Itkhori

Itkhori is a village and gram panchayat in the Itkhori CD block in the Chatra subdivision of the Chatra district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

Itkhori
Village
Itkhori
Location in Jharkhand, India
Itkhori
Itkhori (India)
Coordinates: 24.298744°N 85.162432°E / 24.298744; 85.162432
Country India
StateJharkhand
DistrictChatra
Population
 (2011)
 • Total7,121
Languages (*For language details see Itkhori block#Language and religion)
 • OfficialHindi, Urdu
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
825408
Telephone/ STD code06547
Vehicle registrationJH 13
Lok Sabha constituencyChatra
Vidhan Sabha constituencyChatra
Websitechatra.nic.in

Geography
Cities, towns and locations in Chatra district in North Chotanagpur Division
M: municipality, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, H: historical/ religious centre, P: power plant, T: tourist centre
Abbreviation used - TPS: thermal power station
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Location

Itkhori is located at 24.298744°N 85.162432°E / 24.298744; 85.162432. It is 35 km from Chatra and 16 km from Chauparan on National Highway 19 (old number NH2/ Grand Trunk Road).[1]

Area overview

The map alongside shows that the forests (mark the light shading), covering around 60% of Chatra district, are evenly spread across the district. It is a plateau area with an elevation of about 450 metres (1,476 ft) above mean sea level.[2]Efforts are on to get the first unit of the NTPC Limited’s North Karanpura Thermal Power Station (3x660 MW), ready in 2021.[3]North Karanpura Coalfield of Central Coalfields Limited, spread over 1,230 square kilometres (470 sq mi) in the southern part of the district, with spill over to neighbouring districts, and having coal reserves of 14 billion tonnes is among the biggest in India. The map provides links to three CCL operational areas.[4]

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Itkhori (location code 349000) had a total population of 7,121, of which 3,568 (50%) were males and 3,553 (50%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,141. The total number of literate persons in Itkhori was 4,742 (79.30% of the population over 6 years).[5]

Civic administration

Police station

Itkhori police station serves Itkhori CD block.[6]

CD block HQ

Headquarters of Itkhori CD block is at Itkhori village.[7]

Education

Bhadrakali College was established at Itkhori in 1979. Affiliated with the Vinoba Bhave University it offers courses in arts, science and commerce streams.[8]

Culture

Gautama Buddha once stayed here for some time. His maternal aunt failed to disturb him in his meditation. She left the place with the comment "Iti khoi" which in Pali means "I lost him here". Later, the place came to be known as Itkhori. There are various Buddhist relics at Itkhori dating from 200 BC to 1200 AD. There is a ‘stupa’ like structure with 104 Bodhisattvas and 4 prinicpal Buddhas sculpted on each side. Buddhist and Jain monks from different countries visit Itkhori round the year.[9][10][11]

Itkhori has the footprint of the 10th Jain tirthankara, Shitalanatha. Plans are afoot for a Jain temple at Itkhori.[12]

The Ma Bhadrakali temple, built in the 9th century, has several ancient deities that includes the Hindu deity Bhadrakali and the Buddhist deity Tara.[9][11] Itkhori Mahotsav is organised annually in February.[13]

It is believed that Gautama Sidhartha travelled from Itkhori to Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment. Numerous Buddhist and Hindu sculptures have been unearthed at a village called Bihari, near Itkhori. It is also near Kauleshwari Temple. Many other sculptures have been found while digging wells etc. in the region. There are some valuable sculptures in the Bhadrakali Mandir Museum.[14]

References
  1. "Maa Bhardraklali Mandir". Jharkhand Darshan. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  2. "Chatra - the official website". Blocks, Circles & Panchayats – List of villages under Panchayats. Chatra district authority. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. "Pandemic delays NTPC's Karanpura mega project in Chatra". The Times of India, 9 September 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. "The North Karanpura Coalfields". Jharkhand. sinclair-environmental. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. "District Census Handbook, Chatra, Series 21, Part XII B" (PDF). Page 168: District Primary Census Abstract, 2011 census. Directorate of Census Operations Jharkhand. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  6. "District Police Profile – Chatra". Contact Number. Jharkhand Police. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  7. "Administrative Boundary Map, Chatra District, Jharkhand". Chatra district administration. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. "Bhadrakali College, Itkhori". Board Univ Result. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  9. "Itkhori". Incredible India. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  10. "Cop picket plan for temple". The Telegraph, 21 November 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  11. "Itkhori, Jharkhand". Jharkhand. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  12. "नवरात्र में शुरू होगा तीर्थंकर के मंदिर का निर्माण {Construction of Tirthankar's temple will start from Navaratri)". in Hindi. Jagaran, 31 March 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  13. "Event Content". Itkhori Mahotsav 2018. Jharkhand Tourism. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  14. "Deciphering the past". The Hindu, 11 May 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2021.


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