| Rourkela राउरकेला ରାଉରକେଲା |
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| — rourkela steel city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Orissa |
| District(s) | Sundergarh |
| Established | 1955 |
| Population |
7 Lakhs approx (2011[update]) • 6,696 /km2 (17,343 /sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
296 km2 (114 sq mi) • 2.19 metres (7.2 ft) |
| Website | www.rourkelacity.com |
Rourkela (Oriya:ରାଉରକେଲା) (Hindi: राउरकेला) is located in the northwestern tip of the Indian state of Orissa at the heart of a rich mineral belt. It is situated about 340 kilometres (211 mi) north of state capital Bhubaneswar.It is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. One of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India Limited is situated here. It also has one of the National Institutes of Technology of the country. Rourkela Steel Plant was first to bring cctv to the whole asia continent for the first time(1984). It is the 14th most clean and green city of India.
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The name "Rourkela" in the local tribal language of "Sadri" means "Our Village". It comes under Sundargarh district of the Indian state of Orissa. An indigenous community called Raulia used to inhabit this region.[1]
The picturesque and modern twin towns of Rourkela and Fertilizer Township as well as their developed periphery are located in areas that were once covered by dense forests. Rourkela city came into prominence in the year 1955. According to the census report of 2011 the population of Rourkela City is 7 lakhs approx. As per census records in 1921, the population was only 382. Then railway station of Rourkela was within the revenue village of Mahulpali.
When India obtained independence, a priority for the government was the industrialization of the country. A basic necessity was the production of iron and steel, and after a search for a suitable location, a steel plant was finally ear-marked in the Rourkela region. Thus, India's first public sector steel plant facility was established here with the help of germany private undertaking called KRUPP & DEMAG Co.
Rourkela is located at 84.54E longitude and 22.12N latitude in Sundergarh district of Orissa at an elevation of about 219 meters above mean sea level. The area of Rourkela is 200 square kilometers approximately. Red and laterite soils are found here which are quite rich in minerals. The area near Rourkela is rich in iron-ore hence a steel plant is situated in Rourkela. Rourkela is situated in a hilly region which adds to the natural beauty of the city. The Koel and Sankha rivers meet at Vedvyas, Rourkela and flow as a single river called Brahmani. Hence Rourkela is the confluence of Koel, Sankha and Brahmani.
"The Hands of Steel" or the "Ten Million Monument",[2] designed by Mr Vijay Acquilla made at the initiative of Dr. P L Agarwal is one of the well known landmarks of Rourkela.
The 23 kilometers long Ring Road, connecting 19 sectors and some other parts of the steel city including old Rourkela is perhaps its most important landmark. The important places on the Ring Road are as follows -
1. Aam Bagan (Ispat Market)
2. VIP Market Sector-5 & Super Market (Near from Sector 19 Chowk)
3. Chhend Colony
4. Basanti Nagar & STI Chowk
5. Indira Gandhi Park
7. Bisra Chowk (Rourkela Main Road)
8. Main Gate (RSP, SAIL)
Important Layouts (Other than Ring Road) are: Civil Township, Station Road (Bus & Railway), Koel Nagar, Panposh, Udit Nagar, Fertiliser Township, IGH Road, Hanuman Vatika, Vedvyas.
Rourkela has a tropical climate and receives high rainfall during Southwest monsoon (June–September) and retreating Northeast monsoon (December–January). Average annual rainfall ranges between 160–200 cm. The minimum and maximum temperatures are in the range of 7 C to 47 C with a mean minimum and maximum temperature range of 9.8 C to 39.2 C during coldest and hottest months. Thirty six percent of the geographical area of the district has semi-evergreen or tropical dry deciduous forest.[3]
Rourkela is the industrial capital of Orissa. It has industries of all sizes. The city is known internationally for iron & steel trades. Recent upspurt in iron & steel pricing has seen a lot of industries of all sizes coming in and around Rourkela. The city is near to the source of Raw Materials. Major Industries:
Rourkela also acts as a hub for tourism in Orissa. Hanuman Vatika is a famous site to see and behold in Rourkela
The city houses the Hanuman Vatika, which is a major attraction for the locals and visitors to the town. A 74.9 feet (23 m) tall full-fledged Hanuman statue welcomes the visitors to the steel city. Sri Laxmana Swami was the architect behind the statue. The Hanuman Vatika Trust Board has made a temple complex on 13 acres (53,000 m²) of land. The Bata Mangala Mandira, Vinayaka Mandira and Manas Parayana Sharala have been established to the entrance of the Hanuman Vatika. The Koili Baikuntha, the kitchen, the Kalyan Mandap and the Bhajan Mandap lie close to the Jagannath temple.
