Basirhat

Basirhat is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. It is located on the bank of Ichamati (Ichhamati) River.Administrative AreaBasirhat subdivision was formed on 1 January 1861 as per a Government order and it consisted of Balia Pargana's Basurhāt, Kalingā, Hāruā and Husenābād Police Stations. Previously, Basirhat was under the jurisdiction of Barasat sub-division and was named as Basurhāt till 1896. Basirhat municipality was established on 1 April 1869 and it is divided into 23 wards covering an area of 22.5 km².DemographicsAs per the 2011 census, Basirhat Urban Agglomeration had a population of 144,891, out of which 73,491 were males and 71,400 were females. The 0–6 years population was 12,578. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 86.88 percent. Bengali is the principal language spoken in the area.EtymologyThe sources which are considered till now behind the naming of Basirhat are as follows: The name was driven after Bashir Miya, a Bengali business-owner who establish a market there.Bahurhāt—market for various itemsBanserhāt—market for buying and selling bamboosBastirhāt—low land marketBashir er hat or Bose er hat—the name of the owner of the marketOld Bengali word Bashir means salt .There was a big market of salt and so the place became famous as BASHIR HAT.After a long time word 'BASHIRHAT' became 'BASIRHAT' .EconomyAgriculture is the main source of income though other industries like brick making, Gamcha, Nolen Sandesh and fisheries are also dominant in this area.