Sindri

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Sindri
latd = 23.75
longd = 86.7
state_name = Jharkhand
district = Dhanbad
altitude = 178
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 76,827
population_density =
area_magnitude =
area_total =
area_telephone = 91 (0)326 | postal_code = 828122
vehicle_code_range = JH 10-
footnotes =

Sindri is a town in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

Overview

Sindri [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/38/Sindri.html] is a small township in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand state. Sindri was well famous because of a large Fertilizer factory (Fertilizer Corporation of India - FCIL) conceived here in the early industrialized India. It was also known for few other companies situated here such as Associated Cement Companies (ACC), Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCo) and Projects & Development Limited (PDIL). An another subject of topographical importance is the Damodar river which acted both as source of water and electricity for the township. A hydro-power power project called Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is located here. DVC supplies eco-friendly electricity to some its neighbouring states like West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Origin of its Name

As per the records of the now-closed fertilizer plant (FCI), the name Sindri was the corrupt form of the word Sindoori (Vermilion). The name is said to be given by the local tribals because of the vermilion coloured soil found here. Technically the type of soil available in the area is Laterite which has got a vermilion coloured or reddish hue.

The word Sindri is also said to be a part of the Mundari lexicon. Mundari is a language spoken by the indigenous people who have lived in and around this place for a long time. It roughly translates into "Ridge" or "Frontier." There are some evidences available that centuries ago the Santhals, Mundas and Hos inhabited the banks of the Sindhu River. They were later forced to move to Eastern part of the country by the Aryans.Fact|date=April 2008

The word Sindri is also in use amongst the Icelanders, but has actually no relationship to the name of the town. [Page Created By ABHINAV SITESH] [Rk1-168,Roharabandh Sindri....And Known as Setu]

Connectivity

Sindri is well connected by Road and Rail to the district headquarter of Dhanbad. The road between Sindri and Dhanbad has usually been in a state of disarray due to the regular movements of lorries loaded with fertilizer, cement and coal. There is a local train available between the place and the district headquarter many times a day. There are three small railway stations/halts in the 27 Kilometre long broadguage line bbetween Sindri Town and Dhanbad Junction namely - Sindri Marshalling Yard, Sindri (Rural), Rakhitpur, Pradhan Khanta and Dokra Block Halt. Visitors wanting to reach the township should not confuse between Sindri (Rural) and Sindri Town railway station. The rail line connects Sindri (via Dhanbad) to the regional industrial city of Jamshedpur with the most important train through Sindri being the Subarnarekha Express.

History

Sindri was a place with rich reserves of flora and fauna. The place was initially occupied by the local tribals which later on attracted people from neighbouring states. The chapter of its industrialization started when it was selected as best option for a fertilizer factory due to its opt geographical conditions in the First Five-Year Plan. The factory was established in 1952. In his inaguration speech, the then Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru said that he was not just inaugurating a fertilizer factory but he was inaugurating a temple of modern India.

The factory primarily produced Ammonium Sulphate, Urea, Ammonium Nitrate-Sulfate combination (called the Double salt). The raw materials used for its final products were gypsum, coal and naphta. The fertilizer plant, operated perennially at a loss years after years, and was eventually closed in 2002 under the all country privatization drive despite vehement opposition by the locals, trade unions and politicians. Though the fertilizer plant was not a eventual commercial success but it certainly provided a wonderful social environment for a many of generations of people during its existence. The Bihar Insitute of Technology now renamed as Birsa Institute of Technology was also established to meet the growing demand of technnicical experts in this new industrialized area. The institute still remains as one of the premier institutions for technical education in the state of Bihar and Jharkhand.

