Balichak

Balichak বালিচক
Town
Balichak Station Balichak Station
Balichak Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Paschim Medinipur
Area
• Total	4.66 km2 (1.80 sq mi)
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	13,784
• Density	3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	721124
Telephone code	03222
Vehicle registration	WB
Lok Sabha constituency	Ghatal (MP — Deepak Adhikari(Dev);— AITC)
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Debra (MLA — Radhakanta Maity;— AITC)
Website	paschimmedinipur.gov.in

Balichak is a census town in Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Balichak is 91 kilometres (56 mi) from Howrah on the Howrah-Kharagpur line and is part of the South Eastern Railway system.

Geography

Balichak is located at . It has an average elevation of 12 metres (42 feet). It is located in the Debra community development block in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district. The Debra police station serve this town. Balichak is the headquarters of the Debra CD Block.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Balichak had a population of 13,784. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Balichak has an average literacy rate of 79%, with 83% of the males and 75% of females literate. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Transportation

File:Balichak Bus Stand.jpg

Balichak Bus stand,Balichak

Balichak is well connected by roads/highways to other important towns of South Bengal including Medinipur, Kharagpur, Belda, Jhargram, Contai, Digha and also with Kolkata. This town is served by Balichak railway station. Local trains of South Eastern Line are frequently available at Balichak railway station. Locals use bicycles and motorbikes for transportation within the town. Rickshaws and cabs, totoes are also available.

Schools

There are numbers of schools in Balichak. The schools of Balichak Town are

• Balichak Bhajahari Institution
• Balichak Girls High School
• Aurobinda Vidyabhawan(English Medium)
• Antala Sitala High School
• Duan Rudreswar High School
• Jhanjia Gopal Chandra Institution
• Brahmansasan High School

Banks and Financial Houses

There are few Banks and financial houses that serve the people living in Balichak and nearby areas. While State Bank of India is the busiest of all, other banks like United Bank of India, Vidyasagar Central Co-operative Bank also have their presence here. And United Bank of India has two branches here. SBI Branch is at station Road, UBI(Balichak Branch) near Balichak Bhajahari institution and UBI(Hamirpur Branch) is at Balichak station road, Vidyasagar Central Coop Bank is at Balichak daily bazar. State Bank of India also has e-corner with branch. LIC has a satellite branch in Balichak. The Private institutions do business mainly in the investment area.

Culture

The regular Bengali festivals like Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja and Kali Puja are well attended. Other common pujas in the worship of Sitala, Jagaddhatri, Holi, Janmastami, Rath Yatra, Dussera(Ravan Pora) also takes place.

The Railway Station

Balichak is connected by train and is a part of the South Eastern railway. It is by far the busiest railway station in South Eastern Railway Zone within West Bengal due to its connectivity to few other major places like Pingla, Sabang, Debra etc. Being one of the busiest stations in the network, hundreds of passengers from all around Balichak & even far-away places commute daily from Balichak Railway Station. Few year ago the station got the facility of computerized ticketing service which helped local people to get railway tickets for anywhere in India.