In the east, the flood plains of the major rivers, such as the Ajay, Bakreshwar, Mayurakshi and Brahmani, have soft alluvial soil.

Although coal is found in the district and Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station has a capacity of 2,010 MW, the economic condition of Birbhum is dominated by agriculture.

[2] In Birbhum district, 19,968 hectares of vested agricultural land has been distributed amongst 161,515 beneficiaries, till 2011.

[3] Culturally rich Birbhum, with such traditional landmarks as Jaydev Kenduli and Chandidas Nanoor, is home to Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan, having close association with two Nobel laureates – Rabindranath Tagore and Amartya Sen.[4] Sriniketan is located at 23°40′33″N 87°39′37″E / 23.6759°N 87.6602°E / 23.6759; 87.6602.

Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block is part of the Suri-Bolpur Plain, one of the four sub-micro physiographic regions of Birbhum district.

[8] Gram panchayats of Bolpur Sriniketan block/panchayat samiti are: Bahiri-Panchosowa, Kankalitala, Kasba, Raipur Supur, Ruppur, Sarpalehanna-Albandha, Sattore, Sian-Muluk and Singhee.

[9] As per the 2011 Census of India, Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block had a total population of 202,553, of which 190,393 were rural and 12,160 were urban.

[10] Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Mehidipur (4,080), Bahiri (5,222), Sansat (4,551), Singi (5,723) and Ruppur (3,803),[10] Other villages in Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Kasba (2,611), Panchsoa (1,851), Shian (2,106), Muluk (3,361), Supur (1,803), Raipur (2,320) and Sarpalehana (1,109).

[10] See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate Primary Census Abstract Data

In the 2011 census, Hindus numbered 149,736 and formed 73.92% of the population in Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block.

It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teacher s, entertainment artistes and so on.

[20] There are 156 inhabited villages in Bolpur Sriniketan CD Block, as per District Census Handbook, Birbhum, 2011.

147 villages (94.23%) have telephones (including landlines, public call offices and mobile phones).

Other crops grown in Birbhum are gram, masuri, peas, wheat, linseed, khesari, til, sugarcane and occasionally cotton.

Other rivers such as Ajoy, Brahmani, Kuskurni, Dwaraka, Hingla and Kopai are also helpful for irrigation in the district.

[23][24] In 2013-14, there were 2 fertiliser depots, 10 seed stores and 114 fair price shops in Bolpur Sriniketan CD block.

Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only large-scale industry in the district and employs about 5,000 people.

According to the District Human Development Report, “more people are now engaged in non-agricultural activities, such as fishing, retail sales, vegetable vending, selling milk, and so on.

As all these activities are at the lower end of the spectrum of marketable skills, it remains doubtful if these activities generate enough return for their family’s sustenance.”[27] Birbhum district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the Backward Regions Grant Fund.

The fund, created by the Government of India, is designed to redress regional imbalances in development.

Apart from the educational institutions, the major attractions include Rabindra Bhavan, Upasana Griha (glass temple), and some of the buildings associated with Rabindranath Tagore - Udayan, Shyamali, Konark, Udichi and Punascha.

[35] Bengal Institute of Technology & Management, a private engineering college on Santiniketan-Sriniketan Bypass, PO Dwaranda, was established in 2001.