Localities

As stated earlier, Sindri was a township. Hence it can be divided into three different classifications. The first was the residential area for the employees of FCIL and P&D. The second part was occupied by the employees of ACC. The third part was occupied by the students and staff of then called as Bihar Institute of Technology. The division of the town in terms of localities can be done as - Domghar, Rohrabandh, Saharpura, Manohartand, Gausala and Rangamati.Domghar was the older tribal village of Sindri, or better associated as the residence of Doms. [ The term Dom is said to have been derived from dombī from the Munda language [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domba] . Doms have been viewed in many parts of India as a community of sweepers and toilet cleaners and the term is generally used in derogatory sence. Yet the term "Dom" simply means man according to the Dom Research Center [http://www.domresearchcenter.com/names/index.html] ] Other localities like Rohrabandh, Domghar, Shaharpura and Rangamati were all housing colonies for the employees of FCIL and P&D. Shaharpura and Rangamati contained the housing quarters for the labours and supervisors of the factory whereas Rohrabandh contained the houses of employees from the top management or people with white collor jobs. Manohartand was a new location of the town added near Rohraband in early 1980s. Gausala was the area utilised by the campus of then called as Bihar Institute of Technology.

The Sindri township was well-planned township with lush green avenues all over with all possible ammenities. The township had a Hospital with then the best technology available, Kalyan Kendra - The Sports club, Officer's club - A club for FCI executives. Houses were laid out neatly in the form of laypouts with ample open spaces for garden lovers. Uninterrupted Power supply was made available to the township locally produced in FCI Power Plants. As stated Damodar river was the source of water for the entire township. A highly sophisticated water purification system was designed to supply water in the township many times in a day. If Sindri was a temple of Modern India, its altar was the immaculately landscaped design and well staffed Hospital and other amenity centres. Many children born in this hospital had a hard time in well explaining the rich life of Sindri to their friends.

ocial life

The fertilizer plant brought together people from many different locations of India to work in various roles. Sindri was truly the mixing pot for various different cultures and regions in India. It was not unusual to find a Bengali, a Bihari, a Sikh, a Tamil, a Kannada and a Jain family living in the same block of the town. The communal harmony and social acceptance which was instilled in youngsters growing up in the town made it much easier for them to adapt to a diverse culture. The greatest contribution of Sindri Fertilizer Plant may be in creating a generation of Indians born with multi-cultural values. Such multi-cultured adaptive people are now speard all over the world.

Shaharpura hosted the downtown shopping area where established dry goods merchants, tailors and butchers shared their space with farmers and other small time merchants. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday a lively open air market was held featuring fresh locally raised produce, poultry and locally crafted artifacts. Wandering minstrels and traditional medicine men from as far away as Afghanistan brought with them unexpected services and concoctions like low cost street side tooth extraction and "lizard oil" for arthritis sufferers that was brewed in-situ at low heat in wide mouthed vats of oil in which a few exotic looking lizards lounged around (unharmed) for the afternoon. Marathon bicyclists occasionally came to town to ride around in circles for days on end without setting their foot down. This form of theater elevated everyday activities like shaving, showering and eating to heroic levels and got the salaried men of Sindri to spare some change for their more venturesome if less fortunate compatriots. The open air market was Sindri's window to the rest of India and brought a splash of color to an otherwise pastel town.

The Officer's club offered a great social setting for the employees of the fertilizer factory and (Fertilizers) Planning and Development India Limited (FPDIL). FPDIL was a second public sector organisation in the township mostly doing research and project work for fertiliser projects across the country. For some reason the Fertilizer was later on dropped from the name and the major part of the truncated organisation by the name of Planning and Development India limited (PDIL), later renamed as Projects & Development India Limited, shifted to Noida and Baroda. Sindri club had two badminton courts, Tennis courts (later converted into swimming pool), Billiards and Table tennis. It was a major destination for the Officers and their young children in the evenings and weekends. Saturday night and Sunday night used to be the movie night where a 16 mm projector was placed on a makeshift table and Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Devanand came alive on the makeshift screen. A well stocked library was a great place to relax and spend time. The local club barber Moinuddin was a popular figure and was responsible for a quite a few latest haircuts in the town. With an ever ready smile and a latest gossip he was the most popular barber in town.

Sindri was relatively crime free. Armed bandits, or dacoits as they were known, occasionally staged a hit on homes in the outskirts of town. A few children were born out of wedlock and an occasional aborted fetus or a new born was found abandoned. Suicides by distraught college aspirants through self inflicted burns or hanging from the ubiquitous ceiling fans were occasionally reported.

