Rourkela

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Rourkela v • d • e Orissa, India
Rourkela
District(s)	Sundargarh
Coordinates	22.12° N 84.54° E Coordinates: 22.12° N 84.54° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area  · Elevation	200 km² (77 mi²)  · 219 m (719 ft)
Population (2001)  · Density	4,84,292  · 2,500/km²
Codes  · Postal  · Telephone  · Vehicle	· 769xxx  · +91 (0)661  · OR-14

Rourkela pronunciation (help·info) is located in the northwestern tip of the Indian state of Orissa at the heart of a rich mineral belt. It is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. One of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India Limited is situated here. It also has one of the National Institutes of Technology of the country.

Contents 1 Name 2 History 3 Geography 4 Layout 4.1 Rajiv Gandhi Square 4.2 Bisra Chowk 4.3 Traffic Tower 4.4 P.C.E Square 4.5 Biju Patnaik Square 4.6 Sector2-3 Square 4.7 Panitanki chowk 4.8 Sector-20 Chowk 4.9 Ambagan Square 4.10 7-17 Square 4.11 INDIRA GANDHI PARK 5 Climate 6 Economy 6.1 Industries 6.2 Tourism 6.2.1 Hanuman Vatika 6.2.2 Vedavyas 6.2.3 Mandira Dam 6.2.4 Khandadhar 6.2.5 Darjeeng 6.2.6 Maa Vaishno Devi Temple 6.2.7 Hotels 6.2.8 Laxmi Narayan Mandir 7 Civic Administration 8 Demographics 9 Transport 9.1 Rail 9.2 Train List 9.3 Road 9.4 Local Transport 10 Demographics 11 Culture 12 Recreation 12.1 Movie Theatres 13 Education 13.1 Schools 13.2 Engineering & Management Colleges 13.3 General Colleges 13.4 Medical & Pharmacy Colleges 13.5 Universities 13.6 Libraries 13.7 Rehabilitative Education 14 Sports 14.1 Stadiums 15 See also 16 References 17 External links

[edit] Name

The name "Rourkela" means "Our Village" derived from "Rour" which means "our" and "Kela" means "village" in the local language "Sadri" spoken by the "Raulia" tribe living there.^[1]

[edit] History

The picturesque and modern twin cities of Rourkela and Fertilizer Township as well as their developed periphery are located in areas that were covered by dense forests. According to the census report of 2001 the population of Rourkela is 4,84,292. As recently as 1921, the population as per the census record was only 382. The then railway station of Rourkela was within the revenue village of Mahulpali. The literal meaning of Rourkela according to the language of Sadri is your home. An alternate story has it that an indigenous community called Raulia was living in the area, and the present name is derived from their name for their village.

When India obtained independence, a priority for the government was the industrialization of the country. A basic necessity was the production of iron and steel, and after a search for a suitable location, a steel plant was finally ear-marked for the Rourkela region.

[edit] Geography

Rourkela is located at 84.54E latitude and 22.12N longitude in Sundergarh district of Orissa at an elevation of about 219 meters above mean sea level. The area of Rourkela is 200 square kilometers approximately. Red and laterite soils are find here which are quite rich in minerals. The area near Rourkela is rich in iron-ore hence a steel plant is situated in Rourkela. Rourkela is situated in a hilly region which adds to the natural beauty of the city. The Koel and Sankha rivers meet at Vedvyas, Rourkela and flow as a single river called Brahmani. Hence Rourkela is the confluence of Koel, Sankha and Brahmani.

[edit] Layout

The 23 kilometers long Ring Road, connecting 18 sectors and some other parts of the steel city including Old Rourkela is perhaps its most important landmark. The important places on the Ring Road are as follows.

[edit] Rajiv Gandhi Square

Popularly known as the Traffic Gate ,the road to Rourkela railway station branches off here from the ring road. It is a major bus stop and also an auto stand where one can get autos to South Rourkela, that is, Fertilizer Township, Lathikata, Jalda and neighboring areas. Also it is a major entrance to the Rourkela Steel Plant.

[edit] Bisra Chowk

Popularly known as the Bisra Chowk, the Birsa Munda Square is a major junction of a number of important roads.

