maintaining a constant vigil. This has hurt the locals, who were earning crores from these illegal activities. Rendered jobless, they blamed the situation on the majority community.”” CD block HQ The headquarters of Basirhat I CD block are located at Basihat. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Basirhat Urban Agglomeration had a population of 144,891, out of which 73,491 were males and 71,400 were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 12,578. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 86.88 percent. Bengali is the principal language spoken in the area. Education Basirhat College was established in 1947. Affiliated with the West Bengal State University, it offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, philosophy, political science, history, geography, education, accountancy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, physiology and economics. It also offers general courses in arts, science and commerce, and a post-graduate course in Bengali. Healthcare Basirhat District Hospital functions with 300 beds. Basirhat is one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination. External links Basirhat Municipality Website Paikpara (Basirhat) References Cities and towns in North 24 Parganas district Cities in West Bengal