Belpahar is a town and a municipality in Jharsuguda district in the state of Odisha, India. Belpahar is famous for its geographical location, as it is the center for many coal mines areas nearby. Krosaki TRL Limited is located in Belpahar while there is Mahanadi Coalfields Limited and Ib Thermal Power station in the vicinity. It has a railway station which levels 55 metres high above the sea level. This area is among the fastest-growing industrial zones in Odisha.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Census of India, Belpahar had a population of 38,832. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Belpahar has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 60% of the males and 40% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Villages near Belpahar
Belpahar has many villages and cities under its municipality. Some of the villages and localities include Muchbahal, Jurabaga, Jamkani, Mahulpada, Gumadera, Kuiltapada, Limtikra, Chingriguda, Jurabaga, Kadel Munda, Chhualiberna, Kadupada, Nayapada, Kisanpada, Khukhelmal, Gotiapada, Harijanpada, Jahajpadia, Malipada, Mirdhadera.Gandhinagar, Rehmatnagar Belpahar municipality is surrounded by localities like Jharsuguda, Brajrajnagar, Piplimal, Kudaloi, Kudopali, Kantapali, Kirmira, Khairkuni, Darlipali, Liakhai, and Junadihi.
Transport
Belpahar is well connected by road, rail air. Belpahar railway station is well connected with trains from Howrah, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad. Jharsuguda which is 22 km from Belpahar is connected from the rest of the country including Chennai and Bangalore.
Belpahar is connected through direct buses from Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Bhadrak and Raipur. National Highway 200 connects Belpahar directly to Raipur.
Economy
Belpahar is surrounded by many coal mines. The IB thermal power plant is located near Belpahar. The major industry is TRL Krosaki Ltd. (formerly Tata Refactories Limited). Other important industries surrounding Belpahar are IB Thermal Power Plant and Mahanadi Coal Field. Other Industries:- (i) New Simplex Industries (ii) Shyam Engineering Works (iii) ICI Chemicals (iv) Ib Valley Metal Forming (P) Ltd.
Education
Belpahar has six major schools. Girdhar Lal Tanna High School (GLHS), Aadarsh Balika Utchya Vidyalay (ABUV), Belpahar English Medium School (BEMS), Vivekananda International School (VIS), and the Belpahar Refractory High school (BRHS), which prepares students for higher secondary education. Beside this Saraswati sishu vidya mandir (SSVM) also groom students in there gurukul like green campus near Kadelpita of Belpahar. Of these, Girdhar Lal H.S. is the oldest. BEMS & VIS follow the curriculum of ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12). BRHS follow the curriculum of the Odisha State Board of secondary education and it is the leading Odia medium school in the district of Jharsuguda. For higher studies, Belpahar college offers graduate degrees in commerce and arts. Apart from these many government primary schools are present in different villages of Belpahar. Other than this nearby places like Bandhbahal and Brajrajnagar offer schools like D.A.V public school for students.
Famous People Of Belpahar
Prasanna Kumar Panda
Amresh Chandra Satapathy
Sports
TRL Ground is one of the biggest ground in state. Surrounded by gallery of sitting capacity 10,000 people at once. It has witnessed many state level cricket tournament and national level ladies' football tournament. Moreover, various events like Balyashree Olympiad are organized here. Parades and various cultural programs from schools during Independence day and Republic day are held here. On the eve of Dussehra, a huge Ravan idol is burnt here with a great pomp and joy. Regular football and volleyball matches are held here.
Places of interest
Belpahar also has some nearby tourist attractions such as Koili Ghoghar (35 kilometres from Belpahar), Lal Pathar (8 km from Belpahar), Khadu (5 kilometres from Belpahar), Bikramkhol in Banjari village, Ullapgarh & Ujjalpur (7 kilometres from Belphar), Jagannath Temple, Nava Durga Temple (Gandhi Nagar, Belpahar) and IB river (8 kilometres from Belpahar). The Sani mandir at Sukha Bandh also attracts many devotees.
Belpahar has one beautiful park named Jubilee Park having a large variety of flowers and water fountain cover with light work. The name of this park has been changed to JRD TATA Park.