Giridih is a plateau region. The western portion of the district is part of a larger central plateau. The rest of the district is a lower plateau, a flat table land with an elevation of about 1,300 feet. At the edges, the ghats drop to about 700 feet. The Pareshnath Hills or Shikharji rises to a height of 4,480 feet in the south-eastern part of the district. The district is thickly forested. Amongst the natural resources, it has coal and mica.[1][2] Inaugurating the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in 2016, Raghubar Das, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, had indicated that there were 23 lakhBPL families in Jharkhand.[3] There was a plan to bring the BPL proportion in the total population down to 35%.[4]
Maoist activities
Jharkhand is one of the states affected by Maoist activities. As of 2012[update], Giridih was one of the 14 highly affected districts in the state.[5]As of 2016[update], Giridih was identified as one of the 13 focus areas by the state police to check Maoist activities.[6] In 2017, the Moists, in Giridih district, have torched more than 50 vehicles engaged in road construction or carrying goods.[7]
Birni CD block is bounded by Dhanwar and Jamua CD blocks on the north, Giridih CD block on the east, Dumri and Suriya CD blocks on the south and Markacho CD block, in Koderma district, on the west.[8][9]
Birni CD block has an area of 319.98 km2. It has 28 gram panchayats, 172 inhabited villages. Birni police station serves this block.[10] Headquarters of this CD block is at Birni. 14.74% of the area has forest cover.[8][11]
Rivers in Birni CD block are Barakar, Irga and Bhutaha.[11]
According to the 2011 Census of India, Birni CD block had a total population of 169,451, all of which were rural. There were 85,970 (51%) males and 83,481 (49%) females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 32,912. Scheduled Castes numbered 25,853 (15.26%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 2,475 (1.46%).[12]
Literacy
As of 2011[update] census the total number of literate persons in Birni CD block was 83,928 (63.22% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 53,591 (77.54% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 30,337 (45,00% of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 32.54%.[12]
As of 2011[update] census, literacy in Giridih district was 63.14% [13] Literacy in Jharkhand was 66.41% in 2011.[13] Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.[14]
Khortha is the main spoken language. Hindi is the official language. Urdu and Santali are also spoken.
Rural poverty
40-50% of the population of Giridih district were in the BPL category in 2004–2005, being in the same category as Godda, Koderma and Hazaribagh districts.[17] Rural poverty in Jharkhand declined from 66% in 1993–94 to 46% in 2004–05. In 2011, it has come down to 39.1%.[18]
Economy
Livelihood
Livelihood in Birni CD block
Cultivators (45.82%)
Agricultural labourers (27.30%)
Household industries (2.39%)
Other Workers (24.49%)
In Birni CD block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 34,044 and formed 45.82%, agricultural labourers numbered 20,281 and formed 27.30%, household industry workers numbered 1,774 and formed 2.39% and other workers numbered 18,199 and formed 24.49%. Total workers numbered 74,298 and formed 43.85% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 95,153 and formed 56.15% of the population.[19]
Note: In the census records a person is considered a cultivator, if the person is engaged in cultivation/ supervision of land owned. When a person who works on another person's land for wages in cash or kind or share, is regarded as an agricultural labourer. Household industry is defined as an industry conducted by one or more members of the family within the household or village, and one that does not qualify for registration as a factory under the Factories Act. Other workers are persons engaged in some economic activity other than cultivators, agricultural labourers and household workers. It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on.[20]
Infrastructure
There are 172 inhabited villages in Birni CD block. In 2011, 29 villages had power supply. No village had tap water (treated/ untreated), 168 villages had well water (covered/ uncovered), 163 villages had hand pumps, and all villages had drinking water facility. 26 villages had post offices, 5 villages had a sub post office, 11 villages had telephones (land lines) and 135 villages had mobile phone coverage. 171 villages had pucca (paved) village roads, 27 villages had bus service (public/ private), 30 villages had autos/ modified autos, and 102 villages had tractors. 17 villages had bank branches, 4 villages had agricultural credit societies, no village had cinema/ video halls, no village had public library and public reading room. 72 villages had public distribution system, 16 villages had weekly haat (market) and 81 villages had assemblypolling stations.[21]
Agriculture
Hills occupy a large portion of Giridih district. The soil is generally rocky and sandy and that helps jungles and bushes to grow. The forest area, forming a large portion of total area, in the district is evenly distributed all over. Some areas near the rivers have alluvial soil. In Birni CD block, the percentage of cultivable area to total area is 22.96%. The percentage of cultivable area to the total area for the district, as a whole, is 27.04%. Irrigation is inadequate. The percentage of irrigated area to cultivable area in Birni CD block is 11.01%. May to October is the Kharif season, followed by the Rabi season. Rice, sown in 50% of the gross sown area, is the main crop in the district. Other important crops grown are: maize, wheat, sugar cane, pulses and vegetables.[22]
Giridih district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the Backward Regions Grant Fund. The fund created by the Government of India is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. As of 2012, 272 districts across the country were listed under this scheme. The list includes 21 districts of Jharkhand.[23][24]
Birni CD block had 24 villages with pre-primary schools, 156 villages with primary schools, 85 villages with middle schools, 13 villages with secondary schools, 9 villages with senior secondary schools, 15 villages with no educational facility.[26] .*Senior secondary schools are also known as Inter colleges in Jharkhand
Healthcare
Birni CD block had 1 village with community health centre, 1 village with primary health centre, 14 villages with primary health subcentres, 3 villages with maternity and child welfare centres, 3 villages with allopathic hospitals, 9 villages with dispensaries, 2 villages with veterinary hospitals, 1 village with family welfare centre, 16 villages with medicine shops.[26] .*Private medical practitioners, alternative medicine etc. not included
References
^"Giridih district". Welcome to Giridih. Giridih district administration. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
^"District Statistical Handbook, Giridih". Tables 2.1, 2.4. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning and Development, Jharkhand. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
^ abcd"Giridih". District Administration, Giridih. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
^"Rural Poverty in Jharkhad, India"(PDF). Table I: Spatial Distribution of Poverty in Jharkhand. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
^"District Census Handbook, Giridih, 2011, Series 21, Part XII A"(PDF). Page 9: Forest, flora and fauna, Page 11, Soil and cropping pattern, and Land use pattern, Page 73, Table 41: Distribution of villages according to land use. Directorate of Census Operations, Jharkhand. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
