Dhanbad, The Black Diamond City is better known as the 'Coal Capital of India'. Dhanbad is among the top 100 fastest growing cities of world. According to 2001 census, Dhanbad is among 35 cities of India. 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.
Dhanbad has an average elevation of 222 m (728 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 47oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall. In winter, the minimum temperature remains around 12oC with a maximum of 22oC. 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 forests, people are engaged in sericulture.
Dhanbad has a rich history of growth, urbanisation and migration of people. 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 Dhanbad was in Manbhum district from 1928 up to 1956. However, on 24 October 1956, Dhanbad was declared a District on the Recommendation of the States Re-organization Commission vide notification 1911.
About the history of coal mines, after starting steel plant at Jamshedpur, Tata Steel started coal mines at Dhanbad in 1910. 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.
Demography
As of 2001[update] India census, 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 79.54% and female literacy is 52.43%. In Dhanbad, 10.57% of the population is under 5 years of age. Majority of the population are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal followed by Marwari's and Punjabi.
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
Dhanbad is famous for its coal mines and industrial establishments; it has 112 coal mines 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 numbers 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. 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.
Language
Languages spoken in the area are Hindi, and Khortha Dialect of Hindi
Education
Professional and Other Colleges in Dhanbad.
ISMU ,The Indian School of Mines University was started by Britishers in 1926. Located in Dhanbad, it draws students from all over India through, as well as some other countries through IIT-JEE. It is one of the best universities in Asia. Indian School of Learning (ISL Annexe) is developing under ISM.
BIT , Jharkhand Government's only Engineering College is in Dhanbad (Sindri) known as Birsa Institute of Technology (BIT Sindri).
PMCH , Patliputra Medical college and hospital (PMCH). Apart from this there are many colleges.
- Adarsh College, Rajdhanwar
- B S K College, Maithan, Dhanbad
- Katras College, Katrasgarh, Dhanbad
- P K Roy Memorial College, Dhanbad
- R S P College, Jharia, Dhanbad
- R S More College, Govindpur
- S S L N T M College, Dhanbad
- Sindri College, Sindri
- B B M College, Baliapur, Dhanbad
- B P S B Workers Memorial College, Dhanbad
- B S S Mahila College, Dhanbad
- Baghmara College, Baghmara, Dhanbad
- Coalfield College, Bhaga, Dhanbad
- Dhanbad Law College, Dhanbad
- Gurunanak College, Dhanbad
- J M College, Bhurkunda
- Koilanchal S G Memorial College, Nirsa (Dhanbad)
- Mahuda College, Mahuda
- P N Memorial College, Gomoh
- Rajgani College, Rajganj
- S H S M College, Kumardubi, Dhanbad
Research Institutes
Several research institutes are located in Dhanbad. The Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), and the Central Fuel Research Institute (CFRI), both of which are controlled by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR India), are located in the area. Now they are merged and renamed as Central Institute for Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR).
Schools:
Some of the best known schools are DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL(KARMIK NAGAR), De Nobili School, FRI, Dhanbad Public School, DeNobili, Lions Public School-Sindri, Carmel School, Doon Public School, Rajkamal Saraswati Vidya Mandir (dhansar), Indian school of Learning (Jharia), I.S.L. (Annexe,ISM), Dhanbad City School wasseypur (established 1994), B.R.H.S(gomoh), Kendriya Vidyalaya AND Saraswati Vidya Mandir Sindri. other than these schools there are seven DAV public school in Dhanbad.
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 Jamshedpur.
Among all cities of Jharkhand, Dhanbad has the best rail connectivity with the other parts of the country. 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. 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).
Tourist Attraction
- 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.
- Maithon - The Lake at Maithon is spread across an area of 65km2. Boating is available here. A Bird Sanctuary and Deer park is also present near this place. From Dhanbad Railway Station, the distance is 45km.
- Topchanchi Lake - This lake is a very famous Picnic spot. Situated at Golden quadrilateral, 37km 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.
- 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.
Festivals
Dhanbad is home to people from all across India. Vishwakarma Puja, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja, Chhath, Deepawali, Holi, are among the long list of festivals celebrated in Dhanbad.
