Belpahar
| Belpahar ବେଲପାହାଡ଼ | |
|---|---|
| city | |
  Belpahar | |
| Coordinates: 21°49′18″N 83°50′45″E / 21.8218°N 83.8458°ECoordinates: 21°49′18″N 83°50′45″E / 21.8218°N 83.8458°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Odisha |
| District | Jharsuguda |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 32,807 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Oriya |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 768217 |
| Vehicle registration | OR-23 |
| Sex ratio | 1.166 ♂/♀ |
Belpahar is a town and a municipality in Jharsuguda district in the state of Odisha, India. Belpahar is famous for its geographical location, as it is the center for many coal mines areas nearby. Krosaki TRL Limited is located in Belpahar while there is Mahanadi Coalfields Limited and Ib Thermal Power station in the vicinity. It has a railway station which levels 55 metres high above the sea level. This area is among the fastest growing industrial zones in Odisha.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[1] Belpahar had a population of 32,807. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Belpahar has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 60% of the males and 40% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Transport
Belpahar is well connected by road and rail (but not by Air). Belpahar railway station is well connected with trains from Howrah, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad. Jharsuguda which is 22 km from Belpahar is connected from the rest of the country including Chennai and Bangalore. Belpahar is connected through direct buses from Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Bhadrak and Raipur. National Highway 200 connects Belpahar directly to Raipur.
Economy
Belpahar is surrounded by many coal mines. The IB thermal power plant is located near Belpahar. The major industry is TRL Krosaki Ltd. Other important industries surrounding Belpahar are IB Thermal Power Plant and Mahanadi Coal Field.Other Inustries:- (i) New Simplex Industries (ii) Shyam Engineering Works (iii) ICI Chemicals (iv) Ib Valley Metal Forming (P) Ltd.
Education
Belpahar has six major schools. Girdhar Lal High School (GLHS), Aadarsh Balika Utchya Vidyalay (ABUV), Belpahar English Medium School (BEMS), Dayanand Anglo Vedic Public School(DAVPS), Vivekananda International School (VINS), and the Belpahar Refractory High school (BRHS), which prepares students for higher secondary education. Of these, Girdhar is the oldest. BEMS follows the curriculum of ICSE (Year 10) and ISC (Year 12). DAVPS follows the CBSE curriculum. BRHS follow the curriculum of the Odisha state board of higher education. For higher studies, Belpahar college offers graduate degrees in commerce, arts and science.
Sports
TRL field, is one of the biggest ground in state. Surrounded by galary of sitting capacity 10,000 people at once. It has witnessed many state level cricket tournament and national level ladies football tournament.
Healthcare
Jahangir Ghandy Hospital is one of the best hospital in this area equipped with all the latest medical equipment, Adding to this it has Dr Samal's Clinic, Dr Latika Patel's Clinic and Dr Pradhan's clinic. SMILE DENTAL CLINIC caters to the needs of dental problems.
Places of interest
Belpahar also has some nearby tourist attractions such as Koili Ghoghar (35 kilometres from Belpahar), Lal Pathar (8 km from Belpahar),Khadu (5 kilometres from Belpahar),Bikramkhol in Banjari village,Ullapgarh & Ujjalpur (7 kilometres from Belphar),Jagannath Temple, Nava Durga Temple(Gandhi Nagar, Belpahar) and IB river (8 kilometres from Belpahar).The SANI mandir at sukha bandh also attracts lots of devotees.
Belpahar has one beautiful Park named Jubilee park having a large variety of flower and water fountain cover with light work. The name of this park has been changed to JRD TATA Park.
Belpahar & surrounding areas are full of minerals. Makarchatta-(3 kilometres from (deepak home to bealpahar), sitaram pahad from (2.5 km from bealphar)
Bikram Khol
On NH-200 at about 5 km from Belpahar there is a village known as Banjari.In the vicinity of the village the ancient cave of Bikramkhol is located. In this inaccessible dense forest ancient people lived surviving on fruits, roots and animal meat. During 4000 BC there was evolution of human civilization in the region and a script was developed by them.
There are some ancient script engraved in the wall of Bikramkhol and also paintings of animals. Circular holes have been dug in the wall where weapons, dress and other articles of use were being kept suspended. Even on the floors circular holes have been dug to pound the grains. Bikramkhol has been declared a tourist spot by the Central Government and tourists, historians and researchers from all over the country and abroad.
Koili Ghoghar
A scenic tourist spot about forty five minutes away from Belpahar Railway Station on the way to Raigarh, Koili Ghoghar houses a beautiful river carving its way out of rock faces and cascading down in steps. It is a breath-taking sight during the rainy season. There are the resident ducks an monkeys that provide quite an entertainment for the tourists. It is a favoured picnic spot with people coming from far and near for a view of the lush greenery, surreal rock faces and the creamy waters cascading down the rocks. There is also a Shiva temple and a temple veneering a local deity for those with a religious vein. The town also has a Maa Tarini temple, near the NAC Checkpost(which is not closed),in the dense forest
Ullapgarh
This is a hillock about fifteen minutes away from Belpahar Railway Station. It is said that the revolutionaries fighting in the freedom struggle of India took refuge in this hillock. The spaces carved out from the rock face to hold torches can be seen to this day. The journey uphill entails one to be of a strong disposition as the sun and the dry heat can take their toll on one's bodily fluids. But once you reach the summit it is a view to behold. Greenery combined with the piercing silence is a great restorative. It would be advised to remember one's way up lest one may find themselves going down by a completely different path and hence get lost. It one of the good picnic spot.
References
- ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
External links
- http://jharsuguda.nic.in/administration-NACBelpahar.htm
- http://www.orissaspider.com/resources/3293-ITI-Belpahar-Jharsuguda.aspx
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