Socio-economic and Environmental Study of a Biodiversity Rich Village Hanrijhama in the District Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India

Hanrijhama is a medium size village in district East Midnapore of West Bengal, India and popularly known for its agriculture and its year ending folk-festival Gajon and Charak. The male-female ratio is higher than the average of the state. This village has a very high rate of literacy than the average rate of the state also. There is ample facility for education starting from pre-primary to high school education with two ICDS schools, one primary school and one higher-secondary school. However, for higher education, the villagers have to depend on the colleges located within its block and sub-divisional area. Agriculture is the main source of economy of the village. Although paddy is the main agricultural crop, but various vegetables are also cultivated by large amount to earn livestock of the villagers. The soil is also favourable for production of variety of crops. The village is rich with floral diversity with different species of plants. Although there are large wet land area and central canal for supplying water for cultivation but it is not sufficient. So huge water is harvested from the ground through deep tube well that is not favourable for sustainable development. So proper agricultural planning is required for sustainable environmental development. The year ending folk festival plays an important role in the economy of the village.