ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS

BALESHWAR

GOPABANDHU ACADEMY OF ADMINISTRATION [GAZETTEERS UNIT] GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF

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ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS

BALESHWAR

DR. TARADATT, IAS CHIEF EDITOR, GAZETTEERS & DIRECTOR GENERAL, TRAINING COORDINATION

GOPABANDHU ACADEMY OF ADMINISTRATION [GAZETTEERS UNIT] GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA

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PREFACE

The Gazetteer is an authoritative document that describes a District in all its hues– the economy, society, political and administrative setup, its history, geography, climate and natural phenomena, biodiversity and natural resource endowments. It highlights key developments over time in all such facets, whilst serving as a placeholder for the timelessness of its unique culture and ethos. It permits viewing a District beyond the prismatic image of a geographical or administrative unit, since the Gazetteer holistically captures its socio-cultural diversity, traditions, and practices, the creative contributions and industriousness of its peoples and luminaries, and builds on the economic, commercial and social interplay with the rest of the State and the country at large. The document which is a centrepiece of the District is developed and brought out by the State administration with the cooperation and contributions of all concerned. Its purpose is to generate awareness, public consciousness, spirit of cooperation, pride in contribution to the development of a District, and to serve multifarious interests and address concerns of the people of a District and others in any way concerned. Historically, the ―Imperial Gazetteers‖ were prepared by Colonial administrators for the six Districts of the then Odisha, namely, Angul, Baleshwar, Cuttack, Koraput, , and Sambalpur. After Independence, the Scheme for compilation of District Gazetteers devolved from the Central Sector to the State Sector in 1957. Within the State, the responsibility for developing the Gazetteers was transferred from the Revenue Department to the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration (GAA) in 1999. In this process, the ―District Gazetteers‖ of all thirteen Districts were published as follows: Koraput/1966 (Supplement/1984), Mayurbhanj/1967, Bolangir/1968, Sambalpur/1971, /1972, Sundargarh/1975, Puri/1977, Kalahandi/1980, Boudh-Khondmal/1983, Keonjhar/1986, Baleshwar/1994, Ganjam/1995 and Cuttack/1992. The Gazetteers of Baleshwar/1994, Ganjam/1995 and Cuttack/1992, however, could not capture the implications of the reorganisation of these Districts. Though 10 out of 13 Districts had been reorganised into 27 and the total number of Districts in the State had gone up to 30, the reality remained to be captured in the District‘s Gazetteers. Be it so, the time is now ripe to build on the rich cache of Gazetteers available across the Districts in Odisha, and to develop updated documents that capture the essence of each District as it exists today. The Districts i have evolved over the last few decades as a result of various natural phenomena and unforeseen forces, besides a slew of economic and social sector reforms undertaken at the National, State and local levels in the last couple of decades. The resulting impacts have been more cataclysmic in some Districts than others, which are reflective of the complex dynamics at work which determine a District‘s state of preparedness and receptivity to change or its absorptive capacity. This diversity in impacts across Districts is now captured both in measurable parameters and non-measurable underlying trends and perceptions in the updated District Gazetteers. Besides catching up with the developments in each of the thirty Districts and the environs, it was felt opportune to capture the major shifts in areas and issues of priority and concern across the districts by suitably restructuring the document, to recount the post-Independence events in brief for their historic value and evolutionary impact on the District, and to bridge an important lacuna, viz. incorporating the role played by freedom fighters from each District in ‘s Independence, which was sparingly mentioned in the Gazetteers initially prepared by colonial administrators. Though the updated Gazetteers draw heavily on the past Gazetteers of thirteen undivided Districts, the documents were also restructured to provide for elimination, modification and insertion of some issues in discussion with the Consulting Editors and District Administration in order to present a comprehensive and contemporaneous picture of the Districts. The task of developing and updating the Gazetteers for the present 30 Districts was initiated in the first week of May 2015. Procedurally, a series of time-bound initiatives taken since then, were bed-rocked on the complete and continuous involvement of the District Collector and heads of concerned line departments at the district level in the coverage of issues and developments over time, coupled with specific participation of a number of scholars and experts, including some senior serving and retired civil servants. A standardised synopsis of the District Gazetteer was prepared by GAA to assist in the development of the initial drafts by each District Administration taking on board the locally available experts and District Heads of the Line Departments. For this exercise, a Committee was constituted by GAA under the District Collector to steer the development of the initial draft for the respective District. A number of Sub-Committees comprising of officials and experts were also constituted, again at District level, for drafting specific and thematic chapters. The initial drafts prepared by the District Administration were received by GAA starting in August 2015. After in-house scrutiny of these drafts, detailed comments and suggestions for bridging information gaps were sent by GAA to enable suitable revisions by the District Administration. A process of continuous monitoring of the development of the next stage of drafts was followed, and the second drafts ii were received by GAA by the end of October 2015. This revised draft Gazetteer of each District was then placed for scrutiny at two levels– the first by the public at large by hosting the drafts at the website of GAA (gopabandhuacademy.gov.in), and the second by a set of 30 Experts, one for each District designated as Consulting Editor. Simultaneously, Government in General Administration Department (GAD) with the approval of Hon‘ble Chief Minister reconstituted the State Advisory Committee (SAC) and State Working Committee (SWC) on Gazetteers vide Notification No. 23473 dated 26 September, 2015. The SAC continues to be headed by Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha. The SWC hereafter was to be chaired by the Director General, GAA, who had also been notified as the ex-officio Chief Editor of Gazetteers besides being granted functional freedom to prepare and publish the Gazetteers. A series of meetings were held by DG, GAA with the Consulting Editors appointed for refinement of the drafts prepared at the District level to discuss the to ensure accuracy and coherence, quality and content. The Consulting Editors also visited the respective Districts regularly to interact with senior officials, governmental and non-governmental organisations and persons concerned with the preparation of the initial two drafts. The drafts reviewed by DG, GAA, with the Consulting Editors were forwarded to the District Collectors for authentication of content and further improvements in quality, wherever felt necessary. The final round of discussions with the Consulting Editors was held in GAA in February through till April 2016, and the draft Gazetteers, finalised at this stage again in consultation with the District Collectors, were placed before the SWC. Drafts recommended by it were placed before the SAC for approval. The Gazetteer of Baleshwar (undivided Baleshwar) was last published in 1983. Following the District‘s reorganisation on 1st January, 1994, Baleshwar district as it exists today came into existence. The present Gazetteer essentially charts the state-of-play in today‘s District of Baleshwar on the aforesaid pattern. It would be fair to say that the vicissitudes of District reorganisation have led to a virtual recasting of the Gazetteer for Baleshwar, a feat in itself. I am hopeful that though, given the short time for its development, it has not been possible to present a scholarly reconciliation of the parameters and information for the undivided District with the now reorganised District, interested scholars/ experts will soon enough assist the District Administration and GAA to bridge this gap and supplement the information herein.

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It is professionally gratifying that the District Administration and line Departments at District level, Professor M.N.Kundu, former Principal, Rajdhani College, and Professor A. B. Ota, Commissioner- cum-Director, SCs and STs Research and Training Institute (SCTRTI), Bhubaneswar, it‘s Consulting Editors and few of his academic colleagues, experts including some serving and retired civil servants, NGOs concerned and interested persons cooperated with GAA in order to meet the strict timeframe. But for the concerted efforts, tireless work, and energetic perseverance of my dear colleague Shri Praod Kumar Das, IAS, Collector and D.M Baleshwar and his team of officers and local experts, the seminal initial drafts would not have been possible. Professor M.N.Kundu and Professor A. B. Ota, were gracious enough to accept the challenge to be the Consulting Editors and complete the task within a record time of four months to bring out the final draft despite his several pressing engagements in various positions. I do not find adequate expression to thank him. I wish and hope that the sincerity, hard work and enthusiasm exhibited by him for accomplishing this task will inspire his colleagues, students and admirers. I convey my sincere gratitude to the members of the State Working Committee and State Advisory Committee for their valuable inputs and advice. I will be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the contribution of my friends and colleagues in the State Administration and particularly those at GAA, namely Dr. R. N. Patra, Deputy Director (Studies), Sri Subrat Kuanr, Research Officer and Dr. Rabindra Kumar Swain, Compiler. Finally, despite optimum efforts to plug the obvious limitations and lacunae in the Gazetteer, factual deficiencies, misspellings and grammatical errors would be found. The responsibility for all its shortcomings doubtless remains mine. With an eye to the future, I urge all readers, including thematic experts, young scholars, and luminaries, to offer their valuable suggestions for improving the quality and contents of the document for the next edition with the passage of time. I would like to thank the people of the District of Baleshwar for their contributions over time to the making of the District as we now know it, and commend this document to them and to other stake holders in the State and elsewhere. .

Dr. Taradatt, IAS Chief Editor, Gazetteers & Director General, GAA

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Note from Consulting Editor

We know a great deal about great many things but we very often know very little about things that concern us most - our home, our village, our district, our own little society. It is here that gazetteers can be of great help to us. The British are said to have acquired an empire in this country in a fit of absentmindedness but at the hour of its consolidation they were wide awake and alert. Once the heroic deeds had been done they did something very prosaic indeed yet immensely useful. Good shopkeepers as they were they settled down to take stock of their new acquisition which was a totally unknown entity to them. It was a sort of inventory preparation item by item. They surveyed its myriad aspects in order how best to administer it to their own interest. In the process they produced a genre of literature called gazetteers the concept of which was entirely new in this country. Geographical descriptions of our country are strewn in our ancient and classical literature but these are neither systematic nor comprehensive. Only Abul Fazl's Ain-I-Akbari, compiled during the reign of Akbar, is a crude approximation to a gazetteer. The District Gazetteer is a comprehensive geographical, economic, social and cultural catalogue of the Indian subcontinent catalogued by the British during their conquest of India. Most of the catalogues were compiled initially in the late 19th Century although many have since been reissued or edited in recent times. The original plan for starting the Gazetteer of India was made by Sir William Wilson Hunter in 1869 and its first Edition consisting of nine volumes was published in 1881, while the second and third editions consisting of fourteen volumes were published in 1885-87, and 1893 respectively, all these three editions being edited by Sir W.W. Hunter himself, the original planner. The next three editions have been published in 1908, 1909, 1931 by Oxford University Press. All these editions are now acknowledged as a standard historical reference work for historical research and are available online now. The gazetteers compiled by these foreigners had the purpose to acquaint themselves with an alien land and its people. It was to be a kind of a manual or handbook which the administrators could carry about their person and consult as an aid to their administrative work. And the compilers were the administrators themselves. Not only gazetteers but also many other scholarly works on various aspects of the place of their work and its people were produced by these bureaucrats most of which remain standard works of reference to this day. Such works appear to have been viewed as a mark of distinction in the service and received official encouragement. The v

Secretary of State for India by an order of 12th November, 1885, directed that particulars of "any literary work of a public or official character undertaken by an officer" should be duly noted in the History of Services maintained to record the performances of the officers. Every district and sub- divisional office had a small library of its own where gazetteers and allied literature were easily available. In fact the gazetteer was the field officers' Bible and the government took steps for their wide distribution. The usefulness of the gazetteers cannot be over-emphasized though there are indeed people who may scoff at it. From ancient times the administrative territorial unit called district, was known as ‗Bishaya‘ in the time of Emperor Ashoka, for example, has been the basic unit of administration in this country and a synoptic knowledge about its geography, history, its people and their socio-economic conditions has always been an essential requirement for its successful administration. With the devolution of greater powers of governance, both administrative and financial, to the Panchayat bodies we have to take serious notice of the districts as administrative units not in the older sense – when the common people at long last taking things in their own hands and deciding their own fate. They need information for identification of their needs and aspirations, planning for their realization and for assessment of their achievements and failures. They need facts perhaps to argue their case before the State Finance Commission over allocation of resources, or before the State Election Commission over questions of delimitation. Instances could be multiplied where a gazetteer is an immensely useful manual. The compiler's aim should therefore be to best serve this practical purpose. Regarding the kind of information that should be collected and compiled in a gazetteer, it is generally agreed that it should cover as many aspects of the area as possible within a short compass so as to present a fairly comprehensive picture of that area - its physical aspects, its history, its inhabitants and their social, economic and cultural life etc. In doing so the compiler cannot undertake original research or field survey. He has to depend on the secondary sources i.e., published works of various scholars and authorities, reports of agencies and departments of governments, publications of reputed educational and research institutions and relevant literary works. His motto should be to make the compilation as authoritative as possible having no pretension to originality. Limitations of time and space of course do not allow him to go into great details. For extensive and intensive information on any specific matter the reader will have to consult the scholarly works on the subject.

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Further, the compiler should avoid all controversy and give a succinct account of all the relevant views on the contentious issues. In this respect a gazetteer is also a kind of bibliography for a thorough study of the area. In the collection and presentation of his materials the compiler has to be selective. For, metaphorically speaking, every district has a personality of its own - certain peculiarities which are unique and uncommon - and it should be the endeavor of the compiler to bring out that personality. He however need not sacrifice the uniformity or general plan which is essential to facilitate comparison between districts. Following the general framework, more or less, this Gazetteer consists of information about Geographical, Topographical features such as river systems, Geology, Fauna and Flora such as wild animals and plant species; History, Demographic Patterns such as births and deaths, socio-religious variations such as distinctions of castes, tribes and other communities, religion, rituals, fairs and festivals and language, dress, housing and food habits; major occupations in agriculture, forestry, industry, trade and commerce; education, health care, revenue, administration, law and order, and financial management systems, and major landmarks such as towns and cities, tourism etc. taking the district as a unit. These informations have been organized in nineteen chapters. Surrendering the tall claim of originality and authenticity of information contained in these chapters inspite of our best efforts to collect and compile the data from reliable sources, it is intended to be a handy reference not only for the administration but also for anyone who is interested to know about the past and present of the district. One may find repetition of information among certain chapters because of the fact that they are closely related and so it is justified for contextual relevance. It must however be admitted that what a gazetteer gives is a photograph of the present with reference to the past. In order to see the pictures in detail one has to look for other relevant and reliable sources elsewhere. The work has been both intensive and extensive and acknowledges the contribution of many personalities from different walks of life. A battle has been fought and many soldiers might have not been featured properly, but for their contribution the output would not have been as cherished. We owe gratitude to those unquoted ones without whose contributions this presentation would have been nay impossible.

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At the outset we extend our deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Taradatt, Director General, Gopabandhu Academy of Administration for his courage and sincere effort to take up this zigantic task of bringing out Gazeteer of all 30 districts and making it –possible within the shortest possible time. I must take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to a few who have contributed significantly to the herculean task of editing the drafts, adding supplements, rewriting portions, and above all validating the information through cross checking with authentic sources to make this work presentable. Shri P.K.Das, IAS, Collector and D.M Baleshwar, Sri Sarat Chandra Mohanty, OSD of SCSTRTI deserve a word of appreciation for their relentless and meticulous editing of the drafts with high level of academic precision and research based insights and inputs without which the final presentation would not have been so presentable as it is now.

Prof (Dr) M.N.Kundu And Prof (Dr.) A.B. Ota

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER TOPIC PAGE NO. I GENERAL 1- 34 Origin of the Name of the District - Location, General Boundaries, Area and Population - Topography- Hills - Sea coast - Natural Resources- Geology- Mineral Resources -

Forests- History of Forest Management -Wildlife Census- Fauna and Flora - Fish- Forests and Vegetation- Forest Management- Rights and Concessions - Forest Development II HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT 35 - 72 Pre-History- Mesolithic Culture - Ancient Period- Territorial Extent - Early History - Muslim and Marahata Periods- British Administrative Policies and their Effects: 1828-1900 - Growth of National Consciousness, 1919-1920 - Non-Cooperation Movement- Civil Disobedience Movement - Post Independent Baleshwar III PEOPLE 73 - 123 Population- Density- Rural Population- Urban Population- Resettlement of Migrant population - Sex ratio - Migration - Language- Baleshwari Dialect- Scripts - Religion- Castes- Scheduled Castes- Scheduled Tribes- Social Life- New religious leaders and movements - The place of women in society - Type of Dwellings- Prostitution, drinking and gambling - Dress and Ornaments - Food - Communal Dance - Fairs, Festivals and Recreation- Christian Festivals - Muslim Festivals - Recreation IV AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION 124 - 146 Physiographic and Agro Climatic Conditions- Agro- Climatic Condition and Soil- Nature and Types of Soil and Soil Fertility- Land Utilization Pattern in the District- Smallholder Agriculture- Major Crops - Cereals- Pulses- Oil Seeds - Fibre Crops- Betel vine (Pan)- Area and Yield- Cropping Pattern and Crop Rotation- Crop Diseases, Control Mechanism and Crop Protection- Improvement of Agriculture through State and Central Assistance- Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation- Agriculture Exhibition - Plant Protection- Agricultural Farms- Irrigation- Major, Medium and Minor Irrigation Projects- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services- ix

Fisheries- Cooperatives- Accident Insurance- Marine Fisheries Activities of Baleshwar District- V INDUSTRIES 147 - 167 Old Time Industries- Present Industrial Scenario- District Industries Centre- Large Scale Industries- Medium Scale Industries (Enterprises)- Micro and Small Enterprise- Food and allied Enterprises- Electrical and Electronics- Engineering and Metal Based- Wood and Forest based- Glass and Ceramic based Enterprises- Paper and Paper

product based- Plastic and Rubber based- Textile based- Miscellaneous Manufacturing- Repairing and Servicing based- Industrial Infrastructural- Railways - Road Communication- Transport- Banking Facilities- Power- Technical Man Power Generation Resources - Industrial Associations - New Opportunities VI BANKING, TRADE AND COMMERCE 168 - 175 History- Banking, Trade and Commerce - Nationalized Banks - Private Bank - Self Help

Groups (SHGs)- Trading Centers- Cooperative Department- Weights and Measures- VII TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 176 - 184 Old Time Transport Routes- Roads in Modern Times- National Highways- State Highways- Major District Roads- Other District Roads- Vehicles and Conveyances- Railways - Waterways- Bridges- Radio and Wireless VIII MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS 185 - 192

Introduction - Public Administration- Employees‘ Organisations- Learned Professions- Other

Services- Employment in shops and commercial establishments

IX ECONOMIC TRENDS 193 - 220 Livelihood- District Domestic Product – Composition and Trends - Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure - The General Level of Prices- Pre-Independence Period- Post- Independence Period - Services and Wages- Minimum Wages Act and Wages- Standard of Living- District Rural Development Agency - District Employment Exchange- Placement Linked Training Programme- Job Fair

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X GENERAL ADMINISTRATION 221 - 227 General Administration, Baleshwar Sub-Division, Baleshwar Tahasil, Tahasil, Simulia Tahasil, Basta Tahasil, Bahanaga Tahasil, Jaleshwar Tahasil,Khaira Tahasil ,Bhograi Tahasil, Baliapal Tahasil, Sub-Division, Nilagiri Tahasil, Oupada Tahasil, Appendix-1 Offices Located in Baleshwar XI REVENUE ADMINISTRATION 228 - 283 Early Revenue Administration - Hindu Administration - Moughal Administration - Marahata Administration - British Administration - Settlement of 1837-45 - Settlement of 1889-1899 (Provincial settlement) - Revision Settlement (1906-1912) - Dalziel Settlement (1922-1932) - Settlement in ex-state areas of Nilagiri - Land Tenures - Proprietors - Revenue-Free Estates (lakharaj Bahal lands) - Sub-proprietors and tenure -holders - Bajyaptidars - Other Tenants - Raiyats - Chandandars - Jagirdars - Under- raiyats - Lands of other statuses - Land tenure in Nilagiri ex-state - Revenue and Rent settlement in the past - Extension of Cultivation - Landlord - Tenant Relationship- Land Reforms- Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951 - Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 - Bhoodan- Waste Land Settlement- Encroachments - Survey and Settlement - 2nd Round of Survey and Settlement Operation- Consolidation of Holdings- Agricultural Census- Mutation- Rent / Cess / Nistar Cess - Modernization of Land Records:- Revenue Organisation XII LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE 284 - 308 Incidence of Crime - Police - History of PoIice Organisation - Ordinary Reserve - Armed Reserve- Court Staff- Home Guard - Wireless- Intelligence Staff- Railway Police- Fire Services- Village Police- Jails- Health Service: The Jail Medical- WelfareService- Jail Workshop-

Education in Jail- Reformation in Jail - Board of Visitors- Atomosphare of the Jail - Entertainment Facilities- District Probation Office- District After- Care Shelter, Baleshwar- Separation of Judiciary from the Executive - Criminal - Civil - Bar Association XIII LOCAL SELF –GOVERNMENT 309 - 324 History of Local Self-Government in the District - District Board- Local Boards - Village Chowkidari System- Municipality and Notified Area Council- Finance and Funding - Roads and Drains xi

Statistics - Street Lighting - Parks and Auditorium - Water Supply- General Election - Source of Income - Public Roads - Beautification- Water Supply - Town Planning - Zilla Parishad- Administrative composition- Panchayat Samitis - Grama Panchayats XIV EDUCATION AND CULTURE 325 - 356 Historical Background- Education in Baleshwar- Beginning of Western Education- Literacy- Spread of Education among Women- Spread of Education among Backward Classes and Tribes- General Education- Madrasa- Middle English Schools- High English Schools- Sanskrit School and College- Colleges and University - Fine Art- Dance, Music and Drama- Culture - Cultural and Literary Organisations- Library- Poets and Writers- Writers of Pre-independence Period - Modern Writers - Old and Important Institutions XV MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 357 - 386 - Medical- Climate - Survey of Public Health and Medical Facilities in Early Times- Vital Statistics - Diseases common to the district- Public Hospitals and Dispensaries- District Headquarters Hospital, Baleshwar - Sub-divisional Hospital, Nilagiri- Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes - Vincent Hospital, Baleshwar - Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Institutions - Ayurvedic Institutions - Homeopathic Institutions - Public Health- Activities of Health and Sanitary Organisations - National Malaria Eradication Programme- National Filaria Control Programme (NFCP)- Anti-Leprosy Measures- Family Welfare - Immunisation Programme - Nutrition Programme- Drugs Control - Veneral Disease - Health Education - School Health Service - Water Supply - PC and PNDT Act- Blood Bank, DHH, Baleshwar- Jan Aushadhi XVI OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES 387 - 398 Labour Welfare- Organization set-up- Settlement of Disputes- Trade Unions - Minimum Wages Act- New Horizon of Social Security Measures - Housing Scheme - Provident Fund - Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - Educational Advancement - Economic upliftment - Miscellaneous Welfare Measures - Old Age Pension- Widow Pension- Freedom Fighters Pension- Charitable Endowments XVII GENERAL ELECTION 399 - 418 General Election: 1989 Onwards, 10th General Election to Vidhan Sabha 1990,10th Lok Sabha Election 1991,11th General Election to State xii

Assembly ,11th Lok Sabha Election 1996, 12TH Lok Sabha Election 1998,13th Lok Sabha Election 1999,12th General Election to Vidhan Sabha 2004,14th Lok Sabha General Election 2004, 13th General Election to State Legislative Assembly 2004,15th Lok Sabha Election 2009,14th General Election to Legislative Assembly, 2009, 16th General Election to Lok Sabha, 2014, 15th General Election to Odisha Legislative Assembly Poll-2014 XVIII NATURAL DISASTERS 419 - 436 Cyclones - History of major cyclones and storms- Famines - Disaster Resilient infrastructures in District- Vulnerability of district- Drawing

and Design of shelter buildings- Use of the shelter buildings- Features and facilities available in the MCS and MFS buildings XIXI PLACE OF INTEREST 437 - 459 Abhana, Ayodhya,Badagan, Balaramgadi, Baleshwar, Baliapal, Bardhanpur, Basta, Bhusendeswar, Chandaneswar, Chandipur, Chasakhanda, Chowmukh-Dagara, Gandibed, Garapada, Gud, Huguli, Inchudi, Jaleshwar, Jayarampur, Kasiari, Kasaphal, Kuldiha, Kumbhirgari, Kupari, Manikchak, Markona,

Nangaleswar, Nilagiri, Orangi, Panchalingeswar, Pipili, Raibania, Remuna, Sajanagada, Sergarh, Soro,Tasari, Tipisagaida, Tudigadia, Tundara, Appendix-I , Table of Tourist Centres in Baleshwar identified by The Dept. of Tourism, Odisha, Appendix –II, Place wise Hotel Positions in Baleshwar -2015

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Abbreviations

ADM Additional District Magistrate AI Artificial Insemination AICC All India Congress Committee AIIMS All India Institute of Medical Science APPTC Advanced Plastics Processing Technology Centre AYUSH Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy BCIC Baleshwar Chamber of Industries and Commerce BFDA Brackish water Farmers Development Agency BJP Bharatiya Janata Party BKKY Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana BNR Bengal Nagpur Railway BPL Below Poverty Line BPP Bachelor in Preparatory Programme BRPP Bharatiya Republican Prakasha Party BSP Bahujan Samaj Party CCA Cultivable Comand Area CDM Certificate in Disaster Management CDMO Chief District Medical Officer CHC Community Health Centre CHR Certificate in Human Rights CIPET Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology CMRF Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund CPI Consumer Price Index CPI Communist Party of India CVR Classified Village Roads CWS Current Weekly Status DDP District Domestic Product DEIC District Early Intervention Centres DIC District Industries Centre DILRMP Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme DRDA District Rural Development Agency DRI Differential Rate of Interest DSSIA District Small Scale Industries Association EDP Electronic Data Processing EMI Employment Market Information EPM Export Promotion and Marketing FFDA Fish Farmers Development Agency FTP File Transfer Protocol GDDP Gross District Domestic Product GGY Gopabandhu Gramina Yojana GKS Gaon Kalyan Samiti GP Gram Panchayat HDPE High-density Polyethylene HFL High Flood Level HMIS Health Management Information System xiv

HTL High Tide Line IAY Indira Awaas Yojana ICICI Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India IDSP Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University IIUS Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme INC Indian National Congress IND Independent IRBM Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ITC Industrial Training Centre ITI Industrial Training Institute ITR Interim Test Range JD Janata Dal JFMWC Joint Forest Management Working Circle JMM Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JP Janata Party JSSK Janani Sishu Surakhya Karyakram KVK Krushi Vigyan Kendra LAMPCS Large Sized Agricultural Multipurpose Cooperative Societies LFPR Labour Force Participation Rate LFPR Labour Force Participation Rate MCS Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters MDR Major District Roads MDT Multi Drug Therapy MFP Minor Former Produce MFS Multipurpose Flood Shelter MGNREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme MLA Member of Legislative Assembly MPCE Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure MRP Mixed Recall Period MSME Micro Small and Medium Enterprises MSO Master in Sociology MUY Matsyajibi Unnayana Yojana NAC Notified Area Council NCP Nationalist Congress Party NCRMP National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project NCVT National Council of Vocational Training NDDP Net District Domestic Product NESU Northern Electricity Supply Utility NFCP National Filaria Control Programme NFDB National Fisheries Developement Board NH National Highways NIC National Informatics Centre NLEP National Leprosy Eradication Programme NMPS National Mission for Protein Supplements NOC No Objection Certificate NOCCI North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industries NPCB National Programme for Control of Blindness xv

NPOF National Project on Fertilizer NRC Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre NRHM National Rural Health Mission NRLM National Rural Livelihood Mission NSDP Net State Domestic Project NSIC National Small Industries Corporation NTFPWC Non-Timber Forest Produce Working Circle NUHM National Urban Health Mission NVBDCP National Vector Borve Disease Control Programme NVBDCP National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme OAS Odisha Administrative Service OCTMP Odisha Community Tank Management Project ODR Other District Roads OLM Odisha Livelihood Mission OMCAD Odisha Maritime and Chilika Area Development Corporation Ltd. OSEM Odisha State Employment Mission OSFC Odisha State Financial Corporation OSIC Odisha Small Industries Corporation OSTF Odisha State Treatment Fund OSWAN Odisha State Wide Area Network OUAT Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology OULM Odisha Urban Livelihood Mission PACS Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies PFCS Primary Fishermen‘ Cooperative Society PGDCJ Post Graduate Diploma in Criminal Justice PIM Participatory Irrigation Management PLTP Placement Linked Training Programme PMJDY Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana PP Pani Panchayat PPP Public Private Partnership PRF Proposed Reserved Forest PSC Pre Stressed Concrete PWO Prison Welfare Officer RBSK Rastriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram RBSK Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram RCMS Regional Cooperative Marketing Societies RF Reserved Forest RJD Rastriya Janata Dal RKS Rogi Kalyan Samiti RMNCH+A Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health RNTCP Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme RSBY Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojana RWC Rehabilitation Working Circle RR&R Repair, Renovation and Restoration SBI State Bank of India SC Scheduled Caste SDH Sub-Divisional Hospital xvi

SDPO Sub-Divisional Project Officer SH State Highways SHGs Self Help Groups SIB Students Information Bureau SIDA Swedish International Development Authority SLBC State Level Banking Committee SNCU Special New Born Care Unit SP Superintendent of Police ST Scheduled Tribe STA Soil Testing Laboratory TISCO Tata Iron and Steel Company TPA Tonnes Per Annum ULB Urban Local Bodies UPVC/PVC Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride UR Unemployment Rate URP Uniform Recall Period VAWs Village Agricultural Workers VF Village Forests VHF Very High Frequency VPN Virtual Private Network WLMWC Wildlife Management Working Circle WPR Workforce Participation Rate WUA Water User Association

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CHAPTER – I GENERAL

Introduction Origin of the Name of the District Baleshwar, the extreme north-eastern border district of the state of Odisha, is said to be named after Lord Baneswar, the presiding deity of a Siva temple in old Baleshwar. The principal town, which is also the administrative headquarters of the district, bears the same name Baleshwar. It is said that ‗Baleshar‘ the spelling of which is ‗Bala-e-sore‘ is a Persian word meaning ‗a town on the sea-shore‘. Those who support this view argue that Baleshwar, before unknown, came into prominence during the moughal empire. Location, General Boundaries, Area and Population The district is situated between 21° 03‘ 41‘‘ and 21°58‘43‖ N Latitude and 86° 21‘19‖ and 87°29'18‖ E. longitude. It is bounded on the north by the Midnapore district of West Bengal, on the east by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Bhadrak district which was separated from it in the year 1993 and on the west by Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts. It extends over an area of about 3806 sq. km. and ranks 30th, the smallest among the districts of Odisha in size. The district consists of a long strip of alluvial land between the hills and the sea excluding the plains of Nilagiri Sub-Division. It looks somewhat like an hour-glass in shape, very narrow in the centre, but growing broader towards the north and south. This tract varies in breadth from about 48.30 km. at the north-eastern extremity to a little more than 16.10 km. at the centre and 64.40 km, in the south. The district, hemmed in by a surf-beaten coast on one side and a barrier of hills on the other, comprises four belts extending from north to south in lines roughly parallel to the coast and rising slowly as they recede from it. The first is a narrow maritime strip of land in many places impregnated with salt and unfit for cultivation which has been formed by the silt-laden rivers debouching from the hills and the sand-burdened currents of the bay. The second is the delta proper, an alluvial plain thickly inhabited and covered with great stretches of rice fields which constitutes the greater part of the district. The third belt consists of the undulating tract which gradually ascends into the wooded glens and the fourth division comprises the mountainous tract of Nilagiri Sub-Division. The headquarters town Baleshwar stands almost in the centre.

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The population of the district was 2,024,508 as per 2001 Census comprising 1,036,511 males and 987,997 females. The population of the district is 2.320.529 persons as per the Census of 2011consisting of 1,185.787 males and 1,134.742 females. History of the district as an administrative unit and changes in its parts Baleshwar was administered from Cuttack from 1805 to 1821 and had no separate Revenue Officer. A Joint Magistrate was stationed at Baleshwar as the deputy of the Magistrate of Cuttack. In 1827, an independent Collectorate for Baleshwarwas constituted and in the subsequent year Jajpur and Bhadrak were attached to it. Jajpur was again transferred to Cuttack subsequently. On the north of the district, a perplexing series of transfers and retransfers of fiscal divisions went on for a long time between Baleshwar and Midnapore. The district finally acquired a definite shape in 1870 when the northern boundary was defined and the Baitarani and Dhamra were made its southern limits. The following changes have occurred to the district boundary after 1870. (1) The area remained a French territory till 1947. A more elaborate account of this territory is given by D. H. Kingsford in the Final Report of the Provincial Settlement. The area of the lodge was held to be 18.5 hectares (45 acres) by Dalziel in his Final Report on the Revision Settlement of Odissa. This area, consisting of a population of 264 persons, was released from French possession and annexed to Baleshwar police-station in 1947. (2) The administration of the ex-state of Nilagiri belonging to the Eastern States Agency was taken over on the 14th November, 1947· It was the first tributary state in the country whose administration was taken over by the Government of Odisha on behalf of the Government of India. It formally merged with Odisha on the 1st January, 1948 and was constituted into a regular Sub-Division of the district on the 15th December 1949. (3) About 37 villages having an area of 19·84 sq. km. (12.32 sq. miles) and a population of 5,936 belonging to Olmara police-station and 4 villages of Parganas Narangabad with an area of 1·1 sq. km. (0.68 sq. mile) and a population of 174 forming part of the Mayurbhanj distric were added to Baleshwar on the 15th December 1949. (4) The village Tillo belonging to Kendujhar district having an area of 7.51 sq. km. was added to the district on the 15th December 1949 and on the same date a number of villages of Killa Ambo with an area of 9·06 sq. km. were transferred from Baleshwar district to Kendujhar district.

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Thereafter, there has been no change in the boundary of the district, though minor changes have occurred in its component parts. Two police- stations namely Sergarh and Raibania have been formed by carving out portions from Baleshwar Sadar and Jaleshwar police-stations respectively. For administrative convenience and better governance Bhadrak Sub-Division was separated from Baleshwar district on 3rd April 1993 as an independent disdtrict. Baleshwar district as we see now has two Sub-Divisions namely Baleshwar and Nilagiri. Sub-Divisions, Tahasils and PoliceStations As indicated above, the district has two sub-divisions. It has twelve tahasils and twenty-six policestations. The names of Sub-Divisions, Tahasils and Police Stations are presented in the following table.

Sub-Division Tahasil Police-station Baleshwar Bhograi 1. Bhograi Jaleshwar 2. Kamarda 3. Jaleshwar 4. Raibania Basta 5. Basta Baliapal 6. Rupsa 7. Baliapal 8. Singla 9. Marine Bahabalpur Baleshwar 10. Baleshwar Town 11. Sahadevkhunta 12. Baleshwar Sadar 13. Industrial Area 14. Khantapada 15. Chandipur 16. Marine Balaramgadi Remuna 17. Remuna Bahanaga 18. Soro Soro Simulia 19. Simulia Khaira 20.Khaira

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Nilagiri Nilagiri 21.Nilagiri Oupada 22.Berhampur 23. Oupada 24. Marine PS, Bahabalpur 25. Marine PS, Talasari 26. Traffic PS, Baleshwar

Baleshwar Sub-Division has ten Tahasils viz., Baleshwar, Remuna, Jaleshwar, Bhograi, Soro, Basta, Khaira, Simulia, Baliapal and Bahanaga. Nilagiri Sub-Division has two Tahasils namely, Nilagiri and Oupada. The district has four towns of which three are Municipalities such as, Baleshwar, Soro and Jaleshwar and one is a Notified Area Council i.e. Nilagiri. As per the notification of Governement dated 24.02.2014 both Soro and Jaleshwar NACs have been declared as municipality. The area, population and classification of these towns are given in the following table:

Name of the town Classification Population Area in Sq Km. 1. Jaleshwar Municipality 16,790 17.6 2. Baleshwar Municipality 86116 19.4 3. Soro Municipality 22,726 23·6 4. Nilagiri N. A. C. 12,800 20.4

Topography The district may be broadly divided into three distinct natural divisions (1) Littoral saline tract, (2) Arable alluvial tract and (3) Montane and Sub- montane tract. (1) Littoral saline tract: This tract runs almost the entire way down the coast and forms a very narrow strip, varying in breadth from 3.22 km. to 9.66 km. and rising at places into sandy ridges covered with a vegetation of low scrub jungle. Sluggish brackish streams creep along between banks of fetid black mud. The tract is purely alluvial and has a distinctly saline taste. Further inland, the plain which once spread out into prairies of coarse long grass and scrub jungle providing ideal pasture lands for the cattle herds has now been greatly reclaimed by the cultivators, many from outside the state. Today only a few small narrow patches of grass lands lie scattered in this region. It is primarily a fertile alluvial zone and the contiguous inland comprises the major part of the district. (2) Arable alluvial tract: The arable tract lies beyond the salt lands and embraces the rest of the district but for the whole sub-montane tract which lies to the west of the district. lt is a long dead level of rice fields with a soil light in colour, friable and apt to split up into small cubes with 4

a rectangular cleavage. It is a treeless region except around the villages which are encircled by fine mango, pipal, banyan, bamboo and tamarind trees. A common feature of this tract is the Patas literally the cups or depressed lands near the river banks. These lands bear the finest crops. (3) Sub-montane tract: The sub-montane tract is an undulating country with a red soil much broken up into ravines along the foot of the hills. Masses of laterite buried in hard ferruginous clay crops up as rocks or slabs. At Kupari in Baleshwar Sub-Division about 3.22 km.long stretch of land are almost paved with such slabs dark red in colour perfectly flat and polished like plates of iron. Black stone and granite quarry also lie in the hills close to Nilagiri. Large tracts are covered with Sal forests, mostly under trees. Near the hills there are patches of cultivated lands with fertile soil on account of the rich humus content brought down by the mountain torrents. To the south of Nilagiri, a range of hills forms part of the Eastern Ghats and runs north-west towards Darkhuli and then towards south-west and running up to the border of Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar becoming a continuous part of the hill ranges of these two districts. Hills All the mountain ranges in the district lie within the Nilagiri Sub-Division. To the north of the Nilagiri town a few hills rise to a height of more than 304.80 meters above MSL. Few important peaks that may be mentioned are Machhua Pahad (299·62 m.), Dhobasila Pahad (438·30 m.), and Swarnachuda (544.37m.). The nature of vegetation is open mixed forests consisting of Sal, Piasal, Asan, Bamboo, etc. To the south and west of Nilagiri lies a continuous range of hills with open Sal and Bamboo forests. These hills rising from the plains reach a height of 304.80 meters and above MSL. The main peaks are Sunchut Parbat (453.54 m.), Katillia Parbat (494.69 m.), Debagiri Pahad (682.45 m.), Jhanuadi Pahad (626.97 m.), Bamanihuli Pahad (682.45 m.) and Jugjuri Pahad (408.13 m.). Sea coast The district has a coastline of 136·85 km. through which several great rivers make their way to the sea. In the words of William Hunter ―an eternal war goes on between the rivers and the sea, the former struggling to find vent for their columns of water and the latter repelling them with its sand laden currents‖. These forces counteract each other and the sea deposits bar outside the river mouth, while the river pushes out its delta to right and

5 left inside. These rivers consequently silt up at the mouth and though they are generally of sufficient depth each is blocked up by a bar of sand or mud, which prevents entrance of large sea-going vessels except at tide time. Silt, the common enemy of waterways in Odisha has been fatal to the prosperity of almost every port in the district. In the year 1871 there were five ports in the district, Subarnarekha, Saratha, Chanuya, Baleshwar and Laichanpur. Some of these ports were, however, very insignificant. Saratha and Chanuya were merely demarcated portions of the rivers known by these names, deep slimy and it was the most difficult land owing to the soft muddy banks. Laichanpur, located 37.03 km. south of Baleshwar and Churamani, located 9.66 km. further on, were also parts of two nullahs, the mouths of which were so nearly closed that to steer a small jolly boat into them and out to sea again required careful watching of the tide as they were completely concealed by a dense fringe of jungle. Churamani, was however, once considered the safest and the most convenient port on the coast of Odisha, largely owing to the facilities afforded by the extraordinarily soft and yielding nature of the mud bottom of the river. The rice sloops penetrated near the coast as high water would allow them to push their way, and the receding tide left the greater part of their hulls resting securely on a soft cushion of mud. In the advent of a dangerous storm, the safest plan was to run the ship straight into the bay of Churamani, where the thick half liquid mass of mud in solution counteracted the violence of the winds and waves. Owing to the silting up of the river mouths, the construction of the Coast Canal, and the abandonment of the old salt manufacture, many of these ports have now ceased to exist, while the position of others has been changed. A few centuries ago the Subarnarekha was a noble estuary which was admirably suited for a harbour and was consequently one of the first places to attract European mercantile enterprise. Here at the close of the 16th century thePortuguese established themselves at Pipili and the harbour was also the rendezvous of the Arakanese pirates; and later the English appear to have made a settlement there. But the Subarnarekha was the first to silt up. By the beginning of the 18th century A.D. the silting up of its mouth had ruined Pipili, and the settlement was abandoned. The place lingered on as a ruined and silt-locked place till the early years of the 19th century, but no trace of it now remains. The Subarnarekha port, once most important in the district, is in virtual disuse except that fishing boats still anchor here. The sands stretching across its mouth are almost bare at low water but beyond the bar there is a magnificent deep channel. It is, however, quite unsafe during the south-west monsoon; it presents a deadly shore with breakers right across the mouth.

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Further down the coast is the estuary of the Burhabalanga river. The port consisted of a portion of the river fronting the town of Baleshwar and was about 1·2 km. in length. The river goes along a sinuous course till it joins the sea. A project undertaken in 1863 to make the course of the river short was later abandoned. Natural Resources The main natural resources of the district comprise the rivers, the forests and geology. Water Resources: The River System Main rivers and distributaries The district has six distinct river systems. Proceeding from north to south, these principal rivers are the Subarnarekha, the Panchpara, the Burhabalanga, the Jalaka and the Kansbans. During the hot weather the upper channels of these rivers dwindle to insignificant streams dotted here and there with stagnant pools but in the rainy season they bring down an enormous mass of water from the hills from which they take their rise. They drain a large area and the rapidity of the current acquired while running through the mountains sweeps down a vast quantity of silt in suspension. As soon as the rivers leave the broken hilly region for the level delta, their current is checked causing sand deposit on beds. By degrees, therefore, the channel becomes shallower, the beds are raised, and the rivers flow at a level higher than the surrounding country. The rivers and their various channels consequently become less and less able to carry off the water supply to the sea and frequently prove inadequate to furnish an outlet for the volume of water with which they are charged during the rainy season. The result is that through the cold and hot weathers they are small streams winding through long expanses of sand.But during rainey season they are formidable torrents which often overflow their banks and flood the land far and wide. These rivers are scarcely navigable as they dry up during the summer.The following is a brief description of each of these principal rivers with their most important tributaries and offshoots. Subarnarekha The name Subarnarekha means a streak of gold. While some believe that the river is named so because of the fertle soil on its banks,others trace the origin of the name to the particles of gold occasionally found in its sandy bed.The Subarnarekha takes its rise 16.10 km. south-west of Ranchi in the Chota Nagpur plateau. It flows towards the north-east, leaving the main plateau in a picturesque waterfall and then forms the boundary with Hazaribag, its course being east-wards to the trijunction point with the Manbhum district. From this point the river veers southwards into

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Singhbhum, thenpasses through the district of Mayurbhanj and enters Midnapore from the north-west. It traverses the jungle in the western part of the district till it reaches Baleshwar, through which it flows for 96.60 km., in a tortuous southern course with great windings east and west until it finally discharges into the Bay of Bengal, after a course of 536.56 km., during which it drains an area of 29,267 sq. km. The river banks are high and steep on the outer curve of the bends against which the water cuts and flat or sloping on the inner. It has no tributaries within the district except a small stream, the Guchida which joins it at Bhograi and another Khaljori Nala which joins it near Paschimbad. The land along the banks is cultivated upto a few kilo metres of the sea, where it enters the saline tract. The Subarnarekha is nowhere fordable within the district during the rainy season. The river carried the early European trade in the province from and to the port of Pipili, which was occupied by the Portuguese till the end of the 16th century. The silting up of the mouth of Subarnarekha during the 17th century led to the decline of the port of which no vestige now remains. The river is still however, navigable by country crafts as far as Kalikapura, about 25.76 km. from its mouth, up to which point it is tidal, 40.25 km. further up it is spanned by the railway bridge and the Odisha Trunk Road at Rajghat. Haskura It rises as a stream in the hills of Mayurbhanj and flowing across the bridge on the old Grand Trunk Road, below Rajghat passes south over the Basta-Baliapal Road to Tepabulang, where it communicates through an inlet with the Coast Canal. At least two channels drain the flood waters of the Subarnarekha into this river. Between the Coast CanaI and the sea, the river branches off into a network of some of the channels connecting Saratha to the south. This stream contains very little water during the summer months, but has been known to cause considerable damage during rainy season, when it carries a great volume of the Subarnarekha flood. Saratha In its upper reaches, it is known by names of its tributaries like Jamira, Baura, Surud, Maharti and Gulpha. After forming the boundary line between Baleshwar and Mayurbhanj districts for some distance, it is bridged by the railway a few kilometres south of Basta railway station. A little beyond this, it passes under the old Grand Trunk Road and then takes a course almost parallel to that of Haskura forming two large loops on the way. At the second loop it crosses the Odisha Coast Canal and gets interland through tiny channels with Haskura to its north and Panchpara to its south. It then falls into the sea at the mouth of the Panchpara. It is tidal as far as the Coast Canal, 16.10 km. from the sea.

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Jalaka The Jalaka takes its rise from a spring in Sunaposi under Suliapada police-station in the district of Mayurbhanj, where it is named as Jambhira. It has three tributaries, namely, Bauranala, Mahantinala and Gulphanala. It turns into a turbulent river and ravages mainly the areas coming under Morada and Rasgobindpur police station limits during floods. The river then enters into the district of Baleshwar near Basta where it is known as Jalaka. Generally, it inundates eight Grama Panchayats in this district, viz., Baharda, Sadanandpur, Brahmanda, Rautapada, Srirampur, Sahada, Mukulasi and Mathani covering the areas of Basta and Singla police stations. Joined by the Pejagala Nala, it meets the river Panchpara and then flows down to the Bay of Bengal. The river is only 85 kilometers long. About 10 kilometers of the river is navigable largely due to tidal waters. Normally it does not change its course, but swells in case of heavy rains in the catchment area. Panchpara The intermediate land between this river and the Jamira after the former crosses the railway line is drained by a series of channels and also by a cut from the Saratha. The river has its origin in Mayurbhanj district. Uniting with Bhairingi and a few other small tributaries, it enters into Baleshwar district a few kilometers to the west of the railway line. The Panchapara then winds its course into the sea. The tide runs up only 16.10 km. and the interlacings of these streams constantly spread out into shallow swamps. Panchpara literally means five hamlets that were there on its banks once upon a time. Burhabalanga The river arises from the hills of Mayurbhanj and flows for its greater length within this district. After receiving a number of important tributaries like Madhabi, Gangahor and Sone it winds its way into the sea near Chandipur after a course of 56.35 k.m. through the district. In the upper part of its course the banks are sandy, steep and cultivated, in the lower part they are of firm mud covered to high water mark with black ooze and surrounded by jungle or open grassy plains. It is tidal and sloops and small steamers could navigate its tortuous course as far as the town of Baleshwar but the sand bar across the mouth of the river, has rendered the entrance difficult. It is liable to floods but the area exposed to inundation, which lies to the north and north-west of the town, is not large. It is known to have changed its course, at places, considerably during the past decades. From the sea the distance to Baleshwar along this river is 28.98 Km. Considerable fishing activities through gill-net, trawlers, etc., is carried out at its mouth at Balaramgadi. This

9 has helped building up of fishing infrastructure like a fishing jetty, ice and cold storage plants and hotels, both in public and private sectors. Jamka On the south of the Burhabalanga a network of rivers, known as the Jamka find their way down from the Nilagiri hills and enter the sea passing through many channels along the coast of the Dasmalong pargana. There is little or no navigation, as their mouths have been closed up by the construction of the Coast Canal. Jamka, has a sluice built about a mile (1.6 km.) from its mouth. Paga To the south of Burhabalanga is the Paga, a 16.10 km. long small stream. The name is said to be a corruption of Prayag, the old name of the village near which it rises. Nembu The Nembu or Kantiachera rises in the Nilagiri hills and runs a course of 24·15 km. in the district. The name literally means lemon, said to have been derived from the lemon groves which formerly used to fringe its banks. It forms along with Sapua a network before it joins the sea. Kansbans Its origin is traced from a jungle of Kans grass and bamboos amid which it rises. It runs in a south-east direction, at first almost parallel to the Nilagiri hills and receives from them a number of nameless streams on its northern bank. After passing under the bridge on the National Highway a few kilometers to the south of Soro, it bifurcates at Birpara, the northern branch retaining its original name and flowing into the sea 48·30 km. from the point where it enters the district. Gamai The southern branch of the Kansbans receives the name of Gamai and falls into the sea 9·66 km. south of the latter. Due to the Coast Canal, the river has been silted up with its passage to the sea almost closed. About 4·83 km. from its mouth is situated the old port of Chudamani, once an important centre of export trade but now an insignificant village. Gamai is liable to heavy floods but a great part of its flood water runs south-westward along the old Churamani or Ricketts Canal into the Matai which drains the country east of Bhadrak.

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Geology Antiquity The geology of the district exhibits a limited number of rock types met within the north-western hilly tract of the district. The vast coastal tract in the South-east portion is devoid of rocks. The various formations exposed in the district of Baleshwar belong to Archaean, middle proterozoic, pleistocene and recent groups. The unclassified gneisses exposed in the north-western part of the district are probably oldest and acted as basement. The iron-ore group rocks are not seen in the district. Granites, peridotites Anorthoslite-gabbro-granophyre complex and dolerites were later intruded into the unclassified gneiss during middle proterozoic time. This probably took place during the last phase of iron-ore orogeny. The intrusive phase was followed by formation of laterite during pleistocene period and finally by alluvium during recent period. From the available data the tentative stratigraphic sequence of the district is as follows: Recent Alluvium Pleistocene Laterite Dolerite dykes Anorthosite Middle Proterozoic Epidiorite (gabbro) Granophyre complex Enstatite peridotite Archaean Unclassified gnesisses Singhbhum granite The distribution and description of individual rock units are as follows: Unclassified Gneisses These are exposed in the western part of Baleshwar bordering Mayurbhanj district. Generally two types of gneiss are present in the district. These are (1) fine grained grey gneiss and (2) coarse grained gneiss. The fine grained variety forms a featureless country which is usually flat or undulating and is generally covered by thick soil mantles and is used as paddy fields. The rock is usually biotiterech. The coarse type forms bare hill masses and contains xenoliths of grey gneisses. At places augens are seen to have been developed within the coarser gneiss. They are seen in the Nilagiri hills.

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Granite These rocks are mostly intrusive into unclassified granite gneiss and are mostly hornblende granite type. The granophyre gradually grades into the granite with an increase in grain size. Hornblende granite consists of quartz, microcline, perthite and albite-oligoclase with hornblende, sphene, biotite and apatite as accessories. Enstatite Peridotites A band of enstatite peridotite, about one and a half kilometers long and 800 m. wide, has been noted. The junction between these rocks and hornblende granite is sheared and covered by talc-chlorite schists. Small bands of enstatite peridotite in the hornblends granite which are almost altered into steatite are traced on the flat tops and gentle slopes in certain areas. These patches are in various stages of alternation into chlorite- serpentine and talc bearing rocks. Anthophyllite asbestos is also seen developing at places. There are several patches of enstatite peridotite in the biotite gneiss which have all altered into schists. Chromite Directorate of Mining and Geology have discovered two small lodes of chromite around Bhalukasuni in Nilagiri Sub-Division within the ultra basics. The chromite bodies are concealed and occur in cultivated land below a soil cover ranging from 0.5 m. to as much as 14 m. The chromite deposit at Bhalukasuni occur as pediform and in association with peridotite and serpentinsed dunite. Chromite float is also noticed in the plains on either side of the magnetite deposits near Rangamatia in association with small ultra basic bodies. The float chromite of the Rangamatia area is found to be of high grade. Vanadiferrous magnetite Vanadiferrous magnetite has been discovered around Rangamatia and Betel in Nilagiri Sub-Division. The deposit at Rangamatia occurs as two small pockets. The magnetite is massive, crystalline and greyish black in colour. The other magnetite deposit at Betel constitutes three small lodes. The lodes are found on the eastern flank of Jhatikasuni, western flank of Daliasuni hillock and south-east of Dohihutlia hillock lying to the eastern side of the road leading Gadasahi. This deposit is located south of Nilagiri-Udala read about 18 km. from Saleshwar. The ore is hard and massive.

