Dhanbad District is known for its cultural heritage and has several tourist attractions, making it a well-rounded destination[10].

The city is called the 'Coal Capital of India' for housing one of the largest coal mines in the country.

[19] Dhanbad is suffering from underground coal seam fire and harmful fumes coming out from the ground.

[20] Dhanbad's economy revolves primarily around coal mining and related industries.

The present district used to be a part of Manbhum region and was occupied by Mundari tribals in the wilderness of South undivided Bihar.

These accounts narrate the existence of a powerful kingdom which comprised the district and adjoining areas, ruled by Sasanka.

The region has thick forests, with rich mineral resources, and had a mixed demographic profile with people from different religious and social groups, including adivasis, particularly the Santals and the Mundas before the city was established.

[22] In the Settlement Report for Manbhum (1928) it was stated that no rock inscriptions, copper plates or old coins were discovered and not a single document of copper plate or palm leaf was found, during the Survey and Settlement operations.

[25] The discovery of rich deposits of coal in the region caused the city to flourish financially, but also bought notorious coal-mafia and gang wars[26] which continues to this day with areas of city like Wasseypur being most affected by the conflict.

Further east, the Damodar is joined by the Katri River which rises in the foothills below Parasnath and traverses through the coal-field area.

[32] Dhanbad has one of the oldest and largest markets in the region and is also a centre of large scale industries.

Birsa Institute of Technology in Sindri is one of the oldest government engineering college in India.

[46] Dhanbad city and district is considered a BJP stronghold with majority of its MPs MLA's being of the party since the 1990s.

Chandra Shekhar Agrawal of BJP is the mayor; otherwise known as the first citizen, of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.

[47][48][49] Raj Sinha of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in the 40-Dhanbad assembly constituency defeating Mannan Malick of the Indian National Congress in 2014.

[50] Pashupati Nath Singh of BJP defeated Mannan Mallik of Congress in 2005, Prasadi Sao of RJD in 2000, and Ramadhar Yadav of JD in 1995.

Yogeshwar Prasad Yogesh of Congress defeated Gopi Kant Bakshi of CPI(M) in 1980 and Kalawati Devi of Janata Party.

[53] Dhanbad has a very good rail connectivity with the other major parts of the country such as Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Munger, Gaya, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kochi, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Durgapur, Asansol, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam Jodhpur, Nagpur, Pune, Varanasi and Guwahati etc.

Grand Chord rail-line passes through Dhanbad junction, it connects Howrah and New Delhi.

CIC rail line starts from Dhanbad and ends at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.

On 1 October 2011, India's first AC double-decker train was flagged off to connect Howrah and Dhanbad.

With this India joins the league of Europe and North America that run multi-deck trains.

It has a maximum permissible speed of 110 kilometres (68 mi)/hr with stops at Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Barakar and Kumardhubi on both legs of the route.

[59] National Highway 19 also emerges as a connector and transport system for various purpose connecting Delhi with Kolkata.