| Voice of Bilaspur_Chattisgarh
: Pankaj Gupta
Following are the social and developmental challenges of the district:
The status of education in the district is very low.
Infrastructure facilities available in schools are very poor.
Lack of sufficient teachers in the schools.
Mid Day Meal programme is not implemented properly in the schools.
There are enough employment opportunities in the district, but the
local people of the district are not preferred. As a result many
of them remain unemployed.
Bilaspur_Chattisgarh
District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 8270.0 Km2
Population in Bijapur_Ch (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 2,55,180
Male : 1,28,761
Female : 1,26,419
Under 6 population
Total : 39,967
Male : 20,203
Female : 19,764
Disabled population
Total disabled population : 11528
In seeing : 4255
In speech : 810
In hearing : 965
In movement : 4143
Mental : 1355
Rank ( VoiceOfBharat.org Analysis
)
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward
districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 420
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : (HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 502 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 79 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Brief About Bilaspur_Chattisgarh District
Bilaspur district in the newly formed state of
Chhattisgarh has almost a quarter of its population comprising of
tribal people, mostly living in rural areas. It is classified as
backward in terms of its social and economic development indices.
The rural economy is dependent on a single rain-fed annual crop.
Seasonal migration to other parts of India in search of employment
is a regular and grim feature of rural life.
Bilaspur is under-served
in terms of health care and community health services which is reflected
in the poor health indicators of the district. The Maternal Mortality
Rate is 4 per 1000 live births and the under- five mortality is
20/1000 population. The crude birth rate is 20.8/1000 and death
rate is 11.5 / 1000. The Infant Mortality Rate in rural areas is
a high 110/1000 live births (NFHS,1992). Fifty-seven percent of
children under five year of age are malnourished, with severe malnutrition
being present in 22%. Only 24% of the infants are fully vaccinated,
and 34% are not vaccinated at all (NFHS, 1992). Falciparum malaria
(with periodic epidemics), water borne diseases, tuberculosis and
leprosy are important public health problems along with common childhood
illnesses.
The district of Bilaspur
has 3,590 villages with a total population of 3.14 million according
to the 1991 census. Eighty-three percent of the population resides
in villages and the sex ratio is 991. Twenty-six percent of the
population belongs to the scheduled tribes and 14% to the scheduled
castes. The average literacy rate before the launch of the literacy
mission was 34% and the female literacy rate was 16 %. Demographically
speaking, it has a large 'young' population with approximately 20%
being less than six years old.
Climate: The average
rainfall is 1,220 mm and most of it occurs during the monsoons.
The major rivers are Haf, Aagar, Maniyari, Arpa, Lilagar, Hasdeo,
Sheonath and Mand. All of these rivers are rain-fed with large differences
in flow rates depending on the season.This trend has become accentuated
with rapid deforestation all over the state. In summer the temperature
touches a maximum of 47 degrees Celsius.
Economy : More than
70% of the land is rain-fed and only 26% of the agricultural area
yields two or more crops per year. Of the total 10.85 lakh hectares
of cultivated area, as much as 7.19 lakh hectares are under paddy.
The next most popular crop among farmers is maize,which comes far
behind with only 0.18 lakh hectares. However, the productivity of
paddy is only a moderate 1,515 kg per hectare. The average food
grain production is 244 kg per capita.
Seasonal migration
to cities in search of employment is extremely common. After the
near total crop failure in 1997, people migrated on an unprecedented
scale with many migrating for the first time. These migrant workers
from Chhattisgarh are considered cheap, hardworking and gullible.
They are employed in brick kilns and in construction and other unorganized
sector activities in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana
and Punjab and are ruthlessly exploited.
Bilaspur is rich
in natural resources. Forests are exploited for timber as well as
minor forest produce. Bhilai Steel Plant is about 150 km away to
the south, while the BALCO Aluminium Plant is located 120 km to
the east in Korba. NTPC has a thermal power station at Korba and
has started work on another at Seepat, about 20 km away from Bilaspur
town. South-Eastern Coalfields Limited has its headquarters at Bilaspur.
However, the benefits of industrial development have benefited few.
In the scenario of
a stagnant agricultural economy with few industries, it is not surprising
that Bilaspur compares unfavourably with the rest of the country
on many social and economic indices.
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