Sindri has a Protestant Church, a Catholic Church, a Hindu temple, a Sikh Gurudwara and a Mosque as well. A movie theater "Kalpana Talkies" near the taxi stand screened year old Bollywood and other regional hits and English movies on Friday nights. The young engineers in training at BIT Sindri and other college students occasionally sorted out their social differences in and around Kalpana Talkies. The Friday night English movies served as the window to the west for counteless kids, a few of whom did go west.

The Kalyan Kendra (Welfare Center) located between Rohrabandh and Shaharpura had a sprawling ground adjacent to it. The complex boasted of a traditional gym and a modern one too. Later a swimming pool was built as part of this complex. It was the venue for Independence Day and Republic Day parades and location of choice for staging plays and poetry readings by groups that believed that watching movies (along with chewing tobacco, imbibing tea, gambling and playing chess or cards,) was a bad habit. The one western influence that seeped into Kalyan Kendra was table tennis and of course carrom board. The Bengali literati staged night long yatras and durga pujas, the Biharis (and those from Eastern UP) staged Kavi Samelans and observed Chaat, the Tamil literati arranged for Kacheris and staged Ayyappan Puja. Nehru would have been proud of the melting pot he had helped create. He would probably have been less proud of the unauthorized but quite popular late night transvestite cabarets that popped up in the wild.

Educational institutes

Sindri had schools run by the management of the Fertilizer factory. Rajendra Schools in Shaharpura, Ragamati and Domgarh. All areas were having Middle Schools but High School was in Shaharpura. An only girls school from Middle classes to 10th/11th class was also there. Many student of these schools are at very high places and many are in Administrative as well as Military Services.Other schools in Sindri that provide excellent education to residents are Model English High School, De Nobili School (chain of schools run by Society of Jesus in the coal belt), Lions Public School and Saraswati Sishu Mandir.

Sindri has created so many engineers over the last half century through the great engineering college, BIT Sindri. Engineers who are MD's or GM's in some of the leading businesses of the country whereas many of the engineers are across the globe doing great in their fields. Dr. C. P. Singh, Ph.D. from University of Florida and BS in Chemical Engineering from BIT Sindri, is a founder of Nanotech company called "Nano Interface Technology, Inc." located in Washington DC Metro area.Founded in 1949, BIT Sindri is a premier technical institution offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various branches of engineering approved by All India Council of Technical Education, New Delhi. It is wholly owned by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi. BIT Sindri was formerly known as Bihar Institute of Technology, Sindri which was renamed as Birsa Institute of Technology, Sindri after the creation of Jharkhand state in November 2000. Some of the local figures of Sindri are Mr. Nitesh Kumar Sinha - who is working in Navbharat times (Times of india) as a Correspondent and Mr. U.N Jha - one of the oldest science teachers from the place.

Current status

Today, after the closure of the factory, Sindri is a mere shadow of its past glory. Some parts of the town have been turned over to the Central Reserve Police Force and seems to be well maintained. Many homes remain unoccupied. The hospital is largely shuttered and its grounds quite unkempt. Only one ward is in use. Kalpana talkies has shut down but DVD vendors have popped up at the still bustling market. The butchers have yielded space to jewellers! Bihar Stores is still open for business, Ahmad Tailors is mostly selling ready made garments and D. N. Studio has gone digital. Sindri's great spec master, "Dipu Opticals" is still catering the optical needs. The town is greener now. Many more trees have sprung up but Sindri seems to be slowly receding in time. There is a Club famaous for its cultural activities and others Sports Competition Sindri Youth Club, is now looks like a bushy garden and no one is there to take care of all that. Sindri Youth Club has produced lot of National & International Players in VolleyBall, Badminton , Table Tannis & lot more. This Club is famous all over India for Great Drama Artist. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

De Nobili School is emerging one of the Powerful educational Institute in Sindri. De Nobili School is a missionary school which has many branches all over in Dhanbad and its one of the best school of Dhanbad and new De Nobili School is being raised in Dhanbad North. The De Nobili school of sindri is smaller compared to other De Nobili's but inspite of this it is best in each and every field.

Geography

Sindri is located at coord|22.8|N|85.98|E| [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/38/Sindri.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 177m (Red dots are railways)] ] . It has an average elevation of 178 metres (583 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census [GR|India] , Sindri had a population of 76,827. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sindri has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy rate is 77%, and female literacy rate is 57%. In Sindri, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References