Kultali

Kultali () is a town with a police station and a community development block, and an in Baruipur subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. While the poverty-stricken area is struggling for development, it is beset with crime. Violent clashes mark out the area as politically volatile.

Geography

Kultali is one of the largest islands in the Sundarbans. The islands in the area are accessible only by boat. About 85% of the population is very poor. They eke out an existence collecting non- timber forest produce like tiger prawn seeds, fishing, vending vegetables and fish, and by working for a daily wage.

Demographics

In the 2001 census, the Kultali community development block had a population of 187,942 out of which 97,272 were males and 90,670 were females. The entire population is classified as rural.

Administration

Kultali is an intermediate panchayat (local self-government) under South 24 Parganas district. Village panchayats under it are – Deulbari Debipur, Gopalganj, Gurguria Bhubaneswari, Jalaberia I and II, Kundakhali Godabar, Maipith Baikanthapur, and Meriganj I and II.

Crime

Ambikanagar, a remote village near Kultali is notorious for smuggling and piracy. Timber smuggling in the region has reached its peak. At times, fishermen are kidnapped by pirates.

Economy

Honey collection

Around 20,000 kg of honey is collected every year from forests of Sundarbans. Mostly people from the Kultali, Joynagar, Basanti, Gosaba and Canning are honey collectors. The number of honey collectors has dwindled from around 1,500 a few years back to around 700 in 2007. From 1985 through 2004, about 75 honey collectors were killed by tigers in the forests. Now all honey collectors are insured for Rs. 50,000. The forest department has also intensified vigilance during the honey collection period. The range officers and guards are on full alert. No deaths have been reported since 2004.

Social service

From 1982, the services and programs provided by Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha have grown to include two crèches for infants, a sustainable agriculture project, agro-equipment support service, community grain bank, savings and micro-credit ventures, disaster mitigation and emergency relief services, rural library and literacy programs. BTS serves nearly 2,800 households out of the estimated 25,000 households on Kultali.

Health

Although groundwater in South 24 Parganas district is affected by arsenic contamination, the Kultali area is not facing the problem.

Four launches with doctors carrying medicines, sophisticated portable X-ray and echo-cardiograph machines, provided by the French author Dominique Lapierre move along the waterways of the Sundarbans to its furthest corners. Residents of such places as Sandeshkhali, Basanti, Gosaba and Kultali have felicitated him when he came in 2004. Since 1981, Lapierre has dedicated half of his royalty earnings from his books to sustain a humanitarian crusade in the slums of Kolkata and the deprived areas of rural Bengal. For his work, Lapierre was made a citizen of honour of Kolkata.

Culture

Kultali Sanskriti and Krishti Mela was organised in Kultali from 20 to 29 December. It was inaugurated by the state minister for Sunderban's development, Kanti Ganguly. Apart from such traditional sections as a food park, an entertainment park, and a cultural park, it focused on the business aspects of the district.

References

Category:Cities and towns in South 24 Parganas district Category:Community Development Blocks in South 24 Parganas district