East Singhbhum is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand, India. It was created on 16 January 1990. More than 50% of the district is covered by dense forests and mountains, where wild animals once roamed freely.
East Singhbhum district has a leading position in respect of mining and other industrial activities in Jharkhand state. Jamshedpur, a leading industrial city of India, is the district headquarter of East Singbhum. An almost five-decade old copper refinery of Hindustan Copper Limited is in Moubhandar, Ghatsila, another town of the district. The Singhbhum Shear Zone, a geological feature lying between river Subarnarekha on the northeast and Dhanjauri ranges on the southwest houses the mines of Copper and Uranium. Most notable copper mines are Banalopa, Badia, Pathargora, Dhobni, Kendadih, Rakha and Surda in Musabani. Of these, only Surda remains operational. Surda is currently operated by India Resources Ltd, an Australian mining company. Uranium Corporation of India explores uranium in Jadugora, Narwapahar, Bhatin, Turamdih and Baghjanta. Chakulia, an important town in the southeastern part of the district, is famous for its rice mills, oil mills, washing soap factories, and bamboo production. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named East Singhbhum one of the country's 250 most backward districts. It is one of the 21 districts in Jharkhand currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.
Administration
Blocks (Mandals)
East Singhbhum district consists of 11 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in East Singhbhum district:
There are six Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Baharagora, Ghatsila, Potka, Jugsalai, Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West. All of these are part of Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Culture
, Ho, Kudmali, Bengali, Odia and Hindi are the major languages spoken here. The most prominent festivals of the district are Durga Puja, Makar Sankranti, Sohrai, Mage Porob, Baa Porob, Hermuutu, Heroh Porob, Karam Porob, Jomnama Porob, Jomsuim and Kali Puja. While other festivals such as Sarhul, Karma, Tusu, Java, Hall Punhya, Bhagta Parab, Ropini, Bandna and Jani-Shikaar are also celebrated with pomp and joy. One tourist attraction is Chitreshwar temple situated in Chitreshwar village in Baharagora Block 12 km from Baharagora. The temple is said to be one of the largest natural Shiva linga. Many devotees of Shiva come daily. Chitreshwar temple is believed to have the largest Shiva linga after Ligaraja Shiva linga in Bhubneshwar. It has another temple called Bhuteshwar which is in Baharagora Block. Ghatsila a famous tourist spot is also situated in the district which was once inhabited by renowned Bengali novelist Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. Rankini Temple located near the mining town of Jadugora and Ghatshila are also worth mentioning. Goddess Rankini is held in high esteem and worshiped by the tribal and non tribal people inhabiting the district.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census East Singhbhum district has a population of 2,293,919, roughly equal to the nation of Latvia or the US state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 199th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.53%. Purbi Singhbhum has a sex ratio of 949 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 76.13%. Schedule Castes constitute 4.9% while Schedule Tribes were 28.5% of the total population. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 34.42% of the population in the district spoke Odia, 25.69% Hindi, 15.92% Santali, 5.27% Bengali, 7.28% Urdu, 2.76% Ho, 2.80% Mundari, 1.86% Punjabi, 1.51% Magahi and 1.28% Maithili as their first language.
