Ranchi

This article is about the Indian city. For other uses, see Ranchi (disambiguation).
Ranchi
रांची
Metropolis
Nickname(s): City of waterfalls
Ranchi

Location in Jharkhand

Coordinates: 23°22′N 85°20′E / 23.36°N 85.33°ECoordinates: 23°22′N 85°20′E / 23.36°N 85.33°E
Country  India
State Jharkhand
District Ranchi
Government
 • Body Ranchi Municipal Corporation
 • Mayor Asha Lakra
 • Deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya
Area
 • Total 175 km2 (68 sq mi)
Elevation 651 m (2,136 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,073,440 (City) 1,120,374 (UA)[1]
 • Rank 47th
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 834001(83 xxxx)
Telephone code +91-651
Vehicle registration JH 01
Sex ratio(per 1000 male) 950
Literacy 87.68 %
Website www.ranchi.nic.in

Ranchi /ˈrɑːntʃi/ is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand, and its third most populous city. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement,[2] which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Orissa, western West Bengal & the eastern area of what is present-day Chhattisgarh. The Jharkhand state was formed on 15 November 2000 by carving out the Bihar divisions of Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas.

The name Ranchi is derived from the previous name of the Oraon village at the same site, Archi.[3] "Archi" derives from the Oraon word for bamboo grove or stave. According to legend, after an altercation with a spirit, a farmer beat the spirit with his bamboo stave. The spirit shouted archi, archi, archi and vanished. Archi became Rachi, which became Ranchi.[4] One of the historically significant neighborhoods of Rachi is Doranda ('duran' 'दुरङ' means song and 'daah' 'दअः' means water in the Mundari language). Doranda lies between the Hinoo (Bhusur) & Harmoo Rivers, where the civil station, treasury and church established by the British Raj were destroyed by rebel forces during the Sepoy Mutiny.[5] The present Old Ranchi marks the site of the old village of Archi.

Early history

In ancient times, Ranchi was ruled by Munda Rajas. The old Ram Temple in Ranchi was their royal palace. The area may have been part of the Magadh Empire during the reign of Ashoka (273-232 BC). With the decline of Mauryan power, King Kharavela of Kalinga led an army through Jharkhand and ransacked Rajgriha and Pataliputra of Magadh. Later, Samudra Gupta (335-380 AD) would have passed through the area on his expedition to the Deccan. Ranchi was the capital of Chotanagpur Raj which, after being ruled by the Mundas, was ruled by the Shah Deos. Their palace, which still stands today, was in Ratu, approximately 11 km from Ranchi.It has Asia's only foundry institution that is National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology.

Geography

Ranchi lies at 23°22′N 85°20′E / 23.36°N 85.33°E. Its municipal area is 175.12 square kilometres, and its average elevation is 651 m above sea level.

Ranchi is located in the southern part of the Chota Nagpur plateau, which is the eastern section of the Deccan plateau. Ranchi is known as the "City of Waterfalls" because of its numerous waterfalls, the most well known of which are Dassam Falls, Hundru Falls, Jonha Falls, Hirni Falls and Panchghagh Falls.

The Subarnarekha river and its tributaries constitute the local river system. The channels Kanke, Rukka and Hatia have been dammed to create reservoirs that supply water to the majority of the population.

Ranchi has a hilly topography and its dense tropical forests a combination that produces a relatively moderate climate compared to the rest of the state. During the period of British rule, it was accorded a 'hill station' status. Since that time, rapid population growth and industrialization have caused a marked change in its weather patterns and an increase in average temperature. This has resulted in gradual loss of its eligibility for "hill station" status. Currently, the dense forests at Seethio in Ranchi is in news as it has come to light that the arrests of men involved in Patna bomb attacks were trained there by sleeper cells of IM.

