Asansol Sadar subdivision


Asansol Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the Paschim Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Overview

Asansol Sadar subdivision is part of the Ajay Damodar Barakar tract. This area is sort of an extension of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. It is a rocky undulating area with laterite soil, with the Ajay on the north, the Damodar on the south and the Barakar on the west. For ages the area was heavily forested and infested with plunderers and marauders. The discovery of coal in the 18th century led to industrialisation of the area and most of the forests have been cleared. Maithon Dam of Damodar Valley Corporation, located in Jharkhand, is on the border of this subdivision.

Subdivisions

Paschim Bardhaman district is divided into the following two administrative subdivisions:
SubdivisionHeadquarters
Area
km2		Population
Rural
Population %
Urban
Population %
Asansol SadarAsansol831.891,672,65916.6783.33
DurgapurDurgapur771.281,209,37220.7879.22
Paschim Bardhaman districtAsansol1,603.172,882,03118.3981.61

Note:Before bifurcation of the erstwhile Bardhaman district Galsi I was in Durgapur subdivision, but after bifurcation it is in Bardhman Sadar North subdivision.

Administrative units

Asansol subdivision has 10 police stations, 4 community development blocks, 4 panchayat samitis, 35 gram panchayats, 181 mouzas, 165 inhabited villages, 1 municipal corporation, 3 municipalities and 26 census towns+1. The single municipal corporation is at Asansol. The municipalities are at: Raniganj, Jamuria and Kulti. The census towns are: Chittaranjan, Hindustan Cables Town, Panuria, Domohani, Bhanowara, Majiara, Pangachhiya, Kunustara, Topsi, Nimsa, Chinchuria, Kenda, Parasia, Ratibati, Chapui, Jemari, Banshra, Belebathan, Chelad, Murgathaul, Amkula, Baktarnagar, Egara, Sahebganj, Raghunathchak, Ballavpur and Kendra Khottamdi. It also includes Charanpur, an outgrowth of Jamuria. The subdivision has its headquarters at Asansol.
According to the Kolkata Gazette notification of 3 June 2015, the municipal areas of Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria were included within the jurisdiction of Asansol Municipal Corporation.

Demographics

As per the 2011 Census of India data Asansol Sadar subdivision, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2017, had a total population of 1,672,659. There were 868,696 males and 803,963 females. Population below 6 years was 192,151.
As per the 2011 census data the total number of literates in Asansol subdivision, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2017, was 1,147,851 out of which males numbered 649,034 and females numbered 468,857.
In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 1,352,185 and formed 80.84% of the population in Asansol subdivision. Muslims numbered 283,225 and formed 16.93% of the population. Christians numbered 9,478 and formed 0.57% of the population. Others numbered 2,771 and formed 1.66% of the population.

Police stations

Police stations in Asansol Sadar subdivision have the following features and jurisdiction:
Police stationArea covered
km2		Municipal townCD Block
Chittaranjan18.03-Salanpur
Salanpur52.09-Salanpur
Barabani158.87-Barabani
Asansol North49AsansolRaniganj
Raniganj113.05Raniganj-
Jamuria220JamuriaJamuria
Asansol WomenAsansol and Durgapur subdivisions--
Asansol South Womens69Asansol-
Hirapur63.33Asansol-
Kulti96Kulti-

Blocks

Community development blocks in Asansol Sadar subdivision are:
CD BlockHeadquarters
Area
km2		Population
SC %ST %Hindus %Muslims %Literacy
Rate %		Census
Towns
SalanpurRupnarayanpur135.05160,35724.1010.4894.313.5778.762
BarabaniDomohani Bazar156.35127,54229.4414.8287.9511.0769.585
JamuriaBahadurpur158.10123,17630.688.3488.1811.2169.426+1
RaniganjRaniganj58.28106,44135.229.3890.876.4273.8613

Gram panchayats

The subdivision contains 35 gram panchayats under 4 community development blocks:

Coal mining

Coalmining in India first started in the Raniganj Coalfield. In 1774, John Sumner and Suetonius Grant Heatly of the British East India Company found coal near Ethora, presently in Salanpur CD Block.
In 1973, the Government of India took over the management of all non-coking coal mines in the country and in 1975 Coal India was formed to manage the coking and non-coking coal mines.
In 2015-16, Eastern Coalfields, a subsidiary of Coal India, produced 40.209 million tonnes of raw coal. As of January 2017, it employed 64,433 persons.

