, Baghmundi, Jaipur, Purulia, Manbazar, Kashipur and Para constituencies will form the Purulia (Lok Sabha constituency). Raghunathpur assembly segment is part of Bankura (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Bankura district. Demographics According to the 2011 census Purulia district has a population of 2,930,115, roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica or the US state of Arkansas. This gives it a ranking of 129th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.43%. Puruliya has a sex ratio of 955 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 65.38%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 19.37% and 18.45% respectively. The literacy rates of male and female are 74.18% and 37.15% of the total population. Hindus comprise 83% of the total population, Islam 14%, and Christians 2%. Transport Purulia district is well connected with other cities and towns of West Bengal and neighbourhood states by road and rail transport. Rail The District is served by three Rail connections provided by the South Eastern Railways. One line runs from Jharkhand in the South through the district up to Asansol passing through Adra division. Another line runs between Bankura and Dhanbad also via the Adra Division. The third line connects purulia with Jharkhand. Major cities and towns like Ranchi, Tatanagar, Patna, Howrah, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Lucknow, Asansol, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Durgapur, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi are now well connected with this district by railways. The Railway Divisional Headquarter Adra railway division, which is one of the major rail division of South Eastern Railway, is situated on the northeastern part of Purulia district. Road The road transport is another important transportation medium of Purulia. The road transport