Bokaro Steel City


Bokaro Steel City is one of the planned cities of India, a major industrial centre and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the administrative headquarters of Bokaro district.
The city stands at an elevation of above sea level and has an urban area of. 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 143 & NH-18.

Overview

Each sector has shopping centres, playgrounds, schools, recreational areas and health centres. The 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.
Bokaro Steel City is the headquarters of the Bokaro District as well as Koylanchal range. It is also one of the three headquarters of the Police IG zone, apart from Ranchi and Dumka, covering seven districts- Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Giridih, Koderma, Chatra, Bokaro, and Ramgarh.

History

Formerly there was a village named Maraphari deep in the jungles of Chota Nagpur. The closest village cluster was Chas. Purulia was the closest town and the area was ruled by the Maharaja of Kashipur. Folklore has it that this area came under Mughal rule by the conquests of Man Singh. The region was named Manbhum after him.
This remote place came into prominence when Jawaharlal Nehru planned to build the first swadeshi steel plant with the help of the Soviets. The proximity to coal, iron ore, manganese, and other raw materials had helped in the selection of this place. The steel plant was incorporated as a limited company on 24 January 1964, and was later merged with SAIL and came to be known as Bokaro Steel Limited. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw heavy construction of the steel plant as well as the township. The first blast furnace started on 2 October 1972.
The Sector III and Camps I and II were the first to come in the township followed by Sectors II, IX, IV and so on. The first private school came in the form of St. Xavier's School which the Jesuits from Hazaribagh built on invitation from the BSL management. In the 1980s the township developed rapidly with new sectors, schools, parks, zoos and other public amenities. Township development ceased with the completion of IV/F and IV/G. In all Bokaro Steel City consists of 10 sectors. Each sector is then further divided into sub-sectors A,B,C and so on.
The late 1990s saw sprucing up of the City Park and creation of islands, new schools and the success of Bokaro's students in all India level competition exams, specially IITs. During this period Bokaro also emerged as the eastern hub for academics.

Geography

Bokaro is located in the eastern part of India at
It is located in picturesque surroundings on the southern bank of river Damodar with Garga, one of its tributaries meandering along the southern and eastern outskirts of the city. On the north, the city is flanked by the high ranges of the Parasnath Hills and on the south just beyond the river Garga, it is enveloped by the Satanpur hillocks.
Two cooling ponds have been built for use in steel making. A dam on river Garga has been built to supply water to the township as well as the steel plant, but due to ever increasing demand Tenughat Dam is supplementing it.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Bokaro Steel City is the 86th largest urban agglomeration in India, and the 4th largest city in Jharkhand.
As per 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. Bokaro Steel City Urban Agglomeration is composed of Bokaro Steel City, Chas and Bandhgora.
Bokaro Steel City has an effective literacy rate of 84.87%, with male literacy of 92.27% and female literacy of 76.50%.

Education and literacy

As of 2011 Census, 73% of the population was literate: 174,522 males and 129,261 females.
The city has amongst the best schools in Eastern India which have attracted students from neighbouring states to study in the City. St. Xavier's School at Sector 1 was the first school in Bokaro Steel City. Other notable school are DAV Public School, DPS Bokaro, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Holy Cross School, Guru Govind Singh Public School, Ayappa School, The Pentecostal Assembly School. The city has also evolved as a centre for Engineering and Medical Entrance coaching with institutes such as FIIT-JEE, Akash Institute etc. having an established presence in the city. The city has now become an educational hub in the country, specially in the east zone.
In addition to private schools, Bokaro Ispat Vidyalayas are a set of schools in the town of Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand, India run by Education Department of Bokaro Steel Limited. In every sector minimal one middle and one high school were established. Earlier these school were affiliated to Bihar Vidalaya pariksha samati and Bihar intermediate education council. Later all of them are affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education. They offers education from classes 1 to Class XII.
The city had lacked in higher education after higher secondary grade. As a result, for graduation most students either study outside the state at renowned universities in India and abroad. Presently, there are few college's in the city such as Women's College, City College, Imam-ul-Haque Law College, and Guru Govind Engineering and Management College.

Economy

The city has presence of Steel Authority of India Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Vedanta amongst others.
The primary economy is supported by the services sector. The city market situated at the center of the city in Sector 4. The old Chas bazaar still remains a cheap wholesale market, and dundi baag is one of the biggest vegetable markets in the region. Besides these, each sector has its own small shopping center catering to the day-to-day needs of the people.
The advent of malls has brought in modern retail in to the city. The Bokaro Mall-cum-multiplex has three Screens of PVR Cinemas, Big Bazaar, Reliance Retail, Pizza Hut Restaurants, Food Court, Club with facilities of sauna bath & steam bath, gym, entertainment zone, gaming zone and swimming pool.

Places of interest

Air

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 2019.
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

Railway

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, A.C waiting rooms, a food court, charging points, a foot over-bridge, and computerised ticket reservation counters. 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

Dhanbad-Bokaro-Ranchi-Jamshedpur Mega Industrial Corridor Expressway was completed till Bokaro in 2018 and Bokaro-Dhanbad 6-laning is going to be completed in 2020. Bokaro Bus Stand is a private bus stand and land acquisition is being done in Sector-12 for new bus stand. National Highway-18 and National Highway-23 which is a 4-laned till Purulia.
Major CityDistance
Ranchi110
Dhanbad45
Giridih110
Jamshedpur135
Patna370
Kolkata310
Asansol102
Purulia60
Hazaribagh130

Sports

Bokaro Sangeet Kala Academy in Sector-4 offers learning opportunities in fine art, especially classical music. The students also get opportunities to showcase their talent and training. Kala Kendra in Sector-2 is a center for Arts and Culture. Festivals like Durga Puja, Diwali, Holi, Eid and Chhath Puja are celebrated across the township. Kali Bari the temple for Goddess Kali, promotes arts and provides training in classical dances like Kathak.
Languages spoken
Khortha, Santhali, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Murmu, Kurmali, Magadhi, Magahi, Maithili, English and Bhojpuri.

Health services

The township has a 910-bed Bokaro General Hospital with specialised units like Critical Care Unit, Intensive Coronary Care Unit, Haemodialysis Unit, Nuclear Medicine Laboratory, etc. The Child Care Unit of BGH has been recognised as a Baby Friendly Hospital by UNICEF. The Blood Bank of BGH has been given the status of Regional Training Centre by Government of India. It is the only blood bank in the state of Jharkhand, which gives training to blood bank officers and technicians in Jharkhand.
To take care of the employees working in the plant, an Occupational Health Services Centre has been provided within the plant premises. Bokaro General Hospital is recognised by the Indian Medical Council for imparting training to Housemen and Interns and also by the Nursing Council of India for training of Student Nurses. Bokaro General Hospital has the distinction of being the only one in Jharkhand being recognised by the National Board of Examinations, New Delhi as a centre for imparting post-graduate training to candidates appearing for the Diplomat of National Board examinations. The medical team has around 200 skilled doctors and over 1000 paramedic staff.

Notable people