Daltonganj, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, New Delhi Gaya, Patna, Gorakhpur, Kathmandu Bokaro, Dhanbad, Durgapur, Siliguri, Guwahati
Bhopal, Indore, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad Kolkata, Dhaka, Aizawl, Guwahati
   Ranchi  
Raipur, Hyderabad, Solapur, Goa Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Chennai, Bangalore Jamshedpur, Kharagpur, Bay of Bengal

Climate

Ranchi
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
22
 
 
23
10
 
 
24
 
 
25
12
 
 
23
 
 
31
17
 
 
27
 
 
36
21
 
 
60
 
 
37
23
 
 
251
 
 
33
24
 
 
342
 
 
29
23
 
 
341
 
 
29
22
 
 
266
 
 
29
22
 
 
80
 
 
29
19
 
 
14
 
 
26
14
 
 
12
 
 
23
10
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: IMD

Although Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate, its location and the forests surrounding it combine to produce the unusually pleasant climate for which it's known. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar and was designated a preferable "hill station". Summer temperatures range from 20 °C to 42 degrees, winter temperatures from 0 °C to 25 degrees. December and January are the coolest months, with temperatures dipping to the freezing point in some areas. The annual rainfall is about 1430 mm (56.34 inches). From June to September the rainfall is about 1,100 mm. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cwa"(Humid Subtropical Climate).[6]

Climate data for Ranchi
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 23.0
(73.4)		 25.4
(77.7)		 31.4
(88.5)		 35.4
(95.7)		 36.6
(97.9)		 33.3
(91.9)		 29.4
(84.9)		 28.8
(83.8)		 29.0
(84.2)		 28.7
(83.7)		 26.1
(79)		 23.2
(73.8)		 29.3
(84.7)
Average low °C (°F) 8.2
(46.8)		 11.0
(51.8)		 15.0
(59)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.0
(73.4)		 23.4
(74.1)		 22.4
(72.3)		 22.1
(71.8)		 21.0
(69.8)		 17.2
(63)		 12.0
(53.6)		 8.5
(47.3)		 18.1
(64.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 21.8
(0.858)		 24.4
(0.961)		 22.8
(0.898)		 27.3
(1.075)		 59.6
(2.346)		 250.9
(9.878)		 341.9
(13.461)		 341.3
(13.437)		 266.2
(10.48)		 80.2
(3.157)		 14.4
(0.567)		 11.9
(0.469)		 1,462.8
(57.591)
Source: IMD

Demographics

As per latest 2011 India census,[7] Ranchi Urban Agglomeration has a population of 1,120,374,[1] making it the 46th largest urban city in India and third largest city in Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and Dhanbad. Males constitute 51.3% of the population and females 48.7%.Ranchi is the second most populous district of Jharkhand after dhanbad. Ranchi city has an average literacy rate of 87.68% (census 2011), higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 92.48%, and female literacy is 82.48%. In Ranchi, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. The city witnessed a sudden surge in population after the declaration of the new state of Jharkhand in 2000. Owing to the rising employment opportunities and opening of numerous regional and state level offices, banks, and FMCG companies, the city witnessed a rapid influx of employment seeking migrants. As per a study done by ASSOCHAM in late 2010, Ranchi was the highest employment generating Tier-III city in India with a share of 16.8%, followed by Mangalore and Mysore.[8]

Transport

Ranchi is well connected via Rail, Air and Road routes.

Railways

Ranchi is now well connected with major cities of India via rail routes and one of the most profitable station in South Eastern Railways. Ranchi Railway Station with station code RNC is main station of Ranchi. Apart from Ranchi station, there are few more stations in city namely, Hatia Station, Tatisilwai Station and Namkom Station. Many important trains start from Hatia station as well. 16 trains start, 16 trains end and 20 trains pass from Ranchi Railway station. It is well connected with metro and major cities of India like Jaipur, Bilaspur, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Bangalore, Vishakhapatnam, Vijaywada, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Patna, Amritsar, Nagpur, Gorakhpur, Pune, Raipur, Cuttack, Puri, Rourkela, Durg, Ajmer, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Jammu, Surat, etc.

Airways

Birsa Munda Airport (IXR) of Ranchi has direct flights from Patna, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Jammu, Goa and Kolkata. Few major airlines like Air India, GoAir, Indigo and Jet Airways serve this purpose. A new international terminal is now ready which is spread over 19,676 square metres of land furnished with equipment imported from China, Germany and Singapore, and has the capacity to handle 500 domestic and 200 international passengers.[9]

Recently the annual Haj pilgrimage flights to Saudi Arabia have also started, serving the pilgrims from a temporary terminal. This service was aimed to reduce the burden on Kolkata Airport.

