Dhamra

Dhamra
—  town  —
Dhamra Location of Dhamra in Orissa and India
Coordinates	20°47′44″N 86°54′03″E / 20.79556°N 86.90083°E / 20.79556; 86.90083Coordinates: 20°47′44″N 86°54′03″E / 20.79556°N 86.90083°E / 20.79556; 86.90083
Country	India
State	Orissa
District(s)	Bhadrak district
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 0 metres (0 ft)

For the nearby deep water port, see Port of Dhamara.

Dhamra (or Dhamara) is a small community on the banks of the Dhamara River in the Bhadrak district of Orissa state, India. It developed as a port around the 15th century AD.^[1] The port was used for the coastal trade between northern Orissa and Kolkata to the northeast, and continued to be used to a small extent after independence in 1947. In April 1998 an agreement was signed to develop the Port of Dhamara, about seven kilometers away on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, as a deep water port.^[2]

The temple of the Goddess Maa Dhamrai is located in the town. Some say that the goddess was brought from Sri Lanka by a local merchant who frequently traded with that island. Others say that she came from a place named "Satabhaya". She was thrown into the sea by her sisters who were angered by her pure vegetarianism, and was found floating by some fishermen who brought her to Dhamra. After an earlier temple had been destroyed, the present temple was built over a ten-year period, opening around 1990.^[3]

References

1. ^ Sila Tripati. "Early Maritime Activities of Orissa on the East Coast of India: Linkages in Trade and Cultural Developments". Marine Archaeology Centre, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa. http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/2264/127/3/Man_Environ_27_117.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
2. ^ "Dhamra port". DHAMRA PORT COMPANY LTD. http://www.eco-dhamra.com/about-DPCL/dhamra-port.asp. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
3. ^ "Dhamrai". Bhadrak District Administration. http://bhadrak.nic.in/dhamrai.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-24.