Contai (also known as Kanthi) is headquarters of Contai subdivision in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. There are three community development blocks in Contai. According to the geologists, the present geographical dimension of contai, has formally came into existence, with the great natural disaster of the third century AD (flood) which created Chilka lake out of the Chilka Bay. Kanthi, that is contai, means "Sand-bound reefs" or sand walls.