Topchanchi is 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 forms an administrative division 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 e ...

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 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

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), located in neighbouring Giridih district, passes through the Topchanchi and

Tundi Tundi is a village in Tundi CD block in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Tundi is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. Al ...

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

Pradhan Khunta Pradhan Khunta is a village in Baliapur CD Block in Dhanbad subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography The Dhangi Hills (highest peak 385.57 m) run from Pradhan Khunta to Gobindpur. Demographics As per t ...

to Gobindpur. 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

Topchanchi Lake is located at . Topchanchi CD Block is bounded by

Pirtand Pirtand (also spelled Pirtanr) is a village in the Pirtand CD block in the Dumri subdivision of the Giridih district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Pirtand is located at According to Google maps, the administrative f ...

CD Block, in Giridih district, and

CD Block, on the north, Baghmara CD Block on the east and south, and

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 ...

CD Block, in Bokaro district, on the west. Topchanchi CD Block has a forest area of 8,135.19 hectares, covering 43.68% of the area of the CD Block. This CD Block has a large forest reserve. Topchanchi CD Block has an area of . It has 28

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 126 villages. Topchanchi and Hariharpur Police Stations serve this CD Block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Topchanchi. It is located 36 km from

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 ...

, the district headquarters.

Demographics

Population

As per 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 ...

Topchanchi CD Block had a total population of 163,342, of which 111,982 were rural and 51,360 were urban. There were 84,974 (52%) males and 78,368 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 23,939.

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 19,346 (11.84%) 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 10,465 (6.41%). Topchanchi CD Block has four

census towns 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 ...

(2011 population figure in brackets): Hariharpur (6,938), Topchanchi (6,082),

Gomoh Gomoh (better known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Junction Gomoh) is a census town in Topchanchi CD Block Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It has a major railway junction, which was renamed Netaj ...

(31,495) and

Gunghasa Gunghasa is a census town in Topchanchi CD block in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Gunghasa is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in ...

(6,845). Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Topchanchi CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Chitarpur (4,187), Rama Kund (4,297) and Khario (5,465).

Literacy

census the total number of literates in Topchanchi CD Block was 103,301 (74.10% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 61,651 (85.13% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 41,650 (62.18% 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 22.95%. census, literacy in Dhanbad district was 74.52%. Literacy in Jharkhand was 66.41% in 2011. Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%. 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

Livelihood

In Topchanchi CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 9,381 and formed 17.10%, agricultural labourers numbered 10,653 and formed 19.42%, household industry workers numbered 2,060 and formed 3.76% and other workers numbered 32,761 and formed 59.72%. Note: In the census records a person is considered a cultivator, if the person is engaged in cultivation/ supervision of land owned. When a person who works on another person's land for wages in cash or kind or share, is regarded as an agricultural labourer. Household industry is defined as an industry conducted by one or more members of the family within the household or village, and one that does not qualify for registration as a factory under the Factories Act. Other workers are persons engaged in some economic activity other than cultivators, agricultural labourers and household workers. It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers and entertainment artistes.

Infrastructure

There are 105 inhabited villages in Topchanchi CD Block. In 2011, 90 villages had power supply. 7 villages had tap water (treated/ untreated), 99 villages had well water (covered/ uncovered), 99 villages had hand pumps, and 5 villages had no drinking water facility. 11 villages had post offices, 13 villages had sub post offices, 7 villages had telephones (land lines), 21 villages had public call offices and 69 villages had mobile phone coverage. 98 villages had pucca (paved) village roads, 22 villages had bus service (public/ private), 6 villages had railway stations, 10 villages had autos/ modified autos, and 28 villages had tractors. 4 villages had bank branches, 10 villages had agricultural credit societies, 6 villages had cinema/ video halls, 7 villages had public library and public reading rooms. 84 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 ...

, 9 villages had weekly haat (market) and 60 villages had assembly polling stations.

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.

Topchanchi lake

Topchanchi Lake, a tourist attraction, is located in this block. Topchanchi Lake, created by a dam constructed in 1924, has a storage capacity of 1,295.11 million gallons. Jharia Water Board supplies 2.40 million gallons of filtered water per day to the Jharia coalfields.

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

The Asansol-Gaya section, a part of the

Grand Chord Grand Chord is part of the Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line and Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line. It acts as a link between Sitarampur, (Asansol), (West Bengal) and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, Uttar Pradesh, previously known as Mughalsarai Jun ...

, Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line, passes through this block.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh railway station Gomoh Junction, officially known as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh (station code is GMO) is a railway junction station in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Several branch lines start here: Gomoh–Barkakana branch line, Gomoh–Muri branch l ...

is on this line. Topchanchi-Gomoh Road meets NH 19 (old no. NH 2)/

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

at Topchanchi.

Education

In 2011, amongst the 105 inhabited villages in Topchanchi CD Block, 19 villages had no primary school, 63 villages had one primary school and 23 villages had more than one primary school. 51 villages had at least one primary school and one middle school. 10 villages had at least one middle school and one secondary school.

Healthcare

In 2013, Topchanchi CD Block had 1 block primary health centre, 4 primary health centres and 1 medical unit of Central Government/ Central PSU with total 30 beds and 10 doctors (excluding private bodies). 620 patients were treated indoor and 54,402 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD Block. In 2011, amongst the 105 inhabited villages in Topchanchi CD Block, 5 villages had primary health centres, 23 villages had primary health sub-centres, 15 villages had maternity and child welfare centres, 1 village had a TB Clinic, 1 village had an allopathic hospital, 1 village had an alternative medicine hospital, 3 village had a dispensary, no village had veterinary hospital, 9 villages had medicine shops and 50 villages had no medical facilities.

External links

- Information about Topchanchi is included here

References

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