Chittaranjan

Before the town's development, the area was heavily forested and infested with plunderers and marauders. The discovery of coal led to its industrialization, clearing most of the forests.[2]

Chittaranjan is located at 23.87°N 86.87°E / 23.87; 86.87.[3] It has an average elevation of 155 metres (508 feet).

The soil is composed of undulating laterite and lies between two rivers, the Damodar and the Ajay. The township is just along the banks of the river Ajay. The rivers flow almost parallel to each other, and the approximate distance between them is 30 km. At the western edge of the area, the Barakar River forms a boundary with Jharkhand, though there is also a small stretch of border shared with the state. The planning of Chittaranjan city ensured construction of numerous check dam that has helped the area remain greener and ensured water availability throughout the year.

As per the 2011 census, 83.33% of the population of Asansol Sadar subdivision was urban and 16.67% was rural.[4] In 2015, the municipal areas of Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria were included within the jurisdiction of Asansol Municipal Corporation.[5] Asansol Sadar subdivision has 26 (+1 partly) Census Towns. (partly presented in the map alongside; all places marked on the map are linked in the full-screen map).

*For language details see Salanpur (community development block)#Language and religion

Bijoyatra Travels serves Chittaranjan- Kolkata

Chittaranjan is a railway town on the border of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Chittaranjan railway station is located in Mihijam, Jharkhand. Chittaranjan railway station is in Howrah-Patna-Mughalsarai main line at a distance of 237 km from Howrah The nearest important railway junction is, Asansol situated 25 km away. Most of the Patna, Barauni bound express trains coming from Howrah, Sealdah, Ranchi, Kharagpur, Tatanagar, and Dhanbad stop here. The GT road or NH-2 passes 20 km south to Chittaranjan. By road, it is well connected to Dhanbad (65 km) and Dumka (100 km). Road transports of both Bengal and Jharkhand can be accessed from here. A unique feature of this place is that the railway station is located at Jharkhand state (name of the place- Mihijam, district: Jamtara) whereas the township is in West Bengal.

Chittaranjan also has about 50 bus services with Private buses (it includes one AC bus service run by Bijoyatra Travels and a state bus service South Bengal State Transport Corporation). It has a dedicated bus stand at Gate no. 1 where buses arrive and depart to Haldia, Kolkata, Bankura, Mukutmonipur, Burdwan, Kalna, Asansol, Raniganj, Durgapur, Bongaon and elsewhere.

Chittaranjan is well known for Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), which manufactures mainline electric broad gauge locomotives. This factory commenced production in 1950; and up to 1972, it was involved in the production of broad gauge and meter gauge steam locomotives. Production of electric locomotives commenced in 1963. In addition to steam and electric locomotives, CLW also produced narrow gauge (762 mm) diesel locomotives of the ZDM class, meter gauge (1000 mm) diesel locomotives of the YDM class, and broad gauge hydraulic shunting locomotives of the WDS4 class. It also produced few special narrow gauge (2 ft, as in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) diesel locomotives of the NDM class. Production of steam locomotives was discontinued in 1972 when the last steam locomotive, titled 'ANTIM SITARA' (The Last Star), was rolled out. Towards the early 1990s, production of diesel locomotives in CLW was discontinued altogether.

Today, Chittaranjan is the largest maker of electric locomotives. The present staff strength of CLW is around 13,000 people making it the biggest unit of the Indian Railways.

According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Bardhaman, Chittaranjan covered an area of 19.65 km². Among the civic amenities, it had 203 km roads with covered drains, the protected water supply involved over-head tank and tap water from treated sources. It had 9,100 domestic electric connections and 2,500 road lighting (points). Among the medical facilities it had 1 hospital, 1 dispensary/ health centre, 16 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had were 19 primary schools, 5 secondary school, 7 senior secondary school, 1 general degree college. It had 3 non-formal education entres (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan),1 special school for disabled. Among the social cultural and recreational facilities, it had 3 stadiums, 1 cinema theatre, 9 auditorium/ community halls, 4 public library, 2 reading room. Among the important commodities it produced were locomotives, steel castings. It had the branch offices of 3 nationalised banks and 1 non-agricultural credit society.[10]

Chittaranjan, an ISO 14001 certified township has neatly arranged row-houses, broad, clean roads, greenery and lakes. The township houses over 9300 quarters of various types and sizes for the employees of CLW.

All these quarters are neatly grouped under various areas (equivalent to wards in cities) with each area having its own Primary Health Unit (locally famous as dispensary), marketplace, primary school, and a community hall. In addition to the dispensaries in each area, Chittaranjan also has its own 200-bed hospital - the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital.

Chittaranjan has non-stop electricity (24/7). Being a railway colony, a total of 3 DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) power lines enters Chittaranjan, so that even after the failure of one power source, a power failure doesn't occur.

It also has an emergency diesel generator, for main infrastructures like Hospitals, CLW, post offices etc. in case of complete power failure. The last complete power failure occurred on 31 July 2012 during the India Blackouts.

The Diminutive Hilltop is the main water treatment plant located in Chittaranjan where water is purified and supplied to the households generally twice a day, though the main infrastructures (like the hospital and GM office) receive a non-stop water supply.

It also has two big playgrounds: the Oval Ground and the Srilata Ground, which hold various sub-divisional tournaments.

There is also a helipad built at the Oval ground, used by visiting delegates.

In addition to this, Chittaranjan has two multi-sport stadiums, two swimming pools, a basketball court, a badminton court, a lawn tennis court, many football grounds, a gymnasium and a fully air-conditioned indoor stadium.

Chittaranjan has one movie theater, the Ranjan Cinema that shows Hindi and Bengali movies.

Chittaranjan has a dedicated officer's club popularly called as the Chittaranjan Club which is used by officers for recreational purposes.

A stranger cannot enter Chittaranjan without showing the proper permit. There are three gates to enter or leave the township. These gates are protected by the armed RPF (Railway Protection Force).

Chittaranjan is famous for its greenery and excellent atmosphere. The government takes special initiatives to make the environment cleaner and hygienic.

Chittaranjan has been given a Golden Peacock award by Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Railway Minister for the ISO-14001 certified green city, which is generally called "Swarg" (meaning: "Heaven").

The city houses four lakes. Many species of migratory birds visit this city during the winter. A total of more than 200 species of birds can be seen here. Making it a wonderful place for bird watchers.

This planned suburb is featured with its sophisticated sanitary system and clean streets. Electricity rarely fails. Known for its good environment, Chittaranjan can be listed in one of the cleanest industrial colonies in the whole world.

• 
  Shiva Mandir, North Area Chittaranjan
• 
  Sunset near the Ajay river
• 
  The pollution free evening

• Chittaranjan Locomotive Works

• https://web.archive.org/web/20090912004557/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2108/stories/20040423002008400.htm