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Bhilai

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Bhilai is a busy city in central India. It sits in the state of Chhattisgarh in the Durg district. The city lies on the banks of the Shivnath River. This river is a part of the much larger Mahanadi River. Bhilai is a very important center for industry and learning. It is part of a large urban area called Durg-Bhilai Nagar. This area has more than one million people living in it.

The city is famous for making steel. The Bhilai Steel Plant is a huge factory. It was the first large Indian plant to make steel rails for trains. Many different things are used to make this steel. Iron ore comes from Rawghat and coal comes from Jharia. Limestone comes from Nandini and manganese comes from Balaghat. The plant also uses water from the Tandula Canal. By 2007, the plant made enough rails to go around the Earth 7.5 times.

Bhilai has a long and interesting history. It started as a small village. Long ago, it was part of the Haihaiyavansi Kingdom. In 1740, the Marathas conquered the area. The modern city began in 1955. This happened when the Indian government signed a deal with the Soviet Union. They wanted to build a big steel plant near the village. In 1959, the first president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, started the first blast furnace.

Many people live and study in Bhilai. It is a major hub for education in the region. There are 59 different universities and colleges in the area. Students go to the Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai to learn. Other schools include the Bhilai Institute of Technology. The city also has Maitri Bagh, which is the oldest zoo in the state. The name Bhilai comes from the Bhil tribe. These people lived in this region long ago and still live in nearby forests.

Traveling around the city is easy because there are many paths. Many national and state highways pass through the area. There are also 15 different railway stations in the twin city. Durg Junction is the biggest and busiest station. You can also take many buses from the Durg Bus Station. These buses go to many other cities in India. Some people even fly to the nearby airport in Raipur.

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