Roadways

NH 33, NH 75 and NH 23 passes through Ranchi. Roads connecting major cities are providing movement for passenger and freight traffic. Buses of the Jharkhand State Road Transport Corporation and private buses ply regularly to connect Ranchi to the other parts of Jharkhand. Also, Bihar State Road Transport Corporation run regularly for major cities (Patna, Gaya, Purnea etc.) of Bihar. Regular bus services are there to Kolkata and other towns of neighboring states. Private buses also ply regularly to Jamshedpur, Siwan, Begusarai, Rourkela, Dumka, Varanasi, Khagaul, Hajipur, Patna and Kolkata. Luxury Mercedes buses are also available from Ranchi to Gaya and Patna. A new ring road is under construction around the city to reduce the growing traffic overload on the city roads. Three flyovers are coming up for smooth movement of traffic in busiest zones of the city. All major NH and other roads are being widened to six lanes or eight lanes.

Bulk of the public transport constitute of auto rickshaw and cycle rickshaw. A city bus service under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was started in 2010 to meet the demands of public transport. There are a total of 150 city buses operating in Ranchi. The Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) was given the responsibility of running the buses in Ranchi.

Healthcare

Ranchi is the healthcare hub not only for the people of Jharkhand but also for people of nearby states. Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) is one of the biggest and oldest hospitals of Ranchi.Central Hospital,Gandhinagar,is highest referral centre for Central Coalfields Limited.Government Hospitals like the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) and RINPAS are famous throughout the country for Psychiatric treatment. Ranchi also has several private hospitals like Abdul Razaque Ansari Memorial Weavers Trust Hospital (an Apollo Hospital franchisee), Alam Hospitals and Research Centre (an Fortis Escort Franchisee), Orchid Medical Centre, Rani Children Hospital, Nagarmal Modi Seva Sadan which is the oldest trust hospital in Ranchi. Other major hospitals include Guru Nanak Hospital, Sentevita Hospital,Raj Hospital,Aalam Hospital, ESI Hospital, Hill View Hospital, Vasan Eye Care, Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital, Ispat Hospital, HEC Hospital and Military Hospital, Namkom. An upgraded Sadar Hospital is also about to be inaugurated in the city centre.Om skin care and laser centre,piska more offers good skin care and cosmetological procedure option, St. Vincent Hospital, Hulhundu.

Education

Higher Education Institutions

IIM Ranchi
XISS, Ranchi

Colleges under Ranchi University affiliation

Delhi Public School

Sports

Ranchi is centre for numerous sports activities including cricket, hockey, football and many other.[11] 34th National Games were successfully held in Ranchi in February 2011.

Some of major stadiums in Ranchi are:

An International Cricket stadium with an indoor stadium and a practice ground has been constructed. This international stadium has so far hosted 2 International Match between India and England on 19 January 2013, and India vs Australia match on 23 October 2013.[12] Apart from that, this stadium has hosted two IPL 6 matches for KKR, 3 champions league 2013 matches and Celebrity Cricket League Matches for Bhojpuri Dabanggs. A Tennis Academy, which was inaugurated by Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik, also runs besides the Cricket stadium.[13] Ranchi is among six cities in Hockey India League to be played in January 2013. Ranchi franchise was bought by Patel-Uniexcel Group and the team named Ranchi Rhinos.[14]

Media

Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and English newspapers are published from the city, including Dainik Jagran, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Sangbad Pratidin, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan, Prabhat Khabar, Ranchi Express, Sunmarg, The Times of India, The Pioneer, The Telegraph, The Hindustan Times, The Economic Times and representations of national media houses like MiD-Day, Planman Media's magazines (The Sunday Indian, Business & Economy, The Human Factor, 4Ps etc.).

TV programming is provided by regional news channels like Kashish News, Sahara Samay, ETV Bihar and Jharkhand, etc. There are several news channels like Naxatra News Hindi,[15] News 11, City News, Maurya TV, Taaza TV, Mahua News,Divine News etc. broadcast by local cable operators in city areas. Ranchi has a Doordarshan Kendra, which telecasts its own programs on National Network from 5 PM to 8 PM everyday.

