Dhanbad

Dhanbad
Dhanbad Location of Dhanbad in Jharkhand and India
Coordinates	23°48′N 86°27′E / 23.8°N 86.45°E / 23.8; 86.45
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District(s)	Dhanbad
Population • Density	1,065,423 (2001[update]) • 1,120 /km2 (2,901 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	2,052 km2 (792 sq mi) • 222 m (728 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 826001 • Vehicle • JH-10
Website	www.dhanbad.nic.in

Dhanbad (Hindi: धनबाद) is a city in the state of Jharkhand, and is also known as the 'Coal Capital of India'. Dhanbad is 79th among the top fastest growing cities of world.^[1] According to 2001 census, Dhanbad is among the 35 cities of India with population more than one million.^[2] Among the Rail Divisions of Indian Railway, Dhanbad Rail Division is in second position in terms of revenue generation.

Dhanbad is famous for coal mining. Tata Steel, BCCL, ECL and IISCO are some of the companies having coal mines in the district. Coal-mining, Coal washing and coke making are the main coal related industries in the city. IISCO (Indian Iron And Steel Company) is now owned by SAIL, BCCL & ECL comes under CIL (Coal India Ltd), these two companies are the largest operators of coal mines in Dhanbad, and have open cast mines as well as underground mines, whereas Tata Steel has mostly underground mines. These companies have developed townships for their employees.

Geography

Dhanbad has an average elevation of 227 m (745 ft). Its geographical length (extending from North to South) is 43 miles and the breadth (stretching across East to West) is 47 miles. It shares its boundaries with West Bengal in the Eastern and southern part, Dumka & Giridih in the North and Bokaro in the west. Dhanbad comes under the Chota-Nagpur Plateau.

Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid June. Peak temperature in Summer can reach 47^oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall. In winter, the minimum temperature remains around 12^oC with a maximum of 22^oC. Damodar River is the main river flowing through the District. Katri, Jamunia, Gobai, Khudia and Irji are the other rivers flowing through the district. The Red soil is found in the area and is not that much fertile for good agricultural produce. Due to presence of two large Dams in the district, many people are involved in pisiculture. Forest present in the district are of northern Tropical Dry Deciduous type. In many of these forest, people are engaged in sericulture.

History

Dhanbad has a rich history of growth, urbanisation and migration of people. The early history of the Dhanbad is shrouded in mystery. Details of even later periods are difficult to trace. The present district used to be a part of Manbhum. In the Settlement Report for Manbhum (1928) it was stated that no rock inscriptions, copper plates or old coins were discovered and not a single document of copper plate or palm leaf was found, during the Survey and Settlement operations. The oldest authentic documents produced were all on paper and barely even a hundred years old.^[3] Dhanbad was in Manbhum district from 1928 up to 1956.^[4] However, on 24 October 1956, Dhanbad was declared a District on the Recommendation of the States Reorganization Commission vide notification 1911. And from 1956 to 14 November 2000 it was under Bihar. At present it is in Jharkhand, after the creation of state on 15 November 2000.^[5]

About the history of coal mines, after starting steel plant at Jamshedpur, Tata Steel started coal mines at Dhanbad in 1910.^[6] The first lease was granted in 1910 for Bhelatand coal mines, subsequently lease for Jamadoba, Sijua were given in 1918. For Malkera coal mines lease was given in 1931. Some of these coal mines were closed during World Wars. Among coal washeries Jamadoba coal preparation plant and washery commissioned in 1952, with Chance Cone Process. In 1995-96, Bhelatand coal preparation plant and washery was commissioned. One another mine called the Chasnalla Colliery was under the Tata Group of Mines, after nationalization disaster struck owing to wrong and negligent mining where many lives were lost.

