Rourkela
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Rourkela (राउरकेला) is a planned city located in the northern part of Odisha, India. It comes under Sundargarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. The city also popularly known as Ispat Nagar and Steel City of Odisha as well. One of the largest integrated steel plant set up with German collaboration Known as Rourkela Steel Plant, of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). It also has one of the premier national level technical institute known as National Institutes of Technology (NIT Rourkela). Every year, on 3 March Rourkela Day has been celebrated.
Location
It is situated about 328 kilometres north of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers Koel River, Sankha River, & Brahmani River.
Origin
The name Rourkela originates from the local language of Sadri which means "Your Village" (Rour = Your & Kela comes from the word "Kila" which means Village).
History
The twin towns of Rourkela and Fertilizer Township, as well as their developed periphery, are located in areas that were once covered by dense forests. These forests were once a favourite hunting ground for the kings in the past.
India's first public sector steel plant facility was established in Rourkela with the help of German businesses Krupp and Demag. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the town was the largest German colony outside Germany.
There was a village called Durgapur in between Rourkela and Panposh stations. The construction of the sub-divisional court building was started in 1945 at the village Durgapur. Hence the nearby hills were also known as Durgapur Pahada (Durgapur Hills), today it is known as Uditnagar. As a result, the two railway stations of Panposh and Rourkela came into recognition.
Following India's independence, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, wanted to make India an industrialized state in Soviet model of social development; giving wings to his dreams, Sri Biju Pattanaik convinced Pandit Nehru to consider the location of Rourkela for setting up a steel plant. The mineral-rich zone of Rourkela intersected by the rivers Brahmani, Koel and Sankha from two sides was aptly chosen for the same.
The preliminary survey for the steel plant at Rourkela was started in 1952 and the Government of Odisha issued a gazette notification on 16 February 1954. In accordance with the notification, the Government of Odisha acquired an area of about 80 square miles around Rourkela for the purpose of Steel Plant. The German private companies Krupp and Demag came forward to provide financial and technical help for the proposed steel plant at Rourkela. Krupp built Rourkela Steel Plant drawing from experience from its own works in Essen, Germany. The technical experts of the company advised the Government of India as well as the Government of Odisha for acquiring more land. As a result, a further area of 32 square kilometres was acquired out of 31 revenue villages. Almost 13,000 people in 2,424 families lost their dwelling. Later further 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) of land were acquired out of 31 revenue villages for the construction of Mandira Dam, a water embankment. Moreland was requisitioned for the purpose of constructing railway lines to Hatia and Barsuan. The construction of the Bondamunda Railway junction required the further acquisition of land which resulted in 20,000 people's displacement from their habitat. Though there was initial discontentment among the tribals about the land acquisition the authority largely resolved the land dispute, as many of the tribals were provided employment and accommodation. The displaced tribals were relocated to places such as Jalda, Jhirpani, Bisra, and Bondamunda. Their new settlement even extended beyond the river Koel.
Thousands of technical personnel from West Germany came to Rourkela to extend their technical assistance. Some of these Germans came with their family and their small diaspora created the 'Indo-German Club' to socialise. The club exists today with a well-stocked library known as Max Muller library. There are a plethora of local stories of Germans social encounters with tribals (local Adivasis) and people from other parts of India who had relocated themselves to Rourkela for employment. A large part of this population was from coastal and western Odisha who were trained by the German workforce to adapt to the steel plant's technology rigour. The steel plant, which was hugely surrounded by forest, many times witnessed wild animals straying into the plant area. A royal Bengal tiger's lugubrious death in the steel plant's massive blast furnace is a part of the city's folklore. There were also tales about the disappearance of Germans in the nearby Vedvyas cave and the dread whirlpool of river Koel. The river still accounts for human casualty as some day-trippers wade into the water unaware of the maelstrom.[citation needed]
Since 2015 Rourkela has seen many modernizations as well as infrastructural developments. In 2017 the Railway ministry announced the operations of a new Rajdhani train that would go via Rourkela.