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Epidiorite (gabbro) The rock is essentially composed of plagioclase and hornblande, both minerals showing slight alongation. At the junction between granite and epidiorite the latter is highly sheared and schistose. Granophyre Granophyres forms the entire hill masses. Towards the contact with epidiorite and biotite gneiss, the granophyre is banded and fine grained. Along the epidiorite granophyre junction, the granophyre includes several patches of epldiorite. The granophyres are generally riebeckite consisting essentially of phenocrysts showing granophyric intergrowth of quartz and felspar in a fine grained ground mass. The banded granophyre contains flakes of biotite in addition to the above minerals. Younger Dolerites Dykes of dolerite belonging to the Singhbhum newer dolerite sequence are found on almost all the linear ridge tops in the northern and northwestern parts of toposheet 73 K/11. They are flanked on either side by biotite granite gneiss. The dolerites in the area show subophitic texture and consist of labradorite and titan augite. The augite shows twinning and is partially altered into hornblende. Augite also alters to sphene leucoxene and chlorite. Most of the plagioclasse is fresh. At places it alters into zoisite. Laterite Laterites are seen to have been developed over biotite gneiss and granites, and are also locally found. Mineral Resources The district is practically devoid of any important mineral deposit. However, some of the minerals worth mention are as follows : Road and building materials: Granitic gneiss and basic rocks around the Nilagiri town and Machhana are quarried for use as road metal and ballast. Kankar suitable for lime burning occurs extensively around Jamuna and Rangamatia. Steatite/Soapstone: Potstone occurring at Mahamuhan is worked in a small way. The old workings on the hills here illustrate the extent of mining in the past. A kind of magnesian rock, intermediate in composition between potstone and serpentine, approaching the former in appearance but less greasy in lustre, occurs with gneiss to the south of Nilagiri and near Santragodia and Goojaduha. Small deposits of talc occur near Rangamatia Pahar. 13

Clay: Highly decomposed gneisses giving rise to white plastic, gritty clay are seen to the north of Arabandha. The deposit is extensive but the clay content is only about ten per cent. To the north of Gardihi a 2-3 m. thick white clay deposit occurs beneath a laterite capping. The clay is banded in appearance and is slightly gritty. Monazite: Occurrence of monazite is reported from the sea sand in the coastal area of the district. Forests Baleshwar Wildlife Division came into being during the period of re- organization of Forest Department w.e.f. 01.10.2003 1 , having been separated from erstwhile Baripada Forest Division. Geographically the division boundary is coterminous with that of Baleshwar District. Baleshwar Wildlife Division: Baleshwar Wildlife Division is bounded by the district Midnapur (West Bengal) on the North-east, Bay of Bengal on the South and South-east, Bhadrak district in the South and South-West and Mayurbhanj district in the West and North-west. There are five Ranges under Baleshwar Wildlife Division. The total geographical area of this Division is 3806 Sq. Km. including 441.303 Sq. Km. of forest. Baleshwar Wildlife Division is covered fully or parltially under Toposheets such as, 73 K/7, 73 K/8, 73 K/10, 73 K/11, 73 K/12, 73 K/14, 73 K/15, 73 K/16, 73 O/1, 73 O/2, 73 O/3, 73 O/5 and 73 O/6.

Sl. Category of No. of Area in Sq. % to total % to geographical Area of No. Forest blocks or Km. Forest Area the division patch of the division 1. Reserved 9 205.70 46.61% 5.40 % Forest (RF) 2. Proposed 13 21.53 4.88 % 0.08% Reserved Forest (P.R.F.) 3. Un-classed 0.193 0.03% 0.005 % forest

4. Village Forest 50 3.21 0.04 % 0.03 % (under Section – 30)

1As per Government of Odisha, Forest and Environment Department Resolution No. 1F (A)- 100/ 2003-13228/ FandE and Notification No. 1F(A) 100/ 2003-13220/ FandE both dated 08th August, 2003.

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5. D.P.F. (non 22 22.65 5.13 % 0.60 % notified) 6. DLC Forest 102.88 Sq. 24.83 % 2.70 % Km. and 220.75 RKM 7. Revenue 85.14 19.07 % 2.24 % Forest Total: 84 441.303 100 % and 220.75 RKM

Forest area in details like RF, PRF, VF, etc. Baleshwar Wildlife Division comprises 9 Reserved Forest (RF), 13 Proposed Reserved Forest (PRF) and 50 Village Forests (VF). Reserved Forest (RF) Sl. RF Block Area (in Ha.) No. 1 Chandipur 46.96 Ha. 2 Ajodhya 1586.00 Ha 3 Arabandha 331.00 Ha. 4 Mitrapur 880.00 Ha. 5 Swarnachuda 1801.60 Ha. 6 Tinikosia 1614.00 Ha. 7 Kuldiha 11468.00 Ha. 8 Tenda 1985.40 Ha. 9 Devgiri 857.20 Ha. Total 20570.16 Ha. or 205.70 Sq.km.

Proposed Reserved Forest (PRF)

Area Sl. No. RF Block (in Ha.) 1 Kasafal 116.80 Ha. 2 Parikhi 174.90 Ha. 3 Chawmokh 352.88 Ha. 4 Hanskara 260.25 Ha. 5 Bichitrapur 563.00 Ha. 6 Krushnanagar 58.90 Ha. 7 Ranakotha 96.41 Ha. 8 Udaypur 87.00 Ha. 9 Baradiha 72.64 Ha. 10 Luhapada 42.54 Ha. 11 Janhifulia 247.79 Ha. 12 Kendukhuna 64.74 Ha. 13 Bhola 15.66 Ha. 2153.51 Ha. or Total 21.54 Sq. Km.

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Village Forests (VF) Sl. VF Block Area Sl. No VF Block Area No (in Ha.) (in Ha.) 1 Kalama 5.36 26 Guapal 5.00 2 Kalama (Prasadsole) 10.00 27 Guapal 6.00 3 Kalama (Amtoma) 2.60 28 Kaithagaia (Patrakhunta) 8.00 4 Kalama (Amtoma) 30.00 29 Sarata 7.00 5 Rayaramachandrapur 5.40 30 Shyamnagar (Pathrasole) 5.00 6 Kalika (Dudhiakhali) 4.00 31 Purunapani(Mahuduma) 0.716 7 Betei 1.60 32 Jamalpur 0.32 8 Ranipokhari 3.40 33 Matiali (Arabandha) 15.44 9 Khanjamahal 10.00 34 Mirigini 5.00 (Kalandipatna) 10 Thala 0.92 35 Betakata(Dangaghata) 2.80 11 Nuapadhi (Phulakiari) 4.096 36 Betakata 10.00 12 Anlapal 3.60 37 Betakata 7.00 13 Ambajhara (Tiakata) 5.00 38 Rissia (Gobpal) 10.00 14 Kasindpur 1.60 39 Rissia (Gobpal) 8.00 (Rakhayatpur) 15 Dularpur 7.76 40 Telipal 9.152 16 Kushunadaspur 4.44 41 Arabandha (Gusurikila) 4.00 Tentulia 17 Nadigan (Baladia) 3.5 42 Ambjhara (Siadimal) 8.00 18 Raikula 1.472 43 Tentulia 1.75 19 Mirpurkhaira 2.40 44 Sannuagan 8.13 20 Taranda (Tipsigadia) 8.40 45 Dwarikasuni 7.00 Anantapur 21 Kupari 10.00 46 Dwarikasuni, Telipal 10.00 22 Kaliha 5.00 47 Dwarikasuni 7.00 23 Dularpur 5.00 48 Chadabadi and Tentulia 6.31 24 Naharpada 5.70 49 Tentulia 3.33 25 Guapal 20.00 50 Arabandha 5.00 Total 312.196 Ha. or 3.21 Sq. Km.

History of Forest Management Raja Shyam Chandra Mardaraj Harichandan in 1900 first introduced forest administration by creating 4 ranges and posted Forest Rangers in charge of these ranges. Kuldiha block was reserved after visit of Mr. A. M. Grieve in 1903 and as per his instruction in 1914, demarcation of Kuldiha block was taken up. Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary was finally notified U/s – 18 (pre amended section)of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 by notification of the State Government in 1984. The area of the Sanctuary is 272.75 Sq. Km. that includes 3 Reserved Forests and other Revenue Forests.

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Sl. No. Name of the Reserved Forest block Area in Sq. Km. 1. Devgiri 8.57 2. Kuldiha 114.68 3. Tenda 19.85 4. Area of Revenue forests and enclaved villages 129.65 Total: 272.75 Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary is located in South-western part of the Baleshwar district bordering Mayurbhanj district. It lies between 21020‘ to 21030‘ North latitude and 86026‘ to 86045‘ East longitude. The inter-district boundary of Baleshwar and Mayurbhanj districts is located on the western boundary of Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary. A separate Management Plan for the period 2009-10 to 2018-19 is operating there. Wildlife Census There are 89 Elephants (2015 census) and 10 Leopards (2014 census) found in Kuldiha Sanctuary. Besides, large number of Gaur, Spotted Deer, Giant Squirrel, Wild boar etc. are also being found inside Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary. Minor Forest Produce (MFP) The main minor forest produces are timber, firewood, Mahua flower, Tola, Sal seeds, Sal leaves, Myrobalan, Tamarind, Bani leaves, nux vomica, Tassar, minor minerals such as stones, ballasts, chips, etc. The Kuldiha forests, under Nilagiri Sub-Division, cater to the fuel wood and small timbar needs of the people of Nilagiri and Baleshwar areas. Fauna and Flora Fauna During the advent of British rule the district abounded in wild animals. Even as late as 1840, elephants were common, tigers and leopards were found all over the district being especially numerous in the heavy jungle near the coast to the south, while immense herds of wild buffalo that were found near the sea had become so large and numerous that they did incalculable mischief and were a terror to the country. At present, wild elephants are occasionally met with and they are only stray visitors from the Keonjhar Hills. There are also a few wild buffaloes left, spotted in Charidinipal forest about 30 years ago; and tigers, though not common, are found along the Dhamra below Chandbali and in the waste tracts to the north-east round Baliapal and Bhograi. The latter tract is also 17 the haunt of leopards and black sloth bear are common near Panchapalli and Jamkunda. Wolves do some damage among the cultivators' cattle and hyenas are found all over the district, wherever there is shelter for them in patches of waste land. In the sandy tracts adjoining the sea there are a number of deer, spotted deer, mouse deer and antelope; and there are large herds of wild pig which do great damage to the cultivator's crops.

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The faunal species includes mammals (32), birds (149), amphibians and reptiles (45) and the list is presented in the following tables. Mammals

Sl No. Common Name Scintific Name

1. Asian Elephant Elephas maximus 2. Indian Bison Bos gourus 3. Sambar Cervus unicolor 4. Spotted Deer Axis axis 5. Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak 6. Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna 7. Sloth Bear Melurnus ursinus 8. Rattle Melivoura capensis 9. Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata 10. Indian Porcupine Histrix indica 11. Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica 12. Five striped palm Squirrel Funambulus pennant 13. Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis 14. Hanuman Langur Semnopithecus entellus 15. Rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta 16. Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica 17. Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus 19. Leopard Panthera pardus 20. Jungle Cat Felis chaus 21. Indian Wolf Canis lupus 22. Jackal Canis aureus 23. Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis 24. Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena 25. Wild boar Sus scrofa 26. Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii 27. Striped neckedMongoose Herpestes vitticollis 28. Small Indian Mongoose Herpestes javanicus 29. Indian Smooth Coated Otter Lutra lutra 30. Short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx 31. Fulvous fruit Bat Rousettus lesnaulti 32. Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus

Avi Fauna Sl.No Common Name Scientific Name 1 Yellow-legged Buttonquail Turnix tanki 2 Red junglefowl Gallus gallus 3 Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus 4 Lesser-whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica 5 Tufted Duck Aythya fulygula 6 Speckled piculet Picumnus innominatus 7 Heart-spotted woodpecker Hemicircus canente 8 Brown-capped pygmy woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus 9 Yellow-crowned woodpecker Dendrocopos mahrattensis 10 Lesser yellownape Picus chlorolophus 11 Black-rumped flameback Dinopium benghalensis 19

12 Greater flameback Chrysocolaptes festivus 13 Brown-headed barbet Megalaima zeylanica 14 Lineated barbet Mehalaima lineate 15 Coppersmith barbet Megalaima haema 16 Common hoopoe Upupa epops 17 Malabar trogon Harpactes fasciatus 18 Indian roller Coracias benghalensis 19 Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis 20 White-throated kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis 21 Blue-bearded bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni 22 Green bee-eater Merops orientalis 23 Chetnut-headed bee-eater Merops leschenaultia 24 Large hawk cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides 25 Common Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius 26 Eurasian Cuckoo Cuculus canorus 27 Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii 28 Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerines 29 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea 30 Green-billed malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis 31 Greater coucal Centropus sinensis 32 Vernal hanging parrot Loriculus vernalis 33 Alexandrine parakeet Psittacula eupatria 34 Rose-ringed parakeet Psittacula krameri 35 Plum-headed parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala 36 Asian palm swift Cypsiurus balasiensis 37 Crested Tree Swift Hemiprocne coronate 38 Jungle owlet Glaucidium radiatum 39 Collared scops Owl Otus bakkamoena 40 Grey Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus 41 Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus 42 Rock pigeon Columba livia 43 Oriental turtle dove Streptopelia orientalis 44 Spotted dove Streptopelia chinensis 45 Eurasian-collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 46 Emerald dove Chalcophaps indica 47 Orange-breasted Green Pigeon Treron bicincta 48 Thick-billed Green Pigeon Treron curvirostra

49 Yellow-footed green pigeon Treron phoenicoptera 50 Green sandpiper Tringa ochropus 51 Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus 52 Pheasant-tailed jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus 53 Little ringed plover Charadrius dubius 54 Grey-headed lapwing Vanellus cinereus 55 Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus gregarious 56 Crested serpent eagle Spilornis cheela 57 Black eagle Ictinaetus malayensis 58 Crested Goshawk Accipeter trivirgatus 59 Shikra Accipiter badius 60 Oriental honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus 61 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 62 Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 63 Little cormorant Phalacrocorax niger 64 Indian cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis

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65 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 66 Intermediate Egret Mesophoysx intermedia 67 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 68 Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii 69 Cinnamon bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus 70 Asian-openbill Anastomus oscitans 71 Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura 72 Golden-fronted leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons 73 Rufous treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda 74 Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos 75 Black Naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis 76 Black hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus 77 Eurasin golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus 78 Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei 79 Black-winged Cuckooshrike Coracina melaschistos 80 Rosy minivet Pericrocotus roseus 81 Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus 82 Scarlet minivet Pericrocotus flammeus 83 Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike Hemipus picatus 84 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus 85 White-bellied Drongo Dicrurus caerulescens 86 Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus 87 Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer 88 Spangaled Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus 89 Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea 90 Asain Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone paradise 91 Common Iora Aegithina tiphia 92 Large Woodshrike Tephrodornis gularis 93 Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus 94 Blue capped Rock thrush Monticola cinclorhynchus 95 Orange headed Thrush Zoothera citrine 96 Tickell's Thrush Turdus unicolor 97 Dark-throated Thrush Turdus ruficollis 98 Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica 99 Red-throated Flycatcher Ficedula parva 100 Little pied flycatcher Ficedula wetermanni 101 Ultramarine Flycatcher Ficedula superciliaris 102 Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thassina 103 Pale-chinned Flycatcher Cyornis poliogenys 104 Blue-throated Flycatcher Cyornis rubeculoides 105 Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis 106 Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis 107 White Rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus 108 Indian Robin Sexicoloides fulicata 109 Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros 110 Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnus malabaricus 111 Asian pied starling Sturnus contra 112 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis 113 Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis 114 Great Tit Paras major 115 Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica 116 Barn swallow Hirundo rastica 117 Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus

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118 Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus 119 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer 120 White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus 121 Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus 122 Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius 123 Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 124 Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus 125 Tickell's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus affinis 126 Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides 127 Hume's Warbler Phylloscopus humei 128 Booted Warbler Hippolaris caligata 129 Golden Spectackeled Warbler Seicercus burkii 130 Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps 131 Indian Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus horsfieldii 132 Striped -tit Babbler Macronous gularis 133 Jungle Babbler Turdoides striatus 134 Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Alcippe poioicephala 135 Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor 136 Thick-billed flowerpecker Dicaeum agile 137 Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Anthreptes singalensis 138 Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica 139 Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica 140 Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja 141 Chestnut-shoulder Petronia Petronia xanthocollis 142 Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus 143 White Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis 144 Yellow Wagtail Motacilla falva 145 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 146 Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 147 White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata 148 Scaly-breasted Munia Longchura punctulatat 149 Common rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus

Amphibians and Reptiles Sl No. Common Name Scintific Name Frogs and Toads 1. Common Asian Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus 2. Indian Bull Frog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus 3. Pygmy Tree Frog Chiromantis sp 4. Common Indian Tree Frog Polypedates maculatus 5. Duboi‘s Tree Frog Polypedates teraiensis Turtles and Tortoises 6. Indian Roofed Turtle Batagur tecta 7. Narrow-headed soft Shelled Turtle Chitra indica

8. Indian Flapshell Turtle Lissemys punctata Lizards 9. Indian Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor 10. Indian Rock Lizard Psammophilus blanfordanus 11. Fan throated Lizard Sitana ponticeriana 12. Indian Chamaeleon Chamaeleo zeylanicus Geckos 13. Spotted Indian house gecko Hemidactylus brookii 22

14. Indian House Gecko Hemidactylus flaviviridis 15. Bark Gecko Hemidactylus leschenaulti Skinks 16. White spotted Supple Skink Riopa albopunctata 17. Common Snake Skink Lygosoma punctatus 18. Common Indian Skink Eotropis carinata Minitor Lizards 19. Common Indian Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis 20. Yellow Monitor Lizard Varanus flavescens Snakes 21. Common Blind Snake Ramphotyphlops braminus 22. Baked Worm Snake Grypotyphlops acutus 23. John‘s Sand Boa Eryx johnii 24. Common Sand Boa Gongylophis conicus 25. Indian Rock Python Python molurus 26. Common Vine Snake Ahaetulla nasutus 27. Checkered Keelback Xenochrophis piscator 28. Buff Striped Keelback Amphiesma stolata 29. Indian Green Keelback Macropisthodon plumbicolor 30. Olive Keelback water snake Atretium schistosum 31. Indian Rat Snake Ptyas mucosus 32. Common Indian Bronze-Back Dendrelaphis tristis 33. Forsten‘s Cat Snake Boiga Forsteni 34. Common Indian Cat Snake Boiga trigonata 35. Common Indian Trinket Snake Coelognathus Helena Helena 36. Common Wolf Snake Lycodon aulicus 37. Twin Spotted Wolf Snake Lycodon jara 38. Spectacled Cobra Naja naja 39. Monocellate Cobra Naja kaouthia 40. Common Indian Krait Bungarus caeruleus 41. Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus 42. King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah 43. Russel‘s Viper Daboia russellii 44. Saw-scaled Viper Echis carinatus 45. Bamboo Pit Viper Trimeresurus gramineus Fish A large variety of fresh water fish are found in tanks, water reservoirs and rivers intersecting the district. Marine fish swarm up the tidal rivers. The district having a long sea coast sea-fishing is an important industry which is still confined to the fore-shore. A list of fresh water fish and marine fish found in the district is given below. Fresh water fish Bhakur (Catla-catla), Rohi (Labeo-rohita), Mirkali (Cirrhina mrigaia), Kalabainsi (Labeo caibasu), Pohala (Cirrhina mba), Ghusurimuha Pohala (Labeo pangusia), Raj Pohala (Labeo beta), Khurusa (Labeo gonius), Kerandi (Barbus stigma), Serna (Barbus sarana), Chitala (Notopterus chitaia), Phali (Notopterns), Balia (Wallago attu), Magur (Clarius battachus), Singhi (Heteropneustis foss/fis), Adi (Mystus aoer), Kantia (Mystus 23 cavasius), Baikantia (Mystus tengara), Mohurali (Amtfypharyngodon mola)), Jallha (Chela bacaila), Dandikari (Esomus danricus), Bombi Todi/Todi (Mastacembelus pancalus), Chenga (Ophlcephalus gachuamarulus), Sola (Ophicephalus mamhus), Gardhei (Ophicephalus punctatus), Seula (Ophicephalus strictus), Kau (Ambusnia candens)s Khosua (Colisa chuna) and Balikidi (Gobino giuris) . Marine fish llishi (Hilsa ilisha), Bhekti (Lates cafcarlfer), Khanda (Chirocentrus dorub), Phriki/ Chandi (Stromatedous sp),Hunda Kantia (Anus sp), Rudhakantia (Osteogenisis mifitaris) Kanta (Mystus sp), Khasala (Mugilcorsufa mugilpersia). Kora (Polynemus tetedactyus), Champa (Samber sp), Gujikadma (Sillago sihawa), Sila (Scienecoxtor), Sapua (Trichiurus savela), Paniakhia (Megalops cyprinoides), Khainga (Mugil cephalus) Bagda chinguri (Penaeus carinatup), Kantal Chinguri (Penaeus indicus) Telia, Tapsi, etc. Flora The following floral species are found in the forest division: Local Name Botanical Name Family Amba Mangifera indica Anacardiaceae Ambada Spondias mangifera Anacardiaceae Amthi Lasiobema retusum Caesalpiniaceae Achhu Morinda tinctoria Rubiaceae Ankulo Alangium lamarckii Combretaceae Amla Emblica officinalis Euphorbiaceae Arjuna Terminalia arjuna Combretaceae Asan Terminalia tomentosa Combretaceae Ashoka Saraca indica Caesalpiniaceae Aswasth Ficus religiosa Moraceae Babul Acacia nilotica Mimosaceae Bahada Terminalia belerica Combretaceae Banakopasia Kydia calycina Malvaceae Bara Ficus benghalensis Moraceae Borkuli Ziziphus mauritiana Rhamnaceae Batra Melia composite Meliaceae Bel Aegle marmelos Rutaceae Bhalia Semecarpus anacardium Anacaradiaceae Bheru Chloroxylon swietenia Rutaceae Bija Pterocarpus marsupium Papilionaceae Char Buchnania lanzan Anacardiaceae Chauli Cassine glauca Celastraceae Chauldhua Glycosmis pentaphylla Rutaceae Chhatian Alstonia scholaris Apocynaceae Chikni (Kalchua) Glochidion lanceolarium Euphorbiaceae Chotarai Dillenia aurea Dilleniaceae Chhuipatali Sterospermum angustifolium Bignonioceae Charaiguri Vitex peduncularis Verbenaceae Dambalu Ehretia laevis Boraginaceae

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Damgurudu Gardenia latifolia Rubiaceae Dhauranjo Holoptelia integrifolia Rubiaceae Dhamana Grewia tiliaefolia Combretecea Dhaura Anogeissus latifolia Combretaceae Dimiri Ficus racemosa Moraceae Dhalasirish Albizia procera Mimosaceae Eucalyptus (Patas) Eucalyptus spp. Myrataceae Fanfana Oroxylum indicum Bignoniaceae Gaidgia Dimorphocalyx glabellus Euphorbiaceae Gambhari Gmelina arborea Verbenaceae Gandhapalas Miliusa velutina Anonaceae Genduli Cochlospermum religiosum CochlospermaceaeBixaceae Garkhari Acacia ferruginea Mimosaceae Ghontol Zizyphus glaberrima Rhamnaceae Ghodalanjia Albizia chinensis Mimosaceae Gangasiuli Nyctanthes arbortistis Oleaceae Giridhini (Genduli) Sterculia urens Sterculiaceae Giringa Ptersopermum xylocarpum SterculiaceaeSterculiaceae Gohira Acacia leucophloea Mimsoceae Gurudu Gardenia gummif era Rubiaceae Halda Diospyros montana Ebenaceae Harida Terminalia chebula Combretaceae Hinjal Barringtonia acutangula Lecythidaceae Jambu/jamun Syzygium cumini Myrtaceae Jaisanda Litsea sebifera Lauraceae Jari Ficus retusa Moraceae Jeutha Artocarpus lekoocha Moraceae Kadamba Antrocephalus cadamba Rubiaceae Kaitho Limonia acidissima Rutaceae Kamalagundi Mallotus philippinensis Euphobiaceae Kanso Hymenodictyon excelsum Rubaceae Khakada Casearia graveolens Samydaceae Karada Cleistanthus collinus Euphorbiaceae Karanja Pongamia pinnata Papilionaceae Karadha (Khurundu) Gadenia turgid Rubiaceae Karakendu Diospyros malabarica Ebenaceae Kasi Briedelia retusa Euphorbiaceae Kauchia (Kalicha) Diospyros sylvatica Ebenaceae Kendu Diospyros melanoxylon Ebenaceae Kodala Sterculia villosa Sterculiaceae Kongra Xylia xylocarpa Mimosaceae Kotokol (Katak) Strychnos potatorum Loganiaceae Kaujari Ficus virens Moraceae Kuchila Strychnos nuxvomica Loganiaceae Kumbhi Careya arborea Lecythidaceae Kurei Holarrhena antidysenterica Apocynaceae Kurum Adina cordifolia Rubiaceae Kusum Schleichera oleosa Sapindaceae Lodha Symplocos racemosa Symplocaceae Mai or Moi Lannea coromandelica Anacardiaceae Mahalimb, Mahal Ailanthus excels Simarubaceae Maranga/Tentra Albizia procera Mimosaceae Mohua,Mahul Madhuca indica Sapotaceae

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Mirigachara Grewia elastic Tiliaceae Mundi (Mitkania) Mitragyna parvifolia Rubiaceae Neem Azadirachta indica Meliaceae Nimburumoi Bursera serrata Burseraceae Palas Butea monosperma Papilionaceae Panasa Artocarpus heterophyllus Moraceae Panigambhari Trewia nudiflora Euphorbiaceae Panikodala Firmiana colorata Sterculiaceae Panipatuli Lagerstroemia speciosa Lythraceae Patmossu Polyathia cerasoides Anonaceae Patuli (Barapatuli) Strespermum chelonides Bignoniaceae Pitakarichio Wrightia arborea Apocynaceae Pitamoi Garuga pinnata Burseraceae Piasal Pterocarpus marsupium Papilionaceae Poijamu Syzygium operculatum Myrtaceae Purhai Ficus semicordata Moraceae Rai Dillenia pentagyna Dilleniaceae Rajmohi Lannea coromandelica Anacardiaceae Rohini Soymida febrifuga Meliaceae Saguan Tectona grandis Verbenaceae Sahara Sterblus asper Moraceae Sal Shorea robusta Dipterocarpaceae Salai Boswellia serreta Burseraceae Salpa Caryota urens Palmae Saiara Catunaregam nutans Rubiaceae Sana Moringa oleifera Moringaceae Sidha Lagerstromeia parviflora Lythraceae Simili Bombax ceiba Malvaceae Siris Albizzia lebbek Mimosaceae Sissu Dalbergia latifolia Papilionaceae Sissu Dalbergia sisso Papilionaceae Sunari Cassia fistula Caesalpiniaceae Tenger champa Ochna obtusata Ochnaceae Tentuli Temarindus indicus Caesalpiniaceae Tilei Wendlandia heynei Rubiaceae

A. Bamboos Daba baunsa Bambusa nutans Gramineae/ Poaceae Kanta baunsa Bambusa aurundinacea Gramineae/ Poaceae Salia Dendrocalamus strictus Gramineae/ Poaceae B. Shrubs Agnijhal Vernonia aspera Asteraceae Ankula Alangium salvifolium Alangiaceae Ankhukoli Carissa spinarum Apocynaceae Arguna Cycas cirsinalis Cycadaceae Ata Anona squamosa Annonaceae Baincha Flacourtia indica Flacourtiaceae Banachiretia Leea asiatica Ampelidaceae Bankhajuri Phoenix humilis Palmae Banamalli Jasminum sambac Oleaceaeand jarborascens Basanga Justicia adhatoda Acanthaceae Begunia Vitex negundo Verbenaceae Dalsinga Canthium dicoccum Rubiaceae Gangasiuli Nyctanthes arbortistis Oleaceae Gurudu Gardenia gummifera and Rubiaceae G. turgid 26

Guakuli Diospyros ferrea Ebensceae Langalangalia Gloriosa superba Liliaceae Jari Schefflera venulosa Araliaceae Jhumpuri Phyllochlamys taxoides Moraceae Kakusia Strobilanthes scaber Acanthaceae Kamini Murraya paniculata Rutaceae Khirkoli Manilkara hoxandra Sapotaceae Kirkichikanta Mimosa himalayana Momisaceae Korei Holarrhena antidysenterica Apocyanceae Kukurchatia Pavertta crassicaulis Rubiaceae Kumti (Telgunia) Clerodendrum viscosum Verbenaceae Lajwanti (Lajkulilata) Mimosa pudica Mimosaceae Lantana (Nagairi) Lantana camara Verbenaceae Muraphal/Murimuri Helicteres isora Sterculiaceae Madanga (Epiphyte) Loranthus longiflorus Loranthaceae Nalbali Cipadessa baccifera Meliaceae Narasingh khara Ardisia solanaceae Myrsinaceae Narguni Atalantia monophylla Rutaceae Patalgaruda Rauwolfia serpentina Apocynaceae Phanphana (Phapundi) Oroxylon indicum Bignoniaceae Pokausunga Pogostemon benghalense Labiatae Potua Catunaregam nutans Rubiaceae Ranidantakati Flemingia chappar Papilionaceae Bana Kandula F. macrophylla Papilionaceae Rani dantakathi F paniculata Papillionaceae Sonaragoda Grewia helicterifolia Tiliaceae Badi Anla Sida rhombifolia Malvaceae Sijhu Euphorbia nivulia Euphorbiaceae Tulsi Ocimum americanum and Lamiaceae O. Sanctum Urguna Cycas circinalis Cyccadaceae - Eranthemumpurpurascens Acathaceae - Permna hamiltonii Verbenaceae - Premna calycina Verbenaceae D. Climbers and Lianes Akanbindha Cissampelos pareira Menispermaceae Anantamula Hemiidesmus indicus Asclepidaceae Arkala Millettia extensa Papilionaceae Asadhua Capparis zeylanica Capparidaceae Atundi Combretum decandrum Combretaceae Baidank Mucuna pruriens Papilionaceae Bana Alu Dioscorea species Dioscoraceae Banakolthi Atylosia scarabaeoides Papilionaceae Banakunduri Trichosanthes cucumerina Cucurbitaceae Baghchaar Argyreia strigosa Convolvulaceae Bhadalia Opila mentaceae Olacaceae Bichhuati Tragia involucrata Euphorbiaceae Budli Butea superba Papilionaceae Chinkni Glochidion lanceolarium Euphorbiaceae Dantari Acacia totra Mimosaceae Ghaya Marsdenia fenacissima Asclepiadaceae Gila Entada pursaetha Mimosaceae Gopkan Cryptolepis buchanani Asclepidaceae Handiphuta Pueraria tuberosa Papilionaceae Kanta Alu Dioscorea globra Dioscoraceae Kanta Bet Calamus guruba Palmae Khamba Alu Dioscorea alata Discoraceae Khukundia (Kurukundia) Calycpteris floribunda Combretaceae Karba Alu Dioscorea pantaphylla Discorsceae Korondia Alu Dioscorea belophylla Discoraceae Kanakuli Zizyphus numularis Phamnaceae 27

Latanageshwar Hiptage benghalensis Malpighiaceae Maharata Canavalia ensitormis Papilionaceae Malti Aganosoma caryophyllata Apocynaceae Marada Millettia extensa Papilionaceae Matka Solena amplexicaulis Mutri Smilax ovalifolia Liliaceae Smilax zeylancia Liliaceae Smilax perfoliata Liliaceae Nato Entada pursaetha Mimosaceae Noipalas (Latapalas) Butea parviflora and Butea Papilionaceae superba Pingo, pengu Colastrustrus paniculata Pani Alu Dioscorea oppositifolia Dioscoreacae Pani bet Calamus viminalis Palmaceae Pankanch Vitis spp. Ampelidaceae Pita Alu Dioscorea bul bifera Dioscoreacae Pichhuli Noi, Rakta Pichhuli Gounia tiliaefolia Rhamnaceae Palasanoi Butea superba Papilionaceae Prasarini Paederia scandens Rubiaceae Satabari Asparagus racemosus Liliaceae Siali Bauhinia vahlii Caesalpiniaceae Baghamari B. Moxberghiana Caesalpiniaceae Suam Noi Ichnocarpus frustescens Apocynaceae Tunga Alu Dioscorea wallichii Dioscoreacae - Dioscorea hispida Dioscoreacae Ufurudi Pergularia extensa Asclepiadaceae E. GRASSES Khadikaghas poaceae/ Aristida setacea Gramineae Arundinella khasiana A. Sectosa Bothriochloa pertusa B. Bladhii Salum Chrysopogon gryllus Gramineae C. montanus Gramineae Dhanwantary Cymbopogon martinii Gramineae Duba Cynodon dactylon Gramineae Kartah Dichanthium caricosum Gramineae Eragrostis coarctata Panasi (Babni) Eulaliopsis binata Gramineae Sinkula Guuchhia spear Heteropogon contortus grass Gramineae Murchi Ischaemum rugosum Gramineae Chhana Imperata arundinacea Gramineae Panicum spp Pseudosorghum fasciculare Sporobolus indicus Tenda/ tandi Saccharum spontaneum Gramineae Roigrass Gramineae Themeda triandra Phul chanchuni Thysanolaena maxima Gramineae Arthraxon species Arundinella pumila Eragrostis unioloides E. viscosa Rottboellia conchinchinensis Kangaroograss (Gunkar) Themeda quadrivalvis Gramineae Dimeria spp Eulaliopsis spp Bandra (Cat tail millet) Setaria glauca Gramineae 28

F. Herbs Puthkunda (Chirchita) Achyranthes aspera Amaranthaceae Pokasunga Ageratum conyzoides In damp sal forest Aiginetia indica Allmania nodiflora Alysicarpus glumaceus Ammania baccifera Papilionaceae Bhuineem (Chireta) Andrographis paniculata Acanthaceae Kalabhangra Anisomeles indica Labiatae Sarpuni or Dengibifuli Argemone mexicana Papaveraceae Isharmul Aristolochia indica Aristolochiaceae Bhuichakunda Cassia tora Ceasalpinaceae Kalmegh(Sankhafuli) Canscora decussata Gentianaceae Safed Murga Celosia argentea Amaranthaceae Chlorophytum orundinacum Liliaceae Kanchara Commelina benghalensis Commelinaceae Keu Costus speciosus Costaceae Crotalaria epunctata Jhunjhuka C. Pallida Curcuma sulcata Zingiberaceae Saribhan Desmodium gangeticum Papilionaceae Gobhi Elephantopus scaber Compositae Brahimi buti Centella asiatica Hydrocotylaceae Indigofera trita Papilionaceae Merremia umbellata Convolvulaceae Amarpoi Kalanchoe laciniata Crassulaceae Lauria zeylanica Lajkuli Mimosa pudica Mimosaceae Bana Kadali Musa balbisiana Musaceae Kalitulsi Ocimum americanum Labiateae Peucedanum nagpurenre Umbelliferae Pipali Piper longum Piperaceae Ruellia tuberosa Acantheceae Ankaranti Solanum surattense Solanaceae Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Verbenaceae Murahri Sansevieria roxburghiana Agavaceae Chikiti Triumfetta rhomboidea Tiliaceae Drimia indica Pentanema indicum Zingiber prupureum Zingiberaceae Adiantum lanulatum Adiantaceae A. caudatum Adiantaceae Chelanthes farinosa Lastrea cocnieara Morsillia quadrifolia N. truncatum Selaginella proniflora

H. Orchids Dendrobium herbaceum Orchidaceae Eulophia nuda Orchidaceae Habenaria plantaginea Orchidaceae Pecteilis trlflora Orchidaceae

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Forests and Vegetation Forest Type and distribution of forest area The forest cover of Baleshwar mainly comprises mixed Sal forests composed of Sal as the dominant species with its associates like Asan, Bija, Sisoo, Char, Dhaura, Kendu etc. As per the Champion and Seth classification, the forest cover of this Division is coming under 2 (two) broad types i.e. Northern tropical semi evergreen forest (mainly found in Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary) and Northern tropical moist deciduous forest on the plain areas. There is no bamboo forest in this division. a) Forest types in Baleshwar Wildlife Division There are three types of forests in this Division. They are: a) Tropical Dry deciduous Sal Forest (5 B/ic Northern tropical dry deciduous forest) found in Kuldiha RF, Devgiri RF, Tenda RF and Tinikosia RF;b) Tropical e Moist deciduous Sal Forest (3C/C2 ) mainly found in major portions of Kuldiha and Nilagiri Wildlife Ranges with few patches of semi evergreen forests inside Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and c) Casuarina and Mangrove forests found in coastal areas of Jaleshwar and Chandipur Wildlife Range. Some natural Mangrove scrub and forests are also found in the river deltas along the edge of tidal waterways and on sheltered muddy coasts of the above two Ranges. Main species seen are Avidennia alba, Avicennia officinalis Rhirophera mucronata, Excoecaria agallocha, Lumnitzera racemusa and Acanthus ilicifolius. Plantation of mangrove species have been undertaken on of littoral swamps by the JICA assisted O.F.S.D.P project during 2005-06 to 2014-15. Forest Management Baleshwar Wildlife Division is being managed according to the Working Plan in force for the period 1996-97 to 2015-16 that covers erstwhile Baripada and Karanjia Forest Divisions. Area allotted under present Working Plan under different Working Circles.

Range RF Comp. Area of Plantation Wildlife (over No. Block Working Circle lapping) Working Circle) Chandipur Chandipur 46.96 46.96 - Ajodhya 1586.00 - 1586.00 Arabandha 331.00 - 331.00 Devgiri 857.20 - 857.20 Kuldiha 11468.00 - 11468.00 Nilagiri Mitrapur 860.00 - 860.00 Swarnachuda 1801.60 - 1801.60 Tenda 1985.00 - 1985.40 Tinikosia 1614.00 - 1614.00 Total 20549.76 46.96 20503.20 Source: Working Plan, Baripada and Karanjia Forest Division, 1996-97 to 2015-16 30

Independent Working Plan for the division is under preparation. Five Working Circles such as Rehabilitation Working Circle (RWC), Wildlife management (Overlapping) Working Circle (WLMWC), Plantation Working Circle (PWC), Joint Forest Management (Overlapping) Working Circle (JFMWC) and Non Timber Forest Produce Working Circle (NTFPWC) have been prescribed in the Plan that includes 6 RFs, 13 PRFs and 50 Village Forests. Rights and Concessions In Nilagiri ex-state the Forest Rules of 1940 was in force. Under the rules, Khesra forest did not include individual trees or groups of trees within the village limits. Reserved trees of less than three feet girth on cultivated lands could be cut without permission. Before merger of the ex-State the tenants had no right over trees on their holdings. No trees could be cut without permission or sold without payment of royalty. For every reserved tree cut the cultivator was bound to plant two tree on his holdings. There were A class and B class reserves in addition to village or Khesra forest. Nistar cess or commutation fee was levied at anna (about 10 paise) per man (0.62 acre) of land on persons holding rent free lands and one anna (6 paise) per man by raiyats. They were entitled to take trees of species not declared reserved tree for their own use from Khesra forests. From certain forests timber was allowed to be cut by paying half of the royalty during the 15th December to the 30th June. Firewood was allowed at one anna (Re. 0.06) per bullock load for cess payers. Non-cess payers were allowed to take unreserved species free but there were very few non-cess payers. Full royalty was charged to outsiders. The Nistar forests of some villages were about five miles distant from the villages. All cess payers did not actually avail themselves of the timber as the areas allotted for Nistar was insufficient. The rules also provided for sale of timber from Khesra forests to traders. Reserved species of trees were said to be found in large numbers in the Khesra forest but there was not enough of unreserved species in the Khesra forests. There were formally 24 reserved species but subsequently this was limited to eleven that included (1) Sal, (2) Bija, (3) Kendu, (4) Harida (5) Kusum, (6) Mahul, (7) Kochila,(8) Bandhan, (9) Asan, (10) Sunari and (11) Char. Under the Forest Rules all residents of the ex-State were bound to render assistance in clearing forest boundary lines for daily wages at prescribed rates and it was the special duty of villagers living within five miles of the reserved lorests. In the case of reclamation of forest land no definite period was prescribed. Assessment was made after a reasonable period. If the land was wasteland which did not require clearing, only one year was allowed in practice. Salami was levied at rates varying from Rs. 10 to Rs. 25 per manaaccording to the quality of the land. 31

The report of the Forest Enquiry Committee, Odisha, 1959 enumerates the rights and concessions of Nilagiri ex-State as follows: Nistar cess or other cesses-Re. 0-1-6 and Re. 0-1-0 per man of land by Lakhrajdars and raiyats respectively.

Class/Type of forest Item Cess A' class RF, 40 Ac of Timber, Firewood, at concessional rate to people of Ayodhya, 14 ac from Debgiri Bamboo neighbouring villages MFP - Fruits, roots, free for personal consumption flowers, leaves Grazing @Re. 0-8-0 for buffalo, @Re. 0-6-0 for cow or bullock 'B‗ class RF or D. P. Fs Timber @ half of royalty Firewood One anna per bullock cart load Bamboo, Minor Forest free for personal consumption Produce Grazing Not free Khesra or unreserved or UDP. Timber, Firewood Free for unreserved species, concessional price for reserved Bamboo, Minor Forest Free Produce Grazing Free Zamindari forests2 No concessions

In Baleshwar district there was only one Forest Block called Bony Jungle. The zamindar had prescribed a forest rule called "Kanika State Forest Rules" for management of his forests. The rights and concessions in Kanika zamindary as enumerated in the Report of the Forest Enquiry Committee, Odisha, 1959 are given below: In open forests: 1. The tenants can get firewood, thatching materials, agricultural implements, etc., from Ghar jungle for their personal use on obtaining permits within the period 1st October to 31st December on payment of Re. 1-0-6 and for permits after the said period at Rs. 2-0-0. 2. The Kumbhar, Kamar and Bania tenants for their profession can remove firewood for making charcoal on payment of Re. 0-2-0 per mound and charcoal on payment of Re. 0-12-0 per mound with special permits. Others may also get the above materials on payment of the above fees.

2 Either permanently or temporarily settled zamindary areas excepting Khasmahai lands. Forests were controlled and managed by the zamindars as full proprietors till The Odisha Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1947, and The Odisha Communal Forest and Private lands (Prohibition of Alienation) Act, 1948 (Act I of 1948) were enacted. Each zamindary had its own forest rules or practice whether written or unwritten. Most of the zamindaries were small except a portion of Kanika ex-estate, a part of which was in Baleshwar district to the extent of 453.00 sq.km.

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3. The pahitenants who require for their pahi cultivation, can be allowed firewood, thatching materials, agricultural implements, etc., on obtaining permits within 30th June on paymet of fee Re. 0-12-6. After this period they shall have to pay Re.1-9-0 for each permit. 4. Outsiders of the estate, who come for cultivation purposes in the estate, can be allowed firewood for their own use on payment of annual permit fee of Re.2-0-0. Those who are boat merchants can be allowed firewood and certain boat materials for their profession on payment of annual fee of Re.4-0-0 for each boat from "ghar jungle." On vesting of the estate, the Tahasildars managed the zamindari forests also called "Anchal forests" under the Revenue Department. Subsequently Government ordered in 1957 that all the forests in the ex-state areas should be transferred to the control of Forest Department. By that time bulk of Bony Jungle Block had been encroached upon. Inhabitants of a village or town close to a protected forest exercise their right of taking forest products at concessional rates which are known as "Schedule of Rates". This was very low compared to the prevailing market rates. In November 1977 the State Government prescribed the "Schedule of Rate for Forest Produce in Odisha Rules, 1977" under the Odisha Forest Act which effected some increase in the previous Schedule of Rates for forest produce including minor forest produce. Forest Development Forests play a vital and important role in the economy and ecology not only of this district. Baleshwar was largely deforested owing to indiscriminate leases given by the ex-Zamindars and also due to large scale encroa- chments. Forest conservation, plantation and afforestation activities were taken up by several agencies like Soil Conservation, Horticulture under Agriculture Department, and state undertakings such as Odisha Forest Corporation and Odisha Plantation Development Corporation. A special project with international assistance from Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) is operating in this district since 1984-85. During 1985 to 1987, with the available funds under SIDA, 591 hectares of village forest, 521 hectares of reforestation and 554 hectares of rehabilitation of degraded forests and 23.5 hectares of Forest Farming for Rural Poor were achieved in the district besides distribution of 9.34 lakh seedlings free of cost to local people for planting under Farm Forestry. The plantation works were executed through people's participation for which Village Forest Committees have been constituted and a Joint Management Plan is prepared for each plantation with the involvement of village committee. In the year 1971 the Cyclone Distress Mitigation Committee, Odisha, recommended to the Government of India to raise a coastal belt plantation

33 along the entire coast of the district to a width of about a 1 km. from the high tide line to prevent sand-dunes, cyclones and tidal water damaging agricultural fields and villages. By approval of the Government of India, the coastal shelter belt scheme had been taken up in the district and Coastal Shelter Belt Afforestation Division was created at Baleshwar that started functioning in 1979 under the administrative control of the Coastal Shelter Belt Afforestation Circle, with headquarters located at Cuttack. Some plantations were also raised through Baripada Territorial Forest Division along this coastal belt prior to 1979. By the end of 1979, an area of 534.80 hectares was covered by plantation in the coastal belt of the district. In addition to this in-land plantation in Nilagiri range over 4190 hectares were taken up mainly with species such as acacia, sissoo, eucalypotas, etc. Besides the above, another 1595.50 hectares of private land were planted between 1979-80 and 1985 as per provisions of the "Odisha Forest (Management of Coastal Shelter Belt Plantation raised on Private Lands) Rules, 1980." Avenue plantations were taken up in different years along important roads with funds available with District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). Annually casuarina coupes are opened and the wood is mainly sold in auction sale for purpose of firewood which is in great demand. Game laws and prevention of wildlife Previously shooting permits were issued on payment of a fee of Rs. 10 for a week for games from one shooting Block. However, the enactment of The Odisha Forest Act, 1972 (Act 14 of 1972) and implementation of the Odisha Forest Shooting Rules, 1973 and the Odisha Wildlife (Protection) Rules, 1974 helped the protection of the wildlife in the district. Although the Odisha Forest Shooting Rules, 1973 is in force, yet issue of permit under the Shooting Rules, in a sense, has been abolished.

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CHAPTER- II HISTORY

The history of Baleshwar district that was part of the ancient Kalinga kingdom, which later became a territory of Koshala or Utkal till the death of Mukunda Dev,is the amalgamation of several cultures and civilizations. It witnessed a quick succession of several dynasties in its bosom. Every anciently dated territories not only have their histories but pre histories as well andBaleshwar district is no exception. Pre-History Paleo-relics of River Drainage and Deposition system The three major drainage systems such as the Subarnarekha, the Burhabalanga and the Kansabansa along with several other small fluvial streams are significant from the point of view of ancient Pleistocene deposits which have rich association with paleo-relics. The change in fluvial depositional compositions also indicates a change in cultural relic associations which in turn justifies the sequence of cultural morphology and gradual growth. The deposits of the Subarnarekha upstreams towards the north of Baleshwar at Jamsola and Jharpokharia are highly rich in Pleistocene and paleo-antiquities of pre-historic period. Location of Paleolithic Sites on the Drainage Burhabalanga near Baleshwar Sub-Division Kasaba, asite located about four Kms away from Baleshwar town on the Baleshwar - Jaleshwar Road has yielded a few microlithic tools of black stone and some ceramic relics of antiquity. Some fragments of paleo ceramics have also been found in Kantabania, located on the right bank of the river Burhabalanga on the Baleshwar-Jaleshwar Road. Kathasangada, located on the confluence of the Burhabalanga and the Sona has yielded a large number of unfinished microlithics of quartz, quartzite and chert along with some ceramic relics. Haladla, located on the left bank of the river Burhabalanga is associated with the distribution of Paleolithic ceramic materials. Location of Mesolithic Sites on the Tributary Sona in the Nilagiri Sub- Division Balisahi, located on the Ieft bank of river Sona at a distance of five Km away from Nilagiri town, has yielded the raw materials of quartzite, chert and a few ceramic fragments along with finished microlithic tools including blades and flakes.Tinidesh, located one km away from Balisahi is associated with

35 several paleolithic ceramic relics. Kans, located on the left bank of the Sona is highly capped with silt deposition with ceramic relics sparely distributed. In Kolhapal on the bank of Sona, chert stones are widely distributed in association with ceramic fragments. Ajodhya, located on the right bank of the river Sona, has yielded a large number of ceramic fragments and microliths. Mesolithic Culture A few evidences of microliths consisting of scraper, blade and bladelets indicate that the mesolithic folk introduced completely a new technology and new types of raw materials. These tiny tools were hafted in bone or wooden handles to make knives, arrow heads, spear heads, sickles, etc. Besides, scrapers of various types, borers, burins, truncated flakes and corer are also found. Analysis of the recovered materials such as the bladelets suggests that the culture made its expression in the localities through temporary migrations of people. Location of Neolithic Site in Baleshwar Sub-Division A neolithic axe was reported to be found from Darada, asite located in the Basta police-station on Basta-Baliapal road. The site is filled with alluvial deposits. The implement may have been deposited through redeposition, transportation or secondary disposal. This sole evidence of a neolithic polished axe suggests that the area dates back to remote antiquity from mesolithic to neolithic period. Ancient Period The modern district of Baleshwar was not a territorial unit in the ancient and mediaeval periods. It was included in different territorial units under different rulers at different periods. Territorial Extent The region of Baleshwar was included in ancient Kalinga which was conquered by Asoka in the third century B. C. and Kharavela in the first century B. C. After the fall of the Mahameghavahana dynasty, the empire of Kalinga began to shrink by the 4th century A. D. and it was confined to South Odisha and a part of northern Andhra Pradesh. Baleshwar was then a part of territorial unit of Utkal. In the Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa, Utkal is mentioned as a territory to the north of Kalinga. It says that king Raghu, after crossing the river Kapisa (modern Kasani in the Midnapur district of West Bengal) entered Utkal and there the people showed him the path to Kalinga. By the end of the 6th century A. D., some copper plate grants reveal that Utkal was then known as Tosali or Tosalia divided into the northern and southern parts separated by the river . The Bhaumakaras (A. D. 36

736-931) ruled over both the Tosalis. Historical accounts state that the region of Baleshwar was included in Tosali, more particularly Uttara Tosali, and then in Utkal. Early History With the victory of Asoka in the Kalinga War, the territories were annexed to the Magadhan empire. Asoka paid special attention for its administration and divided it into two divisions with their headquarters at TosaIi (northern division) and Somapa (southern division). As a part of the northern division, Baleshwar region enjoyed the benefits of the Mauryan administration. In the first century B. C. Kalinga came under the powerful dynasty of the Mahameghavahana Kharavela, the third ruler of the dynasty who launched a career of conquest and aggrandizement and enhanced the glory of Kalinga. Baleshwar region had a share in it. With the discovery of the so called Puri-Kushana, coins were also discovered from Baleshwar district. In 1912, the Collector of Baleshwar received about 910 such coins and these are now preserved in the museum at Kolkata. It can, therefore, be presumed that Baleshwar region was probably under the Murunda rule. In the 4th-5th century A. D., Maharaja Satrubhanja brought both the Tosalis (Ubhaya Tosali) under his political influence. However, his supremacy over Ubhaya-Tosali in general and Baleshwar region in particular lasted for a short period. It probably ended with his death. A hoard of 147 copper coins has been discovered at Nanduru village near Gandibeda in the district. These coins bear on the reverse the legend Sunandasya. Theybelieved to belong to the 5th-6th century A. D. The Jayarampur copper plate inscription (discovered from Jayarampur village in Bhograi police-station) mentions one Maharajadhiraja Gopachandra ruling over an extensive area around Baleshwar. The copper plate, issued in his first regnal year, records the grant of the village, Swetavalika by Mahasamanta Maharaja Achuta (a vassal king of Gopachandra) for establishing a ‗Vihara‘ in favour of God Arya Avalokiteswara. The Manas In the last quarter of the 6th century A. D. the Uttara-Tosali came under the Manas. The Soro copper plates of Sambhuvasas and the Patiakela copper plates of Sivaraja throw light on the rule of the Manas. Sambhuvasas was a ruler of considerable political importance. He succeeded in uniting both the Tosalis and styled himself as 37

Paramabhattaraka, Paramamaheswara, Maharaja and Paramadaivata. The Mana rule was short-lived. It was Pruthivi Maharaja of Durjaya family who put an end to the Mana rule in Tosali. Sasanka and Harshavardhan After the Mana rule, the coastal districts of Odisha came under Sasanka of Gauda. His conquest of Odisha can be inferred from the Midnapur copper plates of Subhakirtti of Somadatta and Ganjam copper plates of Sailodbhava ruler. Somadatta issued two other copper plates which were discovered from Soro. In these copper plates, the titles of the sovereign mentioned are Paramadaivata, Shri Paramabhattaraka and perhaps they were used for Sasanka. Somadatta, who ruled over Dandabhukti and Utkal on behalf of Sasanka, was succeeded by Mahapratihara Maharaja Mahasamanta Bhanudatta. In the inscriptions of Baleshwar and Olasingh copper plates his paramount sovereign Sasanka is mentioned as Paramabhattaraka. Most probably Sasanka exercised his authority over Utkal or Odra or northern Tosali till his death which occurred shortly before 637 A. D. Soon after Sasanka‘s death, Harsavardhan conquered Utkal or Odra and Kangoda, and Baleshwar region came under Harsa. It was during his reign that the famous Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited U-cha or Odra. Hiuen Tsang reached Baleshwar by travelling south-west from Karnasuvarna in the year 639 A. D. According to his accounts the people of this region were tall and yellowish black and their language differed from the languages of Central India. The majority of the people were Mahayana Buddhists as corroborated by the discovery of several Buddhist sites in the district. Bhaumakaras The Bhaumakaras established their rule in Uttara Tosali in 736 A.D. It is suggested by some scholars that Bhaumakaras belonged to Assam and they came to Odisha in the wake of the Assamese king Harsavarmadeva‘s eastern expeditions. According to the Pasupati Temple inscription after conquering Odra he appointed probably one of his relations named Ksemankaradeva as the ruler who became the founder of the Bhaumakara dynasty. The capital of the Bhaumakara kingdom was the Guhadeva-pataka or Guhesvarapataka which was very close to Viraja or Jajpur. The early Bhaumakara copperplates were issued from that capital. The Bhaumakara kingdom comprised the present district of Baleshwar and the northern part of erstwhile Cuttack district as well. 38

It is believed that the early Bhaumakaras were Buddhists and during their rule the Mahayana became the dominant religion of Odisha. There are several sites in the district bearing the Buddhist antiquities belonging to the Bhaumakara period such as Kupari, Ajodhya, Khadipada, Solampur, Palla, Avana, etc. Somavamsis The Bhaumakaras were replaced in Utkal by the Somavamsis, said to have come from South Kosala, i.e. the Sambalpur - Sonapur region in 931 A. D. Jajati-I of the Somavamsi dynasty conquered the Bhaumakara kingdom and thereby united both Kosala and Utkal. Later on they shifted their capital to Jajpur which was then called Avinava Jajatinagar. Baleshwar region that is in close proximity to Jajpur, became an important and integral part of the Somavamsi kingdom. Jajati-II of Somavamsis was in arms against Gauda, in order to contain Gauda in the first quarter of the 11th century A. D. The Chola ruler, Rajendra Chola, led an expedition up to the Ganges by defeating the Somavamsi ruler Indraratha at Jajatinagar. The Somavamsi rule did not end immediately after the expedition of Rajendra Chola. It continued till its last ruler, Karnadeva, was overthrown by the powerful Gangas. Towards the end of the Somavamsi rule, the Palas of Bengal probably occupied Baleshwar. The last Somavamsi ruler, Karnakesari or Karnadeva, was a weak ruler and the power of the Somavamsis had declined considerably under his rule. He was not able to defend the northern part of his kingdom against the Palas. However, the Somavamsis were finally replaced by the powerful Gangas in early 12th century A. D. The Gangas Anantavarman Chodagangadeva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty occupied Odisha in about 1110 A. D. and founded the Ganga rule. According to his Korni copper plates, he reinstated the fallen lord of Utkal, i.e., Kamadeva. However, Chodaganga finally ousted the Somavamsi ruler and himself occcupied the kingdom. As the emperial Gangas started their career of conquest and expansion of territories, Baleshwar became the base of operations in the north. With the rapid expansion of the Muslim power in north India in the 13th century A. D., Odisha was exposed to the menace on its northern frontier. The importance of Baleshwar region increased considerably as it occupied a strategic position in the Ganga Empire. A chain of forts were built in the region of Baleshwar to ward off any possible expedition from the north by Muslim power and also to launch attacks on the Muslim territory. During those days,

39

Raibania was a very important military establishment for the safety and security of the Odishan empire. Other forts of importance belonging to the Gangas were Remuna Katak, Deulgan, Kahasin and Mandaran, which played a significant role in the Ganga-Muslim conflict. Remuna was a Visaya or district and probably the administration of the frontier area was carried on from that headquarters. In the conflict between the‘ Ganga rulers of Odisha and the Muslim rulers of Bengal, Baleshwar became the base for military operations of the former. Narasimhadeva-I, the greatest of the Gangas, led a successful campaign against Tughril-i-Tughan Khan of Bengal. In consequence of the victory of Narasimhadeva-I Howrah, Hoogly, Bankura and Birbhum districts were added to the Ganga empire which was at the zenith of its glory and splendour. According to tradition, Narasimhadeva I built the original temple of Khirachora Gopinath at Remuna. The Suryavamsis The Gangas were succeeded by the Suryavamsi Gajapatis in 1435 A. D. The first ruler of the dynasty, Gajapati Kapilendradeva (1435-1467 A. D.) led an expedition to Bengal and defeated Sultan Nasiruddin, and probably occupied some territories. The three Gajapati rulers - Kapilendradeva, Purusottamdeva and Prataparudradeva remained mostly engaged in their southern conquests and to some extent neglected the defence of the northern frontier of the empire as a result of which Hussain Shah, the Sultan of Bengal, could proceed unopposed as far as Puri. However, Prataparudradeva, the Gajapati of Odisha, who was then campaigning in the south rushed to Puri, defeated the invader and pushed him back to Bengal. Later he withdrew his siege of the fort of Mandaran due to the treachery of one of his generals, Govinda Vidyadhara. He betrayed his master at the crucial war with the ruler of Bengal. In 1510 A. D., Shri Chaitanyadeva passed through Baleshwar on his way to Puri from Bengal. However, by the beginning of 16th century A. D. due to the long absence of the Suryavamsi rulers in the south, the local officers had become insubordinate. While Shri Chaitanya was crossing the frontier of Bengal and Odisha, an officer of Prataparudradeva took all possible care so that the saint and his followers might escape the molestation from the hands of the Muslims. With the death of Prataparudradeva, the glorious era in the history of Odisha came to an end. An epoch of intense fratricidal war and alien invasion from both ends of Orisha ensued and finally the Muslim powers dismembered and occupied the territories in 1568 A.D.