The first Indians to arrive and establish themselves starting from 1895 to 1900 were Kutchi Mistris- Railway Contractors among whom notable were Seth Khora Ramji Chawda, Jetha Lira Jethwa, Narayan Chowra who established Jharia, Fatehpur, Balihari, Jeenagora, Bhagatdih, Govamal Jeevan Chauhan, established Pandubra and Gokuldih, Khimjee Dossa Jethwa, Tisra,Gangji Dossa Jethwa, Katrasgarh, Ramji Gangji Sawaria, Basra, Joyram Gohil, Joyrampur, Dhanji Ratanji Rathod, Dana Premji, Tisra, Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja Chauhan, Manji Jairam Rathor, Rajapur, Rai Bahadur D D Thacker, Jharia, Bibhuti Bhusan Bakshi, Rise Area Colliery. Rai Bahadur D D Thacker also started a Labour's School in Jharia to train labours for coalmines. The life-sketch of Seth Khora Ramji Chawda and Govaml Jivan Chauhan as pioneers in Jharia Coalfileds is mentioned by British Authorities in Encyclopedia of Bengal, Bihar & Orissa. While the Gujrati Primary School at Jharia for children was started by Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas-Mistri Colliery owners, who felt the need of a Primary School at Jharia. The others were T.K. Khanna, Punjabi, J.K. Agarwalla, Kesabji Pitamber, Haithibhai Patel, Chaturbhai, Kalyanji Mavji. Among the other Kutchis and gujratis and other communities that followed were Nandwana Amritlal Morarjee Worah, K D Worah, Amritalal Ojha, Lala Karamchand Thapar, Chanchani, who made it big in thsese field post world-war-I. Amritlal Ojha later went on to become President of Indian Chamber of Commerce in 1940. When the coal mines were nationalized a major chunk of these coal bearing region from Ranigunj-Paraskole was with the Chanchani, Worah & Mistris of Kutch. Together they controlled more than 250 mines. The Chanchani Group was pioneer in real estate development in Dhanbad. They came up with the Shanti Bhavan Complex at Bank More. These Groups are active in the region doing different businesses and operating Large and Medium sized industries. The Rathor & Chawda Mansion/Market, Gohil Cold Storage were built by Kutchi Mistris.

Mr. Pushottam Khimjee Chauhan, was the freedom fighter from Dhanbad, who unfurled the flag during Quit India Movement in 1942. Later in 1948 and onwards he was twice elected to Legislative Assembly. He was appaulded by Dr. Rajendra Prasad for his exemplory speech to pass Abolition of Zamindari Act. He also represented Government of India in World Labour Conferance in Geneva in 1950. Mr. Ram Narayan Sharma, one of the well known former Mp's of Dhanbad was responsible for the growth of Dhanbad in 70's. He was one of the leaders who brought westernized mining techniques to the city.

Demography

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[7] Dhanbad had a population of 2,397,102. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Dhanbad has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 89.54% and female literacy is 52.43%. In Dhanbad, 10.57% of the population is under 5 years of age. Majority of the population are people of Jharkhand and Bihar. Besides people of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal followed by Marwari's and Punjabi have also settled in Dhanbad.

Civic administration

Dhanbad is the Headquarter of the District and also the Headquarter of DMC (Dhanbad Municipal Corporation). DMC was formed as per the State Government Notification dated 1/02/06 with merger of areas Jharia NAC, Sindri, NAC, Chhatandih NAC, Katras NAC. Dhanbad city elects one Member of Parliament. Also some part of the district comes under Giridih seat of Lok Sabha. There are six Legislative Assembly seat; they are Sindri, Baghmara, Dhanbad, Jharia, Nirsa, Tundi.

Dhanbad has District court and Labour Court-Industrial tribunal. Along with Mumbai, Dhanbad is the only city having two Labour Court-Industrial tribunals. Mineral Area Development Authority (MADA) looks after the development of the district.

Economy

Coal Mine

Dhanbad is famous for its coal mines and industrial establishments; it has 112 coal mines^[8] with a total produce of 27.5 million tonnes and an annual income of 7000 Million Rupees through coal business, most of which ends up in the bank accounts of ruthless landlords and corrupt politicians. There are also number of coal washeries present here. This city is also known for its power generation plants. Hydel Power is being generated at Maithon and Panchet. Tata Power and DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) are setting up 1050 MW Thermal power plant at Maithon. ONGC is using CBM (Coal beded Methane) for power generation at some of the coal mines.

Sindri is an industrial township situated in Dhanbad district. Sindri is among the first industrial townships of India. ACC Cement factory and Projects & Development India Ltd. (PDIL) are present in Sindri. Many sponge iron factory, refractory and ceramic factory are present in Dhanbad district. Dhanbad will also come under Indian Railways Freight Corridor. phushro one of the economic place in dhanbad

Language

Languages spoken in the area are Hindi, Gujrati, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi,Bhojpuri, Magahi, English, Santhali, Oriya and Khorta.

Education and research

Famous Professional Engineering and Medical Colleges in Dhanbad.

BIT Administrative Building

Auditorium

ISM ,The Indian School of Mines,was started by Britishers in 1926. Located in Dhanbad, it draws students from all over India through IIT-JEE, as well as other countries. It is one of the best universities in Asia. Indian School of Learning (ISM Annexe) is developing under ISM.

BIT, Jharkhand Government's only Engineering College, located in (Sindri), known as Birsa Institute of Technology (BIT Sindri).

PMCH, Patliputra Medical college and hospital (PMCH). Apart from these, there are many other colleges.

