Latehar is a town which is a headquarter of Latehar district of Jharkhand state, it is known for its natural environment, forest, forest products and mineral deposits. Latehar remained a part of Palamau District as a sub division since 1924. It was elevated from sub divisional status to a district on 4 April 2001, vide Jharkhand Government Notification No 946 dated 04.04.2001. Latehar is located on the north–west corner of Jharkhand in the Palamau Commissionary. It is surrounded by Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Palamau and Chatra district apart from Chhattisgarh state and district headquarters is situated at 84.51198 East Longitude and 23.741988 North Latitude.
Latehar district is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India, and Latehar town is the administrative headquarters of this district. This district is part of Palamu division.
Latehar district is situated between 84deg. 31 min. East latitude 23 deg. 44.4 min north latitude. The area of the district is 3660 km², with a population of 558,831 (2001 census).
It’s a predominantly tribal district with almost 45.54% of the population belonging to the schedule tribes and more than 66% of total population comprises SCs and STs. The total area of the district is 3,622.50 km2 and one of the block headquarters is more than 200 km away from the district headquarters.
Adventure Tourism
Tourist places
1) Netarhat Sunrise Point
2) Netarhat Sunset Point
3) Lodh waterfall
4) Upper Ghaghri Waterfall
5) Lower Ghaghri Waterfall
6) Sugha bandh waterfall
7) Mirchiya waterfall
8) Indra waterfall
9) Betla national park
10) Cave of tubed
11) Palamu Fort
12) Nagar temple
13) Vaishno durga mandir
14) Tattha pani
15) Netarhat school
16) Tappa Hill
17) Tree house betla
18) Netarhat dam
19) Lalmatiya dam
20) Jhariya dam
21) Maa Vaishno Temple
Administration
Blocks/Mandals
Latehar district consists of 9 blocks. The following are the list of the blocks in Latehar district:
Latehar Block
Chandwa Block
Balumath Block
Manika Block
Barwadih Block
Garu Block
Mahuadanar Block
Bariyatu Block
Herhanj Block
Geography
Latehar district has two of the highest waterfalls in Jharkhand – Lodh Falls and Lower Ghaghri Falls, along with several others.
Betla National Park is located in this District.
Economy
In 2006 the Indian government named Latehar one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the districts in Jharkhand currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Divisions
There are 9 development blocks, namely Latehar, Chandwa, Balumath, Bariyatu, Herhanj, Manika, Barwadih, Garu and Mahuadanr
There are two Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Manika and Latehar. Both are part of Chatra Lok Sabha constituency.
Economy
The economy of the people revolves round the forest, agriculture and minerals.
(a) Agriculture: - A large number of people are engaged in agricultural activities. Cultivation of paddy, maize, cereals, wheat, oil seeds etc. are common. The people are either working as agricultural labourers or cultivators. Kharif and Rabbi are the main agricultural seasons. Karma festival is celebrated for good production of crops.
(b) Forest: - Out of total geographical area of 4211–2508 km2, forest area covers nearly 2010.2245 km2 The tribal economy revolves around using forest products, by products and minor products. Kendu leaves, Bamboo and its manufactured products, Mahua, fruits, leaves (used is the making of dona, pattal), lac etc. play a role in the economic activity of the people. People also hunt animals for food and ‘Jani shikar’ festival is related to this hunting habit.
(c) Mines and Minerals: - The geological reports say that the district is very rich in various mineral deposits. There is abundance of deposit of Coal, Bauxite, Laterite, Dolomite, and Graphite etc. Granite, Quartz, Fireclay, Felspar etc. The excavation and exploration of these minerals have provided job opportunities to the inhabitants of this hinterland to some extent because these minerals have not been fully explored at large scale and there are no mineral based industries in the district.
(d) Animal Husbandry: -The quality of livestock is very poor. Cow, goats etc. are of local variety and the average milk yield is very less. There is a vast scope in the field of animal husbandry in Latehar.
(e) Trade and commerce: - In place of old Mahajans and landlords, various banks are operating their branches is the district but it is a matter of fact that most of the villages are so scattered that the system of primary trade in the hands of vyaparis and village sahukars still continues.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latehar