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Muslim and Marahata Periods The last Hindu king of Odisha, Mukundadeva, incurred the displeasure of Sulaiman Khan Karrani, the Afghan ruler of Bengal, because the former gave shelter to his enemy Ibrahim Sur and also had formed an alliance with the Moughal Emperor, Akbar, against him. Consequently, the Afghan ruler attacked Odisha and sent troops to Cuttack under the command of his son through the jungle route of Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar. By tip of information, Mukundadeva sent two of his Commanders to protect Cuttack. But they revolted against his authority and thus started an internecine struggle in Odisha in which Mukundadeva was killed in 1568 A. D., and Odisha passed under the Afghan rule. It is believed that Mukundadeva fought his last battle at Gohiratikiri not far from Dhamnagar, then in Baleshwar district where he was killed by his own people. With regard to the Afghan occupation of Odisha in 1568 A. D. the name of a notorious commander of Sulaiman Khan Karrani, Kalapahar, was associated. He goes down in the history of Odisha as a destroyer of temples and icons. Baleshwar is associated with the tombs of a number of his captains who fell in the battle. They are at Garhpada, Ramachandrapur and Remuna. Besides, it is believed that Kalapahar set up a number of Muslim settlements in the district and left behind some of his followers at Kasba. Daud Khan, the second son of Sulaiman Khan Karrani, who succeeded governorship of Bengal, threw off all allegiance to the Emperor of Delhi and declared himself independent. In the struggle, Daud Khan was driven out of Bengal by the forces of Emperor Akbar under Munim Khan, and fled to Odisha. Raja Todar Mal came to Odisha in pursuit of Daud Khan who hovered backward and forwards between Cuttack and Jaleshwar for some time. Finally, a decisive battle was fought at Tukaroi, 9·6 km west of Jaleshwar on the bank of river Subarnarekha on the 3rd March, 1575. The Moughals became victorious, but suffered losses. Munim Khan himself was wounded. However, Daud Khan, who had fled to Cuttack, ultimately surrendered and negotiated for peace. On 12 April, 1575 Munim Khan settled the matter and left Daud Khan in possession of central Odisha as far as the river Baitarani but the areas of Baleshwar district came under the control of the Moughals as part of the Subah of Bengal and two officials were stationed at Bhadrak and Jaleshwar. But the matter reopened with the death of Munim Khan. In fact, Baleshwar, lying in between Cuttack and the frontier of Bengal, became the central place of fighting between the rebel Afghans of Odisha and the Moughal forces for some years and consequently suffered the most. Many places with Muslim names in various parts of the district testify to the settlement of Afghan and Moughal invaders.

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In 1592 A. D., the Afghans were crushed in a battle fought on the northern bank of Subarnarekha by Raja Man Singh. Thus, Odisha was finally annexed to the Moughal Empire and the Subedar of Bengal remained in charge of the province. The first separate Subedar for Odisha was appointed in 1607 during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. With the Muslim occupation Baleshwar emerged as a commercial town and a prosperous sea port to which flocked the vessels of many European powers including the British. The Moughals also maintained a navaI base in the port of Baleshwar. In the early part of 18th century A D. Murshid Kuli Khan I got the Subedarship of Odisha and ruled over the province from 1703 to 1708 and then from 1714 to 1727. The northern part of Odisha and especially the territories of Baleshwar are truncated for some administrative convenience during this period. In the revenue settlement in Odisha enhancement of tax was made in the prosperous sarkar of Jaleshwar including Basta and Remuna. The ports of Baleshwar and Hijili were included in such settlement. Shuja-ud-din Muhammad, the successor of Murshid Quli Khan, controlled the province from 1727 to 1739. During this period, the northern part of Jaleshwar sarkar beyond the river Subarnarekha except a few mahals were transferred to the administration of Bengal. Thus, the river Subarnarekha became the northern boundary of Odisha. Taqui Khan was fond of Baleshwar where he built the masonry tank and reservoir and the mosque and gardens known as Kadam Rasul. He is said to have constructed a hunting place at Remuna where there are extensive ruins of Muslim tombs and buildings. After the death of Shuja-ud-din in 1740, Alivardi Khan took over. At this time the rival army devastated Baleshwar. A decisive battle was fought on 3rd March, 1741, at Phuladi between Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal and Murshid Quli Khan-II, the ruler of Odisha. Alivardi‘s soldiers left the field in desperation; however, some traitors in the camp of Murshid Quli Khan changed side with their sepoys. Alivardi‘s General fought back bravely and finally Murshid Ouli Khan lost the battle. His merchant friend helped him escape in his ship and took him to Masulipatam. Alivardi got possession of Odisha by the end of 1741 A. D. From 1742 A. D. the Marahatas rushed down upon Odisha and for long ten years Alivardi had to fight against them. Baleshwar suffered the most in the Marahata-Muslim conflict and several battles were fought in this area. When Alivardi failed to check the repeated Marahata onslaughts on Odisha, he signed a treaty for peace in 1751 which virtually placed Odissa in the

42 hands of the Marahatas. The river Subarnarekha was fixed as the line of demarcation between Odisha and Bengal. Odisha remained under the Marahatas from 1751 A. D. to 1803 A. D., when it came under the British rule. Under the Marahatas, a strong military station under a Faujdar guarded the Phuladi ghat, and another important military station in the district was at Soro. The British also maintained a Resident in their factory at Baleshwar. There was occasional friction between the British Resident and the Marahata Faujdar regarding the payment of duties, smuggling of salt, harassment to merchants, etc. Another problem which created occasional Anglo-Marahata conflict was the boundary line between Bengal and Odisha with river Subarnarekha conforming the demarcating line. Both the zamindars and the people in the border of Baleshwar created problems occasionally and took shelter on either side to evade payment. The problem lingered on till the British occupation of Odisha. British Occupation of Baleshwar and Early Administration (1803-1827 A. D.) The British contact with Odisha began in the first half of the 17th century A. D. ―True to our national character‖, Hunter remarks, ―We settled in Odisha as merchants long before we made our appearance as rulers‖. One of the earliest British factories in India was established at Hariharpur of Odisha in 1633, and soon after two other factories were established, one at Baleshwar and the other at Pipili. The British factory at Baleshwar developed into a centre of maritime trade. Its status declined in the 18th century when the Company‘s trading concerns were shifted to Hugli and Kolkata, now Kolkata. Odisha came within the orbit of the East India Company‘s political interest after the Battle of Buxar. A Summary picture of early European settlement in Baleshwar is given in Appendix-I at the end of the chapter. The British conquered the Marahatas in Baleshwar through a proper planning. On 20th September 1803, four small British vessels including the gun-vessel crossed the bar at the mouth of river Burhabalanga and anchored opposite Balaramgarhi, a small Marahata post. The Marahata troops did not offer any resistance to the British on the spot but fled away from the post, thus allowing the British army to proceed towards the town of Baleshwar unopposed. Thus Captain Morgan occupied Baleshwar without any resistance on 22nd September, 1803. He strengthened the British position at Baleshwar and posted his troops outside the town to ward off the Marahata attack. Later he succeeded in occupying Soro after defeating a large contingent of Marahata army on 3rd October, 1803.

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A small operation was needed to conquer the territories on the north- east of river Subarnarekha comprising the Marahata Zamindaries of Pataspur, Kamarda, Bhograi, Shah Bandar, Jamukonda, etc. Col. Fenwick, who headed the reserve force at Midnapore, undertook the task of bringing those border zarnlndars under the British control. By the Treaty of Deogaon, signed on 17th December, 1803, Raghuji Bhonsla ceded to the East India Company the perpetual sovereignty, the province of Cuttack, including ‗the port and district of Baleshwar. Thus, Baleshwar district came under the British administration. Captain Morgan remained in-charge of the district at first as the officer commanding at Baleshwar, but subsequently as Collector, Magistrate and Salt and Customs Agent. Under him there were four native Amils or Collectors of revenue at Baleshwar, Soro, Bhadrak and Dolgram. In 1804, the newly acquired territories of Odisha were divided into two divisions the northern and southern, with the river Mahanadi as the boundary between them. For each division, a British officer was appointed as the Judge, Magistrate and Collector. In 1805, George Webb was appointed as the Collector of the entire British territories in Odisha, or as it was called the province of Cuttack. For the next 24 years this arrangement continued with its headquarters at Puri up to 1816 and then at Cuttack. From 1805 to 1820, Baleshwar had no separate revenue officer; but in 1821 a Joint Magistrate was stationed at Baleshwar, his duties being chiefly the triaI of criminaI cases and the superintendence of police. In 1828, Baleshwar was constituted an independent collectorate and the first occupant of the office was Henry Ricketts. At first Jajpur and Bhadrak were attached to it, Jajpur being subsequently transferred to Cuttack district. On the north, a perplexing series of transfers and re-transfers of Parganas went on for a long time between Baleshwar and Midnapore. Baleshwar finally acquired a definite dimension in 1870, when the northern boundary was defined, and Baitarani and Dhamra rivers were made the southern limit of the district. As regards the administration of justice and police, Cornwallis system was fully introduced in Odisha in September, 1805 for the establishment of thanas or police stations and appointment of Darogas in-charge of police- stations. The court of Sadar Nizamat Adalat acted as the highest court of appeal for dispensation of criminal justice and it also supervised the police administration. The court of Sadar Dewani Adalat supervised the administration of civil justice. Each police-station controlled a number of villages.

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The British conquest of Odisha was closely followed by the extension of salt monopoly, in the first instance, to the northern division of Cuttack, i.e., from river Subarnarekha to river Mahanadi. The British Regulation of 1804 reserved to the Government the exclusive privilege of manufacturing salt as a source of public revenue. In 1806 James King took over the charge as the first Salt Agent of Odisha with his headquarters at Baleshwar. By the Regulation 22 of 1814, the saIt monopoly was extended to the southern part of the coastal tract of Odisha. The sale price was fixed at two rupees per maund in the Golas or store-houses of the Government but the merchants sold it at a much higher rate to the people by adding the cost of transport and their profits. Naturally it caused much hardship to the people who never paid so high a price for purchasing salt and thus it was a cause of their dissatisfaction against the British rule. The northern division contained 8 aurang (salt manufacturing centres), such as, Bolang, Sartha, Dasmolang, Panchmolang, Ankura, Chudamani, Dhamra and Chardia. The salt agency was capable of producing more than 4 lakh maunds of salt in one season. The salt workers, malangis were paid at the rate of 40 rupees only per 100 maunds of salt. They were further required to give 15 maunds of extra salt for payment of zarnindar‘s revenue and for suktee charges i.e. for loss of weight due to evaporation of water from salt. Besides the fixed rate, at times the malangis were paid 2 annas (Re.0.12) extra per maund in order to increase production to the utmost extent. There were 4 sale Golas situated in the central places like Baleshwar, Soro, Bhadrak and Basta to supply the article to the people. The rate was Rs. 2‘3‘6 (Rs.2.22) per maund, 3 and half annas (Rs.0.22) being the cost of transportation from the aurangs to the sale Golas. The estimated sale of panga salt in this division was on an average 1,20,000 maunds per year. Large amount of salt was exported from the division to the Government sale Gola at Sulkia near to Kolkata. In 1825 the estimated quantity of salt to be sent to Kolkata was 3,25,000 maunds. At Sulkia salt was disposed of by auction sales in limited lots to the merchants. Naturally the price fluctuated throughout the year and as determined by the needs of the merchants. In April 1825, the sale price was Rs.411-O. (Rs.411.50) per 100 maunds of salt. Thus, Baleshwar panga saIt earned a lot of profit for the Company in the early days of the British rule in Odisha. Considerable quantities of rice and salt were still exported from the ports of Baleshwar, Chudamani and Dhamra. The British authority adopted certain rules for management of the ports and for collection of custom duties from these ports of Baleshwar. The custom house for the province was located at Baleshwar that was still the principal port of the province. The Government had no provision for the collection of customs in other parts of the province. Obviously, the largest 45 volume of trade passed through the ports and custom house of Baleshwar. It was the saIt trade and the export of excess agriculturaI products like paddy and rice which maintained the maritime activities of the people. By the rules adopted on 4th May, 1804, it was provided that only a single duty was to be imposed on the import of goods from any foreign country either by sea or land. After the payment of that duty, the merchant could carry his goods to whatever part of the province he felt most conducive to his interest without any hindrance by the authorities. Goods of every description, except a few articles, imported by sea from Bengal or any other part of the British India, accompanied with a ‗rowanah‘ were required to pay a duty of 2.5 per cent on the valuation specified therein. Goods, not accompanied with a ‗rowanah‘ were required to pay the duty as specified in the Book of Rates. Some articles like wheat, rice, bullocks, agricultural implements, images intended for religious purposes, etc., were exempted from duty on being imported or exported either by sea or land. However, it was required that the quantity or number and value must be reported to the Darogas of the Chowkeys. The imports or exports of canon, gun powder and weapons into or from the province were strictly prohibited. As a check against smuggling, it was provided that goods attempted to be smuggled into or from the province by sea or land would be subject to confiscation. The import and export duties were regulated from England obviously to favour British manufacturers as much as possible. The transit duties were levied on all goods manufactured in the country or imported by land into the British possessions. Initially the goods were made to pay a separate duty at each of the custom houses they passed and naturally when they reached the consumer, they were taxed with high duties according to the length of the journey. In 1810 such a system was abolished by a new regulation. Besides the central custom house at Baleshwar, 8 chowkeys were established at different places in the district. They were (i) Baliapal, (ii) Rajghat, (iii) Remuna, (iv) Balaramgarhi (v) Bangreah, (vi) Phuladi, (vii) Chudamani and (viii) Dhamra. Thus, the chowkeys were stretched from Baliapal on the bank of river Subarnarekha in the north to Dhamra on the bank of river Dhamra in the south. From the statement of the collections from customs duties in Baleshwar for four years from 1825 to 1829, it was found that the total amount collected was Rs. 60,670 and 5 annas (Rs. 60,670.31) and the total expense incurred was Rs. 25,301 and 3 annas (Rs.25, 301.19). Thus the net proceeds during those years amounted to Rs. 35,369 and 2 annas (Rs. 35,369.12) with an average of Rs.8,842 and 4 annas (Rs.8,842.25) per year. The greater portion of the duties was collected in transit of goods at the inland chowkeys. It is evident from the fact that out of the total collections of Rs. 60,670 and 5

46 annas (Rs.60,670.31) from 1825 to 1829, only Rs. 4,937 and 8 annas (Rs. 4,937.50) were collected at the sea ports and the rest of the amount was collected at the inland chowkeys, The main cause of decrease in the collection of duties was the gradual decline in the volume of trade that passed through Baleshwar custom house. In 1825 the Collector of Customs reported to the Board of Customs, Salt and Opium that the decline was mainly perceptible in the trade of cotton goods. It was noticed that large quantities of cloth were being imported from Europe and sold at cheap rates in the market. A significant change in the administrative set up in Odisha was introduced by the Regulation 5 of 1818. It created the new office of ―Commissioner‖ in Cuttack and the Commissioner was vested with all the powers and functions of the circuit court for the province. By the Regulation 1 of 1829 the officer was known as the Divisional Commissioner of Revenue and Circuit. In 1828 the Governor-General in Council resolved to divide the province into three distinct divisions or districts, such as, Puri, Cuttack and Baleshwar. Throughout the 19th century, these three coastal districts and a number of garhjats constituted British Odisha and were administered from the divisional headquarters at Cuttack. British Administrative Policies and their Effects: 1828-1900 Within a few years of the Revolt of 1817, the Government introduced a decisive change in its land revenue policy. The Cornwallis system was abandoned and after prolonged discussions it was decided to establish the mahalwari system of settlements in the ‗ceded and conquered province‘ including Odisha. It was so called because the settlement of revenue came finally to be concluded on behalf of a mahal. Although the government did not technically adopt the rayatwari settlement, the provisions for a thorough enquiry and survey imparted to the new system, known as mahalwari, the characteristics of rayatwari system. The progress of settlement was very slow in the initial period as the regulation strictly required that all enquiries should be on the spot and that too, only by European officers. In those days there was only one European officer, the District Collector, in Baleshwar district. Naturally, by 1831 only one estate in Baleshwar was settled. In 1833 Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General, decided to overhaul the whole system. He formulated certain principles and finally a new plan of settlement was evolved. It was embodied in the Regulation of 1833 and a circular was issued to all Commissioners to expedite survey and settlement proceedings. In fact, a number of Indian Deputy Collectors were appointed to assist the European officers in their work.

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The survey and settlement operations commenced as per the new regulation. The Collectors were assisted by some Indian Deputy Collectors in three districts of Odisha. The government appointed a special Deputy Collector to investigate into the title of the people to hold rent-free tenures. In Odisha such rent-free tenures were numerous, nearly equal in value to two- third of the total land revenue. The Board of Revenue decided that the investigation of all claims to hold land in rent-free tenures was to be conducted simultaneously with and must form a component part of the settlement. Under the able guidance of the Commissioners like Henry Ricketts and A. J. M. Mills, the settlement operation progressed rapidly. In 1839-40, there were 14 Deputy Collectors in Baleshwar district who were engaged in the settlement operations and were also trying resumption cases. The work was almost completed by 1844. As regards the term of the settlement, the Government decided to fix it for thirty years. The decision was enacted by Act VI of 1837. Thus, a long-term settlement was finally enforced in the province from 1837-38 though the work was completed by 1844-45. The success of the settlement of 1837 was obvious from the small number of estates held khas or directly by the government and farmed out in consequence of the recusancy of the Zamindars. In the district, there were 922 mahals on the rent-roll, out of which only 6 mahals were held khas and 10 mahals were farmed out in consequence of recusancy of proprietors. Mills finally observed that ―the execution of this great work is, with all its imperfection a blessing, and the extension of it to thirty years, the greatest blessing which government has conferred on this province.‖ Henry Ricketts, who visited the district in 1853 as a member of the Board of Revenue, stated in his report that due to the long-term settlement, the value of property had trebled, and cultivation has spread in the district. But remissions commensurate with the losses had not been granted in time of calamities. On the whole, incidence of the settlement on the people was lighter in Baleshwar than in Cuttack. Ricketts drew the attention of the government to the problem of remission of revenue in times of natural calamities. He believed that the very stability of the settlement was in danger on account of indifference towards such calamities. But the Government failed to take notice of the gravity of the problem and it caused immense sufferings to the poor cultivators who did not get any liberal remission from their zamindars in time of natural calamities which frequently occurred in Odisha. The worst calamity that the people of Odisha suffered in the 19th century was the famine of 1866. It was a disaster which took away one-third of her entire population. The disastrous famine of 1866 had its origin in the severe drought of 1865. The Collectors of Cuttack and Baleshwar were new

48 to their assignments. They had no experience of dealing with serious famine. Therefore, the government took a very complacent view of the situation at the initial stage of the famine. Odisha always exported rice. The traders never took the initiative to import rice to Odisha. Without importing rice the famine situation could not be managed. In the month of June 1866, the government realised the gravity of the situation and authorised the Commissioner to import rice to Odisha. But the monsoon had commenced and it rendered the import of rice and conveying it to the interiors extremely difficult. The death toll due to famine was the highest during the rainy season from July to September. In August heavy rain and storms caused high flood and large extent of territories were submerged in flood waters. Consequently people were destined to die and they died in very large numbers. Fakir Mohan Senapati, one of the foremost litterateur of Odisha, then the headmaster of the Mission School in Baleshwar, and a native of the district vividly described the famine situation in his autobiography. Fakir Mohan was eye witness to the plight of the people for want of food grains and how they consumed leaves of trees. He describes the scene of dead bodies being carried in carts everyday for about a month and a half in Baleshwar town. By September 1866, the government established 22 relief centres in the district where cooked food was distributed. The relief operations continued throughout the year 1867 and large quantities of rice were imported into the province. The prices were subsidised so as to enable the people to buy the articles at a cheaper rate. In order to mitigate the sufferings of the government employees, their allowances were enhanced from 1 April, 1867 to the end of the year. The cultivators, who were unable to secure seeds for themselves, were advanced paddy for cultivation. By adopting all such measures, the government tried to restore normalcy in the province. In December 1866, a Commission was appointed by the Government of India and its report was made available in April, 1867. The devastating famine of 1866 rendered the resettlement of the estates in Odisha almost impossible. The British authorities adopted a lenient policy in view of the calamity and the thirty years long settlement which was to lapse in 1867, was extended for a period of another 30 years. A proclamation was issued to that effect on 26th June 1867 and it invited the zamindars to appear before the District Collectors by 1st August 1867 and execute the necessary agreements with the government. Thus, at one stroke, the government conferred the blessings of a long settlement without any enhancement of its demands.

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The province slowly recovered from the effects of the famine. By 1873- 74, the Zamindars were able to pay the land revenue to the government without any difficulty. The condition of the tenants, however, did not improve even after the enforcement of the Bengali Rent Act of 1859. In fact, the Act of 1859 remained in force in the province for a long time. By its provisions, rent cases were heard by the revenue courts as it was argued that the revenue officers were much better judges of such matters than the Massifs. Besides, the proceedings in the revenue courts were simpler, speedier and cheaper than in the civil courts. But the peasants in Odessa made little use of the Act. Six years before the lapse of the term of the settlement in Odisha, the government decided to start the major settlement of the province in right earnest. In 1891, H. R. Reilly was appointed as the Settlement Officer to conduct the survey and settlement operations. Before he could make any substantial progress, he died in October, 1892 in an accident and Maude succeeded him. He completely reorganized the programmes, recast scales of establishment and secured uniformity of procedure. In October 1894 the charge of Baleshwar was separated and S. L. Maddox remained in charge as the Settlement Officer. He completed the settlement operations and submitted a voluminous report in March 1900. After the abandonment of salt manufacture by the Government in 1863, the salt trade was managed by the system of excise. The private manufacturers were permitted to produce it by payment of the fixed duty per maund to the government. At the same time the import of foreign salt increased rapidly. The local salt industry could not compete with the superior quality of foreign salt available at a cheaper rate. Even the salt imported from Madras was cheaper than the indigenous product. The Salt Department in Odisha was transferred to the supervision of the Commissioner of Salt Revenue at Madras in 1885 and from January 1886 the new system came into effect. One Assistant Salt Commissioner was posted at Baleshwar. Under the strict control and stringent rules of the Madras system, local salt manufacture did not increase. In Baleshwar district salt manufacture decreased by more than 50 per cent due to large importation of Liverpool salt. Baleshwar was once the centre for the production of huge quantities of finest quality of panga salt in the eastern coast. As it produced only 2,939 maunds of panga salt, the government decided to abolish its manufacture from November 1887 and completely depended on Liverpool salt. The discontinuance of the manufacture, no doubt, excited some public feeling in the district. It was an incalculable loss to the district and especially to the common people who depended on it for their livelihood. For a long time Odisha imported salt from outside in spite of its extensive sea coast and potentiality for production of salt. 50

Towards 1874, the importance of Baleshwar port declined considerably and its place was taken by the newly formed inland port of Chandbali whch was connected with the Bay of Bengal by river Dhamra. Light steamers ran there almost daily to and fro Kolkata. The importance of Chandbali grew rapidly and towards 1881 it became the principal port of the province. By the growing demand of Chandbali port, more steamers visited the place and the government also ran steamers from Cuttack to Kolkata. Two private firms also joined in the competition and that resulted in the decrease of freight rates and increase in the volume of trade. As the inland water link between Cuttack and Chandbali was very popular, the British authorities decided to complete the link between Chandbali and Kolkata through a range of canals. Towards the close of 1880-81, the government gave approval for this new inland water communication project. The length of canal for joining Kolkata with Chandbali was 147·2 km. and it was divided into four ranges between Rasalpur in Midnapore district of West Bengal and Matai in Baleshwar district. The project was completed soon after 1887 and the Odisha Coast Canal continued as the important route for communication between Odisha and Bengal till the end of the 19th century A. D. Steps were taken in the last decade of the 19th century for construction of railways through coastal Odisha. Two railway companies took the responsibility for joining Kolkata with Ganjam via Baleshwar and Cuttack with a branch line to Puri. The Bengal Nagpur Railway (B. N. R.) service was started in 1895. By the close of the year 1899-1900 the main bridges were completed and the railway route was opened in the coastal line except in the section between Howrah and Kolaghat. The importance of the inland port at Chandbali and the Odisha Coast Canal rapidly declined after the opening of the railways. Odisha came under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata High Court in 1862. Baleshwar had only a Munsif‘s Court. In 1872 the people of Baleshwar petitioned the Collector requesting him for the establishment of a court of a Subordinate Judge. The demand was accepted and such a court was established in 1875, but due to less number of civil suits the court was abolished.However, it was but again revived in 1881 and 1882 by the Commissioner of Odisha. John Beams, the Collector of Baleshwar remarked in 1877 that ―There is no professional crime in Odisha, and the people are as a rule, very quiet and orderly‖. However, in the last quarter of the 19th century, the number of criminal cases brought to the courts showed anincreasing tendency. Several reasons attributed towards that were sociaI progress, peoples‘ increasing familiarity with court processes, gradual declining authority of the Zamindars, 51 and above all, improvement in the material condition of the people. The Bench system for administering criminal justice was introduced in Baleshwar in 1890 after the adoption of the revised Code of Criminal Procedure in 1872. The Benches consisted of a salaried Magistrate and two or more honorary Magistrates exercised even summary powers. Growth of National Consciousness, 1919-1920 In Odisha, as elsewhere in India in the 19th century A. D., the growth of socio-political awareness was facilitated mainly due to two factors; firstly, the rise of a middle class intelligentsia, and secondly, the growth of mass media like press, journals, etc. The establishment of English-medium schools, colleges and universities spread the western education and slowly but steadily a new class of intelligentsia with novel hopes and aspirations appeared on the Indian scene. In the 1840s the inhabitants of Baleshwar wanted an English medium school and petitioned for it. In November, 1853 the government opened the first English medium school at Baleshwar in the name of Baleshwar Zilla School. At that time, there were only two more such schools in Odisha, one at Puri and the other at Cuttack. In 1854, the famous Wood‘s Despatch introduced the grant-in-aid system with a hope that it would bring forward private enterprisers in the field. In 1867, only ten candidates appeared in the Entrance (Matriculation) examination from three Zilla Schools of the Odisha Division, and only three students came out successful. The Zamindar family of Lakshmannath started a Middle English school and it was raised to a High English school during 1876-77. The Baptist missionaries established a modern press in Odisha in 1837. After the second press in Cuttack was established in 1867, in 1868, the third printing press was established at Baleshwar by the efforts of Fakir Mohan Senapati backed by local men and Zamindars. The fourth printing press was also established at Baleshwar by a local Zamindar. The establishment of printing presses served primarily three purposes, namely, printing of journals, preparation of text books and development of literature. From the printing press of Baleshwar, Fakir Mohan Senapati edited Bodhadayini (literal writing) and Baleshwar Sambad Vahika (news items), which became a weekly journal in 1872. It was probably the most influential journal of Odisha, next to Utkal Dipika, in the last quarter of the 19th century A. D. The journal discussed many socio-religious and political problems of the province in particular and the country in general. At the same time, several organizations sprang up to spearhead people‘s interest in different fields. Three such prominent organizations in the then Baleshwar district were (1) National Society at Baleshwar

52 established in 1878, (2) Bhadrak Desh Hitaisini Sabha at Bhadrak established in 1874, and (3) B. Dey‘s Social Club at Baleshwar established in 1895. These organizations prepared the ground for national upsurge against foreign domination. In the second half of the 19th century, Baleshwar readily came under the influence of Brahmo preachers. By 1860, a Samaj, on the Adi Samaj model, existed in the town. It became effective only a few years later when Babu Bhagaban Chandra Das joined the movement. He brought much progressive spirit to it and mainly through his influence; some prominent men of Baleshwar joined the Samaj. They carried on propaganda in the neighbouring villages and thus the Brahmo ideals spread in and around Baleshwar. In 1888, Nandalal Banerjee, a missionary of the New Dispensation, made Baleshwar his principal centre and his efforts greatly strengthened Brahmo activities at Baleshwar. The political consciousness of the people in Odisha was roused during the last decade of the 19th century by their association with the Indian National Congress. In the second session held at Kolkata in the last week of December 1886, the National Society of Baleshwar sent three members, namely, Baikuntha Nath De, Bhagaban Chandra Das and Ramesh Chandra Mandal. They laid the foundation of constitutional struggle of the people against the British authorities. The agitation for amalgamation of Odiyaspeaking tracts roused and moulded public opinion and helped greatly in the growth of political consciousness of the people in the early part of the 20th century. The first proposal for the unification of the scattered Oriya- speaking tracts under single administration came from Raja Baikuntha Nath De of Baleshwar and Babu Bichitrananda Patnaik of Cuttack in 1875. Towards the end of the year 1902, Raja Baikuntha Nath De once again presented a memorial to Lord Curzon urging the Governor-General to constitute a separate administrative unit for all Odiaspeaking territories or to keep them under one provincial administration of either Bengal, Madras or the Central Provinces. The demand of the people paved the way for the establishment of a new central organisation in the province to put forth their grievances before the British authorities. On the 30th and 31st December, 1903 the historic gathering of Utkal Sammilani met amidst unprecedented enthusiasm and spearheaded the Odia Movement till the formation of a separate province in 1936. Baleshwar and its people played their due role in the movement. Raja Baikuntha Nath De presided over its tenth session held at Cuttack. The people of Odisha were not satisfied with being tagged with Bihar in 1912. The crucial meeting of the Utkal Sammilani held at Baleshwar in December 1916 formed a seven-member committee to act as a pressure group towards 53 the union of the Odia-speaking tracts throughout the year. The 13th annual session of the Utkal Sammilani was held at Cuttack on 30th and 31st March, 1918 under the presidentship of Fakir Mohan Senapati and it constituted a Standing Council of 65 members from all parts of Odisha including the outlying tracts. Non-Cooperation Movement In the annual session of the Indian National Congress held at Nagpur in the last week of December 1920, the finaI decision on the launching of non- cooperation movement was taken. Thirty-five delegates from Odisha including some prominent leaders of the then Baleshwar district, namely, Mukunda Prasad Das and Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab attended the Nagpur Session. They supported the formation of Provincial Congress Committees on linguistic basis. On the basis of such a decision the Utkal Provincial Congress Committee was constituted in early 1921 with Pandit Gopabandhu Das as its first President. The District Congress Committees were gradually formed and Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab took charge of the then Baleshwar district. Dr. Mahtab, Karunakar Panigrahi, Krushna Prasad Mahapatra and Bhairab Chandra Mahapatra reached Baleshwar town in the morning of 6th April, 1921 and thereafter plunged into the national movement with a sense of devotion and discipline. Soon, a number of school students gave up their studies and joined Congress as volunteers; prominent among them were Biswanath Hota and Nilambar Das. Other youngmen who joined the movement were Nandakishore Das, Banchanidhi Mohanty, Ghanashyam Sahu, Upendra Nath Panda, Subodha Chandra Deo, Surendra Nath Das and Muhammad Hanif. They resigned from their Government jobs and dedicated themselves to the Congress work. Such examples of personal sacrifice provided much impetus to the movement. In Baleshwar, a dedicated cadre of Congress workers and leaders was formed by those who joined the movement in 1921. They made tremendous sacrifice and suffered the most in the struggle for freedom. At different places in Odisha, some centres were established to organise the Congress activities and to train up workers and volunteers for the movement. One such prominent centre was Swaraj Mandir at Baleshwar, which was under the guidance of Dr. Mahtab. The Congress volunteers were taught how to spread among villagers the message of non-co-operation. The Congress programmes were on (i) boycott of government schools, colleges law courts, etc., (ii) boycott of foreign goods, (iii) propagation of hand- spinning and weaving by popularising the use of charkha, (iv) establishment of village Panchayats and national schools, (v) prohibition, etc. All such programmes were pursued in right earnest by the Congress volunteers in different parts of the district. 54

In the Baleshwar District Congress Committee, Bipin Behari Das and Harekrushna Mahtab acted as the President and Secretary respectively. Prominent workers who were allotted different areas of the district includea) Jaleshwar: Karunakar Panigrahi, Biswanath Hota and Harendra Ghose, b) Basta: Krushna Prasad Mahapatra and Nilambar Das and c) Soro : Nanda Kishore Das. Bhairab Chandra Mahapatra remained in charge of the Congress office in Baleshwar town where Mahtab also worked hard with the help of Surendra Nath Das and Subodh Chandra De to spread the message of the Congress. As a number of students left schools and colleges, the Congress leaders decided to establish some NationaI schools and colleges for educating their children. A number of such institutions sprang up in different parts of the province. In order to co-ordinate the activities of such National schools and to conduct the examinations for students, Utkal Swarajya Sikshya Parishad was constituted at Cuttack under the presidentship of Gopabandhu Das. Nanda Kishore Das joined as the Secretary of the organisation. The Parishad acted as National University which arose in the days of non-co-operation movement. Pickettings before the foreign liquor shops and cloth shops were widely held. It was successful to a large extent in Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Jaleshwar area. Heaps of foreign clothes were burnt at several places. The establishment of Village Panchayats for arbitration of petty civil and criminal cases were to some extent successful. The villagers enthusiastically set up such organisations to solve their problems. Towards the end of July 1921, the All India Congress Committee met at Bombay. Harekrushna Mahtab attended the session as one of the members from Odisha. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) resolved to emphasize several programmes of the movement like the boycott to the Prince of Wales, the programmes for popularisation of charkha, etc. In the meantime, the province got ten thousand rupees from Tilak Swarajya Fund which was distributed to different district units of the party. Baleshwar got Rs.1500 as its share. In December 1921, about 127 delegates from Odisha attended the annuaI session of the Congress at Ahamadabad which included 53 delegates from Baleshwar district. They returned with much enthusiasm to start civil disobedience as the next phase of the movement. A large number of volunteers were recruited for this purpose and in every district some specific areas were also selected. In this district a village known as Sartha under the Basta police-station was chosen by the organisers. But the tragic incidence at Chauri Chaura in February 1922 made Gandhiji to suspend the programme of civil disobedience indefinitely. Within 55 a few months top Congress leaders in the country including Gandhiji were arrested and put into jails. The Congress leaders of Odisha, Gopabandhu Das, H. Mahtab, and others were put behind the bars. The Government adopted strong repressive measures to put an end to the movement. The emergence of the Swaraj Party in 1923 opened a new vista in Indian politics. Its decision to participate in the elections to the various legislative bodies in order to obstruct the work of the government from within the four walls of the council chambers until the demands of the people were met, gave rise to new hopes and aspirations. In spite of the opposition from a section of the Congress Party, leaders like Pandit Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das and others were convinced about the efficacy of their plans and programmes and ultimately succeeded in getting approval of the Congress. In the elections to the legislatures in November 1923, the Swaraj Party contested a large number of seats. In Bihar and Odisha, they won 12 seats. Radha Ranjan Das from north Baleshwar constituency was the only elected member of the party from Odisha. In fact, the whole organisation of the Congress was in shambles. Pandit Gopabandhu Das was in jail. Harekrushna Mahtab, who was released after one year of rigorous imprisonment, tried to continue Khadi programmes in Swaraj Mandir at Baleshwar. He also brought out Prajatantra as a weekly newspaper from his own press at Baleshwar towards the end of 1923. Bansidhar Rath and Biswanath Hota, the two devoted Congress members managed it well. In 1924 H. Mahtab was also elected as the Chairman of the Baleshwar Zilla Board and undertook welfare activities throughout the district in right earnest. The popularity of Congress was evident when two Congress members, H. K. Mahtab and Nanda Kishore Das, were elected from the district in November, 1926 to the Legislative Council of Bihar and Odisha. Members of the Council from Odisha unanimously drew the attention of government to recurrent high floods and consequent damage to crops, property and lives and demanded immediate measures for protection against floods and prompt relief. A devastating flood occurred in the districts of Baleshwar and Cuttack during July-August 1927. The gravity of the situation was realised by the government and Sir H. L. Stephenson, the Governor of Bihar and Odisha, gave a statement in the Council on the 30th August, 1927 assuring the House that the officers had been provided with all the funds needed for relief operations. On the same day, H. Mahtab moved a resolution urging the government to appoint a committee consisting of non- official and official members ―to start an immediate enquiry into the state of things in the flood affected areas of Cuttack and Baleshwar districts to ascertain the magnitude of the loss the people have sustained and to suggest measures of relief on behalf of the government. J. D. Sifton gave a lengthy statement on the flood situation in Odisha with an assurance from 56 him that he himself was going to visit the distressed parts immediately after the conclusion of the session. By the pressure of public opinion, the government appointed an expert committee consisting of three members to investigate the flood problem in Odisha. The committee submitted its report in ·1928. It was the first authoritative review on the flood problems in Odisha, but its recommendations could not be implemented due to administrative and financial difficulties. Civil Disobedience Movement The political scene in India took a dramatic turn with the announcement of the appointment of the Indian Statutory Com-mission in November 1927 consisting of seven members of the British Parliament headed by Sir John Simon. The primary purpose of such a commission was to evaluate the working of the Government of India Act, 1919 with a view to determining the future course of constitutional development. The exclusion of Indians from a body, which was to recommend for further constitutional advancement of the Indian people, was so unreasonable and unjust that it finally paved the way for the next mass movement in the country. In the annual session of the Indian National Congress held at Lahore in the last week of December 1929 under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, nothing but total independence or purna swaraj was accepted as the national demand and the Congress was determined to reach the goal by mass civil disobedience movement throughout the country. By the call of the Lahore Congress, it was decided to celebrate 26th January as the Independence Day throughout India in which the people were required to pledge their full support to the declaration of independence. At Baleshwar, Harekrushna Mahtab and Nanda Kishore Das took prominent part in organizing the function. When Gandhiji decided to launch the countrywide movement by breaking the Salt Law at Dandi, a village on the sea coast in Gujarat, it was received with much enthusiasm by the Congress leaders in Odisha. People took it as their rights to manufacture salt along the long coastal belt. Baleshwar played a conspicuous role in Salt Satyagraha which began on 6th April, 1930 with Dandi March. The Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee in its meeting at Baleshwar on 16th March, 1930, decided to start the movement at Inchudi, a place in the sea coast, 16 kilometres from Baleshwar town. The villagers at Inchudi showed exemplary tenacity and courage throughout the movement. On the basis of GovernmentReport, it is claimed that the Salt Satyagraha at Inchudi occupied the second place in India, the first being Gujarat where Gandhiji himself led the movement.

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The first batch of 21 volunteers, led by Gopabandhu Chowdhury and Acharya Harihar Das, began their march to Inchudi from Swaraj Ashram at Cuttack, They were determined to break the Salt Law on 13th April and accordingly they planned their journey of about 192 km. in 7 days. But on 8th April, Gopabandhu Chowdhury was arrested at Chandal and was confined in the Cuttack jail for seven days. In his absence the party was led by Acharya Harihar Das and they reached Inchudi on 12th April. On the next day, 12 volunteers including the leader, Acharya Harihar broke the Salt Law and began the preparation of salt on the sea coast. The police party was already on the spot and they arrested the leader and 6 volunteers. Thus began the Civil Disobedience Movement in Odisha. There was unprecedented enthusiasm in the Salt Satyagraha launched at Inchudi. Soon a large number of volunteers in several batches reached Baleshwar sea coast from Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Sambalpur, Baripada and other parts of Odisha. The local people joined with the Congress volunteers in large numbers and in six centres on the sea coast contraband salt was prepared. Surendra Nath Das, who had organised the villagers near lnchudi, was arrested and sentenced to six months imprisonment along with Jivaramji Kalyanji, a prominent Gujarati Congress worker on 12th April, a day before the beginning of actual struggle. However, the people of the surrounding villages did not co-operate at all with the government officials and they even refused to supply drinking water to them. The representative of the Odia newspaper, the Samaj, who toured the area at that time, reported that Surendra Nath Das was the real sardar or Commander of the local people and Inchudi became the Bardoli of Odisha. Thereafter, Surendra Nath Das became popular as Sardar Surendra. On 20th April police saw hundreds of women violating the Salt Law and collecting salt in two centres at Inchudi. They were led by Rama Devi and Malati Devi, the two prominent women leaders of Odisha. Thus, the women of Odisha took part openly in the freedom struggle. In May, 1930 new salt manufacturing centres were opened on the long sea coast of Odisha. In the then Baleshwar district, besides Inchudi, another prominent centre was Sartha. It operated under the leadership of Mathura Mohan Behera, Karunakar Panigrahi and Nilambar Das. Soon the entire coast line of the district became the centre for manufacture of salt running altogether 21 centres. They were spread from Sartha in the north to Iram in the south. Thus, under the inspiring leadership of the Congress leaders the people of Baleshwar achieved a spectacular success in Salt Satyagraha. Meanwhile, the two most influential newspapers propagating the Congress views and news of the movement, the Prajatantra of Baleshwar and the Samaj of Cuttack, were forced to stop their publications in May 1930 for an indefinite period due to stringent press ordinance. A veritable reign of 58 terror was let loose to suppress the mass movement in the district. As a protest against the repressive policy of the Government a member of the Legislative Council of Bihar and Odisha, Bhagabat Prasad Mahapatra of Bhadrak, tendered his resignation in May 1930. Besides Salt Satyagraha, other programmes of civil disobedience including picketting before excise shops, boycott of foreign cloth, spread of Khadi, non-payment of Chaukidari tax. etc., were continued. In some places the people also refused to pay the Chaukidari tax. Ancillary to this a serious incident took place at Srijang near Inchudi where a police party was manhandled by an infuriated mob on 12th July, 1930. It led to severe repressive measures on the villagers. The properties of prominent persons like Gour Mohan Das and Bidyadhar Rath were looted and the villagers fled away to other places in panic. A large number of villagers were arrested and a punitive tax amounting to six thousand rupees was imposed on the villagers. Towards the end of November 1930 about 1,200 persons were in jail. The Government promulgated an ordinance and declared all Congress organisations as unlawful. The Editor of Prajatantra was convicted and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for treason. The office was searched and important documents were seized by the police. The Salt Satyagraha was resumed in many places of coastal Odisha in January 1931. At Baleshwar, the Congress office functioned at a place known as Pharasidinga, a French enclave, over which the British authorities had no control. Sardar Surendra Nath Das, who had returned from jail organized the movement at Inchudi once again and directed it from the French enclave. The Congress was forced to resume civil disobedience again in 1932. The government promptly engaged its machinery to arrest the Congress leaders and volunteers all over the country. However, some of them went underground and tried to continue the movement. Sardar Surendra Nath Das guided the movement from Pharasidinga till his arrest in February, 1933. The British police could not enter the area without permission of the French Government. So the top officials of the district visited Inchudi and by threat of persecution brought undertakings from the villagers that they were not participating in the movement. Nilambar Das worked secretly in north Baleshwar for a few months. With strong repressive measures the authorities thought of putting down the movement as quickly as possible. But the movement lingered on till the early part of 1934. On 9th May, 1934, Gandhiji began his famous padayatra from Puri for removal of the conception of untouchability from among the people. In the second phase of the Padayatra in Odisha which began from Bairi on 21st May, 1934 he continued his march till 7th June, 1934 which ended at Bhadrak. The living condition of the village people in Odisha moved his heart

59 to such an extent that Odisha always remained imprinted in his heart and memory. Ending his march at Bhadrak due to the coming of rainy season Gandhiji left for Bengal on 8th June by train. During his tour, at Baleshwar railway station, he was received by a huge crowd for which the train was detained for an hour. The Harijan movement in Odisha roused the people to a great extent. Some of the top Congress leaders inspired by Gandhian ideals, devoted themselves whole-heartedly to build some Congress centres in remote rural areas for pioneering the cause of harijans, Khadi and village reconstruction programmes. In the district there were two prominent centers, viz., (i) Karma Mandir at Agarpada in Baleshwar town and (ii) Bhadrak Ashram at Bhadrak guided by Harekrushna Mahtab and Jivaramji Kalyanji respectively. In the first generaI election to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in early 1937, all Congress nominees of the district were returned successfully except the candidate for special Muslim constituency. When the first Congress Ministry was formed in July, 1937, two Congress legislators of the district, namely, Mukunda Prasad Das and Nanda Kishore Das, were duly elected as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. The ministry continued in office till 4th November 1939, i.e., for about two years and four months. Besides the Congress programmes and policies which were given effect to by the ministry in Odisha it had to seriously endeavour to tackle a number of problem facing the new province, specially the agrarian and economic problems. It was one of the poorest provinces in the country and its annual budget was hardly two crores of rupees. But within the limited resources the Congress ministry tried its best to keep up the promises of the party and its ideals. To tackle the problem of opium addiction in this district a comprehensive scheme was prepared and a Prohibition Officer was appointed in September 1938 to look after the detailed arrangements for introduction of the scheme. The programme was inaugurated on 12th October, 1938 in Baleshwar. All the Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and Congress leaders attended the function and addressed a huge gathering in the municipal office premises in the evening appealing to the people to cooperate. A majority of existing opium shops were closed from 15th October 1938, except 14 shops on the border areas of the district. The Government restricted and regulated the sale of opium and undertook various kinds of measures for the success of the scheme. The Congress ministry resigned on 4th November 1939 on war issue. The party decided to launch individual Satyagraha campaign from October

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1940. In Odisha the movement was inaugurated by H. K.Mahtab, then a member of the Congress Working Committee, who delivered anti-war speech in a meeting at Remuna and was arrested. All ex-ministers, members of the Assembly and leading Congressmen participated in the campaign and courted arrest and imprisonment. While on the one hand the British authorities succeeded in forming a coalition ministry in Odisha in November 1941,the Congress party was forced to launch a new movement in the country from August 1942. The historic resolution of ‗Quit India‘ was adopted by the All India Congress Committee in the night of 8th August, 1942. The British Government swiftly moved its machinery to repress the Congress leaders and their organizations throughout the country from the early morning of 9th August 1942. In Odisha all important Congress leaders were taken into custody. The Government declared all Congress bodies, their officers and other allied organisations as unlawful and the police took possession of those places. The August Revolution was a people‘s movement against the British authority which took violent turns. In the district the first violent incident took place on 17th August 1942 at Bhandaripokhari now under Bhadrak district, where a mob of about four thousand people surrounded the police-station. There were only one Assistant Sub-Inspector and three Constables in the police-station at that time. One Constable was beaten severely and others fled away to save their lives. The police-station was burnt completely. The people also destroyed a wooden bridge so that the police force from outside would not be able to come quickly to the disturbed area. The government arrested the leading agitators including Jagannath Das, a Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the area. A collective fine of Rs. 6,000 was imposed on twelve villages for mob violence. The police resorted to firing at Katsahi where a violent mob attacked an armed police party on 22nd September, 1942. Eight persons died in the incident. Subsequently the ring leader of the area, Muralidhar Panda was arrested. A week later police opened fire to disperse an unruly mob at Khairadihi and then at Tudigadia on 28th September in which two local people and a few persons from Nilagiri were killed. The most tragic incident took place at Eram a place near the seashore in Basudebpur police-station on 28th September 1942. On that fateful day a few hundred villagers had assembled in an open place surrounded on three sides by thorny bushes, muddy fields and ponds, on hearing the usual sound of conch-shells. They had come to listen to their leaders on the possible course of action against the police and local supporters of the British Raj. A strong police contingent headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police 61 arrived there and asked the people to disperse. When the people did not comply, police fired several rounds on a thick crowd which killed 29 people at the spot and injured more than hundred persons. The government was vehemently criticized for such a brutal action and ultimately an official enquiry was made by the Inspector-General of Police and the Revenue Commissioner of Odisha. The enquiry report revealed the lapses of the local police in controlling the situation in the early phase of the rising. In fact, the rising which occurred at several places in the district were primarily due to confrontation of the police party with the mob. The popular upsurge was not properly tackled in its earlier phase and consequently the police action caused serious trouble at several places. The Eram Enquiry Report reveals that ―It is not clear to what extent the general rise in prices and shortage of essential supplies were direct causes of these disturbances but we have little doubt that there were important factors in fomenting discontent‖. After the Eram firing the agitation calmed down in south Baleshwar. A severe cyclone lashed in north Baleshwar on 15th and 16th October, 1942. Thousands of homeless and starved people raided a rice mill at Lakshmannath after the cyclone. Police opened firing to disperse the crowd in which one person was killed and a few were injured. However, the disturbance gradually declined in the district and was almost under control by the end of October 1942. Under the Defence of India Rules, a large number of Congress workers, 15 members of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and its Deputy Speaker, Nanda Kishore Das, were arrested. Several institutions of local-self government both in Cuttack and Baleshwar districts were superseded by the government. The government also promulgated stringent press regulations to control the rationalist newspapers and journals published in Odisha. The economic condition of the people rapidly deteriorated in the country due to high prices and short supplies. It further worsened with the introduction of free trade policy by the Central Government within the eastern region which comprised Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Eastern States. The result of this order was that the provincial Government was deprived of the power to regulate or control movements of food grains and prices. Baleshwar was hard hit due to the cyclone of 1942 and subsequent high flood of 1943. Bengal suffered from a terrible famine at that time in which lakhs of people perished. Its impact was greatly felt at Baleshwar very much. There was no doubt that the government had failed to relieve the distress of the people. Of course the free-trade policy was cancelled due to its disadvantages. But the Premier of Odisha agreed by force of circumstances, to release large stocks of rice to Bengal. 62

After the end of the 2nd World War the situation took a dramatic turn by the victory of the Labour Party in England which paved the way for India‘s independence. In the election to the Odisha Legislative Assembly, the Congress party had won absolute majority. Dr. H. K. Mahtab who won from Bhadrak constituency took the oath of office and secrecy as the Premier of Odisha (now the post is Chief Minister of Odisha) in the forenoon of 23rd April 1946. With the achievement of independence India entered into a new phase of her history. Baleshwar after independence In the pre-Independence period, Baleshwar played a vital role in making Odisha a separate province and preserving Odia language from near extinction under the able stewardship of Fakir Mohan Senapati, Utkal Gouraba Madhusudan Das, Kabibara Radhanath Ray and Raja Baikunthanath Dev. An epoc-making incident happened just after the Independence of India in the princely state of Nilagiri. Prajamandal movement under the leadership of Kailash Chandra Mohanty and Banamali Das against the ruler of the princely state of Nilagiri, now a Sub-Division of Baleshwar, brought a great change in the history of India. When the Prajamandal agitation was intensified with the inspiration and patronage of Congress leaders of thethen Baleshwar district like H.K. Mahatab and others, the State Government was forced to intervene and took over the administration of the territory of Nilagiri on 14th November, 1947. This historical event was eye-opener for Government of India to amalgamate other princely states with the Indian Union. A brief outline of Nilagiri ex-State si given in Appendix-II at the end of this chapter. Chandipur-on-sea has attracted the attention of the whole world for its two Defence Establishments, namely PXE and Interim Test Range (ITR). Land acquisition for this Defence Project witnessed a massive public protest resulting in scaling down of the project establishment. Akash, Agnee, Prithivi have been developed and have been successfully test-fired. Late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, popularly known as the Missile Man, was the mastermind of the ITR project. Baleshwar district, which was previously known as no industry district, now has a number of medium sized industries like Birla Tyres, Balasore Alloys, Emami Paper Mill, Ori Plast, Hari Plast, Eastern Cylinders, Konark Synthetic and Chemicals, Oripol, Tara Tarini Rubber, Ice Factory etc. Besides these a number of small scale industries have grown up throughout the district after independence.

