Rourkela
| Rourkela | |
|---|---|
| Urban Agglomeration/City | |
 | |
  Rourkela | |
| Coordinates: 22°14′57″N 84°52′58″E / 22.24917°N 84.88278°ECoordinates: 22°14′57″N 84°52′58″E / 22.24917°N 84.88278°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Odisha |
| District | Sundergarh |
| Established | 1954 |
| Elevation | 219 m (719 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 552,970 |
| • Density | 6,696/km2 (17,340/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Oriya , Hindi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | OR-14/ OD-14 |
Rourkela 
pronunciation (help·info) is a city located in the northwestern border of the Indian state of Odisha. It is the third largest city of Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Situated about 340 kilometres (211 mi) north of state capital Bhubaneswar, the city is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. One of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is situated here. It also has one of the National Institutes of Technology (NIT Rourkela) of the country.
Name
The name Rourkel in the local tribal language of Sadri means "Our Village". It comes under Sundargarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. An indigenous community called Raulia used to inhabit this region.[1]
History
The twin towns of Rourkela and Fertilizer Township as well as their developed periphery are located in areas that were once covered by dense forests. According to the census report of 2011 the population of Rourkela Industrial Township is 2,73,217 and Rourkela Town is 2,79,753 and the urban metropolitan area is 6.5 lakhs (approx). Then railway station of Rourkela was within the revenue village of Mahulpali.
India's first public sector steel plant facility was established in Rourkela with the help of German businesses Krupp & Demag.
Geography
Rourkela is located at 84.54E longitude and 22.12N latitude in Sundergarh district of Odisha 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. The Koel and Sankha rivers meet at Vedvyas, Rourkela and flow as a single river called Brahmani.
Layout
The Rourkela Township is divided into two separate townships under Census of India as Steel Township and Civil Township. The Residential quarters colony of Rourkela Steel Plant having 21 sectors on record (while in reality the Sector – 10, 11 and 12 do not exist, though the area for the same is earmarked) is called Steel Township and the other part is called Civil Township. One smaller township Fertilizer was renamed sector-22, as this township is within the purview of SAIL.[2]
The 23 kilometers long Ring Road, connecting 19 sectors and some other parts of the steel city including old Rourkela.
Other layouts include Civil Township, Station Road (Bus & Railway), Koel Nagar, Panposh, Udit Nagar, Fertiliser Township, IGH Road, Vedvyas.
Climate
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 and 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]
| Climate data for Rourkela | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 24 (75) |
27 (81) |
31 (88) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
33 (91) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
27 (81) |
24 (75) |
29.7 (85.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 9 (48) |
13 (55) |
17 (63) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
14 (57) |
10 (50) |
18 (64.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 22 (0.87) |
23 (0.91) |
29 (1.14) |
27 (1.06) |
55 (2.17) |
259 (10.2) |
334 (13.15) |
322 (12.68) |
255 (10.04) |
93 (3.66) |
19 (0.75) |
10 (0.39) |
1,448 (57.02) |
| Source: Rourkela Weather | |||||||||||||
Economy
Rourkela is the industrial capital of Odisha. 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.
Civic administration
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 Corporation. Some rural areas of South Rourkela are managed by the Jalda Panchayat.
Demographics
As of 2011 India census,[4] Rourkela had nearly 7 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.
- Density of Population – 6,696 per km2. approx.
- Sex Ratio – 835 Female per 1000 male.
- Per capita income – Highest in Odisha.
- Population (Census 2011) – 7 Lakhs approx.
- Main Habitations in Rourkela – Civil Township, Koelnagar, Chhend Colony, Uditnagar, Steel Township (Eighteen Sectors), Fertilizer Township, Industrial Estate, Basantinagar, Jhirpani, Jagda, Panposh, Vedavyas and Kalunga.
Transport
As Rourkela is the commercial and industrial capital of Odisha, it has a developed transportation network.
Rail
Rourkela railway station is on the Tatanagar–Bilaspur section of Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line in the South Eastern Railway Zone headquartered at Kolkata.
Road
Being in a state, which has depended on Road Transport for decades. Rourkela has a good connectivity to the other towns on the State with an average frequency through Road. Rourkela city is connected with National Highways NH-23 and SH-10 to the towns and cities of Odisha.
Local transport
Though the city is well connected to the other towns of the state. The internal transport system of the city is not so organized showing the lack of Interest of the Local and State Authorities. Independent three-wheeler auto taxis without meters and local self governance are the most important mode of transportation in the city. Cars as Taxis also ply on the city's roads. Sampark buses, introduced in September 2006, connect various areas in the city.
