The district of Gorakhpur comprises a huge stretch of land lying to the north of the river Ghagra, the deep stream of which forms the boundary of Azamgarh and Mau to the south. On the west the border marches with Basti and on the east with the district Deoria of Nepal. To the north lies the district of Maharajgang. The total area is apt to vary from year to year owing to the continuing erosion of land because of the Ghagra. Total area of the district is 3324 sq. kms. The district headquarters is located at Gorakhpur.

The district has a population of about 3.0 million (1991 census). About 81.2% of the population lives in rural areas, while 18.8% of the population lives in urban areas. The SC and ST contribute about 22.0% and about 0.02% of the population respectively. The decennial growth rate of population between 1981-1991 was 23.70%. The density of population is 916 per sq. km.  The main languages spoken in the district are Hindi and Urdu.

The district is a level plain, densely populated and most parts of the district is available for cultivation though the level is only broken by the shallow valley of the rivers. The forests in this district are of great economic value. The jamun grows freely along the banks of water courses and the only other serviceable trees are Khair and Haldu. There are some other trees, which are of no particular value. In several other localities plantations of Shisham have been started with success.

Gorakhpur district has 6 tehsils, 21 community development blocks, 7 towns and 3319 villages. (Table-1)

Amenities available in the villages are shown in table –2.

The communication infrastructure of the district consists of well-served road and rail links. The district has PWD owned roads district roads; and State Highways. This district is a big centre for North-Eastern Railway. It has long meter gauge and broad gauge lines. Railway facility is available not only for big cities of the State, but also for all big cities of the country.

Main cereal produced is rice, wheat, jawar, bajra, barley and maize. Among the rabi crops wheat is cultivated in about 39.55 of the area under food grains, followed by barley. The major crop of kharif is paddy, which is cultivated about 42.6% of the area inder the foodgrains. Pulses like pea, moong, urd and others occupy rest of the area. Groungnut is also an important crop grown.

Livestock plays a better role alongwith agriculture. There is a total of about 1893 thousand animals of different varieties. Among birds, chicken makes a major part of it. Besides dairy animals and birds, pigs are the next profitable animals. For better care of animals, veterinary hospitals, animal development centres, artificial insemination sub-centres, sheep development centres are functioning. Apart from it, Poultry units and cooperative dairies are also working in the district.

There are many sugar factories in the district and it is a good exporter of sugar. A big fertilizer unit named Gorakhpur fertilizer is running in the district and producing a good quality of chemical fertilizer, which has an impact on agricultural development. Besides it, there is an Industrial Estate also with 14 working sheds, and 39 plants giving production. Small-scale industries also play vital role in the economy of a district and Handloom is one of the main among them.

Table 1. Administrative Units in District.

Number (with percentage) of villages having one or more amenities in the district as per 1991 census is given below:

Table 2.  Villages having one or more amenities in the district (1991 census)

The maximum ratio of 16.90 beds per thousand population is observed in Gorakhpur Fertilizer hospital. This high ratio is attributed to the location of Fertilizer hospital which serves the needs of the employees of Gorakhpur Fertilizer. The second largest ratio of 5.96 beds per thousand of population is obtained in Gorakhpur town. The urban areas of the district are served by 4.98 beds per thousand of population. Major government medical institutions and health personnel working in these institutions are given in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3.  Govt. and Other Medical Institutions in district Gorakhpur

Table 4.  Health Personnel working in Government sector in district Gorakhpur

National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases

Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh was included as a district under NSPCD in 2000-2001. The district Nodal Officer for the programme was identified. The district Laboratory was identified and is a request has been made for the required modification to be made for the laboratory to start functioning. Once the modifications are completed the laboratory strengthening by procuring equipments and reagents will be made. The district Rapid Response Team was trained by the State at Lucknow and consists of the following members (table 5).

Table 5. Gorakhpur District RRT as on 14^th June, 2001

Some of the laboratory tests done at the district hospital laboratory are shown in table 6.

Table 6.  Some laboratory data from District Hospital Laboratory, 2000 & till date 2001

Since the programme has been recently started, the flow of information regarding monthly and weekly reports is yet to commence.