Kumarganj

Kumarganj is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Balurghat subdivision of Dakshin Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Dinajpur district was constituted in 1786. In 1947, the Radcliffe Line placed the Sadar and Thakurgaon subdivisions of Dinajpur district in East Pakistan. The Balurghat subdivision of Dinajpur district was reconstituted as West Dinajpur district in West Bengal. The new Raiganj subdivision was formed in 1948. In order to restore territorial links between northern and southern parts of West Bengal which had been snapped during the partition of Bengal, and on the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission a portion of the erstwhile Kishanganj subdivision comprising Goalpokhar, Islampur and Chopra thanas (police stations) and parts of Thakurganj thana, along with the adjacent parts of the erstwhile Gopalpur thana in Katihar subdivision were transferred from Purnea district in Bihar to West Bengal in 1956, and were formally incorporated into Raiganj subdivision in West Dinajpur. The township of Kishanganj and its entire municipal boundary remained within Bihar. With the introduction of the Community Development Programme in 1960-61, community development blocks were set up in West Dinajpur district. In 1992, West Dinajpur district was bifurcated and Dakshin Dinajpur district was established.

Kumarganj is located at 25°26′02″N 88°43′36″E / 25.43379°N 88.72671°E / 25.43379; 88.72671.

Dakshin Dinajpur district is physiographically a part of the Barind Tract. The area is generally flat and slightly undulating. The elevation of the district is about 15 metres above mean sea level. However, the soil varies. CD Blocks such as Balurghat, Hili and Kumarganj have alluvial soil, Tapan CD Block has laterite soil. There are three main rivers. The Atreyee comes from Bangladesh, flows through Kumarganj and Balurghat CD Blocks and goes back to Bangladesh. The Punarbhaba flows through Gangarampur and Tapan CD Blocks. The Tangon flows through Kushmandi and Bansihari CD Blocks. There is a small river named Jamuna in the Hili CD Block. All rivers, flowing from north to south, overflow during the monsoons and cause floods.

Kumarganj is bounded by Dinajpur Sadar and Chirirbandar Upazilas in Dinajpur District in Bangladesh, on the north, Fulbari and Birampur Upazilas in Dinajpur District in Bangladesh, on the east, Balurghat CD Block on the south, and Tapan and Gangarampur CD Blocks on the west.

Six out of the eight CD Blocks in the district are on the India-Bangladesh border popularly referred to as a porous border. 2,216 km of the 4,096 km long India-Bangladesh border falls in West Bengal. More than 11,000 people live near/ around the zero line in Dakshin Dinajpur. Approximately 252 km of the international border is in Dakshin Dinajpur district.

Kumarganj CD Block has an area of 286.62 km².It has 1 panchayat samity, 8 gram panchayats, 118 gram sansads (village councils), 218 mouzas and 208 inhabited villages. Kumarganj police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Kumarganj.

Gram panchayats of Kumarganj block/ panchayat samiti are: Batun, Bhour, Deor, Jakirpur, Mohana, Ramkrisnapur, Safanagar and Samjhia.