Balangir

This article is about the municipality in Odisha, India. For its namesake district, see Balangir district.
Balangir
ବଲାଙ୍ଗିର
City
Balangir

Location in Odisha, India

Coordinates: 20°43′N 83°29′E / 20.72°N 83.48°E / 20.72; 83.48Coordinates: 20°43′N 83°29′E / 20.72°N 83.48°E / 20.72; 83.48
Country  India
State Odisha
District Balangir
Government
 • Collector & District Magistrate M.Muthu Kumar,IAS
 • Superintendent of Police Dr.Deepak Kumar,IPS
 • Member of the Legislative Assembly Narasingha Mishra
 • Member of Parliament Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo
Elevation 383 m (1,257 ft)
Population (Census 2011)
 • Total 98,238
Languages
 • Official Odia
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 767001
Telephone code 06652
Vehicle registration OD 03
Website balangir.nic.in

Balangir is a city and municipality in Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. It is also the headquarters of Balangir district. Balangir has a rich cultural heritage. It is also known as the cultural hub of Western Odisha.[1][2] Balangir city has many cultural groups who are trying hard to preserve the dying down Kosali folk arts & dance. Balangir municipality is divided into twenty one wards. Each ward consists of two three Units or sub-areas called "Pada" or "Para". Balangir city has nearly forty "Pada's". Some of the largest "Padas" of Balangir city are Rugudi Pada, Behera Pali Pada, Sud Pada, Maal Pada, Tikra Pada, Radharani Pada, Sagar Pada, Pratapsagar pada, Talpali Pada, Jagannath Pada, Thikadar Pada, Palaceline, Gandhinagar Pada, Shanti Pada, Barpali Pada, Tulsinagar Pada, Kansari Pada, Teligoth Pada, Radharani para, Club para, Khadal para, Rameshwar nagar, Rajendra para, A.B.S.S. road etc. It is also home to the Ordnance Factory Balangir which is run by the Ordnance Factories Board Ministry of Defence, Government of India to manufacture various types of products for the Indian Armed Forces. It is spread over an area of 12,200 acres.[3][4]

Geography

Balangir is located at 20°43′N 83°29′E / 20.72°N 83.48°E / 20.72; 83.48.[5] It has an average elevation of 383 metres (800 feet).

Demographics

As of 2011 Census of India,[6] Balangir had a population of 98,238. Males constitute 50,582 of the population and females 47,656. Communicative language of Balangir is Kosali and for education and official purpose English, Hindi and Oriya are mostly used.

History

Balangir's name is said to have been derived from Balaram Garh, a fort, built here in the 16th Century by Balram Deo, the 19th Raja of Balangir (Ex-Patna State) and founder of Sambalpur kingdom.

Balangir was an obscure village till 1871 when the Court of Wards administration during the minority of the then ruler Ram Chandra Deo III shifted the capital from Patnagarh. Immediate steps were taken to build a planned township.

Patnagarh, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Patna for several centuries was considered unsuitable to be the state headquarters because of its unhealthy climate. The moats and the bamboo thickets which had long protected the place against enemies became breeding ground of mosquitoes causing widespread malaria. The place was also not on the direct road from Bhawanipatna to Sambalpur. So, Balangir was selected to be the headquarters not only because of its climate but also for its admirable location on the route connecting the headquarters of Sambalpur with that of Kalahandi.

Planning of Balangir Town

The Plan of Balangir Town was prepared by Pandit Chintamani Bidyabhusan as a square town with roads crossing one another at right angles was accepted and the new township was constructed to the south of the old village.

Sir Douglas, the then Deputy Commissioner of Sambalpur, got the sanction of the government and transferred the Headquarters from Patnagarh to the new town of Balangir in 1872. Old Balangir is now known as Junha Dihi meaning the old house site.

Early developments

Already in the 1871, the dispensary was built and some government offices moved to Balangir. The Court of Wards' administration lasted for 22 years, from 1871 to 1893 and during that period the jail building, the palace for the Maharaja and many office buildings were constructed. During the Kondh Rebellion of Kalahandi in 1882, the importance of Balangir increased as it became the main seat of operation against the rebellious Kondhs.

Firsts of Balangir

After the setup of Balangir town, the dowager Rani Amrut Kumari built the temple of Gopalji, the earliest temple of the town and caused to be excavated a large tank which was named Pratap Sagar after her husband Maharaja Surpratap Deo.

