Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilainagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. It is a major industrial city as well as an education hub of central India. It’s metropolis contains three municipal corporations: Bhilai Municipal Corporation, Bhilai-Charoda Municipal Corporation and Risali Municipal Corporation.
Bhilai Steel Plant
The city is home to several industries like Bhilai Steel Plant, Jaypee Cement, Orient Cement, NSPCL Bhilai Steel Plant, Steel Authority of India, FSNL and ACC Cement. The city is home to Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai, Bhilai Institute of Technology Durg. Jama Masjid in this city is one of the largest mosques in India. The state’s oldest zoo is Maitri Bagh. Famous for the Bhilai Steel Plant, one of the largest in India, this industrial city is located about 25 km away from Raipur. It is renowned as the sole manufacturer of rails in India that are used by the In
dian Railways.
History
It was a small village and a part of the Haihaiyavansi Kingdom until 1740 when it was conquered by the Marathas. The foundation of the modern city of Bhilai was laid in 1955 when the Indian government signed a historic agreement with the Soviet Union in Magnitogorsk to establish a steel plant near the village. The first blast furnace of the plant was commissioned in 1959 by the first president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Contemporary it is a planned city, divided into sectors with low-density, mostly single-story housing. A major government-operated steel plant, southeast of the city, was built in collaboration with the Soviet Union during India’s Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61). Iron ore from Dalli-Rajhara, limestone from Nandini, coal from Jharia, manganese from Balaghat, electric power from the Kosa thermal power plant, and water from the Tandula Canal, all nearby, are used in the Bhilai plant to manufacture rails and structural steel. Pig iron and billets are supplied to foundries and rolling mills located at Kumhari and other sites in central India. Other industries in this city include a cement plant, a sulfuric acid plant, an ammonium sulfate plant, and sawmills. The Maitri Bagh (“Garden of Friendship”), established as a symbol of Indian-Soviet cooperation, is located near the Maroda water tanks (at the steel plant) and includes a zoo. Pop. (2001) city, 556,366; urban agglom, 927,864; (2011) city, 625,700; urban agglom., 1,064,222.
Education
Bhilai is an education hub that has numerous well known technical colleges that attract students from across the country. Christian College of Engineering & Technology, Kalyan College Sector 7 and CSIT Engineering College. Schools are run either by municipal corporations or privately by entities, trusts, and corporations. The majority of schools are affiliated with the Chhattisgarh board of secondary Education and the Central board of secondary Education. D.P.S. Risali, BSP S.S.S. Sector 10, Shankra Mahavidyalaya Sector 10, K.P.S., D.A.V. Hudco, K.V. Durg are few of the well-known schools in the city.
Also, a lot of coaching institutes are present in the city for preparation of competitive exams like IIT, NEET, CA, GATE, CAT, UPSC, CGPSC and many more, for which students from all over Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states come here for preparation. Thus it is also known as “Education hub of Chhattisgarh”.The city serves as an educational hub in the region, with a total of 59 universities and colleges, like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Bhilai Institute of Technology, Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Government Medical College, Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Medical Sciences, Rungta Group Of Institutions, St. Thomas College, Shri Shankaracharya Group of Institutions.
Economy
Due to favorable location and availability of raw materials, the city is home to a number of large scale, medium scale as well as micro and small enterprises. The industries are mainly concentrated in Industrial Estate, Light Industrial Area and Heavy Industrial Area. The economy of this city is mainly dependent on the Bhilai Steel Plant that has the potential to generate lot of employment opportunities as well as micro and small units to come up.
Large Scale Industries or Public Sector Undertakings in Bhilai
- Bhilai Steel Plant (PSU), Govt. of India Undertaking
- Simplex Casting Ltd, Bhilai
- Hariom Inguts & Power Plant, Bhilai
- Niroj Ispat Plant, Bhilai
- P. Cement, Bhilai
Conclusion
Bhilai, located in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is known as “mini India” because of its diverse population comprising people from different parts of the country who have migrated to the city for work and settlement. Iron ore from Rajhara, limestone from Nandini, coal from Jharia, manganese from Balaghat, electric power from the Kosa thermal power plant, and water from the Tandula Canal, all nearby, are used in the Bhilai Steel Plant to manufacture rails and structural steel. The plant also produces steel and markets various chemical by-products from its coke ovens and coal chemical plant. It was set up with the help of the USSR in 1955. Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is eleven-time winner of the Prime Minister’s Trophy for best integrated steel plant in the country.