Jamshedpur

Etymology

In 1919 Lord Chelmsford named the city, which was earlier a village called Sakchi, to Jamshedpur in honour of its founder, Jamsetji Tata, whose birthday is celebrated on 3 March as Founder's Day. J. N. Tata had written to his son Dorabji Tata about his vision of a great city in the area. On Founders Day, the 225-acre (0.91 km²) Jubilee Park is decorated with brilliant lightwork for about a week.

The city has several nicknames, including "Industrial capital of Jharkhand" (spontaneous among native youngsters); "Steel City" (which was referenced during Tata Steel's "Green City—Clean City—Steel City" campaign); "Tatanagar" after the name of its railway station or simply "Tata" in deference to the presence of Tata companies. At one time it was also known as "Kalimati" (meaning "Land of Goddess Kali") after the village near the Sakchi area. Sakchi was renamed to Jamshedpur in 1919. The only trace of the name is the main road through Sakchi area of Jamshedpur which is named Kalimati Road.

History

At the end of the 19th century, Jamsetji Tata met steelmakers in Pittsburgh to get the most advanced technology for his plant. It is said that he got the idea of building a steel plant when he heard Thomas Carlyle declaring that "the nation which gains control of iron soon acquires the control of gold" in a lecture in Manchester. At the turn of the twentieth century, Jamshetji Tata asked geologist Charles Page Perin to help him find the site to build India's first steel plant. The search for a site rich in iron, coal, limestone and water began in April 1904 in today's Madhya Pradesh. Then Maharaja of Mayurbhanj appointed in his court renowned geologist Shri Pramatha Nath Bose, who had been instrumental in setting up of the steel plant at Sakchi. Bose, on the request of the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, surveyed the Gorumahisani hills of Babanghati region of then Mayurbhanja state, and found Hematite deposit there. P. N. Bose insisted Jamsetji Tata choose Sakchi for his dream plant.

The prospectors C. M. Weld, Dorabji Tata and Shapurji Saklatvala took nearly three years in a painstaking search across vast stretches of inhospitable terrain to find a location. One day they came across a village called Sakchi, on the densely forested stretches of the Chota Nagpur plateau, near the confluence of the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers. It seemed to be the ideal choice and the place was selected.

In 1908 the construction of the plant as well as the city officially began. The first steel ingot was rolled on 16 February 1912. It was a momentous day in the history of industrial India.

Jamsetji's plan for the city was clear. He envisioned far more than a mere row of workers hutments. He insisted upon building all the comforts and conveniences a city could provide. As a result, many areas in the city are well planned and there are public leisure places such as the Jubilee Park. While building the city, Jamsetji Tata had said, "Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick-growing variety. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens; reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks; earmark areas for Hindu temples, Muslim mosques and Christian churches."

Messrs Julin Kennedy Sahlin from Pittsburgh prepared the first layout of the town of Jamshedpur. What the city looks like today is a testament to their visionary plans. Jamshedpur is the only million plus city in India without a municipal corporation.

Legend has it that in the late 1980s when the state government proposed a law to end the Tatas' administration of Jamshedpur and bring the city under a municipality, the local populace rose in protest and defeated the government's proposal. In 2005, a similar proposal was once again put up by lobbying politicians. The target audience was the working class. A large majority sided with the government and set up protest meetings outside the East-Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner's office. However, the objective was never achieved and Jamshedpur remains without a municipality.

Geography

Jamshedpur is situated in the southern end of the state of Jharkhand and is bordered by the states of Orissa and West Bengal. The average elevation of the city is 135 metres while the range is from 129 m to 151 m. Total geographical area of Jamshedpur is 209 km square. Jamshedpur is primarily located in a hilly region and is surrounded by the Dalma Hills running from west to east and covered with dense forests. The other smaller hill ranges near the city are Ukam Hill and the Jadugoda-musabani hill range. The city is also a part of the larger Chota Nagpur Plateau region. The region is formed of the sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks belonging to the Dharwarian period.

Jamshedpur is located at the confluence of Kharkai and Subarnarekha Rivers. Subarnarekha is the principal river of Jamshedpur, which flows from west to south-eastern part of the territory. Many small rivers, especially the tributaries, join the Subarnarekha river in this area. Kharkai flows from the south and joins the Subarnarekha river at a place called Domuhani. The two rivers are the major sources of drinking water and groundwater for the city. Several lakes of varying size are also located near the fringes of the city. The major of them being the Dimna lake located in between the Dalma range and the Sitarampur reservoir situated beside Kharkai river. It's also a major tourist spot in the region. Both of them also act as reservoirs for drinking water in the city.

The city falls under deciduous type of forest region and the green cover is estimated to be around 33% of the total land area. The city falls under the Seismic Zone II region.

Climate

Jamshedpur features a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen: Aw). Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot in May and June. The temperature variation during summer is from 35 to 49 °C (95 to 120 °F). The minimum temperature during winters is 1 °C (34 °F). The climate of Jamshedpur is marked by south-west monsoon. Jamshedpur gets heavy rainfall from July to September and receives about 1,200 mm (47 in) of rainfall annually.

Economy

Jamshedpur is home to the first private iron and steel company of India. The areas surrounding Jamshedpur are rich in minerals, including iron ore, coal, manganese bauxite and lime. It is a modern, industrial city; the main industries being iron and steel, truck manufacturing, tinplate production, cement and other small and medium scale industries revolving around these products.

