Asansol

Asansol
আসানসোল
Metropolitan City / Urban Agglomeration

Asansol cityscape Clockwise from top: Asansol Railway Station, IISCO Steel Plant, TV Tower, Galaxy Mall, Asansol Engineering College, Asansol Indoor Stadium, Rabindra Bhavan, Eastern Coalfields Limited.
Nickname(s): "The Industrial City of Bengal"
Asansol
আসানসোল
Coordinates: 23°41′N 86°59′E / 23.68°N 86.99°E / 23.68; 86.99Coordinates: 23°41′N 86°59′E / 23.68°N 86.99°E / 23.68; 86.99
Country India
State West Bengal
District Burdwan
Government
 • Type Civic Administration
 • Body Asansol Municipal Corporation
 • Mayor Kumar Jitendra Tewari —TMC
 • Commissioner of Police Laxmi Narayan Meena
Area
 • Metropolitan City / Urban Agglomeration 127.3 km2 (49.2 sq mi)
Elevation 97 m (318 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Rank 39th most populated Urban Agglomeration in India
 • Urban 563,917
 • Metro 1,243,414
Demonym(s) Asansolians / Asansolites/ Asansolbashi
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 713 3xx
Telephone code 0341
Vehicle registration WB 37 / WB 38 / WB 44
Sex ratio 1.08[1] ♂/♀
Literacy 84.82[1]%
Lok Sabha constituency Asansol (MP — Babul Supriyo — BJP)
Vidhan Sabha constituencies

Asansol Uttar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (MLA — Moloy Ghatak —TMC

Asansol Dakshin (MLA —Tapas Banerjee —TMC

Pandaveswar (MLA — Kumar Jitendra Tewari —TMC

Raniganj (MLA — Runu Dutta —CPI(M)

Jamuria (MLA — Jahanara Khan —CPI(M)

Kulti (MLA —Ujjal Chatterjee —TMC

Barabani (MLA —Bidhan Upadhyay —TMC
Website asansolmunicipalcorporation.org

Asansol City is in Bardhaman District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second-largest city in West Bengal after Kolkata[2] and the 39th largest urban agglomeration in India.[3] According to a 2010 report released by the International Institute for Environment and Development, a UK-based policy research non-governmental body, Asansol was ranked 11th among Indian cities. and 42nd in the world in its list of 100 fastest-growing cities.[4]

Asansol is classed as a Y-category city for calculation of HRA (House Rent Allowance) for public servants, making it a Tier-II city.[5]

Geography

Asansol is a cosmopolitan city located in Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the lower Chota Nagpur Plateau, which occupies most of Jharkhand, between the Damodar and Ajay rivers. Another river, the Barakar, joins the Damodar near Dishergarh. A small rivulet, Nunia, flows past Asansol.

While Dhanbad district in Jharkhand lies on the western side, Durgapur subdivision of Bardhaman district lies on the eastern side. To the south, across the Damodar river are the Purulia and Bankura districts. To the north are Dumka and Birbhum districts. Dhanbad district is a major coal mining area and has close links with Asansol; both lie in the Damodar valley.

Administration

Asansol is administered by the Asansol Municipal Corporation. In 1850, a union committee was formed to look after the civic needs of Asansol. The municipality was approved in 1885 but started functioning effectively in 1896. It was upgraded to the status of a corporation in 1994.[6] Since 2011 it has had its own Police Commissionerate.[7] In 2015, Kulti, Jamuria and Raniganj Municipalities were dissolved and now these areas are administered by the Asansol Municipal Corporation. Thus the proper city limits of Asansol includes the old Asansol Area, including Burnpur, as well as other prominent locations like Raniganj, Chinakuri, Mithani, Barakar, Kulti, Dishergarh, Neamatpur, Sitarampur and Jamuria. Asansol Municipal Corporation has 106 wards.

Asansol-Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA) was established in April 1980 by the merger of the Asansol Planning Organisation and the Durgapur Development Authority. Jurisdiction of ADDA covers the areas administered by Asansol Municipal Corporation, the Jamuria Panchayet Samiti, the Community Development Blocks of Andal, Pandabeswar and Durgapur-Faridpur, Durgapur Municipal Corporation and a small part of Kanksa Community Development Block.

Transport

Road

Illuminated BNR Bus stand,Asansol

The Grand Trunk Road (National Highway 2) runs across the subdivision and National Highway 60 connects Asansol with Odisha. NH2 has been broadened as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and now allows two-lane traffic in both directions. A highway bypass avoids the areas of Ushagram, Murgasol, Asansol Bazar, Chelidanga, BNR, Gopalpur, Neamatpur, Kulti and Barakar.

The South Bengal State Transport Corporation operates daily bus services to Kolkata and numerous other destinations, such as Malda, Siliguri, Midnapur, Bankura, Siuri, Purulia, Burdwan, Kalna, Habra, Barackpore, Digha, Bolpur, Kirnahar and Berhampore. There are also many private bus operators working local and inter-state routes. The North Bengal State Transport Corporation also runs services to and from the city.