Air
At one time Rourkela was the only city in Odisha to have a direct air connectivity with Kolkata. But with the transfer of Rourkela Airport from the hands of Airport Authority of India to SAIL and the apathy of state government this was halted. During mid 2000 Air Deccan showed interest to start its operations here but it never happened. Meanwhile SKY Airways connected the city with Bhubaneswar and Barbil. Again due to some problems it was stopped. Around 2010-11, the authority of Rourkela Airport was passed over to Airport Authority of India. DTDS started services connecting Rourkela to other steel cities of India and Kolkata. DTDS also introduced India's first per seat charter service from Rourkela. As of now it is connected to Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata through DTDS.
Recreation
Rourkela has three recreation parks: Indira Gandhi Park, Jubilee Park, and Ispat Nehru Park.
Bhanja Bhawan and Civic Center hosts the State level and National Level Drama and Dancing competitions are held in Civic Center.
Currently,the city has four movie theaters, Konark Theatre, UMA Theatre,2-screen multiplex, PSR Cinemas and another 2-screen multiplex, Cineplexx Cinemas (Old Razak Cinema - Opened on 22nd November).
"The Hands of Steel" or the "Ten Million Monument" was designed by Vijay Acquilla and made at the initiative of Dr. P L Agarwal.
Media
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. AIR Rourkela has two transmission one from 12pm to 5pm & the second from 6pm to 11pm. Other privately owned radio channels include Radio Choklate 104 FM and Big 92.7 FM. These channels broadcast Hindi & Oriya Film & Non Film Songs, Talk Shows and other entertainment programmes.
Education
Rourkela is the educational, technical and medical research hub of Western Odisha. It houses many English medium schools which provide CBSE and ICSE certificates to their students.
The students of these schools represent their schools in various national level and international competitions including IMO, IChO and NASA.[5][6][7] Rourkela also houses National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.[8]
A medical college is under development in Rourkela. There are overall 15 colleges for arts, science and commerce streams under the Sambalpur university.[9] There are also private engineering colleges Padmanava (PCE), Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (RIMS), DAMITS, RIT and Purushottam PIET. This colleges come under the jurisdiction of Biju Pattnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and the head office is located in Rourkela.[10]
Universities
Sports
Hockey
Indian captain Dilip Tirkey and deep defender Lazarus Barla started their careers in Rourkela. Rourkela has Special Hockey Hostels for Kids, upbringing the next generation players with some of the best amenities. It has produced a few Arjuna Awardees, including Minati Mohapatra. Olympians of repute like Paralympian Roshan and Rachita Mistry are from this city. Indian national cricketer 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' Pabitra Mohan Mohanty is a proud sporting son of the city.
The city has a sports hub of two stadiums and few other sports grounds located in sector-6. The two stadiums are Ispat Stadium and a beautiful AstroTurf hockey stadium. There is a basketball ground, a chess hall, and a well-maintained volleyball ground nearby. The indoor stadium at sector-20 hosts the badminton and Table Tennis events.
Stadiums
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.
- Sports Hostel, Chhend
- Ispat Stadium (Sector-6)
- Biju Pattnaik Hockey Stadium (Sector-6)
- Sports Hostel, Panposh
- Ispat Mini Stadium, Fertiliser Township (Sector-22)
Notable residents
- Mira Nair, film director
- Dilip Tirkey, former India hockey captain
- Ignace Tirkey, Indian hockey player
- Lazarus Barla, Indian hockey player
- Natraj Behera, Odisha cricket team captain
- Harish Hande, Magsaysay Award winner
- Bibhu Mohapatra, Fashion Designer, United States
See also
- Rourkela Steel Plant
- National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
- Rourkela Airport
References
- ↑ Rourkela Reader, see "Rourkela from 1921 to 2005". (PDF) . Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ About Rourkela and its History | Greater Rourkela | Rajgangpur | Kansbahal | Bonai of India. Rourkelacity.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ Field Station- Rourkela (Odisha). National Institute of Malaria Research. mrcindia.org
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Rourkela Girl Topped in NASA Contest | Rourkela | Rajgangpur | Kansbahal | Bonai of India. Webcache.googleusercontent.com (2010-05-05). Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ India to host Chemistry Olympiad | 33rd International Chemistry Olympiad. Hindu.com. Retrieved on 2013-04-06.
- ↑ Deepika English Medium School|deepika school rourkela. Deepikaemschool.org. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ nitrkl.ac.in. nitrkl.ac.in. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ Colleges ( General Discipline) | Greater Rourkela | Rajgangpur | Kansbahal | Bonai of India. Rourkelacity.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ↑ bput.ac.in. bput.ac.in. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
External links
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Ranchi | Jamshedpur | | |
| Raipur |  |
Kharagpur | ||
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| Sambalpur | Talcher |
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