Jharia
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Jharia झरिया |
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| city | |
 Jharia
 Jharia
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| Coordinates: 23°45′06″N 86°25′13″E / 23.751568°N 86.420345°ECoordinates: 23°45′06″N 86°25′13″E / 23.751568°N 86.420345°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Jharkhand |
| District | Dhanbad |
| Elevation | 77 m (253 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 81,979 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi, Santali, Ho |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | JH |
| Website | dhanbad |
Jharia is a notified area and one of eight development blocks in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, India. Jharia is the fifteenth-largest town in the state of Jharkhand. (More than one town in India shares this name.) Jharia is famous for its rich coal resources, used to make coke. Jharia plays a very important role in the economy and development of Dhanbad City, and can be considered as a part of Dhanbad City.
As of 2001[update] India census, Jharia had a population of 81,979. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Jharia has an average literacy rate of 68%, lower than the national average of 74.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 60%. In Jharia, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.
According to the state government, the town of Jharia is to be shifted due to the uncontrollable coal mine fires (see below), which have found to be undousable, leading to loss of property and lives. Coal worth Rs. 60,000 crore (US$12 billion) is lying unmined, and the state government feels the shifting will help in exploiting this resource.
The coal field lies in the Damodar River Valley, and covers about 110 square miles (280 square km), and produces bituminous coal suitable for coke. Most of India's coal comes from Jharia. Jharia coal mines are India's most important storehouse of prime coke coal used in blast furnaces, it consists of 23 large underground and nine large open cast mines.
The mining activities in these coalfields started in 1894 and had really intensified in 1925. The first Indians to arrive and break monopoly of British in Coal mining were Gujarati railway contractors from Kutch some of whom decided to plunge into the coal mining business and were thus the pioneers in starting coal mining in Jharia coalfields belt around 1890–95. In Jharia-Dhanbad belt Seth Khora Ramji Chawda was the first Indian to break monopoly of Europeans and founded Khas Jharia, Golden Jharia, Fatehpur, Balihari, Khas Jeenagora, East Bagatdih Collieries with their brothers Teja Ramji Chawda, Jetha Lira Jethwa, Akhoy Ramji Chawda, Pachan Ramji Chowra between 1894 and 1910. In Pure Jharia Colliery Khora Ramji and brothers were partners with Diwan Bahadur D.D. Thacker. The Encyclopaedia of Bengal, Bihar & Orissa (1920) by British Gazetteer mentions about Seth Khora Ramji as under :-
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