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Bargarh District has an area of 5832 km, and a population of 1,345,601,
with a population density of 231 persons per km. The district was carved
out of the erstwhile district of Sambalpur. All season irrigation from
Hirakud dam on the Mahanadi River makes the northern half of Bargarh
district rich in agriculture, mostly rice.
The district is famous for a 10-day long open-stage drama, Dhanuyatra,
based on the life and times of Lord Krishna, culminating in the death of
King Kansa. It is also famous for centuries old handloom industry
manufacturing a trade-mark textile form called Sambalpuri.
The people speak Sambalpuri, a dialect of Oriya. There is a 13th century
temple at Nrusinghnath where, as the only instance of its kind in the
world, Lord Vishnu is worshipped in a feline incarnation.
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HISTORY
The headquarter of the district Bargarh is situated on the left bank of
Jira River. The town Bargarh is on the National Highway-6. The original
name of the place was "Baghar Kota" as known from an inscription of the
11th Century A.D. It was called "Bargarh" probably from the time of
Balaram Dev, the Chauhan Raja of Sambalpur, who made it for some time
his headquarters and constructed a big fort for its protection. Narayan
Singh, the last Chauhan Rajagranted this place in "Maufi" (free hold)
to 2 |
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| Brahmin brothers Krushna Dash and Narayan Dash, sons of Baluki
Dash who was killed in action by the Gond rebels led by Baldia Ray and
Mahapatra Ray. The another part of the district popularly known as
"Borasambar" was formerly the headquarters of the Borasambar Zamindari
extending over 2178 Sq.Kms. Later, the headquarters of the Zamindari
shifted to Padampur, one of the present sub-divisional headquarter. The
Zamindar belongs to the Binjhal family and is called Pat-Bariha |
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LOCATION
The Bargarh district lies between 20 43 to 21 41 North latitude and 82
39 to 83 58 East longitude. It is one of the western most districts of
the State of Orissa and came in to existence as a district from 1st
April 1993. It is bounded on the north by the State of Chhatisgarh and
on the east by the district of Sambalpur, on the south lies the
district of Balangir and Subarnapur and on the west the district of
Nawapara. The district has an area of 5837 Sq.Kms. The population of
the district as per 2001 census is 134.6 Millions out of which 68.1
millions are male and 66.5 millions are female. |
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| ABOUT |
| The Bargarh district can be divided into 3 natural divisions, (1)
Bargarh Plain (2) Borasambar (3) Ambabhona & Lakhanpur. The greater
portion is an open plain of considerable fertility drained by the Danta
and the Jira, the two tributaries of Mahanadi. To the north of this
plain runs the Barapahar range of hills and to the south-west lie the
valley of river Ong (Ang). The Bargarh plain is not a flat alluvial
tract but an expanse of undulating country sloping down from the
Barapahar hills in |
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the north, to the Mahanadi valley in the east. It
contains a good portion of the cultivated land of the district and its
undulating character affords excellent scope for irrigation reservoirs.
The soil is a mixture of sand and gravel as well as of clay. Its a good
rice soil and unlike the more fertile black cotton soil it grows few
seeds and does not harbour dangerous insect pests. This tract is
nowhere bare of vegetation and the villages are found embowered with
mango groves. |
The Borasambar (Padampur) tract lies to the south-west of the Bargarh
plain. It is bounded by the high hills on the north and south and the
intervening plain is drained by river Ong (Ang), the valley of which
particularly in the eastern portion is best suited to agriculture. Its
soil contains some river slit and enriched by hill drainage.
The Ambabhona and Lakhanpur area is cut off from the rest of Bargarh
plain by a long spur of the Barapahar hills running south-west for a
distance of nearly 48 Km. This hill forms a barrier to communication
with the rest of the district. Ambabhona is a fairly level tract
sloping down from the hills to the river Mahanadi and is under close
cultivation. Lakhanpur is a wide valley sorrounded by forest clad hills
and is also closely cultivated. |
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| CLIMATE |
| The climate of this district is characterised by a very hot dry summer
and well distributed rains in the south-west monsoon season. The cold
season commences from November and lasts till the end of February. The
hot season follows thereafter and continues till about the second week
of June. the south-west monsoon season is from mid June to the end of
September |
| ROADS |
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The South Eastern Railways runs through this district covering 46 K.Ms.
N.H.6 linking Mumbai to Kolkotta passesthrough Bargarh dist. covering |
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| 96.3 K.Ms. There are 5303 K.M. of G.P.Roads, , 117 no. of R.D. roads
covering 1105.26 K.Ms, 112.792 K.M. major dist. roads, 138.8 K.M. State
Highway and 135.05 K.M. other dist. roads in this district. |
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| NATURE |
The Barapahar (literaly, 12 hills) are the main hill range in the
Bargarh district covering an area over 777 Sq.Km. and attaining a
height of 2,267 feet (691.1 m.) at the peak of Debrigarh. Debrigarh is
one of the few hills of the range offering level ground and good water
supply near the summit. It is one of the best hill sites in the
district suitable for health resort. The river Mahanadi formed a lake
in geological times to the north of the this range till in burst and
the lake emptied. The Hirakud Dam (in Sambalpur district) has
reconstructed the barrier and repeated the ancient lake.
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The second group of hills is the Gandhamardhan range running along the
southern boundary of the ex-Zamindari of Borasambar, separating it from
Bolangir district. The hill range rises to 2,000-3,000 feet (629.60 m
to 914.40m) in height and reaches its highest point (3,234 feet or
985.72m) in the peak of Nrushinghanath, one of the picturesque places
in the district. Another range braches off to the west of
Nrushinghanath running first north-south and then north-east near
Jagdalpur, where it is broken by the Ong (Ang) river. Another range
runs eastward to Tal and then to the north-east forming the boundary
between the district and Raipur of Chhatisgarh.
The major rivers in the district are tributaries of Mahanadi river.
Jira and Jhaun rivers flow through the Bargarh district and join the
river Mahanadi in the extreme south of the district. The Jira has main
tributary, the Danta which joins it a few miles north of its confluence
with the Mahanadi near the village Gandturum in Bheden.
The other river that flows through the district is Ong (Ang) which
rises in the Nawapara district and enters Borasambar (Padampur) at its
extreme south-west corner. It flows through in a wide-semi-circle from
west to east and leaves the district a few miles to the east of
Gaisilat eventually joining
There are natural springs at Nrushinghanath at the foot of
Gandhamardhan hills of Padampur subdivision forming streams flowing in
cascades down the steep hill side. The waterfalls are called Kapil
dhar, Bhim dhar and Chal dhar, which are considered to be very sacred.
In the Barapahar hills there are a few springs notable among them is
the one near the village Ghens.
There are many tanks in the district, some of which serve the purpose
of irrigation. Notable among them are the Victoria Sagar near Ghens,
Yogimunda in Barpali and Ranisagar in Bijepur. |
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