Khordha district

Khordha (also written Khurda) is an administrative division of the state of Orissa, India. It was formed on April 1, 1993 by the division of former Puri District into Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh districts. In the year 2000 the district name was changed to Khordha. The district headquarters is Khordha Town, formerly known as Jajarsingh, or Kurada. The capital city of Bhubaneswar is located in this district. Khurda is the most urbanized of all the districts of Orissa. Khurda Road, the railway station that serves the town is also the divisional headquarters of the East Coast Railway of the Indian Railways.

History and Description

Khurda formerly known as Jajarsingh, is a town in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also the district headquarters of Khurda district located at 20.11° N 85.40° E. It was the capital of Orissa from 1568 to 1803. Khurda is known for its brass utensils, cottage industries, railway coach manufacturing, and cable manufacture. It is also known for its fort, often described as the "last independent fort". The commander who kept it free from British East India Company was Bakshi Jagabandhu, popularly called 'Paika Bakshi'. The town lies on the banks of the rivers Daya and Kuakhi.

The Savaras tribal group, who are still to be found in the district in some pockets, once heavily populated the area. Khurda came into prominence when the first Rajas of the Khordha dynasty, Ramachandra Deva, made it the capital of his kingdom during the last part of the 16th century. Khurda suffered repeated onslaughts from Muslim and Maratha cavalry but its royal house retained independence till 1804, when the British East India Company dispossessed Raja of his territory following the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

Khurda occupies a distinct place in the historical map of Orissa. Khurda was the capital of Orissa Kingdom from 1568. British government took Orissa under its rule in 1803. But it could not include Khurda in its territory till 1827. The strong protest from Paikas of Khurda shook the backbone of British rule in Orissa. Khurdagada is known as known as the "Last Independent Fort" of India. Now the remains of this historic fort lies as an evidence of India's glorious past. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa belongs to this district. Daya and Kuakhai rivers flow through Khurda. It is also renowned for its Brass utensils cottage industries, cable factory, spinning mill, watch repairing factory, railway coach repairing factory and oil Industry.

Important places

* Atri : It is situated in the village Baghamari, at the distance of 42 km from Bhubaneswar. It is famous for sulfur-water Spring and a temple dedicated to Lord Hatakeswara.

* Bhubaneswar : It is the Capital city of Orissa and the ancient Kingdom of Kalinga. Bhubaneswar, popularly known as the temple city of India due to its large number of ancient temples (most notably Lingaraj Temple, KhandaGiri, Kedar Gouri, Ram Mandir etc), also features attractions like: State Museum, Bindusagar tank, Rabindra Mandap, Raj Bhavan, Legislative Assembly, Nandankanan, few parks & gardens and is the shopping center of Orissa.

* Barunei : This temple is situated on the famous Barunei hill. It is at a distance of 32 km from Bhubaneswar. Goddess Barunei is the famous deity of Khurda. A beautiful stream flowing from the mountain known as Swarna Ganga doubles the beauty of this place.This place is among one of the most significant historic places of Orissa.

* Chilika : Situated at a distance of 100 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, Chilika (or Chilka) lake is the largest lake of the country. The lake is surrounded with scenic beauty of nature. The naval training center is also situated nearby. Several types of migratory birds visit Chilika with advent of different seasons (mostly Winter). The lake is declared as a 'Bird Sanctuary' by the state govt. Inside the lake there are numerous islands, and one such picturesque island is called "Kalijai", which hosts 'Kalijai Temple', an important place of worship for the surrounding population.
* Dhauligiri : It is situated at a distance of 15 km from Bhubaneswar. The rock edict of Dhauli bears the early history of Kalinga and this rock edict was engraved by Emperor Ashoka.

* Khandagiri and Udayagiri : These twin hills are situated in Bhubaneswar. There are 117 caves in these twin hills. The Rani Gumpha is the largest cave in the Udaygiri hill. Another famous cave called the Hati Gumpha is also there where the rock is engraved with Hathigumpha inscription by King Kharavela. These caves contain a Barabhuja temple and a Jain temple.

* Lingaraj Temple : Lingaraj temple is the largest and most famous Lord Shiva temple in Orissa. A couple of other temples exist there around it.

* Nandankanan zoo : This is a famous Zoo of Orissa situated at a distance of 20 km from Bhubaneswar. It is famous for the Botanical garden, zoo and the natural lake. The recently opened Natural lion safari is the largest of its kind in India. The white tigers present here makes it unique across the world.

* Kaipadar : Kaipadar is situated at a distance of 15 km from Khurda. A beautiful mosque is present here. This place is the meeting place of Hindus and Muslims.

* Deras & Jhumka : Two picnic spots situated at a distance of 15 km from Bhubaneswar. Deras and Jhumka are two dams surrounded by dense forest.

* Guapur: Located midway between Bhubaneshwar and Puri, this peaceful village is accessible through a road to the east of the highway. It is 20 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar. Beautiful rice paddy landscapes and serene temples await anyone who goes there.

* Shishupalgarh : Situated at a distance of 13 km from Bhubaneswar. The ruined fort Shishupalgarh and ancient capital of Kalinga named Toshali are being discovered by the Archeological Survey of India.

* Shikhar Chandi : It is situated at a distance of 15 km from Bhubaneswar towards Nandankanan. A temple dedicated to Goddess Chandi on the hill top and the scenic beauty is the main attraction of this place.

* Golabai : Golabai Sasan is known mostly from its medieval temple architecture. This settlement site is located on the left bank of the Mandakini (locally Mallaguni) river, near the Chilka lake. Trial excavations in 1991 showed a succession of Chalcolithic and Iron Age assemblages, presumably dating to the 2nd and 1st millennia BC.The pottery as dull red and grey wares. Ground lithics bring to mind those of East and South-east Asia. This site and Sankarjang are the main sites in Orissa which represent this time.

Overview

General and administrative information: [cite web
url = http://khordha.nic.in/intro.htm
title = Introduction
publisher = Khordha district official website
accessdate = 2008-09-12]
* Area: 2,887.50 km²
* Forest Area: 618.67 km²
* Population: 18,77,395
* Literacy Rate: 80.19%
* Head quarter: Khurda
* Parliamentary constituencies: 2
* Assembly constituencies: 6
* Sub-Divisions: 2
* Villages: 1,561
* Blocks: 10
* Grama panchayat: 168
* Tehsils: 7
* Towns: 5
** Municipality: 2 (Khordha, Jatni)
** Municipal Corporation: 1 (Bhubaneshwar)
** N.A.C: 2 (Balugaon, Banpur)
* Temperature: 41.4(Max), 9.5(Min)
* Rainfall: 1443 mm (Avg)

Tehsils

# Banapur
# Begunia
# Bhubaneswar
# Bolagarh
# Jatni
# Khurda
# Tangi

ub-Divisions

# Bhubaneswar: consists of 4 blocks, viz. Balianta, Balipatana, Jatani, Bhubaneswar.
# Khurda: consists of 6 blocks, viz. Banapur, Begunia, Bolgarh, Chilika, Khurda sadar and Tangi.

References

External links

* [http://khordha.nic.in/ Indian government website for Khordha]