Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur ) is the most populous urban agglomeration in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

Jamshedpur is the headquarters of the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. According to the 2011 census of India, Jamshedpur (East Singhbhum & Seraikela-Kharsawan) district has current population of 1,337,131; the Jamshedpur urban agglomeration (UA), which includes the adjoining areas, Jamshedpur Urban Area is the third Largest city in Eastern India. It is also the first planned industrial city of India. It is located on the Chota Nagpur plateau and is surrounded by the picturesque Dalma Hills. The city is bordered by the rivers Subarnarekha and Kharkai on the north and west parts of the city. Jamshedpur is home to world's tenth largest steel manufacturing company, Tata Steel.

Jamshedpur has been predicted as the 84th fastest growing city in the world for the timeframe 2006–2020 with average annual growth of 2.59%.

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 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.

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 150 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.

Civic administration

The civic administration of the city is under Urban Development Department, Govt of Jharkhand.

The major Urban Local Bodies are :

• Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC)
• Mango Notified Area Committee (MMC)
• Tata Steel Industrial Township
• Jugsalai Nagar Palika (Jugsalai Municipality)
• Adityapur Nagar Nigam (AMC)

The government is considering creating a unified municipal administrative body called the Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration or JUA. The proposed body would comprise the areas currently under the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee, Mango Notified Area Committee, Adityapur Municipal corporation, Jugsalai Nagar Parishad

Transportation

Railways

Tatanagar Junction is a railway junction and a 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:

• National Highway 33 (NH33) touches the city and connects it to Mumbai and further joins the NH32, which connects with Kolkata, Delhi NH2, NH33 and NH6 connects it to Kharagpur, Kolkata.
• National Highway 32 (NH 32) connects Jamshedpur to Dhanbad, Via Bokaro.
• 4 lane Expressway (Adityapur-Kandra Road) connects Jamshedpur to Kandra via Gamahria.
• Marine Drive, Jamshedpur 4 lane Expressway connects Adityapur Toll Bridge to Mango via Kadma, Sonari through the western corridors of Jamshedpur

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 had in proposed to set up a 600-acre (2.4 km2) Greenfield airport on the outskirts of Jamshedpur in Adityapur-Seraikela region. 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 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.