# Basirhat

Basirhat is a city and a municipal urban region of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Basirhat subdivision. Established on April 1, 1869, Basirhat is one of the oldest municipal boards in West Bengal. There's a proposal to carve out a new Basirhat district from the existing North 24 Parganas district. The district headquarters is planned to be in the city of Basirhat.

## Etymology

According to Dr. Sukumar Sen (linguist), Basirhat is named after a person named ‘Basi’. Referring to Bengali Dictionary, the word Basi means-Indriya Basban (ইন্দ্রিয় বসবান), Jitendriya (জিতেন্দ্রিয়), Apradhin (অপরাজেয়), Sadhin (স্বাধীন), and Swatantra (স্বতন্ত্র). From this it may be concluded that Basirhat was an independent tax-free business centre. Like present day’s Free Business Centres.
The sources which are considered till now behind the naming of Basirhat are as follows:
•Basurhat – market for various items.
•Banserhat – market for buying and selling bamboos.
•Bastirhat – low land market.
There is a lot of controversy and debate regarding the naming of “Basirhat”. But all explanations are satisfying and are causally related in some or other way.

## Geography
### Location

Basirhat is located at 22°39′40″N 88°51′59″E﻿ / ﻿22.66111°N 88.86639°E﻿ / 22.66111; 88.86639.

### Area overview

The area shown in the map is a part of the Ichhamati-Raimangal Plain, located in the lower Ganges Delta. It contains soil of mature black or brownish loam to recent alluvium. Numerous rivers, creeks and khals criss-cross the area. The tip of the Sundarbans National Park is visible in the lower part of the map (shown in green but not marked). The larger full screen map shows the full forest area. A large section of the area is a part of the Sundarbans settlements. The densely populated area is an overwhelmingly rural area. Only 12.96% of the population lives in the urban areas like Basirhat and 87.04% of the population in rural areas.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full-screen map.

### Climate

Basirhat is subject to a tropical savanna climate that is designated Aw climate under the Köppen climate classification. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk". This municipal region is usually the hottest region of Basirhat subdivision due to its urbanized characteristics.
Special weather phenomena - Often, in April–June, the region is struck by heavy rains or dusty squalls that are followed by thunderstorms or hailstorms, bringing cooling relief from the prevailing humidity. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and are known locally as Kalbaisakhi (কালবৈশাখী), or 'norwesters' in English.
Climate data for Basirhat City :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34 (93) | 38 (100) | 44 (111) | 46 (115) | 43 (109) | 36 (97) | 35 (95) | 39 (102) | 36 (97) | 36 (97) | 35 (95) | 33 (91) | 46 (115) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) | 31.9 (89.4) | 36.1 (97.0) | 38.7 (101.7) | 38.2 (100.8) | 36.2 (97.2) | 33.4 (92.1) | 32.9 (91.2) | 32.6 (90.7) | 31.9 (89.4) | 30.9 (87.6) | 28.3 (82.9) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.6 (65.5) | 21.9 (71.4) | 25.9 (78.6) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 27.1 (80.8) | 26.4 (79.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 14.8 (58.6) | 24.4 (75.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 6.4 (43.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | 13.6 (56.5) | 17 (63) | 21 (70) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22 (72) | 19 (66) | 19 (66) | 15 (59) | 5.2 (41.4) | 5.2 (41.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3.2 (0.13) | 11.3 (0.44) | 19.8 (0.78) | 40.9 (1.61) | 71.3 (2.81) | 176.3 (6.94) | 251.1 (9.89) | 247.0 (9.72) | 181.4 (7.14) | 104.2 (4.10) | 38.4 (1.51) | 6.8 (0.27) | 96.0 (3.78) |
| Average rainy days | 0.6 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 7.8 | 12.8 | 21.9 | 28.3 | 29.1 | 24.4 | 14.2 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 12.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 43.8 | 41.6 | 47.8 | 57.2 | 62.7 | 68.1 | 76.8 | 79.9 | 81.1 | 74.9 | 58.9 | 48.6 | 61.8 |
| Source: Weather & Climate ||||||||||||||

### Natural disasters
#### Cyclone

On May 2009, Cyclone Aila brought heavy rainfall and strong winds, causing damage to weak structures.
On May 2020, Cyclone Amphan affected the area with maximum sustained wind speed of 150 km/h. This severe cyclone caused major damage to houses and crops in the area. Prime minister Narendra Modi was received at the airport by governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and chief minister Mamata Banerjee who accompanied him on the aerial survey of some of the worst-affected parts of the state before landing in Basirhat College, 50 km from Kolkata airport. After holding a conference in Basirhat, Modi announced Rs 1,000 cr immediate relief for cyclone hit areas.

#### Hailstorm

On February 19, 2025, a severe Hailstorm occurred in the Basirhat subdivision, including the municipal region, causing minor damages to weak structures and agriculture.
A similar incident occurred on March 22, 2014, when a 20 minutes hailstorm event caused damage to approximately 2,500 homes in parts of North 24 Parganas, including Barasat, Basirhat, Barrackpore and Bongaon.