Ranchi has the following FM radio stations: (Listed in increasing order of frequency)

Internet Service Providers

Festivals

Shopping centre and entertainment points

Pantaloons Ranchi

Ranchi is witnessing a boom in retail sector as there many malls functional in the city and many more are in the pipeline. Fast food giants like Dominos, Subway, KFC, Barista, Pizza hut[16] Dosa Plaza, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), Moti Mahal Deluxe Restaurant[17] have their counters functional in the city and others are also opening their outlets sooner. GEL Church complex and Roshpa Tower are shopping points with many retails outlets and restaurants. Hi Street Mall, Eastern Mall(Pantaloons),[18] Reliance Mart, Big Bazaar, Bazaar Kolkata, Vishal Mega Mart, Reliance Fresh,[19] Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprint, Spring City Mall, Galaxia Mall, Le Desire Complex, Hari Om Tower, Sandhya Tower, Firayalal, Kali Tower, Sri Laxmi Complex, Anand Complex, Mangal Tower, Panchwati Plaza, Gopal Complex, Sainik Market, Citadel Shopping Mall, City Centre Ranchi, Hormah Tower, Amrawati Complex, Alokpuri Complex and many more are other shopping centres in Ranchi.

Ranchi has 4 multiplexes namely

Other single or double screen theater are Plaza, Meenaxi, Sujata, PopKorn Cinemas(Upahar Cinema Campus, Galaxia Mall, Ratu Road), Sainik Theater.

Tourist attractions

Hundru Fall.
Jonha Fall.
Sita fall, a beautiful waterfall 6 km from Jonha fall in Ranchi, best visited in winters
Jagannathpur Temple

Hotels

Being a city of natural beauty and big industries, Ranchi attracts a lot of people from outside. Ranchi has a number of 5 star and 3 star hotels for their pleasant stay here. It has a multitude of budget hotels and motels for regular visitors which provide convenient accommodation and food with other amenities.

Notable people

Distance of major cities from Ranchi

Jamshedpur-125 km; Patna-350 km, Gaya-230 km; Dhanbad-170 km; Durgapur-269 km; Asansol-211[22] km;Kolkata-420 km; Rourkela-300 km; Bhubaneshwar-500 km; Muzzafarpur-420 km; Bhagalpur- 450 km; Devghar- 320 km; Daltonganj-170 km; Renukoot-280 km; Varanasi-420 km; Allahabad-550 km; Lucknow-700 km; New Delhi-1200 km; chaibasha-140 km;

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.census2011.co.in/census/district/113-ranchi.html
  2. ↑ "Jharkhand Movement". Country Studies. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  3. ↑ Cultural Configuration of Ranchi, Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi, Rajendra Behari Lal, India. Planning Commission. Research Programmes Committee, 1969, pg 306.
  4. ↑ Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society Of Bengal, Volume 4, No. 11, 1927, "The Etymology of Ranchi", pg 601.
  5. ↑ Kaye's and Malleson's history of the Indian mutiny of 1857-8, Volume 4, By Sir John William Kaye, George Bruce Malleson, W.H. Allen, 1889, pg 95.
  6. ↑ Climate Summary for Ranchi (from Weatherbase.com)
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ Assocham report, 2010
  9. ↑ "Ranchi ready with state-of-the-art airport". The Times Of India. 2012-04-04.
  10. ↑ "IINRG". Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  11. ↑ http://newswing.com/node/161. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "Ranchi's new stadium set to host maiden One-Day International on January 19". The Times Of India. 2012-10-19.
  13. ↑ http://www.ndtv.com/album/listing/news/tennis-takes-sania-shoaib-to-ranchi-7204. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "Ranchi franchise becomes third team in Hockey India League". The Times Of India. 2012-09-14.
  15. ↑ http://www.naxatranewshindi.com
  16. ↑ . Calcutta, India http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111124/jsp/.../story_14791748.jsp. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "Famous Delhi eatery sets up shop in Ranchi". The Times Of India. 2012-11-09.
  18. ↑ http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/ranchi/107249-pantaloons-foray-a-treat-for-the-fashionista.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "" Home " Companies & Industry".
  20. ↑ Mukesh, A.S.R.P. (2012-08-08). "Don’t drive to Main Road, there’s a mall near you". The Telegraph (Calcutta, India).
  21. ↑ "Rajesh Chauhan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  22. ↑ makemytrip