Balasore district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Balasore.

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
Balasore district
Coordinates: 21°30′N86°54′E / 21.5°N 86.9°E / 21.5; 86.9
Country	India
State	Odisha
Established	1828
Headquarter	Balasore
Government
• Member of Parliament	Pratap Chandra Sarangi (BJP)
•  Collector & District Magistrate	Satya Sarathi Panda [1]
•  Superintendent of Police	Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra, IPS [1]
Area
• Total	3,634 km2 (1,403 sq mi)
• Forest	441.3 km2 (170.4 sq mi)
Elevation	90.08 m (295.54 ft)
Population  (2011) [2]
• Total	2,317,419
• Rank	4
• Density	640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
•  Urban	253,293 (10.93%)
•  Scheduled Castes	478,586 (20.65%)
•  Scheduled Tribes	275,678 (11.9%)
Languages
• Official	Odia
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	756 xxx
Telephone code	06782
Vehicle registration	OD-01
Coastline	137 km (85 mi)
Sex ratio	957 ♂/♀
Literacy	80.66%
Climate	Aw (Köppen)
Precipitation	1,583 mm (62.3 in)
Avg. summer temperature	43.1 °C (109.6 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	10.6 °C (51.1 °F)
Website	baleswar.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

Baleswar is said to have got its name through the regional derivation of the word Baneswar, from Hindu deity Baneshwar (Shiva), the presiding deity of the town. The Siva temple, Baneswara Temple is located in Puruna Baleswar (lit. 'Old Baleswar'). ^{[4] [5]}

History

See also: Balasore § History, and Battle of Tukaroi

Geography

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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

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1901	679,046	—
1911	669,624	−1.4%
1921	622,836	−7.0%
1931	630,857	+1.3%
1941	660,388	+4.7%
1951	658,742	−0.2%
1961	839,081	+27.4%
1971	1,091,230	+30.1%
1981	1,357,727	+24.4%
1991	1,696,583	+25.0%
2001	2,024,508	+19.3%
2011	2,320,529	+14.6%
Source: Census of India [7]

As per the 2011 Census, Balasore district has a population of 2,320,529, ^[2] which is comparable to the population of Latvia ^[8] or the U.S. state of New Mexico. ^[9] It ranks 195th out of 640 districts in India. The district has a population density of 609 people per square kilometer (1,580 per square mile). Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Balasore's population grew by 14.47%. The district's sex ratio stands at 957 females for every 1,000 males. The overall literacy rate is 79.79%, with male literacy at 87% and female literacy at 72.28%. Urban areas have a literacy rate of 84.67%, while rural areas have a literacy rate of 79.18%. Urban areas account for 10.92% of the population. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 20.62% and 11.88% of the population, respectively. ^[2]

Religion

Balasore district is predominantly Hindu, comprising about 94.7% of the population with 2,197,709 individuals. Muslims represent the second-largest religious group, making up around 4.1% with 94,254 adherents, while Christians account for a smaller 0.3%, totaling 6,434 residents. Other religious minorities include Sikhs (0.01%, 237 individuals), Jains (0.009%, 201 individuals), and Buddhists (0.005%, 111 individuals). Additionally, about 0.8% (18,345 individuals) belong to other faiths, and 0.1% (3,238 individuals) have not stated their religion. ^[10]

Religious Demographic in Balasore District (2011) ^[10]

1. Hinduism (94.71%)
2. Islam (4.06%)
3. Sarnaism (0.79%)
4. Other or not stated (0.44%)

Languages

Languages of Baleswar district (2011) ^[11]

1. Odia (88.3%)
2. Santali (4.11%)
3. Urdu (3.39%)
4. Bengali (1.3%)
5. Others (2.9%)

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, 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. There is government medical college in district known as Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital. 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 Kumar Patra	BJD
36	Bhograi	None	Bhogarai	Goutam Buddha Das	BJD
37	Basta	None	Baliapal, Basta (part)	Subasini Jena	BJD
38	Balasore	None	Balasore (M), Balasore (part)	Manas Kumar Dutta	BJP
39	Remuna	SC	Remuna, Balasore (part)	Gobinda Chandra Das	BJP
40	Nilgiri	None	Nilagiri (NAC), Nilagiri, Oupada, Bahanaga (part)	Santosh Khatua	BJP
41	Soro	SC	Soro (M), Soro, Bahanaga (part)	Madhab Dhada	BJD
42	Simulia	None	Simulia, Khaira	Padma Lochan Panda	BJP

See also

• India portal

• Baba Bhusandeswar Temple
• Rocket launch sites
• Proof and Experimental Establishment, Chandipur
• Abdul Kalam Island
• Bhadrak district

References

1. "Who's Who | Baleswar District Government of Odisha | India" . Retrieved 4 January 2021.
2. "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. 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.
9. "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
10. "Table C-01 Population by Religious Community: Odisha". Census of India, 2011. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
11. "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.
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

• L.S.S. O’Malley (1907). Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore. Calcutta, Bengal Secretariat.
• Behuria, Nrusinha Charan (1994). Orissa District Gazetteers: Baleshwar. Gazetteers Unit, Department of Revenue, Government of Orissa. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
• Taradatt, Dr. Odisha district gazzetters : Baleswar (PDF). Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Gazetteers Unit, General Administration Department, Government of Odisha. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2023.

External links

• Official website of Balasore District

• Balasore at Encyclopedia Astronautica