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About Dhanbad

Famous as ‘The Coal Capital of India’, Dhanbad is located in Jharkhand state in eastern part of India. It is second largest industrial city of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. Well known for its coal mines, Dhanbad boasts of having largest mine of India. 

It has more than 100 coal mines along with number of coal washeries. Many well established companies have their coal mines in Dhanbad and Tata Steel, ECL, IISCO and BCCL are some of the popular names of them. Not only that, it is also famous for its power generation plants.

About Dhanbad

Dhanbad is rapidly growing city that is well connected with metros through road and rail transportation. Dhanbad Rail division comes on second number in terms of revenue generation after Mumbai division amongst all divisions of Indian Railway. Dhanbad is famous for its industrial establishments that make it one of the busiest commercial centers of India. Apart from coal mines and industries, it is rich in educational institutions, research centers and tourist attractions too.

Past and Present of Dhanbad

Introduction to DhanbadDhanbad was earlier known as Dhanbaid (the paddy land) which seems to be derived from word dhan (paddy) and baid (land). In 1956, Dhanbad district was constituted and declared a district on 24th October 1956 on recommendation of The Sate Reconstitution Commission vide notification 1911. 

Formerly, Dhanbad was in Manbhum district of undivided Bihar during 1928-1956. It remained in Bihar from 24th Oct. 1956 to 14th Nov. 2000. Thereafter, it came under newly formed state Jharkhand on 15th November 2000 and at present it is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state.

However, there is not so much information available about ancient history of Dhanbad due to mysterious circumstances of that time as it was earlier a small village of Manbhum in Chotanagpur plateau. The oldest authentic documents produced were all on paper and barely even a hundred years old. 

Even District Gazetteer for Dhanbad (1964) has just reproduced the chapter on history in the settlement report for Manbhum (1928) due to these circumstances and mystery that lies in the history of Manbhum.

Geography and Climate of Dhanbad

Geography of Dhanbad plays important role in making it a mineral rich region in Jharkhand . Dhanbad is situated in Jharkhand state in eastern part of India. It is located at 86o50' E longitude and 24o4' N latitude. Dhanbad is average 761 feet (232 m) above sea level. Geographically it is extended from north to south covering 24 km in length and 16 in breadth from east to west. 

It is bounded by Giridih and Bokaro districts on west, by Dumka district on the north and by Purulia district of West Bengal on the east and south. Dhanbad is situated in Chotanagpur plateau.

Detailed informations on Dhanbad

Dhanbad experiences a transitional climate between subtropical humid and tropical wet and dry climates. Here summer season starts from last week of March and ends in middle of June. Minimum temperature remains 25 degrees C in summer and maximum temperature can reach upto 47 degrees C. Dhanbad receives heavy rainfall during monsoon. 

Minimum temperature in winter remains 10 degrees C and maximum temperature can go upto 22 degrees C. Damodar is the main river that flows through Dhanbad. Apart from that Gobai, Katri, Jamunia, Irji and Khudia are other rivers that flow through Dhanbad. In this region, red soil is found and that soil is not so fertile. 

So, soil of this area is not that good for agricultural purpose. There are two large dams in this city that is why Pisciculture is very popular among people of this region. Forests of northern tropical dry deciduous type are present in this region. Mostly people are doing sericulture in these forests.

Culture and Festivals of Dhanbad

Festivals of Dhanbad

Culture of Dhanbad city is perfect mix of various cultures due to presence of people from different parts of India. Cultural diversity makes this city rich in cultural activities and values. Here one can easily come across with different cultures and people from various communities at one place. Most of the population of Dhanbad belongs to Bengali and Bihari communities and rest belongs to Punjabi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Tamil, Malayali, Telugu and other local communities. 

Dhanbad is a home to people from different religions, cultural and social backgrounds and regions from all over the country. Thus, many festivals are celebrated in Dhanbad and some of these most popular festivals are Moharram, Eid, Hol, Diwal, Durga Puj, Chhath, Vishwakarma Puja and Guru Purnima, Christmas. Karma and Sarhul are popular tribal festivals of the region.

Language of Dhanbad

Due to effect of this cultural mix, various languages are being spoken in this city. Hindi is the main language of this city. Bengali, Khortha, Santhali, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi are other popular languages being spoken in Dhanbad. English is mostly used in business and tourist communication. Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and some tribal languages like Kurukh and Ho are also spoken in this city.

