Canning subdivision has a very low level of urbanization. Only 12.37% of the population lives in the urban areas and 87.63% lives in the rural areas. There are 8 census towns in Canning I CD block and only 2 in the rest of the subdivision. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta with numerous islands in the southern part of the region. The area borders on the Sundarbans National Park and a major portion of it is a part of the Sundarbans settlements. It is a flat low-lying area in the South Bidyadhari plains. The Matla River is prominent and there are many streams and water channels locally known as khals. A comparatively recent country-wide development is the guarding of the coastal areas with special coastal force. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Location
Matla is located at Rajapur, Taldi, Bayarsingh, Matla and Dighirpar form a cluster of census towns in the Canning I CD block, as per the map of the Canning I CD block on page 333 of the District Census Handbook 2011. Canning is not identified as a separate place in the 2011 census records. The map of CD block Canning I in the District Census Handbookfor the South24 Parganas shows Canning as being a part of Matla and Dighirpar census towns.
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Matla had a total population of 31,920, of which 16,248 were males and 15,672 were females. There were 3,564 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate persons in Matla was 22,118.
Infrastructure
According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Matla covered an area of 10.2017 km2. Among the civic amenities, the protected water supply involved overhead tank and service reservoir. It had 4,220 domestic electric connections and 584 road light points. Among the medical facilities it had 1 hospital. Among the educational facilities It had were 10 primary schools, 1 middle school, 2 secondary schools, 1 senior secondary school, the nearest general degree college was at Tangrakhali 10 km away. It had 1 recognised shorthand, typewriting and vocational institution. Among the social, recreational and cultural facilities, it had 1 orphanage, 1 cinema theatre and 4 libraries. Three important commodities it produced were: bakery products, batik print and mustard oil. It had branches of nationalised banks, 1 cooperative bank, 1 agricultural credit society and 1 non-agricultural credit society.
