Urban health assumes great importance due to increasing urbanisation in the country as a whole and the state of west Bengal in particular. Though agricultural prosperity in West Bengal has checked the rural to urban migration and slowed down the rate of urbanisation in recent years, yet a whopping 28% of its total population lives in urban areas. The state ranks fourth in respect of absolute size of the urban population amongst all Indian states. Average population density in urban areas of the state is highest in the country. In absence of adequate government health infrastructure in urban areas, urban health mostly depends on private facilities. Though there is abundance of private facilities in urban areas, their quality varies to a great extent. Detection of polio cases in urban areas (one in 2001, seven in 2002, five in 2003 and two in 2005) clearly indicates that there are deficiencies in urban health care services, particularly in respect of preventive and promotive health.