Markacho is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the

Koderma subdivision Koderma subdivision is the only administrative subdivision in the Koderma district in the North Chotanagpur division in the state of Jharkhand, India. History Koderma sub-division was created in Hazaribagh district in 1973 and on 10 April 1994, i ...

of the

Koderma district Koderma district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Koderma is the administrative headquarters of this district. Koderma district was created on 10 April 1994, after being carved out of the original Hazaribagh dis ...

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.

Overview

Koderma district occupies the northern end 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 average altitude is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The topography is hilly and the area mostly has

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 with patches of clay.

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

dependent agriculture supports majority of the population. Forest area covers 43% of the total area. Koderma Reserve Forest occupies the northern part of the district. Density of population in the district was 282 persons per km². Koderma district was once famous for its

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

production but low quality of mica ore and high cost of production led to closure of many units.

Geography

Markacho is located at . It has an average elevation of . The

Barakar River The Barakar River is the main tributary of the Damodar River in eastern India. Originating near Padma in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand it flows for across the northern part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, mostly in a west to east direction, before ...

flows in the southern part of the district and supports the multi-purpose

Tilaiya Dam Tilaiya Dam was the first of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation. It was constructed across the Barakar River, at Tilaiya in Koderma district in the Indian state of Jharkhand and opened in 195 ...

, Panchkhero Dam, Akto, Gurio, Gukhana Nadi are the main tributaries of the Barakar in the district. The Sakri river is the main river in the northern part of the district. Ghggnna Naddi, Chhotanari Nadi are the tributaries of Sakri river. Markacho CD block is bounded by Gawan CD block, in

Giridih district Giridih district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Giridih is the administrative headquarters of this district. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Jharkhand (out of 24), after Ranchi and Dhanbad ...

, on the north, Dhanwar and

Birni Birni is a town and arrondissement in the Atakora Department of northwestern Benin near the border of Togo. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kouandé. According to the population census conducted by the Ins ...

CD blocks, in Giridih district, on the east, Chalkusa CD block, in

Hazaribagh district Hazaribagh district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India and the district headquarter located in Hazaribagh town. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters, the tow ...

, on the south and Jainagar and Domchanch CD blocks on the west. Markacho CD block has an area of 228.04 km². Markacho police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD block is at Markacho village.

Gram Panchayats 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 ...

in Markacho CD block are: Chopnadih, Dagarnawan, Devepur, Daharokhurd, Jamu, Kadodih, Mahugai, Markacho Middle, Markacho North, Markacho South, Murkmanai, Nawadih, Paplo, Purnanagar, Simariya and Telodih.

Demographics

Population

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Markacho CD block had a total population of 94,419, all of which were rural. There were 46,865 (50%) males and 47,554 (50%) females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 18,421.

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 10,838 (11.48%) 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 2,226 (2.36%).

Literacy

census, the total number of literate persons in Markacho CD block was 48,796 (64.21% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 29,827 (79.46% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 18,969 (49.32% of the female population over 6 years). The

gender disparity Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

(the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 30.14%. 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 and religion

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Koderma, 2011 census,'' as of 2001, Khortha was the mother-tongue of 159,086 persons forming 31.86% of the population of Koderma district, followed by

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

144,035 persons (28.84%),

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 ...

138,542 persons (27.74%) and other languages (with no details) 57,740 perons (11.56%). Five important scheduled tribe language groups in Koderma district were Santali, Birhor, Oraon, Munda and

Kharwar Kharwar is a community found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal. Etymology The ''Khar'' grass is totem of the Kharwar. They don't cut or injure it while growing. Kharwar tribe of pres ...

is the official language in Jharkhand and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

According to the ''District Census Handbook, Koderma, 2011 census,''

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

numbered 605,138 and formed 84.49% of the population of Koderma district, followed by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

107,018 (14.94%),

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

1,221 (0.17%), other religions 2,225 (0.31), religion not stated 657 (0.09%).