[edit] Traffic Tower

This is the place where the traffic of the steel city is regulated to some extent.There is a traffic light post which controls the junction of a bypass road with the ring road.The BYPASS road which branches from the ring road here passes through Sector-3,4,5 and again rejoins the ring road at Ambagan square.Moving a little distance further is the famous park of Rourkela,the INDIRA GANDHI PARK or the I.G.Park.On the bypass road there are several other important buildings;among them are the Training Hostel of RSP,Software Technology Parks Of India(STPI),The PanthaNivas. Again a Gayatree Mandir lies on just the opposite side of the Traffic Tower.

[edit] P.C.E Square

Named after the Padmanava College of Engineering it is also known as the D.A.V chowk a womens college right of the square whereas padmanava college lies on the left.The road branching to padmanava college in sector-4 also leads to the womens' police station, estate office, horticulture office, education department office of the Rourkela Steel Plant.Also the Central Reserve Police Force or the C.R.P.F 89th Battalion is present nearby. Some other offices of the steel plant are located on the right of ring road like the Town Services Department.

[edit] Biju Patnaik Square

Named after the famous son of Orissa Shri.Biju Patnaik a statue of this great leader is present here.The road right to it leads to Sector-2 and Sector-1 and also to the premier institute of India the National Institute of Technology or the N.I.T. Also the OSRTC Government Bus terminal is present nearby. To the right of the square lies the road connecting to bypass road. Also the famous Ahirabandh Temple(Jagannath Temple) is present nearby which is located just near the Sector-3 Police Station. Further on this road are located the famous restaurants of Madhuban,Renuka and Vatika which are totally air conditioned and provide variety of cuisines.

[edit] Sector2-3 Square

The road left to this leads to sector-3 and the right road leads to sector-2 ,C block.

[edit] Panitanki chowk

This is an important junction as the road from Koelnagar-Jhirpani meets here the Ring Road. It is named after a water tank which supplies water to the locality."Panitanki" is the oriya meaning of a water tank.Also one can go to Sector-20 and Sector-2 from here.

[edit] Sector-20 Chowk

The road left here leads to Sector-20 and a branch of this road to Sector-19.Moving a little ahead one more important road is connected to ring road is VIP Road one can reach to the famous ROURKELA HOUSE a luxury guest house for dignitories who visit Rourkela City.

[edit] Ambagan Square

This is a major junction as the BYPASS road meets again the Ring Road.The road left leads to AMBAGAN ISPAT MARKET a famous market center of Rourkela and also to the largest hospital of the region i.e. ISPAT GENERAL HOSPITAL(I.G.H). And further lies Hamirpur a famous spot. A number of banks are present here like the State Bank of India, Bank of India,U.C.O Bank,United Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda,Pubjab National Bank etc. A special reservation counter of the South-Eastern Railway is also present here.The other road i.e. the bypass road leads to Sector-5. A little ahead lies the famous Bhanja Bhawan and Telephone Bhawan.Telephone Bhawan is in Sector-6.

[edit] 7-17 Square

Looking somthing odd? Its the famous 7-17 Square i.e. Sector-7 & Sector-17 Square.The road left leads to Sector-7 & the road right leads to Sector-17.Also the branch roads of this road provide a shortcut to Sector-15,Sector-16 and Sector-18.A little ahead lies Sector-14.

[edit] INDIRA GANDHI PARK

Indra Gandhi Park is situated on the main ring road in Sector 4. It is spread on a total area of about 42 acres. The big park is well maintained. Besides, garden, large space for picnic etc., there is mini zoo, boating and a toy train facilities. The facility is enjoyed by the people very much especially kids. It is full of crowd on Sunday and other holiday.

[edit] Climate

Rourkela has a tropical climate and receives high rainfall during Southwest monsoon (June-September) and retreating Northeast monsoon (December-January). Average annual rainfall ranges between 160-200 cm. The minimum and maximum temperatures are in the range of 11 C to 44 C with a mean minimum and maximum temperature range of 14.3 C to 39.2 C during coldest and hottest months. Thirty six percent of the geographical area of the district has semi-evergreen or tropical dry deciduous forest. ^[2]

[edit] Economy

[edit] Industries

Rourkela is the industrial capital of Orissa. It has industries of all sizes. The city is known internationally for iron & steel trades. Recent upspurt in iron & steel pricing has seen a lot of industries of all sizes coming in and around Rourkela. The city is near to the source of Raw Materials. Major Industries

• Rourkela Steel Plant
• Fertiliser Plant
• Orind
• IDL Limited (now merged to Gulf Oil Corporation Limited)
• Bondamunda Marshalling Yard
• Sponge Iron Plants
• STPI Rourkela

[edit] Tourism

Rourkela also acts as a hub for tourism to Orissa.