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A lot of development has taken place in the field of transport and communications. The narrow Jagannath Sadak has been widened into a four lane National Highway after independence. An over bridge has been constructed from Fakir Mohan Golei to New Bust Stand at Sahadevkhunta which traffic jamms in the city. Two other over bridges are under constructions at Tamulia Fatak in Balasore town and another at Soro Bazar. Bridges on Subarnarekha and Burha and Kansabansa have helped in steady movement of vehicles and traffic. N.H. authorities have provided by- passes near small towns like Khantapara, Bahanaga, Jamjhadi, Soro etc. for smooth and hasslefree movement of people and vehicles. After the 73rd Constitutional amendment, three tier Panchayat Raj Bodies, namely, Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishad functioning very effectively and safeguarding the true democratic interests for which they have been created. The vital point of this system is that women take an active participation in Panchayat Raj administration. In every field of life such as, education, literature, economy, agriculture, industry, press etc., Baleshwar district earned name and fame in the state of Odisha. The establishment of Boys‘ High Schools, Girls High Schools and colleges have widened the spread and enhanced the standard of higher education in the district. In the past years the district secured top positions in the state in terms of rate of literacy. To add to this, the establishment of Fakir Mohan University in the year 1999 has become a source of inspiration of meritorious students and scholars to pursue their higher studies and research. This University has not only secured a leading position in spreading the contribution of Fakir Mohan Senapati but also produced a number of Ph.D., D.Litt., D.Sc., awardees. It is envisaged that one of the three Chairs for Odia language and literature will be established in this University very shortly. The ongoing construction of Medical College, when completed will fulfill the aspirations of local people in respect of medical education and advanced health care. The Satellite centre of AIIMS, which is under construction will definitely provide sophisticated health care to the people in the district and its adjacent areas. Writers of Baleshwar district have played a significant role in enriching Odia poetry, lyrics, short story, novel, drama, children‘s literature, travelogue, satire, essays and literary criticisms and research scholars of this district have done a valuable service to Odisha and India. They have opened a new horizon of knowledge and have established themselves and the district as great thinkers and reformers. A number of tourist places have been developed in the district which attract tourists from inside and outside India. To name a few, they are Chandipur, Chandaneswar, Remuna, Panchalingeswar, Bhusandeswar etc. 64

Moreover, some places of archaeological importance deserve mention which glorify the ancient architecture of the district of Baleshwar. These include Ajodhya. Print media has registered its presence increasingly in Baleshwar district by publishing Odia newspapers. Rastradutta, Kalantara, Azikali, Dhwani Pratidhwani, Odisha Khabar are being published from Baleshwar. A new change is seen in publication of Odia dailies.Odia newspapers such as the Samaj, Sambad, Dharitri, Samay and Prameya are having their regional printing and publication units at Baleshwar from which their local editions are brought out daily.

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APPENDIX-I Early European Settlements in Baleshwar

The early European settlements in Baleshwar present some features of considerable historical interest. A lot of historical reference is available in the contemporary Muslim and European records regarding the commercial prosperity and transactions in the port and town of Baleshwar. Another port which thrived in the coast of Baleshwar district was Pipili on the mouth of Subarnarekha where at least five European powers such as the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the Dane and the French established their early settlements. However, the place was abandoned by the early 17th century probably due to the formation of sand bars on the mouth of the river and other natural difficulties. But Baleshwar grew into prominence as a manufacturing and commercial centre and as a sea port from the 1730s. The Portuguese, who dominated the Indian trade in the 16th century, were thoroughly discredited because of their association with the pirates and finally were expelled from the coast of the Bay of Bengal by the Moughals in the early decades of the 17th century. Ralph Cartwight established the first British factory at Baleshwar in June, 1633 in the area now known as Barabati. The Madras Council repeatedly resolved to withdraw their factories from the Bengal seaboard, but the settlement was saved by the policy of Cromwell who reorganised the Company on a broader basis in 1657. Hooghly became the head agency in Bengal, and Baleshwar was an out-factory under its control which was administered by a chief with three assistants or councilors. As the Hooghly river was then unsurveyed and without lights or buoy, it was unsafe for large vessels. It was resolved, therefore, to make Baleshwar a port of transshipment, whenever cargoes were carried in native boats round to the Gangetic delta and then, through the river Hooghly to the town. In 1658, the British established their mint at Baleshwar which resulted in increasing the price of silver. The value of cowries, the local currency, in relation to rupees varied according to the availability or scarcity of the former. In 1686, due to the harassment of the Moughal administration in Bengal and Odisha the British were ousted from Hooghly and took shelter at Hijili in 1687. Job Charnock, the head of the British settlement, resolved to take some reprisals on the Moughal port and town of Baleshwar. He succeeded in his mission and inflicted heavy loss by burning and destroying the place. They plundered even the private merchants and the ships on the docks were burnt. The expedition was passed over with contempt by the Moughal emperor Aurangzeb who was then engrossed in wars in South India. Job Charnock again landed on the bank of Hooghly at Sutanati where he began

66 to build a factory in 1688 and thus laid the foundation of Kolkata. Baleshwar remained unoccupied by the English for some years after this, but when Aurangzeb granted a new firman for the re-establishment of their factories in Bengal, Baleshwar factory was probably revived and continued thereafter, though its prominence in the second half of the 18th century had considerably decreased. The Dutch had established themselves in 1632 at Pipili and subsequently they also constructed their factory at a place now known as Ulansahi in Baleshwar, The moat round the Dutch factory is now known as Ulannala, Two Dutch tombs of 18 feet and 16 feet high are now within the compound of Barabati Girls‘ High school. The Danish settlement was close to the Dutch one, having an area of seven acres. It is now known as Dinamardinga which is situated near the Barabati Girls‘ High School. No monument or other evidence of the Danish settlement is now traceable in Baleshwar except the name of the area. The French came to Baleshwar after 1667 and established their settlement in the outskirts of the town known as ‗Farasdinga‘. The French had constructed a thick boundary wall of burnt bricks round their factory which is now in ruins. The French settlement, which was reduced to 38 acres of land, continued under their possession and was under the administrative authority of Chandannagar of Bengal throughout the British rule. However, the Dutch settlement of an area of 7 acres was ceded to the British in 1825 and the land held by the Danes, also 7 acres in area, was ceded to the British in 1846. The graveyards and the names of certain localities are now the only remnants of the early European settlements in Baleshwar.

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Appendix-II History of Nllagiri Ex-State

The ex-state of Nilagiri, with an area of 278 square miles was the only Garhjat state which merged in the district of Baleshwar after independence before the merger of other ex-states with Odisha. It is one of the three Sub- Divisions of the district with the head-quarters at Nilagiri about 22 km. from Baleshwar town. The origin of the ex-state of Nilagiri like most other Garhjat states is shrouded in obscurity. However, it is certain that they were well established as political entities by the late mediaeval period. The antiquities of Ajodhya, 10 km. from Nilagiri town dates back to a much earlier period. It thrived as an important centre of Jainism, Buddhism and . The ruins of temples and icons of different cults are still found in the site, which conclusively prove that the area was once a prominent centre of human activities. The first important ruler mentioned in the traditional history of Nilagiri was Narayan Basanta Birata Bhujanga Baliar Singhdeo, a contemporary of Prataparudradeva of Gajapati dynasty. It is also believed that he married in the Gajapati family of Odisha. This matrimonial alliance helped him to stabilize his position and the jurisdiction of Nilagiri. However, we get a systematic account of the royal family from the time of occupation of Odisha by the East India Company in 1803. The rulers of Nilagiri like the rulers of most of the Garhjat states signed a treaty with the authorities of the Company and agreed to pay an annual tribute to acknowledge its paramountcy.

The line of succession during the British rule is as follows: Rama Chandra Mardaraj Harichandan (1800 A. D.-1810 A. D.) I Govinda Chandra (1811-1848) I Krushna Chandra (1849-1893) I Syam Sundar (1898-1913) I Kishore Chandra (1925-1947)

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The Garhjat rulers were subordinate allies under the paramount authority of the British. The Garhjats of Odisha were known as Tributary Mahals for a long time. By the Regulation 12 of 1805, these Tributary Mahals of Odisha including Nilagiri, were exempted from the operation of the British laws and regulations. In 1814, Lord Hastings established the office of the Superintendent of Tributary Mahals for proper supervision and management. In 1862, adoption Sanads were granted to the chiefs and in 1874 the hereditary title of Raja was conferred on all of them. In 1882, the Kolkata High Court declared in a judgment that the Tributary Mahals of Odisha did not form a part of British India. In 1894, they were recognised as the feudatory chiefs and new Sanads were granted defining their status, powers and position. In the last decade of the 19th century, the British attitude was clearly revealed in the Sanads. To ensure good administration, the chiefs were directed ―you shall recognise and maintain the rights of all your people and you shall on no account oppress them or suffer them to be in any way oppressed‖. They were also strictly enjoined: ―you shall consult the Superintendent of the Tributary Mahals in all important matters of administration and comply with his wishes. The settlement and collection of the land revenue, the imposition of taxes, the administration of justice, arrangements connected with excise, salt and opium, the concession of mining, forest, and other rights, disputes arising out of any such concession, and disputes in which other States are concerned shall be regarded as specially important matters and in respect to them you shall at all times conform to such advice as the Superintendent of the Tributary Mahals may give you‖. Such a clause in the Sanads clearly reveals the nature of British administration and the status enjoyed by the chiefs of Odisha even after the decision of the High Court that those territories did not form a part of British India. In the first decade of the 20th century, the garhjats were recognised as the Feudatory States of Odisha and a Political Agent was appointed in 1906 to assist the chiefs. The paramountcy of the British crown over the Indian States began to be asserted with greater certainty after the Revolt of 1857. The Company‘s policy of annexation was reversed, but the paramount power exercised its function beyond the terms of the treaties in accordance with changing political, social and economic conditions. Sir William Lee-Warner called such a policy as the policy of subordinate union. In case of the Tributary Mahals of Odisha, ―the tie is more or less of a constitutional character. Such powers as the chiefs exercise they owe to British policy, although the country has been declared to lie beyond British India‖. The British authorities interfered in the internal administration of the feudatory chiefs on severaI grounds. Generally the interference took place in cases of disputes between two rajas, disturbances between the raja and his feudatories, disputed succession and 69 misrule or oppressive administration over the people. The British authorities also took-over the administration of a feudatory state if its chief was a minor and the administration was handed over only after the chief became major. The feudatory chiefs were free to run their internal administration as they liked. The people of both regions possessed the cultural and linguistic unity; the political diversity was superimposed only in British time. The British laws and regulations could not be introduced in those states, but the authorities did not give up their responsibility to maintain proper administrative and judicial system in those territories for the benefit of the people. They maintained law and order at all costs, made searching enquiries to find out the grievances of the people and appointed dewans, managers and such other officials to run the administration or to advice the rulers to do so properly. In case of Nilagiri, the dispute regarding succession occurred in 1883- 84 when the Raja Krushna Chandra adopted a son from the Mayurbhanj Raj family who later on became the ruler of the ex-state in 1898. Raja Syam Sundar Mardaraj was kept in Cuttack for about one and a half years from October 1905 to April 1907 in a criminal case judgment. He died at a premature age in 1913 when his son, Kishore Chandra was only nine years old and consequently the ex-state passed under the Court of Wards for twelve years. During this period, the British authorities undertook a detailed survey and settlement of Nilagiri ex-state. The settlement operations began in 1917 and were completed in five years in 1922 during which 312 villages in all were surveyed and the rent of Rs.83,994/-was fixed on the people. Its population, according to 1921 Census, was 65,222 and the tribute paid to the British Government was Rs. 65,222/-. Raja Kishore Chandra Mardaraj got the throne in July 1925 and continued to rule the state till 1948. He was a very unpopular ruler and the people‘s agitation against him began as early as 1928, ten years before the Praja Mandal Movement started in Odisha against the oppressive rulers of the Garhjat states. In 1928, the Raja had agreed to give some relief to the distressed people by reducing the taxes and also by assuring them not to engage in free labour. For about ten years peace was maintained between the ruler and the people. In 1938, when the first Congress Ministry took charge of the administration of the province, the Praja Mandals or People‘s Associations were formed in most of the feudatory states. They were organized to secure legitimate rights and privileges for the people. The rulers were neither prepared to recognise those associations nor to redress the wrongs or grant their just demands. Consequently, the problem took a serious turn and widespread unrest prevailed in several ex-states. The first open revolt took 70 place in Nilagiri. The people were united under the leadership of Kailash Chandra Mohanty, Banamali Das, Hadibandhu Raj, Balaram Raj, Pranabandhu Agarthi, Brundaban Sarangi, etc. As soon as Praja Mandal began to agitate for fulfillment of their demands, the ruler resorted to strong repressive measures. Not only the agitators were arrested, but also heavy fines were imposed and many of them were physically tortured. The situation gradually worsened and several thousands of people prepared for mass civil disobedience movement. At this critical juncture, Harekrushna Mahtab, the then prominent Congress leader of Odisha and the Chairman of the State People‘s Enquiry Committee began negotiations with the ruler of the state and the Political Agent for some settlement of the problem. Finally, the ruler agreed to concede certain demands of the people and peace was restored for a certain period. Though there was temporary settlement with the ruler, the root cause of the grievances was not removed and the ruler took the opportunity of the Second World War to adopt strong measures against the revolting people of his state. Consequently, the trouble started once again after the War ended in 1945. The Praja Mandal held its open sessions under the leadership of Kailash Chandra Mohanty and declared to capture power from the ruler in order to establish a responsible government. The ruler did not hesitate to resort to all kinds of repressive measures, such as, lathi charge, arrest and detention without triaI, etc. In Nilagiri, soon after the independence of India, the Praja Mandal formed a parallel Government and decided to occupy government offices and property. In a desperate effort to maintain his position, it was alleged; the ruler recruited some Muslims in his military force and finally instigated some tribals to plunder the villages. Thus, by October 1947, there was complete anarchy in the state. The Government of Odisha, headed by H. K.Mahtab, submitted regular reports about the affairs of Nilagiri to the Government of India and pressed that some strong action should be taken. The States Ministry finally decided to take charge of the administration of the state. V. P. Menon writes: ―The greatest concern to the Government of India was the possibility that outbreaks among the aborigins might spread to those neighbouring areas in which they formed a considerable proportion of the population...... It appeared that the time had come to take firm and immediate action if chaos was to be prevented. When, therefore, the Government of Odisha reported that the situation in Nilagiri was tense and that the trouble was spreading, the Government of India authorised to send the Collector of the nearest district (which was Baleshwar) to Nilagiri to take over the administration of the State.

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The task was accomplished on 14th November, 1947 without any trouble. A proclamation was issued by the Government of Odisha assuring the people of the state a strong, impartial and just administration. Naba Krushna Chowdhury, then Revenue Minister of Odisha, who directed the operation against Nilagiri on behalf of the Odisha Government gave a stern warning to the Eastern States while addressing a large public meeting at Cuttack on 18th November, 1947. He said : ―They should see the writing on the wall. The only course open before us is that of retaining our freedom and developing strength to establish real sovereignty of the people. The principle applied to Nilagiri may have to be pursued in case of all other States, if they went the same way.‖ In fact, the writing on the wall was clear. The states no longer enjoyed British patronage and they had no independent resources to maintain their position. Exactly one month after the takeover of the administration of Nilagiri, in the crucial meeting of the feudatory chiefs of Odisha held by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the fate of aII the feudatory states of Odisha including Nilagiri was finally decided and this state merged with Odisha on the 1 st January 1948.

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CHAPTER-III PEOPLE Population Baleshwar is the smallest district of the state in area, but as regards population it ranks fourth among the 30 districts of the state. As per 2011 Census, the district was divided into 2 Sub-Divisions, 12 Tahasils and 25 police-stations. Population and Growth of Population over years The table below shows the decennial growth of population of the district from 2001 to 2011.

Census Males Females Total Decadal Percentage Year variation of decadal variations 2001 10,36,511 9,87,997 20,24,508 Base year after district reorganization 2011 11,85,787 11,34,742 23,20,529 +2,96,021 14.62

The district was reorganized in 1993 and hence the census 2001 is the base year Census for the new district. As per 2001 census the total population of the district was 20, 24, 508 and the decadal variation as compared with the census 2011 is 14.62 per cent. Density The density of population varies from decade to decade. It can be seen from the table given below.

Census Year Density of population per sq. km Baleshwar District Odisha State 2001 532 236 2011 610 270 The density of population of Baleshwar district continued to be high and higher than the state average in the Census years of 2001 and 2011. The high density is attributed to fertile land, good agriculture and relatively good infrastructural set up. The Census of 2011 recorded the highest density of population in Baleshwar Sub-Division and the lowest in Nilagiri Sub-Division which is one of the most underdeveloped areas of the district.

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Rural Population The total number of villages in the district is 2952 of which 2587 are inhabited as per 2011 Census. The total rural population of the district is 20,67,236 (10,56,466 males and 10,10,770 females) giving an average of 701 persons per inhabited village against 817 for the state as a whole. The proportion of rural population to the total population of the district is 89.09 percent. Urban Population The Urban population of the district is 2,53,293 (1,29,321 males and 1,23,972 females) according to 2011 Census which makes 10.91 per cent of the total population of the district. It appears from the Census records that Baleshwar was a town in the district from 1901 to 1951. Jaleshwar and Soro acquired urban status in 1961. In 1971, Soro lost its urban status owing to change in the definition of urban areas and regained the status in 1981. Afterwards Nilagiri was constituted as ULB and very recently Remuna ULB was constituted. According to population, Baleshwar is classified under Class-I town while Soro is placed under Class-III town. Jaleshwar and Nilagiri are considered as Class-IV towns. Resettlement of Migrant population During the partition of the country, large number of persons from West Pakistan (present Pakistan) and East Pakistan (present Bangladesh) were displaced. They were settled in different parts of the country. The total number of such migrants to the state of Odisha from 1946 to 1951 was 20,039. Of the displaced persons 2,429 persons have settled in Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Nilagiri Sub-Divisions of the Baleshwar district. Among the Sub-Divisions Baleshwar had provided settlement to 2,216 persons. Barring 97 from West Pakistan, the rest came from East Pakistan. In rural areas, such persons numbered 2,163 (1,108 males and 1,055 females). Various facilities were provided to rehabilitate them and loans were also given to enable them to become self-sufficient. Government of India had decided to establish an Interim Test Range for testing rockets, missiles and satellites in Baliapal. Due to large scale resistance from the local people, the proposed area of acquisition was substantially reduced. However, the Test Range was set up in a truncated form with a substantially lower extent of acquisition of land and this resulted in lowering the number of affected persons.

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Sex ratio According to the 2011 Census the male-female ratio in the district was 957 females per 1,000 males. For the state taken as a whole the ratio were 979 females per 1,000 males. Physically handicapped persons There are 70736 physically handicapped persons in the district, separated by categories as recorded in 2011 Census. They are a) Physically handicapped – 14,640, b) Deaf or Dumb – 18,477, c) Visual Impaired – 13,880 and d) Mentally retarded and cerebral palsy - 23,739. Migration As per Census figure of 2001 the migrants to this district constituted 6·09 per cent of the total population of whom 2·66 per cent were born outside the state. The migrants from outside the state hailed from Andhra Pradesh (1820), Assam (35), Bihar (1540). Gujarat (285), Haryana (215), Himachal Pradesh (85), Jammu and Kashmir (10), Kerala (65), Madhya Pradesh (120), Maharashtra (145), Mysore (Karnataka] (30), Punjab (110), Rajasthan (1005), Tamil Nadu (335), Tripura (20), Uttar Pradesh (635), West Bengal (40.405), and Delhi (20). As this district is on the border of West Bengal, the largest number of immigrants have come from that state. The immigrants from countries like Burma (Myanmar), Nepal, Pakistan and elsewhere to this district numbered 1825. Of these 985 persons were from Pakistan and persons born in Europe and Africa are not significant. Language The Baleshwar district presents a colourful confluence of tribal and non- tribal languages. SantaIi, Bhumij and Mundari tribal languages are mainly found in high proportion in Baleshwar and Nilagiri Sub-Divisions. The concentration of non-tribal languages, viz., Odia, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi and Telugu are more in Baleshwar Sub-Division than in Nilagiri. Odia is the language of literature, business and correspondence. The tribal people also sometimes speak Odia, Hindi and Bengali in stray admixtures. However, Odia is the main subsidiary language adopted by non- Odia speakers. Baleshwari Dialect So far Odia has three major dialects – Sambalpuri (or Koshali), Berhampuri and Baleshwari. The special features of Baleshwari dialect are its creativity in creating new words and its economy, through omission and abbreviation in clipping the standard Odia words and phrases.

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Scripts People use Odia scripts in their day-to-day life. In olden days some letters of the Odia alphabet were written in a different script known as Karani to facilitate writing on the palm-leaf with the help of a metal stylus. Most of the old Odia records and palm-leaf manuscripts made use of the Karani script. The native tribal and non-tribal communities invariably use Odia script. Only the Santal tribal community uses its script called Olchiki along with Odia. Religion The Hindus make the majority by religion in the district followed by the Muslims and the Christians. The strength of other followers is negligible in the district. Hinduism As per Census 2011, 94.71 per cent of the people including some tribals in the district are Hindus. The Hindus are polytheists. They worship their gods and goddesses with flowers and sandal paste singing Bhajans or hymns, ringing bells and holding lighted lamps in the temples of Shiva, Narayan, Devi, etc. The worshippers receive holy water, leaves of Tulasi plant or Bel and Prasad. The Pipal (Ficus religiosa), Banyan (Ficus benqetensis),Bel(Aegle marmelos), Mango (Mangifera indica), Anla (PhylIanthus emblica), Duba (Cynodon dectylon), Asoka (Saraca asoka), Barkuli (Ziziphus jujuba), Bakul ( Mimuspos elengi) and Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) are held sacred by the Hindus. In almost every Hindu household there is a chaura or a sacred place where Tulasi plant is planted and worshipped. Every evening lighted wicks are offered by the housewife before the chaura. Saivism The name of district Baleshwar is said to be derived from the name of Lord Baneswar and this is an indication of Saivism in the district. The Saivas worship lord Shiva who is usually represented by the phallic symbol, the Linga and the Yoni enshrined in the temple. There are many Shiva temples in the district of which the ones Baleshwar (Lord Baneswar), Chandaneswar (Lord Chandaneswar) and Ajodhya are well known temples and pilgrimage. Sivaratri is the principal festival of Lord Shiva. The orthodox devotees mark three horizontal lines of sandal wood paste on their forehead as religious mark and wear Rudrakshya mala round their neck to identify their sect.

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Saktism Sakti is worshipped in several forms of which Ankudasuni at Guagadia, Brahmani at Avana, Tara at Ajodhya, Baseli Thakurani at Badagan near Soro, Sarbamangala Devi at Kasiari near Jaleshwar and Durga at Remuna are important. Sakti is also worshipped in the villages in the form of folk goddesses. The blessings of the deities are invoked in wedding and other ceremonial occasions and at the time of sickness. To appease the deity, sacrifice of goats and fowls are made at Sakti shrines of the district especially on the Mahastami day of the Durga Puja. Vaishnavism Vaishnavism, spread during the Ganga period has its prevalence in the district. The followers worship Vishnu in the form of Jagannath. The existence of the temples and Mathas have exerted much influence on the popular faith. A number of Vaishnava saints and prophets, following their chief prophet Sri Chaitanya, visited Odisha to propagate their cult and founded mathas. Chaitanya made Vaishnavism the religion of the masses. Shri Chaitananya was a great reformer and his cult represents a revulsion against the gross and debasing religion of the Tantras. He accepted followers from all sections of the society irrespective of caste and creed and vehemently opposed the practice of animal sacrifice. A peculiarity of Chaitanya‘s cult is that the post of the spiritual guide or gossain is not confined to the Brahmins only. Many places like Jaleshwar, Remuna, Amarda, Sundarkuli etc. have been associated with the memory of Sri Chaitanya. A list of important Maths and temples dedicated to Shri Chaitanya in the district are:

Name of Mathas/Temples Place 1. Chiatanya-Nityananda Mangalpur. P. O. Sora 2. Chaitanya Nuagan, P. O. Bankipara 3. Chiatanya-Nityananda Damodarpur near Baleshwar

Mahima Dharma The founder of Mahima Dharma or Alekha Dharma is Mahima Gossain. His disciples believe that he is an incarnation of Param Brahma. The main centre of this religion is at Joranda in Dhenkanal district. A large number of followers are found at Baleshwar, Khaira, Soro, Jaleshwar, Baliapal and Langaleswar. Alekha Tungis and Ashramas are also found in these places. Christianity According to 2011 Census, 0.28 percent of the total population of the district have embraced Christianity. This proportion is relatively low in 77 comparison to other districts. According to Census report, the Christian population of the district has increased by 60.43 per cent during the decade 2001-2011. Mainly two denominations, viz., the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and the Roman Catholic Mission are found in the district. The former Mission started work in Baleshwar in 1836. It has also stations at Chardia, Nilagiri, Kundupur, Hatigarh, Jaleshwar, Kusudia, Betnasia, Ujurda, Bansbonia, Rangiam and Mitrapur. The work of the mission is now supervised by the Christian Service Society whose head office is at Sepoy Bazar, Midnapur, West Bengal. Church programmes of the mission are carried on through preaching to non-Christians and programmes of moral development through meetings and conferences. The mission runs a number of educational institutions in the district. Of these, the name of Baleshwar Technical School; Christian High School, Baleshwar; Mission Girls‘ High School, Baleshwar; Mission Upper Primary School, Baleshwar; Deaf and Dumb School, Baleshwar; Hatigarh High School and Hatigarh M. E. School may be specially mentioned. Medical programmes of the mission are carried on through Nekursini Christian Hospital, Midnapur. The hospital conducts clinics for leprosy patients at Hatigarh in Baleshwar district. Mobile clinics of the said hospital also go to different places of the district to treat patients. The mission is also engaging itself in Rural Development Programmes especially in promoting scientific method of cultivation of rice, wheat and pisciculture; supply of seeds, seedlings and fertilizer; creating drinking water facilities etc. The Roman Catholic Mission is functioning at Baleshwar, Mitrapur, Basta, Jaleshwar and Hatigarh. Besides preaching, the mission runs an orphanage. Islam In Baleshwar district the followers of this faith constitute 4.06 per cent of the total population. In the district, Muslims are found mostly in the Baleshwar Sub-Division. They have constructed mosques in a number of places to offer prayer. The majority of the Muslims belong to Suni sect. There are also Ahemadia Muslims in the district. The Jama Masjid at Sunhat in Baleshwar town constructed during the reign of Aurangzeb is the oldest mosque in the district. There is an important Muslim shrine in the district i.e.Shah Swaleh Mohammed popularly Known as Bhujakhia Pir in Baleshwar town. Both Hindus and Muslims offer ‗Sirini‘ in the shrine with devotion. 78

Sikhism There are 237 Sikhs in the district according to the Census of 2011 who constitute 0.01 percent of the total population of the district. The Sikhs believe in one God and have a classless and casteless society. They follow the teachings of the ten and the saints enshrined in the Holy Book of the Sikhs, the ‗Granth Sahib‘. The followers of this religion have constructed one Gurudwara within the limits of Proof and Experimental centre at Chandipur. This is run by the Defence Services staff and they celebrate all the important festivals of the Sikh religion. There is another Gurudwara which has come up in 1970 on the National Highway No, 5 at the crossing of the road to Remuna, which is named as Gurudwara Sahib. It is managed by the local Sikhs. There is a priest who looks after the rituals. They also run a Charitable Homoeopathic Dispensary in the Gurudwara. Buddhism Buddhist monuments are found at Avana, Ajodhya, Kharipada, Kupari and Sohanpur in the district. However, in 2011Census only 111 persons are found to have this religion. Jainism There were 201 Jains in the district as per 2011 Census. They are mainly immigrants from outside the state. Bhimpur and Manikchak are important centres of Jainism in the district. Castes Caste plays an important role in the socio-economic life of the people of the district. A brief account of demographic and socio-cultural characteristics of some of the populous castes inhabiting the district is given below. Aswini Tanti They belong to the weaving caste and were skilled weavers in the past. In course of time due to competition with mill made clothes they could not prosper in their economic pursuit. Nowadays some of them are following other avocations to improve their living standard. Badhei The Badheis belong to the Biswakarma community which also includes Kamars and Pathurias. The Badheis, Kamaras and Pathurias work on wood, iron and stone respectively. They worship Biswakarma. Marital relationship within the three groups, viz., Badhel, Kamar and Pathuria are allowed. Bania The Banlas are makers of gold and silver ornaments. They also prepare anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines. Two types of Banias are identified in the district. They are Putuli Bania and Sunari Bania. The strength of the latter is more than the former. 79

Bhandari The Bhandaris are known as Barika or Napitas, who are barbers by profession. The services of male and female barbers are indispensable on the occasions of life cycle rituals. They get remuneration both in cash and kind. They are generally divided into three classes, viz., Kanamuthia, Chamamuthia and Lamahata. The Kanamuthia barber carries his hair-cutting and shaving implements in a bag of cloth whereas the Chamamuthia carries them in a leather bag. And the Larnahata barber carries the lighted torches (Masals) on ceremonial occasions. Some of them have abandoned traditional pattern and maintain hair-cutting saloons in different localities. Brahman The Brahmans, though not very numerous, are a very important caste in the district due to their high social status. They are divided into several sub-castes of which Sasani, Sarua or Paniari, Panda, Pujari or Deulia, Marhia and Mastani Brahmans are important. The Sasani Brahmans act as priests, spiritual guides and teachers. The Sarua or Paniari Brahmans grow and sell vegetables. The Panda, Pujak or Deulia Brahmans are professional temple worshippers. They also work as cooks. The Marhias are priests of lower castes. The Mastans indulge in non- Brahmanical occupations. They are also called Balaram Gotri Brahmans. All Brahmans observe ten Samskaras (rites) at different stages of life. These rites are believed to purify a person. Generally during Upanayan most of the rites are performed. Recitation of Vedas, worship of Brahma in Trisandhya, performance of Yangya, etc., are part of their routine work. The Sasani Brahmans do not establish marital relationship with the Sarua, Panda, Pujari, Marhia and Mastani Brahmans. Gauda The Gaudas, known as milk men, are found more or less in all the Tahasils of the district. The spread of education has changed the fashion and occupation of the people. Differences between sub-castes have also shrunken. The Gaudas worship Lord Shri Krishna. They pay reverence to the cow. Dola Purnima on full moon day in the month of Phalguna (February- March) is their main festival. Gudia Gudias by their traditional occupation prepare sweets. But most of them have given up their caste profession and have adopted other avocations. Generally food cooked by them is accepted by all. Lord Ganesh is their tutelary deity. The main festival of the caste is Ganesh Chaturthi.

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Kachara The traditional occupation of the Kachara caste is to sell glass bangles (Kacha). They also deal with brass and bell- metal utensils prepared by the Kansari/Thatari castes. They are generally found in Paramanandapur, Bidyadharpur, Kupari, Sora, Basta and Baleshwar. The caste enjoys the ministration of Brahmins on socio-religious functions. They worship the brass scale on the Dasahara day. The community has membership under a Matha named ―Kalinga Kachara Matha‖ at Balagandi Sahi in Puri established by them in1901. Karan The Karans are the writer caste of the district, but there are many among them who were zamindars, tenure holders or landlords. They are influential people in the district. They are divided into four sects viz, the Krishnatreya, Sankhyayana, Bharadwaj and Naga. Marriage within the caste is regulated according to the customs in vogue among the higher castes. Kansari The Kansaris derived their name from Kansa (bell-metal). They are found in Baleshwar, Simulia, Khaira, Soro, Remuna, Basta, Raibania, Nilagiri and Berhampur police station limits of the district. However, their concentration is more in Remuna than in other police-stations. Brass and bell-metal industry is the main-stay of the people. Brahmin priests perform in their socio-religious functions. They worship brass scale and its weights on the Dasahara day. Khandayat The Khandayats are by far the largest caste in the district. Their name is derived from the Odia word Khanda, a sword. The other view is that Odisha was formerly divided into Khandas or groups of villages corresponding to the Pargana of Muslim period. Each Khanda was governed by a headman called Khandapeti, which is believed to be subsequently corrupted to Khandayat. It is admitted that the Khandayats belong to the warrior class and are the descendants of the people who formed the landed militia under the ancient Rajas of Odisha. As members of the militia, the Khandayats had to serve as soldiers in times of war, and in return they were given lands under strictly military tenure. Their characteristic occupation have changed due to change of time. They have now adopted other avocations. Dasahara has a special significance to this warrior caste. They worship their old weapons of war and exhibit physical feats on this occasion. Their heroic forbears used to start on fresh military expeditions during this season of the year. 81

Khitibansa or Matibansa The people of this community are found mainly in the villages under Soro and Jaleshwar police-stations of the district. The community is divided into three sections mostly on the basis of the occupations they follow. The Khitibansa or Matibansa Abadhans used to teach children in Chatasalis or village schools. A section of the community carries Mangala, the goddess of smallpox from door to door and thereby earn their living. Another section took to weaving. There was no marital relationship between the different sections, but these restrictions are not followed strictly in the present society. They worship Adishakti. Their caste symbol is Khadi, a piece of soapstone. Kshatriya In caste hierarchy the Kshatriyas stand second to the Brahmins. Their strength is few in the district. They are found chiefly in Nilagiri Sub-Division. They belong to the warrior caste and observe upanayan. The ex-rulers of Nilagiri claim to be Suryavamsi Kshatriyas like the ex-rulers of Mayurbhanj. They use Bhanja as surname to their family title. Kumbhar The term Kumbhars or Kumbhakars is derived from Sanskrit meaning potters. They make and sell various types of earthenware such as, pot, toy, plates, and materials used in various rituals. They earn by selIing these materials in the local market. Their service in this respect is indispensable. They observe Kurala Panchami and Odhana Sasthi on the 5th and 6th day respectively of the bright fortnight of the month of pausa (December- January). On this ceremonial occasion they also worship their implements. Mali The Mali means gardener. Selling of flowers and garlands is their principal occupation. Dueto meager income from their customary calling most of them have adopted other professions to earn their livelihood. Natha Yogi The Natha Yogis live on begging from door to door with a gourd vessel. Conventionally they sing songs relating to the religious preacher Govinda Chandra, Data Karna and others by playing on a string instrument called Kendera. Their usual surname is Natha. Nolia The Nolias are fishermen. They mainly reside near the sea-coast. There are two sub-castes - Jaliya and Khalasi. The former are fishermen and the latter work in sea-going vessels. The Nolias are followers of Ramanuja. They worship Baruna, the Hindu Neptune. Flowers and sweets are offered to 82

Baruna before launching a boat. They are expert swimmers. They usually attend the surf-bathers on the sea-coast. Patara The Pataras are dealers in silk and cotton yarn. They string necklaces and sale Pata, Kastha, Pataphuli, Dhadia and Kardhuni. They are divided into four sub-castes viz., Phulia, Tasaria, Dandia and Jagati. They are Vaishnavas and specially venerate Lord Balabhadra. They worship the deity on the full-moon day in the month of Shraban (July-August) called ‗Gamha Purnima‘. On this occassion they also worship their implements such as Chhuri, Ankura, Pata, etc. Teli The Telis deal in oil and are known as oil-men. They are also known as Kuberaputras or sons of Kubera, the God of Wealth. Among them three sub- castes are noticed. They are Haladia, Khari and Baldia or Thoria. The first two press oil by indigenous method and trade in it. The Baldia or Thoria Telis trade in turmeric which is carried from place to place with the aid of bullocks. But nowadays many have switched over to other professions and disparity among them has almost gone. Raju The Raju caste of Baleshwar district has distinctive characteristics of its own. This economically prosperous and socially advanced community lives in preponderant number in the northern portion of the district. The Rajus are also seen in good numbers in the districts of Midnapur and 24 Pargana of West Bengal and Singhbhum district as well as in the border regions of the present day Andhra Pradesh. The existence of this caste in the frontier regions of Odisha and not in its centraI areas have led some authorities to believe that these people were not the original inhabitants of Odisha, but that they came from outside and settled permanently. This migration, of course, might have taken place several centuries ago, and the new- comers became Odias in due course of time. It is said that in earlier days the people of this caste carried a common surname ‗Raju ‗, But later on, they adopted such surnames as Mahapatra, Kar, Chauhan, Chaudhury, Senapati, Sahani, Dandapat, Pradhan, Biswal, Giri, Brahma, Varma, Dutta, Chanda, Bhanja, Pal, Samal, Singha, Nandi, Nayak, Patra, Das, Kundu etc. While in some Raju families the wearing of the ‗Sacred Thread‘ still prevails as social system, in others the worship of swords and arms continues as a custom. 83

The Rajus have adopted agriculture, trade and business as their main occupational profession. In recent times, they are seen to be settling in other areas of Odisha, outside Baleshwar. They have extensive marital relationship with the Kshatriyas and the Khandayats of Odisha. Sualgiri Also called Sabakhia and Shabar, the Sualgiris are found only in this district of Odisha. They inhabit few villages in the Block areas of Jaleshwar, Bhograi and Basta. In the past, they were nomads and hunting was their main occupation. Gradually, they have come to settle in villages permanently and have adopted several other occupations like cultivation, fishing, wage earning etc. Earlier accounts provide that they speak a peculiar language and eat the flesh of jackals. They worship ‗Badam‘ as the Supreme Lord and at the same time believe in the Hindu Pantheon. They perform their religious rites with the help of their own community priests. They also speak Odia. Their population is very limited. Education has not spread much among them. Tambuli Traditionally the Tambulis are betel-leaf sellers. It is believed that they have come from outside and became permanent inhabitants of the district since the Marahata period. They are residing in Barabati, Damodarpur and Motiganj area of this district Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes constitute about 17.10 per cent of the total population of the district as per Census 2011. Of the 68 Scheduled Castes returned in 2011, the most numerous were Amant or Amat, Bagheti or Baghuti, Bariki, Bauri, Chamar, Dhoba, Dom, Ghusuria, Gokha, Hadi, Kandara, Kela, Kodalo, Kurunga, Mahuria, Mehtar, Namasudra, Pan, Pantanti, Patratanti and Ujia. Of the total Scheduled Castes 93.58 per cent live in rural areas and the rest in urban areas. The growth rate of Scheduled Castes in Baleshwar district during the decade 2001-11 was 18.19 per cent. The literates among the Scheduled Castes account for 69.02 per cent of their total population and the literacy rate for males is with 79.21 percent as against 58.76 per cent for the females.A list of 68 Shceduled Castes living in the district is presented in the following table.

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Population of the Scheduled castes of Baleshwar District (2011Census)* Sl. Name of the Scheduled Castes Males Females Total No. 1 2 3 4 5 1 Adi Andhra 16 26 42 2 Amanat or Amat 7102 7163 14265 3 Audhelia 1 0 1 4 Badaik 3 1 4 5 Bagheti, Baghuti 339 323 662 6 Bari 2 0 2 7 Bariki 30 30 60 8 Bauri 891 794 1685 9 Bauti 271 268 539 10 Bavuri 5 14 19 11 Bedia or Bejia 8 4 12 12 Bhata 46 59 105 13 Bhoi 66 63 129 14 Chachati 0 1 1 15 Chamar, Mochi, Muchi , Satnami 9007 8775 17782 16 Chandala 2 1 3 17 Dandasi 2 1 3 18 Dewar 35034 33054 68088 19 Dhoba, Dhobi 24418 23313 47731 20 Dom, Dombo or Duria Dom 4053 4027 8080 21 Dosadha 9 5 14 22 Ganda 2 1 3 23 Ghantarghada, Ghantra 18 16 34 24 Ghasi, Ghasia 10 9 19 25 Ghusuria 802 788 1590 26 Godari 2 3 5 27 Godra 23 19 42 28 Gokha 33798 32131 65929 29 Haddi, Hadi, Hari 9690 9487 19177 30 Jaggali 31 28 59 31 Kandra, Kandara, Kuduma 50913 48939 99849 32 Karua 433 490 923 33 Katia 3 4 7 34 Kela 1779 1124 2303 35 Khadala 9608 9023 18631 36 Kodalo, Khodalo 27 22 49 37 Kori 37 42 79 38 Kummari 11 8 19 39 Kurunga 2321 2294 4615 40 Laban 8 4 12 41 Laheri 3 3 6 42 Madari 1 0 1 43 Mahuria 565 567 1132 44 Mala, Jhala, Malo, Zala, Malha, Jhola 10 14 24 45 Mehra, Mahar 13 15 28 46 Mehtar, Bhangi 156 156 312 47 Musahar 1 1 2 48 Namasudra 4148 4045 8193 85

49 Paidi 3 1 4 50 Pamidi 3 4 7 53 Pan, Pano 34406 33723 68129 54 Panchama 0 1 1 55 Pantanti 1254 1281 2535 56 Pap 16 16 32 57 Pasi 2 4 6 58 Patial, Patikar, Patratanti or Patua 1116 1208 2324 59 Rajna 4 4 8 60 Sabakhia 54 45 99 61 Sauntia, Santia 13 10 23 62 Sidhria 2 1 3 63 Siyal, Khajuria 87 83 170 64 Tamadia 17 12 29 65 Tamudia 96 80 176 66 Tanla 7 5 12 67 Ujia 9192 9217 18409 68 Valamiki, Valmiki 1 1 2 Unspecified 2217 2142 4359 Total 243597 234989 478586

The demographic and socio-cultural peculiarities of some of the scheduled castes with population above 1000 is described below.

Amant, Amat They are alsoknown as Amant or Amat. They use Mallik, Dehuri, Naik, Berajal and Dalai as their surname. Amant / Amat is an endogamous community divided into two subgroups i.e. Gheebhaha and Sagaha and is again divided into a number of exogamous totemistic septs (gotra) such as Bagh (tiger), Salmacha (a fish) and Haldibasant (a bird). Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Vertically extended families are also seen in few cases. Monogamy is the common rule. They practise both adult and child marriage. Marriage through negotiation is considered as ideal and prestigious mode of acquiring a life partner. Junior levirate, junior sororate and remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted in their society. Inheritance of parental property follows the rule of primogeniture in male line only. Some prenatal taboos are observed by the pregnant women. They engage a mid wife from Ghasi community during child birth. After delivery they observe postnatal rituals like sathia on the sixth day and ekusia on the twenty first day followed by the name giving ceremony. The child is tonsured (mundan) after one year. They practise either cremation or burial to dispose of their dead and the mourning lasts for ten days till the purificatory rites are performed. They have their own traditional community council headed by behera. The other office bearers are dehuri - their traditional priest, jyotish - their traditional astrologer, some village elites and a messenger. It acts as the guardian of their customary rules and traditions. They have their own tradition of arts, paintings, folksongs and folktales. Their 86 principal occupations are cultivation, wage labour and carpentry. Their important festivals are Nawakhia, Makar, Chaitra Sankrati, Raja, and Rathjatra As per 2011 census their population in the district is 14 265 and their literacy rate is 48.05 per cent. Bariki Etymologically the name Bariki might have been derived from the word bar, meaning ‗fringes of a habitat‘. According to Thurston (1909) the Bariki is the name for village watchman in Southern Ganjam, whose duty is to guide the travellers moving from place to place. They claim themselves as belonging to the Sudra varna. Though their traditional and primary occupations are cultivation and agricultural labour, some of them are engaged as musicians and a few are in ferry services. They accept water and cooked food from the Brahman, Reddy, Gouda, Jyotisha, Golla, Karana and Odia, but not from the Kumuti, Dhoba, Bhandari or Barika, Sundi, Mochi, Hadi, Liyari, Pano, Dandasi, Kandha, Musalman, etc. They visit common religious shrines and participate in local festivals along with other communities. Traditional intercommunity linkages with the Jyotisha, Kumbhakar, Kamar, Gouda, Kandha, Odia and other communities are maintained through the exchange of services. They are an endogamous community and divided into a number of lineages (intiperlu) i.e. pundit, baru, patnara etc. thatregulate marriage alliances and indicate their ancestry. They prefer cross cousin marriages. They cremate their dead and death mourning is observed for eleven days. They have their own traditional community council - jatisabha that acts as the guardian of their social norms and traditions and settles their intra community disputes. According to 2011 Census, they numbered 60 in Baleshwar district having a level of literacy of 68.34 per cent and a sex ratio of 1060. They pursue avocations like cultivation, musicians, wage, labour etc. Bauri According to their folk traditions the Bauri claim that they are the descendants of Sage Vishwamitra. They have synonyms like Kandi, Buna and Bhoi. The community is divided into four endogamous divisions such as Mohabhoi, Tanhara, Ghumura and Buna in hierarchicalorder. The community has only one gotra i.e. – Kasyap. Baurifamily is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal and inheritance of parental property follows the rule of primogeniture. Monogamy is the predominant norm although polygyny is not altogether ruled out. They practise both child and adult marriage and girls marry after onset of puberty. Payment of dowry is in vogue. Marriage through negotiation is considered prestigious. The other modes of acquiring 87 a life-mate are by mutual consent or by elopement. Divorce is permissible. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are also permitted in their society. They observe post delivery rituals i.e. sathi, uthiary and ekusia. The new born baby is named after ekusia ritual is performed. They practise both cremation and burial to dispose of their dead. Bauri have their own traditional community council both at the village level and at the regional level. The village level council is headed by behera and at the regional level sardar is the head. The other office bearers are pada behera and their traditional priest - the vaishnab. It adjudicates intra-community disputes and acts as the guardian of their social norms and traditions. The population strength of the Bauris in the district was 1685 in 2011. They reside mostly in the rural areas. It was found in 2011Census that 65.43 per cent of their total population was literates. They earn their livelihood out of agricultural labour,wage earning, share cropping etc. Chamar The community name Chamar is derived from the Sanskrit term Charmakar meaning ‗leather work‘ and the term Mochi / Muchi is derived from the Sanskrit word mochika and the Hindustani mojna meaning ‗to fold‘. According to a legend a young sadhu for his polluting act of removing the carcass of a calf was ostracized and took up works on hide for his subsistence. It is believed that the sadhu is progenitor of the Chamar. The Chamars do the tanning and initial dressing work of animal hides but the Mochi prepares the leather items as their traditional craft. The community is composite of different occupational subgroups and each group claims of an independent existence, status, separate origin and prefer distinct identity though they are clubbed together and notified as a single community in Odisha. They are divided into various endogamous subgroups such as maharana mochi, rao mochi, Marahata mochi, dhusia mochi, telugu mochi, kharotha mochi and athmoli-mochi or athamali mochi and each of which are again subdivided into a number of exogamous lineages (bansa) that regulate their matrimonial alliances and indicate their ancestry. They practise both adult and child marriage. Monogamy is the norm. Their family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. In few cases, vertically extended families are also seen. Inheritance of parental property follows the rule of male equigeniture. The custom of bride price prevails and at present dowry system has been introduced. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. Cross cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted in their society. They observe some pre-delivery and post natal rituals and birth seclusion continues for ten days. They cremate their dead and death mourning is observed for thirteen days. They

88 have their own traditional caste panchayat to look after their social norms and traditions. They are good at wall painting, tattooing and have rich tradition of folk songs, folk dances and embroidery works. In 2011, the strength of Chamar in the district was 17 782. 70.47 per cent of them were literates. They earn their livelihood out of leather and hide work, shoe making and mending etc. Dhoba The population of Dhobas in the district according to the 2011 Census was 47 731 and their literacy rate is 75.99 percent. Their traditional occupation is washing of clothes and wood-cutting. On social occasions like birth and death, their services are indispensable. They are also referred to as Rajak. Dhoba / Dhobi is an endogamous community and divided into a number of lineages (Bansa or Kula). They possess a single gotra, Nagasha. Their family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of primogeniture in male line only. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the rule. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. The other modes of acquiring a life partner are through mutual consent, by elopement and by service. Cross cousin marriages, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorces are permissible in their society. Dowry is paid both in cash and kind. They observe birth pollution for a period of 21 days. On the twenty first day (ekusia) the new born baby is given a name. They observe puberty rites (rajasvala) for girls. They practise cremation to dispose of their dead and the death pollution lasts for twelve days. They have their own traditional community council both at village level as well as in regional level headed by Behera and assisted by community elders (bhadralok) to adjudicate their intra community disputes and to look after their social norms and traditions. Dom In the 2011 Census 8080 persons were recorded as Dom or Dombo of whom 56.85 per cent were found to be literate. They weave bamboo baskets namely Kula, Baunsia, Tokei, Dala, Jhudi, etc. from. They also act as drummers on ceremonial functions. The name Domb has been derived from the word dumba, meaning the devil. In Odisha they are notified as Dom, Dombo and Duria Dom. All these groups are endogamous groups and are divided into various totemistic exogamous lineages like tandi, sunani, neal, nag, duria, jagat and dongri etc. Their family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of parental property follows the rule of male equigeniture. They practise adult marriage.

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Monogamy is the norm. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. Cross cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are allowed in their society. They have the custom of payment of bride price. They observe birth pollution for a period of twenty one days. Post natal rituals like chatti is performed on the sixth day after the child birth and on this day the new born baby is tonsured (mundan) and is given a name. They observe puberty rites for pubescent girls on their first menarche. They practise both cremation and burial to dispose of their dead. They have their own traditional caste Panchyat to deal with their intra- community affairs.They are good in the art of wall painting and possess rich oral tradition of folksongs, folklore and folk dance. They pursue avocations like drum beating, sweeping, wage earning, scavenging, mat weaving etc. Ghusuria Ghusuria are a pig rearing community in Odisha. They are an endogamous community and are divided into various totemistic exogamous septs (gotra) like nag, saur and mug etc. Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of equigeniture in male line only. Adult marriage is the rule. Monogamy is the norm but in few cases non sororal and sororal polygyny is resorted to. Marriage through negotiation is considered prestigious. The other modes of acquiring mates are by mutual consent and by service. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted by their society. Bride price is paid both in cash and kind. They observe birth pollution for ten days. Post delivery ritual panchu and ekusia are performed by them. They observe puberty rites for girls and the accompanying pollution is observed for seven days. They practise cremation to dispose of their dead and death pollution lasts for eleven days. They have retained their folk culture of folkdance called dom-muchi dance, which they perform during festive occasions. They are not served by the Brahmin Priests. They have their own priests called Baishnab. The 2011Census enumerated 1590 Ghusurias in Baleshwar district. 58.15 percent of them were literates. They are found mainly in rural areas. Gokha The Gokha is a fishing community in Odisha. They are endogamous community and are divided into four sub-groups i.e. sethi, das, mallick and baghati which are further sub-divided into various exogamous lineages. They all belong to one gotra i.e. nagasha. Gokha family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Male equigeniture is the rule of inheritance. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the rule. Marriage though negotiation is considered as an ideal mode of acquiring a spouse. The other modes of marriages are by mutual consent and by service. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage 90 of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted. They observe birth pollution for twenty one days and perform post delivery rituals like sasthi on the sixth day, uthiri on the seventh day, barajatra on the twelfth day and ekusia on the twenty first day. They observe puberty rites for girls (rajathala). They practice both cremation and burial to dispose of their dead and death pollution continues for eleven days. They have their traditional community council both at the village level (jatisabha) and at the regional level (rajsabha) headed by behera and assisted by dakua- their traditional messenger and yavkil- their executioner and six community elders to settle their intra community disputes. The number of Gokhas in Baleshwar district according to 2011 Census was 65 929. Their level of literacy in the state is 72.03 percent. Their customary calling is fishing. They use Shalua, made of bamboo sticks and do not generally fish with nets. Hadi Hadi is an endogamous community divided into a number of exogamous gotra such as naga (cobra), beng (frog),asva (horse), chintala (tamarind), liary (parched rice) and meen (fish) etc. Their family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of parental property follows the rule of male equigeniture. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the norm. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. The other modes of acquiring a spouse are through elopement, by mutual consent, by capture, through intrusion, by service and by exchange. Cross cousin marriages, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are allowed in their society. Payment of dowry is in vogue and it is paid both in cash and kinds. They observe birth pollution for twenty one days. Post delivery rituals like sathi on the sixth day, uthiary on the seventh-day, barayatra on the twelfth day and ekusia on the twenty first day of the child birth are performed by them and the new born baby is given a name on the ekusia day. They observe puberty rites for girls at onset of their first menarche. They cremate their dead and the death pollution lasts for ten- days. They have their traditional caste council jatiano to settle their intra- community disputes and enforce their social norms. They are village musicians and drumbeaters and possess rich oral traditions of folksongs, folktales and folklore. Their females are well versed in the art of floor and wall paintings. As per 2011 Census 19 177 Hadis or Haris live in the district. Their level of literacy in the state is 68.93 percent. They have their own community priests who perform social and religious functions.Earlier treated as night soil carriers and scavengers, their status has been elated by policy measures of Government of India.

