Dhanbad

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Dhanbad district.

Dhanbad धनबाद,ধানবাদ
—  Metropolitan City  —
From top clockwise: Dhanbad Railway Station, Golchakkar, Bank more (both)
Nickname(s): The Coal Capital of India
Dhanbad Location of Dhanbad in Jharkhand
Coordinates: 22.8°N 86.45°E / 22.8; 86.45
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District	Dhanbad
Area
• Total	2,052 km2 (792 sq mi)
Elevation	222 m (728 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	1,195,298
• Density	1,284/km2 (3,330/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, Hindi, Santali, Magahi, Bhojpuri
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	82 xxxx
Telephone code	+91-326
Vehicle registration	BR 17 (Discontinued) JH 10
Website	www.dhanbad.nic.in

Dhanbad (Hindi: धनबाद, Bengali: ধানবাদ) is a city in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most populous city in Jharkhand.

Dhanbad is famous for coal mining. Tata Steel, BCCL, ECL and IISCO (Indian Iron And Steel Company) are some of the companies having coal mines in the district. The Indian School of Mines is located in Dhanbad. Among the rail divisions of Indian Railway, Dhanbad Rail Division is the second largest in terms of revenue generation after Mumbai division.^{[citation needed]}

There are records of settlements in the area from the 7th century. In the modern era, Dhanbad was originally in a district named Dhanbad before becoming part of Manbhum and then Bihar districts before finally becoming part of Jharkhand District in 2000.

The city has one parliamentary seat and six seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Etymology

Originally the name of Dhanbad was Dhanbaid which seems to have been derived from the word Dhan (paddy) and baid, i.e., the paddy land. The Dhanbad originated from the district of Manbhum occupied by Mundari or Kolarian races in the wilderness of South undivided Bihar. In the seventh century A.D. some information is available from the account of the travels of Hieun Tsang. These accounts narrate existence of a powerful kingdom which comprised the district and adjoining areas, ruled by Sasanka.

Geography and climate

Dhanbad has an average elevation of 227 m (745 ft). Its geographical length (extending from North to South) is 15 miles (24 km) and the breadth (stretching across East to West) is 10 miles (16 km). 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.

Dhanbad
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     17   25 11     18   28 14     18   33 18     22   38 23     49   39 25     192   35 25     342   31 24     311   31 24     282   31 23     105   31 20     7   28 16     5   25 11 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: IMD
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7   77 52     0.7   82 57     0.7   91 64     0.9   100 73     1.9   102 77     7.6   95 77     13   88 75     12   88 75     11   88 73     4.1   88 68     0.3   82 61     0.2   77 52 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Dhanbad features climate that is transitional between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical wet and dry climate. Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid-June. Peak temperature in summer can reach 47 °C. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall. In winter, the minimum temperature remains around 12 °C with a maximum of 22 °C. 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 pisciculture. Forests present in the district are of northern tropical dry deciduous type. In many of these forests, people are engaged in Sericulture.

Climate data for Dhanbad
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	25 (77)	28 (82)	33 (91)	38 (100)	39 (102)	35 (95)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	28 (82)	25 (77)	31.3 (88.2)
Average low °C (°F)	11 (52)	14 (57)	18 (64)	23 (73)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	20 (68)	16 (61)	11 (52)	19.5 (67)
Precipitation mm (inches)	17 (0.67)	18 (0.71)	18 (0.71)	22 (0.87)	49 (1.93)	192 (7.56)	342 (13.46)	311 (12.24)	282 (11.1)	105 (4.13)	7 (0.28)	5 (0.2)	1,368 (53.86)
Source: IMD

History

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.

Govindpur Block was a historical place before 1908 ,this was Anumandal office during British Empire.

Demography

As of 2011 India provisional census Dhanbad had a population of 1,195,298. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. It has a sex ratio of 908. Dhanbad has an average literacy rate of 75.71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85.78% and female literacy is 64.70%. In Dhanbad, 10.57% of the population is under 5 years of age.

