Balasore district
Baleswar
District of Odisha
Clockwise from top-left: Enami Jagannath Temple, Nilagiri Palace, Khirachora Gopinatha Temple in Remuna, Chandipur Beach, Haji Nariruddin High School in Balasore
Nickname: 
Granary of Odisha
Location in Odisha
Location in Odisha
Coordinates: 21°30′N 86°54′E / 21.5°N 86.9°E / 21.5; 86.9
Country India
State Odisha
HeadquarterBalasore
Government
 • Collector & District MagistrateSatya Sarathi Panda[1]
 • Superintendent of PoliceSudhanshu Sekhar Mishra, IPS[1]
Area
 • Total3,634 km2 (1,403 sq mi)
 • Forest441.3 km2 (170.4 sq mi)
Elevation
90.08 m (295.54 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total2,317,419
 • Rank4
 • Density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
 • Urban
253,293 (10.93%)
 • Scheduled Castes
478,586 (20.65%)
 • Scheduled Tribes
275,678 (11.9%)
Languages
 • OfficialOdia and English
 • RegionalHindi, Urdu, Bengali, Santali
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
756 xxx
Telephone code06782
Vehicle registrationOD-01
Coastline137 km (85 mi)
Sex ratio957 ♂/♀
Literacy80.66%
ClimateAw (Köppen)
Precipitation1,583 mm (62.3 in)
Avg. summer temperature43.1 °C (109.6 °F)
Avg. winter temperature10.6 °C (51.1 °F)
Websitebaleswar.nic.in

Balasore District, also known as Baleswar District,[3] is an administrative district of Odisha state, in eastern India. Balasore is one of the coastal districts of Odisha and lies on the northernmost part of the state.

Etymology

Balasore derives its name from the Persian phrase Bala-e-Shore, signifying 'Town in the sea'. Locally pronounced as Baleswar, its etymology is linked to the regional derivation of Baneswar, associated with Lord Baneshwar (Lord Shiva), the town's presiding deity. The Baneswara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated in Puruna Baleswar (lit. 'Old Baleswar').[4][5]

History

Geography

Balasore district is located in the northeast of the state of Odisha and lies between 21° 3' to 21° 59' north latitude and 86° 20' to 87° 29' east longitude. The average altitude of the district is 19.08-metre. The district has a total area of 3634 km2.[6] It is bounded by Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts of West Bengal in its north, the Bay of Bengal to its east, Bhadrak district to the south and Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts to the west.

The district lies along the Odisha coastal plain. In the southwest there are some small hill ranges. The Subarnarekha is the main river, and it empties into the Bay of Bengal in the district.

Transport

Balasore railway station falls en route on the main line connecting Chennai to Kolkata. NH 16 (erstwhile NH 5) runs through Balasore, and NH 60, which connects Balasore to Kolkata, is a four lane express way.

The nearest airport from Balasore is Kolkata International Airport and Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar.

Balasore runs state Buses of (OSRTC) which provide point to point service from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar (via Balasore).

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901679,046—    
1911669,624−0.14%
1921622,836−0.72%
1931630,857+0.13%
1941660,388+0.46%
1951658,742−0.02%
1961839,081+2.45%
19711,091,230+2.66%
19811,357,727+2.21%
19911,696,583+2.25%
20012,024,508+1.78%
20112,320,529+1.37%
Source: Census of India[7]
Religions in Balasore district (2011)[8]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 94.71%
Islam
 
 4.06%
Sarnaism
 
 0.79%
Other or not stated
 
 0.44%

According to the 2011 census Balasore district has a population of 2,320,529,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Latvia[9] or the US state of New Mexico.[10] This gives it a ranking of 195th in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 609 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,580/sq mi).[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 14.47%.[2] Balasore has a sex ratio of 957 females for every 1000 males,[2] and a literacy rate of 80.66%. 10.92% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 20.62% and 11.88% of the population respectively.[2]

Languages

Languages of Baleshwar district (2011)[11]

  Odia (88.30%)
  Santali (4.11%)
  Urdu (3.39%)
  Bengali (1.30%)
  Others (2.90%)

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 88.30% of the population in the district spoke Odia, 4.11% Santali, 3.39% Urdu, 1.30% Bengali and 0.67% Hindi as their first language.[11]

The local dialect of the region is Baleswari bhasa, a dialect of Odia. Other languages include Bhunjia, spoken by approximately 7000 Bhunjia Adivasis[12] and Santali.

Education

The district constitute primary university is F. M. University. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bagudi (also known as JNV Bagudi or JNV Balasore) is a public residential school in Bagudi village (near Mangalpur) of Soro block in the Balasore district.[13] Government-run, it provides education to children predominantly from the rural areas and economically challenged families. It was established and is managed by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (an autonomous organization of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Department of Secondary Education and Higher Education).In accordance with the National Policy on Education (1986) of the government of India, the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Bagudi in the Balasore district was established during March 1987.[14]

Politics

The district has 1 Lok Sabha constituency (Balasore) and 8 Vidhan Sabha constituencies. The current MP from Balasore is Pratap Chandra Sarangi from the BJP.

The following is the 8 Vidhan sabha constituencies of Balasore district and the elected members of that area:[15][16][17]

No. Constituency Reservation Extent of the Assembly Constituency (Blocks) MLA Party
35 Jaleswar None Jaleswar (M), Jaleswar, Basta (part) Aswini Patra BJD
36 Bhogarai None Bhogarai Ananta Das BJD
37 Basta None Baliapal, Basta (part) Nityanad Das BJD
38 Balasore None Balasore (M), Balasore (part) Swarup Kumar Das BJD
39 Remuna SC Remuna, Balasore (part) Sudam Parida BJD
40 Nilagiri None Nilagiri (NAC), Nilagiri, Oupada, Bahanaga (part) Sukanta Kumar Nayak BJP
41 Soro SC Soro (M), Soro, Bahanaga (part) Parshuram Dhada BJD
42 Simulia None Simulia, Khaira Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi BJD

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Who's Who | Baleswar District Government of Odisha | India". Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "District Census Handbook 2011 - Balasore" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  3. ↑ "Baleswar". Government of Odisha. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. ↑ ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS BALASORE (PDF), GAD, Govt of Odisha, 1991, p. 1
  5. ↑ "History | Baleswar District Government of Odisha | India". Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "About Baleswar District | Baleswar District Government of Odisha | India". Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  8. ↑ "Table C-01 Population by Religious Community: Odisha". Census of India, 2011. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  9. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Latvia 2,204,708 July 2011 est.
  10. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011. New Mexico – 2,059,179
  11. 1 2 "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Odisha". Census of India 2011. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  12. ↑ M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Bhunjia: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "About JNV". navodaya.gov.in. Government of India. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ Assembly Constituencies and their EXtent
  16. ↑ Seats of Odisha
  17. ↑ "List of Member in Fourteenth Assembly". ws.ori.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2013. MEMBER NAME

Gazetteers

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Balasore".
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Chandipur.
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