Kirandul is a town and a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Dantewada district
Dantewada District, also known as Dantewara District or Dakshin Bastar District (South Bastar District), is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bastar Division. Until 1 ...
in the
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 ...
n
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 ...
of
Chhattisgarh. It is located roughly 400 km south of
Raipur
Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...
, capital of Chhattisgarh and 41 km southwest of
Dantewada
Dantewada (also known as Dantewara) is a town and a municipality, or nagar palika. in the Dantewada district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India.It is the administrative headquarters of Dantewada District. It is the fourth largest city of Bastar ...
-the district headquarters. The way to travel is by road with frequent bus service from
Raipur
Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...
,
Bhilai and
Jagdalpur or by train from
Jagdalpur and
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
.
Demographics
As of 2011 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 in ...
, Kirandul had a population of 18887 of which 9776 are males while 9111 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.
Population of children with age of 0-6 is 2317 which is 12.27% of total population of Kirandul M). In Kirandul Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 932 against state average of 991. Moreover child sex ratio in Kirandul is around 1015 compared to
Chhattisgarh state average of 969. Literacy rate of Kirandul town is 73.7% - higher than state average of 71.04%. In Kirandul, male literacy is around 79.9% while female literacy rate is 67.02%.
Region
This region is basically 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 ...
. The
Bailadila Range of hills are located at a distance of about 41 km south west of
Dantewada
Dantewada (also known as Dantewara) is a town and a municipality, or nagar palika. in the Dantewada district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India.It is the administrative headquarters of Dantewada District. It is the fourth largest city of Bastar ...
, the district headquarters in
Chhattisgarh State.
Rising to a height of 1,276 m, one of the hills of the
Bailadila Range is the highest point in the state of Chhattisgarh. Bailadila has been established as an industrial area that has been divided into two towns, namely
Bade Bacheli (29 kilometers from Dantewada) & Kirandul (41 kilometers from Dantewada).
Climate
Bailadila region enjoys mild summer and winter is not severe. The maximum temperature in summer rises up to 40 degree Celsius between May and June whereas minimum temperature in winter drops to 10 degree Celsius. The area receives heavy rains during monsoon from June to October. Weather during rainy season is stormy accompanied by gales and the hilltops are covered with thick clouds and dense fog, which reduces visibility.
History
The commercial discovery of Bailadila dates back to 1955-56 when Prof. Euemura of Japanese Steel Mills Association, studying the memoirs of
Geological Survey of India
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...
, drew the attention of the Japanese Steel Mills to the richness of the vast deposits of
iron ore and its proximity to the Eastern Coast of India. Later an agreement had been signed with the Japanese Steel Mills in 1960. An approval of the project report prepared by NMDC was given in 1964 and the Mine Plant had been inaugurated on November 1968. Later on,
National Mineral Development Corporation
NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is a central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
It is involved in the exploration of iron ore, copper, rock phosphat ...
, with help of
Japan set up the first
iron ore plant in Kirandul. Currently Japan is the biggest purchaser of its ore, but earlier it has also sold ore in
Bhilai Steel Plant
The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...
too.
Kirandul was a crucial part of the princely state of
Bastar before India attained independence. Bastar region prospered under the reign of King Annama Deva, the brother of
Kakatiya
The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...
king Pratapa Rudra Deva of
Warangal
Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an .
Warangal ser ...
(Telangana). During the 19th century, the region came under the administration of the British rule. Eventually, it was acceded to the Indian Union on January 1, 1948, and the town became a part of the Bastar district of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
and later in 2000, it was included in the newly formed
Chhattisgarh state.
Economy
The iron ore mines here are also an important tourist attraction. Run by the
Navratna Government Organization,'
NMDC', these mines operate with the latest technology and hi-tech machinery. However, one needs to obtain permit to visit the mines, which can be done by requesting the
NMDC office. The mines are generally open to the public on
Vishwakarma Puja
Vishwakarma Jayanti is a day of celebration for Vishwakarma, a Hindu god, the divine architect.
The festival is observed primarily in factories and industrial areas, often on the shop floor. As a mark of reverence the day of worship is marked ...
day every year and huge number of people visit during that time.