See also: List of cities in Jharkhand

Religions in Dhanbad
Religion			Percent
Hindus			81%
Muslims			17%
Christians			1%
Others†			1%
Distribution of religions †Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).

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 a coal mining and industrial city and one of the busiest commercial centres in India. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in Jharkhand after Jamshedpur.

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. There are also number of coal washeries present there. The city is also known for its power generation plants. Hydro Power is being generated at Maithon and Panchet. Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) are setting up a 1050 MW thermal power plant at Maithon. This project is already in operation with one unit running successfully. ONGC is using CBM (Coal beded methane) for power generation at some of the coal mines.

Language

Hindi is the predominant language of Dhanbad, Khortha, Bengali, kurmali, Santali, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi are also widely spoken. English serves as the connecting language in business and tourist function. Additionally, Urdu, Tamil, and Punjabi speaking people are present in significant numbers. Several tribal languages are also spoken in the city, including Kurukh and Ho.

Government and PSU organizations

• BCCL- BCCL is a Public Sector Undertaking(Subsidiary of Coal India Ltd.) engaged in mining of coal and allied activities.BCCL meets almost 50% of the total prime coking coal requirement of the integrated steel sector. BCCL was incorporated in January, 1972 to operate coking coal mines operating in the Jharia & Raniganj Coalfields, taken over by the Govt. of India on 16th Oct,1971 to ensure planned development of the scarce coking coal resources in the country.

• DGMS- Directorate General of Mines Safety, DGMS in short, is the Indian government regulatory agency for safety in mines and oil-fields.

• CIMFR, Barwa Road Campus- Erstwhile CMRI, the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) Dhanbad, is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) was aimed to provide R&D inputs for the entire coal-energy chain from mining to Consumption through integration of the Core Competencies of the two (CFRI & CMRI) premier Coal institution of the country.

• CIMFR, Digwadih Campus. Erstwhile CFRI.

• CMPF- Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization.

• CCWO- Central Coal Washery organization, unit of BCCL is situated at saraidhela. which looks after the works of all coal washeries of Bharat Cocking Coal Limited.

• CCSO- Central Coal Supply Organization (CCSO), a unit of SAIL, is situated in Saraidhela, Dhanbad District of Jharkhand and has branch offices at Kolkata, Asansol, Adra and Bilaspur.

Central Coal Supply Organization looks after the daily movement of indigenous washed coking coal and boiler coal to SAIL steel plants; BSP, RSP, DSP, BSL and ISP.

• BEML- BEML Limited (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited) was established in May 1964 as a Public Sector Undertaking for manufacture of Rail Coaches & Spare Parts and Mining Equipment. At Dhanbad it has its marketing unit near Kola Kusuma, Saraidhela.

Education

Indian School of Mines

BIT Sindri, Dhanbad

DAV Public School, Koyla Nagar

Delhi Public School, Dhanbad

Universities and colleges

The Indian School of Mines, was started by Britishers in 1926 is located in Dhanbad. Birsa Institute of Technology was founded in 1949, and is a technical institution offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various branches of engineering wholly owned by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi and affiliated to Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag.,

Patliputra Medical College and Hospital is located in the city as are many other colleges.

Schools

There are a large number of day schools most of them having smart classes.

• Zila School Dhanbad
• De Nobili School,CFRI/CMRI/Maithon/Mugma/Bhuli/Sijua/Sindri/Chandrapura(CTPS)
• Guru Gobind Singh Public School Dhanbad
• DAV Public School, Koyla Nagar/Alkusa/Putki/ Mahuda/Baniahir (Lodna)/Barora/Dari Muhalla/CFRI (Digwadih)/Lodna/Moonidih/Purana/Sijua/Kusunda
• Delhi Public School, Dhanbad
• Carmel School Digwadih
• Carmel School Dhanbad
• Dhanbad Public School
• Doon Public School
• Kendriya Vidyalaya, Station Road/Steel Gate/Maithan Dam
• Indian School of Learning, ISM/Jharia, JodaPhatak, Saraidhela,
• Kids Garden School Dhanbad
• St. Xavier's International School, Hirak Ring Road
• Rajkamal Saraswati Vidya Mandir, (RSVM), Ashok Nagar/Bhuli
• Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Shyamdih Katrashgarh
• N N High School Bagsuma, Govindpur
• j.n.m.s digwadih
• tata DAV jamadoba

Transport

Road

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.- Barbil.

