Kirandul is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Dantewada district in the

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

. It is located roughly 400 km south of

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

, capital of Chhattisgarh and 41 km southwest of Dantewada-the district headquarters. The way to travel is by road with frequent bus service from

Bhilai 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-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...

and

Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...

or by train from

and

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

.It has the world's largest iron ore mine according to 2021 survey

Demographics

As of 2011 India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Kirandul had a population of 18887 of which 9776 are males while 9111 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Population of children with age of 0-6 is 2317 which is 12.27% of total population of Kirandul M). In Kirandul Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 932 against state average of 991. Moreover child sex ratio in Kirandul is around 1015 compared to

state average of 969. Literacy rate of Kirandul town is 73.7% - higher than state average of 71.04%. In Kirandul, male literacy is around 79.9% while female literacy rate is 67.02%.

Region

This region is basically 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. ...

. The

Bailadila Range Bailadila Range, is a mountain range rising in the Deccan Plateau about 200 km west of the Eastern Ghats. It has been named 'Bailadila' because it resembles the hump of an ox. It is located near Kirandul town in the Dantewada district of souther ...

of hills are located at a distance of about 41 km south west of Dantewada, the district headquarters in

State. Rising to a height of 1,276 m, one of the hills of the

is the highest point in the state of Chhattisgarh. Bailadila has been established as an industrial area that has been divided into two towns, namely Bade Bacheli (29 kilometers from Dantewada) & Kirandul (41 kilometers from Dantewada).

Climate

Bailadila region enjoys mild summer and winter is not severe. The maximum temperature in summer rises up to 40 degree Celsius between May and June whereas minimum temperature in winter drops to 10 degree Celsius. The area receives heavy rains during monsoon from June to October. Weather during rainy season is stormy accompanied by gales and the hilltops are covered with thick clouds and dense fog, which reduces visibility.

History

The commercial discovery of Bailadila dates back to 1955-56 when Prof. Euemura of Japanese Steel Mills Association, studying the memoirs of

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

, drew the attention of the Japanese Steel Mills to the richness of the vast deposits of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

and its proximity to the Eastern Coast of India. Later an agreement had been signed with the Japanese Steel Mills in 1960. An approval of the project report prepared by NMDC was given in 1964 and the Mine Plant had been inaugurated in November 1968. Later on,

National Mineral Development Corporation NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is an Indian public sector undertaking involved in the exploration of iron ore, rock, gypsum, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, coal etc. It is India's largest iron ore ...

, with help of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

set up the first

plant in Kirandul. Currently Japan is the biggest purchaser of its ore, but earlier it has also sold ore in

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

too. Kirandul was a crucial part of the princely state of Bastar before India attained independence. Bastar region prospered under the reign of King Annama Deva, the brother of

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their territory comprised much of the present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and p ...

king Pratapa Rudra Deva of

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

(Telangana). During the 19th century, the region came under the administration of the British rule. Eventually, it was acceded to the Indian Union on January 1, 1948, and the town became a part of the Bastar district of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and later in 2000, it was included in the newly formed

state.

Economy

The iron ore mines here are also an important tourist attraction. Run by the

Navratna ''Navaratna'' () is a Sanskrit bahuvrihi, compound word meaning "nine Gemstone, gems" or "ratnas". Jewellery created in this style has important cultural significance in many southern, and south-eastern Culture of Asia, Asian cultures as a symbol ...

Government Organization,' NMDC', these mines operate with the latest technology and hi-tech machinery. However, one needs to obtain permit to visit the mines, which can be done by requesting the NMDC office. The mines are generally open to the public on

Vishwakarma Puja Vishvakarma Puja (), also rendered Vishvakarma Jayanti, is a Hindu observance dedicated to Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods. It falls on the date of Kanya Sankranti of the Hindu calendar. It is generally celebrated every year between 16 ...

day every year and huge number of people visit during that time. The Bailadila iron ore range extends for a length of 40 km with a width of about 10 km mostly along the top of hill, which constitute one of the richest concentration of iron-ore of world. The range contains 1200 million tonnes of high grade

distributed in 14 deposits. 14 reserves have been discovered, of which 3 are being mined. Deposit 14/11C and 11B are the mines located in Kirandul complex while Deposit 5, 10 and 11A are located in Bacheli complex of Bailadila Iron ore mines. Bailadila Deposit-14 mine is the first large scale open cast mechanised iron ore mine in India for which DPR was prepared by NMDC and was commissioned in April, 1968.Bailadila Deposit-11C was commissioned in June, 1988. The ore is exported through

Visakhapatnam Port Visakhapatnam Port is one of twelve major ports in India and the only major port in Andhra Pradesh, located in Visakhapatnam. The port is India's third largest by volume of cargo handled and largest on the Eastern Coast. History Althoug ...

. The entire area was brought to the mainstream of civilisation by the spectacular effort of NMDC by opening-up of mines. Today, Bailadila is a name to reckon within the world iron ore market because of its super high-grade iron ore. Bailadila complex possesses the world’s best grade of hard lumpy ore having +66% iron content, free from

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

and other deleterious material and the best physical properties needed for

steel making Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin processes. Currently, two majo ...

