Howrah district of West Bengal is spread over an area of 1467 sq. kms.  The district is a triangular tract of the country and the apex being situated at the southern end. The district is bounded in the north by the Arambagh and Shrirampur sub-divisions of the district of Hugli. On the east by Calcutta and South Twenty Four Parganas districts, on the south by the Tamluk Subdivision of Medinipur district; and on the west partly by the Tamluk and Ghatal Subdivisions of Medinipur and partly by the Arambagh sub­division of Hugli. Headquarters of this district is Howrah.

The district has a population of 3.73 million (1991 census). Overall, there were 878 females per 1000 males. The Scheduled caste and scheduled Tribe contributed about 15.8% and 0.3% of the population respectively. Forty nine percent of the population was living in the rural area. The decennial growth rate between 1981 and 1991 was 25.5 %. The density of the population was 2535 per sq. kms. Bengali, Hindi, and Oriya are the main language spoken in the district.

The district is at present comprises of 2 sub-divisions, and 14 Community Development Blocks. It has 47 towns and 741 villages (table 1).

Amenities available in the villages are shown in table 2.

The district is situated in between the rivers Hugli or Bhagirathi on the east and the Rupnarayan on the west. The river Damodar has intersected the district. The district consists of a flat alluvial plain.  There is no forest in the district. Most of the land is under cultivation and very little remains under natural vegetation. Flora found in the district is commoner tree species and the commoner species of shrubs. On the southeastern border of the district along the river Bhagirathi some mangrove species are found.

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 district is well connected by road, rail and river. The Grand Trunk Road is passing through the district with 12.8 kilometers length. The Howrah railway terminus, which dates back to 1906, is one of the busiest railway stations in India. As the terminal station of two important railways viz. Eastern and South Eastern, it provides direct rail link to most of the important places all over the country.

The chief navigable waterways in the district are the Hugli, Rupnarayan and Damodar. These rivers provide the primary sources of the water supply in the district. Because of the extensive network of waterways and the numerous pools and ponds in the villages, the district is found to be very rich in aquatic and swamp vegetation. In addition, the district has the unique distinction of having largest botanic garden in India. The Indian Botanic Garden is situated in Sibpur. It spreads over an area of 110.48 hectares.

Howrah is a metropolitan district and the large proportion of its population obtaining employment in the adjoining city of Calcutta. Only 25% of the total workers of the district are engaged in agricultural pursuits. The crops cultivated are rice, wheat and pulses. The district Howrah is essentially an industrial district and these industries may be broadly classified into two groups; the large-scale industries and the cottage industries. The large-scale industries include, jute mills, cotton mills and the like. The workshop industry consists mainly of the vast number of engineering units. The workshop industries in the district employ a large number of labour force. The cottage industries in the district have made up with modern techniques to some extent keeping at par with the industrialisation of the district.

Like in other parts of the state most common type of livestock found in the district are cattle, buffaloes, sheep and pigs. Poultry are also found in good numbers.

Educational facilities one type or the other is found in 709 (96.6%) of the inhabited villages. Primary and middle class schools are found in almost all towns.

Medical facility of one type or the other is available in 439 villages, which constitute 59.81% of the total number of inhabited villages.

National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases (NSPCD)

The National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases (NSPCD) was launched in the district in the year 2001.  District Nodal Officer had been identified.  District RRT has to be constituted and trained. The programme is yet to start in the district and will only start functioning after the training of the district RRT. District laboratory has been identified will be strengthened in due course. Weekly and monthly reports will start coming to NICD after the programme commences in the district.