Pakur

Pakur (previously known as Pakaur) is a town with a nagar palika in the Pakur subdivision of the Pakur district, Jharkhand state, India.

History
Pakur was earlier a Sub-Division of Santhal Parganas district of Bihar. It was upgraded to the status of district on 28 January 1994. Upon reorganization of Bihar state, India, in 2000 into two separate states, namely, Bihar and Jharkhand, Pakur district came under the administrative control of the Jharkhand state.

Location
Pakur is located at 24.63°N, 87.85°W

Pakur has an area of 11.08 km2.

Overview
The map shows a hilly area with the Rajmahal hills running from the bank of the Ganges in the extreme north to south, beyond the area covered by the map into Dumka district. ‘Farakka’ is marked on the map and that is where Farakka Barrage is, just inside West Bengal. Rajmahal coalfield is shown in the map. The entire area is overwhelmingly rural with only small pockets of urbanisation.

Note: The full screen map is interesting. All places marked on the map are linked and you can easily move on to another page of your choice. Enlarge the map to see what else is there – one gets railway links, many more road links and so on.

Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Pakur had a total population of 45,840, of which 23,653 (52%) were males and 22,167 (48%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 6,352. The total number of literate persons in Pakur was 39,488 (77.60% of the population over 6 years).

Infrastructure
According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Pakur, Pakur covered an area of 11.08 km2. Among the civic amenities, it had 34.2 km roads with open drains, the protected water supply involved hand pump, tap water from untreated sources, overhead tanks. It had 7,704 domestic electric connections, 443 road light points. Among the medical facilities, it had 4 hospitals, 2 dispensaries, 2 health centres, 1 family welfare centre, 1 maternity and child welfare centre, 1 maternity home, 1 TB hospital/ clinic, 2 nursing homes, 1 charitable hospital/ nursing home, 1 veterinary hospital, 26 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had 33 primary schools, 19 middle schools, 4 secondary schools, 4 senior secondary schools, 1 general degree college, 2 recognised shorthand typewriting and vocational training institutions, 1 non-formal education centre (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). Among the social, cultural and recreational facilities, it had 2 stadiums, 2 cinema theatres, 5 auditorium/ community halls, 1 public library, 1 reading room. Three important commodities it manufactured were bidi, stone crusher machine, bakery products. It had the branch offices of 11 nationalised banks, 4 private commercial bank, 1 cooperative bank, 3 agricultural credit societies.

Economy
One of the main businesses of the city is mining and crushing. It is also known for the manufacturing of crushing and screening equipments. Pakur is also the place where the first indigenous Jaw Crusher was manufactured by Bhagwati Prasad Agarwalla.

Since last decade there has been an enormous activity of coal excavation in the area as well. It has one of the biggest reserves of coal in the world. Currently only one block of coal is active in the region. It has been allotted to the Punjab State Government for their captive Thermal Power Plants. The excavation work on behalf of the Punjab State Government is being done by Panem, a public–private joint venture between the Punjab State Electricity Board and EMTA.

Tourist Places

 * Martello Tower: Martello towers, simply known as Martellos, are small defensive forts built across the British Empire during the 19th century. It is the most famous historical structure in the town of Pakur. The tower was built to fend off the Santhal rebellion in 1857 by the British colonialists - an upright concrete tower-like architecture with a glass roof. There is room for armed personnel to stand and fire at the Santhal rebels.


 * Dharni Pahar: The temple is about 20 km away from Pakur district headquarters in the southwest direction. Tourists can find an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the top of the hill. A yearly fair is hosted every year during the festival of Maha-Shivratri. It is not only a holy place but also a famous picnic spot in the lush green area. You can also enjoy the beautiful wildflowers on the hill.


 * Nitya Kali Mandir: It is situated in the north middle of Pakur Town on the campus of Pakur Rajbari. It is a very old temple of Pakur. People come in numbers every day to pay their floral offerings to Goddess Kali with great devotion. The statue of Goddess Kali is engraved on a big black stone. Pakur Railway station is only 2km away from the temple.


 * Kanchangarh Cave: Located on the top of the hill, Kanchangarh Cave is situated in the deep forest at a distance of 18km from Littipara Block. Shivlings are found inside the cave. Devotees flock around the cave every day to offer puja to the god. The oval-shaped structure near the hill has a very strange sound while echoing. The structure is said to be the site of the ruling Paharia king in this region. The view from the top of the hill is majestic as it offers a beautiful view of the town from there.

Transport
Pakur Railway Station is located on the Sahibganj Loop.

Education
Pakur has educational institutions offering all levels of education, including Pakur Raj High School (Estd. 1852) and Kumar Kalidas Memorial College. and 2 jawahar Navodaya vidyalaya Get +2level education

Pakur has now Polytechnic Institute -Owned by Deptt. of Higher, Technical Education and Skill Development, Govt. of Jharkhand run and Manage in PPP Mode by M/s Cybobhubaneswar Educational Foundation. The Polytechnic Institute is approved by AICTE and SBTE.At present with Five Streams (Civil, Electrical, Metallurgy, Mining and Mechanical) total 300 Seats are available out of which 240 for Jharkhand Students and 60 for other states. The Polytechnic is spread in 7.1 Acres with more than 2.0 Lakhs built up area with all amenities(Including Boys and Girls Hostel).