Katras

This article is about the area in Dhanbad. For its namesake operational area of BCCL, see Katras Area.

Katras कतरास Katrasgarh
Town
Parasnath, Katras Area, BCCL
Katras Location in Jharkhand, India
Coordinates: 23.8°N 86.28°E / 23.8; 86.28
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District	Dhanbad
Named for	Katras Raja
Government
• Type	Dhanbad municipal corporation
Elevation	201 m (659 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	251,182
Languages
• Official	Hindi,
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	JH10(Dhanbad)
Website	dhanbad.nic.in

Katras (कतरास) (also known as Katrasgarh) is a neighbourhood in Dhanbad City in Dhanbad Sadar Subdivision in the Jharkhand state, India.

Overview

An hour drive from the district headquarters in Dhanbad, Katras is a place where people from various religions and communities live together. Katras comes under Dhanbad's municipal corporation. It is a popular destination for conducting Durga Puja celebrations. Lilori Sthan temple is a place of worship in Katras.

Coal mining

Katras is located on the bank of the river Katri and is surrounded by coal mines, which provide the chief source of income. The primary coal mines are owned by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), headquartered in Dhanbad City. However, income from BCCL is limited and there are few sources of income and limited educational offerings. As a result residents of Katras have begun to migrate to other cities in search of opportunities.

The city suffered the loss of its railway connectivity when Coal India Limited reported coal under the rail tracks. The Railways only came to function after a strike of about 700 days, the longest ever supported by many political leaders of the area.

History

Katras is believed to be named after the "Katri" River, which flows by Katras. Some claims it to be named after katras raja. It is believed that people have inhabited Katras for more than 200 years. Around 1900 AD, many migrants from Bihar came and settled here as Bihar was suffering from a severe famine. Many coal mines were founded in Katras under British rule. A new railway route from Asansol to Ranchi via Dhanbad and Katras was created in 1894 and Katras Railway station was founded around 1900 (later it was re-established in 1953 and came to be known as Katrasgarh).

Geography

Location

Katras is located at 23.8°N 86.28°E / 23.8; 86.28. It has an average elevation of 201 metres (659 feet).

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

The earlier census town was combined with other urban units to form Dhanbad Municipal Corporation in 2006.

Katras is part of Ward No. 1,2,3,4,5,6 of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.

The region

The region shown in the map is a part of the undulating uplands bustling with coalmines. The Damodar River, the most important river of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, flows along the southern border. The area beyond the Damodar was once a part of Dhanbad district but was transferred to Bokaro district in 2001. The bulk of the area shown in the map is part of Baghmara community development block. In the Baghmara CD block 67% of the population lives in rural areas and 33% in urban areas. The block has 18 census towns, all marked in the map, except Rajganj, which is shown in the map for the northern portion of the district. A portion of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation extends into the region till around Katras. The places in the DMC area are marked as neighbourhoods. Most of the DMC area is shown in the maps for the central and southern portions of the district. Four operational areas of BCCL operate fully within the region – Katras Area, Govindpur Area, Barora Area and Block II Area. The Mahuda sector of Western Jharia Area also operates in the region.

Neighbourhoods

Katras adjoins many cities such as Dhanbad, Bokaro Steel City, Baghmara, Rajganj, Giridih, Isri, Topchanchi.

Ponds

There are several ponds in Katras such as Raja Bandh, Rani Bandh, Guhi Bandh and others. Most of them, however, are under threat. Telia Bandh was once a large pond is now almost extinct and the same is true for most other ponds. Population growth has created the burden of limited space, and ponds are losing out to residential buildings, making the water crisis more acute. Nowadays there are two water tanks near Katras College.

Katri River near Lilori Temple

Katri Nadi is a small river that passes through the area. It discharges its water into the Damodar River. It is a river of the rainy season so most of the time the water level is very low. In Chhapulwa a small dam has been made, from which water is supplied to the railways.

Green Park

A Green Park has been developed by Katras Area, BCCL which is a 3.02 hectare area over the mining overburden dump located at Keshalpur. The primary purpose for developing the park is to restore the ecology around the mining area.

Katras is also surrounded by several religious pilgrimage sites such as Lilori Mandir, Surya Mandir, Bajrang Balj Mandir, Katras Taj Masjid, Bada Gurudwara, Sjiua Church, and so on.

