2011 Census of India, it is the second largest town in the district by population, only second to the district headquarters Kanker. It is located 120 km (75 mi) south-west of Kanker and 47 km (29 mi) west of the block headquarters Koyalibeda.[4]
During the pre-independence era, the entire area covered by the Pakhanjur tehsil today along with the Bande and Koyalibeda tehsils and parts of Abujhmarh, formed the erstwhile Paralkot jagir. In 1825, the region became the theatre of a tribal uprising led by Gaind Singh, a tribal leader and the zamindar of Paralkot, against the British Raj. Popularly known as the Paralkot Rebellion, the uprising saw the rebels fight against the exploitation and injustices meted out to the natives by the foreign powers. It ended with the capture and execution by hanging of the revered tribal leader on 20 January 1985. Subsequently, he came to be honoured as the first martyr of Chhattisgarh.[11][12]
In 1958, the Pakhanjur Colony that forms the heart of the town, was established along with the neighbouring settlements of Kapsi and Bande under the Dandakaranya Project.[10]
Dandakaranya Development Authority in 1958 to assist refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). It constructed the Bhaskel Dam and Paralkot reservoir (Kherkatta Dam), woodworking centers at Jagdalpur, Boregaon, and Umerkote, and roads and railways in the refugee resettlement areas, including the Balangir-Kozilum railway project. A factory that mainly produces aircraft engines is located at Sunabeda. The National Mineral Development Corporation works iron ore at Bailadila. Important towns are Jagdalpur, Bhawanipatna, and Koraput. The project was known as the Dandakaranya Project.[13]
A large number of people from East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh were settled at the newly formed 133 settlements, each designated as a Paralkot Village (PV) and numbered from PV 1 to PV 133, in areas of Kapsi, Pakhanjur and Bande. These people suffered heavy losses leaving hundreds of acres of agricultural fields and adjusted with very small land for survival.[14]
Geography
Pakhanjur tehsil is surrounded by the
Mohla Manpur district to the north, Koyalibeda tehsil to the east, Bande tehsil to the south and the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra
to the west.
Deforestation
People are suffering a lot because of deforestation here. Every year lakhs of trees are cut down for industrial purpose. The famous green belt is slowly turning into an orange area which is dangerous. New programs need to be initiated to promote greenery and planting of trees.[15]
Demographics
As of the 2011 Indian Census, Pakhanjur nagar panchayat had a population of 10,201, consisting of 5,370 males and 4,831 females. The population of children aged 0–6 was 1,207; 11.83% of the population. The male:female sex ratio is 900, lower than the state average of 991. The child sex ratio in Pakhanjur is around 904 compared to the state average of 969. The effective literacy rate of people seven years and above is 86.86%; the male literacy is around 91.64% and the female literacy rate is 81.54%. There were 2,332 households. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes populations were 508 and 1,201 respectively.[1]