Patashpur I (also spelled as Potashpur) is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Egra subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Purba Medinipur district is part of the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain and Eastern coastal plains. Topographically, the district can be divided into two parts – (a) almost entirely flat plains on the west, east and north, (b) the coastal plains on the south. The vast expanse of land is formed of alluvium and is composed of younger and coastal alluvial. The elevation of the district is within 10 metres above mean sea level. The district has a long coastline of 65.5 km along its southern and south eastern boundary. Five coastal CD Blocks, namely, Khejuri II, Contai II (Deshapran), Contai I, Ramnagar I and II, are occasionally affected by cyclones and tornadoes. Tidal floods are quite regular in these five CD Blocks. Normally floods occur in 21 of the 25 CD Blocks in the district. The major rivers are Haldi, Rupnarayan, Rasulpur, Bagui and Keleghai, flowing in north to south or south-east direction. River water is an important source of irrigation. The district has a low 899 hectare forest cover, which is 0.02% of its geographical area. Barhat, a constituent panchayat of Patashpur I block, is located at . Patashpur I CD Block is bounded by Sabang CD Block, in Paschim Medinipur district in the north, Bhagabanpur I and Bhagabanpur II CD Blocks in the east, Patashpur II CD Block in the south and Narayangarh and Dantan II CD Blocks, in Paschim Medinipur district, in the west. It is located 54 km from Tamluk, the district headquarters. Patashpur I CD Block has an area of 172.26 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 9 gram panchayats, 127 gram sansads (village councils), 140 mouzas and 136 inhabited villages. Patashpur police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Amarshi Kasba. Gram panchayats of Patashpur I block/ panchayat samiti are: Amarshi I, Amarshi II, Barhat, Brajalalpur, Chistipur I, Chistipur II, Gokulpur, Gopalpur and Naipur. Demographics Population As per 2011 Census of India Potashpur I CD Block had a total population of 173,377, of which 166,977 were rural and 6,400 were urban. There were 89,555 (52%) males and 83,822 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 19,008. Scheduled Castes numbered 24,341 (14.04%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 1,124 (0.65%). As per 2001