Essar Steel Essar Steel was a common name of the steel manufacturing companies of the Essar Group of Companies. Its main subsidiary was Essar Steel India Limited, a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer based in Mumbai, which owned and operated a ...

Slurry beneficiation plant is situated in Kirandul which is used to transport iron ore through

Slurry pipeline A slurry pipeline is a specially engineered pipeline used to move ores, such as coal or iron, or mining waste, called tailings, over long distances. A mixture of the ore concentrate and water, called slurry, is pumped to its destination and the wa ...

pellet plant facility in Visakhapatnam. It has its own helipad for personal usage. At 267 km, the Kirandul-Vizag pipeline is the longest

in India.

Essar slurry benefication plant kirandul

Transport

Kirandul is easily accessible and well connected to

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

by all-weather roads. It can also be reached by rail from Visakhapatnam. There is regular iron ore movement from this sector to Visakhapatnam port by rail.

Rail Transport

The Kothavalasa–Kirandul line of

East Coast Railway The East Coast Railway (abbreviated as ECoR) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways. It came into existence on 01-April-2003. It headquarters are located at . History Consequent upon the parliament's approval, East Coast Railway wa ...

from Kirandul to

via

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

is laid through the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

. Up to

Araku Araku Valley is a hill station in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, India, located 111 km from Visakhapatnam. Geography Araku is located in the Eastern Ghats about from Visakhapatnam, close to the Odisha state border. The ...

station, it has many tunnels. Also it pass through the highest elevation Broad gauge station in the Eastern ghats, Semiliguda, just before the

Borra caves The Borra Caves ''(Borrā Guhalu)'' are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku Valley (with hill ranges' elevation varying from ) of the Alluri Sitharama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh. The caves, one of the ...

. Kirandul - Kottavalasa Railroad is the record high Broad Gauge line in the

. The KK Line has the distinction of being the second highest broad gauge railway line in the country after the one in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. A line from Bailadila to

via Jagdalpur is in place mainly for the purposes of evacuation of iron ore by

(NMDC) from Kirandul with limited passenger trains. Plans are underway for doubling the railway line from Bailadila to Jagdalpur. As of November 2023, the work has already started for doubling the railway line from Kirandul. Indian Railways has undertaken expansion work. The cost of this is projected to be about INR 870 crore which is proposed to be initially borne by NMDC and NMDC will in turn get a rebate in the freight from Indian Railways towards the initial cost incurred by NMDC.

Air transport

There is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

where until recent years no scheduled services were run to or from here. This changed with the inauguration of flight services by Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel in 2020 thereby giving Jagdalpur the privilege of having the second civil airport in the State. Although several attempts were made earlier in 2018 for flights to Bhubhaneshwar and Raipur, the project was not successful and was discontinued. Maa Danteshwari Airport in Jagdalpur has flights operated by Alliance Air to Raipur and Hyderabad where the travel time is 45 minutes and 75 minutes respectively. This is in contrast to the travel time by roadways of 7 hours and 12 hours respectively to the destinations thereby saving a considerable amount of time The airport was predominantly used by political leaders and insurgency operation-related activities by the army and the police. With the recent developments, the airport will serve the population of the nearby districts well and would act as a means of promoting tourism in the State. The airport also helped in boosting the vaccination programme against Covid-19 as the various medical equipment and medicines were conveniently transported. The other nearest airports are

Raipur Airport Swami Vivekananda Airport , formerly known as Mana Airport, is a domestic airport serving Raipur, the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The airport is located at Mana, approximately south-east of Raipur and east of Naya Raipur ...

in the capital city of Raipur and

Visakhapatnam Airport Visakhapatnam Airport , officially known as Visakhapatnam International Airport, is a customs airport serving the city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It also operates as a civil enclave on the Indian Navy airbase, INS ''Dega''. It ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Helicopter Service at Maa Danteshwari Heliport

Further, a new Heliport with the name Maa Danteshwari Heliport, in the design of Swastik, is planned for construction at Bainpal of Kirandul area of Chhattisgarh State, and will be opened for operations in early 2024. Spread across 25 Acres, is being built by Om Sai Airports Private Limited at a Cost of 200 Crores INR, is located 10 Kms from Bacheli, 40 Kms from the District - Dantewada, and 120 Kms from nearest Airport - Maa Danteshwari Airport, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. The heliport will be primarily used for tourism and commercial purposes and is also utilized by District Administration for emergency purposes. Employees of NMDC and Indian Railways would be the major customers utilizing the services. The Heliport will be opened using 1 Helipad presently and will have 8 Helipads in total post completion of construction, A lounge, Fuel Farm and a Fire station and can accommodate both Single and Twin Engine Helicopters. Routes to be served are Kirandul - Hyderabad - Kirandul, Kirandul - Raipur - Kirandul, Kirandul - Jagadalpur - Kirandul, Kirandul - Bilaspur - Kirandul as a air charter service. The charter service is expected to be started soon.

References

External links

Official website Dantewada districtNMDC Limited Official website