The North 24 Parganas District stretches from metropolitan Kolkata to the Bay of Bengal. The District administration has to contend with urban problems of high population density and overloaded civic infrastructure, as well as the rural problems of inadequate transport, communication and service-delivery systems. An estimated 52% of the population lives in rural areas of the district. Over the last decade, the district’s population has grown by 23%.Coastal residents fish for a living. Illiteracy is high, and is the norm among women, due to the high drop-out rate among girls. Access to water and sanitation varies across North 24 Parganas. In the urban areas, water coverage generally meets government standards of 250 people per source, but the numbers go up to 350 to 400 persons in rural areas. Water points are spread out, forcing women to travel long distances on nonexistent roads to collect water. In spite of government and NGO efforts, the majority of the population practices open defecation.