Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. The Bhilai metropolis contains three municipal corporations: Bhilai Municipal Corporation, BhilaiCharoda Municipal Corporation and Risali Municipal Corporation.[3]
The term Bhilai is derived from the Bhil tribe which originally inhabited this region and continues to dwell in the nearby forests until today.[6]
History
Bhilai was a small village and a part of the Haihaiyavansi Kingdom until 1740 when it was conquered by the Marathas.
The foundation of the modern city of Bhilai was laid in 1955 when the Indian government signed a historic agreement with the Soviet Union in Magnitogorsk to establish a steel plant near the village. The first blast furnace of the plant was commissioned in 1959 by the first president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.[7]
Demographics
Population
In the 2011 census, Durg-Bhilainagar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,064,222, of which 545,916 are males and 518,306 are females. Bhilai has an average literacy rate of 86.63%, with male literacy at 92.22% and female literacy at 80.71%.[8]
Geography
Bhilai lies at 21.21°N 81.38°E in Central India at an elevation of 297m above sea level on the banks of the Shivnath river, a tributary of the river Mahanadi. It covers an area of 341 km2 (132 sq mi).
Owing to its proximity to the Tropic of Cancer, Bhilai has a tropical climate. There are three main seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter. The average annual temperature in Bhilai is 26.6 °C and the city receives an average rainfall of 1188 mm in a year. Summers usually last from May to June, followed by monsoons in July and August. The town receives the bulk of rainfall in July, with an average rainfall of 352mm. There is little rainfall during the winters, with November being the driest month of the year.[10]
Durg Bhilai has been ranked 29th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.[11]
Economy
Bhilai is home to the Bhilai Steel Plant, the first and largest Indian plant to produce steel rails. The inauguration of the first blast furnace of Bhilai Steel Plant was done by then president of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, which was established with help from the Soviet Union in 1955.[12]
Iron ore from Rajhara, limestone from Nandini, coal from Jharia, manganese from Balaghat, electric power from the Kosa thermal power plant, and water from the Tandula Canal, all nearby, are used in the Bhilai Steel Plant to manufacture rails and structural steel. Pig iron and billets are supplied to foundries and rolling mills located at Kumhari and other sites in central India.
The number of steel rails produced by the facility till 2007 can go around the circumference of the earth 7.5 times. This is depicted on the monument at the globe square in the heart of the city. The facility underwent modernisation and expansion and is amongst the leading manufacturers of iron and steel in Asia.[12]
The twin city of Durg-Bhilai is well connected with a network of national and state highways. Some major highways passing through the city are National Highway 53 (NH-53), SH-7 till Bemetara and SH-22 till Abhanpur. The proposed Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway will start from Durg and will pass near the outskirts of Bhilai till Arang, which after completion, will enhance connectivity and commute in the state.
Rail
There are total 15 railway stations in the twin city that includes railway stations serving adjacent and minor neighbourhoods within the city. The main stations are Bhilai Power House railway station and Durg Junction railway station, which are major railway stations, with Durg being the biggest and the busiest, lying on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line.
Bus transport
The Durg Bus Station is a hub with buses plying to any place in and around Chhattisgarh as well as other parts of the country, with daily bus services operated by private and government buses to all cities within the state and outside the state, like Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Jharsuguda, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Visakhapatnam, among others.
The nearest major airport is Swami Vivekananda International Airport at Raipur, located 50 km (31 mi) east from Bhilai. The airport at Bhilai is currently a private airport operated by the Bhilai Steel Plant, located 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the city. In recent years, it has been considered for the airport to be developed to handle commercial operations, and make it a domestic airport.
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