South 24 Parganas district, Administrative district in West Bengal, India
South 24 Parganas is an administrative division in West Bengal stretching from the outskirts of Kolkata to the distant river villages of the Sundarbans. The area covers five subdivisions with Alipore serving as the seat of local administration.
This division was created on March 1, 1986, when the former 24 Parganas split into two separate administrative units. The reorganization aimed to ease governance of the densely settled areas near Kolkata and the sparsely populated coastal regions.
The name Parganas comes from Mughal-era administration, when such divisions organized land and tax collection across territories. Residents and officials continue using this historical term for their local administrative units today.
Travelers reach the individual subdivisions by train and road, connecting Alipore Sadar, Baruipur, Canning, Diamond Harbour, and Kakdwip to one another. Distances vary greatly between the urban north near the city and the remote coastal zones to the south.
Sections of the Sundarbans mangrove landscape lie within this administrative unit, forming a natural frontier between land and sea. These coastal forests also shelter wild Bengal tigers that survive in the region.
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