## Demographics

Religion in Basirhat municipality (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 77.60% | 77.60% |
| Islam | Islam | 22.21% | 22.21% |
| Others | Others | 0.19% | 0.19% |
According to the 2011 census of India, Basirhat Municipality had a population of 125,254. Basirhat had a sex ratio of 981 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 87.35%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 18.94% and 0.41% of the population respectively.
Bengali is the predominant language, spoken by 99.77% of the population.

## Art and Culture
### Durga puja
#### Celebrations

Durga puja is the biggest festival of Basirhat. The scale and intensity of Basirhat's durga puja celebration is among the biggest in North 24 Parganas with more than 100 installations in the city. Prantik Square Sorbojonin is the biggest puja committee of Basirhat, often resembling Kolkata's Maddox Square puja committee because of its atmosphere. This place becomes a meeting point of all ages during the puja days.

#### Traditions

For more than 150 years, the Durga idol has been immersed on boats in this city. On the day of Vijayadashami, people usually come in Basirhat to see the immersion festival. The idols and installations have changed in the modern era, but the immersion continues to be done in the Ichamati River by boat according to the ancient tradition. A fair is held on both banks of the river centering on the immersion. The special attraction of this fair is wooden furniture and various wooden items.

### Cultural centers

Basirhat has got plenty of cultural and community centers for promoting the art and culture of the city, Rabindra Bhaban is one of them. Located near the Lake Terrace area, many concerts, performances, drama and art events are usually happen during the festive time or on the weekend. In 2017, Basirhat municipality allocated 4 Cr rupees for the further development of Rabindra Bhaban.

## Cuisine

Basirhat is famous for its Sandesh (confectionery) or Kachagolla, with many sweet vendors of the local area demanding a Geographical Indication or GI tag for it. This famous Kachagolla is prepared by making curd from cow's milk and mixing it with sugar during other times of the year and jaggery during winter. Historically, it can be seen that the culture of making this Kachagolla in Basirhat is about 400 years old.

## Transport
### Road

NH 312 and SH 2 passes through the city.

### Railway

Basirhat railway station is one of the most busiest railway station after Barasat Junction railway station in Barasat-Hasnabad Suburban railway line of Sealdah railway division.

### Future metro railway extension in Basirhat municipal region

The Times of India published in a news article about the extension plan of a new line of Kolkata metro throughout this area. In future, a third Metro line will emerge out of the Kavi Subhash metro station, when the Baruipur-Basirhat Metro line is sanctioned.

## Civic administration
### Police station

Basirhat police station covers an area of 267 km$^2$ and serves a population of 637,538. Basirhat PS has under it Basirhat town outpost and two other outposts at Panitor and Boatghat. The police district has a 22 km border, out which 14 km is land border and 8 km is riverine border. 11 km of the border remains unfenced. Basirhat PS has jurisdiction over Basirhat municipal area and Basirhat I CD Block.
Around half of the 4,095 km long India-Bangladesh border has been fenced and vigil along the border has been tightened up. As of 2017, Cattle smuggling across the border was unofficially estimated to be a Rs. 4,000 crore business, half of it across the Basirhat border and the balance through Malda and Murshidabad.
In 2017, The Sunday Guardian reported, “The crackdown by the Border Security Force (BSF) on the illegal, but lucrative, business of cow smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, resulted in immense resentment among a section of the area’s minority community. This culminated in the communal flare-up in the state’s Basirhat sub-division earlier this month. A source close to the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress told The Sunday Guardian over phone, “Cow smuggling to Bangladesh, through the riverine border in Basirhat, Taki and other adjoining areas, has taken a hit as the BSF has become very strict and is 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.

## 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

The Basirhat District & Super Specialty Hospital under The Health & Family Welfare Department of the State Government of West Bengal has been given the responsibility of conserving and emerging the health care facility within Basirhat sub-division & its surrounding catchment area since 1965, Basirhat District Hospital & Super Specialty Hospital caters health services amongst 22.7 lakhs populations covering 1777 km$^2$. In the year 2013, the 250 bedded Basirhat Sub-Division Hospital augmented to 300 Bedded District Hospital and later on, in the year 2017 the District Hospital increased with additional 300 beds with introduction of Super Specialty Hospital, now Basirhat District Hospital & Super Specialty Hospital with 600 beds.
Basirhat is one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contamination.

## Notable people

* Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
* Rajendra Nath Mookerjee
* Dipendu Biswas
* Saptarshi Banerjee
* Tapan Bandyopadhyay
* Rafikul Islam Mondal
* Monami Ghosh
* Manoj Mitra
* Mihir Bose (footballer)
* Biswanath Basu
* Manoranjan Sur
* Samik Bhattacharya
* Renu Chakravartty
* Amar Mitra (writer)
* Titumir