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Kandara, Kuduma The name Kandara is said to be derived from their skill in archery (Kanda means arrow) and in former times they and the Pans formed the rank and file of the local militia. The Kandara, Kandra are also referred to as Kondra, Kondora, Kodma, Kuduma etc. in this district. They are an endogamous group and are divided into two sub-groups i.e., machua and chandali which are further subdivided into a number of exogamous lineages. All of them belong to one gotra i.e. Nagasya. Kandara family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Primogeniture in male line is the norm for inheritance of paternal property. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the common form of marriage. They consider marriage through negotiation as ideal and prestigious. The other modes of marriage are by mutual consent, elopement and intrusion, by force and by service. Cross cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are approved by their society. Dowry is paid both in cash and kind. They observe birth pollution for twenty one days and post natal ritual like sasthi, uthiary, barajatra and ekusia are performed on the sixth, seventh, twelfth and twenty first days respectively. They observe puberty rites for girls attaining their first menarche and the pollution period lasts for seven days and the girl takes ceremonial purificatory bath on the seventh day. The dead are buried and the death pollution lasts for eleven days. They have their caste council jatiyana at village level and mahasabha at regional level headed by behera at regional level and by adhikary at the village level. They are assisted by dakua- their messenger and some village elitesbhadraloka, to adjudicate intra-community disputes and to administer their social norms and traditions. They numbered 99849 in the district in 2011 Census. Cultivation and agricultural labour provide livelihood to a bulk of the Kandara population. Most of the people in their society also work as village Chaukidars.They take up avocations likecultivation, wage earning, basketry, fishing, mat making etc.Among them the rate of literacy in the state was 74.60 per cent in 2011. Kela The Kelas are a generic group comprising various nomadic acrobatic communities like the Bajikar, Matia, Patharia, Naik, Nalua, Sapua, Goudia, Ghusuria, Sabakhia, Dum Duma and Munda Potta. All these occupational groups, most of whom are folk artists, are endogamous in nature and are divided into a number of totemistic exogamous septs (gotra). Family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Adult marriage and monogamy is the rule. They have the custom of paying dowry both in cash and kind. Ancestral property is inherited equally by all sons. Marriages are arranged through negotiation or by mutual consent. Junior levirate, junior sororate remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permissible. They observe birth 92 pollution for twenty one days. Post delivery rituals like sasthi, uthiary, bararatra and ekusia are observed on the sixth, seventh, twelfth and twenty- first days respectively after child birth. On attainment of first menarche of a girl they observe puberty rites (rajathala) and pollution period continues for seven days. The dead are buried and death pollution lasts for eleven days. Each subgroup possesses its own traditional caste council (jatiana panchayat) to settle their intra- community disputes and to maintain their social norms and customs. The 2011 Census enumerated 2303 Kelas in the district. 61.46 per cent of them are literates. Various sections of the community pursue different avocations like trapping of birds, wage earning, selling bangles and herbs, snake charming, magic, acrobatics and jugglery etc. Khadala Khadalas are traditionally earth diggers. The term khadala is derived from the word khod meaning ‗to dig‘. They are also referred to as Bhoi and Bauri. The community is divided into two groups i.e. dulia and khandi which are further sub-divided into a number of exogamous lineages. All of them have one gotra i.e.nagasa or nagalo. Khadala family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of primogeniture in male line only. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the norm. They consider marriage through negotiation as prestigious mode of acquiring a spouse. The other modes of marriages are by mutual consent, elopement, by service and by exchange. Dowry is paid both in cash and kind. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted. Birth pollution is observed for twenty one days and the purificatory rite ekusia is performed on the twenty-first day. They observe puberty rites for girls on their first menarche and pollution period lasts for five days. They cremate their dead and death pollution continues for eleven days. They have their own traditional caste council to administer their social norms and customs. As per 2011 Census there were 18 631 Khadala in the district. Their literacy rate is 65.19 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of earth work, salt making, mat weaving, rickshaw pulling, wage earning etc. Kurunga They have synonyms as Karenga and Koranga. Kurunga is an endogamous community and are divided into various totemistic exogamous gotras such as nageswar,kachchap, kashyap, bishoi, batsya and salmach etc. Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of ancestral property follows the rule of male equigeniture. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the norm. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. The other modes of marriage are by mutual consent and by 93 service. Bride price is settled by parents. Junior sororate, junior levirate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted in their society. They observe birth pollution for eleven days and also perform pre-delivery ritual panchy and post natal rituals like ekusia, name giving and ceremonial first cereal feeding. They cremate their dead and death pollution continues for ten days. They have rich traditions of folklore, folk songs and folk dances. In 2011 Census they numbered 4615 in the district. Their literacy rate is 69.11 per cent. They pursue avocations like carpentry, castration of bullocks andgoats, and stone cutting etc. Mahuria Mahuria is an endogamous community and is divided into various exogamous gotras such as basistha, kashyapa, sarbamuni and chandramuni etc. Mahuria family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Parental property is inherited equally by all sons. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the rule. They consider marriage through negotiation as ideal. The other modes of marriage are by mutual consent and by service. Junior levirate, junior sororate remarriages of widows, widowers and divorcees are permissible in their society. They have the custom of payment of bride price. They observe pre-delivery rituals (poncho)and some post- natal restrictions. Birth pollution continues for eleven days. They also observe post delivery ritual ekusia followed by the name giving and first cereal feeding rites. They observe puberty rites for girls on attaining their first menarche and pollution period lasts for seven days. They bury their dead and death pollution continues for ten days. Their statutory panchayat is heterogeneous in nature. They have rich oral traditions of folk songs, folklores and folk dances. Their women play musical instruments during festive occasions. In 2011 Census they numbered 1132 in the district. Their literacy rate is 76.45 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of music playing, carrying loads on bullocks, wage earning etc. Namasudra They have migrated from Bangladesh during and after partition of the country. They have synonyms like Chandal, Naumsud and Nama. According to legend, they are descendants out of illicit union of son and daughter of Lomasa muni, who cursed them to become chandal. Namasudra are divided into a number of occupational endogamous groups viz; dhami nama, sieli, nama, jien nama and maninama. They have one gotra such as kashyap. Their exogamous surnames are roy, sarkar, biswas, mandala, mazumdar, mistry, das, haldar and sarkar etc. Namasudra family is nuclear patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of

94 equigeniture in male line only. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the norm. Marriages are settled through negotiation. Dowry is paid both in cash and kind. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permissible. They observe pre-delivery rites sadbhakshan. Birth pollution continues for thirty days. Post delivery rituals like natta on the ninth day and sastipuja on the thirtieth day are performed. They also observe tonsure (mundan) and first cereal feeding rites. They cremate their dead and dispose of the mortal remains in a river. Ancestors are worshipped during the annual sradha ceremony. Their women work as agricultural labourers and act as midwives and also as maid servants. They also weave mats. As per 2001 Census, out of 1 53 026 Namasudras in Odisha, 8193 were enumerated in this district Census. In Baleshwar district they are found mostly in villages under Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta and Baliapal policestations. Fishing is their traditional occupation. At present they have taken to other trades for their living. They believe in Hinduism and perform all the religious rites by their own community priests. Literacy among them is 73.87 per cent in 2011. Pan The community is divided into three endogamous occupational subgroups like Betra Pano, Buna Pano and Dhulia Pano which are further subdivided into a number of exogamous lineages that regulate matrimonial alliances. They have one gotra i.e. nagasa. Pano family is nuclear or extended, patrilocal and patlineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of equigeniture in male line only. Adult marriage and monogamy is the rule. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. The other modes of acquiring a mate are by mutual consent, by service and by elopement. Dowry is paid both in cash and kind. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted in their society. They observe birth pollution for twenty one days and perform post delivery rituals like sasthi, uthiary, barajatra and ekusia on the sixth, seventh, twelfth and twenty first days respectively. They observe puberty rites (rajathala) for pubescent girls. They bury their dead and observe death pollution for eleven days. They have their own traditional community council (jati samaj) headed by behera. The other office bearers are bhadralok - some village elders and a dakua- their messenger. They also have a regional council called des mahasava. Their community council adjudicates intra-community disputes and upholds their social norms and traditions. Brahmans, Dhobas and Bhandaris do not serve them. They have their own caste Purohit who performs in social functions.

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As per 2011 census, out of 12 05 099 Pans or Panos in Odisha, 68 129 persons live in Baleshwar district. It is the most numerous Scheduled Caste but they are backward socially, educationally and economically. After independence some changes are noticed among them. More and more children of this community are getting education. As a result, 70.36 per cent were found to be literate among them. Their customary calling is said to be weaving, but they mostly work as day-labourers, drummers and cane- weavers. Many of them have also taken to cultivation. The village Chaukidars and postal runners were generally recruited from their ranks. Pantanti Also called Pana Tanti or Buna Pano, they are an endogamous section of traditional weavers of the generic Pan/Pano caste but now they have become a separate caste. Patra Pano, Patro Pana, Patro Pano are synonyms of Pana Tanti. The Pana Tantis who mostly use ―Patra‖ as their surname and practise weaving are popularly known as Patra Pana or Buna Pana / Buna Pano. Their traditional occupations are weaving from cotton thread and agricultural wage earning. Their main products are coarse dhoti, saree and gamchha. The demand for such type of cloth is very low now-a-days as the handwoven coarse cloth has gradually been replaced by cheap and attractive mill made cloth which are plentily available in the market. For this reason some of the Pana Tantis have adopted agriculture as their main occupation. By their traditional occupation they are distinguished from the SC community called Patra Tanti who specializes in weaving of silk or tassar clothes (Pata). The Pana Tanti are further divided into a number of extended lineages such as Kesurali, Suansia, Uluma, Baghti, Athbhaiya, Dasbhaiya, Kunjara, Bhanjara, Bekuda, and Likinda which are exogamous. Some of the lineage names are also used as surnames. They observe all important local Hindu festivals and follow the customs and traditions of the higher castes in their life cycle rituals. The Census of 2011 returned 2535 Pantantis in Baleshwar district. They live in ruraI areas and earn their livelihood by weaving clothes. Some of them have changed their customary calling and have adopted other avocations. In 2011, 73.37 per cent were found to be literate in their society. Patratanti They are an endogamous community and are divided into totemistic exogamous gotras such as nageswar and kashyapa etc. Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of paternal property follows the rule of equigeniture in male line only. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the rule. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. The other modes of marriage are by mutual consent and by

96 service. Bride price is paid both in cash and kind. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted in their society. They observe pre-delivery ritual ponchu and post natal ritual ekusia. Birth pollution is observed for ten days. They observe puberty rites for adolescent girls and pollution continues for seven days. They cremate their dead and death pollution is observed for eleven days. According to the Census of 2011 the Patial, Patikar, Patratanti or Patua numbered 2324 in the district. Though they earn their livelihood by weaving silk and fine cotton clothes, some of them depend on other professions to supplement their income. In their society 67.52 per cent were found to be literate in 2011. Like other Hindus they worship gods and goddesses and observe festivals.

Ujia Ujia are an endogamous community and are divided into a number of clans (gotra) such as nag, fingasa / nageswar and basanta etc. Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Inheritance of ancestral property follows the rule of male equigeniture. They practise adult marriage. Monogamy is the norm. Marriages are arranged through negotiation. Bride price is paid both in cash and kinds. Junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permissible. They observe birth pollution for a period of ten days. Pre-delivery ritual ponchu and post natal ritual ekusia are performed by them. They also observe puberty rites for girls on the onset of their first menstruation and the pollution lasts for seven days. They practise both burial and cremation to dispose of their dead.

In 2011 Census, 18409 persons were returned as Ujias in Baleshwar district. Catching and selling fish and cultivation are the mainstay of their economy. Literacy was confined to 49.99 per cent in their society. Like Gokhas and Keutas they celebrate chaitra parba as their caste festival. They earn their livelihood out of fishing, selling fish products and cultivation.

Scheduled Tribes According to 2011 census, of the 959076 Scheduled Tribe population in the state, 275678 or 2.78 per cent live in Beleshwar district.93.79 percent of them live in rural areas. The literacy rate among ST is 52.24 percent. For males it is 63.70 per cent and for females it is 41.20 percent. Of the 51 Tribes found in Baleshwar district, numerically important tribes having population of 5000 and above are Bathudi, Bhumij, Kolha, Santal and Shabar Lodha. A detailed list of the various Scheduled Tribes found in the district is given in the following table.

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Population of the Scheduled Tribes of Baleshwar District (2011 Census)* Sl. Name of the Scheduled Tribes Males Females Total No. 1 2 3 4 5 1 Bagata 125 108 233 2 Baiga 125 110 235 3 Bathudi 7973 8529 16502 4 Bhottada 1 1 2 5 Bhuiya, Bhuyan 803 822 1625 6 Bhumia 163 148 311 7 Bhumij 34966 35048 70014 8 Bhunjia 19 13 32 9 Binjhal 2 3 5 10 Binjhia, Binjhoa 1 1 2 11 Bondo Poraja 2 4 6 12 Desua Bhumij 30 40 70 13 Dharua 12 22 34 14 Gadaba 1 1 2 15 Gond, Gondo 37 56 93 16 Ho 53 69 122 17 Holva 15 20 35 18 Juang 3 2 5 19 Kandha Gauda 114 102 216 20 Kawar 32 30 62 21 Kharia, Kharian 698 711 1409 22 Kharwar 5 0 5 23 Khond, Kond, Kandha 226 241 467 24 Kisan 34 46 80 25 Kol 54 70 124 26 Kolah- Loharas, Kol-Loharas 289 294 583 27 Kolha 24363 24971 49334 28 Koli, Malhar 2 1 3 29 Kondadora 63 58 121 30 Kora 780 751 1531 31 Korua 11 8 19 32 Koya 23 19 42 33 Kulis 32 34 66 34 Lodha 25 29 54 35 Madia 903 945 1848

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36 Mahali 216 252 468 37 Mankidi 0 3 3 38 Mankirdia 136 122 258 39 Matya 840 836 1676 40 Mirdha 811 801 1612 41 Munda, Munda Lohara, Munda Mahalis 612 553 1165 42 Mundari 385 387 772 43 Omanatya 7 6 13 44 Oraon 1027 1023 2050 45 Paroja 68 71 139 46 Rajuar 146 157 301 47 Santal 53126 51870 104996 48 Saor, Savar, Saura 388 413 801 49 Shabar, Lodha 3290 3288 6578 50 Sounti 926 1116 2042 51 Tharua 824 870 1694 Unspecified 2961 2857 5818 Total 137748 137930 275678

Tribal people express their cultural identity and distinctiveness in their social organization, language, demography, rituals and festivals and also in their dress, ornaments, art and craft. Each tribal community has distinctive characteristic features reflected in their social, economic, political and religious sub-systems. Each possesses its own unique culture which differentiates one from the other. The spread of education, communication facilities and implementation of various development schemes have helped the Scheduled Tribes to move out of their traditional manners and customs to a certain extent. A brief description of the peculiarities of Scheduled Tribes with population of inhabiting the district is presented below. Bathudi The Bathudis are one of the highly Hinduised tribes of Odisha. According to the Census Report for Mayurbhanj State 1931, the Bathudis originally belonged to Batuligarh in Dudh. Subsequently they migrated following the course of the river Godavari in Deccan. It has also been mentioned that the forefathers of the Bathudis migrated from Bakua in the Similipal hills. Their settlements are generally uniclan and homogeneous. In multi-ethnic villages they live in separate hamlets maintaining their cultural identity. Bathudis observe local Hindu festivals and worship Hindu deities along with other tribal deities including the deities of Sarna - the sacred 99 grove. Their traditional priest is Dehury. Family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. The community is divided into several exogamous septs (Gotra or Khili), viz. Saluka (wood husking) Kusmardia (wild grass), Nag (serpent), Thariyar (a wild fruit), Panipuk (water insect), Sankhiyar (conch), Dhanphul (paddy flower) and Parasar, Sailya, Kashyap, Bharadwaja, etc. Marriages are monogamous though there are few cases of polygyny in their society. Marriage through negotiation is commonly practised and bride price both in cash and kind is given to the bride‘s parents before marriage. Other modes of acquiring mates, such as by service and by capture have become rare. Marriage of widows, widowers, divorcees, junior levirate and sororate are permissible, but cross cousin marriage is tabooed. The Bathudis practise both cremation and burial for the dead. The death pollution continues for ten days. The Bathudis have their own community council (Jati Samaj) headed by a hereditary chief to deal with their community matters. At the village level Pradhan is the secular chief and his associates, Desh Chatia, Dakua and Chowkia manage the communal affairs. In 2011 Census they numbered 16 502 in the district. Their literacy rate is 63.71 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of cultivation, forest collection, wage earning etc. Bhuiya, Bhuyan The name ‗Bhuyan‘ is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word ‗Bhumi‘, meaning land or earth. The tribe is also named as Bhuiya, Bhuiyan and Bhuinya. The tribe can be classified into two groups according to their levels of socio-cultural and economic development such as the Hill Bhuyans and the Plains Bhuyans. While the former live with an archaic mode of life in a condition of backwardness, the latter are undergoing a stage of acculturation under the influence of Hindu way of life led by their caste neighbours. The Bhuyan hamlets or villages are situated either on plateau land on the hilltops or on the hill slopes in the middle of the forest. The villages are generally small in size and contain a homogeneous Bhuyan population. The Bhuyan family is mostly nuclear. The smallest social unit is the lineage or ―Kutumba‖ formed by a group of families with blood relations and several agnatic kutumbas constitute an exogamous khilli or bonso (clan). All the members of a khilli are believed to be descended from a common ancestor. The next biggest unit is the village, which may comprise the members of one or several khillis. In the past the Bhuyan villages were homogenous and all the households in a village were related to one another by blood.Therefore intra-village marriage was forbidden. Marriages by elopement, by capture (Ghichha), by love and by negotiation are the different modes of marriage. Death pollution is observed for two to three days. At the end of it, the villagers are given a feast by the bereaved family.

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The Bhuyans revere Dharam Devata (Sun God) and Basukimata (Earth Goddess) as their supreme deities. In every Bhuyan village there is a traditional panchayat which meets at the darbar (community center) whenever required. The village headman or pradhan presides over the panchayat. A group of villages form a confederation called a pirha. The panchayat at this level is called the pirhapanchayat, and the secular headman who presides over it is called the sardar. These councils handle their community affairs. In 2011 Census they numbered 1625 in the district. Their literacy rate is 63.14 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of cultivation, forest collection, wage earning etc. Bhumij Bhumij are divided into five categories, viz., Bara Bhumia Bhumij, Teli Bhumij, Tamadia Bhumij, Desua Bhumij and Haladipokharia Bhumij. In Nilagiri Sub-Division most of the Bhumij belong to Haladipokharia category. The Bhumijs usually marry late in life. This is due to financial reasons. Bride price and the over-all expenditure in a marriage are too heavy for a Bhumij to bear. They follow four forms of marriages, vlz. (i) the usual type of arranged marriage through negotiation, (ii) Daw dopa or love marriage, (in) Sindurigesa or marriage by trial and (iv) Apartipi or marriage by capture. Of these, arranged marriage is generally followed. Divorce is permissible in Bhumij society but the divorced women cannot remarry until the approval of the village elders is obtained by the parents of both parties. Polygamy is practised among the Bhumijs. Usually they observe and follow the Hindu social customs in case of births and deaths. The Bhumij generally bury the dead and in rare cases the dead body is burnt. Sing Bonga is the Supreme being of the Bhumij. The Bhumijsbelieve in superstitions. A Bhumij will not proceed in his journey concerning a marriage negotiation if he comes across a man easing himself or if he finds a branch falling from a tree or a dog barking. Sight of oil is considered inauspicious. These beliefs are slowly fading under long and constant contact with the caste-population. Makar Parba (Makara Sankranti) is the most important festival of the Bhumij and with this their new year starts. This festival is observed in the month of Pousa (December-January). They observe Harpuna festival is observed in April for sowing seeds. It synchronises with the Akshayatritiya day when Hindus also sow seeds. Another very important festival of the Bhumij is Saharai when members of the tribe enjoy considerable freedom in revelry and merry-making. The festival is usually observed for four days in the month of November.

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In 2011 Census they numbered 70 014 in the district. Their literacy rate is 52.06 per cent. They pursue avocations like cultivation, forest collection, wage earning etc. Kolha The name Kolha is derived from the Munda word Ko, which means 'they are their own'. The Kolha are early settlers of Kolhan region of Singbhum districts of Jharkhand and have different appellations like Kol, Kolha, Ho, Munda, Mundari and Larka Kol. In course of time they migrated to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. TheKol settlements are generally uniclan and homogeneous. In multi ethnic villages they live in separate hamlets. Family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. The tribe is divided into several exogamous clans (kur). Family is monogamous. Polygyny exists in some cases. Marriage through negotiation (Andi) is regarded as prestigious. Bride price (Gonam) is prevalent and is paid both in cash and kind, in the form of cows and goats etc. Cross cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate and remarriage of widows and widowers are permitted. The other forms of marriage are by capture (Oportipi), by mutual consent (Raji Khusi) and by intrusion (Anadar). They observe birth pollution for a period of seven days. The Kol practise burial for their dead and observe death pollution for seven days. They have their tribal deities like Sing Bonga, Nagea Bonga, Marang Bonga, Basgea Bonga, Borum Bonga, Sendra Bonga, propitated by their traditional priest, Dehuri. The Kol have their own traditional community council. Pradhan is the village head who is assisted by village elders and a messenger (Dakua). The regional head is known as Sardar. The Kol are quite fond of dance and music. They use their traditional musical instruments like Madal, Dholak, Tomka and Mazina and dance during festive occasions. In 2011 Census they numbered 49 334 in the district. Their literacy rate is 42.23 per cent. Their traditional occupation is cultivation and wage labour. Kora The name Kora, Kuda or Kura seems to be a generic name signifying the occupation of earth digging. Economically and occupationally, the Kora are noted for their traditional skills and specialization in digging tanks and doing other kinds of earth works. In course of time they have added the trade of Catechu-making for which their neighbour called Khaira or Khayra. Now they are settled agriculturists. The tribe is segmented into several endogamous groups. The Kora of Odisha claim that they belong to the Suryavansi group. They are divided into a number of totemistic exogamous septs (gotra) such as Kaich, Nag, Mankad, Khapur, Dhan, Nun, Adower, Maghi, Pradhan, Bagha, Bahera etc. and are further divided into lineages. They are patrilineal

102 and patrilocal. Nuclear family and monogamous marriages are common in the Kora society. The most common and ideal type of marriage is by negotiation. However, polygyny, cross-cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate, marriage by elopement, by capture, divorce and remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are also permitted. Bride price is paid in cash. They observe post-natal pollution for 21 days. They cremate the dead for natural death and practise burial in cases of unnatural deaths. They have their traditional panchayat headed by Majhi who is assisted by Parmanik. It plays an important role in ensuring conformity to their social norms and traditions. It deals with customary matters like breach of norms of clan exogamy, killing of cow, sins of suffering from dreadful diseases, and the like. The 2011 Census enumerated 1531 Koras in the district. 68.54 per cent of them are literates. Their traditional occupation is earth work that is supplemented by cultivation, wage earning. Madia They are said to be a section of the Koya tribe. Typical bamboo palisade fencing all around is a distinguishing feature of Madia settlements. Very close to their settlements one notices stone pillars and wooden posts (menhirs) erected in memory of their dead ancestors. The number of houses in a village varies from ten to thirty. They have mud houses beautifully thatched by a type of jungle grass. Houses are rectangular giving shelters to humans along with the livestock like pigs and fowls. Herds of cattle are put or tethered in front courtyard. Each house, its courtyard and adjoining kitchen garden are nicely fenced by bamboo splits. They have two important deities: Bijagudi, house deity and Gudimata, village deity. They worship mother-earth as village deity. They offer sacrifices of eggs, pigeons, fowls, goats, and pigs, cows and buffaloes to their deities and spirits. Koya society has five broad social divisions, katta, such as, Kowasi, Sodi, Madkami, Madi and Padiami. Each social division is further subdivided into several groups and sub-groups. Their kins (kutumb) and affines (wiwalwand) are clearly distinguished. Marriage is termed as pendul. Apart from arranged marriages, marriages by service, intrusion, and exchange are also practised. The custom of bride price is prevalent. Marriage negotiation starts at an early age. They observe burial rites de passage. The secondary burial ritual is observed most elaborately. The traditional village council is headed by pedda, the village headman, and perma, the priest. The posts of pedda and perma are hereditary. In spite of impact of modernization, they have retained their rich cultural heritage in different forms.

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In 2011 Census they numbered 1848 in the district. Their literacy rate is 48.36 per cent. They pursue avocations like food gathering, forestry, livestock rearing,agricultural labour, basketry etc. Matya TheMatya is numerically a small tribe. They live in multi-ethnic villages. They along with other ethnic groups of the village worship village deities. Their village priest is Pujari and the astrologer is Disari. Their village Goddess, Gramdebi installed in a grove gets sacrifices of fowl and pig on Pus Punei and Chait Parab. In addition to these they visit local Hindu shrines of Siva, Durga and Jagannath. They have four exogamous totemic clans, like Bagh (tiger), Nag (cobra), Cheli (goat) and Kachim (tortoise). They have the common surnames like Kape, Naek, Pujari and Prema. They practise adult marriage. In addition to arranged marriage, marriage by elopement, by capture and by service are also allowed. Cross-cousin marriage is preferred. Payment of bride price both in cash and kind is prevalent. A husband seeks divorce from his wife when the latter runs away with another man. In that case, the first husband gets compensation known as sogarta. They observe birth pollution for seven days in case of a female and nine days for a male. They cremate or bury the dead. Death pollution is observed for three days. The headman of the village is called Naek who along with Pujari and Disari and assisted by Challan and Barik look after their community matters relating to breach of their customs, marriage rules, family disputes and partition of property. In 2011 Census they numbered 1676 in the district. Their literacy rate is 51.05 per cent. Their traditional occupation is earth work that is supplemented by cultivation, wage earning. Mirdha The Mirdhas are a section of Kisan Tribe. The word ‗Mirdha‘ implies head coolie. They are a small Dravidian tribe who are known as ‗Koda‘ or ‗Kuda‘ in the districts of Angul, Sambalpur and Bolangir in Odisha due to their past occupation of digging and carrying earth. Mirdhas‘ settlements are generally uniclan and homogenous. In multi-ethnic villages they live in separate hamlets. They are an endogamous community. Their family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal, patrilineal and monogamous. Marriage through negotiation is regarded as ideal and prestigious. Bride price is prevalent and cross- cousin marriage is preferred. The other modes of marriages are through capture, elopement and by service, which are becoming rare in these days. Remarriage of widows, widowers and divorcees are permitted and junior levirate and junior sororate are also socially permitted. They observe birth pollution for a period of seven days. They also observe puberty

104 rites for an adolescent girl and the pollution period continues for seven days. The community practises both burial and cremation for the dead. They observe death pollution for eleven days. On the twelfth day they observe purificatory rites. Their traditional community priest Kalo officiates in the rituals and Brahmin priest worships the deities. The community has its own traditional council known as Jati Samaj headed by a Sardar or Kotwar whose office is hereditary. In 2011 Census they numbered 1612 in the district. Their literacy rate is 62.31 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of earth work, cultivation, wage earning and seasonal forest collection. Oraon The Oraon is an agrarian tribe of Odisha. As per their legend, they got originated from the thorax, uras or urof a holy ascetic and thus were called as Urager. Later they were known as Oraon for their unclean food habits. They live in multiethnic villages and have scattered settlement pattern. Their houses are spacious having verandah at the front and back and an outer courtyard. The tribe comprises several exogamous clans (Bargas) viz. Tirki, Lakda, Topo, Khalko, Minz. Barla etc. named after totemic plants, animals and objects. They practise adult, monogamous and negotiated marriages. They have preference for cross-cousin marriage. Levirate and sororate marriages are also in vogue. Bride price is prevalent. The Oraon observe purificatory rites, chhati, on the tenth day of child birth. They either bury or cremate to dispose of their dead depending upon the nature of death. The bereaved men and women purify themselves by undergoing a treatment of smoke prepared by burning rice barn and sprinkling a mixture of turmeric water and oil onto them. On an appointed day the bones of all the deceased villagers are ritually thrown to a nearby river or stream. Their traditional village council is constituted of the village headman- Mahato, priest- Naega, and the village elders. At the territorial level they have parha organization to settle inter- village disputes. In the recent past some of them have adopted Christianity. In 2011 Census they numbered 2050 in the district. Their literacy rate is 67.57 per cent. They pursue economic activities like cultivation, agricultural labour, minning and quarrying for their living. Rajuar The Rajuar has synonyms like Rajbansi, Rajwar and Rajualas and claim equal social position with that of the Bhuyan citing about their Kshyatriya origin. TheRajuars‘ settlement pattern is traditionally uniclan and homogeneous. In multi-ethnic villages they live in separate hamlets. Family is predominantly nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. The tribe is divided into three exogamous septs, such as, Nageswar, Sankha and Kashyapa. 105

Monogamy is a common practice in their society and marriage through negotiation is regarded prestigious. Cross-cousin marriage, junior levirate, junior sororate, remarriage of widows and widowers and divorcees are socially permitted. Other forms of marriage are through mutual consent and by service. Bride price is obligatory and is paid both in cash and kind. The Rajuars usually practise cremation and in circumstances of unnatural death they bury thedead. Death pollution is observed for eleven days. Birth pollution is observed for nine days and name-giving ceremony is held on the twenty-first day. They observe puberty rites for adolescent girls. The pollution period lasts for seven days and the girl remains in seclusion. The Rajuars profess Hinduism and worship Hindu deities like Laxmi, Kali, Durga, Shiva and village deities like Gaon Thakurani, Chandi, Basuli, Situli, etc. They have their own traditional community council. The headman of the community is called Paramanik who is assisted by a Chatia who acts as a messenger-cum-assistant. In 2011 Census they numbered 301 in the district. Their literacy rate is 51.97 per cent. Their traditional occupation is preparation and sale of pounded rice which is supplemented by cultivation andwage labour. Santal Santal is the third largest tribe in India after the Gond and the Bhil. Santals are found distributed mostly in districts of Mayurbhanj, Baleshwar and Keonjhar. They speak Santali, one of the Munda languages. They have developed a script called OLChiki. Their language Santali with its script Ol Chiki has recently been recognized by the Constitution of India. They are also conversant in Odia and Hindi languages. The Santal settlements have parallel rows of houses facing the common street. In front of the house of Manjhi, the village Chief, they have Manjhithan, the sacred place and the seat of Manjhi-haram, the founding ancestor deity. Jaher, the sacred grove in the outskirts of the village is regarded as the abode of all Santal deities. The Santal build beautiful multi- roomed houses of definite artistic design having spacious compounds and courtyards. They paint the walls with different colours, mainly red and black. Roofs are either thatched or tiled. Men wear coarse dhoti and gamuchha and women wear short check saris mostly of blue and green colour. Women put on tattoo marks. They are divided into several totemic exogamous clans, Paris. Each clan is further divided into sub-clans, maximal lineages, Bansa, and minimal lineages, Kutum. The kinsmen, at the level of broad groups refer to each other as kutum pele, lineal kins and bandhu pele, affines. They observe Janam Chatiar, purificatory ritual on the seventh or ninth day of birth, and 106 natyam, name giving ceremony within one year. Death rites are observed within ten to twenty days of death. The bone of the deceased is ceremonially immersed in a holy river, termed as Damodar. Marriage, bapla is a significant event in Santal life. The common types of marriages permitted in their society are by negotiation, by elopement, by intrusion and by service. They practise junior levirate marriages also. The Santals are agriculturists. Besides, they work as wage earners, mining and industrial labourers. They also raise livestock. Sing Bonga, Sun God, otherwise called Thakur or Dharam, is their Supreme Deity and is revered as the creator of the universe. Their important village deities are Marang Buru, Monreko Tureiko, Jaher Era, Gosani Era and Manjhi Haram. Besides, there are a number of other deities like hill and forest deities, earth goddess (Basumata), ancestal spirits (Hapranko Bonga), household spirits (Abe Bonga) etc. Their festivals such as Erok-Sim, Harihar- Sim, Janthan, Sahari, Magha Sim, Baha and Iri-Guldi-Sim are associated with agricultural activities and eating of first fruits. The traditional village council is headed by the secular chief, Manjhi assisted by Paramanik, the deputy chief, Naik, the village priest, Jog Majhi, the Moral Guardian, and Gadet, the messenger. At the inter-village level they have inter-village council called Pirha or Pargana. The Santals are very fond of song and dance that they perform on all ceremonial and festive occasions. They play musical instruments like Tamak, Dhol, Bhuang, Sarangi and flutes. Hinduization as well as industrialization and urbanization have brought about changes in their life style. In 2011 Census they numbered 1 04 996 in the district. Their literacy is 55.57 per cent. Shabar, Lodha In British India the Shabar Lodha or Lodha Shabar was notified as a criminal tribe until the revocation of the criminal Tribes Act in 1956. It is widely accepted that the tribe derived its name from the word lubdhaka meaning the fowler or trapper. They claim their ancestry to Byadha or Kirata, the Savara king Viswabasu and consider Lord Jagannath as their supreme deity. They take pride in giving their identity as Lodha Savar. They used to have one-roomed houses with raised verandah in the front. Inside the house, close to the hearth there is a raised earthen platform called isan. This is said to be the seat of the family deity. A few household artifacts for multipurpose use are found in a Lodha house. They have exogamous totemic clans like Bhotda, Malik, Bag, Nayak, Dandapat, Paramanik, Ahori, Bhuria and Kotal. They practise clan exogamy. Child marriage is still 107 prevalent among them. After marriage the ladies put vermilion mark on forehead and iron bangle around the wrist. The practice of bride price is still in vogue in their community. In 2011 Census they numbered 6578 in the district. Their literacy rate is 53.29 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of hunting, food gathering and seasonal forest collections. Sounti ‗Sounti‘ in Odisha is a local term which means "gathering things". The community is believed to have originated out of a union of persons out casted from different communities in the past. They have synonyms like Bedajal and Berdajhal. TheSounti settlement are traditionally uniclan and homogeneous. In multi ethnic villages they live in separate hamlets maintaining distance from other communities. Family is generally nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. The community comes under one totemic gotra, Nageswar (cobra) and is divided into a number of exogamous clans (Khilli) like Doldasia, Bardia, Saru and Tangsaria, etc. Family is predominately monogamous, though polygene is still found in a few cases. They prefer marriage by negotiation. Payment of bride price is obligatory. Remarriage of widows, widowers, divorcees, junior levirate and sororate are permitted. The birth pollution is observed for twenty-one days. They practise both cremation and burial to dispose off their dead. The bereaved family observes death pollution for ten days. The Sounti are Hindus by faith. They worship village deities like Thakurani and Mangala and other Hindu deities like Shiva and Raghunath and observe Hindu festivals. Dehury is their traditional priest. The Sounti have their own traditional community council headed by village chief and influential elders. It settles family disputes and acts as guardian of traditional norms and customs. In 2011 Census they numbered 2042 in the district. Their literacy rate is 59.58 per cent. They earn their livelihood out of cultivation, wage earning, livestock rearing, forestry etc. Tharua The Tharua is an artisan community called by other names like, Tharua-Bindhani, Tharua- Kumbhar, etc. They live either in uni-clan homogeneous villages or in separate hamlets in a multi-ethnic village. Family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. A few cases of vertically extended families are also seen. The community is endogamous and divided into a number of exogamous totemic septs, such as, Kachim, Latha, Supala, Ahadar, Kanyari, Dhakitanga, Bhuiyan and Tetenga etc. Family is monogamous and marriage through negotiation is the common practice. Other modes of marriage are by capture, by mutual consent and by service. Besides, junior levirate and sororate, cross-cousin marriage, remarriage of divorcees, widows and widowers are permitted in their society. A few cases 108 of polygyny are also found in their society. The Tharua practise cremation for the dead. Death pollution is observed for ten days. Their traditional priest performs over their socio-religious functions. They have their own traditional community council. The regional head is called Behera. Lord Viswakarma is their principal deity worshiped during Viswakarma Puja along with their pottery wheel. They worship their village deities such as Raudia, Thanamatho, Maisasuri, Handia, Gamho and Kuli. In 2011 Census they numbered 1694 in the district. Their literacy rate is 50.44 per cent. They pursue avocations like pottery, stone cutting, engraving, cultivation, wage earning etc. Social Life Inter-caste relations The traditional division of Hindus into castes, though basically still intact, has lost much of its social rigidity to modern outlook in human relationship and social status. The drive of Mahatma Gandhi against the social disabilities of the untouchables has broken the barriers between the high castes and the untouchables. As untouchability is now punishable under law, people of various castes do not hesitate to worship, sit and dine in a common place. The change of occupations, spread of education and appointment of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in private and public sectors have shrunken the traditional differences between various castes. Inter-caste marriages, though rare in the district, are now tolerated. Under these circumstances, the traditional structure of the Hindu society based on caste is undergoing a sea change. The tribals have retained their individual identity based on clans and dialects, but they have cordial relationship and co-operation among themselves. Sometimes inter-tribe marriages, though not socially recognized, are tolerated and made regular after observance of due ceremonies. New religious leaders and movements Followers of Shri , Maa Sarada, , Shri Aurobindo, Shri Sathyasai Baba, Swami Shivananda, Thakur Anukula Chandra, Swami Nigamananda, Swami Aviram Paramahansa and Mahima Gosain, the founder of the Mahima cult are found at different places in this district. They have formed their own organizations and are carrying on religious functions with the help of their followers. (ii) Property and Inheritance As regards inheritance and succession to property all the Hindus of the district except the Bengalis are governed by the Mitakhara School of Hindu 109 law. The Bengalis are governed by the Dayabhag School of Hindu law. The Muslims are governed by the Mohammedan Law of Succession. The tribals, however, are governed by their own customs and usages. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 has allowed equal share in properties to daughters and the widow along with sons. But the daughters are not generally enforcing the right as they do not like to alienate the sympathy of their broters in their parental home. (iii) Marriage and Morals The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 forbids polygamy. Monogamy prevails among most of the castes and tribes. The Hindu marriage is regulated according to gotra. Generally the gotra of one‘s father is taken into account when a marriage is contemplated. The practice of child marriage which was common in the former days has almost disappeared and the age of marriage has substantially increased in case of both the male and the female. From time immemorial dowry system is in vogue in our society. To eradicate this social evil, the Government of Odisha has also introduced the Dowry Prevention Act and its amendment of 1984 along with strictly implementing sections 498-A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code to prevent dowry death. Civil Marriage The Government of India‘s Special Marriage Act was first passed in the year 1872. It was substituted by the Special Marriage Act, 1954 with certain modifications. This new Act was enforced on the first day of January, 1955 and the Government of Odisha framed rules to implement the Act in the same year. Under these rules civil marriages are registered by the Sub- Registrar. Of the 1766 civil marriage notices filed from 1969 to 1985 in Baleshwar district, only 629 civil marriages had been registered. Widow Remarriage Widow remarriage is no longer disapproved in the society. It is mostly now confined to the educated mass. Among the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes widow remarriage is permissible by tradition. Divorce Marriage being considered a sacrament, some castes avoid divorce. But among certain castes divorce is easy. It can be brought about at the will of either party. According to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, divorce is allowed on some specific grounds to be determined by the courts. In Baleshwar district, the number of divorce cases filed in the court was 64 during 2000 to 2015.

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The place of women in society Women occupied, high position in the Hindu society since the ancient times. In this connection Manu had said that Gods reside in those households where women are respected. Women were able rulers and brave fighters of which the history of Odisha bears ample testimony. A galaxy of women ruled Odisha in the 8th to 10th centuries. The status of women, however, declined after the Muslim invasions of India when seclusion or purdah came into vogue as a measure of safety and protection. The practice continued thereafter among different castes as a mark of social prestige. It was observed strictly in villages than in towns and more rigidly followed among the Muslims than among the Hindus. But things have changed with the spread of education and the former seclusion of women has almost disappeared. Nowadays educated women are coming out in increasing numbers to shoulder the responsibility of running the household by engaging themselves in economic pursuits. Prostitution, drinking and gambling In the darkness of the underworld prostitution thrives mostly in urban places. There is no organised brothel nor was there any in the past. Women police, a recent addition to the force, have booked a few cases under the suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act (SITA). There are no reformatory homes for the rehabilitation and restoration of ill-fated women in this district. There is one Kanyashram at Soro which is meant for small girls and their education. There is another Kanyashram at Baleshwar meant for the destitutes. Drinking has become a social evil. Educated youngsters are the foremost prey of this evil. Also people of poor economic status like daily labourers and rickshaw-pullers fell to this vice. The tribals accept it as their social custom. Gambling is going on at a lesser scale and it has not been completely stopped. There are regular drives from the police side to prevent both illicit sale of liquor and gambling. Type of Dwellings As per Census 2011 there were 14,11,829 houses in Baleshwar district, of which 13,31,508 were in the rural areas and 80,321 in the urban areas, the distribution of houses and the uses to which they are put in the district are given below.

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Type of House Number 1.Houses vacant at the time of house-listing 12,465 2.Occupied houses used as: (i) Residence 2,79,425 (ii) Shop-cum-residence 2,570 (iii) Workshop-cum-residence including household industry 3,260 (iv) Hotels, Sarais, Dharmasalas, Tourist homes and 695 Inspection houses (v) Shops excluding eating houses 7,850 (vi) Business houses and offices 1,860 (vii) Factories, Workshops and Worksheds 4,495 (viii) Restaurants, Sweetmeat shops and eating places 1,465 (ix) Places of entertainment and community gathering 1,435 (Panchayat Ghar) excluding places of worship (x) Places of worship (e. g. Temple, Church, Mosque, 8,235 Gurudwara, etc.) (xi) Others 83,555 Total houses 4,07,565 It is seen from the foregoing statement that the majority of the houses are used as residence. Places of worship (e.g., temple, church, mosque, Gurudwara, etc.) houses constitute the second highest group and the lowest category includes hotels, Sarais, Dharmashalas, tourist homes and inspection bungalows and rest sheds. In the rural areas mud is the most common material for construction of walls. It is the only district in the state of Odisha to have more than 50 per cent of the houses in the urban areas having mud walls. Generally, grass, leaves, reeds, thatch, wood, mud, bamboo, tiles, corrugated iron-asbestos-cement sheets and RBC / RCC are used as materials for construction of roofs in the district. Cement, concrete and iron rods are available throughout the district. People whose economic condition is good now prefer RCC roof than other materials. Since the cost of building construction materials are increasing day by day, it has become impossible for the poor people to construct a house. Under these circumstances Government has been expediting the rural housing program and providing schemes for low-cost houses for the poorest of the poor belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and freed bonded labourers in the rural areas.

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Household utensils, furniture and house decoration Most of the people live modestly. Their household articles comprises ordinary utensils, tin boxes and bamboo-made pedis (box), agricultural implements, earthen pots of different shapes and sizes and some bamboo- made articles like baskets. The utensils used by the people are generally of bell-metal, brass, aluminium, steel and stone. Big bowls of bell-metal are found in each household. The affluent ones have brass pitchers for fetching and storing water. Dishes, cups and tumblers made of the same substance are in common use. For cooking, earthen pots and pans of aluminium, iron and steel are used by all the households. As stone utensil factories are found in Nilagiri region of the district, most of the villagers use stone dishes, cups and bowls. In many families use of stainless steel utensils are popular. It is gaining popularity more in urban areas than in ruraI areas of the district. Bamboo-made baskets, winnowing fans, broom sticks, etc., are used by all. Articles of value are stored in Sinduka, trunk and bamboo-made pedis. In sophisticated families these items have become obsolete. They are now using steel almirahs and iron chests. Dhenki, the wooden huller, is found more or less in every village. Use of such device has considerably decreased due to advent of rice hullers. Sila and Chaki, the grinding stones, are common to all households. Modern devices of grinding are gradually replacing the traditional household appliances in many parts of the district. Like other household articles Batua is also found in many houses. It is used to keep pan, chuna, khaira, gundi, and guakati. People carry it wherever they go and prepare khili pan instantly when they like to chew it. This fashion is still popular among the older generation mostly in rural areas. Well-to-do families in the district use various types of furniture for a comfortable living. They possess chairs, tables, sofa sets, bench, stool, almirah, dressing table, bedsteads, wardrobe and other furniture made of wood, cane or steel according to their need, taste, status and capacity. Those who cannot afford remain content with wooden bedstead, chair, table, bench and stool of ordinary type. In the district most of the houses have no furniture but stringed charpoys. The frame of the charpoys is made of wood and the strings used are either of jute or Sabai grass. The households having electricity use television, radio, transistor, heater and ceiling fans. Non-electricity using households use lamp, lantern and petromax. Those households who have no lanterns use kerosene lamps made of tin called ‗Dibiri‘, Bicycle is commonly used by the people. A few persons have mopeds, scooters, motor cycles and motor cars.

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In addition to household equipment, the people of Baleshwar decorate their dwelling houses on festive and ceremonial occasions. They smear their floors and walls with cow-dung and coloured earth or pastes. On all Thursdays, especially during the month of Margasira (November-December), Hindus decorate their floors, walls and door steps by drawing floral, geometrical, anthropomorphical and morphological designs with the help of chlte or etpene in honour of the goddess Lakshmi. The doors and windows of the houses are often artistically carved with different designs to arrest the eyes of the visitors. Proficiency in alpana or chita was considered to be the prerequisite of the Hindu housewife and the tradition still persists in many parts of the district. Apart from these, houses of well-to-do families are also decorated with door and window screens, door mats and flower pots. Some of the house walls are also decorated with photographs and calendars bearing pictures of gods and goddesses, eminent national leaders, scenery and toys.

Dress and Ornaments Generally, men wear dhoti, gamuchha and lungi. They also use shirt, vest, pant, trousers, bush shirt and coat. Women put on sari. Use of blouse and saya has also become common except by the poorest of the poor ladies. The widows do not use bordered saris. Girls put on frocks, jumpers and middy blouses. During winter, the common men use cotton jerseys, coarse cotton Chaddars or wrappers. The women, at home, do not generally use any extra garment for the winter. Children are provided with jackets, cardigans and cheap quality dress materials. The affluent ones use woolen wrappers. During summer and the rainy seasons most of the people use umbrellas while going out. In rural areas the common people use pakhias made of palmyra-palm leaves. It is also used by members of both the sexes while working in the field. Cheap chappals are used by men when they move out. Women rarely use any footwear. The members of the affluent families use good quality chappals, socks and shoes. The people of Baleshwar wear a variety of ornaments. In the past the principal ornaments used by the women in the head were tiara and sinthi of gold or silver. Young women use hair pins with floral embroideries which are generally made of silver and sometimes of nickel also. They are called matha phulakanta and matha panakanta. For the neck they use Champakadi, Kanthi, jhinjira and necklece made of gold or silver. For the arms they use armlets and for the wrists they use bangles and bracelets of

114 silver or gold called bala, chudi, sankha etc. They also use bangles made of glass or plastic of different colours and designs. For the ears and nose, gold ornaments are used. The nose ornaments are called dandi, nakaphula, phuli and nuduka. Out of these, the dandi which is set with stones is the most common ornament. Ear-tops and ear-rings of various designs for the ears are used. Phasia, noli and kanachampa are common ear ornaments for the women. Silver and gold rings are worn in the fingers. Chandrahara a stout chain of silver is used round the waist. Anklets of silver called bankia are used on the ankles. Rings of silver are also used in the toes by the women. All these ornaments are not for daily use. It is only on festive occasions and ceremonies that the women put on most of their ornaments. The men ordinarily do not use ornaments but some wear rings of gold, silver or nickel in their fingers. According to the financial condition of the people, the use of ornaments varies from cheap materials to gold ornaments. There is no speciality in the hair style of women. The grown up and middle aged women generally tie their hair into knots behind after combing with combs made of wood, horn or plastic. The younger ones particularly of the higher caste Hindu families love to have plaits dangling on their back. Men generally trim their hairs short. Some women have tattoo marks on their limbs. Generally geometrical figures on the elbows and dot marks on the forehead of women irrespective of caste are noticed. Such marks are also seen on the palm and feet. Some men have their own names or the names of gods tattooed on their forearms. It is believed by women that the tattoo marks save them from being punished by the Yama, the god of Death. Food The food habits of the people are simple. Those staying in rural areas have not changed much by the passage of time. Their main food still consists of rice and vegetable curry. For breakfast and even for lunch the rural folk mainly women and children take watered rice called pakhal. The food habits of the urban people have, however, changed appreciably in recent times. They generally take rice, roti or bread, dal and vegetables with some ghee (clarified butter). The welt-to-dos in towns add such ancillary items as salad, chutney, pickle and some extra vegetables. The evening meals usually consist of roti and vegetable curry. Some people repeat rice and dal also at night. Fish, meat, egg, dried fish, lobster and crab are taken when available. On the occasion of feasts or festivals the meal is supplemented by sweetmeats and savories. Each community has a special culinary item to suit the occasion. The festive dishes vary according to one‘s

115 taste and purse. Most people have two meals a day, one at noon and the other in the night. In. between principal meals people usually eat pitha (rice cakes), chuda (flattened rice), murhi (puffed rice) and khai (pop rice) as tiffin. Popular Indian recipes are available in restaurants, both big and small throughout the district. Gaja of Baleshwar is well-known as special sweetmeat in the state. Taking tea is very common among the people. It was rarely used as drink fifty years ago. Nowadays it has become a universal drink. In summer the people of Baleshwar quench their thirst with cool drinks, sharbats and aerated waters. Smoking and chewing of betel leaves are common in the district. Apart from that people relish smoking and chewing tobacco. Some are also addicted to ganja and bhang. Mustard oil and ghee are used as the medium of cooking since long. Nowadays groundnut oil, vanaspati and the recently introduced palm oil are being used widely for preparation of cakes and other delicacies. Ghee is used very sparingly and mostly by the well-to-do to prepare delicacies for offering to the deities during festivals. Pure ghee has become not only costly but also a rarity. Firewood from forests is used as the principal fuel in the district. Dried leaves are collected and stored specially for boiling paddy. Cow-dung is also made into balls or flattened cakes and dried in the sun for use as fuel. Besides, kerosene stoves and electric heaters cooking gas is gradually becoming popular in urban areas. Communal Dance Chhau Nancha, Danda Nacha, Chadhei Chadheiani Nacha and Kandhei Nacha are popular in the district. Description of some dances is given below. Chhau dance Patronized by the ex-rulers, Chhau dance is prevalent in Nilagiri, area of Baleshwar district. Mainly male members participate in this dance. Different types of dresses are used by the artists for performing this dance. Most of the dances are based on the mythological themes such as Radha- Krishna Milan, Tandaba Nrutya of Shiva, war dance, etc. Background songs are provided during the performances of the dance. Funds are being sanctioned by the Odisha State Government from time to time for the promotion and preservation of the dance. Danda Nacha Danda Nacha (dance) is a ritual dance. The participants of the dance are the devotees of Hara-Parvati. They perform the dance in the month of Chaitra (March-April) and Vaishakha (April-May). Danda begins on an 116 auspicious day before the Chaitra Sankranti or Mahavishuva Sankranti with traditional worship and fasting. This dance consists of a series of different dances which are performed one after another by the male members generally belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. The music of the Danda Nacha varies for different dances. The songs are mainly devotional and are based on the stories from the epics. Fairs, Festivals and Recreation Out of many fairs and festivals celebrated in the district, the following are important. Chandan Jatra The Chandan Jatra is observed in many villages in the district. It starts from Akshaya Trutiya and continues for 21 days. To cut short expenditures, now it is observed for 4 or 5 days at many places. Baruni Jatra Baruni is observed on the 13th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Chaitra (March-April). On this day many people take holy dip in the Pandab Ghat of Baleshwar, They pay oblation to their ancestors and visit nearby temples to offer prayer. Chadak Jatra The Chadak Jatra is celebrated in Chandaneswar temple on the last day in the month of Chaitra (March-April). A large number of people congregate celebrate the festivaI. Since the temple is situated near the border area of Odisha and West Bengal many people from the neighbouring state aIso attend the festival. Raja Sankranti Raja is an important festival connected with agriculture. It is observed by people of all walks of life in general and cultivators in particular. It is observed for three consecutive days in the month of Asadha (June-July). The last day of the month of Jyestha is called Pahili Raja. The first day of Asadha is known as Raja Sankranti. The second day and third day of Asadha are known as Bhuindahan and Basumati Puja respectively. Ploughing is not done for these three days, the popular belief being that the Mother Earth is in menstruation. Ratha Jatra The Ratha Jatra or the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath is held on the second day of the bright fortnight in the month of Asadha (June-July) at Nilagiri, Baleshwar, and other places of the district. The three deities -

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Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra - are brought from the main temple and placed in the wooden chariot and drawn to the Shri Gundicha Mandira or Mausima Mandira. The deities remain in that temple for seven days worshipped there. At Nilagiri they assume Matshya, Kashyapa, Baraha, Nrushingha, Bamana, Rama, Balarama, Buddha, Parsuram and Kaliki Avatar. Large number of devotees come for Darshan on these days to the Shri Gundicha Mandira. That apart, make shift markets, circus, opera party and merry-go-round provide entertainment to the persons assembled there. The return car festival or Bahuda Jatra is performed on Asadha Sukla Dasami, i.e., the tenth day of the bright fortnight. At Nilagiri, the return of the deities from Shri Gundicha Mandira to the main temple generally take two days on the way. This festival is being observed in Nilagiri this Sub-Division with much pomp and show since the Durbar period. Gamha Purnima In the month of Shraban (July-August) Gamha Purnima is celebrated. People worship Lord Balabhadra. Cattle are also worshipped on this day. The other significance of the day is Rakhi-Bandhan. As a bond of protection, sisters tie a coloured silken thread as a sign of love and a plea for eternal protection. Sweetmeats, cakes and other delicacies are prepared in every house on the occasion. Jhulan Jatra The Jhulan Jatra or the swing festival of the deities Radha-Krishna is held from the 10th of the bright fortnight (July-August) in the month of Shraban to the full-moon day. It is observed at many temples and Mathas of the district of which mention may be made of the Khirachora Gopinath temple at Remuna. Janmastami Janmastami is observed on the 8th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Shraban (July-August) to celebrate the birthday of Lord Shri Krishna. On this occasion a large number of devotees go to the temples for worship. The next day is celebrated as Nanda Ustab. Joyous scenes from Lord Krishna‘s life are re-enacted and sweets are distributed among the people. Ganesh Chaturthi On the fourth day in the month of Bhadrab (August-September) the birth of Lord Ganesh or Ganapati is celebrated. On Ganesh Chaturthi, the clay idol of the God is brought into the house and educational institutions and installed. It is kept for one day or more according to the will of the worshipper. The idol is worshipped with special prayers in the morning and 118 evening until it is ceremoniously immersed in a river or tank or canal. It is mainly celebrated in educational institutions. It is considered to be the most auspicious day of the year, when children are taken to school for the first time to begin their studies. Biswakarma Puja Worship of Lord Biswakarma, the Maker of the Universe in the month of Bhadrab (August-September) used to be the big festival of Badhei, Kamar and Tanti castes. However, now a days all industrial units and workshops are performing this puja. Karama Puja The tribals of the district observe Karama Parba on the 11th day after the full-moon of Bhadrab (September-October). Two branches of Karama tree are brought by three maidens who pitch them in an open space. Handia (country wine) is offered to the deities near these branches. Children and women dance around the branches to the rhythmic beating of drums. Feast, drinking of Handia and community dancing occupy the greater part of the day and night. Durga Puja Durga puja is one of the most popular festivals of the district. It is celebrated in the bright fortnight in the month of Aswina (September- October). This colourful festlvaI begins from Saptami (7th day) and ends on Dasami (10th day). Clay images of goddess Durga are worshipped at many places in the district with great pomp and splendour of which mention may be made of the celebrations held at Baleshwar, Nilagiri, Soro and Jaleshwar. The 10th day of the festival is called Dasahara. On this day the images are taken out in procession for immersion in tanks or rivers. Durga Puja is also celebrated at many Shakti shrines in the district. Animals were sacrificed to please the deity. Kumar Purnima After Durga Puja comes Kumar Purnima, It is held on the full-moon day in the month of Aswina. On this day the unmarried girls wear new clothes. They worship the rising sun in the morning and the rising moon in the evening in front of the Tulsi Chaura. Bhoga offered to the full-moon is called chanda. Unmarried girls establish friendship by exchanging Chanda to each other and call each other by that name. The girls sing songs typical to the occasion and play Puchi which is a kind of frolicking game. The children enjoy the whole night by organising cultural programmes.