Railways

Narayankuri ghat, on the Damodar, was used by Carr Tagore & Company for transporting coal to Kolkata by boat in the middle of the nineteenth century. Varying levels of water in the Damodar posed problems for transportation. In order to capture the lucrative coal transport business, East Indian Railway laid lines up to Raniganj in 1855. It captured the entire coal transport business. The line was extended to Asansol in 1863.
The Bardhaman-Asansol section, Asansol-Gaya section and Asansol-Patna section, of Eastern Railway, which are part of Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line, Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line and Howrah-Delhi main line, pass through this subdivision. The Andal-Jamuria-Sitarampur branch line also serves the coal mines. This subdivision connects to South Eastern Railway through the Asansol-Adra line.

Industry

of Steel Authority of India at Burnpur has a crude steel production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year. The modernisation and expansion programme of IISCO Steel Plant, implemented with an investment of over Rs 16,000 crore, was dedicated to the nation by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, on 10 May 2015. As of 2015, the investment for modernization was the single largest investment in West Bengal till then. Established in 1918, the Indian Iron and Steel Company was amalgamated with SAIL in 2006 and renamed IISCO Steel Plant.
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works is one of the largest electric locomotive manufacturers in the world. Established in 1950, it produced steam locomotives up to 1972.
Ballavpur Paper Mnfg. Ltd., after revamp of the plant at Ballavpur, started production in 2009. They produce kraft paper used for packaging.

Education

Given in the table below is a comprehensive picture of the education scenario in Paschim Bardhaman district, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2017, with data for the year 2013-14:
Note: Primary schools include junior basic schools; middle schools, high schools and higher secondary schools include madrasahs; technical schools include junior technical schools, junior government polytechnics, industrial technical institutes, industrial training centres, nursing training institutes etc.; technical and professional colleges include engineering colleges, medical colleges, para-medical institutes, management colleges, teachers training and nursing training colleges, law colleges, art colleges, music colleges etc. Special and non-formal education centres include sishu siksha kendras, madhyamik siksha kendras, centres of Rabindra mukta vidyalaya, recognised Sanskrit tols, institutions for the blind and other handicapped persons, Anganwadi centres, reformatory schools etc.
The following institutions are located in Asansol subdivision:
The table below presents an overview of the medical facilities available and patients treated in the hospitals, health centres and sub-centres in 2014 in Paschim Bardhaman district, after bifurcation of Bardhaman district in 2017, with data for the year 2013-14.

Medical facilities

Asansol subdivision has a subdivisional hospital at Asansol. There is a rural hospital at Ballavpur. The subdivision has block primary health centres at Pithaikuri, Kelejhora, Bahadurpur, Akalpur and Raniganj, and primary health centres at Dabar, Parbatpur, Domohani, Panuria, Nuni, Lalganj, Churulia, Chinchuria, Birkulti, Baktarnagar and Tirat. Other hospitals in Asansol subdivision include ECL Central Hospital at Kalla, Sanctoria Hospital at Dishergarh, ECL’s Banshra Hospital at Banshra, ECL’s Salanpur Hospital at Dendua, Divisional Railway Hospital at Asansol, ESI Hospital at Kanyapur, HLG Memorial Hospital at Kanyapur, Marwari Relief Society Hospital at Raniganj, Anandlok Hospital at Raniganj, Burnpur Hospital of SAIL at Burnpur. and Kasturba Gandhi Hospital of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works at Chittaranjan.
Further medical facilities in Asansol Sadar subdivision are as follows:
Hospitals:
Rural Hospitals:
Block Primary Health Centres:
Primary Health Centres :
and Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Asansol subdivision were as follows:
Lok Sabha constituencyVidhan Sabha constituencyReservationCD Block and/or Gram panchayats and/or municipal areas
AsansolKulti-Kulti municipality
Barabni-Barabani and Salanpur CD Blocks
Asansol Uttar-Ward nos. 1 to 8, 10 to 17, 19, 21 to 33 of Asansol municipal corporation
Asansol Dakshin-Ward nos. 9, 18, 20, 34 to 50 of Asansol municipal corporation and Amrasota, Egra, Ballavpur, Jemari and Tirat gram panchayats of Raniganj CD Block
Jamuria-Jamuria municipality, Jamuria CD Block, and Ratibati gram panchayat of Raniganj CD Block
Raniganj-Raniganj municipality and Andal CD Block of Durgapur subdivision.
Pandaveswar-Pandabeswar and Faridpur Durgapur CD Blocks of Durgapur subdivision