Bokaro, officially known as Bokaro Steel City (), is a large and planned city in Jharkhand, India.[1] It is the fourth most populous city in the state[2] and one of the first planned cities of India.[3] Bokaro is the administrative headquarters of Bokaro district.[4] The city is located on the banks of Garga River and on the fringes of Bokaro river and is surrounded by hill ranges at Giridih and Ramgarh districts.[5] It is one of the most peaceful cities in India.[6] As per 2011 census, the city's population was 563,417 and 1,100,000 of its metropolitan area.[7] The city span across 183 km in geographic area.[5]
Bokaro Steel City | |
|---|---|
  Bokaro Steel City Location in Jharkhand, India  Bokaro Steel City Bokaro Steel City (India) | |
| Coordinates: 23°40′N 86°09′E / 23.67°N 86.15°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Jharkhand |
| District | Bokaro |
| Founded by | Steel Authority of India |
| Named for | Steel Manufacturing Sector/Gas Exploration/Coalfields |
| Government | |
| • Type | Corporate |
| • Body | Steel Authority of India |
| Area Includes the sub urban area of Chas Municipal Corporation and Balidih Industrial Area. | |
| • Metropolis | 183 km2 (71 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 5th in state |
| Elevation | 210 m (690 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Metropolis | 563,417 |
| • Rank | 4th in state |
| • Metro | 1,100,000 (proposed) |
| Demonym | Bokaroite |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 827 001 |
| Telephone/ STD code | (+91)- 06542 |
| Vehicle registration | JH-09 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Dhanbad |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Bokaro |
| Website | bokaro |
Marafari is the oldest settlement in Bokaro which was just a village during the time of Mughals and Sultanates.[4] The nearby cities of Purulia was ruled by Maharaja of Kashipur.[7] Manbhum region also covered Bokaro which was ruled by Mughal and Sultanates. After independence, it became a part of Bihar state. Bokaro Steel City is the headquarters of the Bokaro District as well as Koylanchal range (Bokaro, Dhanbad and Giridih) and is also one of the headquarters of the Police IG zone, apart from Ranchi and Dumka, covering seven districts- Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Giridih, Koderma, Chatra, Bokaro, and Ramgarh (North Chotanagpur Division).[8]
Bokaro has emerged as a commercial, industrial, healthcare, sports, educational and startup hub. It is India's first global active city (GAC). Private property is absent in the city, with all property being public-owned. Despite this, the city has a cosmopolitan culture with people belonging to different ethnicity from South India as well as North India, representing its unique attributes, giving the city the character of Mini India while having heavy an influence of Bihari and Bengali culture.[9] The city hosts tourist spots such as Jawaharlal Nehru Biological Park, Pindrajora, Tenughat Dam etc. It has multiple big corporations operating such as Steel Authority of India, Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Damodar Valley Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, INOX Group, Jaypee Cement, Orica, Vedanta Resources, Dalmia Cement, Electrosteel Castings and various other industries. It lies on the mineral-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau and a Coal Bed Methane(Gas) reserves of 45 billion cubic metres.[10][11] It has one of the most important coalfields of India in nearby areas which are Jharia, Kulti, West Bokaro, East Bokaro and Ramgarh.
