Giridih

History

Giridih became the headquarters of the Giridih district when the new district was created on 6 December, 1972, by carving some parts of Hazaribagh district.

Minerals

Land of Giridih is rich in coal. There are many small mines and some big mines of coal found in Giridih.

Geography

Giridih is located at 24.18°N 86.3°E / 24.18; 86.3. It has an average elevation of 289 metres (948 ft). Śrī Sammeta Shikharji also known as the Parasnath Hills, located in Giridih is the highest mountain peak in Jharkhand. It is a conical granite peak located 4,477 feet (1,365 metres) above the sea level.

Giridih District is geographically divided into two natural divisions, which are the central plateau and lower plateau. The central plateau touches the western portion of the district near Bagodar block. The lower plateaus have an undulating surface and an average height of 1300 feet. In the north and north-west, the lower plateaus form fairly level tablelands until they reach the ghats when they drop to about 700 feet. The district has uniformly distributed and vast forests. Sal tree is the most famous and predominant trees here. Among other common trees are bamboo, semal, Mahua, palash, kusum, kend, Asian pear and bhelwa.

Giridih district is divided into two main water heads – Barakar and Usri rivers. Giridih is rich in mineral resources and has several large coal fields with one of the best qualities of metallurgical coal in India. Mica is found in abundance near the blocks Tisri and Gawan. Mica is of importance not only to Jharkhand but to India and other countries as well.

Climate

The climate of Giridih is generally dry. It is pleasant during winter season between October and March. Summer season starting April, is generally hot, with May being hottest when temperature rises up to 47C. Often high temperature is accompanied by high humidity levels, specially during June when premonsoon rain falls. It rains maximum during July and August, and rainy season continues up to mid October.

Government and politics

Late Nageshwar Prasad Sinha was the first MP from Giridih, when the town declared as separate district from Hazaribagh.

Ravindra Kumar Pandey from the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Indian general election, 2014 from Giridih (Lok Sabha constituency) and is the present Member of Parliament. Giridih city forms the Giridih (Vidhan Sabha constituency). Bharatiya Janata Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and Indian National Congress are some of the political parties in the city.

Transport

Giridih is connected by Road and Rail link.

Rail

Giridih Station is connected to Madhupur Junction located 48 km to the east by a single broad gauge railway line. There is a single passenger train which runs five times a day between the two stations and takes about an hour to reach Giridih. Parasnath Station, on the Howrah-Delhi grand chord line, is 48 km from Giridih towards the west. The Giridih station is under the administration of the Asansol division of the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways. There is a direct train (Boggie Attach) service from Giridih to Kolkata and Patna

Road

The Grand Trunk Road passes through Giridih. Giridih lies on the junction of NH-2 and NH-100.

Giridih has a bus terminus in the center of the town. The bus stand is divided into platforms for private buses. A Government Bus terminus is just adjacent to the main bus terminus. There are regular bus services from the city to other parts in the district. Bus service to Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Deoghar, Asansol, Durgapur, Kolkata, Howrah, Patna, Ranchi and Jamshedpur is available. Private cars and taxi facilities are available in the city. Other transport is trekkers, autos, rickshaws and mini buses.

Air

By air, there is a landing airstrip known as Boro aerodrom at the district headquarters of Giridih. Giridih is well connected to some of the popular airports of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and they are :

1. Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi 155 kilometres (96 mi)
2. Gaya Airport 169 kilometres (105 mi)
3. Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna 223 kilometres (139 mi)
4. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata 309 kilometres (192 mi)

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Giridih had a population of 143,529, it is the 8th largest city of jharkhand. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Giridih has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 63%. In Giridih, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy

This town used to bustle with economic activity in the period from 1960s to 1980's when the mineral mica processing and export community reaped tremendous gains through exports to the USSR. However, since the decline of the USSR and its split into twelve CIS countries, the industry has slowly declined and is currently ailing.

On the southern side of Giridih, in Beniadih, are the coal mines of Central Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (a Maharatna and the world's largest coal miner). It is the largest industry in the Giridih district and major contributor to the economy of the town. Central Coalfields Limited itself is a Miniratna.

The Data Processing Center of Data Processing Division (DPD) of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) provides complete IT solution from sample selection, software development to processing and tabulation of data canvassed through various socio-economic surveys of National Sample Survey Organisation.

With the formation of new state of Jharkhand and governments' initiative, a lot of small scale industries have come up in Giridih. They all are basically related to metals, the majority of them being Sponge Iron (DRI) Units, Induction Furnaces & Rolling Mills like Lal's, Mongia, Bharat Alloys, Atibir, Saluja Power and steel limited, Sri Ram Steels, Bhardwaj, Salasar, Allied, Shivam Group and Gaurishanker Electrocastings.

Mica business also contribute a lot in the trade data, mainly mica are exported to China, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, US the total value of mica exports are US$ 100 million, the main mica exporters are Jalan Mica Exports, Ratan Mica Exports, Jai Mica, Mount Hill Etc.

Culture

Kheer Kadam, Kalakand, Rajbhog (rasgullah), Tilkut, Ghewar and Piau are popular sweet here. A public library is located in Bara Chauk region in the city. Eid ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Moharram, Vishwakarma Puja, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja, Chhath, Deepawali, Holi, Guru Purnima, Ram Navami and Christmas are among the long list of festivals celebrated in Giridih. Chhath puja is celebrated on the banks of Usri river at Argaghat and Shastrinagar ghats. After Chhath puja, a local village fair held at Pachamba as Gaushala (cows shed) fair.

Education

Giridih has many prestigious colleges and schools.

The major colleges in this town include –

Schools include –

Media

Hindi newspapers Hindustan Dainik, Dainik Bhaskar, Prabhat Khabar and Dainik Jagran are the popular newspapers as the local language is Hindi. The main English newspapers covering Giridih are The Telegraph, The Times of India and The Hindustan Times. City News (News line) channel for the cable network provides the local news from Giridih. Doordarshan Jharkhand is the official channel covering Giridih.

Nearby places

Giridih has several religious and scenic tourist spots, including the following:

Notable people

Sir Nilratan Sircar was an eminent Indian doctor, educationist, philanthropist and swadeshi entrepreneur.