A place of natural beauty also considered a 'Tirtha', is situated 9 km away on the confluence of the rivers Shankha, Koel and Saraswati. There is also a Vedic Ashram and a Gurukula system school here. It is at this site that the epic Mahabharata was purported to have been put down on paper by Maharishi Vyas.
Mandira Dam, near Kansbahal is situated at the lowest level,it is mostly used for Rourkela Steel Plant. If the dam were breached, the water would drown almost 100 villages.
The Ghoghar Temple, 30 kms. from Rourkela dates back to antiquity. The temple is by the Ghoghar river, a gorge on River IB, is situated in 200 19’ North and 840 0 ‘E longitude. The beautiful gorge with its sylvan background is also a popular holy spot and attracts visitors throughout the year. There is a naturally formed Siva Linga of Black granite here. The renovated temple has a facility of community lunch and lodging for outstation visitors. Devotees from all over throng the place especially during the month of Shravan(July / August). Other then this during Kartika Purnima in the months of November and Shivaratri February / March, thousands of devotees visit this place. Ghoghar is easily approachable both from Kansbahal and Rajgangpur.courtsy by - S.M.Engineers(Samarendra Mohapatra),ph-9937905360,Ranibandh,Rajgangpur
The 244 m High Khandadhar is 90 km from Rourkela via Bonaigarh. It is formed by the perennial Korapani Nala which flows here throughout the year. It is the highest waterfall in Orissa and the 4th highest in India.
Darjin is a picnic spot on the river Brahmani. Nearby is Deodhar, a gorge on the river. It is 51 km from Rourkela on National Highway No. 23. About 180 km from Rourkela, Junagarh has a fort of historical and archaeological importance with ancient caves. Another haunt of the tourists is the Mirig Khog Waterfall, a picnic spot, 111 km from Rourkela.
It is situated on the top of the small hill with a beautiful environment of green tree and fresh air through the day. It is also visible from the Railway Station. The images of Maa Kali, Maa Lakshmi and Maa Saraswati were found on the hill in the year 2000. then Maa Vaishnu Devi Temple Trust was formed in the year 2000. The Temple was constructed and completed in the year 2003. Proper stairs were made and water tanks were arranged for drinking water. Maa Durga Temple is another attraction near the cave to be worthy seen.
Situated in Sector-14 on a small hillock this is a place to attend complete peace of mind, away from the hustle and bustle of city. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi Mata...
The steel city is divided mainly into two sections: Old Rourkela (sections of the city near the railway station that were settled prior to RSP coming up) and the much larger Steel township. The Steel township till 1999, was divided into 18 Sectors, Sector 6 being the largest of them.
The Steel township & Fertilizer Township are under the Steel Plant Administration while the other sections of the city are under the Rourkela Municipal Committee. Some rural areas of South Rourkela are managed by the Jalda Panchayat.
As of 2001 India census,[4] Rourkela had nearly 4 lakhs of population. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Rourkela has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 69%. In Rourkela, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
As Rourkela is the commercial and industrial capital of Orissa, it has a developed transportation network.
It is situated on the Kolkata-Mumbai South Eastern railway line which is a major route connecting the two metros of India. Rourkela is directly connected to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Cuttack, Delhi, Jamshedpur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Puri, Patna, Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, Raipur, Sambalpur and many more cities of India.Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express introduced this year has broken all records of popularity.
Rourkela city is connected with National Highways NH-23 and SH-10 to the towns and cities of Orissa. The three-wheeler auto taxis are the most important mode of transportation in the city. Taxis also ply on the city's roads. Sampark buses, introduced in September 2006, connect various areas in the city.