Geography
edit
5miles
River
River
Dam
Abbreviation used: TPS – Thermal Power Station. Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Bokaro district consists of undulating uplands on the Chota Nagpur Plateau with the Damodar River cutting a valley right across. It has an average elevation of 200 to 540 metres (660 to 1,770 ft) above mean sea level. The highest hill, Lugu Pahar, rises to a height of 1,070 metres (3,510 ft). The East Bokaro Coalfield located in the Bermo-Phusro area and small intrusions of Jharia Coalfield make Bokaro a coal rich district. In 1965, one of the largest steel manufacturing units in the country, Bokaro Steel Plant, operated by Steel Authority of India Limited, was set-up at Bokaro Steel City. The Damodar Valley Corporation established its first thermal power station at Bokaro (Thermal). The 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long, 55 metres (180 ft) high earthfill dam with composite masonry cum concrete spillway, Tenughat Dam, across the Damodar River, is operated by the Government of Jharkhand. The average annual rainfall is 1,291.2 millimetres (50.83 in). The soil is generally infertile and agriculture is mostly rain-fed.[12][13]
Bokaro Steel City is located at 23°40′N 86°09′E / 23.67°N 86.15°E. The city stands at an elevation of 210 metres (690 feet) above sea level and has an urban area of 183 square kilometres (71 square miles). Bounded on the east by Dhanbad and Purulia, on the west by Ramgarh and Hazaribagh, on the north by Giridih and on the south by Ranchi. It is accessible through National Highway NH 320 & NH-18. The city has the total area of 183 km. It includes the suburban area of Chas Municipal Corporation. There are many national highways crossing the city of Bokaro. Each sector has shopping centres, playgrounds, schools, recreational areas and health centres as entire city is planned with avenues and residential areas as well as commercial areas. Bokaro was one of the first planned cities in the state of Jharkhand.[14]
Demographics
editAccording to the 2011 Census of India, Bokaro Steel City is the 86th largest urban agglomeration in India, and the 4th largest city in Jharkhand.[2]
According to the 2011 Census of India, Bokaro Steel City Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 563,417, of which males were 299,232 and females 264,185.[16] Bokaro Steel City Urban Agglomeration is composed of Bokaro Steel City (Census Town), Chas (Nagar Nigam) and Bandhgora (CT).[17] The UA had an effective literacy rate (7+ population) of 84.87%, with male literacy of 92.27% and female literacy of 76.50%.[16] A new metropolitan area of Bokaro has been planned named Greater Bokaro and population is expected to be around 1,100,000.[7][18]
Bokaro Steel City had a population of 413,934, of which males were 220,088 and females were 193,846. Population in the age range of 0-6 was 48,834. The effective literacy rate (7+ population) was 84.94%, with male literacy of 92.35% and female literacy of 76.54%.[19]
The major languages spoken are Hindi, Khortha, Urdu, Bengali, Santhali and Maithili with Hindi and Santali have official status and Urdu as second official language.[15] A Russian colony was located in the city housing Soviet communities.[20] Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu speaking and various other South Indian communities also settled in the city.[21]
Infrastructure
editAccording to the District Census Handbook 2011, Bokaro, Bokaro Steel City covered an area of 162.91 km2. Among the civic amenities, it had 415 km roads with both open and closed drains, the protected water supply involved tapwater from treated and untreated sources, overhead tank, service reservoir. It had 67,083 domestic electric connections, 10,283 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities, it had 9 hospitals (with 1,200 beds), 2 dispensaries, 2 health centres, 1 family welfare centre, 1 maternity and child welfare centre, 1 maternity home, 5 nursing homes (with 120 beds), 30 medicine shops. It had 1 polytechnic, 2 recognised shorthand, typewriting and vocational training centres, 1 non-formal educational centre (Sarva Siksha Abhiyan). Among the social, recreational and cultural facilities it had 2 stadiums, 3 cinema theatres, 8 auditorium/ community halls, 9 public libraries, 9 reading rooms. An important commodity it produced was steel products. It had the branch offices of 30 nationalised banks, 12 private commercial banks, 1 cooperative bank.[1]
Economy
edit
The economy of the city is primarily dependent on the integrated steel plant established by Steel Authority of India. The Bokaro Steel Plant was established with the collaboration of Soviet Union when the First Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru desired to establish a steel plant in the region. Bokaro Steel Plant expansion to extend its capacity from 4.5 million metric tons to 7.5 million metric tonnes in 2010-2011.[22]
Vedanta Electrosteel Castings Limited - A Kolkata-based water pipe manufacturer acquired 2,500 acres (10 square kilometres) of land 18 kilometres (11 miles) from the city and has erected its 2.2 MTPA steel plant. The company has invested close to Rs 80 Bn (US$1.6 Bn) on this project which was operational from 2010.[23][24]
ONGC Bokaro operates the Bokaro Coal Bed Methane (CBM) block BK-CBM-2001/1 with 80 per cent stake while the remaining 20 per cent is with Indian Oil Corp (IOC). It plans to invest ₨ 8.23 billion from 2017 to 2018 to achieve a peak production of 0.9 million standard cubic meters per day.[25] Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited (DCBL) operates a 1.5 Million Tonne cement plant at Bokaro utilising slag supply from Bokaro Steel Plant.[26]
Inox Air Products, India’s largest manufacturers of industrial and medical gases, has a Cryogenic Air Separation Unit (ASU) at the Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) Bokaro plant.[27]
Future projects
editSAIL-POSCO JV Steel Plant: Steel minister Sri Virbhadra Singh has announced another new steel plant for Bokaro as part of a joint venture with Posco and SAIL by using FINEX technologies for high quality steel. The capacity of the plant will be 1.5 mt, establish in BSP periphery of 500 acres (2.0 km2).[28][29][30]
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited - BPCL will set up a LPG bottling plant and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) terminal in Bokaro, the foundation stone of which was laid on 11 August 2019.[31]
Software Technology Parks of India - STPI will set up an IT Park.