The largest factory is that of Tata Steel (the erstwhile Tata Iron and Steel Company or TISCO), situated almost at the centre of the city. Tata Steel is the largest iron and steel producing plant in India, as well as the oldest.

Tata Steel has won the Prime Minister's Trophy for Best Integrated Steel Plant for a record six times, and the Deming Prize for major advances in quality improvement.

The other major factory in the city is Tata Motors with Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd, which manufactures heavy vehicles and construction/earth moving equipment. Tata Motors was previously called The Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), as railway locomotives were once manufactured here. The plant spreads over 822 acres, is one of the largest in the country, and at peak rate can roll out 450 vehicles per day.

Jamshedpur is home to TATA Cummins Private Limited (Formerly, TATA Cummins Limited), Tayo Rolls Limited, TRF, JUSCO and Tinplate Company of India Limited. Apart from the above large corporates, Jamshedpur has a varied and powerful industrial base established at Adityapur Industrial Area (managed by AIADA). Jugsalai is key market for wholesalers while Sakchi is popular retail low cost market.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, the city of Jamshedpur had a population of 725,623, but the Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,337,131. The city is designated as a Million Plus Urban Agglomeration as per Government terminology. Males constitute 52.1% of the population and females 47.9%. Tribals constitute around 28% of the population. Jamshedpur has an average literacy rate of 85.94% - higher than the national average of 74%. In Jamshedpur, 11.5% of the population is under six years of age.

Civic administration

The civic administration of the city is under Greater Jamshedpur Metropolitan Region, Govt of Jharkhand.

The major urban local bodies are :

Railways

Tatanagar Junction is a railway junction and an A-1 category model station on the Chakradharpur division, of the South Eastern Railway. Other railway stations in the city is Adityapur, Gamharia, Kandra, Govindpur etc.

Roadways

Jamshedpur is connected to other parts of India through national and state highways. The major highways are:

Airport

Sonari Airport is a tiny airport serving the city at present. It is spread over a 25-acre area in the Sonari area of the city. The airport is primarily used for bringing in chartered planes of TATA group.

Tata steel international airport is a proposed Greenfield airport on the outskirts of Jamshedpur. In June 2011, Tata Steel and TRIL entered formally into a joint venture for building the airport. The new airport will be of international standard with a 10,000 ft runway, it will have the capacity to allow commercial airliners such as the Airbus A320 and Jumbo jets to land and take off which was not possible from the present airport. As of Dec 2012, Land acquisition process has started for the Airport. Out of 528 acres of required land 90% is owned by Govt. whereas rest is private land. The company is at present facing opposition in the acquisition process from the local villagers.

Education and research

Important educational institutions in Jamshedpur are: the XLRI, which is ranked among the best B-schools in India, founded in 1949; Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, established in 1961; and the engineering college National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, an Institute of National Importance.

The National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), one of the 38 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories, was inaugurated on 26 November 1950 by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute (SNTI), established in 1921 as the technical training department of Tata Steel, now develops skilled employees for other companies as well. Its 400,000 volume library is one of the most popular in the city.

Shopping Mall

Sports

Jamshedpur has a reputation as the sports capital of Jharkhand with Tata Steel promoting sporting activities. Jamshedpur's private clubs provide opportunities for activities, such as golf, tennis, squash, billiards, horseriding and water scootering.

Jamshedpur FC is an ISL team based in Jamshedpur. The team is owned by Tata Steel.

Academies and stadiums include:

JRD Tata Sports Complex has an international standard multi-use stadium and an eight-lane monosynthetic track. It is primarily used for football and athletics but it has facilities for various other sports including archery, basketball, field hockey, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, skating, yoga as well as a modern gymnasium, are available at the complex. The stadium hosted the women football competition & archery event of the 34th National Games in 2011.

Keenan Stadium hosted its 1st International One Day Cricket match on 7 December 1983 in which India lost to the touring West Indies Team. Many other International matches have been played here in which India has won only one match against South Africa in 1999–2000.

Tata Football Academy was started in 1987 to nurture budding Indian footballers and raise the standard of Indian football. TFA is a football club in Jamshedpur, sponsored by Tata Steel. Today, Tata Football Academy is one of the premier football breeding grounds in India.

Tata Archery Academy: archery is a sport indigenous to the tribal people of Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana. Tata Steel has pursued and nurtured the local tribals and provided them with facilities and training to bring them up to international competition standards in archery. Its students have attributed a lot of fame to the institute by bringing in many medals in National and International competitions.

Tata Steel Adventure Foundation - Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, is the director of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation. She designs courses using natural resources as training materials and shares her leadership experience of such expeditions citing real life examples. She has successfully led many mountaineering and adventure expedition including an all women expedition to empower women in India and thereby creating more leaders.

Jamshedpur has two golf courses—the Beldih Golf Course and the Golmuri Golf Course. Both these courses are at the heart of the city. The biggest is the Beldih Golf Course which is around 6000 yards. The Golmuri Golf Course although smaller is also challenging. They together hold the annual Tata Open Golf Tournament which is an event held under the support of the Professional Golf Tour of India. The tournament was started in 2002. Jamshedpur also has the Jamshedpur Gliding Club and the Jamshedpur Co-operative Flying club.

Print media

Hindi, English and Bengali newspapers are published from the city, including Dainik Jagran, The Telegraph, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan Dainik, The Times of India, Prabhat Khabar and The Avenue Mail.

Notable people