Demographics

In the 2011 Indian census, Katras had a population of 2,51,182, of which 54% are male and 46% are female. Katras has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 76%. In Katras, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Government and public services

Civic administration

Katras was established as a notified area in the Dhanbad district along with Jharia, Chatatand, and Sindri. In 2006, the notified areas were merged into the district under the jurisdiction of the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC). It is allocated to the Baghmara development block of the district and has its own police station.

Utility services

Template:Unref section Water scarcity is a perennial problem, true also for electricity. A water project was initiated several years back but did not reach fruition due to corruption and mismanagement. The water tower built in Dak Bunglaw was of such poor quality that experts feared to store water in it lest it would sag and endanger the lives of local people. Thousands of hand pumps and submersibles have led to a severe drop in ground water level. It is common to see people carrying water in plastic containers.

Economy

The chief source of income is BCCL, the coal company. It employs a large number of people. Presence of Tata steel also provide employment in the vicinity of the town.

Katras also has 3 large market place at Panchgarhi, Katras bazar & Bhatmurna.

Out of which Panchgarhi is the largest . Self employment in these areas are also huge.

Collieries functioning in the Katras Area of BCCL are: Salanpur, Angarpathar, Keshalpur, Ramkanali, Ramkanali OC, West Mudidih, Gazlitand, Keshalpur OC, Katras Chot and East Katras.

Agriculture is under-developed. Farms are tiny and ancient tools are used. BCCL is now retrenching and closing its mines due to coal depletion. New professions emerging in the area are Coal-theft and Dalali (Agent-ship).

The whole economy is based on coal mining basically.

Transportation

Template:Railways in Jharia Coalfield Buses are a significant mode of travel along with automobiles, trackersTemplate:Technical statement and tongas. The city is well-connected by railways and roads. The nearest functional airport is in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand. Katras Airport is under development, located in the nearby city of Bokaro Steel City.

There were three railway stations: Katrasgarh, Nichitpur and Tetulmari. Katrasgarh until 15 June 2017 and Tetulmari have express line stops, while Nichitpur is just a halt station. Katrasgarh was also on a loop line and ended because of the fragile underground. It was restarted before 2019 elections

By railways Katras is connected with Kolkata , Ahmedabad,Ranchi , Dhanbad, Tatanagar, Rourkela, ,Visakhapatnam , Chennai, Jabalpur, Patna, Gorakhpur, Bhagalpur, Asansol, Durgapur, Kochi , Ajmer

Roadways

It has a small bus stand, which has regular bus service .

It is 13 KM away from GT road via which it is connected to most northern cities in India

It also has 24*7 auto rickshaw facilities towards Dhanbad . Nowadays electric rickshaws are providing prominent and convenient services for traveling in and around the town.

Education

Park Lilori Park- wall without base

Katras College was established at Katras Bazar in 1964. Affiliated with the Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University, it offers courses in arts, science and commerce.

● TATA DAV, Sijua . Affiliated with CBSE Board.

● DAV, Barora . Affiliated with CBSE Board.

• Holy Mother's Academy. Affiliated with CBSE Board. Play-XII
• De Nobili School, Sijua. Affiliated with ICSE Board. Class I-XII( Now shifted to Koradih)
• Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Shyamdih. Affiliated with CBSE Board. K-XII
• Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Sinidih . Affiliated with CBSE Board
• Delhi Public School.
• Katras Public School.
• School of Daffodils. Class-Nursery to V
• Competition Public School.
• DAV High School. Jharkhand State Education Board.
• DAV Middle School. Jharkhand State Education Board.
• DAV Mahila Maha Vidyalaya. Jharkhand State Education Board.
• G. N. M. High School Jharkhand State Education Board. This is the oldest secondary school in katrasgarh and produced lot of talented students who later joined IITs, ISM, NITs, Medical etc and holding high positions. The football team of this school once reached Subrato Cup state final in undivided Bihar.
• Kako Hill School ICSE Board. Lkg-X. (one of the oldest schools situated on Rajganj-Katras road near Maheshpur and Kanko)
• Sarvoday public school Dhangi katras.
• Kanya Pathshala
• Gujrati School
• Happy Children Academy

Culture

Katras is known for its Durga Puja festival . People visit Katras from off place during Durga puja with Holi, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, with much fun-fare organized for each festival. The Katras Hatia is a local village market that runs every Sunday.