Transport
editAir
edit
The nearest commercial airport is at Ranchi, named Birsa Munda Airport, at a distance of 120 km. Bokaro Airport is an unserviced airport with no scheduled commercial flights. However, the Government of India has planned to connect Bokaro to the regional hub of Patna and an international airport in Kolkata through the UDAN regional airport development scheme, opening the airport up could see commercial flights by 2023.[32]
SpiceJet airline has been awarded under the second phase of the UDAN Scheme to cater unserved market of Bokaro.SpiceJet starts direct flight between Kolkata and Lilabari under UDAN scheme(however the airport is still not operable in 2024 )[33]
Railway
edit
Bokaro Steel City railway station lies at the edge of the Jharia Coalfield and serves the residents of Bokaro and the surrounding mining-industrial area. It is a A-category railway station, with amenities including escalators,[34] A.C waiting rooms, a food court, charging points, a foot over-bridge, and computerised ticket reservation counters.[35] The railway station is operated by the South Eastern Railway of the Indian Railways, and provides connectivity to neighbouring states and major metropolitan areas such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
Road
editDhanbad-Bokaro-Ranchi-Jamshedpur Mega Industrial Corridor Expressway was completed till Bokaro in 2018 and Bokaro-Dhanbad expansion to 6 lanes was completed in 2022.[36] Bokaro Bus Stand is a private bus stand and land acquisition is being done in Sector-12 for new bus stand. National Highway-18 (old NH-32) and National Highway-23 which is a 4-laned till Purulia.
| Major City | Distance (in km) |
|---|---|
| Ranchi | 110 |
| Dhanbad | 45 |
| Giridih | 110 |
| Jamshedpur | 135 |
| Patna | 370 |
| Gaya | 230 |
| Kolkata | 310 |
| Asansol | 102 |
| Purulia | 60 |
| Hazaribagh | 130 |
Education
editAmong the educational facilities it had 43 primary schools, 44 middle schools, 45 secondary schools, 22 senior secondary schools, 3 general degree colleges. Bokaro Ispat Vidyalayas are a set of schools in the city of Bokaro is run by the Education Department of Bokaro Steel Limited. Notable schools in the city are - Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, DAV Public School, Delhi Public School, Guru Gobind Singh Public School, Holy Cross School, Bokaro and St. Xavier's School.
Sports
edit- Mohan Kumar Mangalam Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in sector 4, the heart of the city.
- Senapati Cricket Stadium and cricket academy was constructed in 1995 and is currently maintained by Steel Authority of India.[37]
Gallery
edit-
Bokaro Steel City at Night -
City Park -
Jagannath Mandir -
Ayyappan temple -
Ram Mandir
Notable people
edit- Shabnam Asthana, public relation expert, speaker and entrepreneur.