Other Educational Institues in Dhanbad

1. The Career Point Hirapur, Dhanbad
2. NIIT Dhanbad, Bartand (http://www.niitdhanbad.com)
3. Government Polytechnic, Bekarbandh,dhanbad.
4. K.K.Polytechnic, Barwa road, govindpur,dhanbad.
5. Adarsh College, Rajdhanwar
6. B S K College, Maithan, Dhanbad
7. Katras College, Katrasgarh, Dhanbad
8. P K Roy Memorial College, Dhanbad (http://www.pkroycollege.org)
9. R S P College, Jharia, Dhanbad
10. R S More College, Govindpur
11. S S L N T M College, Dhanbad (http://sslnt.co.in)
12. Sindri College, Sindri
13. B B M College, Baliapur, Dhanbad
14. B P S B Workers Memorial College, Dhanbad
15. B S S Mahila College, Dhanbad
16. Baghmara College, Baghmara, Dhanbad
17. Coalfield College, Bhaga, Dhanbad
18. Dhanbad Law College, Dhanbad
19. Gurunanak College, Dhanbad (http://www.gncollege.org)
20. Koilanchal S G Memorial College, Nirsa (Dhanbad)
21. Mahuda College, Mahuda
22. P N Memorial College, Gomoh
23. Rajgani College, Rajganj
24. S H S M College, Kumardubi, Dhanbad
25. IIFT, Bank More, Dhanbad
26. Holy Mothers Academy,katras, Dhanbad

Schools In Dhanbad

1. Rajkamal Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Ashok Nagar
2. Khalsa School, Bank More
3. Delhi Public School, Karmic Nagar
4. De-Nobili School, Bhuli/CFRI/CMRI/Maithon/Mugma/Sijua/Sindri
5. Mount Carmel, CFRI/CMRI/Jharudih
6. Dhanbad Public School
7. Indian School of Learning, ISM/Jharia
8. Doon Public School
9. Zila School, Dhanbad
10. J N M S, Digwadih
11. Kendriya Vidyalaya
12. St.Anthony's School
13. Lions Public School, Sindri
14. High School, Dhanbad
15. B.R.H.S, Gomoh
16. Saraswati Shishu Mandir
17. Brilliant Public School, Bararee
18. Dhanbad City School, Wasseypur
19. Guru Gobind Singh Public School
20. D A V Public School, Koyla-Nagar/CFRI (Digwadih)/Lodna/Moonidih/Purana Bazar/Jamadoba
21. St. Xavier's International School, Hirak Ring Road

De Nobili,Rajkamal,Mount Carmel,DPS,ISL,DAV are few among the leading schools in Dhanbad and has produced various toppers in the state level and national competitive exams.

Research Institutes

Several research institutes are located in Dhanbad. The Central Institute for Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) under the administration of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR India), is located in the area.

Chamber of Commerce

Fedration of Dhanbad Zila Chamber of Commerce & Industries ZILA CHAMBER a Business communities organisation which has membership of 30 (thirty) Chamber of Commerce who are affiliated with ZILA CHAMBER has membership of around 8000 Traders.

Transport

Auto rickshaw, Rickshaws, Traker, Taxis are means of transportation within the city. Around 100 City Buses will be launched by June 2009 which will ply within the city. Private and State Buses are available for inter-city traveling. National Highway 2 and National Highway 32 are the major highways passing through Dhanbad. NH 2 has now been converted into Golden Quadrilateral (GQ). Golden Quadrilateral starts from Kolkata and ends at Delhi. From Dhanbad to Kolkata, Golden Quadrilateral will be converted into six lane expressway; NH 32 connects Govindpur to Bokaro-Jamshedpur.

Among all cities of Jharkhand, Dhanbad has the best rail connectivity with the other major parts of the country such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Nagpur etc. Dhanbad Rail Division comes under East Central Railway zone. Grand Chord rail-line passes through Dhanbad junction, it connects Howrah and New Delhi. CIC rail line starts from Dhanbad and ends at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. There is one more rail line passing through the district, it starts at Kharagpur and ends at Gomoh, this rail line comes under South Eastern Railway. Dhanbad is connected with almost all states through rail network.

Currently there is no air-link (though it has a small airstrip near Barwaadda for small planes). Govt. of India has already planned to set up an international Airport in Barwaadda.

Media and Sports

Hindi newspaper are mainly published from the city, among them Hindustan Dainik is the most popular, followed by Dainik Jagran and Prabhat Khabar. Television station is also present in Dhanbad. Vividh Bharti Service of All India Radio is available at 101.8 Mhz FM. Commercial radio channel Worldspace is available. In most of the places in Dhanbad, Cable TV is popular, operated by the local operators. DTH (Direct To Home) of all major companies are available. In terms of cinema, shooting of Bengali movies are done at Topchanchi. A documentary movie on Jharia "Hot as Hell" has been made recently.

Cricket is the most popular sport in Dhanbad, followed by Football. Dhanbad is one of the centres where 34th National Games [6] will be organised. Cricket Stadiums at present are at Tata Steel Stadium Digwadih and Nehru Stadium Jealgora, where Ranji Trophy matches are organised. Football matches of national level are played at Railway Stadium and Sijua Stadium.

