Dhanbad district General information
The Dhanbad district situated in the state of Jharkhand lies between 23o37'3" N and 24o4' N latitude and between 86o6'30" E and 86o50' E longitude. The district is bounded on the west by Giridih and Bokaro on the north by Giridih and Dumka and on the east and south by Purulia district of West Bengal.Among the Rail Divisions of Indian Railway, Dhanbad Rail Division is in second position in terms of revenue generation.According to 2001 census, Dhanbad is among 35 cities of India.Dhanbad is among the top 100 fastest growing cities of world. 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. There are 100850 acres of hillocks and 56454 acres of forests. It is about 500-1000 feet above Sea level. Its soil is by and large lateritic in nature.
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. 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 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. 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.
Economy
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.
Language
Languages spoken in the area are Hindi,Bangla,Urdu, Bhojpuri, English, Santali, Oriya and Khotta.
Education
ISM ,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 (ISM 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. government polytechnic in bekarbandh,dhanbad. k.k.polytechnicbarwa road, dhanbad.
1. Adarsh College, Rajdhanwar
2. B S K College, Maithan, Dhanbad
3. Katras College, Katrasgarh, Dhanbad
4. P K Roy Memorial College, Dhanbad
5. R S P College, Jharia, Dhanbad
6. R S More College, Govindpur
7. S S L N T M College, Dhanbad
8. Sindri College, Sindri
9. B B M College, Baliapur, Dhanbad
10. B P S B Workers Memorial College, Dhanbad
11. B S S Mahila College, Dhanbad
12. Baghmara College, Baghmara, Dhanbad
13. Coalfield College, Bhaga, Dhanbad
14. Dhanbad Law College, Dhanbad
15. Gurunanak College, Dhanbad
16. J M College, Bhurkunda
17. Koilanchal S G Memorial College, Nirsa (Dhanbad)
18. Mahuda College, Mahuda
19. P N Memorial College, Gomoh
20. Rajgani College, Rajganj
21. S H S M College, Kumardubi, Dhanbad
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 important rivers flowing through the district are, Damodar which 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 rivers flowing through the district are Damodar, Mayurakshi, barakar, Koyal, sankh, Son, Auranga, More, Karo, Bansloi, South Koel, Kharkai, Swarna Rekha, Ganga, Gumani, Batane.
Restaurants
One of the oldest restaurant in the city is KAVERI RESTAURANT ,Bartand. further their branches were opened at Rajhans Mansion and Shree Ram plaza , Bank More. Skylark, Waikiki(bank-more),17 degree(near ICICI bank),Madhulika (Sri Ram Plaza),Trincas,Ginger, Madras Cafe,Status are the other notable ones.
Malls
Two major shopping areas in the past were Bank More and Hirapur. Now we have City Centre, Ozone Galleria, Reliance Jewels, Big Bazaar Vishal and City Style, Sriram Plaza, Urmila Tower, Madhuri Palace and Ozone Centre. These are the places where one can shop. Two huge malls are coming up as The Grand and Moksh International which will have all major brands.
Presently Fame is the only Multiplex in the city, PVR is coming up at the Grand Mall, CineMax also wants to set up a multiplex. So the people of Dhanbad can expect 3-4 multiplex in the near future.