Rail

Main article: Dhanbad Junction

Dhanbad has a very good rail connectivity with the other major parts of the country such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kochi, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nagpur, Pune, Guwahati 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. Each and every train through this has a stop at Dhanbad,other than the Sealdah New Delhi & Howrah New Delhi Duronto Exp,which also has a Technical Halt,but not to be used for Commercial Purposes.

Double-decker train standing on the platform of Dhanbad railway station

On October 1, 2011, India's first AC double-decker train was flagged off to connect Howrah and Dhanbad. With this India joins the league of Europe and North America that run multi-deck trains.As on Oct 2011, the train runs daily except Sunday, departing from Howrah at 8:30 am to arrive at Dhanbad at 12:45 pm, and on return trip it departs Dhanbad at 6:30 pm to arrive at Howrah at 10:40 pm. It has a maximum permissible speed of 110 kilometres (68 mi)/hr with stops at Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Barakar and Kumardhubi on both legs of the route. This new AC design has several features namely stainless steel body, high-speed Eurofima design bogies with air springs and other safety-features. The coaches have a control discharge toilet system.

Air

Currently there is no air-link though there is an airstrip near Barwadda. A commercial Airport was planned to be set up at Barwadda, but no significant progress has been made yet. The nearest airports to Dhanbad are

1. Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi 140 kilometres (87 mi)
2. Gaya Airport 207 kilometres (129 mi)
3. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata 269 kilometres (167 mi)
4. Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna 271 kilometres (168 mi)

Politics

Mannan Mallick of Congress won in the 40 Dhanbad assembly constituency defeating Raj Kumar Sinha of BJP in 2009. Pashupati Nath Singh of BJP defeated Mannan Mallik of Congress in 2005, Prasadi Sao of RJD in 2000, and Ramadhar Yadav of JD in 1995. Surendra Prasad Roy of Congress defeated S.K.Shriva of JD in 1990 and Ram Chander Singh of Janata Party in 1985. Yogeshwar Prasad Yogesh of Congress defeated Gopi Kant Bakshi of CPI(M) in 1980 and Kalawati Devi of Janata Party.

Dhanbad assembly constituency is part of Dhanbad (Lok Sabha constituency).

There are number of Student Union is positively participating like ISU (Indian Student Union), NSUI, ABVP, CYJM (Chhatra Yuva Jagran Manch), AJSU, etc.

Media and sports

Hindi newspapers are mainly published from the city, among them Hindustan Dainik is the most popular, followed by Prabhat Khabar, Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar. "Dhanbad Bokaro Live" is published from Dhanbad.

Doordarshan relay station is present in Dhanbad near Koyla Nagar. There are some local news channels in the city such as, Antarkatha Vision News which are creative media houses which broadcast on local cable on Dhanbad, Bokaro, Chatra, Hazaribag, Kodrma and Lakhisarai Bihar. This News Channel makes some artists which popular in all India and makes some short film documentaries and other programs which are popular. And other some creative youth is active in this channel. Divine News successfully relays to seven districts of Jharkhand.

Antarkatha is also a magazine which makes an environment of Hindi literature Sahitya and Indian culture.

FM radio is available as Vividh Bharti Service of All India Radio at 101.8 MHz. producer& director Daljit Singh (Dillu) short movie Hindustan Hamara,& its the realty are successful movies.