Lilori Temple

Road to Lilori Temple

Lilori Temple Park

Located 5 km from the city center, Lillori Sthan Mandir (Lilori Temple) is an ancient temple of Goddess Lilori, family deity of the local landlord (Raja), who nowadays is considered an incarnation of Goddess Kali. Goddess Lilori, typical to Bengal and neighboring areas, is non-vegetarian and daily hundreds of animals are sacrificed on her altar.

The temple is one of the area's few natural picnic spots, even though tree felling and government neglect has adversely affected much of the greenery. It also attracts thousands of people on summer days for weddings. It neighbours the local smashan (crematorium).

Bharatiya Club

It is one of the oldest libraries in India which solely carries books from Hindi literature. The library was started by the freedom fighter Late Shri Ramanand Khaitan, who was an ardent political activist during the Indian freedom movement. During the days of British occupation, the library was a melting pot of pro-freedom think-tanks and activists. Today, the library serves the people of Katras and its surrounding areas, filling a necessary void in providing access to Hindi literature. It has a free, open access reading room which offers a regular supply of newspapers, magazines and journals.

Raksha Kali Temple

This is a small temple of Raksha Kali in Hatiya (a small vegetable market). Raksha Kali is a very fierce form of Kali and she was supposed to be invoked only when there were calamities like war, epidemic, and the like. That is why the gate of the temple remains closed all the time. Earlier the temple gate was opened only for the annual midnight Puja or on certain occasions like Kali-Puja. Nowadays its gate is opened daily perhaps because the local landlord (Raja), who earlier was responsible for temple upkeep, is unable to continue with it, or because the Pandit who opens its gate expects to earn money through Aarti-offerings, etc. Once a year the Goddess is worshiped at midnight. Animal offerings are given and Khichdi is cooked with the animal meat. After everyone there has taken the Prasad of this Khichdi, all remaining materials are buried in front of the temple. There are very small temples of Goddesses like Shitla in the backside of this temple.

Rakshash Temple

The oldest and most important historic and archaeological structure is Rakshas temple of Jhinjhi Pahari. This temple is made solely of stones without even a small amount of any other material, including sand, to join them. It is understood to be at least six hundred years old. It is said that a similar temple was located just in front of the Lilori Temple which fell in an earthquake, and that these two temples signified some treasure. There is a myth that the temple was constructed by Lord Vishwakarma in a single night.

Sankat Mochan Temple

It is situated at the heart of the town and attracts lot of devotees on Tuesday and Saturday.

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FOOD

One can find several Indian regional street food all along the vicinity of the town. Some of them are Daveli paaw, Dhosa, Idli, Samosa, lasunia, Kachori, Chinese food corners are common in each locality of the town, litti chokha etc. Like a cosmopolitan city Katras has a unique snack culture. One can find numerous kachori shops operating in the morning, and large number of samosa shops in evening.

Being surrounded by coal mines Katras also has famous mutton food culture. There are plenty of mutton shops . People also buy mutton from the Priests of Lilori sthan which is offered to the goddess.

Katras also has impact of gujrati people & marwadi in its food culture who live there as big merchants.

Healthcare

Despite its fairly large population, Katras lacks quality medical facilities. There are several hospitals though none have facilities to address emergencies on a 24-hour basis. Katras has no intensive care facilities, and local diagnostic centers are considered unreliable. There is rampant medical corruption, with doctors recommending unnecessary tests and costly medicines. Underlined tests (in the prescription) are not supposed to be carried out, but are only for cheating patients. Tilatand Hospital of BCCL was once a centre for better treatment, but currently remains empty much of the time. With no better alternative, many people either go to Dhanbad (for minor treatments) or Bokaro (for major treatment), or finally to Christian Medical College, Vellore for better treatment. The lone train from Dhanbad to Allepey, also taken away, was full of patients. There is an urgent need of a good hospital either in the private or public sector.

External links

• http://romanbooks.co.in/quintus/9789380905945.php