Railway

Asansol Railway Station

From its earliest days, Asansol has been the hub of railway transport in the region. The Asansol Railway Division is currently a part of the Eastern Railway Zone. The city serves as the headquarters of the eponymous division and spans a distance of 493 kilometres (306 mi), spread across West Bengal and Jharkhand. It includes important stations such as Andal, Raniganj and Durgapur.[8]

The railway track from Kolkata to Delhi passes through the subdivision and bifurcates into the main line and the grand chord line at Sitarampur railway junction, a little to the west of Asansol railway junction. Another railway track links Asansol with Adra and then to Jamshedpur via Purulia and Kharagpur via Bankura. A branch line connects Andal with Sainthia on the Sahibganj Loop.

Almost all the trains linking Kolkata with north India also connect with Asansol. As a result, Asansol enjoys superb connectivity with cities like New Delhi, Jammu, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore , Patna, Ranchi and Dhanbad on the one hand and commands a fairly good traffic movement towards the western cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Surat and southern cities like Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam, Vijaywada, Chennai, Bangalore and Trivandrum. It is also connected with Guwahati in the north-east region.[9]

Air

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Andal is the nearest domestic airport. It commenced operations in May 2015 and is roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Asansol's City Bus Terminus. The nearest international airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum in Kolkata.

There is also a private aerodrome located at Burnpur.

Economy

The economy of Asansol is primarily dependent on its steel, coal, railways and last but not the least trade and commerce .

Steel

IISCO Panoramic View, Asansol
Modernised ISP

The IISCO (Indian Iron and Steel Company Ltd) steel-making plant at Kulti was the first such facility in India. It became well-known during the 1960s and 1970s, with its company shares being traded on the London Stock Exchange. However, a decade later the company became loss-making until it was revived in 2006 when it merged with the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). Modernisation at IISCO Steel Plant has helped the city develop at a very rapid pace. The plant's capacity will be raised from 0.4 MT to 2.5 MT of saleable steel, using what will be the biggest blast furnace in the country.

Coal

Eastern Coalfields, which has its headquarters in Sanctoria near Dishergarh, has a significant presence in the area due to the huge deposits of high quality coal. However, most of the coalfields and surrounding residential colonies are located away from the main city. Nearby areas like Ranigunj, Chinakuri and Jamuria are of particular importance for coal blocks. As of 2012, the total coal reserve in the ECL command area up to 600 metre depth was 49.17 billion tonnes.

Railways

Railways also is a big contributor to the economy of Asansol. Railways was the first employer in the city and they are credited with developing the city in the late 19th century. Asansol is one of the four divisions of Eastern Railway Zone and among the major revenue generating divisions in Indian Railways.

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works at Chittaranjan is one of the largest locomotive manufacturing units in the world. Production began there on 26 January 1950, the same day that India became a republic. Currently it produces the WAP-4, WAP-5, WAP-7, WAG 7 and WAG 9 locomotives.

Other business ventures

Other industries include Dishergarh Power Supply, Damodar Valley Corporation, Burn Standard Co. which is now a subsidiary of Eastern Railways, Hindustan Cables Limited and cement factories like Burnpur Cement.[10]

Education

Among the many educational institutions are:

Libraries

There are several public libraries, including the District Library.[12]

Media

Prasar Bharati television has a High Power Transmitter Station at Asansol which broadcasts Doordarshan National / Bangla and Doordarshan News Channel. Transmissions are not only received by the city but also neighbouring places. Other than national channels, several local channels are available through cable TV networks, such as Vision 24, Drishti Channel, ATV, and ISP Channel.

Asansol currently has three FM radio stations: All India Radio, 92.7 BIG FM and 93.5 RED FM.

Sports facilities

Asansol Stadium (Polo Ground)
Asansol Sports Complex
Divisional Railway Stadium or Loco Ground

Climate

Asansol has hot and dry summers and cold chilly winters. In summers temperatures soar above 40 C with dry hot air blowing known as 'loo' while in winter temperatures go below 10 C. Monsoon lasts from August to September. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Aw" (Tropical Savanna Climate).[13]

Climate data for Asansol, India
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 26
(78)		 28
(82)		 34
(94)		 39
(102)		 39
(102)		 37
(98)		 32
(90)		 32
(89)		 32
(90)		 32
(89)		 29
(84)		 26
(79)		 32
(90)
Average low °C (°F) 12
(53)		 14
(57)		 19
(66)		 23
(74)		 26
(78)		 26
(79)		 26
(78)		 26
(78)		 25
(77)		 22
(71)		 16
(60)		 12
(53)		 21
(69)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 18
(0.7)		 33
(1.3)		 20
(0.8)		 20
(0.8)		 74
(2.9)		 241
(9.5)		 348
(13.7)		 338
(13.3)		 211
(8.3)		 109
(4.3)		 15
(0.6)		 5
(0.2)		 1,430
(56.3)
Source: Weatherbase[14]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Census India" (PDF). Census. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Million plus UA Cities – India" (PDF). Census. Census of India. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "World's fastest growing urban areas (1)". City Mayors. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Tier I and Tier II Cities of India, Classification of Indian Cities". Mapsofindia.com.
  6. ↑ "Asansol Municipal Corporation". Asansol Municipal Corporation.
  7. ↑ "Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate". Asansoldurgapurpolice.in.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  9. ↑ Archived 23 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Asansol on the net – A complete information on Asansol city". Asansolcity.com.
  11. ↑ "West Bengal's best engineering colleges 2012". Careers360.com. 18 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  13. ↑ "Climate Summary for Asansol". Weatherbase.com.
  14. ↑ "Asansol, India – Monthly - All Weather Averages". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

Further reading

External links

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