Maharaja Ramachandra Deo III established the first English school in Balangir sometime between 1893 and 1895. Maharaja Dalganjan Singh built the two storied court building and established the Dalganjan press. He made improvement of a big tank called Karanga Kata in the heart of the city and it was named after him as Dala Sagar. Also, during the rule of Maharaja Dalganjan Singh another defunct tank was re-excavated and was named as Rani Sagar bearing the memory of Rani Amrut Kumari. Also during his rei

A contactor named Parbat Bira of Kutch built by the time a beautiful temple of God Narasimha. Balangir grew in size and grandeur during the rule of Maharaja Prithiviraj Singh Deo who established the High School, which was later known as Prithviraj High School (P R High School), a Sanskrit Tol, the George Literary Club and the fine temple of Samaleswari and Patneswari. The construction of the new palace building then known as Badal Mahal was undertaken by him about two miles to the south of the city by the side of the road leading to Titlagarh. It was later named as Sailashri Palace. Prior to this the royal palace was situated at the heart of the city and was known as Sheesh Mahal (currently known as Old Palace).

During the administration of Maharaja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo the city was beautified by laying out Rajendra Park and by the Rajendra Experimental Farm and construction of several fine buildings. The X-ray ward, the maternity ward and the Dairy farm were started and a Museum for preservation of antiquities was also organised. Balangir had its first college, Rajendra College Balangir in 1944. In 1962 the Women's College was started by member of parliament and Rajya Sabha member Sri Krushna Chandra Panda of Rugudi Para, who also established the Govt. Ayurvedic College, Town Boys High School and Town Girls High School amongst many other educational institute. The city is situated on the right bank of the Lakshmi, a hill-stream which flows in her rocky bed in serpentine course. The stream has been bridged at five places as the city is expanding on the left bank.

Religious places

Religious places of Hindu religion

There are hundred of temples in Balangir town. Each and every Pada has one or more temples. Following are some of the Most Popular and important temples of Balangir Town.

Religious places of other religion/sects

Education

Schools

  • Aurobindo High School
  • Bachpan School
  • Balabhadra Narayan High School
  • Balangir Public School
  • Bapujee High School
  • Brahminpara UGME School
  • Chheliapat High School
  • Government Boys M E School
  • Government Girls High School
  • Hello Kids
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2
  • Little Flower School
  • Malpara Government Upper Primary School
  • Oriental Public School
  • Patit Pawan Academy High School
  • Pallishri High School
  • Police High School
  • Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya
  • Prithvi Raj High School
  • Project Colony UGME School
  • Ramai High School
  • Rampur Girls' High School
  • Roshni Public School
  • Rugudi Pada UGME School
  • Sagarpada Primary School
  • Saraswati Sishu Vidyamandir
  • Shantipara School
  • Shemford Futuristic School
  • St. Paul's English Medium School
  • Thikadar Para UGME School
  • Town High School
  • Police High School
  • Tusra High School

Colleges

  • Govt.Degree College,Balangir
  • Balangir Law College
  • DAV College
  • Food Craft Institute
  • Gayatri College
  • Government Ayurveda College
  • Government Women's College Balangir
  • IDM Public School
  • Jagannath Institute of Technology and Management
  • National Institute of Computer Education
  • National Institute of Information Technology
  • Panchayat Degree College
  • Rajendra College Balangir
  • Sri Aurovindo Integral Education Center
  • Sushree Institute Of Technical Education, Sadaipali
  • Yuvodaya College of Advance Technology (YCAT)
  • Yuvodaya College Social Science (YCSS)

Gallery

Notable Personalities

koshali poet Haladhara Nayak -Padmashree by govt. India

Tourist Destinations

Sailashree Palace of Balangir

Markets

Balangir City is famous for Sambalpuri Sarees and dress materials. One can get wide varieties of sambalpuri materials here with best rates, from Sambalpuri bedsheets to Sambalpuri pata sarees which costs in thousands and lakhs. There are a good range of cloth retailer in a market named sindhi market. Balangir Market is also famous throughout India for its cabbage. It is the best breed cabbage with the cheapest rates. Balangir is also famous for Sambalpuri Music albums. There are numerous production house in Balangir who are engaged in producing Sambalpuri Music albums. Each year on an average 100 Sambalpuri album is getting released in Balangir. Balangir is also famous for its local cuisine or snacks, like Chaul bara, Chaka peeta, gaham bara(Gulgula), labangalata, chena gaaja etc. A daily market is situated at the heart of Balangir City. It is famous for all kinds of daily needs. There are sweets stores named Raj Mandir, Royal Sweets, OM Sweets which are very famous for various kinds of sweets item especially Chhena Poda and Laddus etc.

Transport

Air

The Nuagaon Airport is the nearest airport to the city while Swami Vivekananda Airport at Raipur, Chhattisgarh is 234 km away. Biju Patnaik International Airport in the state capital, Bhubaneswar is 327 km away by road and 397 km by rail. The upcoming airport in Jharsuguda is around 180 km from Balangir.

Rail

Balangir Railway Station on the Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Titlagarh railway line of South Eastern Railways is the city's railway link to the national railway network.

