headquarters and many coal mines in this region. Hindalco has a major aluminium plant at Renukut. Owing to the limestone hills, initially one cement factory was established at Churk in 1956. Another cement factory started at Dala in 1971, with an ancillary unit at Chunar from 1980. A big dam constructed at Pipri in 1961 is named Rihand Dam; another small dam was constructed at Obra in 1968. The Birla group set up an aluminum plant at Renukut. The company set up its own power plant at Renusagar in 1967 and started a company in Renukut called HiTech Carbon. Another industrial group initiated a company in Renukut named Grasim Industries Limited, which produces chemicals and later it started own power plant at Renukut in 1998. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Sonbhadra one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Tourist attraction Historical places Vijaygarh Fort Agori Fort Veer Lorik Patthar Cave Paintings of Son and Belan Valley, Sonbhadra Nature Salkhan Fossil Park Mukkha Fall Son View Point, Robertsganj Rihand Dam Dhanraul Dam Kaimoor Wildlife Sanctuary Temples Shivdwar Renukeshwar Mahadev Temple Vandevi Temple Jwaladevi Temple, Shaktinagar Maa Vaishnav Shaktipeeth Dalla ambedkar park Transport By air Muirpur Airport at Muirpur, an operational airstrip and proposed airport, currently used by chartered and private planes near Renukut Varanasi International Airport in Varanasi. Flights are available to all major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Agra, Bangalore, Chennai, Patna, Khajuraho, Hyderabad, Gaya, etc. International connections are Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong and Kathmandu from Varanasi International Airport. By train Mirzapur Railway Station Sonbhadra Railway Station Chopan Railway station Obra Railway station Renukoot Railway station near Rihand Dam Anpara Railway station Singrauli Railway station Shaktinagar Railway station Varanasi Railway station Dudhi Railway station The city is connected by rail to Delhi, Allahabad, Ranchi and Patna. Some notable trains passing through the district are Muri express (Jammu Tawi - Delhi - Tata Nagar), Jharkhand Swarna Jayanti Express/12873(Hatia - Kanpur - Delhi), Triveni Express (Bareilly - Lucknow - Shaktinagar/Singrauli/barwadih) Bhopal Express (Bhopal-Howrah) weekly and Shaktipunj Express/11448(Howrah-Bokaro - Chopan- Jabalpur). Intercity Express/03346 (Singrauli- Chopan-Varanasi). By road Robertsganj, the headquarters of Sonbhadra, is located about from the city of Varanasi which has the nearest airport. Robertsganj is well connected to