The Bailadila iron ore range extends for a length of 40 km with a width of about 10 km mostly along the top of hill, which constitute one of the richest concentration of iron-ore of world. The range contains 1200 million tonnes of high grade
iron ore distributed in 14 deposits. 14 reserves have been discovered, of which 3 are being mined. Deposit 14/11C and 11B are the mines located in Kirandul complex while Deposit 5, 10 and 11A are located in Bacheli complex of Bailadila Iron ore mines. Bailadila Deposit-14 mine is the first large scale open cast mechanised iron ore mine in India for which DPR was prepared by NMDC and was commissioned in April, 1968.Bailadila Deposit-11C was commissioned in June, 1988. The ore is exported through
Visakhapatnam Port
Visakhapatnam Port is one of 13 major ports in India and the only major port of Andhra Pradesh. It is India's third largest state-owned port by volume of cargo handled and largest on the Eastern Coast. It is located midway between the Chennai a ...
.
The entire area was brought to the mainstream of civilisation by the spectacular effort of NMDC by opening-up of mines. Today, Bailadila is a name to reckon within the world iron ore market because of its super high-grade iron ore. Bailadila complex possesses the world’s best grade of hard lumpy ore having +66% iron content, free from
sulphur and other deleterious material and the best physical properties needed for
steel making
Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and alloy ...
.
Essar Steel Slurry beneficiation plant is situated in Kirandul which is used to transport iron ore through
Slurry pipeline to
Essar Steel pellet plant facility in Visakhapatnam. It has its own helipad for personal usage. At 267 km, the Kirandul-Vizag pipeline is the longest
Slurry pipeline in India.
Transport
Kirandul is easily accessible and well connected to
Raipur
Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...
,
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
and
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
by all-weather roads. It can also be reached by rail from Visakhapatnam. There is regular iron ore movement from this sector to Visakhapatnam port by rail.
Rail Transport
The
Kothavalasa–Kirandul line
Kothavalasa–Kirandul line belongs to Waltair railway division of East Coast Railway zone from 2003 till Feb 2019 . It was under South Eastern Railway zone until 2003. Now some Part of KK line till Araku railway Station will be coming under ...
of
East Coast Railway
The East Coast Railway (abbreviated ECoR) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways. It came into existence on 1 April 2003. The headquarters of the zone are at Bhubaneswar, Odisha
History
Consequent upon the parliament's approval, Ea ...
from
Kirandul to
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
via
Koraput
Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district.
History
The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of ...
is laid through the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
. Up to
Araku station, it has many tunnels. Also it pass through the highest elevation Broad gauge station in the Eastern ghats,
Semiliguda, just before the
Borra caves
The Borra Caves (also called ''Borra Guhalu'') are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku Valley (with hill ranges' elevation varying from ) of the Alluri Sitharama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh. The caves ...
. Kirandul - Kottavalasa Railroad is the record high Broad Gauge line in the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
. The KK Line has the distinction of being the second highest broad gauge railway line in the country after the one in
Jammu
Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
.
A line from Bailadila to
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
via Jagdalpur is in place mainly for the purposes of evacuation of iron ore by
National Mineral Development Corporation
NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is a central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
It is involved in the exploration of iron ore, copper, rock phosphat ...
(NMDC) from Kirandul with limited passenger trains. Plans are underway for doubling the railway line from Bailadila to Jagdalpur. The cost of this is projected to be about INR 870 crore which is proposed to be initially borne by NMDC and NMDC will in turn get a rebate in the freight from Indian Railways towards the initial cost incurred by NMDC.
Air transport
There is an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
at
Jagdalpur where until recent years no scheduled services were run to or from here. This changed with the inauguration of flight services by Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel in 2020 thereby giving Jagdalpur the privilege of having the second civil airport in the State. Although several attempts were made earlier in 2018 for flights to Bhubhaneshwar and Raipur, the project was not successful and was discontinued. Maa Danteshwari Airport in Jagdalpur has flights operated by
Alliance Air to Raipur and Hyderabad where the travel time is 45 minutes and 75 minutes respectively. This is in contrast to the travel time by roadways of 7 hours and 12 hours respectively to the destinations thereby saving a considerable amount of time
The airport was predominantly used by political leaders and insurgency operation-related activities by the army and the police. With the recent developments, the airport will serve the population of the nearby districts well and would act as a means of promoting tourism in the State. The airport also helped in boosting the vaccination programme against Covid-19 as the various medical equipment and medicines were conveniently transported. The other nearest airports are
Raipur Airport
Swami Vivekananda International Airport (referred as VARP until February 2018), formerly known as Mana Airport, is a major airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and the busiest in Chhatti ...
in the capital city of Raipur and
Visakhapatnam Airport
Visakhapatnam Airport is a customs airport in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It also operates as a civil enclave on an Indian Navy airbase named INS ''Dega''. It lies between the city localities of NAD X Road and Gajuwaka. The airpor ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
References
External links
Official website Dantewada districtNMDC Limited Official website
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Dantewada district
Iron ore mining in India
Townships in India