[edit] Hanuman Vatika

The city houses the Hanuman Vatika, which is a major attraction for the locals and visitors to the town. A 75 feet (23 m) tall full-fledged Hanuman statue welcomes the visitors to the steel city. Sri Laxmana Swami was the architect behind the statue. The Hanuman Vatika Trust Board has made a temple complex on 13 acres (53,000 m²) of land. The Bata Mangala Mandira, Binayaka Mandira and Manas Parayana Sharala have been established to the entrance of the Hanuman Vatika. The Koili Baikuntha, the kitchen, the Kalyan Mandap and the Bhajan Mandap lie close to the Jagannath temple.

[edit] Vedavyas

A place of natural beauty also considered a 'Tirtha', is situated 9 km away on the confluence of the rivers Shankha, Koel and Saraswati. There is also a Vedic Ashram and a Gurukula system school here. It is at this site that the epic Mahabharata was purported to have been put down on paper by Maharishi Vyas.

[edit] Mandira Dam

Mandira Dam is situated about 25 km from the city.The reservoir is almost as old as the Steel Plant in Rourkela. It was built to support the irrigation requirements of about 50 surrounding villages. But as of today, it is the source of water to nearly 250 villages around Rourkela. There is so much water that it is said that at the lowest level, if the dam were breached, the water would drown almost 100 villages^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Khandadhar

The 244 m High Khandadhar is 114 km from Rourkela via Bonaigarh.It is formed by the perennial Korapani Nala which flows here throughout thr year.It is the highest waterfall in Orissa and the 4th highest in India.

[edit] Darjeeng

Darjeeng is a picnic spot on the river Brahmani. Nearby is Deodhar, a gorge on the river. It is 51 km from Rourkela on National Highway No. 23. About 180 km from Rourkela, Junagarh has a fort of historical and archaeological importance with ancient caves. Another haunt of the tourists is the Mirig Khog Waterfall, a picnic spot, 111 km from Rourkela.

[edit] Maa Vaishno Devi Temple

It is situated on the top of the small hill with a beautiful environment of green tree and fresh air through the day. It is also visible from the Railway Station. The images of Maa Kali, Maa Lakshmi and Maa Saraswati were found on the hill in the year 2000. then Maa Vaishnu Devi Temple Trust was formed in the year 2000. The Temple was constructed and completed in the year 2003. Proper stairs were made and water tanks were arranged for drinking water. Maa Durga Temple is another attraction near the cave to be worthy seen. The statue of Maa Durga is very attractive. Her blessing to the man kind is great.

[edit] Hotels

• Hotel Radhika,Madhusudan Marg,Near Railway Station
• Hotel Apsara,Near Railway Station
• Hotel Chanderlok,Near Razak Cinema,Old Rourkela
• Hotel Deepti,Ring Road
• Hotel Sukhsagar,Madhusudan Marg
• Hotel Mayfair Garden,Panposh Road
• OTDC Panthanivas Tourist Bungalow,Sector-5 bypass road
• Hotel Maurya Residency
• Hotel Aashirvad,Near Rail Station
• Hotel Surya,G.T.Lane
• Hotel Anurag,Madhusudan Marg
• Hotel Solan,Station Road
• Hotel Brindaban,Near Railway Station,Bisra Road

[edit] Laxmi Narayan Mandir

Situated in Sector-14 on a small hillock this is a place to attend complete peace of mind,away from the hustle and bustle of city.This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi Mata.

[edit] Civic Administration

The steel city is divided mainly into two sections: Old Rourkela (sections of the city near the railway station that were settled prior to RSP coming up) and the much larger Steel township. The Steel township till 1999, was divided into 18 Sectors, Sector 6 being the largest of them. The Steel township & Fertilizer Township are under the Steel Plant Administration while the other sections of the city are under the Rourkela Municipal Committee.Some rural areas of South Rourkela are managed by the Jalda Panchayat.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Raurkela had a population of 224,601. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Raurkela has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 69%. In Raurkela, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Transport

As Rourkela is the commercial capital of Orissa, it has a developed transportation network.