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Kali Puja and Deepavali Clay images of goddess Kali are set up and worshipped at Baleshwar, Soro, Nilagiri and other places in the district. It is observed on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Kartika (October-November). The new- moon day of Kartika is known as Deepavali Amabasya or Paya Amabasya. On this day the Hindus in remembrance of their ancestors perform Sradha and bid farewell to them with lighted kaunria (hemp) sticks in the night. Every house is decorated with rows of earthen lamps and the youth and the aged alike enjoy the evening with crackers and fireworks. Kartika Purnima This is observed on the full-moon day in the month of Kartika (October- November). Devotees, old and young, bathe in the rivers and tanks long before the dawn and then proceed to the temple. The devotees take habishanna once in the afternoon and touch no food after sun set. Some observe fasting on all the Mondays of the month and some do it for five days and yet many others fast on the full-moon day only. On the last day tiny boats made of banana pith and sheath or paper are floated in the tanks, canals and rivers by the people. It is said that the day is reminiscent of the maritime trade and prosperity of the ancient Kalinga empire. Prathamastami After Kartika Purnima comes Prathamastami in the month of Margasira (November-December). This is the day for the eldest issue in each family who is provided with new dress mainly from the maternal uncle‘s family. Cakes and delicacies are prepared in each family in honour of the eldest. The festival is observed by people of all castes. Makar Sankranti The first day of Magha (January-February) is known as Makar Sankranti. Many elderly persons take their bath before dawn and on returning home make offerings of sweetmeats and flowers to the Sun God. Cakes and delicacies are prepared in every home. A kind of sweet is specially prepared for the occasion called tilou. Powdered rice, treacle and a few grains of sesame seeds are the components of this cake. This festival is observed both by the Hindus and Adivasis. The Adivasis celebrate it for one week whereas the caste Hindus observe it for one day only. Muni Mela Muni Mela or Jatra is held on Makar Sankranti at many places of which mention may be made of the celebrations held at Jirtal, Abhana, and Ramakrushnapur.

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Saraswati Puja Saraswati Puja is celebrated throughout the district on the Magha Shukla Panchami with usual gaiety and enthusiasm. The people decorate the clay image of Saraswati, the goddess of learning with flowers and offer sweetmeats and fruits. Children wear new dress on the occasion and are also initiated to the alphabet on this day. Shivaratri Shivaratri is celebrated in all the temples of Lord Shiva on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalguna (February-March). The devotees remain on fasting for the whole day. Both men and women observe this festival. Number of devotees assemble on the festive day in the Shiva temple, keep burning lamps in front of the God and wait till the Maha Dipa is taken to the top of the temple. The devotees watch this ceremony with keen interest and break their fast after it is over. The festival is observed with great pomp and splendour at the temple in Chandaneswar, Nangaleswar, Panchalingeswar, Jhadeswar temples. On the occasion of Shivaratri temporary stalls are opened in and outside the temple premises. Jatras and musical entertainments keep the visitors merry all through the night. Salui Puja Salui Puja or Baha is observed on Dola Purnima day (February- March) by the tribals of the district. The aim of this festival is to celebrate the advent of spring when palas and mohua flowers blosssorn. In the morning the villagers gather near a sal tree laden with blossoms and offer plantains, milk, honey and flowers to the Bongas (Supreme Being). Some youngmen then cut small branches containing the blossoms which are taken home and fixed on the thresholds. Crescent moons are pointed at the entrance door with vermilion and oil. After this the water festival follows. Coloured water is thrown on all men and women, young and old, which resembles very much the Holi festival. All those participating in the festival take their bath before the evening. They all drink Handia and spend the moonlit night in dancing and singing. Dola Jatra The last festival of the Hindu almanac is Dola Purnima. It is celebrated on the full-moon day of the month of Phalguna (February-March), This festival is enjoyed for five days beginning with Phagu Dasami (10th phase of the moon) and concluding on the full-moon day. On this occasion the images of Radha and Krishna are brought from the temple altar and placed in a decorated Biman and carried in procession from house to house where they 121 get Bhoga (offerings). All the communities join in the festival. Coloured powder (Abira) and coloured water are freely used all these days. In some places people observe Panchu Dola and Dasa Dola from the next day of Phagu Purnima or Dola Purnima. Bimans are also brought from different villages to the Melan Padia (a meadow for meeting) where aII enjoy in merriments. Sweet stalls and varieties of shops sit in this field. The whole area is agog with excitement. This is also the main festival of the people belonging to Gauda caste. They worship the cow and play Naudi (a play with sticks) by singing songs relating to Radha and Krishna. This festival is celebrated with pomp, grandeur and pageantry at Khirkona, Patirajpur, Golia, Abhana, Barikpur, Mathani, Pinchabania, Singla, and Matiali areas. Christian Festivals The Christians of the district observe New Year‘s Day, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with great pomp and show. Muslim Festivals The Muslim inhabitants celebrate Id-Ul-Fitre, ld-Ul-Zuha, Shab-E-Barat, Shab·E·Quadar, Juma-Tul-Wida, Muharram, Shab- E-Maraj, Milad-Un-Nabi and Ramzan like their fellow brethren in other parts of the state. Of these, the Very important festivals celebrated by Muslims are ld-Ul-Fitre, ld-Ul-Zuha and Muharram· Id-Ul-Fitre comes with the new-moon and marks the end of Ramzan, the 9th month of the Muslim year. Muslims keep a fast every day during this month and on the completion of the period, which is usually decided by the appearance of the new-moon Id-UI-Fitre is celebrated. On the occasion, prayers are offered in mosques and the Idgahs. People greet each other warmly. Hindus and Muslims join in the celebration of this great festival. ld-Ul-Zuha commemorates the ordeal of Hazrat Ibrahim, who was put to a severe test once by God. When he was asked to sacrifice what was dearest to him, he decided to sacrifice the life of his son. When he was on the point of applying the sword to his son‘s neck, it was revealed to him by the God that this was meant only to test his faith. Instead of it, he was asked to sacrifice only a ram.ld-Ul-Zuha is celebrated on the 1oth day of Zilhijjat, when the Haj festival at Mecca is rounded off by the sacrifice of goats and camels.

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The observance of Muharram commemorates the tragic death of the Prophet Muhammad‘s grandson. The first days of Muharram which is in the first month of the Muslim year, are dedicated to the mourning and martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. Recreation Leisure and recreation are essential for life. Apart from assembling in temples, church, mosque and Gurudwara to offer prayer for refreshment of mind,people also meet at places to listen to the recitals from Ramayan, Mahabharata, Bhagabat Purana, Gita, Koran, Bible and Granth Sahib. Some people get pleasure by singing classical, modern and devotional songs with the help of musical instruments. Occasionally, acrobatic feats, monkey dance, bear dance, snake-charming and magic performed by professional groups provide entertainment to the people. In some places amateur dramatic clubs stage dramas. The theatre parties display folk-dances and operas. Pala and Daskathia also provide recreation to most of the people in the rural areas in this district. Film is a common source of entertainment. There are film houses in the district. In every house of the society people witness different television programme being televised by the different channels. Libraries, reading rooms, television and radio sets provide more recreational facility to the people. Sometimes people of all walks of life assemble in public places to discuss about the regional, national and international affairs and exchange their views. Fishing is a favourite pastime. Cock-fighting is popular among the tribal people. Although poaching in the forests is prohibited under law, some people at times go to the hills in Nilagiri area with their guns, bows and arrows and bag some game birds. Schools, colleges and athletic clubs in the district offer opportunities to the students for out-door games. In-door games like playing cards, dice and ludu are not rare. Hotels and restaurants are also places for social gathering and amusements. There are a few good hotels and restaurants in Baleshwar, Chandipur and Nilagiri. Besides, people also find pleasure in visiting picnic spots, parks and garden. In the district, Kuldiha, Panchalingeswar, Remuna Ajodhya, Abhana, Chandaneswar, Kupari, Raibania, Talasari and Chandipur picnic spots attract a large number of persons from all walks of life.

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CHAPTER – IV AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

Physiographic and Agro Climatic Conditions Baleshwar is one of the thickly populated coastal districts of Odisha. The economy of the district is largely agriculture oriented. The district used to be popularly known as the granary of Odisha. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Forestry and Fisheries combinedly account for 23.70% of NDDP as against 19.92% at the state level. Bulk of the total workers i.e. 69.38% in the district are cultivators and agricultural labourers. Agriculture thus supports a disproportionately larger per cent of workers relative to its contribution to NDDP at the district level. Agriculture, the world‘s oldest occupation is an important source of sustained livelihood for the people of Baleshwar district. It has an impeccable track record of meeting the challenges of food security. Agro-Climatic Condition and Soil It is divided into three natural divisions: (i) the coastal belt (ii) the sub- mountainous region (iii) and between these two regions a zone of highly fertile land intersected by a network of rivers. The state of Odisha is divided into ten agro-climatic zones such as, (1) North Western Plateau, (2) North Central Plateau, (3) North Eastern Coastal Plain, (4) East and South Eastern Coastal Plain, (5) North Eastern Ghat, (6) Eastern Ghat Highland, (7) South Eastern Ghat, (8) Western Undulating Zone, (9) Western Central Table Land and (10) Need Mid-Central Table Land. Jagatsinghpur is one among the three districts covered under the North Eastern coastal plain agro-climatic zone in the state. The climatic condition of the district is generally hot with high humidity during April-June and cold during December-January. The monsoon generally breaks in the district in July. Having an average rainfall of 1583 MM, lack of irrigation facility does not pose a problem. But unfortunately natural calamities like flood, drought and cyclone are very common to this district. Agriculture in the district is mainly rainfed. Till recently the cultivation in the district is predominated by the traditional method of cultivation. The number of small and marginal farmers is too high. Nature and Types of Soil and Soil Fertility The soil of the district is alluvial laterite. The soil of central region is clay, clay-loam and sandy-loan which is very fertile for production of paddy and other agriculture commodities. Nilagiri Sub-division is mostly gravelly and laterities soil, which is less fertile. A small group of saline soil is also seen along the extreme coastal part of the district. Saline soil and acid soils 124 put constraints on the way of enhancing production. The presence of soluble salts in this soil is mainly due to the salty water of Bay of Bengal that surge over the coastal plains. To get rid of such situation and to make the soil neutral, liming is quite necessary. The Government is now providing funds for acid soil management by promoting the use of peppermill sludge. Due to high cropping intensity which is 169%, the soil fertility status is deteriorating day by day creating deficiency and imbalance in plant nutrients in the soil. The Government of India have decided to issue soil health card to each farmer. Accordingly the farmers will apply the manure and fertilizer at a balanced rate as per the need of the crop. Within a period of three years all farmers are expected to be able to get their soil health card. Land Utilization Pattern in the District Out of the total geographical area (381000 Ha.), net sown area amounted to only about 191000 Ha. or 50.13% as in 2013-14. For the state as a whole the share of net sown area is relatively lower at 34.83%. Forest area, land put to non-agricultural use, barren and unculturable land and current fallow, etc. have a roughly equal shares in the total geographical area in the district. With a net irrigation area of 127690 Ha.the gross cropped area works out to about 322000 Ha. Hence the cropping intensity in the district is 169% which is higher than the cropping intensity at the state level i.e. 167%. The details of comparative land utilisation pattern at the district and state levels are given in the following table. Land Utilisation Pattern: 2013-14

(‗000 Ha)

Indicators Baleshwar Odisha Geographical Area 381 15571 Forest Area 33 5813 Misc Trees and Groves 25 342 Permanent Pasture 16 494 Cultivable Waste 9 375 Land put to Non-Agricultural Use 33 1298 Barren and Unculturable Land 10 840 Current Fallow 59 756 Other Fallow 5 229 191 5224 Net Area Sown 50.13% 34.83% Important Agricultural Statistics

Net Area Sown (‗000 Ha.) 191 5424 Gross Cropped Area (000 Ha.) 322 2054 Cropping Intensity 169 167 Net Irrigated Area (‗000 Ha.) 127.69 2253.67 Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14

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Smallholder Agriculture Balashwar district is characterised by smallholder agriculture both by ownership and operational holdings. This is true for most of the states in India and also of Odisha. This fact is given in the following table. Number and Operational Holdings 2010-11 Size Class Baleshwar Odisha No. and area % No. and area % Marginal No. 239347 83.76 3368296 72.17 (<1.0 ha) Area (Ha.) 127403 57.50 1921842 39.61

Small No. 38063 13.32 918647 19.68 (1-2 ha) Area (Ha.) 64476 29.10 1497752 30.87

Semi-Medium No. No. 7010 2.59 311261 6.67 (2-4 ha) Area (Ha.) 22830 10.30 918947 18.94

Medium No. 911 0.32 63688 1.36 (4-10 ha) Area (Ha) 5517 2.49 381272 7.86

Large No. 28 0.01 5574 0.12 Area (Ha.) 1355 0.61 132201 2.72

All Sizes No. 285759 100.00 4667466 100.00 Area (Ha.) 221581 100.00 4852014 100.00 AvergaeSize (Ha.) 0.78 1.04

Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14

It may be seen from the table that the typical rural household in Jagatsinghpur district now holds a marginal plot. The marginal farmers in the district constitute about 84 percent of the total who own 57.50 percent and small farmers account for 13.32 per cent of farmers and 29.10 per cent of farm land. Together they comprise 97.08 percent of farmers and own 86.60 percent of agricultural land. For Odisha as a whole the two together account for about 92 percent of framers and 78.48 percent of farm land.The average farm size deplorably small i.e. 0.77 Ha.and often unviable. For the state, the average size is 1.04 Ha. Thus, the situation at the district is more deplorable than at the state. Demographic pressures and lack of suitable alternative livelihoods have contributed to this sad state quite significantly, though other forces are also at work.

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Major Crops The major crops of the district are as follows: Cereals Paddy: Paddy is thestaple crop of the district. Presently the old practice of broadcasted rice has been obsolete due to delayed monsoon and adoption of improved mechanised farming practices and new technology. About 1% of area is being broadcasted and 99% area is being covered under transplanted rice as winter crop. So also summer paddy area is enhanced to 16% during 2014-15 the total area under paddy during winter, High yield variety covered 1,94,150 ha and the local paddy area is 22,525 ha. Summer paddy covered an area of 34,409 ha. Under HYV, per hectare yield is 32.97 Qtl. during Khariff and 49.78 Qtl. per ha. duringRabi as in 2014-15. Wheat: So far as the cultivation of wheat is concerned in this district, the area is diminishing day by day due to change of climate / temperature.Presently 285 ha.ofarea is being covered under wheat and the yield is 18.5MT per ha. Millets: Presently maize is cultivated in an area of 7215 ha. during Khariff and 220 ha. during Rabi with yield of 10.10MT and 12.80MT per ha. respectively. Pulses Mung: Mung is the predominant crop in Baleshwar district next to paddy. Now the usual practices of the farmers have been changed to cultivate mung during winter and summer seasons owing to climate change. In the year 2014-15 mung has been cultivated over an area of 79173 ha. and the total production was 366.92 MT with an average yield of 4Qtls / ha. Biri: Biri crop covers an area of 7566 ha. having yield of 4.2 Qtl / ha. during 2014-15 and this crops cultivated in both Rabi and Summer seasons. Kulthi: Kulthi crop is not accepted by the farmers because of predominance of mung and biri crops and during 2014-15 only 16 ha. of area was covered and the yield was 3.20 Qtls. per ha. Other Pulses: Besides mung andbiri other pulses like gram, field pea and cowpea are being cultivated during Rabi season in an area of 346 ha. and the yield was Q8.4 per ha. during 2014-15. Oil Seeds Ground Nut: Groundnut being the largest grown oil seed crop during Rabi covered an area of 12,790 ha. having yield of 11.00 Qtl per ha. during 2014-15.

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Mustard: During Rabi 2014-15, 5130 ha. areawas cultivated with yield of 3.20 Qtls per ha. Til: Til crop is being cultivated as a pre Rabi and Rabi crop now a days. During the year 2014-15 it was grown in an area of 970 ha. and the yield rate was 4.30 Qtl. / ha. Sunflower: Sunflower is the 4th leading oilseed crop in the district and is mostly grown during Rabi season. During 2014-15 an area of 357 ha.was covered under this crop and the yield was 7.10 Qtl/ ha. Fibre Crops Jute: Among fibre crops jute is being cultivated during Khariff season. An area of 1590 ha.wasused for grown of jute during 2014-15 Khariff season having yield of 12.20 Qtl/ ha. Sugarcane: Although it is a cash crop, the cultivation process is cumbersome and needs heavy man power. The farmers face marketing problem because there is no sugar factory in nearby area. Hence, the area under this crop is gradually decreasing.Area of 121 ha.was cultivated during Rabi 2014-15 and the yield was 460 Qtl/ ha. Betel vine (Pan) The Cultivation of Pan (Betel), another important cash crop is growing extensively in two blocks i.e. Baliapal and Bhogarai Blocks. The introduction of betel in this district bears a story behind it. According tothe Baleshwar Gazetteer of 1907 written by O‘ Malley. ―It was instructed by some men of Bauri Caste, who came from Bengal and settled down in Baleshwar and it is still grown for most part by men of this Caste. The gardens are carefully fenced and covered with a thatched roof constructed with a kind of reed locally available. This is locally called as a ―Pan Baroj‖. The vines are planted in rows supported by props and grown under shade. The cultivation required constant and careful supervision. Area and Yield Kharif and Rabi crops are raised by farmers in Baleshwar district as elsewhere in the state. Paddy (Rice), wheat, maize, potato, sweet, vegetables, chillies, and sugarcane are grown in the Kharif season. In the Rabi season the crops which are raised in Jagatsinghpur include rice, wheat, maize, mung, biri, cow pea, kulthi, groundnut, sesamum, sunflower, mustard, sweet potato, potato, onion, vegetables, chillies, and coriander. The details of area under selected major crops in the district are presented in the following table.

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Kharif Cropped Area 2013-14

(‗000 Ha.) Crops Baleshwar % Odisha % Rice 195.43 96.24 3879.7 66.61 Other Cereals 0.17 0.08 451.83 7.76 Total Cereals 195.60 96.32 4331.5 74.37 Total Pulses 0.01 0.01 685.61 11.77 Total Food Grains 195.61 96.33 5017.1 86.14 Total Oil Seeds 0.01 0.01 299.64 5.14 Total Vegetables 3.12 1.54 275.98 4.74 Total Fibres 1.53 0.75 151.87 2.61 Total Spices 2.80 1.38 79.93 1.37 Total Cropped Area 203.07 100.00 5824.5 100.00 Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14 Rabi Cropped Area 2013-14 (‗000 Ha.) Crops Baleshwar % Odisha % Rice 30.86 28.80 300.54 11.11 Other Cereals 0.65 0.61 36.15 1.34 Total Cereals 31.51 29.40 336.69 12.44 Total Pulses 17.75 16.56 1402.69 51.84 Total Food Grains 49.26 45.96 1739.38 64.28 Total Oil Seeds 29.79 27.80 452.76 16.73 Total Vegetables 24.20 22.58 401.35 14.83 Total Spices 3.67 3.42 75.37 2.79 Sugarcane 0.25 0.23 35.34 1.31 Tobacco 0.00 0.00 1.69 0.06 Total Cropped Area 107.17 100.00 2705.89 100.00

Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14

Gross Cropped Area: 2013-14 (‗000 Ha.) Crops Baleshwar % Odisha % Rice 226.29 70.23 4180.22 46.17 Other Cereals 0.82 0.25 487.98 5.39 Total Cereals 22.11 70.48 4668.2 51.56 Total Pulses 17.76 5.51 2088.3 23.06 Total Foodgrains 244.87 76.00 6756.5 74.62 Total Oilseeds 29.80 9.25 752.4 8.31 Total Vegetables 27.32 8.48 677.33 7.48 Total Fibres 1.53 0.47 151.87 1.68 Total Spices 6.47 2.01 155.3 1.72 Sugarcane 0.25 0.08 35.34 0.39 Tobacco 0.00 0.00 1.69 0.02 Fruits 11.96 3.71 523.64 5.78 Gross Cropped Area 322.20 100.00 9054.07 100.00 Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14

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It may be read off the table that paddy/rice is the major crop in the district. In the Kharif season paddy/rice is cultivated in 94.24 percent of total cropped area in the district as against 66.6 percent area in the state. Other cereals account for about 8 percent of total cropped area at the state level but their share is almost nil at 0.08 per cent in the district. Pulses have a share of 0.1 percent in the district and 11.77 per cent in the state. As a broad group, foodgrains are cultivated in 94.32 percent of Kharif cropped area in Baleshswar district but their share is little less at 86.14 percent at the all Odisha level. This means that the share of non-foodgrains is higher and foodgrains lower in the Odisha context relative to Baleshwar district. In the case of Rabi crops, foodgrains have a 65.5 percent share with pulses having a share of 4.6 percent and non-foodgrains are cultivated about 54 percent of cropped area in Baleshwar district. At the state level food grains and non-food. This shows that even in the Rabi season, the cropping pattern is heavily tilted in favour of foodgrains in the district. Combining Kharif and Rabi crops as a whole yields information on gross cropped area (GCA). Of the gross cropped area of 322200 Ha. in Baleshwar district paddy/rice is cultivated in 70 per cent of total area. Over the years traditional agriculture has yielded place to modern commercial agriculture based on HYV seeds, mechanisation and chemical fertilizer and pesticides. The use of new technology has brought about significant increases in land productivity i.e. yield per unit of land. A summary picture of trend of yield of major crops in Baleshwar district vis-a-vis the state of Odisha is presented below. Yield Rate of Major Crops (Kg/Ha.) Foodgrains 2008-09 1375 1249 2009-10 1515 1258 2010-11 1738 1293 2011-12 1999 1175 2012-13 1660 1737 2013-14 1193 (1580.00) 1426 (1356.33) Oilseeds 2008-09 1382 848 2009-10 1321 776 2010-11 885 828 2011-12 1361 867 2012-13 1451 919 2013-14 1188 (1264.66) 928 (861.0)

Source: Odisha Agriculture Statistics, 2013-14 Note: Figures in parentheses indicate averages for six years

It may be seen from the table that the yield rate of crops has been increasing over the years and any break in the trend is due largely to the occurrence of natural calamities. Jagatsinghpur being a coastal district is 130 prone to natural disasters and hence instability in yield is not a surprising phenomenon. However, braving all natural hazards, agriculture in Jagatsinghpur has experienced higher yields in paddy, food grains and oilseeds than the state. Cropping Pattern and Crop Rotation As stated above, the cropping pattern in Baleshwar district continues to remain dominated by food grains, especially paddy. In addition to paddy, the other major crop that is cultivated in the district is pulses and oilseeds. Paddy followed by paddy, pulses/oilseeds is the major crop rotation pattern adopted by farmers in the irrigated areas in the district. In irrigated areas, vegetables are also cultivated in some plots. In some irrigated areas, three crop based cultivation practice is followed. However, in majority of the farms having irrigation, a two crop based rotation is practiced. Use of Agricultural Implements, Manure and Fertiliser Power tillers, tractors, rotavotors, special power driven implements, reapers, transplantors, threshers,diesel pump sets and tractors are now being widely used by the farmers along with the traditional implements. The Department of Agriculture is implementing the state Agriculture Policy 2013 and playing a significant role in the process of mechanizing agriculture and increasing productivity. Agro Service Centers have been established at the Gram Panchayat level to facilitate the use of modern and mechanised agricultural practices in the district. The use of electrical Pump sets is increasing in the district due to rural electrification and low operation cost. The popularization of agricultural implements is due to number of demonstrations and trainings being conducted in the farmer‘s field with the support of College of Agriculture and Engineering Technology, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Krushi Vigyan Kendra as well as with the suppliers/manufactures. In spite of concerted efforts undertaken by the Government the implementation of different schemes to popularize the use of tractors, power tillers, paddy reapers, power pulse threshers etc, farmers of Baleshwardistrict have not been able to reap the benefit of using advanced technology in farming. However tractors, power tillers, harvesters etc are used by some of the affluent farmers which are quite negligible. During 2013-14, 180 tractors, 1601 power tillers, 94 self propelled repears and transplanters, 305 power operated implements, 697 power threshers, 631 rotavators, 40 combined harvesters, and 6201 pumpsets were used by the farmers in Baleswar district.

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Application of organic manures and chemical fertilizers plays a vital role in enhancing the production and productivity in agricultural sector. Per hectare consumption of fertiliser has been recorded at 101.76 Kg.In the district as against 57.11 kg for the state in 2013-14.A summary picture of the same in given in the following table.

District / State Kharif Rabi All

Baleshwar 107.88 90.15 101.76

Odisha 64.46 41.27 57.11

In order to boost agricultural production, the Agricultural policy-1996 emphasises increased use of chemical fertilizer and organic manure to the extent of 74 kg per hectare. But in Baleshwar district the use of chemical fertilizer is very much above that level as also above the state average. Crop Diseases, Control Mechanism and Crop Protection

The main crop of the district is paddy followed by pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. Paddy crop is mostly affected by 5-6 insects like stem borer, gall midges, leaf folder, case worm, BPH and green leaf hopper and 4-5 diseases like blast, bacterial leaf blight, root rot, sheath rots, brown spot, etc. Similarly the pulses and oilseed crops are also affected by 4-5 insects like, pod borer, leaf eating catter pillar, mites and aphids and 3-4 diseases like powdery mildew, cercospora leaf spot, blights stem root rot as well as mosaic viruses. Vegetables are attacked by sucking-pests, and borers and blight and sugarcane is affected by early-shoot-borer and top-shoot-borer. Integrated Pest Management concept is now being popularized for effective pest management. Use of Pheromontraps, Trichocards and neem based pesticides are being adopted by the farmers in small areas. E-pest surveillance is now being operated in the fields of the district for successful pest management programme.The incidence of all these diseases and insects are regularly monitored by the farmers and the field staff of the Agricultural department. Accordingly when the attack crosses the economic thresh hold limit, spraying and breaching chemical pesticides are carried on. For this there are authorised pesticide dealers and PP equipments and pesticides are being regularly supplied on subsidised scale to farmers under the different ongoing schemes. Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation Being a low land coastal district, the soill of the land faces mostly erosion, due to rainfall, river erosion, shoreline erosion, floods and windblows.Human activities like falty agricultural practices and deforestation too contribute for the process. 132

Soil Soil Testing Laboratory (STL) has been established almost in all districts level to promote use of chemical fertilizers testing results. STL Baleshwar is rendering soil analysis work for better production of crops in the district. The annual soil health testing capacity is 20,000 samples. Basing on the soil analysis and survey of the soils, map of the Baleshwar district has been prepared. In the district, the Nitrogen fertility status is low, phosphorous status is medium and potash status is low. Similarly the micronutrient status of the soil like calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper andiron is adequate, while sulphur, zinc and boron are marginal. One vermi hatchery unit under NPOF (National Project on Fertilizer) scheme has been established during the year 2006-07 in the campus of the Soil Chemist office, Baleshwar. Earth Worm and Vermi Compost are being produced and supplied to the farmers at subsidized rate. The production for different years is as follows Year Earth worm (in kg.) Vermi Compost (in kg.) 2012-13 7.000 790.000 2013-14 1.500 1652.000 2014-15 Nil 1660.000

Improvement of Agriculture through State and Central Assistance During 11th plan schemes like RKVY, NFSM, ATMA and State Plan schemes are being implemented in the district to increase the production and productivity. These schemes lay emphasis on line transplanting, Integrated Diseases and Pest Management, Integrated Nutrition Management, Farm Mechanisation, Irrigation and Capacity building of the farmers as well as extension officials. Agriculture Exhibition Krushi Samparka Mela, Krushi Rathas and Agricultural folk dance are organised at block level and GP level respectively to disseminate the agriculture schemes and package of practices. District level exhibition - Krushi Mahotsav was organised during the year 2014-15 where progressive farmers were awarded for their contribution in the field of agriculture and allied activities. Plant Protection Generally due to spread lack of knowledge in integrated pest management (IPM) technology the cultivators are stoic to adoption of plant protection measures for their crops. Scientific plant protection measures are 133 being popularised for effective awareness generation, adoption and quick results. E-pest and disease surveillance work is being done by the field staff and Krushak Sathis. Pesticides and sprayers are supplied to cultivators at subsidised rates through implementation of different schemes. Agricultural Farms After separation of Bhadrak district from Baleshwar district there are only 3 seed producing farms operating in this district under Deputy Director Agriculture, Baleshwar. Balia Farm: This farm was established in the year 1916 over an area of 15.73 Ha. Now the cultivable area is 3.00 Ha. During 2014-15 Q. 52.80 of certified paddy seeds were produced out of which 10 ha. of land has been diverted for AIMS satellite project and 0.4 ha. has been diverted for fertilizer testing laboratory). Sergarh Farm: This farm is located near Sergarh over an area of 18.65 ha. Of this the cultivable area is 14.00 ha. During 2014-15 Q. 519.00 of Certified paddy seeds were produced in the farm. Baharda Farm: This seed farm is located at a distance of 8 k.m from Basta block. The total area of the farm is 17.50 ha., out of which 13.00 ha. iscultivable. During the year 2014-15, Q. 480.40 of Certified paddy seeds were produced in this farm. Research Station and Krushi Vigyan Kendra Under the World Bank assistance two Research stations and KVK have been established with facilitation of the sponsored National Agriculture Extension Programme by OUAT as supporting activities for agricultural extension. They are: 1. Krushi Vigyan Kendra, Baleshwar, Baliapal. 2. Adoptive Research Station, Baleshwar, Baleshwar.

Irrigation-Major, Medium and Minor Irrigation Projects Major Irrigation Projects Banktira Barrage Project The Banktira Barrage Project across the river Burhabalanga near village Banktira in Remuna Block of Baleshwar district envisages Construction of a Barrage at Village Banktira in Remuna Block. The estimated cost of the proposed Banktira Project is Rs. 203.05 crore at price level 2012. Now the project is in preliminary stage. The Project targets to provide khariff irrigation for 6100 ha in Sadar (Baleshwar) and Basta Blocks.

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Salandi Irrigation Projects This project is providing irrigation to an area of 18833 ha of Khaira and Simulia Blocks of this district. It irrigates 5207 ha. area in Khaira block and 13626 ha. area in Simulia Block during the Kharif-2014-15. Besides, there is reserve of water to cover 2000 ha. during Rabi season as per available water in dam. In this project about 47 Pani Panchayats have been involved. Sunei Medium Irrigation Project Now this project supplies irrigation water to an area of 2005 ha. of land in 27 villages under 6 Gram Panchayats in Nilagiri Block during Khariff season. Minor Irrigation Projects in Baleshwar District Minor Irrigation (Flow) takes care of construction, maintenance and management of irrigation projects of cultivable command area (CCA) between 40ha to 2000ha utilizing the surface flow. Minor Irrigation Projects are meant for protective irrigation which is highly sought during water scarcity period. There are 52 Minor Irrigation Projects (MIPs) in Baleshwar district, out of which 49 numbers are functional, 2 are completely derelict and 1 is on-going. The design layout of the project is 10457 ha in Khariff and 3198 ha in Rabi and certified layout is 8350 ha in Khariff and 2024 ha in Rabi.Under Nilagiri Scheduled Area, 13 Minor Irrigation Programmes are providing Khariff irrigation to 2826 ha. and Rabi irrigation over 129 ha. Now, more emphasis is given for proper utilization / management of created potential through Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM). In this context, formation of Pani Panchayat (PP)/ Water User Association (WUA) in Minor Irrigation Projects are playing a significant role. Till now, 48 Pani Panchayats have been formed covering an area of 8981 ha in Baleshwar district. The Pani Panchayats has been formed as per Odisha Pani Panchayat Act 2002 and Odisha Pani Panchayat Rules 2003. Check Dam Government of Odisha launched this scheme during 2010-11 with the objective to conserve water at the end of monsoon for drinking water, ground water recharge and incidental irrigation purposes. Preference has been given to Blocks having less than 35% irrigation coverage, areas where farmers are using traditional irrigation by constructing temporary cross bunds on streams and where farmers are willing to take up operation and maintenance of the project. Administrative approval has been obtained for construction of 339 Check Dams in Baleshwar district, out of which 277 Check dams were completed by June-2015. Through Minor Irrigation Division, Baleshwar,153 135

Check Dam Projects under Nilagiri scheduled Notified Area have been taken up and necessary construction works are in progress. The construction work of 123 check dams have been completed and irrigating about 1391 hects. Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RR and R) Rehabilitation work of 6 MIPs had been completed during the 11th Five Year Plan. In the process 488 ha of lost ayacut has been revived. During the current Five Year Plan, rehabilitation work of 2 MIPS namely Ghagara MIP and Rissia MIP have been taken up for revival of 549 ha of lost ayacut and works of both projects are in progress. Critical Grant During the Financial Year 2014-15 repair and renovation of 7 MIPs have been completed and 302 ha of lost ayacut have been revived. During current financial year 2015-16 there is a provision for repair and renovation of 12 MIPs for revival of 430ha of lost ayacut. Odisha Community Tank Management Project (OCTMP) This scheme is being implemented with the loan assistance from the World Bank. Rehabilitation work of 27 Minor Irrigation Projects have been taken up covering a command area of 5828 ha, supported with an institutional framework for participatory irrigation management and livelihood development activities. By the end of June-2015, rehabilitation work of 16 MIPs have been completed with revival of 1580 ha of lost ayacut, of which the work of 3 MIPs are nearing completion and the work of 8 MIPs are in progress. Odisha Community Tank Management Project (OCTMP) has undertaken Potato Cultivation Programme in convergence with the RKVY, being administered by the Directorate of Horticulture. Out of the total cost of potato seed Rs. 4,200/- per Quintal, OCTMP supported Rs 2,200/- per Quintal and the rest are met by the Horticulture Department. The RKVY input subsidy of Rs 16,000/- per acre will be routed to the farmer through input supplying agencies after due verification and GPS measurement by the Departmental officers of the districts with due written concurrence from the farmers. In Baleshwar district, 2,400 Quintal of Potato seed with required quantity of compost, Sulphur, Boron, Urea, DAP etc have been supplied to farmers through Pani Panchayats for cultivation of 300 acres of land that yielded 13696 Quintal of potato.

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Lift Irrigation The district comes under two distinct geological formations, namely, unconsolidated sediments and consolidated archeans. The former covers major river basins and coastal alluvial tracts which constitute 86 per cent of the gross area of the district in 19 Blocks. In this tract granular aquifers occurring in multiple layers, alternating with clay beds provide vast scope for installation of all types of irrigation wells. But the behavior of coastal saline tract is a little different. Due to the intrusion of saline water top in this region, aquifers are contaminated with salinity over a large area and hence, it is not suitable for installation of irrigation wells. Basins of river Salandi provide good scope for integrated development of surface water and ground water. As the Nilagiri-I, Nilagiri-II and Khaira block areas represent Achaean type of rocks; they have comparatively limited scope for ground water development. Rivers Subarnarekha, Jambhira, Burhabalanga, Kansbans, Salandi, etc., serve as the main drainage system for the district and provide large scope for installation of river-lift projects. By the end of March 2015, 229 numbers of river-lift projects exist along the banks of different rivers in the district which irrigate 4941 hectares of land areas. Irrigation wells have been installed in almost all the Blocks of the district. Altogether 6,725 dug wells, 782 dug wells with pump sets, 2060 deep tube wells and 229 river-lift projects have been installed by the OdishaLift Irrigation Corporation. These sources irrigate 43513 hectares. Programme has been chalked out to install further 300 tube wells during the 12th Five Year Plan period to provide irrigation facilities for 6000 hectares in the district. Jalanidhi Government is operating the Jalanidhi scheme for providing irrigation facilities to agricultural lands through micro river lift projects on cluster basis with individual ownership. The points are to be installed on small rivers/ streams to tap the surplus water flowing down to the sea. The achievements under the programme are given in the following table. PLIPS under Jalanidhi 2013-14

STW DW BW RLIP Total Command (Ha.) Baleshwar 2151 - 600 - 2751 6637.50 Odisha 5148 1687 6511 4 1300 27990.85

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Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Before independence there were not much of veterinary/animal husbandry activities in the district. There was only one Veterinary Dispensary at Baleshwar town. A District Veterinary Office was opened at Baleshwar in December 1952 consequent upon reorganization of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department. The office of the Chief District Veterinary Officer started functioning from 01.07.1983. He is assisted by two Additional District Veterinary Officers. One District Training Co- Coordinator has been appointed for extension education. The district possesses a considerable livestock resources. Animal husbandry avocation has become a major programme because of its potentiality to generate employment and income, both to farming and non- farming households.

Most of the livestock are of non-descriptive type and are maintained with minimum care and attention. The over-all livestock production in terms of milk, meat, eggs, etc. is below the desired level. To provide health care to the livestock, there are 20 Veterinary Dispensaries, One Veterinary Hospital, 111 Livestock Centers, 93 Gomitra and 12 integrated Livestock Development Centres in the District.

In the early 1930s some efforts were made to improve cattle breeds by cross breeding. To increase the number of cross breed cows lots of extension activities and motivation campaigns are being taken up now along with castration of scrub bulls. During the three years 2012-13 to 2014-15 artificial insemination (AI) has been done in 2,14,691 cases, but the number of progenies born was 87,904 which gives an overall average success of 41 per cent. To increase green fodder production for demonstration plots raised with different varieties of seasonal crops like M.P chari, sorghum, maze, cowpea, breseern, oats etc during Kharif and Rabi seasons and perennial grass roots slips of hybrid napier, para grass are being distributed to interested dairy farmers. Efforts are being made in all settlements in reserve lands for pasture and reservation of 50 percent of effective area of a village as gochar and prohibition of encroachment of Gochar land. The availability of balanced concentrates is also lacking but the OMFED is supplying cattle feed through MPCS and local markets. The demand of concentrate have considerably increased due to increase of high yielder crossbred cows. The milk production in the district has comparatively increased and the supply of roughes, green fodder and feed supplements has been made available through Azolla cultivation and enrichment of crop residue with urea and minerals through demonstration. A considerable quantity of milk is collected through primary milk societies. To sustain the milk production and producing 138 good yield cows, calf feed are being supplied through MPCS under CRP scheme. A chilling plant of one lakh liter has been installed at Remuna by OMFED where processing and packing of pasteurized milk is being done. Therefore strengthening of milk union and expansion of Dairy plant is required for dairy development in district. Sheep and Goat Farming As per 2012 census the population of sheep is 5032 which is in decreasing trend.As per 2012 Census the goat population is 2.87 lakh. Goat rearing has a good prospect in the district particularly in Nilagiri Sub-Division and some part of Jaleshwar Block i.e., in Raibania area. Now-a-days some farmers in Nilagiri Sub-Division are rearing goats on commercial basis and generating a good income from this farming. Piggery Tribal people are fond of rearing the local pig breeds as they are disease resistant and need no maintenance. This activity is limited to Nilagiri Sub-Division of Baleshwar district. In other parts of the district the usual omnivorous type are bred by the one caste called Ghusurias. Poultry As per 2012 census the poultry population in the district is 11 lakh recording a marginal growth compared to earlier years. There are about 600 broiler units and one commercial layer unit in the district under private sector through bank and self finance. There is a district poultry Hatchery at Remuna which is providing day old chicks for backyard rearing in farmers‘ house.Annually around 1.5 lakh farmers are rearing poultry in backyard of house mostly of Rainbow Roster, Banarajaand Grampriya varieties. Through CSP scheme, improved variety chicks are being supplied to some BPL families of this district. For enhancing egg production Government has launched subsidized scheme like CAE for entrepreneurs to adopt the layer farming. Veterinary services Various veterinary services rendered by the department during the last 3 years are given below. Indicators 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 No of animals treated 442870 4,87,683 5,41,320 No of preventive inoculation done 15,47,885 13,44,860 13,54,945 No of Bull calf castrated 36,458 42,259 35,512 No of A.I done 65,525 81,275 83,523 No of progeny born out of A.I 24,031 26,039 29,717

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Fisheries Aquaculture in the district of Baleshwar is an old practice. Most of the people in this district love fish in their dishes. So there is a high demand for fish in the market. The district is endowed with vast inland, brackish water and marine resources from fisheries point of view. It is important to judiciously develop and exploit these resources in a sustainable and eco friendly manner for improving the livelihood, socio-economic status and for safety and welfare of fishers through viable schemes and programmes. Fisheries Resources The district has 80km long coastline, 5380 Sqkm continental shelf area, 5949 ha of fresh water bodies in shape of tanks and ponds, 2465 ha of brackish water area, and a Government Fish Seed Hatchery at Dighirahania. Status of Fisheries Development and Management A brief outline of the status of fisheries sector in Baleshwar district is given below. The following table indicates the trend of fish production from different sources in the district.

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015- 16(June‘2015)  Fresh water fish 17866.00 2169.00 19646.64 4407.00  Brackish water 3002.00 3250.00 4235.00 1721.00 fish  Marine fish 27234.00 27330.00 25242.25 2700.00 Total fish 48,102.00 52249.00 49123.89 8828.00 production

The present level of fish production is 76% of the total fisheries potential. Only about 5949Ha of water spread area so far brought under freshwater aquaculture and 2465Ha of water spread area so far brought under brackish water aquaculture. The average fish productivity is around 2.71 tones/ha and the average brackish water productivity is around 1.5 tones /ha.More than 200 SHGs are linked with Bank under different programme for the promotion of commercial fisheries, Rs.430.00 lakhs of fish seeds were supplied to the farmers of the district during 2014-15 and at present 1830 fishing crafts both mechanized and non-mechanized are operating in 12 landing centers and different bases of the district.

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Inland Aquaculture Scenario of the District Various activities have been integrated with pisciculture with proper technical backup from Department of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development in the district. These include Fish farming with Duckery, Poultry, Diary, and Horticulture. Besides this, majority of the farmers are practicing polyculture of freshwater prawn and in some cases monoculture of freshwater prawn. However, the culture of brackish water shrimp is carried out on the basis of low-input sustainable system advocated by the Coastal Aquaculture Authroity. As many as 245 farmers have applied for L. Vannamei culture in around 300Ha. Now steps are being taken to cover all area under registration and renewal of licenses. Ongoing Schemes for Development of Inland Aquaculture Centrally sponsored schemes on Development of Inland Fisheries and aquaculture are currently operated with three components namely, Development of Fresh water aquaculture (FFDA), (NFDB) and (NMPS), Development of Brackish water aquaculture (BFDA) and Development of water logged area (FFDA). The financial assistance in shape of subsidy on development activities is shared on 75:25 basis by the Government of India and the State Government. The subsidy assistance is upto 20% of the project cost under the scheme. For FFDA, NFDA, NFDB, TOP-UP the subsidy is upto 20-25%. In NMPS subsidy is provided at 40% with top-up10% and in BFDA subsidy is 25% with top-up 25% released to the beneficiaries. Training areimparted to the beneficiaries, SHGs and Fisheries Co-Operative society for capacity building and promotion of fisheries. The details for four years are given in the following table.

Sl.No. Scheme 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Target Ach. Target Ach. Target Ach.(ha) Target Ach.(ha) 1 FFDA 90.00 50.95 150.0 85.40 120.0 127.60 200.00 56.48 2 NMPS 18.00 18.8 30.0 10.60 30.0 21.81 40.00 16.64 3 NFDB 10.00 1.76 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Water 5.00 6.28 0 0 0 0 0 0 log Total 123.00 77.79 180.0 96.0 150 149.41 240.00 73.12

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Matsyajibi Unnayana Yojana (MUY) Matsyajibi Unnayan Yojana is being implemented in the district since 2012-13 for the benefit of fishers as elsewhere in the State. In the inland sector, 3 components are implemented. They are as follows: Assistance of Fish Marketing Infrastructure to Fishermen Rs.2000/- subsidy is provided to the fishermen who purchases a Bicycle with Ice box for marketing of fish, Rs.7500/- subsidy is provided to the fishermen who purchases a Motor-Cycle with Ice box for marketing of fish, and Rs.35000/- subsidy is provided to the fishermen SHGs who purchase a three wheeler with ice box for marketing of fish. No such group has been provided with subsidy till date. Scholarship to Meritorious Students of Fishermen Families One time scholarship amounting to Rs.3000/-, 5000/- and 7500/- will be provided to meritorious students of fishermen families who have secured marks above 50%, 60% and 70% in the HSC Exam. The details of scholarships provided for three years are given below.

Year No of Fishers students Amt. of Scholarship provided 2012- 128 Rs.6,29,500 13 2013- 199 Rs.9,90,500 14 2014- 251 Rs.12,60,000 15

Provision of Boat and Net to Fishermen Rs.12500/- subsidy is provided to the fishermen who purchase boat andnet for fishing purpose. Fish Seed Production Dighi Rahania Government Fish Farm is the only Government Fish Farm in the Baleshwar district, located 5kms away from the township. This farm meets the seed demand of the fish farmers of the district as well as neighboring districts like Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, even Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur. The farm is having Gross Area of 26.50 Ac (10.60Ha.) and Water Spread Area of 12.42 Ac (4.968Ha). It has 24 Nursery Tanks covering 5.42 Ac, 2 Rearing Tanks covering 1.00 Ac, 6 Stocking Tanks covering 6.00Ac, one Spawning Pool, and one Hatching Pool.

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The physical and financial achievements in respect of fish seed production are given below.

Year Production (Lakh) Financial Spawn Fry Target Achievement Target Achievement Target Achievement 2012-13 600.00 409.50 75.00 92.72 - 14,08782.00 2013-14 600.00 406.00 90.00 93.20 - 15,61,000 2014-15 600.00 420.00 100.00 42.82 - 9,00,115 2015-16 650.00 158.00 100.00 3.42 - 1,70,000

The farm has been designated as a Research Farm for the Department from the year 2010-11. Fingerlings of improved quality have been stocked in the farm for raising of brood stock to provide better quality seed to the farmers. There is proposal for culturing varieties of seed other than IMC in the coming year. Cooperatives There are 75registered Co-operative societies in the district. Of them 37 are functional comprising 17 inland PFCS and 20 marine PFCS. Among the 38 non-functional societies 34 have been liquidated and 4 are moribund. Total membership in the 37 functional societies is 5350 of whom 4313 are male and 1037 are female. Accident Insurance Under insurance coverage to each of the active fishermen has been extended every year by the Government through the National Federation of Fishermen Co-Operative Ltd. New Delhi with annual premium of Rs.29/- to each on 50:50 basis as state and central share to enable the beneficiaries to get the accidental death / partial disability claim due to accident @Rs.200000/- and Rs.100000/- respectively as assistance to the families of the deceased / disabled. During 2014-15, 90,200 persons were enrolled under this scheme and nominees of 31 persons have been enrolled. Nine cases have got the insurance claim amounting to Rs.9.00 Lakhs. Marine Fisheries Activities of Baleshwar District Baleshwar District is one of the north-eastern coastal districts of Odisha having a coast line of 80kms with continental shelf area of 5380sqkm. There are 12landing bases located in the coast of Baleshwar namely Talasari, Kirtania, Kankadapal, Choumukh, Hanskara, Bahabalpur, Chandipur, Mahisali, Khandia, Jamuca, Gadeisagar and Panchubisa of which Chandipur 143 and Bahabalpur are the two major landing bases. Agriculture and fisheries are the two main occupations of the rural people of the district. Among the fisheries related activities marine fisheries occupy the prominent position which provides ample scope for exploitation of the pelagic and demersal fisheries resources in the coastal water of the sea. There are 290fishermen villages involved in the marine sector of the district consisting of 14704families with population of 115931comprising 40923 are male, 39938 are female and 35070 are children. Among the total male population 25687are active fishermen and 12496are part time fishermen engaged for fishing and ancillary activities respectively. For smooth management of the marine fisheries activities five marine extension units, namely Chandaneswar, Baliapal, Bahabalpur, Chandipur and Gopalpur are functioning in the district and they are headed by an Assistant Fishery Officer. He looks after the development of marine fisheries activities, implementation of OdishaMarine Fishing Regulating Act and welfare programmes meant for the fishermen. For exploitation of the marine fisheries resources 1868registered fishing boats are in operation under different landing bases of the coast covering different categories of the boats namely Trawler, Gillnetter, Motorized and Country Crafts for fishing. The details are as follows.

Unit Wise and Base Wise Operation of Fishing Vessels

Sl.No. Name of Marine Name of No. of No. of No. of No. of Total Extension Unit Landing base Trawlers Gillnetters Motorised country boats Crafts 1 Chandaneswar Talasari - 4 79 72 155 Kirtania - - 69 76 145 2 Baliapal Kanakadapal - - 2 32 34 Choumukh - - 4 48 52 Hanskara - - 64 68 132 3 Chandipur Chandipur 407 - 62 - 469 4 Bahabalpur Bahabalpur 185 136 288 56 665 Mahisali - - 19 19 Khandia - - 17 - 17 5 Gopalpur Jamuca - - 53 3 56 Gadeisagar - - 11 1 12 Panchubisa - - 100 12 112 Total 592 140 768 368 1868 Schemes For development of marine fisheries the following schemes are operational in the district and the targets and achievements under these schemes for last seven years are as follows:

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Fish Production (Catch Statistics)

Year Target (in M.T) Achievement (in M.T.) 2006-07 34000 34938.00 2007-08 35000 35163.40 2008-09 35000 35916.00 2009-10 35000 37402.45 2010-11 35000 35182.80 2011-12 35000 27337.50 2012-13 35000 23646.30 2013-14 35000 29819.00 2014-15 35000 35201.25 2015-16 39000 12164.50(As an 31.8.15)

Out of the above total landed fish 20% fish are being exported to outside the country, 30% used for local consumption, 40% being supplied to neighboring states and rest 10% are used for dry fish production.

Marine fisheries constitute an important source of public revenue. The details of revenue from marine fisheries activity are given in the following table.

Year Target (Rs. In lakhs) Achievement (Rs. in lakhs) 2006-07 4.00 4.31 2007-08 4.00 4.02 2008-09 4.50 4.99 2009-10 5.50 6.08 2010-11 5.50 6.60 2011-12 5.50 6.51 2012-13 6.50 5.78 2013-14 6.50 6.75 2014-15 6.50 6.584 2015-16 7.00 4.36623

Saving-cum-Relief

Under this programme the beneficiaries must be members of Co- operative society and belong to with BPL category.Each members has to deposit Rs.900/- in 9 months i.e. July to March of the financial year against which government will provide Rs.1800/- as matching share i.e., Rs.900/- by state and Rs.900/- by central government which will be released to the beneficiaries in 3 monthly installments @Rs.900/- in each installment from April to June of the next financial year to avoid the financial hardship during the fishing ban period. The details of target and achievement in this regard are given in the table below.