Tourist Attraction

• Maithon - The Lake at Maithon is spread across an area of 65 km². Boating is available here. A Bird Sanctuary and Deer park is also present near this place. From Dhanbad Railway Station, the distance is 45 km.

• Kalyaneshwari temple - This temple of Maa Kalyaneshwari is very close to Maithon.

• Topchanchi Lake - This lake is a very famous Picnic spot. Situated at Golden quadrilateral, 37 km from Dhanbad railway station. This lake is surrounded by green hills of Parasnath and forest.

• Bhatinda Falls - The Waterfall is near munidih, 14 km from Dhanbad railway station. Surrounded by greenery, this place draws lot of crowd specially in winter.

• Panra - Panra is near Nirsa. This place has derived its name from Pandavas. According to the locals, pandavas spent some time here during their exile. A temple of Pandeshwar mahadev is also present.

• Shakti Mandir - This is one of the most famous Hindu Temple in Dhanbad. It is situated in the main city. Temple of Goddess Durga draws large crowd through out the year.

• Lillori-sthan Mandir - An ancient temple of Goddess Kali is present here. Situated on the bank of river katri. This Place is 19 km from Dhanbad Railway station.

• Chark- khurd - This place is known for its hot water spring. It is in tundi.

• Gopalpur - Situated in Nirsa. This place contains ancient structures built during the period of emperor Ashoka. A large stone image of emperor Ashok is also present here.

• Panchet - Around 54 km from Dhanbad Railway station is a popular picnic spot.

Rivers

The Damodar is the most important river of the Chotanagpur plateau. It rises in Palamu and flows eastward between the plateaus of Ranchi and Hazaribag. It is joined by the Bokaro, the Konar and the Barakar rivers. The Damodar enters Dhanbad district at its confluence with the Jamuria, a stream which marks the western boundary of Dhanbad with Hazaribagh District. Further east, the Damodar is joined by the Katri River which rises in the foot hills below Parasnath and traverses through the Coal-field Area. The Damodar flows for about 77 km. through the district being joined by the Barakar at its eastern border near Chirkunda. The Panchet dam extending to roughly 6 km is built on river Damodar. The hydel station there generates 40,000 K.W. per hour (sicsic).

The Barakar, which forms the northern boundary of the district, traverses about 77 km. In the district. It flows in south westerly direction up to Durgapur and then south till it joins the Damodar near Chirkuda. The Maithon dam is located on this river about 13 km off its confluence with the Damodar. Attached to it is the Maithan Power Station with a generating capacity of 60,000 K.W.H.

Among other small rivers in the district are Gobai, the Irji, the Khudia besides the river Katri.

Shopping Centers and Malls

Two major shopping areas in the past were Bank More and Hirapur. Now we have Malls and Shopping Centers spread across length and breath of Dhanbad City namely City Centre, Ozone Galleria, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Fresh, Big BazaarLargest Hyper Store of Jharkhand, City Style, Sri Ram Plaza, Urmila Tower, Madhuri Palace and Ozone Centre. These are the places where one can shop and many more upcoming, namely Prabhatam Grand (With Fun cinemas Multiplex), Center Point (With Cinemax Multiplex), Shristi Plaza (First Green Project of Jharkhand) ^[9] creating shopping paradises and housing major brands for people of Dhanbad.

Presently Fame is the only Multiplex in the City situated in the Ozone Galleria Mall, saraidhela. Fame is the First Multiplex of Bihar and Jharkhand!, Fame Dhanbad^[10], the multiplex has 4 screens with a seating capacity of 996 people.

Hotels and Restaurants

1. Madhulika Restaurant
2. Madhulika Hotel
3. Hotel Skylark (Three Star)
4. 17 Degree (Boutique Hotel)
5. Sushant International
6. Hotel Castle
7. Hotel Muskaan
8. Hotel Coal Field
9. Kaveri Restaurant
10. Konark Restaurant
11. Maini's Dhaba
12. Khalsa Dhaba
13. Aapna Dhaba

Festivals

Dhanbad is home to people from all across India. Vishwakarma Puja, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja, Chhath, Deepawali, Holi, Gurupurnima and Christmas are among the long list of festivals celebrated in Dhanbad.

Gallery

Durga Puja Mandap

Chhat Puja

Chhatt Puja

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ [4]
5. ^ BIHAR REORGANISATION ACT,2000
6. ^ [5]
7. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
8. ^ - 125k
9. ^ http://www.shristirealcon.com/
10. ^ http://www.famecinemas.com/AboutUs/AboutDhanbad.aspx

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dhanbad

• Website of the city of Dhanbad
• Dhanbad City
• Dhanbad travel guide
• Dhanbad travel guide from Wikitravel