Daltonganj

Daltonganj Medininagar
—  town  —
Daltonganj Location of Daltonganj in Jharkhand and India
Coordinates	24°02′N 84°04′E / 24.03°N 84.07°E / 24.03; 84.07Coordinates: 24°02′N 84°04′E / 24.03°N 84.07°E / 24.03; 84.07
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District(s)	Palamu
MLA	Inder Singh Namdhari
Population	73,307 (2001[update])
Literacy • Male • Female	76%%  • 82.25%% • 71.32%%
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 215 metres (705 ft)
Website	palamu.nic.in

Daltonganj is a town in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the headquarters of Palamu division and Palamu district, as well as subdivision and block of the same name. The town is situated on the banks of the North Koel.^[1]

Origin of name

Daltonganj is named after Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton (1815–1880),an anthropologist and the District commissioner of Chota Nagpur in 1861, during the British Raj who established this town after clearing Bijra Bagan.^[2] Now the name of Daltonganj is changed to Medininagar.

History

The Chero dynasty ruled this region for a long period. The Palamau Fort is a major historical landmark in this area as well as Shahpur Fort. Daltonganj is now under control of Sarthak The great.

Geography

Daltonganj is located at 24°02′N 84°04′E / 24.03°N 84.07°E / 24.03; 84.07.^[3] It has an average elevation of 215 m (705 ft).

The famous Betla National Park is located about 26 km from the Daltonganj town. The park is well-known for tigers,and comes under the Palamau Tiger Project. Another scenic picnic spot nearby is Kechki, located about 18 km from Daltonganj, at the cofluence of the Koel River and the Auranga River. Netarhat, a scenic plateau covered with thick forests, is also situated near Daltonganj and beside that Barwadih is also located. It is a summer resort known for its picturesque sunrise and sunset.

Government and politics

• Member of Parliament: Kameshwar Baitha
• MLA: K.N. Tripathi (Congress)^[4]
• District Collector: Puja Singhal Purwar
• Deputy Inspector General of Police: Nandu Prasad
• Superintendent of Police: Saket Kumar
• C.S.: M P Singh
• chairman : Surendra Parsad Singh.
• Famous lawyer : Kameshwar Tiwari - Distt Gen Sec Congress, khurshid ahmed khan,Naushad Akbar Khan,Balram tiwary
• amwa  : Amwa khurd is a river valley situated in east of this town

it is 25 km from center

• Zila Adhyakch (RJD) :- Jayauddin Ansari

Transport

Daltonganj is located 1036 km south east of New Delhi and is accessible by train from Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal Junction, Delhi, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Varanasi and Gaya. The nearest airport is at Ranchi (165 km). The road from Ranchi is pictureque and driving through it one gets feel refreshment from the beauty of nature. There is an airport in the town which quality has been good enough to have regular traffic, however, there is no radio controle tower. In case of sporadic VIP movement (say once in a year) a portable transmitter is installed here. Daltonganj is well connected with Ranchi, Patna and Gaya by road. Daltonganj Railway Station is a major station in CIC line. All major train halt here.

The town is connected to Delhi with Five trains, Jharkhand Swarnjayanti Express, Tata Jammutavi Express, Rajdhani Express and Garib Rath. It is connected to Bhopal and Jabalpur of Central India (Madhya Pradesh) by Jabalpur - Howrah Shaktipunj Express (Daily) and Bhopal - Howrah Bhopal Express (wWeekly/Monday),Varanasi Via Intercity Express and Patna via Palamau Express.Daltonganj also connected with all lesliganj villages 'amwa khurd, baura khaad,kundri,phulang,chaura,basdih,jamudihsagalim,tarhasi Chainpur'by national highway.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[5] Daltonganj had a population of 71,307. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Daltonganj has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and, female literacy is 70%. In Daltonganj, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

HEALTH

The town has a Sadar Hospital apart from some other Primary Health Centers. Famous doctors of the town are Dr. John F.Kennedy, Dr.Arun Shukla, Dr.R.P Sinha, Dr. G.P Singh, Dr. M.P Singh etc. Further development in this field needs to be taken up for better living conditions.

Culture

Major Hindu and Muslim festivals are celebrated in Daltonganj. The town is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Daltonganj. The town has several societies, clubs, and NGOs.

Temples

Vishnu Mandir is the famous temple situated in the heart of Daltonganj [Build by Vishnu Sahu on 1936]
Other temples- Hanuman Mandir, Bhikham Das Mandir, Hira Mandir, Devi Mandir, Kali Mandir,surya mandir,old shiv mandir,shani mandir,shitla mandir,gaytri mandir-sudna,hanuman mandir-sudna

Mosques

Badi Masjid, Noori Masjid. Millat Masjid,Choti Masjid and Madina Masjid

Education

There are 66 primary schools, 30 middle schools, 17 Navsirijit schools, 10 high schools and 1 Engineering College in the Daltonganj block.^[6] The main colleges in Daltonganj include

• DAV Engineering College
• GLA College
• Woman's College
• BN college
• Janta Shivratri College
• ITI (belwatika)

The major libraries in the town include:

• Marwari Library (Kanni Ram Chowk)
• Central Library (Sahitya Samaj Chowk)
• Urdu Library (Badi Masjid Road, Chhah Muhan Chowk).

Popular schools in Daltonganj are

• S.L.A. Public High School,Shahpur
• Sacred Heart School
• MKDAV public school
• Brahman High School
• Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir
• Mission girls school
• Heritage International School
• Girivar High School
• Zila school
• Bright land school
• Rotary School
• ST Mary's school
• Gyan Niketan

In 2001, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand declared that the Nilamber-Pitamber University will be setup in Daltonganj, now Nilamber-Pitamber University is running in Daltonganj.^[7]

References

1. ^ "Administrative Unit - Palamu". http://palamu.nic.in/admin.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
2. ^ "History of Palamu". http://palamu.nic.in/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-04. 
3. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Daltonganj
4. ^ "District Election Office, Palamu". http://palamu.nic.in/election.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
5. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
6. ^ "Palamu District: Education Profile". http://palamu.nic.in/eduprofile.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
7. ^ "Chapter IX: Social Services". Jharkhand Draft Annual Plan 2001 - 2002. http://jharkhand.nic.in/governance/anpchap9a.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-10. ^{[dead link]}