[edit] Rail

It is situated on the Kolkata-Mumbai South Eastern railway line which is a major route connecting the two metros of India.Rourkela is directly connected to Ahmedabad,Bangalore,Bhubaneswar,Chennai,Cuttack,Delhi,Bilaspur,Mumbai,Nagpur,Pune,Puri,Patna,Kolkata,Raipur,Ranchi,Sambalpur,Vishakhapatnam and many more cities of India.

[edit] Train List

Up	Train Name	Dn
2860	HOWRAH-MUMBAI GITANJALI SUPERFAST EXPRESS	2859
2130	HOWRAH-PUNE AZAD HIND EXPRESS	2129
2810	HOWRAH-MUMBAI MAIL	2809
2906	HOWRAH-PORBANDAR ARADHANA EXPRESS	2905
2871	HOWRAH-SAMBALPUR ISPAT EXPRESS	2872
8451	HATIA-PURI TAPASWINI EXPRESS	8452
8189	TATA-ALLEPPEY EXPRESS	8190
3351	DHANBAD-ALLEPPEY EXPRESS	3352
8477	PURI-HARIDWAR KALINGA UTKAL EXPRESS	8478
8005	HOWRAH-KORAPUT SAMALESWARI EXPRESS	8006
2834	HOWRAH-AHMEDABAD EXPRESS	2833
8030	HOWRAH-LOKMANYA TILAK KURLA EXPRESS	8029
2812	HATIA-KURLA EXPRESS	2811
2152	HOWRAH-MUMBAI SAMRASTA EXPRESS	2151
2889	TATANAGAR-YESVANTPUR EXPRESS	2890
2870	HOWRAH-MUMBAI SUPERFAST EXPRESS	2869
3288A	DANAPUR-DURG SOUTH BIHAR EXPRESS	3287A
211	ROURKELA-PURI PASSENGER	212
327	TATA-NAGPUR-AMRAVATI PASSENGER	328
321	TATA-BILASPUR PASSENGER	322

[edit] Road

Rourkela is connected to various towns of the state by State Highway 10 and National Highway 23. National Highway 23 connects it to the nearby city of Ranchi which is the capital of Jharkhand state. Interstate buses ply between Rourkela, Ranchi, Bhilai, Jamshedpur. Several buses ply between the major cities and towns of the state.

[edit] Local Transport

The three-wheeler auto taxis are the most important mode of transportation in the city.Also many cars and taxis ply on the city's roads.Bikes are the favorite of many people whether young or old.On 27th September 2006, the city witnessed a landmark in its transportation system. It was the introduction of 12 "SAMPARK" buses in the city which are now plying to various areas in the city. These buses are now becoming the most popular modes of transportation in the city as these are fast and cheap.All the buses plying in and out of the city have ORDINARY SERVICE & EXPRESS SERVICE written on their front.

[edit] Demographics

• Density of Population - 2,500 per Sq. Km. Approx.
• Sex Ratio - 835 Female per 1000 male
• Per Capita income - Highest in Orissa
• Population (2001) - 4,84,292 (Township: 206,566, Rourkela:224,601) ^[3]
• Main Habitations in Rourkela:Basantinagar, Koelnagar, Uditnagar, Jhirpani, Jalda, Fertilizer Township, Civil Township, Eighteen Sectors, Chhend, Shaktinagar, Panposh, Jagda, Bondamunda, Rourkela Town, Industrial Estate

[edit] Culture

Rourkela has two recreation parks: Indira Gandhi Park in front of the Gayatri Mandir hillock, and a smaller Jubilee Park abutting Sector-8.

Oscar nominated film director Mira Nair was born here. ^[4]

[edit] Recreation

[edit] Movie Theatres

• Konark Cinema Hall,Ring Road
• Apsara Talkies,Near Railway Station
• Razak Cinema,Old Rourkela
• Uma Talkies,Bisra Road
• Jugnu Cinema Hall,Rangila Chowk,Fertilizer Township

[edit] Education

Rourkela is not only a steel city , but also the educational, technical and research hub of Western Orissa. It houses many English medium schools which provide world class education to their students. The students of these schools represent their schools in various science seminars not only at national level but also at international level. Some students of Rourkela have also got the rare opportunity to visit NASA, the famous space agency of the United States of America. Rourkela also houses one of the premier institutes of the country, NIT Rourkela.