राउरकेला
राउरकेला भारत के ओड़िशा राज्य के सुन्दरगढ़ ज़िले में स्थित एक नगर है। यह ज़िले का मुख्यालय भी है। राउरकेला ओडिशा राज्य के उत्तर-पश्चिमी किनारे पर स्थित है। यह एक उच्च खनिज क्षेत्र है। यह ओडिशा का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा शहर है। इस शहर को नदियाँ और पर्वतमाला घेरे हुए हैं। भारत में स्टील अथॉरिटी ऑफ इंडिया के सबसे बड़े इस्पात कारखानों में से एक कारखाना यहां भी स्थित है। यह स्टील प्लांट जर्मनी के सहयोग से बना। यहां राष्ट्रीय तकनीकी संस्थान, राउरकेला, भी स्थित है, जो कि भारत के NIT's में से एक है।
राउरकेला इस्पात कारखाना
राउरकेला इस्पात कारखाना: राउरकेला इस्पात कारखाना द्वितीय पंचवर्षीय योजना में जर्मनी की सहायता से 1959 में बनाया गया था। उड़ीसा में स्थित राउरकेला स्टील प्लांट जर्मनी की सहायता से पब्लिक सेक्टर में प्रारंभ किया गया भारत का पहला इंटीग्रेटेड स्टील प्लांट है। इसका संचालन स्टील अथॉरिटी ऑफ इंडिया द्वारा किया जाता है। राउरकेला इस्पात कारखाना (आरएसपी) भारत में सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र का पहला एकीकृत इस्पात कारखाना है। 10 लाख टन स्थापित क्षमता का यह कारखाना जर्मनी के सहयोग से स्थापित किया गया। बाद में इसकी क्षमता बढ़ाकर 19 लाख टन कर दी गई। 1990 के वर्षों में कारखाने का आधुनिकीकरण किया गया और आधुनिक सुविधाओं के साथ इसमें अनेक नई यूनिटें जोड़ी गईं। अधिकतर पुरानी यूनिटों का भी नवीकरण किया गया जिससे कारखाने के उत्पादों की क्वालिटी में सुधार, उत्पादन लागत में कमी तथा पर्यावरण प्रदूषण रहित बनाने में मदद मिली है। आरएसपी भारत में इस्पात निर्माण के लिए एलडी टेक्नोलॉजी का प्रयोग करने वाला पहला कारखाना था। यह सेल का ऐसा पहला और एकमात्र इस्पात कारखाना है जहां शत-प्रतिशत स्लैब अधिक गुणवत्ता और कम लागत वाले कंटीनुअस कास्टिंग मार्ग से तैयार किए जाते हैं।
आरएसपी में इस समय 20 लाख टन तप्त धातु, 19 लाख टन कच्चा इस्पात और 16 लाख 70 हजार टन विक्रेय इस्पात तैयार करने की क्षमता है। यह बिजली क्षेत्र के लिए सिलिकन इस्पात, तेल और गैस क्षेत्र के लिए उच्च क्वालिटी के पाइप तथा पैकेजिंग उद्योग के लिए टीन की प्लेटें तैयार करने वाला सेल का एकमात्र इस्पात कारखाना है। इसके उत्पादों में आधुनिक सपाट, गोलाकार तथा कोटेड उत्पाद शामिल है।
राउरकेला इस्पात कारखाना उड़ीसा के उत्तर-पश्चिम छोर पर समृद्ध खनिज क्षेत्र में स्थित है। हावड़ा-मुम्बई रेल मुख्य लाइन पर स्थित राउरकेला देश के अन्य महत्वपूर्ण नगरों से भली-भांति जुड़ा हुआ है। इसके पास के हवाई अड्डे रांची (173 किमी.), भुवनेश्वर (378 किमी.) और कोलकाता (413 किमी.) में हैं। राउरकेला की अपनी एक हवाई पट्टी भी है जिसका रखरखाव आरएसपी के पास है। (See https://sail.co.in/hi/plants/about-rourkela-steel-plant)