Tourism in Dhanbad

One of the major attractions of Dhanbad is coal mines and then research centers of this city that are much popular among tourists. Apart from coal mines and research centers, there are many other tourist attractions in Dhanbad like lakes, rivers, falls, dams, wildlife, mountains and religious temples. Some of the famous tourist spots in Dhanbad are Topchanchi Lake, Maithon Lake, Panchet Dam, Bhatinda Falls, Kalyaneshwari Temple, Birsa Munda Park, Bird Sanctuary and Deer Park.

Economy & Industrialism in Dhanbad

Economy of Dhanbad is depended much on coal production in the city. Dhanbad has abundance of coal due to presence of innumerable coal mines in this region. Hence, it is famous as ‘The Coal Capital of India’. Dhanbad is an industrial and coal mining city that is well known for its coal mines and industrial establishments on large scale. 

Due to these day by day increasing industrial activities, this city has become one of the busiest commercial centers of India. There are 100+ coal mines in Dhanbad having total production of 29.54 million tons. Dhanbad has per capita income of 7000 million rupees and huge part of that comes from coal business.

Economy of Dhanbad

Along with numerous coal mines, this city has many coal washeries. Apart from abundance of coal, Dhanbad is also popular for its power generation plants. ONGC generates power with the use of CBM (Coal beded methane) at some coal mines here. Hydro power generation is being done at Maithon and Panchet dams. Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and Tata Power are also setting up their thermal power plant of 1050 MW at Maithon. At present, one unit is perfectly running under this project.

Shopping in Dhanbad

Informations on DhanbadDhanbad has a lot to offer for shopping lovers from branded showrooms to shopping malls along with local markets. Shopping in Dhanbad can be a memorable experience for the visitors to this part of Jharkhand. Bank More has been central hub for shopping in Dhanbad city. 

At present there are numbers of modern era’s malls and famous brands available at Dhanbad. The list consists of some popular names such as Ozone Galleria Mall (having Big Bazaar, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprints, Reliance Digital, Pantaloons, Reebok, Fastrack, Raymond’s, INOX, Samsung and such many other stores), Ozone Plaza (including Blackberrys, Tanishq, Domino’s and Reliance Super) with presence of City Centre Bartand, Sri Ram Plaza, Urmila Tower, New Market, AMWAY, City Style-Dutta Tower (Hirapur), Park Market (Hirapur) and The Family Store.

Well, good news for all shopaholics of this city is upcoming shopping mall ‘Center-Point mall’ having all modern facilities of bank, restaurants having food court, PVR Cinema Multiplex and retail shops. Construction of this mall is on top speed and it will be going to enhance shopping experience and lifestyle of people with its presence in the city.

Foods in Dhanbad

Just like fusion of various cultures and languages in Dhanbad, food is also inspired with vibrant mix of various traditions and communities in this city. Litti and Chokha is most popular traditional food of Dhanbad and entire Jharkhand too, that is easy to digest and light on stomach. 

The credit goes to native folks that have maintained such food habits. In fact, effect of Robust Mughals on food of this city is also visibly seen. Traditional food of Dhanbad is aromatic and contains rich taste. Well, there are lots of restaurants present in the city that offer number of delicious and mouth watering cuisines. Dhanbad also has famous food corners like Domino’s and KFC.

Transportation in Dhanbad

Dhanbad is well connected with major metro cities by road routes. Local transportation in Dhanbad is carried out bu auto-rickshaws, taxis and lorries playing in the city. Two major highways National Highway 2 and National Highway 32 passes through Dhanbad. National Highway 2 connects Dhanbad to Kolkata and Delhi.Other highway NH 32 connects Govindpur to Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Barbil. Inter-city traveling is easy through private and state buses. 

Dhanbad Rail Division provides good connectivity with all major cities of the country like Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Indore, Kochi, Jaipur, Gwalior, Jodhpur, Pune and Nagpur etc. Especially, it has perfect rail connectivity with Kolkata. Rail division of Dhanbad comes under East Central Railway Zone. 

It is second largest revenue generating rail division of India. Rail network connects Dhanbad with most of the states of the country. Birsa Munda Airport is the nearest airport at Ranchi that is perfect option to connect with Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Patna and Kolkata through airway. It is almost 140 km away from Dhanbad city.

Dhanbad at a Glance

State: Jharkhand
Geographical Area: 2086 sq km
Altitude: 761 feet (232 m) above sea level
Latitude: 24.4 degrees N
Longitude: 86.50 degrees E
Population (2011): 2, 684, 487 million
Average Temperature: 47 degrees C (Max), 12 degrees C (Min)
Rainfall: 1310.6 mm
Languages Spoken: Hindi, Bengali, English, Santhali, Kurmali and Khortha
Time Zone: IST (UTC +5:30)
Pin Code: 826001
STD Code: 0326

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