Students from Rourkela have also represented India in highly respected International Olympiads and won laurels for their country. ^{[5] [6]}

[edit] Schools

• Aurobindo High School, Sector-5
• Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Sector-7 (Oriya Medium)
• Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Chhend (English Medium)
• City English School, near Railway Station
• D.A.V Public School
• Deepika English Medium School, Sector - 5
• Delhi Public School, Sector-18, Rourkela
• Desouza's E.M. School, Sector-2
• Indo English School, Bisra Dahar Road
• Ispat English Medium School, Fertilizer Township
• Ispat English Medium School, Sector - 20
• Ispat High School, Sector-2
• M.G.M English Medium School
• Mount Carmel Convent School, Hamirpur
• Pragati Public School, Fertilizer Township
• Saraswati Vidyamandir, Bisra Dahar Road (Hindi Medium)
• St Joeseph's Public School
• St Paul's School, Rourkela
• Uditnagar Government High School
• St. Gregorious Convent School,Kalunga
• Kendriya Vidyalaya,Sector-6
• Kendriya Vidyalaya,Bondamunda
• Navodaya Vidyalaya,Sector-6
• Guru Nanak Khalsa Public High School,Near Railway Station
• Guru Nanak Khalsa Public High School,Nayabazar,Sector-21
• St. Thomas High School,Chhend-Basantinagar

[edit] Engineering & Management Colleges

• Indian Institute of Production Management, Kanshabahal
• Orissa institute of Hotel Management,Chhend
• Padmanava College of Engineering,Sector-4
• Purushottam Institute of Engineering Technology
• Rourkela Instiute of Management Studies
• Rourkela Institute of Technology,Kalunga
• S.K.D.A.V Khosla polytechnic
• Tapaswini Institute of Information Technology, Kanshabahl
• Utkalmani Gopabandhu Institute of Engineering
• Dr.Ambedkar Memorial Institute of Information Technology & Management Sciences(DAMITS),Jagda

[edit] General Colleges

• Government College,Panposh
• Ispat College,Sector-16
• Ispat Vidyamandir,Sector-19
• Rourkela Municipal College,Uditnagar
• D.A.V Womens'College,Sector-2
• Hrushikesh Ray College,Chhend
• Gandhi Mahavidyalaya,Deogaon
• Law College,Nayabazar,Sector-21
• Rourkela Junior College,Sector-3

[edit] Medical & Pharmacy Colleges

• Kanak Manjari Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Chhend
• Utkal Homeopathy College

[edit] Universities

• Biju Pattnaik University of Technology
• National Institute of Technology (Deemed University)

[edit] Libraries

• Adarsh Paathagar, Sector-18,
• Utkalamani Gopabandhu Library, Sector-19
• Utkalamani Gopabandhu Library, Fertilizer Township
• Municipal Library, Uditnagar
• Max Mullar Bhawan, Sector-2

[edit] Rehabilitative Education

• School for Deaf,Sector-7
• S.O.S Children's Village,Bagbudi,Chhend
• Home abd Hope, Sector-18

[edit] Sports

Rourkela has produced some of the best hockey players for India at the international level including present day national team captain Dilip Tirkey.

The Ispat Stadium is located in Sector-6.

[edit] Stadiums

Rourkela has 2 hockey stadiums with synthetic astroturf. Ispat Stadium has been host for several Ranji Trophy matches.

• Sports Hostel, Chhend
• Ispat Stadium
• Biju Pattnaik Hockey Stadium
• Sports Hostel,Panposh

[edit] See also

Orissa industrial hubs

Angul • Bhubaneswar • Brajarajnagar • Choudwar • Damanjodi • Hirakud • Jharsuguda • Joda • Kalinganagar • Rajgangpur • Rayagada • Rourkela • Raurkela Industrial Township • Sunabeda • Talcher

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rourkela on Wikimapia
• NIT Rourkela One of India's premier technology schools.
• SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant's website.
• BPUT
• Rourkela Institute of Management Studies One of the premier management schools in Orissa
• Steelayana Entertaining and informative stories about life in Rourkela from Mr S.R. Pandrinath, a retired Rourkela Steel Plant executive.