Rural poverty

40-50% of the population of Koderma district were in the BPL category in 2004–2005, being in the same category as Godda, Giridih and Hazaribagh districts. Rural poverty in Jharkhand declined from 66% in 1993–94 to 46% in 2004–05. In 2011, it has come down to 39.1%.

Economy

Livelihood

In Markacho CD block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 15,552 and formed 49.92%, agricultural labourers numbered 8,247 and formed 26.47%, household industry workers numbered 759 and formed 2.44% and other workers numbered 6,593 and formed 21.16%. Total workers numbered 31,151 and formed 32.99% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 63,268 and formed 67.01% of the population.

Infrastructure

There are 100 inhabited villages in Markacho CD block. In 2011, 64 villages had power supply. 14 villages had tap water (treated/ untreated), 100 villages had well water (covered/ uncovered), 97 villages had hand pumps, and all villages had drinking water facility. 12 villages had post offices, 9 villages had sub post offices, 8 villages had telephones (land lines), 40 villages had mobile phone coverage. 100 villages had pucca (paved) village roads, 22 villages had bus service (public/ private), 12 villages had taxi/vans and 37 villages had tractors. 4 villages had bank branches, 9 villages had agricultural credit societies, 2 villages had public library and public reading rooms. 34 villages had

public distribution system The Public Distribution System (PDS) is an Indian food security system that was established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to distribute food and non-food items to India's poor a ...

, 6 villages had weekly haat (market) and 44 villages had

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

polling stations.

Agriculture

Large portions of Koderma district are covered with hills and forests, and only 28% of the total area of the district is cultivable land. The soil is acidic and soil erosion is a major problem in the district. Cultivation is the major occupation of the people in the district.

Mica mining

The

belt in the northern part of

is about 160 km long with an average width of about 25 km. It covers in Koderma and Giridih districts of Jharkhand and adjacent areas in Bihar. Mica deposits were discovered in the area in the 1890s, and mica mining developed in a big way. It was exported in large quantities primarily to the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, when the Soviet Union was divided, the countries in the area stopped buying mica from India. It was a major set back for the mica industry. Moreover, the entire mica belt is located in the reserved forests. The forest conservation act was implemented in 1980. When the business was booming almost every household in the mica belt was involved in mica mining. Alternative employment opportunities are rare and so even after formal closing down of the mica mines, almost the entire community in the mica mining belt is involved in

illegal mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission, in particular in absence of land rights, mining licenses, and exploration or mineral transportation permits. Illegal mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the cas ...

activities. Mica continues to be in demand locally. It is mainly used in the pigmentation industry for automotive paints and cosmetics. Some other industries also use it. The entire family, including children, are involved in the illegal activity.

Backward Regions Grant Fund

Koderma 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

The 111 km long railway project from Koderma to Giridih costing 787.87 crore was inaugurated from Koderma to

Nawadih Nawadih is a village in the Nawadih CD block in the Bermo subdivision of the Bokaro district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Nawadih is located at . Area overview Bokaro district consists of undulating uplands on the ...

on 26 June 2013, by

Babulal Marandi Babulal Marandi (; born 11 January 1958) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and current Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. He was the founder a ...

, the JVM-P Chief. The state government paid fifty percent of the project cost. Passenger services were started in the fully operational Madhupur-Giridih-Koderma line in 2019.

Education

Markacho CD block had 11 villages with pre-primary schools, 89 villages with primary schools, 39 villages with middle schools, 7 villages with secondary schools, 2 villages with senior secondary schools, 10 villages with no educational facility.
.*Senior secondary schools are also known as Inter colleges in Jharkhand

Healthcare

Markacho CD block had 2 village with primary health centres, 22 villages with primary health subcentres, 4 villages with maternity and child welfare centres, 3 villages with allopathic hospitals, 4 villages with dispensaries, 3 villages with family welfare centres, 22 villages with medicine shops.
.*Private medical practitioners, alternative medicine etc. not included

References

{{North Chotanagpur Division topics Community development blocks in Koderma district