Jharia was a

community development block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

that formed an administrative division in

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 ...

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 ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, India. Jharia (community development block) has been merged with

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 ...

Overview

Dhanbad district forms a part 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 ...

, but it is more of an upland than a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

. The district has two broad physical divisions – the southern part is a coal mining area with mining and industrial towns, and the northern part has villages scattered around hills. The landscape of the southern part is undulating and monotonous, with some scars of subsidence caused by underground mining. One of the many spurs of Parashnath Hills (1,365.50 m), passes through the Topchanchi and Tundi areas of the district. The spur attains a height of 457.29 m but there is no peak as such. The Dhangi Hills (highest peak 385.57 m) run from Pradhankhanta to Govindpur. While the main river Damodar flows along the southern boundary, its tributary, the Barakar, flows along the northern boundary. DVC has built two dams across the rivers. The

Panchet Dam Panchet Dam was the last of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). It was constructed across the Damodar River at Panchet in Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand, and ope ...

is across the Damodar and the

Maithon Dam The Maithon Dam is located at Maithon, 48 km from Dhanbad, in the state of Jharkhand India. It is long and high. This dam was specially designed for flood control and generates 60,000 kW of electric power. There is an underground pow ...

is across the Barakar.

Maoist activities

Jharkhand is one of the states affected by

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

activities. , Dhanbad was one of the highly/moderately affected districts in the state., Dhanbad was not identified as a focus area by the state police to check Maoist activities. However, there were some isolated Maoist activities in the Dhanbad area.

Geography

Jharia Jharia is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad city in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Jharia's economy is heavily dependent on the local coal fields, used to make coke. However, fires in the coal fields have made ...

is located at . Jharia CD Block is bounded by

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 ...

CD Block, on the north,

Baliapur Baliapur is a census town in Baliapur CD block in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Raghunathpur II Raghunathpur II is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Background The ''Jaina Bhagavati-Sutra'' of the ...

CD Block, in Purulia district in West Bengal, on the south and

Chandankiyari Chandnakiyari is a suburb in Bokaro, Jharkhand, India. It is a village in the Chandankiyari CD block in the Chas subdivision of the Bokaro district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is planned to be a part of Greater Bokaro. It is also a ...

CD Block, in Bokaro district, on the west. Jharia CD Block has an area of 9,077.15 hectares. It has 63

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s and 58 villages.

Jorapokhar Jorapokhar is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Geography Location Jorapokhar is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All ...

Tisra Tisra is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Geography Location Tisra is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places m ...

Sudamdih Sudamdih is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Geography Location Sudamdih is located at . Its average elevation is above Sea level. Note: The map alongside presents some o ...

Pathardih Pathardih is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Geography Location Pathardih is located at . It has an average elevation of 143 metres (469 feet). Note: The map a ...

and Sindri Police Stations serve this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Jharia.

Demographics

Population

As per the 2001 Census, Jharia CD Block had a total population of 475,341, of which 2,839 were rural and 472,952 were urban. There were 258,743 (54%) males and 216,598 (46%) females. In 2001, population below 6 years was 69,073.

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 81,450 (17.14%) and

Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

numbered 14,188 (2.98%). In 2001, the number of literates in Jharia CD Block was 299,908 (73.82% of the population over 6 years). Note: In the data for 2011 census Jharia CD Block is not there. See also –

List of Jharkhand districts ranked by literacy rate This is a list of districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand ranked by literacy rate as per provisional data of 2011 census. With a literacy rate of 67.63%, below the national average of 74.04%, as per the 2011 Census, Jharkhand ranks 32nd amongst ...

Language

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

is the official language in Jharkhand and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Jharkhand legislature had passed a bill according the status of a second official language to several languages in 2011 but the same was turned down by the Governor. In the 2011 census,

was the mother-tongue (languages mentioned under Schedule 8 of the Constitution of India) of 62.5% of the population in Dhanbad district, followed by

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

(19.3%) and Urdu (8.1%). The scheduled tribes constituted 8.4% of the total population of the district. Amongst the scheduled tribes those speaking Santali formed 77.2% of the ST population. Other tribes found in good numbers were: Munda, Mahli and Kora.

