Dhanbad

Dhanbad is a city in Jharkhand; it is considered the coal capital of India.

The coalfields around Dhanbad are known as the Jharia coalfields. They cover an area of around 448 km2, the total reserve of coal is estimated at 5,000 million tonnes. Jharia coalfields are the only major source of coking or metallurgical coal in the country. There are 112 coal mines in the district. Jharia town adjacent to Dhanbad is considered a separate town administratively. Munidih Colliery is the largest colliery in India. ONGC is using CBM (Coal Beded Methane) for producing electricity at many places of Dhanbad. Tata Power along with DVC is setting up a 1050 MW thermal power plant in Dhanbad. It has chemical plants, other industries, and produces mica and many different minerals.

By plane
The nearest commercial airport is at Ranchi, 170 km from Dhanbad. Kolkata is 250 km away; Patna, 325 km. Gaya is 217 km away. Dhanbad has an airstrip for small planes. MDLR airlines and Air India is also planning to launch domestic services.

By train
Kolkata is 259 km from Dhanbad. Some of the convenient trains connecting Kolkata and Dhanbad are:
 * 2019/2020 Howrah–Ranchi Shatabdi Express (no train on Sunday)
 * 3317/ 3318 Black Diamond Express
 * 3029/3030 Coalfield Express

Some of the long-distance trains passing through Dhanbad are:
 * 2301/2302 Howrah Rajdhani Express (no train departing Howrah on Sunday, no train departing New Delhi on Friday)
 * 2313/2314 Sealdah Rajdhani Express.
 * 2381/2382 Howrah–New Delhi Poorva Express (train departing Howrah on Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday; train departing New Delhi on Monday, Tuesday, Friday)
 * 2311/2312 Howrah–Kalka Netaji Express
 * 2321/2322 Howrah–Mumbai Mail (via Prayagraj)
 * 3009/3010 Howrah–Dehradun Doon Express
 * 3151/3152 Sealdah–Jammu Tawi Express
 * 3025/3026 Howrah Bhopal (departing Howrah on Monday, departing Bhopal on Wednesday)
 * 1448/1449 Howrah Jabalpur Shaktipunj Express
 * 1159/1160 Howrah Gwalior Chambal Express (departing Howrah on Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday; departing Gwalior on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
 * 9306/9305 Howrah Indore Shipra Express (departing Howrah on Monday, Thursday, Saturday; departing Indore on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
 * 2942/2941 Asansol Ahmedabad Parashnath Express (departing Asansol on Thursday, departing Ahmedabad on Tuesday)
 * 3403/3404 and 3405/3406 Ranchi Bhagalpur Vananchal Express
 * 8621/8622 Patna Hatia Pataliputra Express
 * 8624/8623 Hatia Rajendranagar Express.

For train timings etc. check with Indian Railways.



By road
Dhanbad is just off the Grand Trunk Road (NH 2). One can drive into Dhanbad from Govindpur or Rajganj. It is connected via Chas and Bokaro Steel City to Ramgarh and via Chas and Muri to Ranchi.

Most of the important cities and towns of Jharkhand, Bengal and Bihar have bus links with Dhanbad. It has a large bus station about 2 km from the railway station. Luxury Volvo buses ply between Dhanbad and Kolkata and between Dhanbad and Ranchi. Auto rickshaws are popular transport links with neighbouring towns and in the coalfields, but these are generally overcrowded. Autos are now used for transportation and as compared to trekkers they are more economical.

Get around
Hired cars and taxis are available at the railway station 24/7. Auto rickshaws are also available till late at night. This is also a cheap mode of transport as rickshaw wallahs demand more.

Talk
Languages spoken in the area are Hindi, Bengali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Santhali. Dhanbad is a cosmopolitan city with people from all over the country. English is understood in most of the areas of visitor/business interest.

See

 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.
 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.
 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.
 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.
 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.
 * Two types of Coal Mines – the open cast and underground. Advance permission has to be procured from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for visiting any of their mines. Sudamdih is worth a visit.

Do
Carnivals are arranged by Lions Club, Rotary Club and other clubs, mostly in winter and these are open to visitors also.

Dhanbad is surrounded by beautiful picnic spots. People are very helpful and friendly and love visitors.


 * Charak Pathar is a popular picnic spot. This is a village, which falls under the development block of Govindpur in the district of Dhanbad. The place gets its name from an old white stone boulder called Charak Pathar.

Buy
Large malls include Central Mall and Ozone Galleria at Saraidhela. Smaller Markets in Purana Bazzar, Bank More, Steel Gate are also present.

Go next

 * Asansol - 60 km from Dhanbad.
 * Bokaro Steel City - 50 km from Dhanbad.
 * Parasnath Hills – highest peak in the state at 1,350 metres, is a Jain pilgrimage centre, around 50 km from Dhanbad.
 * Sindri – is about 25 km from Dhanbad. It was home to one of the early fertliser plants set up in the country but since closed. Bihar Institute of Technology-now Birsa Institute of Technology is here.