Kachua

Kachua Kachua Swarupnagar
Village
Streets of Kachua, near the Kachua Lokenath Mission
Kachua Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Kachua Kachua (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 22°40′53″N88°43′31″E / 22.681261°N 88.725222°E / 22.681261; 88.725222
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	North 24 parganas
Block	Basirhat II
Population  (2011)
• Total	8,383
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	743424
Telephone code	03217
ISO 3166 code	IN-WB
Vehicle registration	WB26
Lok Sabha constituency	Basirhat
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Basirhat Uttar
Website	north24parganas.nic.in

Kachua (also known as Kachua Swarupnagar) is a village and a gram panchayat in Basirhat II CD Block in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Geography

Location

Kachua is located 30 km from the state capital city Kolkata. ^[7] It is located in the Basirhat II Block in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. ^[6] The surrounding nearby villages and its distance from Kachua are Dhanyakuria 2.4 km, Kholapota 8.6 km.

Area overview

According to land area calculations, the Kachua village is approximately 84.5 hectares large. Since Kachua falls under the block of Basirhat II as graded by Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2021, it does not have a water supply scheme. ^[4] According to the same report, a number of water sources in the village are contaminated by arsenic, and should be analysed before use and crops with low water requirement can be grown in the area.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Kachua Swarupnagar had a total population of 8,383, of which 4,300 were males and 4,083 were females. ^[4]

Civic administration

When it comes to administration, Kachua village is administrated by a sarpanch who is elected representative of the village by the local elections. ^[8] The sarpanch of Kachua is Farida Bibi. ^[2] Kachua falls under the State Legislative Assembly of Basirhat Uttar Constituency headed by Rafikul Islam Mondal and under the Lok Sabha Constituency of Basirhat headed by TMC Member of Parliament Nusrat Jahan.

Religious significance and controversy

Kachua is often referred to as 'Kachuadham' and is considered the birthplace of the Hindu Yogi Lokenath Brahmachari. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [1]} It also consists of the temple compound around the birthplace, a holy pond and the Lokenath Mission - that is responsible for the administration of the temple grounds. Besides the Lokenath Temple, it even has a temple dedicated to Krishna and Radha Gobinda.

On 23 August 2019, on the eve of Janmashtami event, an accident happened, where an old wall broke off leading to a stampede, on devotees of Lokenath Brahmachari, and led to the injury of 16 people. ^[13] According to many reports, three people lost their lives in this incident too. ^{[14] [15]} According to a "The Indian Express" article, 5 people lost their lives that day. ^[16]

Further reading

• Ashutosh Kumar Singh (2019). "लोकनाथ मंदिर हादसा: क्या हुआ ऐसा जो चंद मिनटों में उत्साह का माहौल मातम में बदल गया". Patrika. Patrika Group. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
• "Kachua: GeoTagged Asset Report 2023". eGram Swaraj. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR). 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.

References

1. Bhowmick, Haripada (1983). ত্রিকালদর্শী মহাপুরুষ শ্রী শ্রী লোকনাথ ব্রহ্মচারীর জন্মস্থান প্রসঙ্গে. Lokenath Mission, Kachua. p. 3.
2. "Local Body Data: Kachua" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
3. "ABP News" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
4. "Government of India (GOI) AQUIFER MAPPING AND MANAGEMENT PLAN IN PARTS OF NORTH 24 PARGANAS, SOUTH 24 PARGANAS & HOWRAH DISTRICTS, WEST BENGAL" (PDF). Retrieved 18 August 2023.
5. "India Growing" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
6. "Soki India" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
7. "West Bengal: 4 killed and 21 injured in stampede-like situation near Kachua temple". Times of India. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
8. "Census 2011 India" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
9. Basak, Tushar Kanti (2023). কচুয়া: লোকনাথ-গঙ্গার ত্রিবেনী সঙ্গম. Lokenath Mission, Kachua. p. 6.
10. Das, Jitavati (2023). Visuddha Prema. Notion Press. ISBN   9798888839744.
11. Banik, Shri Haribhakta (2013). বারদীর গোঁসাই: শ্রীশ্রী লোকনাথ ব্রহ্মচারী. Shri Shital Chandra Pal. p. 18.
12. Bhowmick, Bishnupada (2011). প্রাণের ঠাকুর বাবা লোকনাথের মহাপ্রয়াণ শ্বরোণে - শ্রদ্ধাঞ্জলি ১২১তম তিরোধন দিবস. স্বামীবাগ রোড Branch. p. 30.
13. "কচুয়ার লোকনাথধাম মন্দিরে দুর্ঘটনা, পদপিষ্ট হয়ে আহত অন্তত ১৬ জন". ABP Ananda (Bengali) (in Bengali). Retrieved 18 August 2023.
14. "Hindustan Times - Three die in stampede near Bengal temple" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
15. "The Week - Three killed, 25 injured in stampede near Loknath Dham temple in West Bengal". The Week . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
16. "The Indian Express - Janmashtami: 5 dead in Bengal temple" . Retrieved 18 August 2023.