Raniganj is an administrative division in Asansol subdivision

Asansol subdivision

Asansol subdivision is a subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Asansol municipal corporation, three municipalities and four community development blocs: Barabani, Jamuria, Raniganj and Salanpur. The four blocks contain 35 gram panchayats and 18...

 of Bardhaman district

Bardhaman District

'Bardhaman district is a district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Bardhaman, though it houses other important industrial towns like Durgapur and Asansol...

 in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. Raniganj police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Searsole Rajbari. Banshra

Banshra

Banshra is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Geography:Banshra is located at ....

, Chelad

Chelad

Chelad is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Geography:Chelod is located at ....

, Ratibati

Ratibati

Ratibati is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Ratibati is located at ....

, Chapui

Chapui

Chapui is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Geography:Chapui is located at ....

, Jemari (J.K. Nagar Township)

Jemari (J.K. Nagar Township)

Jemari is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:J.K.Nagar Township is located at ....

, Amkula

Amkula

Amkula is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Etymology:...

, Murgathaul

Murgathaul

Murgathaul is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Murgathaul is located at ....

, Raghunathchak

Raghunathchak

Raghunathchak is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Raghunathchak is located at ....

, Ballavpur

Ballavpur

Ballavpur is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. The place is adjacent to Raniganj town. It on the northern bank of Damodar River and Mejia is across the river in Bankura District-Geography:Ballavpur is...

 and Belebathan

Belebathan

Belebathan is a census town under Raniganj police station of Asansol subdivision in Barddhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Geography:Belebathan is located at ....

 are urban areas in this block.

Geography

Searsole Rajbari is located at 23.629°N 87.115°E.

Raniganj community development block

Community Development Block in India

The Community development block is a rural area earmarked for administration and development in India. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer...

 has an area of 41.47  km².

The Asansol-Durgapur region is composed of undulating laterite soil. This area lies between two rivers – the Damodar

Damodar River

Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...

 and the Ajay

Ajay River

The Ajay River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The word “Ajay” means “not conquered”.-Geography:The Ajay River originates on a small hill about 300 metres high, south west of Munger in Bihar. It then flows through Jharkhand and enters West Bengal at Simjuri, near Chittaranjan...

. They flow almost parallel to each other in the region – the average distance between the two rivers is around 30 km. For ages the area was heavily forested and infested with plunderers and marauders. The discovery of coal led to industrialisation of the area and most of the forests have been cleared.

Gram panchayats

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...

s of Raniganj block/panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...

 are: Amrasota, Ballavpur, Egara, Jemari, Ratibati and Tirat.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Raniganj block had a total population of 101,678, out of which 55,160 were males and 46,518 were females. Raniganj block registered a population growth of -20.45 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for Bardhaman district was 14.36 per cent.Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent.

Scheduled castes at 33,515 formed around one-third the population. Scheduled tribes numbered 9,761.

Coal

The first Indian coal-mine

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 to use a pit was established at Narayankuri in Raniganj, although the first coal mine was established elsewhere in 1774 by John Sumner and Suetonius Grant Heatly

Suetonius Grant Heatly

Suetonius Grant Heatly was judge employed by the British East India Company and, with John Sumner, established what is considered to be the first coal mine in India.-Early life:...

. Later, Prince Dwarakanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...

 was involved with the pit, as the first Indian in the coal-mining business.

Coal-bed methane

The coal-bed methane

Coalbed methane

Coalbed methane or Coal Bed Methane, coalbed gas or coal mine methane is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, and other countries...

 gas block of Essar Group

Essar Group

The Essar Group is a multinational conglomerate corporation in the sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics as well as Construction head quartered at Mumbai, India...

, the largest CBM player in India, in Raniganj is close to commercial production.

Industries

Asansol-Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA) has developed the Managalpur Industrial Estate.

Literacy

As per 2001 census, Raniganj block had a total literacy of 65.85 per cent for the 6+ age group. While male literacy was 76.59 per cent female literacy was 52.97 per cent. Bardhaman district had a total literacy of 70.18 per cent, male literacy being 78.63 per cent and female literacy being 60.95 per cent.

Transport

Narayankuri ghat, on the Damodar

Damodar River

Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...

 was used by M/s 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

East Indian Railway Company

The East Indian Railway Company, later known as the East Indian Railway , introduced railways to eastern and northern India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, South Indian Railway, Central India Railway and the North-Western Railway operated in other parts of India...

laid lines up to Raniganj in 1855.It captured the entire coal transport business. The line was extended to Asansol in 1863.