Bachra is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

in the Tandwa CD block in the Simaria subdivision of the

Chatra district Chatra district is district one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. The district was formed after separation from Hazaribagh district in 1991. Chatra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covers a ...

in the state of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Geography

Location

Bachra is a colliery township located at .

Area overview

The map alongside shows that the forests (mark the light shading), covering around 60% of Chatra district, are evenly spread across the district. It is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

area with an elevation of about above mean sea level. Efforts are on to get the first unit of the

NTPC Limited NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the ownership of the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, who is engaged in the generation of electricit ...

’s

North Karanpura Thermal Power Station North Karanpura Thermal Power Station is an upcoming coal-based thermal power plant located in Tandwa in the Simaria subdivision of the Chatra district, Jharkhand. The power plant is owned by NTPC Limited NTPC Limited, formerly known as Nat ...

(3x660 MW), ready in 2021.

North Karanpura Coalfield North Karanpura Coalfield is located in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Chatra and Latehar districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its ...

Central Coalfields Limited Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), an undertaking of the Government of India. CCL was established in 1956 as National Coal Development Corporation Limited and is a Category-I Mini Ratna company sinc ...

, spread over in the southern part of the district, with spill over to neighbouring districts, and having coal reserves of 14 billion tonnes is among the biggest in India. The map provides links to three CCL operational areas. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Bachra (location code 389494) had a total population of 12,969, of which 7,169 (55%) were males and 5,800 (45%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,453. The total number of literate persons in Bachra was 9,718 (84.39% of the population over 6 years).

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook 2011, Chatra'', Bachra covered an area of 16.61 km². Among the civic amenities, it had 26 km roads with both open and closed drains, the protected water supply involved overhead tanks, tap water from treated sources, uncovered wells. It had 2,405 domestic electric connections, 62 road light points. Among the educational facilities it had 13 primary schools, 11 middle schools, 5 secondary schools, 4 senior secondary schools. Among the social, recreational and cultural facilities it had 1 stadium, 3 auditorium/ community halls, 1 public library, reading room. It had the branch office of 2 nationalised banks.

Economy

The

is spread across parts of Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Chatra and Latehar districts of Jharkhand covering an area of 1,230 km². This coalfield in the upper reaches of the Damodar Valley, has reserves of around 14 billion tonnes of coal, very little of which has been exploited. Karkatta, KD Hesalong, Manki, Churi, Bachara UG, Bachara OC, and Dakara are long established collieries south of the Damodar. North of the Damodar lies comparatively new major mines such as Piparwar Mine and Ashoka Project. 23 mines are planned in the northern sector (near Bachra). Those in an advanced stage of planning are: Dhadu, Purnadih, Magadh, and Amrapali.This happens to be the largest mining sector of

. Projects in the

Piparwar Area Piparwar Area is one of the operational areas of the Central Coalfields Limited located mainly in the Chatra district and marginally in the Ranchi district in the state of Jharkhand, India. The projects of the Piparwar Area are: Piparwar openca ...

(as in 2015) were: Piparwar open cast, Ray-Bachra underground, Ashoka open cast, Piparwar coal handling plant and Piparwar coal preparation plant.

Transportation

Bachra is served by Ray railway station, about 25 km from Barkakana railway station on the Sonnagar-Barkakana loop line.

Healthcare

Piparwar Hospital of CCL at Bachra with 11 beds has 6 general duty medical officers and 1 specialist. Among the facilities it has are: cardiac monitor, suction machine, X-Ray machine and ECG. It has 4 ambulances.

References

{{Chatra District Cities and towns in Chatra district Mining in Jharkhand