Economy

Coal

Jharia coalfield Jharia coalfield is a large coal field located in the east of India in Jharia, Jharkhand. Jharia represents the largest coal reserves in India having estimated reserves of 19.4 billion tonnes of coking coal. The coalfield is an important contribut ...

is the richest treasure house of

metallurgical coal Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled ...

in India. The Kustore, Bastacola, Lodna, Eastern Jharia and Western Jharia Areas of BCCL are located in Jharia CD Block. The following collieries function under the Kustore Area: Alkusa, Kustore, Kustore Fire, E/Bhuggatdih, Ena, South Jharia, Burragarh, Simla Bahal, Hurriladih and Bhalgora. Collieries functioning in the Bastacola Area are: Bastacola, Bera, Dobari, Ganhoodih, Kujama, Kuya and C.O.C.P. Collieries functioning in the Lodna Area are: North Tisra, South Tisra,

Jeenagora Jeenagora is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. Geography Location Jeenagora is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places mark ...

, Joyrampur,

Lodna Lodna is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand States and territories of India, state, India. Geography Location Lodna is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable l ...

, Bagdigi,

Jealgora Jealgora is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Jealgora is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. ...

and Bararee. Collieries functioning in the Eastern Jharia Area are: Bhowrah North, Bhowrah South, Bhowrah (OC 3 Pit),

Amlabad Amlabad is a census town in the Chandankiyari CD blocks in the Chas subdivision of the Bokaro district in the state of Jharkhand, India. Geography Location Amlabad is located at . Area overview Bokaro district consists of undulating uplan ...

Incline, Sudamdih Shafts,

and C.O.C.R. Collieries functioning in the Western Jharia Area are: Lohapatty, Murulidih 20/21, Bhatdee and Moonidih. The Bastacola Area is amalgamation of thirty-three mines of the pre-nationalisation era. It presently has four underground and four open cast mines. The Lodna Area has mineable reserves of 46.368 million tonnes of coking coal and 618.6 million tonnes of non-coking coal. Western Jharia Area is a predominantly underground mining area, presently with four underground mines. Underground mining in the Eastern Jharia Area has been going on for about a century. Primitive mining methods used by private mine owners at shallow depths in the pre-nationalised era has led to large scale fires.

Agriculture

Dhanbad district has infertile

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

soil, having a general tendency towards continuous deterioration. The soil can be classified in two broad categories – red sandy soil and red and yellow soil. There are patches of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

along the river banks. Limited water resources constitute a major constraint for cultivation. Paddy is the main crop. The soils for rice cultivation fall into three categories – ''baad'', ''kanali'' and ''bahal''. ''Aghani'', is the main winter crop, consisting primarily of winter rice. ''Bhadai'' is the autumn crop. Apart from paddy, less important grain crops such as marua and maize are grown. The ''Rabi'' crop includes such cold weather crops as wheat, barley, oats, gram and pulses.

Backward Regions Grant Fund

Dhanbad district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the

Backward Regions Grant Fund Backward or Backwards is a relative direction. Backwards or Sdrawkcab (the word "backwards" with its letters reversed) may also refer to: * "Backwards" (''Red Dwarf''), episode of sci-fi TV sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' ** ''Backwards'' (novel), a nov ...

. The fund, created by the Government of India, is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. As of 2012, 272 districts across the country were listed under this scheme. The list includes 21 districts of Jharkhand.

Transport

There is a station at Jharia on the

Railways in Jharia Coalfield Jharia Coalfield has a series of railway lines covering the region lying between the Grand Chord line on the north and the Damodar river in the south. It consists of five lines of which four are managed by East Central Railway's Dhanbad railw ...

. State Highway 12 (Jharkhand) passes through

Healthcare

In 2013, Jharia CD Block had 1 block primary health centre, 3 primary health centres and 13 private nursing homes with total 24 beds and 10 doctors (excluding private bodies). 5,756 patients were treated indoor and 66,053 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block.

References

{{North Chotanagpur Division topics Community development blocks in Dhanbad district Mining communities in Jharkhand