- Arundhati Bhattacharya, banker and former chairperson of the State Bank of India
- Kumar Deobrat, Ranchi Jharkhand team captain[vague]
- Prakash Jha, Bollywood producer, actor, director and screenwriter
- Chetan Joshi, Indian classical musician
- Sumit Kumar, cricketer of Jharkhand team
- Shahbaz Nadeem, Indian cricketer and member of Delhi Daredevils player.
- Sambit Patra, politician, BJP national spokesperson
- Samresh Singh, former MP and minister
- Shishir Parkhie - A widely acclaimed Indian Ghazal Singer, Composer & Live Performer.
- Peter Thangaraj, Indian footballer, Olympian and Arjuna awardee
- Imran Zahid, Bollywood actor & theatre artist
References
edit- ^ a b "District Census Handbook Bokaro, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Pages 384-397. Directorate of census Operations, Jharkhand. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ a b "View population details". Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "About Bokaro, Introduction on Bokaro, All About Bokaro District". www.bokaroonline.in. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ a b "History | District Bokaro, Government of Jharkhand | India". Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Geography of Bokaro, Climate and Demography of Bokaro". www.bokaroonline.in. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Bokaro, Hazaribagh peaceful, a day after communal clashes on Ram Navmi". Hindustan Times. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "Story of my hometown bokaro steel city". Every Corner a Story. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Organization Chart | Department of Police, State Government of Jharkhand, India". www.jhpolice.gov.in. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "Lifestyle in Bokaro". Bokaro Online. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "ONGC, partners to invest Rs 823 crore for gas in Bokaro block". The Economic Times. PTI. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ History, Kenneth Pletcher Senior Editor, Geography and (15 August 2010). The Geography of India: Sacred and Historic Places. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-61530-142-3.
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "District Census Handbook Bokaro 2011" (PDF). Physical features, Mines and minerals, Indistires, p 7-8. Directorate of Census Operations. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Tenughat Dam". india9. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Bokaro". jharkhand.org. 22 August 2016.
- ^ a b "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Town level". census.gov.in. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Provisional population totals, Census of India 2011" (PDF). Urban Agglomeration – Cities having population 1 lakh and above. Government of India. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Provisional population totals, Census of India 2011" (PDF). Constituents of Urban Agglomerations having population 1 lakh and above, Census 2011. Government of India. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Residents back Greater Bokaro vision". The Times of India. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ "Cities having population 1 lakh and above, Census 2011" (PDF). census.gov.in. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Mrs Kasalova's perestroika". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ Soumya, Savvy (15 May 2005). "Tamils dabble with modern culture". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "SAIL to add 7MT of additional steel capacity at Bokaro: Paswan". The Economic Times. PTI. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "Electrosteel in cash chase for Bokaro unit". The Telegraph. Kolkota. 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "Electrosteel-Bokaro". The Economic Times. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "ONGC, partners to invest Rs 823 crore for gas in Bokaro block". The Economic Times. PTI. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "Dalmia Cement fully acquires Bokaro Jaypee Cement plant". Business Standard India. IANS. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "INOX to invest Rs 750 crore to set up Oxygen plant at SAIL Bokaro - ET EnergyWorld". Economic Times. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ Our Bureau (19 March 2010). "POSCO-SAIL new greenfield Plant". The Telegraph. Kolkota. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ Singh, Animesh (23 January 2015). "POSCO could be junior partner in SAIl joint venture project". The Pioneer. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "SAIL, Posco to set up Rs 6,000-cr plant in Bokaro". The Financial Express. 29 May 2015.
- ^ "BPCL to set up two mega projects in Bokaro". The Economic Times. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Bokaro airport will be connected with Patna, Kolkata through Udan flights: AAI". Mint. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "SpiceJet starts direct flight between Kolkata and Lilabari under UDAN scheme". The Economic Times. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Choubey, Pradhuman (24 May 2017). "Moving stairs at Bokaro station". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ Shashank Shekhar (17 August 2016). "Bokaro eyes model station tag". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Sinha, Ashis (24 November 2017). "Ranchi-Dhanbad-Jamshedpur Expressway on the anvil". The Pioneer. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ Swetank (9 August 2016). "Senapati Cricket Stadium". mapio.net. Retrieved 21 September 2016.