A new 289 km long railway line from Bolangir to Khurda Road junction was sanctioned in 1993 and its foundation stone was laid in June 2001 but there has been very little progress in construction of this railway line. Out of 289 km length, 22 km is in Bolangir district. Even all the land required for the railway line has not been acquired until the end of 2011.

Road

Bolangir is connected by road to the state capital Bhubaneswar which is 327 km in the west. It is also connected to Cuttack, Rourkela, Dhenkanal and other important cities in Odisha.

Chief Minister from Balangir

The last ruler of Balangir Shri Rajendra Narayan Singhdeo went on to become the Chief Minister of Odisha state. http://rnsinghdeo.com/web/

Politics

Current MLA from Bolangir Assembly Constituency is Narasingha Mishra of Indian National Congress, who won the seat in State elections of 2014 by defeating BJD stalwart Ananga Udaya Singh Deo.

Bolangir is part of Bolangir (Lok Sabha constituency).[7]

Upcoming Projects

There are several project continuing in bolangir district for the need of people in this region.

Lower Suktel Project[8]

Lower Suktel Irrigation Project is a major irrigation scheme, proposed across the river Suktel, a tributary of river Tel, a major right tributary of river Mahanadi in Odisha. The Environment Clearance to the project was given by the Ministry of Environment and Forest in 1998. The dam site is located around 20 km from the Bolangir town which will submerge more than 30 villages.[9] The project work had been halted by the immense protests from ‘Lower Suktel Budi Ancahal Sangram Parishad’ (LSBASP) and its members. They were protesting against the displacement and inadequate compensation given to the land losers of the project.[10][11] The project includes Construction of a 1410m long and 30m high Earthen Dam with a Spillway of 177m long, to be located centrally across the Suktel.There are two main Canals, the right main canal taking off from right dyke having a length of 23.84 km and the left main canal taking off from earth dam having a length of 10.76 km including the length of two of distributaries of about 35 km. The total command area of the Project is 31830 hector in 189 villages jointly in Bolangir and Sonepur District. On completion, the project will irrigate 29841 hector in Bolangir district spreading over 177 villages and 12 villages in Sonepur district. Further this project will supply 20 Cusecs of drinking water to Bolangir city. The project under implementation with Central loan assistance from Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) under the Long Term Action Plan (LTAP) of K.B.K. region at an estimated cost of Rs. 217.13 Crores at 1994 Price level. The revised estimate of the project amounting to Rs.1041.81 Crores has been approved by the Central Water Commission (At 2009 Price Level) on 9 November 2010. The construction and development work is being operated by Odisha Construction Corporation Limited.[12]

in 1998 govt approve for Lower suktel.but the project was only up to paper till 2012.Mr. Gopalji Panigrahi created a committee ACTION COMMITTEE.and start demanding for Lowersukel.He has done hunger strike.when his health becoming severe govt. hear his demand and lower suktel project is now progressing.he admitted in Burla for his treatment. according to him Balangir is drought full area.lower suktel will save much water for cultivation. now he is demanding for a bypass road on balangir.Balangir is becoming rush nowadays.so a by pass road is required.hope govt will soon approve this

Khurda- Bolangir Rail Line

Khurda- Bolangir Rail Line was proposed on 1992 and after 20 years the project is still continuing. the construction work continued to be hindered due to lack of fund. The Chief Minister announced that the state government will fund 50% of the total cost to construct the Khurda Bolangir railway project[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 Balangir is a famous city in Odisha and also the major hub of trade and commerce of Odisha
  2. ↑ has been designed as a District Culture Centre
  3. ↑ http://ofbindia.gov.in/units/index.php?unit=ofbol&page=about&lang=en
  4. ↑ http://www.ofbadmal.in/
  5. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Balangir
  6. ↑ "Census of India 2011". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  7. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies of Odisha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  8. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/work-on-lower-suktel-project-continues/article4601196.ece
  9. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Scrap-lower-Suktel-project/articleshow/22051158.cms?referral=PM
  10. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/69-Suktel-oustees-held/articleshow/19468366.cms?referral=PM
  11. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRyrmEAUQ10
  12. ↑ "Lower Suktel Irigation Project". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  13. ↑ http://pragativadi.com/top-stories/khurda-bolangir-railway-project-state-govt-to-fund-50#.VBJ_GKOgZyA
  14. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/odisha-to-provide-free-land-bear-50-cost-of-khurdabolangir-railway-project/article5617382.ece
  15. ↑ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140222/jsp/odisha/story_18006726.jsp#.VBKBn6OgZyA
  16. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/centres-nod-for-medical-colleges-at-balasore-bolangir-koraput/article5712474.ece
  17. ↑ http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Traffic-chokes-roads-Bypass-eludes/2013/06/01/article1615046.ece
  18. ↑ http://article.wn.com/view/2013/01/28/Balangir_bandh_peaceful_CM_effigy_burnt/

External links

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