Most of the people in India are aware of just the basic facts about the city and the country as a whole to which they belong. India is a beautiful country and there is much more to it than you just know. In this article, we shall deep dive into one of the most famous cities in the Indian state of Orissa or Odisha-Rourkela.
The city happens to be the second largest city of the state and is popularly known as the Steel city or the industrial city. Located in the Sundergarh district, the city of Rourkela lies somewhere around 219 meters above the mean sea level
The following are some of its most interesting facts
1. Almost everyone is aware of the fact that Rourkela is famous for its steel plant. However, what many do not know is the fact that the city is also home to some of the best educational institutes of the country. Some of these include the National Institute of Technology, the Rourkela Institute of Management Studies, amongst others. It is for this very reason that the city of Rourkela boasts of being the “knowledge hub” of the state of Odisha
2. The city of Rourkela is known to have actually come into the limelight in the year 1955, when the city hosted the inauguration of the three public sector steel plants. These, in fact, were the first of its kind. The Rourkela Steel Plant is actually under the operations by the Steel Authority of India.
3. Rourkela is host to a number of steel plants. Amongst all the steel plants that Rourkela has, the most famous one is the unit of SAIL or the Steel Authority of India Limited. Apart from that, name of industrial towns in and around the city are Kalunga, Rajgangpur, as well as various others
4. The steel plant of the city which is called the Rourkela steel plant is actually nothing but the first steel plant of its nature which is under the public sector. It is known to have started its operations in the year around 1954 to 1955
5. The city is known to be surrounded by a number of hillocks and there is also the presence of a large number of rivers and rivulets, making the city really picturesque and attractive to the tourists. The land of this city is known for being beautiful as well as picturesque. At Hanuman Vatika in Rourkela, there is a temple. In that temple, you can find a big statue of Lord Hanuman. This statue is as much as 22 metres in height and is, in fact, the highest known statue of the entire Asian continent.
6. The name of the city is derived from the words “Rour” and “Kela”. While “Rour” stands for village, “Kela” essentially means village
7. Rourkela celebrates Rourkela day every year on the 3rdof March
8. Another interesting fact about the city is that as per popular legend, the legendary story of Mahabharata was actually written by Lord Ganesha. Besides, as per the same legend, he wrote the story while he was in a place called Vedvyas which is actually in Rourkela.
9. The Indian city of Rourkela often boasts about the fact that there has been no time when the city has faced any one or the other type of calamity caused by mother nature. At the most, the natural instance which has caused damage to the city has been the heavy rainfall which the city is known to face from time to time. Apart from that, there has been no natural calamity owing to its strategic location
10. The city is amongst one of the most literate cities in the Country. The literacy rate of the city is, in fact, amongst the highest in the country and is greater than even the national literacy rate. While the national average literacy rate is around 60 percent, Rourkela boasts of 75% being the average literacy rate.
Thus, the above are some of the lesser known facts about the steel city of Odisha which not many people are aware of. Next time if you plan to visit the city, make sure that you cover some of the important landmarks and places such as industrial plants of the city.