In the southern portion of the subdivision (shown in the map alongside) there are 20 census towns.

The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta and the southern part is covered by the Baruipur-Jaynagar Plain.

Archaeological excavations at Dhosa and Tilpi, on the bank of the Piyali River indicate the existence of human habitation around 2,000 years ago.

Petua, Panchghara, Mallikpur and Hariharpur form a cluster of census towns in the Baruipur CD block, as per the map of the Baruipur CD block in the District Census Handbook for the South 24 Parganas.

Among the civic amenities, it had 8 km roads with open drains, the protected water supply involved covered wells and hand pumps.

As of 2005–06, more than 1.7 million (17 lakhs) commuters use the Kolkata Suburban Railway system daily.

After the partition of India, refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan and Bangladesh had a strong impact on the development of urban areas in the periphery of Kolkata.