Durg
The Steel hub of Chhattisgarh
General Information
District: Durg, State: Chhattisgarh, India
Area: 8537 Sq. Km.
Languages Spoken: Hindi, Chhattisgarhi and English
Long Distance Code: +91-788
Importance:
Best Time to Visit: October to February
Description
Not much is known about the history of Durg, the steel plant hub. It is famous for the Bhilai steel plant, one of the first and one of the biggest steel plants of India. Adjacent to the state capital of Raipur, Durg is an important city for the state.<br />Culturally rich, the folk dances and folk music of this area has won many an accords in the international culture scenario. The Pandawani folk dance and songs have won a place in the Indian folk art panorama, due to Teejan Bai, the eminent singer and performer of the folk art, who has taken the art to international stage and has put Durg on the world map. Pandawani is the recital of stories from the epic of Mahabharat.Location
The Durg district is a populous district of Chhattisgarh. It occupies the southwestern part of the Chhattisgarh plain and possesses belts of hilly country in the south, southwest and northwest, bestowed with mineral resources and forests.
Nicknamed as the Temple of Modern India, by the first Prime Minister of free India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Bhilai steel plant is one of the first and also the largest steel plants of India. It was conceived just after independence as the first step towards the industrialization of India. The dream that the great nation builders nurtured came into being in 1959 and the plant was dedicated to the Nation. The self-reliance dream was fulfilled with the help of the agreement and collaboration with the Soviet Russia. \r\nToday it is one of the largest steel producing plants of India. It has slowly but steadily grown and also has modernized itself. The Bhilai Steel Plant has expanded its production capacity in two phases. First to 2.5 MT phase which was completed on September 1, 1967 and then on to the 4 MT phase which was completed in the year 1988.\r\nTo maintain the eco-friendliness Bhilai Steel Plant have installed Electrostatic Precipitators and other Gas cleaning equipment to reduce the harmful effect of fumes in the atmosphere. Apart from the technological endeavours, Bhilai collective have also gone in for massive a forestation in and around the township.
The only Zoo in the area, Maitry Bag is one of the most favourite hangouts of the people of Durg. It has the rare white tigers and Lions and various other animals that allure the old and young alike. Another thing that beckons the visitors here is the musical fountain. \r\n\r\nOther places of Interest in the area are the temples. One is the Ganga Maiya temple in he outskirts f the city and the other is the Jain temple which ever since its installation has become one of the most important sites of Jain pilgrimage, known as the Uwasaggaharam Parshwa Teerth in Nagpura.