After the survey of AAI, air services have again resumed to the city. A private airliner known as Sky Airways has launched services in the city since 1 October, thus connecting the steel city with the capital city of Bhubaneswar via Barbil. Rourkela departure 9:45 a.m. daily (five days a week, except Saturday and Sunday) The service has temporarily been suspended by the authorities.
The Steel City of is likely to reconnected by air shortly with a Kolkata-based private air service operator all set to start Rourkela - Kolkata air service from September 1 this year. The necessary clearances from the Airport Authority of India Ltd and Rourkela Steel Plant have been obtained for launching the flight service
DTDS, a Kolkata-based travel and tour operator, has got the clearance from Rourkela Steel Plant for using its airport to operate one private air taxi, which would be a three to nine seater flight. DTDS has been providing similar kind of air services from Bokaro to Kolkata.
Air Service to Rourkela http://greater-rourkela.blogspot.com/2011/08/rourkela-kolkata-air-service-from-sept.html
Rourkela has two recreation parks: Indira Gandhi Park in front of the Gayatri Mandir hillock, and a smaller Jubilee Park abutting Sector-8.
Bhanja Bhawan and Civic Center are the two landmarks which shows the rich cultural and societal values of the city. Since its inception Bhanja Bhawan caters to the needs of all types classical, folk dancing and singing, paintings of the city. Every year State level and National Level Drama and Dancing competitions are held in Civic Center.
Rourkela City has a radio station of All India Radio (A.I.R) located at Jagda. All India Radio, Rourkela, broadcasts on FM Band 102.06 MHz since 24-06-1995. It is the only FM channel in Rourkela broadcasting National, Regional and District News. The listening zone of this station extends covers Sundergarh District and goes up to Jharkhand. This station originates programmes for all categories and section of people, Children, Women, Youth, Industrial Workers, Farmers and programmes on Current events. The entertainment programmes contains Tribal Music, Folk Songs, Odissi, Sugam and Film Music. This station works for propagation, promotion and presevation of art, culture and heritage of Kosal area. The Tribal Music and Folk Music collection of the station is ample proof of that. Recently BIG 92.7 F.M. has been launched in the city. Every morning 5am to night 10pm the city rocks with these music stations. Other radio channels include Radio Chocolate 104 MHz
The Oscar nominated film director, Mira Nair, was born here.[5]
Raj Viswanadha, the writer of the super-hit animation series Chhota Bheem telecast on Pogo TV, hails from here.
Rourkela is not only a steel city, but also the educational, technical and research hub of Western Orissa. It houses many English medium schools which provide world class education to their students.St Joseph's Convent School,Carmel Convent School ,Deepika English Medium School, Ispat English Medium (Public School),Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi Public School,St Pauls School, M.G.M EM School are some of the finest Schools in Rourkela. The students of these schools represent their schools in various science seminars not only at national level but also at international level. Some students of Rourkela have also got the rare opportunity to visit NASA. Rourkela also houses one of the premier institutes of the country, NIT Rourkela.[6]
There are also reputed private colleges like Padmanava (PCE) and Purushottam (PIET). This colleges come under the jurisdiction of Biju Pattnaik University Of Technology, BPUT head office is located in rourkela. http://www.bput.ac.in/
Rourkela has produced some of the best hockey players for India at the international level including present day India team captain Dilip Tirkey and deep defender Lazarus Barla. It has produced as many as 4 Arjuna Awardees including Mrs. Minati Mohapatra. Olympians of repute like Paralympian Roshan and Rachita Mistry are from this city. Indian national cricketeer Sanjay Raul and the Under-19 world cup representative Chandrakant Barik play from this city. Former National 'B' champion in chess and second only to Viswanathan Anand in national 'A' Mr Pabitra Mohan Mohanty is a proud sporting son of the city.
Currently Natraj Behera, an emerging cricketer from the city has been selected in the much popular IPL-3.
The Ispat Stadium and a beautiful astro-turf hockey stadium are located in Sector-6. There is a basketball ground, a chess hall, and a well maintained volley-ball ground in the same area. The indoor stadium hosts the badminton players and TT stars.
Rourkela has an International hockey stadium with synthetic astroturf which has been host to World Junior Hockey Championship and been a training center to most of the international Hockey players of India. Ispat Stadium has been host for several Ranji Trophy matches. The city has produced many reputed Ranji players in the recent times.
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