Bokaro Steel City is a major industrial centre and the 4th largest city in the State of Jharkhand, in India. It is the district headquarters of Bokaro which is one of the most industrialized zone in India and also home to the largest steel plant in India and several other large, medium and small industries.
Bokaro Steel City is the headquarters of the Bokaro district as well as Koylanchal range (Bokaro, Dhanbad and Giridih). It is also one of the three headquarters of the Police IG zone, apart from Ranchi and Dumka, covering seven districts- Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Giridih, Koderma, Chatra, Bokaro, and Ramgarh.
History
Formerly there was a village named Maraphari deep in the jungles of Chota Nagpur. The closest village cluster was Chas. Purulia was the closest town and the area was ruled by the Maharaja of Kashipur. Folklore has it that this area came under Mughal rule by the conquests of Man Singh. The region was named ManBhoom after him (VeerBhoom and SinghBhoom are the neighbouring regions also named after him, Veer Man Singh).
This remote place came into prominence when Jawaharlal Nehru planned to build the first swadeshi steel plant with the help of the Soviets. The proximity to coal, iron ore, manganese, and other raw materials had helped in the selection of this place. The steel plant was incorporated as a limited company on 24 January 1964, and was later merged with SAIL and came to be known as Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL). The late 1960s and early 1970s saw heavy construction of the steel plant as well as the township. The first blast furnace started on 2 October 1972.
The Sector III and Camps I and II were the first to come in the township followed by Sectors II, IX, IV and so on. The first private school came in the form of St. Xavier's School which the Jesuits from Hazaribagh built on invitation from the BSL management. In the 1980s the township developed rapidly with new sectors, schools, parks, zoos and other public amenities. Township development ceased with the completion of IV/F and IV/G. In all Bokaro Steel City consists of 10 sectors (Sector I to XII where sectors VII and X do not exist). Each sector is then further divided into sub-sectors A,B,C and so on.
The late 1990s saw sprucing up of the City Park and creation of islands, new schools and the success of Bokaro's students in all India level competition exams, specially IITs. During this period Bokaro also emerged as the eastern hub for academics. Bokaro has a cosmopolitan culture as the population consists of people from all parts of India.
Geography
Bokaro is located in the eastern part of India
It is located in picturesque surroundings on the southern bank of river Damodar with Garga, one of its tributaries meandering along the southern and eastern outskirts of the city. On the north, the city is flanked by the high ranges of the Parasnath Hills and on the south just beyond the river Garga, it is enveloped by the Satanpur hillocks.
Two cooling ponds have been built for use in steel making. A dam on river Garga has been built to supply water to the township as well as the steel plant, but due to ever increasing demand Tenughat dam is supplementing it.
Demographics
As of 2011 India census, under the urban agglomeration of Bokaro Steel City had a population of 564,319[3] making it the 86th largest Urban agglomeration and fourth largest city in Jharkhand . Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bokaro Steel City has an average literacy rate of 84.87%, higher than the national average of 74%, with male literacy of 93% and female literacy of 79%.
Economy
The city gets its name from the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) which lies at the core of its economy. It's well aided by the new steel mill Electrosteel Castings Limited and power plants like Bokaro Power Supply Corporation Private Limited, a joint venture of Damodar Valley Corporation and BSL.
Being an industrial area, agriculture has taken a back seat and is nothing worth mentioning except small amounts of paddy grown on the fringes of the city by the villagers.
The economy of the Steel City is heavily depended on the steel plant which is the primary source of income for the employees. After the 2001 downturn, steel prices hardened due to a huge rise in consumption by China and India. This resulted in large profits by SAIL which crossed a record Rs 6000 crores (USD 1.3 Bn)[4] by the end of FY' 06. It has maintained its profitability since then with a slight dip to Rs 4900 crores (USD 1 Bn)[5] in 2011 due to unfavorable economic conditions of 2011.
Reproduced from Wikipedia