Cricket is the most popular sport in Dhanbad, followed by Football. Dhanbad is one of the centres where 34th National Games was organized. Cricket Stadiums at present are at Tata Steel Stadium Digwadih, Nehru Stadium Jealgora and Railway Stadium where Ranji Trophy matches are organised. Women's International Cricket were also played at Railway Stadium Football matches of national level were played at Railway Stadium (but now it is converted into Cricket Stadium by the Railway management)and Sijua Stadium.

From the 12 to 26 Feb 2011 during 34th National Games, Netball,Traithlon and Squash was played at ISM Campus and Officers Club, Sepak Takraw in Indoor Stadium, Rowing, Kayaking & Canoeing at Maithon Dam.

Tourist attractions

• 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.This is the most popular picnic spot. During the 15th December to 20 January lacs of people comes for picnic.

• Kalyaneshwari temple – This temple of Maa Kalyaneshwari is very close to Maithon near Left bank.

• 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.Photos of Topchanchi Lake
  

  

  Topchanchi Lake

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

  

  Bhatinda fall

• 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 throughout the year.
  

  

  Shakti mandir

• Shyam Mandir – This is one of the most famous Hindu Temple in Jharia. It is situated Lal Bazar , Jharia. Temple of Shri Shyam Prabhu Khatu Wale large crowd throughout 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 Dam – Around 54 km from Dhanbad Railway station is a popular picnic spot.

• Birsa Munda Park – Around 8 km from Dhanbad Railway station is a Park in around 25 acre land and prime picnic spot for the people.

• Jagannath Temple, Dhansar – One of the most famous Hindu temple in the city, about 1 km from Bank More on the left side of the road connecting Jharia, opposite of reliance fresh. Temple of Lord Jagannath, famous for the car festival.

• The Shiva Temple of Jhinjhipahari – Temple is extracted from the mining grounds of a small village called Jhinjhipahari. This village is situated near to city and takes half an hour to reach.

• Bhuphor Mandir – 6 km away on NH-32 from Railway station towards Govindpur.
• Sir Dorabji Tata Park- Jamadoba
• Pahari ground-Baniahir

Rivers

Damodar River

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 hydal 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 Ijri, and the Khudia besides the river Katri.

Shopping centres and malls

Bank More, Dhanbad

Bank More being the central hub for Shopping, now the city has malls and shopping centers spread across length and breadth of Dhanbad city namely City Centre Bartand, City Style-Dutta Tower(Hirpur), Ozone Galleria (with Big Bazaar & Pantaloons), Ozone Plaza (having KFC and Domino's), Sri Ram Plaza, Urmila Tower, The family Store, New Market, Park Market (Hirapur), etc. These are the places where one can shop and many more upcoming, namely Prabhatam Grand, Center-Point Mall(With Bank, Retail Shops, Food Court containing Restaurants,PVR Cinemas Multiplex), Shristi Plaza (First Green Project of Jharkhand) creating shopping paradises and housing major brands for people of Dhanbad.

Ozone Galleria Mall is the biggest Mall in Dhanbad. It's having many branded showrooms, retail shops, multiplex & food court.

Presently Fame is the biggest Multiplex in Jharkhand state situated in the Ozone Galleria Mall, Saraidhela. Fame Dhanbad, the multiplex has 4 screens with a seating capacity of 996 people.

Gyan Bharati situated at Joraphatak Road, Dhanbad is one of the oldest and largest bookshop in Jharkhand for Educational Books and School Uniforms.

Festivals

Durga Puja Mandap

Dhanbad is home to people from all across India. Charak Puja, Karma, Sarhul, Vishwakarma Puja, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja, Chhath, Deepawali, Holi, Eid, Eid ul-Milad, Moharram, Guru Purnima and Christmas are among the long list of festivals celebrated in Dhanbad.

External links

• IFSC & MICR Code Dhanbad
• Website of the city of Dhanbad
• Dhanbad City
• Dhanbad Portal
• Dhanbad travel guide
• Photos of Dhanbad
• Dhanbad travel guide from Wikivoyage