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Year Target Achievement

2006-07 1000 1000 2007-08 2000 2300 2008-09 2000 2015 2009-10 3000 613 2010-11 1000 765 2011-12 1000 200 2012-13 1000 1032 2013-14 1200 377 2014-15 1300 826 2015-16 1000 445

A Group Accident Insurance Scheme is also there with coverage to marine fishermen.

Year Target Achievement No. of beneficiaries benefitted 2006-07 27000 27000 2007-08 30000 30000 2008-09 51000 51953 2009-10 53000 53030 2010-11 53000 53030 2011-12 63000 63030 2012-13 67927 66230 6 2013-14 67737 69634 2 2014-15 67737 63634 1 2015-16 67737 - 1

Under this accident insurance programme beneficiaries have nothing to deposit towards insurance premium. Government is depositing the insurance premium for each fishermen covered under this programme @ Rs.30/- for each with contributing 50% and centre 50% on receipt of the list from the district authorities. In case of death the nominee of the beneficiary will get Rs.2,00,000/- from the insurance company and in case of partial damage the beneficiary will get 1,00,000/- towards his claim through Fishermen Co- operative Federation, Bhubaneswar.This year 2014-15,three Death Claim Cases have been settled under this programme.

Way Forward For the development of marine fisheries fish landing jetties with all facilities including electricity, water supply, all weather road connectivity, medical facilities, cyclone shelter houses and a well functioning wholesale fish market are the essential requirements at all the 12 landing centres in the district. The sooner these facilities are provided, the better it will be for the development of fisheries.

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CHAPTER-V INDUSTRIES

Old Time Industries The cottage industries sector have flourished in the district since generations. Weaving, pottery, brass and bell metal work, processing of cereals and pulses, carpentry and black smithy, stone carving, cane and bamboo work, salt manufacture etc were the most reputed categories of industries. The artisans who produced these articles formed, for centuries, an integral part of the village community, being paid largely in kind and in some cases, holding lands towards remuneration for the services rendered to individuals or community as the case may be. Competition of cheap machine made goods as well as various administrative discriminatory measures adopted by the British destroyed their prosperity. As a result, most of those cottage industries are lying in a moribund condition. We get a good picture of the old time industries of the district, from the following account given by O Malley in the Baleshwar District Gazetteer, published in 1907. ―The importance formerly attached to Baleshwar as an Industrial centre may be gauged by the fact that in the 17th Century it contained the factories of no less than five European nations-The Portuguese, the Dutch, the Danes, the French and the English. The chief settlement of the English was in Baleshwar town. But they also had subordinate factories at Soro and Balaramgadi around which weaver colonies gathered. The fine cotton cloths and muslins produced by their looms formed the chief articles of commerce and frequent mention was made in the earlier records of the English of the Baleshwar ―Sannoas‖ and ―Cussayas‖ as these fabrics were called. With the general dislocation of trade caused by the Marahata raids the industry appears to have languished and it did not revive when the Pax Britannica was introduced.‖ In a report submitted by the Faujdar of Baleshwar in 1761, we find, rice, iron and stone plates referred to as the principal exports and cotton cloths were not mentioned, while Stirling, writing in 1822, has left it on record that the manufactures and trade of Odisha proper are very inconsiderable and unimportant. A sufficiency of the coarser cloths is made for the use of the inhabitants in all parts of the district. The calicoes of Baleshwar, Soro etc. were once prized and sought after under the name of Sannahs, but the demand for the finer fabrics of that description having long since declined the quantity now manufactured is very trifling. Apart from the cotton weaving, silk weaving constituted small industry. The only kind of silk manufactured was tusser. It was carried on by weaver

147 families who lived in the northern part of the district in the villages Patpur and Raibania. In the north, the weavers were not confined to any particular caste. The silk weavers purchased tusser cocoons from the neighbouring ex-states of Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar. The articles manufactured were sold mostly in the district. The products of the local looms could not compete with the cheaper machine made articles of British though the local handloom products were much more durable. Besides the weaving industry, there were two other important industries namely, salt manufacture and ship building. Salt in fact was the largest export of the district at that time. The manufacture of salt gave employment to a large number of people. British Government, therefore, established a monopoly in salt manufacture. The finest salt of India, says A. Stirling, was manufactured in the wild inhospitable tract along the sea-board and yielded annually to the East India Company a net revenue falling little short of 18 lakhs of rupees. The monopoly was abolished in 1862-63, but salt making continued for many years later to be the staple manufacture of the district. In 1875-76, nearly 7400 tonnes (200,000 maunds) was manufactured. During 19th century the manufacture and sale of salt was a quite profitable business. But in course of time this trade could not prosper. Then the state government decided to take up the salt manufacture but it was not executed and finally it was entrusted to OMCAD (Odisha Maritime and Chilika Area Development Corporation Ltd.) in October1978. The project Model salt farm at Chudamani situated on the bank of river Gamei in Basudevpur Tahasil (Now in Bhadrak District) was first taken over by OMCAD covering an area of 41.71 hectares (103.09) with a view to manufacturing salt on commercial basis and develop salt manufacturing unit in rural areas and to meet the requirement of salt in Basudevpur Tahsil in particular and Baleshwar district in general. The salt field is situated at a distance of 5km from the village Iram. The period of procurement of salt was from December to May depending on varied climatic conditions. The unit started its production from1970-80. But, frequent natural calamities like cyclone and heavy rain fall during the year1982-83 and1983-84 caused great loss to the corporation. In the year 1985-86 only 600 Tonnes of salt was produced, out of which only 100 tonnes of salt was sold. Remaining 500 tonnes were washed away by heavy rainfall. From 1978-79 to 1987-83 the total income from the trade was Rs.0.82 lakhs whereas the expenditure was Rs 7.56 lakhs. Therefore keeping this in view the entire unit had to be stopped. The immediate ceasing of salt unit naturally had some repercussions on the economic

148 condition of the people in Baleshwar. However a salt society was formed at Bolang, Baliapal which is still surviving and in miserable condition. The industry of ship–building was in existence in Baleshwar for a long time. Saista khan, before launching out his expedition to Chittagong, had ordered Khan-I-Duran, the Subedar of Odisha to manufacture ships in Baleshwar port. Cartwright had founded the factory at Baleshwar, being invited by Mir Kasim, who is described as Governor of a town called Ballasserye, a sea town where shipping was built and in Bruton‘s account Baleshwar has been described as a ―great sea town, where too much shipping belonged‖. Other two old time industries of the district are the bell-metal industry of Remuna and stone-ware works of Mangalpur and Nilagiri which are still surviving though in a decadent condition. Among the minor industries, mentioned may be made of mat making rope twining from jute and coconut fibre, baskets of reed and bamboo, earthenware and gunny bags. Gunny bags were formerly made in large numbers near Chandbali (now in Bhadrak); they were replaced by the cheap articles from Kolkata. Brassware and bell-metal utensils of all descriptions including heavy brass ornament for women were made by the local braziers chiefly at Baleshwar. But the manufacture declined owing to the import and sale of cheap German silver ornaments. Present Industrial Scenario District Industries Centre According to the policy of central Government the District Industries centre with a General Manager as the head of office is operating since 1st August 1978. This is an institution at the district level which provides all services and facilities to the entrepreneurs and artisans at one place for setting up MSMEs, cottage and handicraft enterprises. DIC plays a great role for promotion of entrepreneurial activities which include. i. Resource survey/ Demand survey for promotion of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in the District; ii. Identification of viable projects and guidance in preparation of technically feasible and economically viable projects in MSME sector; iii. Identification of prospective Entrepreneurs to set up MSMEs; iv. Facilitating clearances from different Government departments allotment of land, NOC from Pollution Control Board, VAT Registration, Licence-Mining, Excise and Factory and Boiler, Labour-Water, Electricity for investors through e- Biz under single window system; 149

v. Facilitating for obtaining Udyog Adhar Number in favour of the Enterprises;. vi. Recommendation for financial assistance to OSFC / NSIC / Commercial and rural Banks; vii. Recommendation for allotment of scarce raw-material; viii. Monitoring and Technical Guidance during implementation of the project to solve the problems faced by the entrepreneurs through Single Window and District Level Facilitation Cell; ix. Recommendation and sanction of various incentives / facilities under Industrial Policy Resolution and MSME Development policy of the State Government; x. Promotion of Ancillary and Downstream enterprises; xi. Identification and revival of sick units; xii. Organizing Awareness camps and Arrangement of EDP training; xiii. Providing Marketing assistance; xiv. Identification of Clusters and implementation of Cluster Development Programmes; and xv. Conduct Workshop, Seminar and Arrangement of exhibition,fair, publicity and Exposure visit of entrepreneurs. Baleshwar has been declared as an industrially backward district by the Government of India in the year 1983-84. Because of entrepreneur-friendly policies and programmes of the Government, a conducive atmosphere was created for development of Industries over the years and now this district has been declared an industrially advanced district in the state. There has been substantial change in the industrial scenario of Baleshwar. As on date there are 07 large scale industries, 06medium enterprises and about 8798 small and micro enterprises in running condition in the district.

Large Scale Industries Oriplast Limited: Oriplast is a major industry of the district and is manufacturing UPVC pipes and fittings alongwith water tanks and listerns. The company was founded in Baleshwar in 1965. Birla Tyre Limited: A flagship of the Kesoram Group of Industries, the Birla Tyre Limited is a tyre manufacturing company in the state. Baleshwar Alloys Limited: Baleshwar Alloys Limited is a flagship of unit of Arcelor Mittal Group and is manufacturing ferro chrome and charge crome from the captive chrome or mines.

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Emami Paper Mils Limited: Established in 1982, Emami Paper Mills Limited is a constituent of Emami Group and is manufacturing newsprints, printing and writing papers. In all Baleshwar district has 10 large scale industries of which three have been closed due to reasons specific to them. The details of these industries are given in the following table.

Sl. Name and address of the Item Date of Annual Employment Remarks No. unit Manufacturing starting capacity production 01 M/s Birla Tyres Automobile 01.03.1992 31.64 2452 Own At.Bampada, PO.Chhanpur Tyres, Tubes lakhs Power Flaps Plant 02. M/s Emami Paper Mills Ltd. Writing and 01.10.1983 32.200 1075 -do- At. Balgopalpur Indl.Area Printing M.T. PO. Rasalpur, Via. Papers Mitrapur, 03 M/s Baleshwar Alloys Ltd. Ferro 01.01.1987 90000 618 -do- At. Balgopalpur Indl. Area, Alloy/Ferro M.T PO. Rasalpur, Via. chrome Mitrapur, 04 M/s Polar Pharma India Rubber 01.04.1991 730 254 Closed Ltd. Prophylactics millon At. Plot No. 3, (Male PCs Samonathpur Indl. Area, Condoms) PO. Remuna 05 M/s Indane Bottling Plant, LPG Bottling 23.08.1989 64000 82 - At.Bampada,PO.Chhanpur, M.T. 06 M/s Shree Gopinath Cotton Yarn in 03.01.2001 12480 552 Closed in weavers Co.-Op. Spinning Hank and M.T. 2008 Mill Ltd. Cone Form Due to fire At. Devog,PO. Baliapal, 07 M/s Hydrabad Industries Asbestos 12.09.2008 90000 165 - Ltd. MT At. Plot. 2, Somathpaur Indl. Area, PO. Remuna, 08 M/s GMB Ceramics Ltd.,At. Vitrus 08.12.1989 8000 217 Closed Somanathpur Pur Indl.Area Ceramics M.T. Senitary wares 09 M/s Everest Asbestos Asbestos 17.05.2013 1,20,000 103 IIDC, Somnathpur Sheets MT 10 M/s Alom Extrusion Ltd.,At. Extruded 29.03.1989 12000 310 Ganeswarpur Indl. Products M.T. Area,PO. Januganj,

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Medium Scale Industries (Enterprises) At present 06 medium scale industries are functioning in the district. The details about the industries are given below.

List of Working Medium Enterprises in Baleshwar District Sl. Name and address of Item Date of Annual Employment Remarks No. the unit Manufacturing starting capacity production 01 B and A Packaging Mfg. of 35 315 - India Ltd., At. 22, Multiwall 01.04.1989 Million Balgopalpur Indl. Area, paper sacks Nos PO. Rasalpur, 02 M/s Jaikishan Dass Mall Jute goods 05.06.1975 310 - Jute Products Pvt. Ltd. 7300 Rupsa, M.T 03 M/s Utkal Polyweave Woven Sacks 24.03.1987 1440 300 At-Ganeswarpur IE, MT Remuna, 04 M/s SNM Business Pvt. Rice 29.02.2000 9413 27 Ltd, At- Patara, Sergarh, Refined Oil MT 12750 MT 05 M/s ORIPOL Industries Woven sacks 01.12.1986 241 MT 49 Remuna, Non-Woven 900 MT Sacks and fabrics 06 M/s Alashore Marine Processed 19.06.2015 300 MT 200 Export Exports Pvt Ltd., Frozen Prawn oriented Somnathpur

Micro and Small Enterprise In the early 1970s, Baleshwar district was not industrially developed.Some promotional initiatives were taken both by the Small Industries Service Institute, Directorate of Industries since then to motivate people for starting new Small Scale Industries in the district. Up to the end of the 1970s there were 257 small scale units in the district. Except one plastic pipe unit and few other repairing and service units, all were saw mills, carpentry units, rice mills and rice huller-cum-processing units. During 1978-79 there were 553 small scale industries in the district.In the next seven years i.e. 1979-80 to 1985-86 there was appreciable change in the establishment of tiny and small scale industries. Upto the end of March 2015, 8798 micro andsmall enterprises have been set up with investment of Rs.28586.35lakh providing employment to 50824 persons because of concerted and sustained efforts of the entrepreneurs and active support of government, semi government as well as all other related organizations. Yearwise abstract is furnished below.

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Period No. of Units Set Up Investment (In Lakhs) Employment Up to 1979-80 489 364.86 4492 1980-1985 571 504.59 3871 1985-1990 599 2611.45 4108 1990-1991 132 856.62 869 1991-1992 130 327.75 1049 1992-1997 784 2746.08 4368 1997-2002 1037 4643.26 5272 2002-2003 225 817.13 5272 2003-2004 264 524.70 1168 2004-2005 270 759.61 1076 2005-2006 303 368.11 1311 2006-2007 233 920.06 1084 2007-2008 262 738.50 1144 2008-2009 272 606.32 984 2009-2010 293 808.00 1083 2010-2011 293 1637.31 1972 2011-2012 260 776.53 1235 2012-2013 356 1922.61 2192 2013-2014 423 1999.86 2032 2014-2015 1602 4653.00 6242

Food and allied Enterprises Baleshwar District is primarily an agrarian district having its economic activities centred round agriculture, particularly roundpana (Betel), dhana (Paddy) and mina(Fish) these are the basic raw materials for the host of industries. Unsurprisingly, Food and Allied Enterprises are prominent in the district. There are about 397 enterprises in this category working throughout the district till date. Out of them major enterprises are rice mills, bakery units, marine and other fish processing enterprises, units using cereals as raw material, and those producing spices. Chemical based Units There are a good number of units established in the district in this sector. Till date about 107 enterprises are established throughout the district. Out of them the important ones are homeopathic dilutions, ferric and non- ferric alum, sodium silicate, marine blue, phenyl, acid manufacturing enterprises. Electrical and Electronics Under this category presently about 247 enterprises have been set up throughout the district. Major products include electrical cable, stabilizer andinverter, battery, transformers, electrical andauto lamps.

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Engineering and Metal Based These category of units are located throughout the district. Their major products are steel furniture and almirah, aluminium profiles, circles and utensils, brass andbell metal utensils, agro implements and other fabrication items and light engineering works. In all there are 820 enterprises in this category in the district. Wood and Forest based Major enterprises in this category are saw mills, furniture, wood carving products, sal leaf cup andplate, bamboo products etc. Till date 487 such enterprises are working in the district. Glass and Ceramic based Enterprises These types of units mainly manufacture humepipes, PSC poles, cement concrete products, KB bricks, fly ash bricks etc. About 728 such enterprises are engaged in production of these items. Paper and Paper product based M/s EMAMI Paper Mills is the only large Industry in this category. The other enterprises numbering about 189 in this group are established under MSME sector. They manufacture corrugated paper boxes, multilayer food grade packaging items, exercise note book, printing press, paper cone etc. Plastic and Rubber based Baleshwar is known as the Plastic hub of Eastern India. Major products manufactured by about 85 plastic and rubber based units include tyre and flaps, HDPE, UPVC pipes and fittings, woven and non-woven sacks, plastic furniture and utility products, thermocol products, containers, rubber products and other packaging items. Due to concentration of plastic based industries a plastic and polymer cluster has been developed in this district under industrial infrastructure up-gradation scheme of Government of India. Textile based In keeping with the pace of development and changing taste of people the demand for Textile products are growing day by day and a 1225 textile based industries have come up in this district in recent past. Readymade garments manufacturing units, yarn manufacturing, power loom, bag manufacturing and other cottage units form the major part of this category. Miscellaneous Manufacturing The major product in this category are stone statue and stone ware, flex items, other handicraft items etc and there are about 1832 enterprises have been established throughout the district till date. 154

Repairing and Servicing based This category has about 2681 units which provide employment to many people at every small market and town area as also in big towns like Baleshwar, Soro and Jaleshwar. Major units in this category are four/two wheeler servicing, body building, welding works, electrical andelectronics repairing, mobile phone repairing, communication centres, tailoring etc. Ancillary and Down Stream Industries The big industries such as M/s. Birla Tyres, M/s. Emami Paper Mill and M/s. Ispat Alloys requireraw materials some of which are obtained locally. This has provided a kind of forward linkage effect and led to the development of some ancillary and down stream units in the district. A brief sketch of such units is given in the following tables. Ancillary Units

Sl. Name of Large Scale Industry Item purchased Name of the No. Supplier Ancillary Unit 01 M/s Birla Tyres HDPE/PVC pipe and Fittings M/s ORI PLAST Ltd., O.T.Road, Flaps M/s IRC Tubes, Somnathpur Nylon strips M/s Baleshwar Plastic Prod. Indl. Estate , HDPE Bags M/s Utkal Ply weave (P) Ltd. M/s Simple Polypack (P) Ltd. Conveyor belting M/s Lenox Belting, Baleshwar Rubber items M/s Odisha Rubber Prod. O.T.Road, Baleshwar Fabrication M/s Modern Engg. Soap solution M/s Utkal Polymer, Polythene sheets M/s Modern Poly packs Ind. Indl. Estate,

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02 M/s Emami Paper Mill Ltd. Steel Furniture M/s Choudhury Metal Inds. Alum (Ferric/Non-Ferric) M/s Dimond Chemicals(P) Ltd. Sized Wood M/s Ganesh Saw Mill Stone Chips M/s Ganesh Stone Prod. Hume Pipe M/s Kalinga Spun pipe Acid sulphur M/s L.M. Industries Printing item M/s Navajyoti Printers Hume pipe M/s Nilachal Concrete (P) Ltd. HDPE sheet M/s ORIPOL Ind. Ltd. Plastic items M/s ORIPLAST Ltd. Acid Sulfur M/s Rajesh Chemicals 03 M/s Ispat Alloys Ltd. Rubber membranes M/s OdishaRubber Prod, O.T. Baleshwar HDPE bags M/s ORIPOL Inds. Ltd. Remuna, Baleshwar M/s Simple Polypack (P) Ltd. Ganeswarpur,

Down Stream Units Name of Large Industries Name of Down Stream Units 01 M/S Birla Tyres Fly Ash Fly Ash Brick Rubber trimming Crusher Unit Packing Wood Packing Box Rubber Rubber mat compound 02 M/s Emami Paper Mill Paper sludge Sun Dry paper Board/ Mill Board PRC Ltd. issued to M/s Star paper Board and Sunny paper Board Fly Ash Fly Ash Bricks 60 units

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157

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Industrial Infrastructural Industrial Estates At present there are 8 industrial estates in the district, the oldest among them being the Baleshwar Industrial Estate which constructed in the year 1974. The other industrial estates are at Ganeswarpur, Balgopalpur, Somanathpur and Bampada in Remuna block area, Srikona in Sadar block area, Panpana in Bahanaga block area and Baliapal. These Industrial Estates are developed and maintained by IDCO. The land and shed are allotted to the entrepreneurs by IDCO with the recommendation of District Level Facilitation Cell headed by General Manager, DIC for non-polluting i.e. green category industries and District Single Window Committee headed by the Collector for other category Industries.The Industrial estate wise details of the land/shed are as follows.

Sl. Name of the Industrial Total Land (Acres) No of Units Located No. Estate/Area 01 Baleshwar Indl. Estate 31.29 84 02 Ganeswarpur Indl. Area 64.075 54 03. Somanathpur Indl. Area 458.61 57 04. Balgopalpur Indl. Area 155.88 13 05. Panapana Indl. Area 08.00 09 06. Bampada Indl. Area 43.74 04 (Institutional allotment Only) 07. Srikona Indl. Area 39.96 21 08. Baliapal Indl. Area 25.00 03 Total 826.555 Railways The Railway runs for 142.54 Kms across the district connecting to Kharagpur, Kolkata, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Chennai etc. The district has also an 80 Kms. Railway line from Baleshwar to Baripada via Rupsa in the neighbouring district of Mayurbhanj. Road Communication In addition to the railways a good network of roads is also available in the district. National Highway No.5 (NH-5) is connecting major areas of the district i.e. Baleshwar, Soro, Simulia, Remuna. The main marketing and administration centres are located by the side of the NH-5. Baleshwar is connected to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on one side and Tatanagar via Baripada on the other. All other small towns and markets and the important places of the district are well connected through various categories of roads. NH-60 is also connecting Baleshwar with West Bengal via Laxmannath. The

159 network of roads are a good help and provide great overhead benefits for industrial development. Transport Transport facilities are available in the district where motorable roads are existing. In the coastal areas a significant number of village are inaccessible during the rainy season as these are cut off by small rivers, checks and rivulets etc. Some villages of Jaleshwar, Nilagiri, Oupada, Baliapal and Khaira blocks are not well communicable because of presence of hills and small mountains. Hence road network in the district in these areas need to be improved substantially. Banking Facilities A sound banking system for financing trade and industry is existing in the district. There are about 120 branches of 23 Nationalised Banks, one Urban Co-Operative Bank, one Central Co-Operative Bank, one Regional Rural Bank and many private Sector Banks, one OSFC Branch and one Card Bank in this district which make significant contributions to the growth of industries. Power Power is the life blood of industry. Some of the large industries in the district such as M/s. Birla Tyres, M/s. Emami Paper Mill and M/s. Baleshwar Alloys have their own power plant. For the other industries power is supplied by NESU, Baleshwar. Power is not a constraint for industrial development in the district. Technical Man Power Generation Resources There are a good number of institutions in the district producing technical manpower. These include 5 Engineering Colleges 8 Engineering Schools, one Government ITI, one private ITC, one CIPET/ APPTC, the Training and Development Service Sub- Centre on Coir, the Handicraft Training Centre/School, one Art Collage and 5 Management education institutes. Industrial Associations

There are 03 Industrial Associations at district level having co- ordination with state level organizations and are playing active role in promotion of MSMEs in the district. They are-Baleshwar Chamber of Industries and Commerce (BCIC), North Odisha Chamber of Commerceand Industries(NOCCI) and District Small Scale Industries Association(DSSIA).

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Industrial Support Services There are institutions/organizations proving support services for growth of MSMEs in the district. These include the EPM Testing Lab, functioning in the Industrial Estate, Baleshwar under administrative control of EPM, Bhubaneswar; the OSIC depot at Industrial Estate, Baleshwar which deals in TISCO rod; IDCO Office,functioning at Industrial Estate, Baleshwar to look after Industrial Estates and areas and the NSIC Office, functioning at DIC, Baleshwar. Local resources Thereinnumerable and plantiful local resources which from the raw material input for the industry sector. They are paddy, betel of Baliapal and Bhograi, fish and prawn of Sadar and Bahanga blocks, groundnut, mustard and sabaigrass of Baliapal block, coconut of Baliapal and Bhograi blocks, cashew of Bhograi block, golden grass of Bahanaga and Baliapal blocks, oilseeds of Simulia block, milk of Remuna block, sal leaf of Basta and Nilagiri blocks, lac of Nilagiri block and granaite of Nilagiri and Oupada blocks. New Opportunities Expansion of Emami Paper Mill M/s Emami Paper Mill is under expansion for raising production of News print/Paper/Board from 130000 TPA to 460000 TPA. A new Power Plant of 120 MW is going to be installed by the Company. Thus there is scope for development of MSME sector. Subarnarekha Port Development As a major initiative to propel economic growth, Government of Odisha executed a Concession Agreement with Creative Port Development Pvt. Ltd. (CPDL) on 11.01.2008 for development of Subarnarekha Port at mouth in the South-East of Chaumukh village of Baleshwar District. If the port comes up, it will be a great source of livelihood for many and economic growth for the state. Setting of APPTC Advanced Plastic Processing and Training Centre (APPTC) under administrative control of CIPET have started functioning at Baleshwar during 2009 in a rental premises. This centre has a permanent set-up at Bampada Industrial Estate providing academic courses as well as laboratory testing facilities for plastic based industries.

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Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) Upgradation of Baleshwar Plastic and Polymer cluster has been completed under Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) through Ministry of Commerce andIndustries, Government of India in PPP Mode and it has started functioning in the year 2015. The North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industries Infra (NOCCI infra), Baleshwar is the implementing agency of the scheme. Government of India and Government of Odisha have extended financial support for infrastructural development in Bampada and Somanathpur Industrial Estates andthe Project is a great source of help for development of plastic industries at Baleshwar. This project also provides skill development training to entrepreneurs, Handicraft Complex, Trade Tower, Exposition Hall, Truck Terminal, Godown, Mini Tool Room, Electrical Sub-station, Water Supply and logistic hob facilities for the industries. RSETI- UCO Bank As per decision of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) one training centre has been set up by UCO Bank at Proof Road, Sunhat, Baleshwar. The basic orientation programmes, skill development programmes and intensive entrepreneurship development programmes are being taken up to facilitate credit flow to the MSME enterprise. OSFC OSFC Baleshwar branch has come up with a new approach of financing Micro and Small Enterprises after restructuring of the Corporation at state level. Assistance for preparation of project report, valuation of assets is also being provided by the Branch. OSIC Depot OdishaSmall Industries Corporation has its sales outlet in the Industrial Estate, Baleshwar. At present it is dealing with supply of raw-materials required for Micro and Small enterprises. EPM Laboratory EPM Laboratory is functioning at Industrial Estate, Baleshwar. It provides Testing and Quality control facilities for products manufactured by MSMEs. NSIC The support provided by NSIC includes single point registration, credit rating, technology upgradation, raw material supply, market support etc. to

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MSMEs. There is a Branch office at DIC, Baleshwar which is rendering valuable services to MSMEs. Entrepreneurship Development There are a good number of organizations in the Governmentandprivate sector for entrepreneurship development in every district with budgetary support of MSMEDI, NSIC, NABARD, DC (HC), DH and CI, COIR Board, IED, ORMAS, DRDA, ITDA, KVIC, KVIB, DIC.The opportunities can be tapped for development of Small and Medium Enterprises. Hall Marking Centre In order to keep pace with the growing demands for pure gold ornaments conforming to the BIS 916 standard, Baleshwar has the distinction to have a Hall marking unit namely M/s Jagannath Hall Mark for testing the purity of gold jewellery. The unit is functioning since 2014. Skill Development Training Institutions There are some institutions set up by the Government to impart training in the Handicraft and Cottage Industries sector in the district. They are the Training Centre at Baulagadia on Stone Carving and TDSSC, BHOGRAI at Bhograi on Coir Sector. Skill Development Schemes Guru Sishya Parampara for development of Handicrafts, MCM Training Programme for development of Handicrafts and Field Training Centre on COIR sector are the important schemes for development of industry sector. Cluster Development Programme for Micro and Small Enterprises Over the years many industries have been established in the district. Keeping in view concentration of such enterprises, their requirements for infrastructure, raw-material and other logistic supports three clusters were proposed and they are in implementation stage. They are as follows. Cluster Area of Status concentration Plastic and Polymer Sadar, Remuna, Functioning and Basta Rice Mills Simulia, Khaira, Under Remuna implementation Fly-Ash Bricks Sadar, Remuna Under implementation Dry Fish Cluster Sadar Proposed

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Salt Industries In the year 1958 some people of Bolang organized a Salt Co-operative Society known as Bolang Salt Manufacturing Industrial Co-Operative Society Ltd. The Revenue Department leased out 100 and 150 acres of land in 1958 and 1975 respectively to the society. This unit is situated at a distance of 60 km from Baleshwar. It is a seasonal manufactured commodity and the output fully depends upon the sun ray in summer. The production of the society decreased seriously due to uncertain rain and other natural calamities during the production season. Coir Industries There are four Coir Industrial Co-Operative Societies working in the district.They are located at Kakudibadha, Bindhapadmapur andJaleshwarpur in Bhograi Block and Dalanga in Simulia Block. Also a Government Training- cum-Demonstration Centre is functioning at Bhograi Block for development of Coir Industries. Beekeeping There are two Bee Keeping Societies functioning in the district, one at Alupur, Baleshwar and another is at Chhatrapur in Nilagiri Block. Development of Handicraft and Cottage Industries Baleshwar has a name in the realm of handicrafts and cottage industries. The brass and bell metal products and stone carving items of Baleshwar have drawn international attention. Status of Handicraft activities in the District District industries centre, Baleshwar is the nodal agency at the district level for promotion of handicraft and cottage industries. This district is rich in handicrafts village and cottage industries especially in the area of stone carving, bamboo crafts, terracotta, sabai craft, brass and bell metal, jute crafts, soft toys and applique, jari works etc. Handicraft being a potential sector for employment generation, DIC is making all out efforts to develop the sector by identifying traditional artisans, implementing craft village schemes, imparting training through MCM and guru shishya parampara scheme including rehabilitation of artisans by providing credit facilities through banks.

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Bell Metal Bell Metal industry in the district is chiefly concentrated at Remuna and Simulia block areas. The artisans are engaged in manufacture of traditional utensils and other products. Stone Carving There are about 1500 families engaged in stone craft activities. The concentration is found in the villages of Baulagadia, Iswarpur, Kandagaradi, Kanpur, Santaragadia, Nayapatna in Oupada blockand Kesharipur, Mahisasuri, Manatri, Mangalpur, Angula, Mahumuhan and Uttareswar in Soro block. There is a Cooperative society established in 1955 at Baulagadia for the development of stone carving artisans. The stone workers manufacture various kinds of stone statues, artefacts and utensils. Three stone carving societies are functioning at Uttareswar, Soro and Bankipada in Oupada block. The products of Laxmi Narayan Marble and Stone carving Industrial Copoperative Society and B.K stone Carving Industrial Cooperative Society have a good demand in the international market. There is a Government Handicraft Training Centre with an intake capacity of 10 trainees at Baulagadia. Most of the Stone Carving Artisans after getting training from the centre are engaged in the craft locally and also throughout the country. The stone statue of this district is being exported mainly to Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Bhutan, USA etc. Cane and Bamboo works Bamboo works is also one of the important cottage and handicraft industries of the district. A large numbers of people in many villages earn their livelihood through this craft. They manufacture various types of mats, baskets, decorative items and other household goods. Terracotta There are about850 artisans in the district who have been scattered in different villages of Sadar, Nilagiri, Oupada, Basta, Jaleshwar and Remuna blocks. They manually manufacture decorative items, earthenware and old fashion pots.

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Blockwise details of handicrafts sector in the district is given in the table below.

Sl. Block Craft No of No of Artisans No Families engaged 1 Remuna Brass and Bell Metal 72 124 Terracotta(Pottery) 90 135 Bamboo Craft 105 215 Stone Carving 15 22 Cane Products 06 10 Wood Carving 02 06 Jari Work 01 03 Jute Craft 35 62 Soft Toys 12 27 2 Baliapal Sabai Craft 94 126 Jute Craft 15 23 Applique 42 71 Bamboo Craft 24 47 3 Soro Stone Carving 289 395 Bamboo Craft 21 37 Terracotta 10 18 4 Basta Bamboo Craft 105 214 Jute Craft 26 42 Terracotta 35 52 Sabai Craft 40 52 5 Nilagiri Paddy Craft 45 65 Terracotta 48 85 Lacquer Craft 65 98 Appliqué 15 32 Wood Carving 05 12 Stone Carving 35 64 Bamboo Craft 106 159 Coir Craft 15 25 Soft Toys 22 34 6 Oupada Paddy Craft 115 153 Stone Carving 542 945 Terracotta 43 78 7 Sadar and Brass and Bell Metal 05 12 Municipality Terracotta 85 145 Lacquer Craft 45 62 Soft Toys 24 38

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Appliqué and 16 21 Embroidery Jari Work 01 01 Cane and Bamboo 90 135 Craft Jute Craft 45 70

8 Bahanaga Cane and Bamboo 60 92 Craft Stone Carving 51 68 Jari Works 56 60 Wood Carving 10 12 Jute Craft 22 34 9 Bhograi Sea Cell 56 82 Artistic Mat 24 45 Coir Craft 35 46 Bamboo Craft 25 35 10 Simulia Brass and Bell Metal 25 39 Applique 20 35 11 Khaira Applique 25 36 12 Jaleshwar Jute Craft 30 52 Sabai Craft 30 42 Terracotta 160 240 Bamboo Craft 150 285

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CHAPTER – VI BANKING, TRADE AND COMMERCE

History The history of Banking is interesting and reflects evolution in trade and commerce. With the expansion of trade the concept of banking gained greater ground. The handling of ―banking‖ transcended from individual to groups and to companies. Issuing of currency was one of the major functions of the banks. The earliest form of money was coins which were a certificate of value stamped on metal, usually gold, silver and bronze or any other metal, by an authority, usually the king. The story of Indian coin age is vast and fascinating. The Rig Veda speaks only of gold, silver, copper and bronze. The latter stage Vedic texts also mention tin, lead, iron and silver. The money economy existed in India since the days of Buddha. The origin of word ―rupee‖ is found in Sanskrit as rupya ―shaped stamped, impressed, coin‖ and is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word ‗rupa‘ meaning silver. The standardization of currency unit as rupee in India is largely due to Sher Shah in 1542. The English traders came to India in the 17th century and had houses in Kolkata and Mumbai. They began to conduct banking business besides their commercial business. The English agency houses served as banker to the East India Company. They started accepting deposit from the public and lending money for different trade and business activities. They issued paper money and established joint stock banks. The earliest of these banks was the Hindustan Bank established by one of the agency house in Kolkata in 1770. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India which originated from Bank of Kolkata in June, 1806 and thatsubsequently became the Bank of Bengal which was one of the Presidency banks during the British rule,the other two Presidency Banks being the Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras. The three Presidency Banks were established under the charters from the British East India Company and acted as quasi- central banks. In 1921 these three Presidency banks merged to form the Imperial Bank of India which, after independence, became the State Bank of India. During the 19th century the Presidency Banks dominated banking in India and a number of Indian Joint Stock Banks were established like Allahabad bank in 1865 and Punjab National Bank in 1895. During the early part of 20th century inspired by Swadeshi movement, Indian businessmen and political leaders founded banks for the Indian community. These banks, as they exist now, are Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank and many other banks. After independence the Government of India initiated measures to 168 play an active role in the economic life of the nation and the Industrial Policy Resolution adopted by the government in 1948 envisaged a mixed economy. Government took major steps in the Indian Banking Sector Reform. The first step in this direction was nationalization of Reserve Bank in 1949, Enactment of Banking Regulation Act in 1949, Reserve Bank of India Scheduled Bank‘s Regulations, 1951, Nationalization of Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with extensive banking facilities on a large scale especially in rural and semi-urban areas and Nationalization of SBI subsidiaries in 1959. Government of India took many initiatives which were aimed to provide banking coverage to all sections and every sector of the society. By the 1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool to facilitate the development of the economy. But the village money lenders such as Mahajans, Kabuliwalas and Banias still constituted bulk of the rural lending activities at an exorbitant interest rate. Government of India issued an ordinance and nationalized 14 large commercial banks with effect from 19th July, 1969 and the Parliament of India passed the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill on 9th August, 1969. A second dose of nationalization of 6 more commercial banks followed in 1980. The number of nationalized banks was reduced from 20 to 19 due to merger of New Bank of India with Punjab National Bank. Currently there are 27 nationalized banks including State Bank of India and its group. The reason for nationalization was to give the government more control over credit delivery and to expand credit delivery system in the entire country as well as to minimize the dependence on rural money lenders in the rural areas. The second major turning point after bank nationalization in India was the Economic Liberalization. In the early 1990s a policy of liberalization was embarked upon by Government of India. Among other things, this enabled the issue of license to small number of new generation tech-savvy Private Banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, UTI(Axis) Bank etc. Banking, Trade and Commerce The village money lenders, nay Mahajans, constituted the main bulk of the indigenous bankers for several generations. They were lending money to the needy people at an exorbitant rate of interest which differed from place to place. They lent money against pledge of gold/silver ornaments, land, household brass and bell metal utensil and even standing crop in the field. The Kabuliwallas were also found lending money to the poor village folk as well as the workers in the small industrial areas. The uneconomic size of holdings, insecurity of crops and concentration of land in the hands of a few were mainly responsible for indebtedness among the agricultural and rural households. As a positive measure to reach 169

the rural poor for their credit requirements, banks were nationalized in 1969 as a result of which the requirement of rural poor could be fulfilled. Nationalized Banks In Baleshwar district there are 21 nationalized banks with 120 branches spread over 12 blocks of the district. As on 31st March, 2015 their total deposit was around Rs.5074 crore and total advanceswere around Rs.2324 crore. Odisha Gramya Bank and Cooperative Banks There are 53 branches of Odisha Gramya Bank and 20 branches of Cooperative banks. The total deposit with them is around Rs.1375 crores and advances amount to Rs.1097 crore as on 31.3.2015. Private Bank There are 5 private sector banks with 20 branches in the district. Their deposit is around Rs.628 crores and advance is around Rs.451 crore as on 31.3.2015 Self Help Groups (SHGs) Self Help Groups programme is smoothly running by the help and guidance of the NRLM in the district. In the financial year 2014-15, there were proposal of 6000 linkage programs out of which 4663 proposals were sanctioned by different banks of the district. Samanwaya Mela is being organized Blockwise for interface meet between bankers and WSHGs in each quarter for a branch or group of branches. In order to sensitize and orient the bankers on NRLM guidelines on SHG bank linkage, workshops are being organized at the district level. PMJDY The Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana, launched recently, is a success in the district. In the 2nd phase of the said Yojana 3 more social security Yojanas were launched by the Government of India namely Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Prime Minister Surakshya Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana which are being implemented with full dedication and cooperation by different banks and insurance companies operating in the district. The MUDRA scheme which is very recently launched is to be operational in the district soon. Crop insurance is done regularly for loanee farmers as well as non-Ioanee farmers in the district. Trading Centers Baleshwar: Baleshwar town is the district headquarters of Baleshwar district. There are many wholesalers and retailers and varieties of shops

170 have grown up in different parts of the town. Business of different commodities on a large scale is carried on daily. The chief business centers are located at Motiganj, Naya Bazar, Azimabad, Sahadevkhunta , Remuna Golei and Remuna Bazar. Big industries like Birla Tyres. Emami Paper Mill, Oriplast, Hariplast and Ispat Alloys have come up in a big way in the district. Recently NOCCI (North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industries) has been set up at Somnathpur, Baleshwar for coordination and development of industries in north Odisha including Baleshwar. Jaleshwar:Jaleshwar town has become a business hub of northern Baleshwar. Many Nationalized and private Banks have their branches at Jaleshwar. Nilagiri: Nilagiri is the only Sub-Division of the district some pockets of which are mostly inhabited by tribals. Integrated Tribal Development Agency gives a helping hand foruplifting them from poverty. Banks are financing handicrafts like paddy craft, stone carving and lac products. Soro: Soro town has the optimal density of business concerns and institutions which cater to the needs of the block as well as three adjacent blocks of the district. Cooperative Department The Registrar of cooperative societies, Odisha is the administrative head of the Department. The main functions of this Department in the district is to look after the administration of cooperative Institutions and implementation of different schemes. Special emphasis on the needs of the agriculturists, the workers and the consumers becomes a vital factor for stability and for rapid economic development in the district. The Divisional office at Baleshwar with a Deputy Registrar as its head started functioning since December 1969. The Baleshwar Division was created to cater to Baleshwar and Mayurbhanj districts. In August 1978, Mayurbhanj was separated from Baleshwar Division. At present there are three cooperative circles under the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Baleshwar Division, with headquarters at Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Nilagiri established in 1948, 1970 and 2011 respectively. The AssistantRegistrars of Cooperative Societies are in-charge of each Circle. The Jurisdiction of Baleshwar circle extends to 8 blocks andNAC / Municipality under Baleshwar Sub-Division, Bhadrak circle extends to all 7 blocks and NAC and Municipality of Bhadrak Sub-Division and 2 blocks andone NAC come under theNilagiriSub-Division. The Deputy Registrar is assisted by one Sub-Assistant Registrar, five Inspectors of Co- operative Societies and other sub ordinate staffs in the Division. The office of

171 the Regional Marketing officer is functioning separately since 1994 in the Division. At the block level, there are Co-operative Extension officers. Besides, there is an Audit officer of Cooperative Societies at Baleshwar. There are other functional Assistant Registrars of cooperative societies for industrial, weavers, fisheries, milk and poultry societies. At Baleshwar circle level there is one Assistant Registrar at the top having sanctioned strength of 7 other Sub-Assistant Registrars, 15 Inspectors, one extension officer in each block and other subordinate staff. The newly created Nilagiri circle is having one Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, one Inspector of Co-operative Societies, one Sub- Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, one Senior Clerk and two Peons deployed from the office of the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Baleshwar Circle, Baleshwar. A Central Cooperative Bank is functioning at Baleshwar along with its 20 Branches located at different places of the district and there is one Urban Cooperative Bank functioning at Baleshwar.There is one Cooperative Agricultural Rural Development Bank functioning at Baleshwar. To provide integrated credit, supply, marketing and other services to the people of tribal areas, there are two Large-sized Agricultural Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS). To meet the credit needs of rural people, 141 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies are functioning as the the principal credit agencies in the district. Besides, two Regional Cooperative Marketing Societies (RCMS), one wholesale Cooperative Store, 17 primary consumer cooperative stores, 2 Sub-Divisional House Building Cooperative Societies, one Town House Building Cooperative Society, 2 employees House Building Coperative Societies, 7 Labour Contract Cooperative Societies, 20 Employees Cooperative Societies, one women Cooperative Society and 21 other Cooperative Societies, one unemployed Engineers Cooperative Society in the Tribal area at Nilagiriand one District Cooperative Union at Baleshwar, 3 Regulated Market Committees one each at Baleshwar, Nilagiriand Jaleshwar have been established in this district. Baleshwar Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. The Bank advanced Rs. 37615.30 lakhs as short term and medium term loans for processing of the agricultural produce, purchase of cattle, purchase of machinery, sinking and repairing of wells and improvement of land. The total loan outstanding is Rs. 53217.80 lakhs of which and amount of Rs. 15696.52 lakhs.

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Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd. The Bank has total membership of 6826 at the end of 2014-15. The working capital and the share capital of the Bank are Rs. 5519.15 lakhs and Rs. 82.68 lakhs respectively. A total loan of Rs. 611.92 lakhs were advanced by the bank. The loan outstanding is Rs. 1884.00 lakhs. Land Development Bank (CARD Bank) The Bank has total membership of 46788 persons. The Bank‘s total working capital is Rs. 205.27 lakhs of which paid up capital is Rs. 27.98 lakhs. Large Sized Agricultural Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS) In the year 2014-15, there are two LAMPCS one at Nilagiriand Matiali with a total membership of 26.112 persons. These LAMPCS have total working capital of Rs. 1597.35 lakh of which paid up capital is Rs. 127.31 lakh, deposits are Rs. 79.11 lakh and borrowing amount to Rs. 1737.51 lakh at the end of 2014-15. During the year 2014-15, the loan outstanding is Rs. 1545.10 lakh of which an amount of Rs. 841.12 lakh are overdue. These LAMPCS advanced of Rs. 1537.52 lakh as short term and Rs. 14.62 lakh as medium term loan. Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) In the year 2014-15, there were 141 primary Agricultural credit Cooperative societies with a total membership of 268305 persons in the district. These Societies are functioning at the village/gram panchayat level as the and are catering to credit needs of the farmers.They are also distributing agricultural inputs. The societies have a total working capital of Rs. 4371.12 lakh.Total deposits were Rs. 3156.49 lakh and borrowing wereRs. 5356.12 lakh. The societies advanced Rs. 5251.39 lakh and Rs. 320.12 lakh as short term and medium term loans respectively. Regional Cooperative Marketing Societies (RCMS) In the year 2014-15, there were two RCMS functioning at Baleshwar andJaleshwar respectively. Total membership of these societies are 943. The working capital, share capital, purchase and sales of these societies were Rs.350.76 lakh, Rs.17.12 lakh, Rs.189.31 lakh and Rs.192.70 lakh respectively.

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Wholesale Cooperative Store There is one wholesale consumer cooperative store located at Baleshwar. The membership of the store is 2692. The working capital, value of purchase and value of sales and profit position are Rs. 556.33 lakh, Rs.164.99 lakh, Rs.175.72 lakh and Rs.0.03 lakh respectively. Primary Consumer Cooperative Store There are 17 primary consumer cooperative stores. The total membership of these stores are 42152. The working capital of these societies is Rs.67.21 lakh profitsamounted to Rs. 3.67 lakh. House Building Cooperative Societies In the year 2014-15, there are five House Building Cooperative Societies with a total membership of 8359 persons. The working capital of these societies areRs.1083.75 lakh. Rs.638.89 lakh have been advanced for the purpose of building of house, loan outstanding and loan overdue are Rs. 518.75 lakh and Rs.286.44 lakh respectively. Weights and Measures Prior to the introduction of the metric system, the weight in common use was the Indian hundred seer of 80 tolas. The common measure of volume was mana in all translating of rice, pady and other food gains. For measuring length, yard, feet and inch were in use. The local land measurement was 100 decimals equal to 25 gunthas equal to one mana and 20 manas made on a bati. For the measurement of liquids gallons and seers of 80 tolas were in use. The peculiar system of dry measure was in use before metric system was introduced.They were seers equal to one pudi, 10 seers equal to one gauni, 400 seers equal to one pauti and 80 pauti equal to one bharan. However, these measures varied not only in nomenclature but also in capacity from area to area.Materials from which these measures were constructed also varied from place to place. As a result of such difference in the use of weight and measures, there was ample scope for the traders to cheat the consumers. With a view to overcoming these difficulties, the metric system of weight and measures was introduced as an all India standard from the 1st April 1962. Initial difficulties were experienced by both the consumers and traders but after regular practice and publicity through distribution of conversion

174 tables and chart and pamphlets the metric system has been accepted by the people and is in vogue. As per OILM recommendations metric system of weight and measure of solid and liquid materials are now followed in the district as elsewhere in the country. The measurement of area (Land) is decimal, hectare is used by the people of the district as prescribed in the legal metrology general Rules 2011. Weights and measures used in the business transactions are being verified and certified by the legal metrology officer once in a calendar year or bi-annually as per guidelines issued to him by the Director, WandM. Government of India.

The Regulatory System is as follows

1. IPL International Prototype (WandM) Maintained by scientist (Paris) 2. NPL National Prototype -do- Director, L.M.(New Delhi) 3. Reference standards -do- -do- (BBSR) 4. Secondary standards -do- Controller -do-(State) 5. Working standards -do- Legal Metrology Officer 6. Commercial standards –do- by Traders

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CHAPTER – VII TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

The progress and prosperity of a state depend much upon the transport and communication facilities. The hoary antiquities of Odisha indicate that she was connected with other countries by sea and land routes in the past. Old Time Transport Routes From early times, people of the district used to visit pilgrim centres like Gaya in Bihar, Birajakhetra at Jajpur and Srikhetra at Puri to offer pinda or oblation to their forefathers. It is obvious that there were pilgrim routes between these places in early days. The Mauryan Emperor Asoka the Great, came with a large army and conquered Kalinga in the middle of the 3rd Century B.C. The Mauryan army travelled all the way from Pataliputra to Tosali on a route highway where water and food stuff were abundantly available. In the 2nd or 1st Century B.C., Emperor Kharavela of Kalinga not only marched as far as Rajagruhe in the north, but also advanced in the west to the Kingdom of the Satavahanas and in the south to the kingdom of the Pandyas. The army of Kharavela consisted of four divisions, viz., elephant, chariot, cavalry and infantry. For the movement of chariots a highway is essential. A these indicate that there were good roads in those days. In 1514, the Portuguese established a town in Pipili about 4:24 km. from the mouth of river Subarnarekha on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Pipili was then an important harbour on the Odisha coast and a great centre of Portuguese trade when their fleets commanded the whole sea-board from Chittagong to Odisha. Before the English had any footing in Odisha the Dutch settled in Piplll in 1625 and in, Baleshwar in the same year. At the time of the East India Company Baleshwar, Chandbali and Dhamara ports were active. These ports had trade link with the ports at Kolkata, Madras, Bombay, Ceylon, Maldive islands, Lakshadweep and occasionally Mauritius. During the Muslim rule, Baleshwar developed as an important port where ships from different parts of India lay anchored. It was also a ship- building centre under the state control during the Moughal rule and one Superintendent for ports and another Superintendent for ship construction were stationed there. The royal ships laden with cargoes of various kinds used to ply between Baleshwar and Porbandar on the western coast of India.

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Roads in Modern Times Prior to independence most of the roads were unmetalled and unbridged and were negotiable only in fair weather.In course of time, demand for more and better roads increased due to rapid growth of traffic.For breaking the age-old isolation of many areas of the district,which are mostly inaccessible,construction of roads and development of road transport were considered sine qua non.To accelerate this large amounts were earmarked and spent on the development of roads in the successive plan periods.At present the district is served by National Highways (NH),State Highways (SH),Major District Roads(MDR), Other District Roads (ODR) and Classified Village Roads (CVR). As on 31st March 2015 the length of roads according to category and surface classification in Baleshwar district is given below.

Category of roads Length in Kilometres National Highways (NH) 119.50 State Highways (SH) 118.73 Major District Roads(MDR) 109.30 Other District Roads (ODR) 405.62 Classified Village Roads (CVR)

Total 753.15

Classification of condition of Length in Km roads Black topped 667.40 Cement Concrete 77.00 Water Bound Macadam 7.29 Morrum 0.00 Earthen 1.48 Total 753.15 National Highways The Kolkata - Chennai National Highways No.16 starts from its junction with NH-19 near Kolkata connects Kharagpur in the state of West Bengal, Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khordha and Brahmapur in the State of Odisha,Vishakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh and terminates at its junction with NH-48 near Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Similarly the Govindpur-Dhanbad-Puruliya-Chandil-Baripada- Baleshwar National Highways No.18 passes through Jharkhand, West Bengal and terminates at its junction with NH-16 near Naharpatna, Baleshwar of Odisha State. The Total length of NHs in the district is 119.50 Km. It is motorable throughout the year and the NH-16 starts from 136.50 km near Ranital to Laxmannath of Jaleshwar P.S after passing through Soro, Baleshwar, Rupsa, Basta and Jaleshwar. To provide better communication facilities to the interior, feeder roads have been connected with the NH-16. 177

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State Highways The state highways are the roads which link important cities, towns, district headquarters within the state and connect them with national highways or highways of the neighbouring states. These highways provide connections to industries/places in key areas in the state making them more accessible. The State Highways are maintained by the State Government. Details about the State Highways are given below.

Sl No. Name of the Road Length in Km 1 Sergarh-Nilagiri-Jharanaghati Road 31.20 2 Jaleshwar-Batagram-Chandaneswar - 39.60 Digha Road 3 Anantapur - Soro - Kupari Road 40.92 4 Jamjhadi -Basudevpur -Dhamara 7.01 Road. Total 118.73 Major District Roads These are important roads within a district connecting areas of production with markets and connecting these with each other or with the State Highways and National Highways. It also connects Sub- Divisional and Block headquarters and rural areas to district headquarters. Details about the Major District Roads are as follows.

Sl No. Name of the Road Length in Km 1 Sugo-Solpata Road 1.00 2 Old O.T. Road 1.50 3 Basta - Baliapal Road 23.40 4 Old N.H.-5 (Baleshwar 13.70 Bypass Road) 5 Salt Road from Baleshwar 42.00 to Gud 6 Charakmara Bypass Road 2.50 7 Basta Bypass Road 3.80 8 Haldipada Bypass Road 6.00 9 Jaleshwar Bypass Road 15.40 Total 109.30 Other District Roads Other District roads are the roads serving rural areas and providing them with outlet to market centers, Sub-Division headquarters, block head quarters or major district roads, and would serve to connect villages with a population of 1000 and above or a cluster of villages. These roads are owned by Highways Department.

