Bhuli is a
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...
in
Dhanbad
Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...
in
Dhanbad Sadar subdivision
Dhanbad Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, India.
History
The earliest administrative mention of Dhanbad, refers to the transfer of the headquarters of Gobindapur subdivision of er ...
of
Dhanbad district
Dhanbad district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Dhanbad is the administrative headquarters of this district. As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of Jharkhand (out of 24), after Ranchi. It al ...
in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Overview
It is famous for being the largest workers' colony in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.
Town is managed by
Bharat Coking Coal Limited
Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited which is inturn under the ownership of Ministry of Coal, Government of India, Its headquarters is located at Dhanbad and Kolkata, India. It was incorporated in January, 1 ...
(BCCL). Majority of the population used to work in BCCL; but out of the 6011 BCCL quarters in Bhuli, nearly 4021 are illegally occupied by retired employees and this has become a very controversial topic.
Maintenance work of quarters and road is undertaken by Bhuli Town Administration, situated near A-Block Post Office.
History
Bhuli township was constructed in 1951 by The Coal Mines Welfare Organisation (CMWO) under the Ministry of Labour to provide housing facilities to miners. Bhuli is divided into 5 blocks. Initially it consisted only three blocks- Block-'A', 'B' and 'C'. Each block has 600 quarters. Each quarter is single storeyed; having two bedrooms, one kitchen, a veranda, a washroom, a bathroom and a small yard. Every quarter has a tree planted in its yard.
The three blocks were transferred to BCCL in 1986. Two new blocks ('D' and 'E') were constructed in 1978 directly under the control of BCCL. But, the buildings in these blocks were made 3 storeyed, having 4 quarters at each storey, in contrast to Block A, B and C. Also, the new buildings lacked a yard and veranda, but provided a balcony for each quarter.
Today, there are a total of 6011 quarters in all over the Bhuli Township. The whole town is based on grid pattern.
Geography
Location
Bhuli is located at .
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Bhuli, earlier a
census town
In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics.
India
In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...
, was combined with other urban units to form
Dhanbad Municipal Corporation
Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...
in 2006.
Bhuli is spread over parts of Ward Nos. 14, 15 and 16 of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.
Overview
The region shown in the map is a part of the undulating
uplands
Upland or Uplands may refer to:
Geography
*Hill, an area of higher land, generally
*Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points
*Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level
*I ...
bustling with coalmines in the lowest rung of the
Chota Nagpur Plateau
The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...
. The entire area shown in the map is under
Dhanbad Municipal Corporation
Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...
, except
Belgaria
Belgaria is a village in Baliapur CD block in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Geography
Location
Belgaria is located at .
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the ar ...
which is under
Baliapur (community development block)
Baliapur is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district, Jharkhand state, India.
Overview
Dhanbad district forms a part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, but it is more of an u ...
. The places in the DMC area are marked as
neighbourhoods
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...
. The DMC area shown in the map is around the core area of
Dhanbad
Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...
city. Another major area of DMC is shown in the map of the southern portion of the district. A small stretch of DMC, extending up to
Katras
Katras (also known as Katrasgarh) is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad City in Dhanbad Sadar Subdivision in the Jharkhand state, India.
Geography
Location
Katras is located at . It has an average elevation of 201 metres (659 feet).
Note ...
is shown in the map of the western portion. The region is fully urbanised.
Jharia (community development block)
Jharia was a community development block that formed an administrative division in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand state, India. Jharia (community development block) has been merged with Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.
Overview
Dhanbad district forms ...
has been merged into DMC. Three operational areas of
BCCL operate fully within the region –
Sijua Area
Sijua Area is one of the 12 operational areas of BCCL located in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, India.
History
Jharia coalfield first came into the picture in the 19th century. Mining in the early days w ...
,
Kusunda Area
Kusunda Area is one of the 12 operational areas of BCCL located in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, India.
Overview
Fire and subsidence in the Jharia coalfield are a legacy of its century old history. The d ...
and
Bastacola Area
Bastacolla Area is one of the 12 operational areas of BCCL located in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, India.
History
The Bastacolla Area was formed with 33 mines of the pre-nationalised era. The primitive ...
.
Demographics
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Bhuli had a population of 89,584. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bhuli has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 71% and female literacy of 55%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Markets
There are three main markets in the township. These are D-Block Market (D-Block), New Market (E-Block), and Shakti Market (D- Block Road).
Besides, four weekly Haats/Hatias (or markets especially dealing with buying and selling of vegetables and fruits) are set up in Bhuli-
1. Etwaari Hatia, Jharkhand More (on every Sunday, Etwaar means Sunday).
2. Somwaari Hatia, beside New Market and Durga Puja Hall, D-Block (on every Monday, Somwaar means Monday).
3. Budhni Hatia, near MPI, B-Block (on every Wednesday).
4. Shanichari Hatia, near Bhuli Railway Station (on every Saturday, Shanichar means Saturday).
Hospitals
Currently, there are two Regional Hospitals in Bhuli working under BCCL in C-Block and D-Block for free health check-up (for BCCL employees and dependents). But due to the small number of BCCL employees living in Bhuli (not more than a hundred or two), the hospitals are not properly maintained. So,
Coal India Limited
Coal India Limited (CIL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It is headquartered at Kolkata. It is the ''largest government-owned-coal-producer'' in the world. It is ...
(a
Maharatna Company), under which BCCL works, decided in mid 2020, to close the hospitals due to poor management and maintenance and people not preferring to go to these BCCL hospitals (Hospital staff and doctors will be transferred to other places). Instead, most people prefer visiting private clinics that are spread across Bhuli.
Banks
Bhuli has branches of
Bank of India
Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter B ...
,
State Bank of India
State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...
and a branch of
UCO Bank
UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata. During FY 2020–21, its total business was 3.24 lakh crore. Based on 2020 data, it is ranked 80 on the Fortune India 500 list. UCO Ba ...
. Apart from that,
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Limited is an Indian Private bank. It is headquartered at Mumbai. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialized subsidiari ...
,
AXIS Bank
Axis Bank Limited, formerly known as UTI Bank (1993–2007), is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It sells financial services to large and mid-size companies, SMEs and retail businesses.
As ...
,
Bank of India
Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter B ...
and
State Bank of India
State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...
have their ATMs in Bhuli.
Transport
Bhuli is well connected to
Dhanbad
Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...
city through road and railway. Most of the (local) passenger trains stop here.
Religious harmony
![Durga puja mandap Bhuli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Durga_puja_mandap_Bhuli.jpg)
Bhuli witnesses a religious harmony among all the religions, especially Hindus and Muslims. Interestingly, the tradition of celebrating Durga Puja, a Hindu festival, was started by Abdul Majid Khan, a Muslim by religion. Similarly, Muharram, a Muslim festival, was started by a Hindu- Sudhir Mukherjee.
The reason behind this act was to prevent communal riots during the partition of India. Residents claim that Bhuli has never witnessed any communal problems since 1949.
[
]
References
{{Dhanbad District
Neighbourhoods in Dhanbad
Mining communities in Jharkhand