Palkot Block

Palkot block is a CD block that forms an administrative division in the Basia subdivision of Gumla district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

History

Gumla became a subdivision of Ranchi district in 1902 and it became a separate district in 1983. Simdega district was carved out of Gumla district in 2011. Subsequently, Gumla district was divided into three subdivisions – Gumla Sadar subdivision (with Gumla, Ghaghra, Bharno, Bishunpur, Raidih and Sisia blocks), Basia subdivision (with Palkot, Basia and Kamdara blocks), and Chainpur subdivision (with Chainpur, Albert Ekka (Jari) and Dumri blocks).

Overview

Mount Risyamook, mentioned in the Ramayana, is located in the Palkot block, which was, of sorts, the capital of the Chhotanagpur pleatau area until the 20th century. The ''Nagvanshi'' rajas ruled from Lalgarh which is located in Palkot.

Palkot has an interesting historical background. In the ancient period it was known as Nagri and Pampapuri. This is the capital of tribal kings Bali and Sugriv. In epics age Ghorlata was the place for army which they use to hide oneself. At 3 km from block headquarter. Shitalpur and Malmalpur are two most beautiful picnic spots. It has said that in this cave chilled air flows during summer. It has a drinking water source inside the cave.Palkot is also known for bronze utensils.

Gobbarsilli is one of the most famous tourist places in Palkot. There is a big stone balanced naturally. It is said that if anyone throws a pebble over the stone and if the stone passes to other side of this rock than he will be the lucky person and God will fulfill his desire.

Maoist activities

The Maoist insurgency started spreading around the mid-1990s and poses a big challenge to peace and development of the district. It “is involved in abduction, extortion, extortion killings.” The banned organisation is active largely in the eastern part of the district mainly in Kamadara, Basia, Palkot, Gumla, Raidih, Sisai and Bharno police stations. In order to counter the activities of the insurgents, arms, ammunition and security equipment have been provided in every police station. It includes bullet-proof and landmine-proof vehicles.

Geography

In the southern portion of Gumla district, there are flat topped hills called ''pat'', with an elevation ranging from 2,500 feet to 3,000 feet. The ''pat'' region is spread across Bishunpur, Chainpur and Ghaghra CD blocks. The highest areas are Netarhat pat (3,356 ft), Lamiti pat (3,777 ft) and Galgat pat (3,823 ft). The rest of the district occupies a part of the Ranchi Plateau with an average elevation of 2,300 feet.

Three major rivers flowing through Gumla district are North Karo River, South Koel River and Sankh River.

Palkot Wildlife Sanctuary, spread across Gumla and Simdega districts was established in 1990. It covers an area around 184 sq km.

Palkot CD block is bounded by Gumla CD block on the north, Basia CD block on the east, Bano and Kolebira CD blocks in Simdega district on the south, and Raidih CD block on the west.

Palkot CD block has an area of 579.03 km².Palkot police station serves Palkot CD block. The headquarters of Palkot CD block is located at Palkot village.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 Census of India, Palkot CD block had a total population of 80,859, all of which were rural. There were 40,215 (50%) males and 40,644 (50%) females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 13,347. Scheduled Castes numbered 6,533 (8.08%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 48,608 (60.11%).

Literacy

According to the 2011 census, the total number of literate persons in Palkot CD block was 41,557 (61.55% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 24,109 (72.17% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 17,448 (51.16% of the female population over 6 cm years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 21.02%.

census, literacy in Gumla district was 66.92%. Literacy in Jharkhand was 67.63% in 2011. Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.

See also – List of Jharkhand districts ranked by literacy rate

Language and religion

According to the ''Population by Mother Tongue 2011'' data, in the Palkot subdistrict, Hindi was the mother-tongue of 64,970 persons forming 80.35% of the population, followed by (number of persons and percentage of population in brackets), Kharia (11,223/ 13.88%). Kurukh (2,649/ 3.28%), Mundari (1,009/ 1.25%), Odia (775/ 0.96%), persons with other languages as mother-tongue (13/ 0.19%). Persons with Hindi as mother-tongue included 23,698 persons having Sadri/ Sadan, 40,424 persons having Nagpuri as mother-tongue.

Note: An attempt has been made to include all language groups each with at least 300 persons as their mother-tongue and only those groups with less than 300 persons as their mother-tongue in the census data are normally included in the “other languages” category. Comparatively smaller language groups with 200+ persons as their mother-tongue are mentioned in the text. Many languages have sub-groups. Those who are interested can see the reference for more details.

Hindi is the official language in Jharkhand and Urdu