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Vehicles and Conveyances The bullock-cart still plays a very prominent role in the economic life of the people, especially in the country-side where it provides the most economical means of transport of goods and passengers. Chhela, a unique system of transportation is still found in the rural areas of the district. It is made of gunny bags having two pockets on opposite sides mounted on the back of a bullock. The back is protected by a spongy cotton cover to carry the load comfortably. It is usually used by the farmers to carry manures, seeds and harvested crops. This mode of transportation is convenient even where no road system exists. Palanquins (Palki) are seen sometimes in the rural areas for carrying passengers, patients, bride and bridegrooms. Cycles are seen in every nook and corner of the district but cycle- rickshaws are mainly found in urban and semi-urban areas. Gradually with change of time the mode of transportation and conveyance has changed. Now-a-days motor cycles have been widely used both in urban and rural areas. Besides, cars, auto rickshaws, town buses are being used by the people in urban areas. Trucks and mini trucks are being used in both urban and rural areas for transportation. The details ofvehicles popularly used in the district as registered from the Beginning of the Regional Transport Office at Baleshwar till 31-07-2015 are given in the following table.

Sl.No. Category of Vehicle No. of Vehicles registered 1 Motor Cycle 1,41,936 2 Scooter 15,840 3 Moped 3,848 4 Scooter Side Car 4 5 Auto Rickshaw (Passenger) 3,073 6 Auto Rickshaw (Goods) 1,302 7 Car (Private) 6,981 8 Heavy Goods Vehicle 894 9 Mid Goods Vehicle 288 10 Light Goods Vehicle 3,416 11 Pick-Up-Van 399 12 Tanker 61 13 Mixi Cab 2,759 14 Car Taxi 494 15 Del Van 16 16 Tractor-Trailer 5,492 17 Tractor (Agriculture) 585 18 School Bus- 84 19 Ambulance 82 20 Bus (SC) 47 21 Deluxe Bus 32 22 Bus CC 20 23 A/C Bus 13 24 Private Bus Service 10 25 Mini Bus 8 26 Crane 2 27 Postal Van 1 Total 1,87,687

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Movement by public conveyance is the most popular and convenient now-a-days. A summary picture of routes under bus service in Baleshwar district is given below.

Sl.No Name of the Routes Length of Routes No. of Trips . 1 Baleshwar – Sundargarh 510 2 2 Baleshwar – Sambalpur 454 1 3 Baleshwar – Rourkela 472 2 4 Baleshwar – Berhampur 390 2 5 Baleshwar – Baribil 345 2 6 Baleshwar – Bhubaneswar 214 19 7 Baleshwar – Cuttack 185 34 8 Baleshwar – Baripada 62 71 9 Baleshwar – Dhamara 110 11 10 Baleshwar – Kupari 67 13 11 Baleshwar – Balipala 50 16 12 Baleshwar – Udala 57 18 13 Baleshwar – Olamara 81 2 14 Baleshwar – Sartha 45 2 15 Baleshwar – Bishnupur 37 3 16 Baleshwar – Bhadrak 72 3 17 Baleshwar – Anantapur 47 4 18 Baleshwar – Kasafal 60 2 19 Baleshwar – Langaleswar 46 5 20 Baleshwar – Balramgadi 18 11

Fares Bus fares effective from 4th June 2015 are given below.

Category of Vehicles Rate of fares per person per kilometer Ordinary Bus 58 Paise Express Bus 61 Paise Super fast Bus 80 Paise Deluxe Bus 101 Paise

Railways The district is served by the Howrah-Madras, the Rupsa-Bangriposi and the Baleshwar-Nilagiri railway lines of the South-Eastern railway. The Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) has been renamed as South Eastern Railway. Baleshwar Railway station is established in the year 1896. This line is fully electrified is December 2005. Description of each of the railway lines is given below.

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Howarh-Madars Line The Howrah-Madras (now Chennai) line of the South-Eastern railway passes through the district in a south-western direction. The Kharagpur- Cuttack section of the main line was opened to traffic in 1899 and the Cuttack-Waltair section between 1893 and 1897. Waltair to Madras was however opened prior to that. The length of broad gauge double line in Baleshwar district is 140 km. The line enters the district near Lakshmannath Road and leaves the district at a short distance from Markona. There are 22 stations. Of these, five are busy stations. These are Jaleshwar, Rupsa, Baleshwar and Soro. Rupsa-Bangriposi Line From Rupsa station a branch line, 89.86 km. in length, runs westward to Mayurbhanj district. This narrow gauge branch line was constructed in two phases, (a) Rupsa to Baripada (52:16 km) opened to traffic on the 20th January. 1905 and (b) Baripada to Bangriposi (37:20 km) on the 15th July 1920. This line is converted to broad-gauge in July 2006. Baleshwar-Nilagiri line This broad gauge railway line was constructed in 1944 by the army for defence purpose. The length of this line is 16.068 km. It was constructed by the army during the Second World War. After war the army handed over the line to the Railway department. Since then the railway is used for carrying ballast, boulder and chips. It is not used for passenger traffic. Role of the railways in the economy of the district The South Eastern Railways has changed the economic condition of the people of Baleshwar district since 1899. It has accelerated agricultural and industrial development by providing transport facilities for the carriage of raw materials and finished products. Besides the industrialised zone in the immediate vicinity of Baleshwar, a number of saw mills, rice mills, brass and bell-metal industries, earthen and stoneware industries and other kinds of handicrafts have come up all along the rail routes. Apart from serving all these industries, the railways also contribute largely to the movement of rice, betel leaf and fish. Rail-road competition and regulation of transport There are 42 road routes in the district. Most of the routes run parallel to the railways. Due to high density of population in the urban areas, both road and rail services are equally patronised by the people. NH-5 and Major District Road No. 74 running, more or less, parallel to the South-Eastern Railways up to Lakshmannath Road, the northern most station within the district on that railway, shares with the latter a large volume of traffic. On 182 other roads swifter motor transport is available in plenty. As a result, people are depending more on buses and trucks than on trains for movement of passenger and goods traffic. In important towns of the district Carry Co., Tatanagar Transport, Transport Corporation of India. Economic Transport Organisation, Assam Bengal Roadways, Great India Roadways, Cuttack Roadways, etc., are active. These road transport organisations help movement of goods faster than the railways. Municipal and Notified Area Council authorities are collecting huge amount of tax from these road transport organizations. Daily 56 pairs (Up and Down) Mail/Express and Goods Trains and nine pairs of passenger trains are running through the district. Train Accidents Of the railway accidents in the district a major accident occurred on the 8th March. 1964 in Baudpur railway station due to collision of Down Madras- Howrah Express train on a line occupied by a Goods train. In this accident 22 persons were killed and 110 persons were injured. A sum of Rs.10,450 was paid by the Government as ex gratia. Railway property worth Rs. 6.07,100 was damaged. Railway Over Bridge A large roadway over bridge of 568‘90 metres long and 10.70 metres breadth has been constructed across the railway line at Baleshwar town at a cost of Rs. 1,74,701/-. It has been opened to traffic since 13th April 1984. One Fly over bridge is under construction at Soro station. Another such bridge is under construction near Tamilia level crossing gate of Baleshwar town. Waterways Rivers In 1907, O' Malley had given an account on navigation in rivers which is as follows. ―Notwithstanding the numerous rivers which intersect the district, there is no great inland river traffic in Baleshwar. The reason for this apparently is that during the rains they become dangerous for navigation owing to the high floods they bring down; and during the rest of the year their current is sluggish and the volume of water small. The large rivers have sufficient water to enable boats to ply along the lower reaches, and there is a fair amount of traffic in tidal waters; but the other rivers are, on the whole, too shallow or too uncertain to be very largely used, and they do not possess any great value as trade routes. On this account the use of boats is restricted, and the people have long been accustomed to carry on internal traffic by means of pack-bullocks and carts.

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Canals The Odisha Cost Canal was constructed in the year 1880. It entres Odisha at Narsarabad in Bhograi Block at R.D. 89.60 Km, ends in river Kansabansa R.D. 186.10 Km and has a total length 88.50 Km. Now the said canal is in defunct condition. It is pertinent to note that the renovation of the Coast Canal itself would have a huge impact on the coastal region in terms of creationirrigation potential as well as drainage clearance in the vicinity. The Executive Engineer, Baleshwar Irrigation Division, Baleshwar is in charge of maintenance of the canal. Bridges Prior to independence, most of the roads in the district were unbridged. This was a great bottleneck in the development of road transport. After Independence, along with the construction of roads, large amount was spent for the construction of bridges. As a result almost all the important roads in the district are now bridged. More bridges are under construction. The statement below gives the number of culverts and bridges on different categories of roads as on 31st March 2015.

Category of Roads Total Culverts with Minor bridges with Major bridge number of length upto length above 6.00 with length of Culverts 6.00 meteres but less that 30.00 and and meteres 30.00 meters above Bridges State Highways 253 238 9 6 Major District 127 101 16 10 Roads Other District 754 724 18 12 Roads Classified Village 1418 1347 65 6 Roads

Radio and Wireless The All-India Radio has no broadcasting station in the district. There are 26 wireless stations in the district. These stations have been installed by the Police Department for smooth running.

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CHAPTER – VIII MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS Introduction In the chapters on Agriculture and Irrigation, Industries and Banking, Trade and Commerce, the major sectors of economy were dealt with at length. But these sectors by themselves do not give the entire economic picture of the population. The people of the district are also engaged in miscellaneous occupations like public administration, teaching, legal, medical and personal services. Those who are in administration or learned profession form the intellectual class and despite their small percentage, exert maximum influence in the affairs of the district. In domestic and personal services, the occupation of barber, washermen, tailors, drivers, street vendors, shopkeeper,s contractual laboures etc. are also essential for the society and they constitute an important social group. Public Administration Both the educated and the uneducated people prefer jobs in public service departments because of service security and other benefits. The Statistical Abstract shows the employment situation in various branches of public administration. The table below gives the number of employees of the central government, state government andquasi-government undertakings and local bodies of the district.

Employees in Public Sector Local Total Central State Quasi Government Bodies Government Government Central State 5456 22464 2395 4657 297 35,269

Amenities provided to Government Servants The pay structure of central as well as state government employees of all categories have been revised as per the recommendations made by to 6th Pay Commission with effect from 01.01.2006. Besides providing Dearness Allowance, the State Government has made provision for granting festival advance and also loans for construction of residential buildings. Staff quarters are provided to government employees on reasonable rent as per availability or house rent allowance in lieu thereof. The government also considers loan applications from its employees for purchase of vehicles. Apart from that, Travelling Allowance, Medical Expenses Reimbursement etc. are provided to government servants and their family members. Group

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Insurance facility is being provided to them since 1976 in case of untimely death during the service period to this helps to alleviate the financial hardship caused to the bereaved. The employees of the corporations like the Life Insurance Corporation of India, the Food Corporation of India, Indian Oil Corporation of India, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, have their own schemes of allowance, leave, medical relief, provident fund, gratuity, etc. Employees’ Organisations Due to implementation of five-year plans there has been considerable expansion in the public services at central and state government levels, and in the local bodies. These employees have formed their respective unions with a view to redressing their grievances. The State Government employees have formed a number of unions and associations of which the Odisha State Non-Gazetted Employees Co-ordination Committee, Odisha Amala Sangha, Odisha Sarakari Sikhyak Sangha are important. Employees of local bodies have similar organizations in the district.Besides, a good number of Trade Unions have been formed to ventilate employees‘ demands. Learned Professions A good number of different courts i.e., civil, criminal, revenue and non- revenue are functioning to deliver justice to the people of the district. To accommodate the profession, a good number of judges, administrators of central and state government and managers of factories along with teachers, lawers, doctors, etc., are included in the noble profession. Professors andteachers contribute immensely to vitalizing the cultural and social life of the district. They work in various academic institutions. Besides, intellectuals also contribute to the societies. By2015, total number of 17319 teachers are engaged in primary schools, 8038 in middle schools, 1345 in secondary schools and 4190 in colleges for general education. VAWS, Nurses, Pharmacists, Laboratory Technicians, Drivers, Peons and other Group-C and D employees contribute a great deal of their valuable service for the people in their respective fields. Lawers The number of legal practitioners in the district is 2535 by the end of 2015. They generally reside in urban areas where law courts are located. They offer their services in civil, revenue and criminal cases to their clients. The amount of fees charged by the lawers varies according to the nature of the case and popularity and competency of the lawyer who handles it. 186

There is a Bar association in this district at Baleshwar and others at Jaleshwar, Soro and Nilagiri. The Baleshwar Bar Association is the oldest in the district as it started almost a century ago. Those at Jaleshwar, Soro and Nilagiri courts are of recent origin. The object of formation of Bar Associations is to preserve and promote the welfare of the members and also to provide amenities like library facilities to the members. The president, secretary and other office bearers are elected from among the members. Some members are also elected to the state Bar council. Doctors During 2015, altogether 2053 persons were engaged in medical and other professions relating to human health. Many other technical and non- technical persons are doing private practice. There are 25 ayurvedic dispensaries and 32 homoeopathic dispensaries functioning in the district during 2015. Due to its low-cost medicines, homoeopathic system is popular among the people. There are also many private homeopathic practitioners in the district and some of them earning a good income. Domestic and Personal Services This profession includes the services of domestic servants, vendors, barbers, washermen, tailors, etc, In course of time these professions have undergone noticeable changes with the changing economic pattern in the society. Domestic servants In different local trains, domestic private servants and daily laborers are coming daily to Baleshwar town in thousands. Cooks, bearers (domestic and institutional) and maid servants are included in this class. They numbered 4693 in 2015. This number must have been considerably increased by now due to the growth of industrial townships near important urban areas like Baleshwar and Remuna. Their wage rates are not attractive compared to other occupations but they enjoy the benefit of free fooding and clothing in addition to their wages. Those who are not given food, clothing and shelter,get higher rate of wages. Many middle class families engage servants on a part-time basis for attending to various routine domestic works.

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Other Services Hair-cutting This is the traditional occupation of the Bhandari caste. In rural areas, the barbers go door to door with a small wooden box or cloth bag which contains the necessary instruments for hair-cutting and shaving. The practice of paying him in kind is still prevalent in some villages according to the old jajamani system. However, their number is dwindling owing to spread of self-shaving with safety razors even in rural areas. As such, barbers, as traditional occupational groups, have shifted to other occupations. In 2015 there as 303 saloons functioning in the urban areas of the district. Each saloon generally employs one or two persons. In small towns, the income of the barber varies from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 per day, while in big towns like Baleshwar and Nilagiri the average daily income varies between Rs. 200 and Rs.350. Laundry This occupation is mostly confined to the Dhobi caste. A good number of laundries are found in Baleshwar and Nilagiri but such establishments are few in other towns. Majority of these are family concerns where the owners with the help of members of their family carry on the business. Big establishments employ a few workers on monthly payment basis. The majority of the laundries are located in rented pacca building and house in rented wooden cabins. In 2015, a total number of 2011 laundries are operating in the urban areas of the district. Generally the poor people do not give their clothes to the laundries. Some middle class people wash their clothes at home and at times get them ironed in the laundries. The launderers receive payment according to the number of pieces washed. At present the charges vary from Rs.4 to 5 for a cotton and synthetic dress, and they charge more for costly garments. The earning of the laundries which deal in dry-cleaning of woolen garments is higher. The income of the establishments varies according to the volume of business done. Tailoring This category of service is done by men and women irrespective of caste and creed. Tailoring is attracting a considerable number of persons in urban areas and consequently more tailoring shops are being located in the town areas of the district. In 2015 a total number of 1405 tailoring shops were catering to the needs of the urban population in the district. The income of the tailoring shops varies according to the strength of the establishments.

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The business goes on well during the marriage season and some religious festivals. Cycle repairing At present, in spite of spread of 2 wheelers, large number of people use bicycles in their day to-day life. To keep the cycle in running condition, cycle repairing shops have been opened throughout the district. In urban areas the repairing shops are found in large numbers. In order to run a shop the owner-mechanic usually appoints one or two young boys to help him in his works. Their income varies from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 3000 per month. It consists of the repair charges and profit on spare parts sold. Some big cycle-repairing units in Baleshwar, Soro, Jaleshwar and Nilagiri towns earn more than Rs. 10,000/- per month. Some of the bicycle-repairing shops also give dynamo sets on hiring. In 2015, 2367 cycle-repairing units were functioning in the urban areas. Betel Shop There are a good number of betel shops in the district run on sole proprietorship basis. Most of these shops also sell other items like perfumes, cigarettes, bidis, confectioneries, candles, match box, aerated water and other articles. They are mostly housed in rented premises and small wooden cabins. There are large number of betel shops in urban areas like Baleshwar, Rumuna, Soro, Nilagiri, Basta, Baliapal, Markona and Jaleshwar. In 2014-15, there are 10,126 shops in the urban areas of the district. Tea Stall Drinking tea has become very common among the people. Tea stalls are coming up in every corner of the district. No enumeration of these stalls has yet been undertaken. Scarcity of fresh milk and sugar has contributed to rise in the price of tea and coffee. In 1986 these stalls charged Rs. 0.50 for a cup of tea and the price has gone upto Rs.5 now.Some tea stalls also sell light refreshments. The monthly income of these establishments depends upon the size of the stall and the locality in which they are situated. The stalls located in urban areas usually earn more. In order to maintain a stall the owner generally engages one or two boys to help in serving the customers and washing the utensils. Most of these employees are also provided with food and lodging by the employers. By 2015 a total number of 4826 tea stalls are functioning in the urban areas of the district. Brass and Bell-metal workers There are a number of Thatari families in Remuna and Kumada who are engaged in brass and bell-metal industry. They make house-hold

189 utensils of brass and bell-metal and earn a fair income by exporting to other places and by local sale. Cobblers The cobblers (Mochis) are found mostly in urban areas like Soro, Jaleshwar, Baleshwar and Nilagiri they usually repair old and worn-out foot wears. They also undertake shoe polishing and repair of the leather articles. The cobblers have gained intelligence andthey now make beautiful cheap foot-wears. The unskilled cobblers usually earn from Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 per day.The daily income of skilled ones is more. Fishing Fishing is an important occupation of a section of the people of the district. A small fishing post has been constructed at Bahabalpur, Chandipur. Deep sea fishing is carried on at Udaypur, Choumika, Chhanka, Bahabalpur, Dagana and Balaramgarhi near Chandipur. The traditional fishermen belong to Gokha and Keuta castes. Besides, persons belonging to other castes are also found to be engaged in fishing business. Now a-days fishing have become lucrative due to introduction of modern equipments especially on the sea. The catches from the district are regularly exported to neighbouring districts and also to Kolkata market in west Bengal. Stone Workers Laterite stones are found in large quantities in and around Nilagiri police-station area. Due to low-cost and easy availability the local people prefer stone to brick for building houses. The stone cutters in the quarry get Rs.10 to Rs.15 for cutting one block of stone. On an average the stone cutter presently earns Rs.200/- to Rs.300/- per day. For dressing and setting one hundred stone blocks of different sizes, the charges vary from Rs.20/- to Rs. 300/-. Quality stones for the construction of roads and buildings are also available in the district. Hundreds of people are engaged in breaking stones into small pieces. They get daily wages or paid on contract basis. The daily income of an employee of this category usually varies from Rs.250 to Rs.300/-. There are some families of stone-carvers in Baulagadia and other adjacent villages in Nilagiri police-station. All the adult members of a stone- carver‘s family are usually engaged in this business. They make chaki, sila, pathuri and other household appliances for sale in local markets and at different places where big fairs are held.

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Television and Radio repairing There are 203 television and radio-repairing shops in the district. These shops mostly provide employment to one or two people with a good income. Radio repairing has declined because of development of other modest entertainment. Cycle-rickshaw driving Driving of cycle-rickshaw provides livelihood to a number of people belonging to the weaker sections. In towns rickshaw provides easy and cheap transport to the people. Rickshaw-pullers are earning their livelihood in the towns of Baleshwar, Jaleshwar, Nilagiri, Soro, Bhograi, Baliapal and Markona. Over the years, there has been a change in the construction of rickshaw. Automatic machines are now filled to play them. These rickshaws are in operation in Bhograi and Jaleshwar area. Potters Pottery is an age-old industry in the district. It is the traditional occupation of the people belonging to the Kumbhar caste. At present the wide use of plastic, aluminium, steel and other metals have greatly affected this occupation. But use of earthen vessels in the urban and rural households as well as in the places of worship is still continuing. The potter works with his wheel and prepares earthenware vessels and takes them to the nearby village or town for sale. Some of the potters also manufacture country tiles. Some households still use the earthenware for cooking food and storing water and food grains. Usually the potter carries on the work with the help of his family members in his own house. Availability of the main raw material, i.e. clay, in the vicinity reduces the cost of transport and price of the articles too. It is difficult to estimate the daily income of a potter‘s family. On a rough estimate, it may be Rs.100 to Rs.200 per day. Automobile repairing workers Mahindra is having its own service centre in Baleshwar and so also other automobile companies, such as Maruti and Ashok Leyland. With increasing use of automobiles, especially in towns, repairing shops are coming up to do the maintenance service to the vehicles. A good number of people are earning their livelihood out of it. Generally two to three people work in small repairing shops while in bigger ones five to eight people are engaged in 2015 there are 609 automobile repairing shops in the urban areas of the district.

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Employment in shops and commercial establishments The Odisha shops and commercial establishments act of 1956 is in force in Baleshwar, Soro, Jaleshwar and Nilagiri towns of the district. The labour officers visit the shops and other commercial establishments in these places to find out whether the workers employed therein are properly paid, given holidays and have fixed working hours. They also look to the safety, health and welfare of the workers. At the end of December, 2014 there are 1752 shops and commercial establishments in four towns of the district, namely, Baleshwar, Nilagiri, Soro and Jaleshwar. A total number of 9180 workers were in employment in these establishments in 2014.

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CHAPTER - IX ECONOMIC TRENDS

Livelihood The economy of Baleshwar is basically agrarian in character. The vast majority of people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. In the pre-independence period, Baleshwar was the main centre of economic activity and there were some subordinate factories at Soro and Balaramgarhi surrounded by weavers‘colony. The fine cotton cloths and muslins produced by their looms was the chief article of commerce and an important source of engagement, income and livelihood. The manufacture of salt was a very important industry and it gave employment and income to a large number of people. During those days, the finest salt of India was said to be produced in Baleshwar district. The district was also famous for mats made of straw, grass sticks, palm and date leaves, and chatai and it continued to be so even now. Workers in bell-metal units earned their livelihood from sale of the articles made of bell-metal. There were stone carvers and other traditional artisans making their livelihood from pottery, black smithy, gold smithy and such other occupations. People in coastal habitations were earning their livelihood from fishing. In the post-independence period and with spread of education, training and diversification of economic activities traditional agriculture, caste based crafts and fishing have become commercialized and new industries, commerce and services sectors have come up. All these have brought about significant changes in the structure of employment and income of the people as also their livelihood. As per Census 2011 reports, 38.41 percent of workers were agricultural labourers, 30.97 percent were cultivators, 3.08 percent were household industry workers and 27.55 percent were other workers. Cultivators and agricultural labourers together constitute 69.38 percent of total workers. The primary sector accounts for about 23.71 percent of Net Distlrict Domestic Product and this share of agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries was estimated at 23.69 percent. This means that agriculture and allied activities are the mainstry of the district economyand a pivotal source of livelihood. Like elsewhere in the economy, consumerism has also spread into the people‘s livelihood pattern in the district and this holds even for the rural areas.

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District Domestic Product – Composition and Trends Income is considered to be the most important indicator of economic well being. In view of the importance of decentralized planning and micro area development, estimation of income at the district level is gaining focused attention in recent years. The income of a district is termed as District Domestic Product (DDP). DDP estimation has the five broad objectives such as a) Measurement of economic development of a district; b) Analysis of the sectoral contribution to the district economy; c) Evaluating the objectives of planning in the district; d) Improvement of planning at the district level and e) Examining income disparity among the districts. Any discussion on District Domestic Product presupposes a clear understanding of terms like Gross District Domestic Product, Net District Domestic Product and Per Capita (DDP). Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) is the money value of the volume of goods and services produced in a district within a year, counted without duplication. It is equal to the income generated by the production of goods and services within the geographical boundary of a district. It can also be defined as the unduplicated value of output of all goods and services produced within the boundary of the district during the year. Net District Domestic Product (NDDP) is the net value of final goods and services produced within the district during one year. GDDP minus depreciation i.e. consumption of fixed capital, is equal to NDDP. The average income of the people of a district in a particular year is called DDP per capita in that year. This concept helps one to know about the standard of living of the people of a district. In Odisha, the Directorate of Economics and Statistics prepares estimates of District Domestic Product of all the districts. As of now estimates are available for 2004-05 to 2011-12. According to the methodology adopted for estimation, District Domestic Product (DDP) in Baleshwar comes from the contributions of four sources, such as, the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Finance and Services sectors. The Primary Sector includes Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry, Forestry, Fishery, Mining and Quarrying. The Secondary Sector consists of Manufacturing (both registered and un-registered), Electricity, Gas and Water supply, and Construction. Trade, Hotel and Restaurant, Transport and Communication come under the Tertiary sector. In Finance and Services are included Banking, Insurance, Real Estate, Community, Social and Personal services. A summary picture of the trend of NDDP at constant 2004-05 prices for Baleshwar district for the period 2004-05 to 2011-12 is presented in the following table:

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Year Baleshwar Odisha NDDP Rank Per Rank Comparative NSDP (Rs. Per (Rs. Capita Per Capita Lakh) Capita Lakh) NDDP Income NSDP (Rs.) (Rs.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 283124 9 13341 22 -4309 6798702 17650 2004-05 (4.16) (76.00) 290552 9 13507 25 -4687 7100497 18194 2005-06 (4.09) (74.00) 331705 9 15213 20 -4981 7984484 20194 2006-07 (4.15) (77.00) 367054 8 16608 20 -5032 8669191 21640 2007-08 (4.23) (77.00) 398134 8 17772 20 -5191 9320665 22963 2008-09 (4.27) (77.00) 402516 8 17726 20 -5120 9395723 22846 2009-10 (4.28) (78.00) 443514 8 19268 22 -4700 9987972 23968 2010-11 (4.14) (75.00) 467394 8 20032 21 -4510 10362763 24542 2011-12 (4.51) (82.00)

Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha

Note: 1- Figures in parentheses at col.2 indicate percentage share in NSDP, Odisha 2. Figures in parentheses at col.5 indicate NDDP Per capita in Baleshwar as percentage of per capita income, Odisha 3. Product / Income figures are at 2004-05 Constant prices The table shows an increasing trend of NDDP. In terms of the size of NDDP it has the 8th ranking among the districts. When viewed in respect of comparative contribution it is observed that the NDDP of Baleshwar constitutes little above 4 per cent of NSDP of Odisha. Its share stood at 4.51 per cent in 2011-12. The per capita NDDP of Baleshwar also shows an increasing trend throughout except is 2009-10 when it recorded a little decline from the 2008-09 level. All through per capita NDDP remained far lower than per capita NSDP as can be seen from figures in columns 4,8 and 6. In terms at per capita income, the Baleshwar has a ranking of 21 among the districts as in 195

2011-12 and it constitutes 82 per cent of per capita NSDP. A low ranking in per capita income than in NDDP may be because Baleshwar is a populous districts. A comparative picture of trend of per capita income at the district and state levels is presented in the following figure. It may be seen from the figure that the line representing per capita income for Baleshwar district is gently rising in consonance with that of the state but lies below the latter.

Comparative Trend of Per Capita Income in Baleshwar District 30000

25000

20000

15000 Baleshwar

10000 Odisha Per Capita Capita PerIncome

5000

0

Year

Sectoral composition of NDDP throws light on the relative contributions of the four major sectors of the economy to the DDP. A detailed comparative picture for Baleshwar district is given in the following table:

Baleshswar Year Finance & Primary Secondary Tertiary All Services 2004-05 28.14 20.79 19.88 31.19 100 2005-06 26.25 19.06 22.20 32.48 100 2006-07 24.62 21.08 23.63 30.67 100 2007-08 23.19 22.88 23.67 30.27 100 2008-09 20.88 22.70 24.19 32.24 100 2009-10 23.98 14.34 26.32 35.36 100 2010-11 26.89 13.28 25.32 34.52 100 2011-12 23.71 13.34 27.88 35.07 100

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Odisha Year Finance & Primary Secondary Tertiary All Services 2004-05 32.37 23.31 19.22 25.1 100 2005-06 32.16 21.27 21.18 25.4 100 2006-07 30.28 23.12 22.52 24.08 100 2007-08 28.49 24.89 22.66 23.95 100 2008-09 27.03 24.05 23.35 25.56 100 2009-10 28.55 18.45 25.16 27.83 100 2010-11 26.35 18.61 26.68 28.35 100 2011-12 24.58 19.32 27.42 28.68 100 Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha

The table makes interesting reading. The district economy is observed to be more dependent on tertiary and finance and services sectors than the state economy which is seen to be comparatively more dependent on primary and secondary sectors. The shares of the primary and secondary sectors in NDDP are found to be gently lowering and those of tertiary and, finance and service sectors rising in the recent years. In the year 2011-12, the shares of the latter in NDDP combined by stood at about 63 per cent and those of the farmer together are estimated to be about 37 per cent. For the state the shares are 56 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. They suggests that the structural change in NDDP is little greater compared to that in NSDP. A detailed picture of the contributions of sub-sectors and broad sectors to NDDP / NSDP for 2011-12 is given in the following table:

Sectors / Sub-Sectors Percentage Share in NDDP-Baleshwar NSDP-Odisha A. Primary Sector 23.71 24.58 Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 18.80 16.20 Forestry 1.81 2.64 Fishery 3.09 1.08 Mining and Quarrying 0.02 4.66 B. Secondary Sector 13.34 19.32 Manufacturing -Registered 2.95 2.14 Manufacturing -Unregistered 2.63 2.32 Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 1.11 1.84 Construction 6.66 13.02 C. Tertiary Sector 27.88 27.42 Trade, Hotels and Restaurants 18.57 16.80 Railways 0.91 1.15 Transport by other means 5.91 7.26 Storage 0.14 0.14 Communication 2.35 2.08 D. Finance and Services 35.07 28.68 Banking and Insurance 10.53 7.47 Real Estate, Ownership of Dwellings, 6.77 6.18 Business Services and Legal Services Public Administration 3.92 3.71 Other Services 13.86 11.32 E. All 100.00 100.00 Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha 197

It can be seen that within the primary sector, agriculture and animal husbandry sub-sectors are predominant while in the secondary sector construction is of paramount importance. In case of the tertiary sector, the trade-hotels-restaurants sub-sector and within finance and services, banking and insurance, and other services are the main stay. These hold good both for Baleshwar as also for the state. Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure The level of material prosperity and quality of life of people is determined to a large extent not only by the level of per capita income but also by the level of per capita consumption expenditure. The Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha has brought out a Report on monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) for Odisha and at the disaggregated level, for the districts for the year 2009-10 in the light of the 66th Round NSSO survey. In the Report two methods viz., Uniform Recall Period (URP) and Mixed Recall Period (MRP) have been used. In the URP method MPCE is defined as the household consumer expenditure over a period of 30 days preceding the date of survey, divided by household size. Mixed Recall Period (MRP) method, expenditure on all the food and some important non- food items are collected over a reference period of 30 days. But for expenditure on some durable items like furniture, clothing and medical institutional expenditure data are collected over the reference period of 365 days. The findings of the survey as relevant to Baleshwar district are presented in the following table.

Unit MPCE Urban- Percentage Rural-Urban Rural Gap Gap Disparity Rural Urban

MRP- Based

Odisha 693.16 1374.84 681.68 98.3 50.4

Coastal 785.95 1429.22 643.27 81.8 55.0

Baleshwar 646.20 1210.41 564.21 87.3 53.4

URP- Based

Odisha 655.81 1326.34 670.53 102.2 49.5

Coastal 732.16 1344.61 612.45 83.6 54.4

Baleshwar 583.49 1093.87 510.38 87.5 53.3 Source : Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha

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Expectedly, in preparing the Report, the Directorate has accepted the NSSO division of Odisha into three regions i.e., Coastal, Southern and Northern Regions. Baleshwar, is included in the Coastal Region. It may be seen from the table that MPCE-Urban is expectedly greater than MPCE- Rural at the district, regional and state levels. But MPCE for Baleshwar is lower than that for the regional and State levels irrespective of rural and urban areas. Baleshwar also has a higher percentage Urban-Rural MPCE Gap of more than 87 per cent compared to the Coastal Region and rural MPCE as percentage of Urban MPCE is roughly 53 per cent in Baleshwar compared to 54.4 and 55 per cent for the Region. This holds for both URP and MRP methods, speaks of glaring inequalities between urban and rural areas and calls for effective corrective action. The General Level of Prices Baleshwar being a typically agrarian economy, the general level of prices bears a direct relation with agricultural produce, especially food grains and particularly rice, the principal crop grown in the district. Generally food grains become cheaper immediately after harvest and dearer before harvest. Prices are also lower or higher depending on the volume of production. The rise of prices of the principal produce contributed materially to the prosperity of the agriculturists. Pre-Independence Period During the latter half of the 19th century, the cost of essential commodities increased even more than the rate of wages and the price of rice, the staple food of the people, rose enormously, The highest increase took place after 1866, the Great Famine (Naanka) of Odisha, and it is indeed a common saying that the high prices which commenced during the famine have never left the land. L.S.S.O. Malley in Baleshwar Gazetter mentions the following price of rice in Seers* purpose (excluding the ex-state) Period Quantity of rice per Rupee in Seers Kg 1837-51 49.8 46 1852-66 24.8 40 1867-81 42.7 23 1882-96 19.8 18.5 1897-1905 17.7 16.5 Note: One seer = 0.933 kg During the period 1900-05, price of rice was not affected much by the opening of the railway in 1899 in the district. The district had already been opened out by the canal system to a brisk export trade in rice by sea. The effect of the railway on the general trade of the district and its potential value as a means of making prices independent of local demands were, however, 199 unquestionable. There was a great increase in the price of other agricultural produce, of pulses, ghee and tobacco. But, cotton-yarn and oil were cheaper while there had been little change in the cost of sugar and of betel-nut. The average price of salt fell due to the reduction of the duty and improved facilities of communications. During the decade 1893-1902, in the ex-state of Nilagiri, the average prices of rice, gram and salt remained practically stationary and these were available at 17.500 kg, 10.850 kg, and 9.680 kg. per rupee respectively. It is noticed from the report on the Revision Settlement of Odisha (1922-32) by W. W. Dalziel, that the movements in the price of rice showed a rise and fall between 1900 to 1930 with an upward movement on the whole. He has mentioned that ―Expressed in terms of seer to the rupee the average price rose to 15 in 1901, steadily dropped in the next 3 years to 20 in 1904, rose sharply to 10 between 1904 and 1907, dropped again to 5 in 1910 and 1911, rose between 1911 and 1915 to 9, dropped to 13 in 1917 and 1918. It again rose very highly to 7 in 1919 and 6 in 1920. This was the highest point reached. There was a decline to 12 in 1923, followed by recovery to 8 in 1924 and 1925. This level was maintained in 1926 and 1927 but it dropped again to 10 in 1928 and 1929 and to 12 in 1930. Then came the serious slump when the price dropped right down to 16½ in 1931, reaching 18 in November of that year. The comparatively high peak reached in 1907 and 1908 can be attributed to floods in Odisha and famine in north India. The normal rise in 1919 and 1920 was probably due to improvement of world markets after the 1st World War, while the floods of 1920 also contributed. The price seems then to have reached to more normal level until a series of flood years in 1925 to 1927 caused another rise. The recent remarkable drop is of course a world-wide phenomenon to which many factors have contributed. The price level again shot up in 1935-36 and the average harvest price of rice, rape and mustard, and sugarcane was 14.370 kg., 5.970 kg., and 8.290 kg. per rupee respectively. This trend was maintained up to 1939-40 with a little variation. In 1941-42, there was a marked rise in the price of rice due to poor crop and rice was available at 9 kg., per rupee. In 1942, there was a phenomenal rise in the prices of agricultural produce resulting from conditions of the Second World War and the destructive cyclone accompanied by heavy rain on the 16th October which swept over north Baleshwar. In 1942-43 and 1943-44, the rice was available at 5.410 kg and 4.100 kg, per rupee respectively. The price of sugarcane and rape and mustard also rose higher and was available at 1.870 kg., and 1.770 kg., per rupee respectively. This price level was maintained more or less the same up to 1946 -47.

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Post-Independence Period In 1947, the price of food-grains rose and the harvest price of rice, sugarcane and rape and mustard was 2.980 kg., 2.490 kg., and 1.490 kg., per rupee respectively. It was thought at first that this sharp rise might be only a temporary phase, but the prices started stabilizing at the high level without any prospect of recession. However, the rise of prices during the decade 1951 -60 was not as drastic as in the decade 1941-50. But the common man was hit hard because of the increase in price index in this decade. Though comparatively small, it came on the top of the price spiral of the decade preceding, the cumulative effect of which was enough to break the economic backbone of the middle and the lower middle class people. With the launching of the Third Five Year Plan (April, 1961 to March, 1966), the price level rose further and in 1961, the retail price of rice, wheat, green gram, black-gram, arhar and salt were 2.3 kg., 2.10 kg., 1.9 kg., 1.15 kg., 2.5 kg., 1.6 kg., and 8.5 kg., per rupee respectively. In the next year, the pries of rice, wheat, ragi, green-gram, gram, black-gram, arhar and salt rose higher still and were available at 1.8 kg., 2.5 kg., 1.2. kg., 1.5 kg., 1.8 kg., 1.6 kg., 1.3 kg., and 7.1 kg., per rupee respectively. In 1963, the price of wheat Green-gram, and salt remained constant while the price of rice, ragi, gram, black-gram and arhar fluctuated slightly. In between 1964-70, the prices of all commodities grew higher still and in 1970 the retail price of rice, wheat, black-gram, green-gram, mustard oil, potato and onion per rupee was 1 kg., 1.125 kg., 0.890 gram, 0.870 gram, 0.250 gram, 2 kg., and 2 kg., respectively. Ordinary cloth was available at Rs. 1.46 per meter. The prices of all commodities rapidly grew in 1974 and in the month of February, 1974, rice, wheat, gram and arhar were sold at 500 gram, 720gram, 360 gram, and 340 gram per rupee respectively. Kerosene oil was available at Rs.1.11 per litre. Ordinary cloth was available at Rs. 3.56 per metre. This data taken from the District Gazetteer of 1994 is of interest to people who cannot believe that prices were so low not so long ago. Many commodities were covered under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, a successor to one with respect to controlled commodities, and other prices would show not the cost of the goods; but possibly inflatory and subsidies. If rice is available to a section of population at Rs. 1 (one) per kg and arhar dal (the preferred dal today) at Rs.140 per Kg, what conclusions can be drawn? If a kg of arhar dal cost Rs. 2.95 in 1974 and Rs.140 in 2016, the inflation rate is 47.46%. If rice was sold at fifty paisa per kg in 1974 and at Rs.1/- is 2016, the inflation is merely 100%. However, these data have been included in the Gazetteer to show why some prices cannot be related to market forces, and how markets compensate by raising the price of uncontrolled commodities when there is a

201 price regime for a controlled commodity. Of course the gains from black market of a controlled commodity have not been analysed for Baleshwar. The recent prices of some common items in 2016 in the district are tabulated below:

Commodity Price in rupees per kg /litter Rice (Common) 18 Atta (Wheat flour) 23 Mung dal 82 Mustard oil 114 Patato 15 Sugar 40 Guda (jaggery) 42

The consumer price index (CPI) in May 2014 of Odisha was 727 against base of 100 in 1986-87. This roughtly indicates the state of price inflation in the district. Services and Wages Pre-Independence Period The wages obtained for labour increased greatly during the period 1850 to 1902 specially in the towns. In 1950, the wages of ordinary day labourers were Re. 0.06 per day. The wages of the carpenters amounted to Re. 0‘12 per day and blacksmiths Re. 0.15 to Re. 0.19 per day. Outside the villages, adult male day labourers earned a daily wage of Re. 0.22, female Re. 0.12 and boys Re. 0.3. Carpenters, masons and blacksmiths got Re. 0.37 to Re. 0.50 according to their skill. In villages, a skilled labourer got from Re.0.25 to Re. 0.37 and an adult unskilled labourer Re. 0.12 a day, but the amount of wages paid depended on the ‗demand for labour, the nature and amount of the work performed and the size and position of the village, that is to say, whether it was a remote and out of the way-track or a neighbourhood of the town. For making and repairing agricultural implements carpenters and blacksmiths were mostly paid in kind, the annual payment averaging about 8.400 kilograms of rice from every client. The day labourers when paid in kinds got varying quantities of paddy equivalent to 1.866 kg. to 2.332 kg of rice for a days work. In the 18th and 19th centuries many people of Baleshwar who sought employment in Kolkata monopolised certain services like dock workers and palanquin beareres. These services fetched them handsome income. So, naturally they could remit a substantial amount to their home.

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In the ex-state of Nilagiri, during the period 1893 to 1902 there was decisive rise in wages by nearly 50 per cent in the case of skilled workers and a somewhat smaller rise in the case of the unskilled. The average daily wage during the period was for superior mason Re. 0.39, common mason Re.0.25, superior carpenter Re.0.37, common carpenter Re.0.25, a day labourer Re. 0.12, superior blacksmith 0.28 and common blacksmith Re. 0.21. The following table shows the figures of the three censuses of rural wages in 1911, 1916 and 1924. The figures for unskilled labourers in the agricultural areas were: 1911 Re. 0.12 1916 Re. 0.15 1924 Re. 0.27 The wage level remained constant from 1924 to 1932. Towards 1932, the system of paying wages in produce continued, but was not so prevalent as it used to be. The level of wages in kind did not vary much, the average being (4 seers 3 chataks) 3,900 kg. of paddy per day. This was applicable to agricultural labourers. The wages of the carpenters in cash varied between Re.0.50 to Re. 0.75 per day, a considerable increase on the figure of Re. 0.15 given by William Hunter in 1875 and that of Re. 0.25 to Re. 0.37 given by J.F.W. James at the Revision Settlement of 1906-12. Blacksmiths generally got Re. 0.50 per day as compared to Re. 0.15 in 1875. Post-Independence Period In the beginning of the 20th century, there were three kinds of agricultural labourers, viz., the Baramasia, nagmulia and thika-mulias, of whom the first two were paid entirely in kind. The Baramasia was a labourer hired for the whole year. He received boarding and lodging in his employer‘s house and annual wage of Rs. 12.00 to Rs. 15.00, of which a portion was advanced to him free of interest. In addition, four garments and one winter cloth were given to him. The Nagmulia did not live or eat in his employer‘s house. He received about 5 kg. of paddy per day, besides two garments in a year. He was also allowed a plot of land to cultivate for his own consumption, free of rent. Engagements for one year service were made in the month of Phalguna (February-March) and he received a loan varying from Rs.2.00 to Rs. 5.00 free of interest which was returned at the termination of his engagement. The Thikamulia was employed on dally wage basis and got about Re.0·12 a day. During 1954-55, an economic survey was conducted by the Government of Odisha. It was noticed that in the rural areas a large number of families derived their main source of livelihood by earning wages in farm 203 and non-farm occupations. The survey showed that majority of the labourers, i.e., 90.01 per cent were employed on casual basis. Labourers engaged on annual terms constituted 9.99 per cent. A labourer, on the average, got work for 202 days a year. Towards 1957, with the rise in prices of food-grains, the wage level was also increased. A carpenter got Rs. 3.09, a cobbler Rs 2.83, and a blacksmith Rs.2.53 per day. Field labourers and herdsmen were paid Rs. 1.32 and Rs. 1.54 respectively. Other agricultural labourers, such as, those who watered the fields, carried loads and dug wells, etc., were paid at Rs. 1.65 per day. In 1963, the wages rose further with the rise in prices. The killed labourers, such as, carpenter, cobbler, and blacksmith got Rs.3.50, Rs.3.12 and Rs.2.35 respectively per day. Field labourers and other agricultural labourers were paid Rs.1.34 each per day. A herdsman got Rs.1.60 per day. In between 1964 and 1968, the wage level increased further and the skilled labourers, such as, carpenter, cobbler and blacksmith got Rs.3.00 to Rs.5.00 per day. Other agricultural labourers got about the same wages as that of field labourers. Between 1969 and 1973, the wages were enhanced further and skilled labourers, such as, carpenter, cobbler and blacksmith got Rs.5.00 to Rs.6.00 per day. Male labourers got about Rs.2.50, women Rs.2.00 and children Rs.1.50 per day. Other agricultural labourer got more or less the same wages as that of the field labourers. A herdsman got Rs.2.00 per day. In between 1974 and 1977 the wage level was increased further and the skilled labourers, such as, carpenter, cobbler and blacksmith got Rs. 5.00 to Rs. 6.00 per day. Male labourers got about Rs.2.50 women Rs.2.00 and children Rs.1.50 per day. Other agricultural labourers got more or less the same wages as that of the filed laborers. A herdsman got Rs.2.00 per day. In between 1974 and 1977 the wage level was increased further and the skilled labourers, such as, carpenter, cobbler and blacksmith got Rs. 6.00 to Rs. 9.00 per day. Male labourers got Rs.3.00 to Rs.4.00, women Rs.2.50 to Rs.4.00 and children Rs.2.00 to Rs.3.00 per day. With the rise in prices the wage level was also increased towards 1980. In 1980, agricultural labourers got Rs.4.00 to Rs.5.00 in rural areas and skilled labourers such as mason, goldsmith, etc., got Rs.10.00 to Rs.15.00 per day in Baleshwar Sub-Division. In Nilagiri Sub-Division, the agricultural Iabourers got Rs.3.00 to Rs.5.00 per day. Minimum Wages Act and Wages The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is a Central Act and provides for fixing and revising minimum wages in certain employments. This Act came into force with effect from 15th March 1948. Under this Act, the State Government have been authorised to fix / revise the minimum rates of wages in different employments like agriculture, construction, timber trading, collection of Sal seeds, Kendu leaf, etc. which are included in the schedule of the Act. In respect of mines, however, the Central Government fixes / 204 revises minimum rates of wages. For proper implementation of the Act the State Government framed the Odisha Minimum Wages Rules 1954. The minimum rates of wages can be fixed/revised in respect of those employments, which are included in the schedule of the Act and in order to cover a large number of workers employed in different types of employments. The State Government/Central Government are adding different types of employments to the scheduled employments. State Government can fix / revise minimum wages in the scheduled employments in their respective spheres from time to time primarily on consideration of rise in the consumers‘ price index. In 1980-81 and 1981-82, the minimum wage in respect of all category of employment in agricultural sector was Rs.5.00 per day. During the year 1982-83 the wages fixed for the agricultural labourers was Rs.6.00 per day. In 1983-84 and 1984-85 the wage level was increased and an agricultural labourer got Rs.7.50 per day. During the year 1985 -86 the wages were fixed at to Rs.10.00 for 8 (eight) hours per day for all categories of employment in agricultural sector only. The minimum wage in 2012 was again revised and fixed at Rs. 150/, Rs.170/-, Rs.190/- and Rs.205/- per day payable to the unskilled, semiskilled, skilled and highly skilled categories of employees employed in 83 activities both in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The minimum wage in case of agricultural sector was further clarified and fixed at Rs.126/- and Rs.150/- per day for the non-ploughing and ploughing workers respectively. With the rise in the price index, the wage level was further revised in 2015. As per the Notification, the minimum wage in respect of all category of employment was enhanced from Rs.150/-, Rs.170/-, Rs.190/-and Rs.205/- and fixed at Rs.200/-, Rs.220/-, Rs.240/- and Rs.260/- per day for unskilled, semi skilled, skilled and highly skilled categories respectively under 88 activities. The minimum wages for different kinds of employment (agricultural and non-agricultural sectors) as fixed under this notification are given below. Revised minimum Sl. Categories of Name of the Employment rates of No. Employees wages per day 1 2 3 4 1 Agriculture Agarbati and Candle making Worker's 2 Establishments. Automobile servicing, repairing garages 3 and workshops. 4 Ayurvedic and Unani Pharmacy Bakeries and Confectionaries including 5 Biscuit making. 6 Bamboo Forest Establishment 7 Brass and Bell Metal Industry 8 Carpet Weaving Industry 9 Cashew processing establishments Unskilled 200 Cement pipe making and allied products 10 Semi-skilled 220 industry.

205

11 Ceramic and Pottery Industry Skilled 240 12 Chemical Industry Highly skilled 260 13 Cinema Industry and Film Production 14 Clay Pottery 15 Coir Industry 16 Collection of Sal Seeds Construction or maintenance of Dams, 17 Embankments, Irrigation Projects and sinking of wells and tanks. Construction or maintenance of roads or in 18 building operations. Contingent and Casual Employees in Govt. and other establishments, Courier 19 and Cargo Services.

20 Cotton Ginning and Pressing Industry Dispensary of Medical Practititioner in any Establishment of Medical Consultant or in any Chemical or Pathological Laboratory, 21 Private Nursing Homes, Private Medical College Hospitals, Super Specialty Hospitals, Clinic, Laboratory etc. 22 Distilleries Domestic Workers (shall be calculated as 23 per hours of work). Electricity transmission, generation and 24 distribution. Employment in Non-Government 25 Organisation and Voluntary Social Organisation. Employment in laying of underground 26 Cables, Electric lines, Water supply lines and under Cable Operators. Finishing Dying of yarn and fabrics, 27 painting, knitting and embroidery. 28 Fisheries and Sea food Industry. Forest produce such as Genduli gum, 29 Mahua making of coal and resin. Foundry Industry with or without attached 30 Unskilled 200 machine shop. 31 Glass Industries Semi-skilled 220 Gold and Silver Ornaments and articles of 32 Skilled 240 artistic design. 33 Graphite Industry including beneficiation. Highly skilled 260 34 Handloom and Hosiery 35 Hotels, Eating Houses and Restaurants. 36 Ice Factory and Cold Storage. 37 Jute Industry and Jute Twine Industry 38 Kendu Leaf Collection Khadi Village Industries including 39 manufacture of Khandasari and other products. 40 Laundry including dry-washing 41 Leather Industry Liquefied Petroleum Gas manufacture and 42 distribution. 43 Local Authority 44 Manufacture of brush and brooms 45 Manufacture of Coke and Burning Coals 46 Manufacture of Cold drinks, Soda and 206

other allied products. Manufacture of Electrical Bulbs and all 47 allied electrical equipments. Manufacture of matches, fireworks and 48 explosives. 49 Manufacture of nails and pines 50 Manufacture of paints and varnishes Manufacture of plastic products including 51 toys Manufacture of Radio by assembling with 52 parts. 53 Manufacture of ropes Manufacture of Utensils including 54 Unskilled 200 Aluminum and Hindaliem products. Metal Industry (except the cottage and 55 village scale units) Semi-skilled 220

Major or Minor Engineering Industry including Sponge, Secondary Steel, 56 Skilled 240 Rolling Mills, Ferro Alloys, Metal Industries (employment less than 50 persons). 57 Motor body building Highly skilled 260 Non-teaching staff of all private Educational Institutions including Indsutrial 58 Training Institute and Training Institute Coaching Centre. 59 Oil Mill 60 Paper and Cardboard Industry 61 Petrol and Diesel Oil pumps 62 Pharmaceutical Industry 63 Power loom Industry Printing Press, Desktop Publication Centre 64 and Offset Printing Press 65 Private Road Transport Private Security Agencies and Private 66 Security Services. 67 Public Health Engineering 68 Public Motor Transport Readymade Garments Industries including 69 Mechanized Trade of Readymade Garment Industry. 70 Refractory Industry. Regulated markets, Marketing Societies, 71 Co-operative Societies and Banks. Rice Mill, Flour Mill or Dal Mill, Chuda Mill 72 and Masala Mill. 73 Rubber and Rubber Products Industry. 74 Salt Pans 75 Saw Mills Shops, Commercial Establishments, Saloon, Beauty Parlour, Spa, Massaging 76 Centre, Xerox Shop, Subscriber Trunk Unskilled Dialing Booth, Tent House, Newspaper Hawkers and Newspaper Establishments. 200 77 Siali leaf pluckers and Sal leaf pluckers Semi-skilled 220 78 Soap and Detergent Manufactory Skilled 240 79 Social Forestry Highly skilled 260 80 Spinning Mills 81 Stone breaking or Stone crushing 82 Tamarind collection 83 Tile and Brick Making 207

Timber Trading (excluding felling and 84 sawing) Timber Trading (including felling and 85 sawing) Tobacco (including Bidi making) 86 Manufactory 87 Trunks, Suitcase and Bucket Manufactory Wood works and Furniture Making 88 Industries Standard of Living Pre-Independence period In the Final Report on the Survey and Settlement of the province of Odisha (1890 to 1900 A. D.) by S. L. Maddox, the general standard of living has been described as follows. ―The Oriya cultivator is content with very little and that he generally gets. A full meal of rice once a day, taken with a little salt, some pulses or vegetables and perhaps fish, suffices him, and he eats cold in the morning what is left over his evening repast. Animal food is a luxury, but well-to-do men eat a little mutton and goat‘s flesh, and all classes eat game cock whenever they help their luck to kill any. The poorest classes take to supplement their rice, boiled kulthi and mandia cakes, and find a substitute for vegetables in the many herbs and grasses that grow wild and it is very few indeed who cannot fill their bellies with food which if not appetising, is certainly satisfying. If the harvest fails or supplies run short, the cultivator finds in the mahajan a banker always ready to advance money on good security‖ In spite of their indebtedness the agricultural classes had more resources than any other people. However, the economic status of the cultivating classes as a whole cannot be said to be one of plenty, though certain sections enjoy the fair major of prosperity. The labourers in the villages were benefitted by the rise in the prices of food grains, as wages were paid mainly in kind. Writing in the early part of the 20th century, L.S.S. O‘ Malley, described the material condition of the cultivators of the district as follows, ―the houses of the cultivators consists of four mud-wails enclosing a court, and used as the gables of little room which lying the court inside. A Baleshwar man has usually at least five of these little apartments, one for his cows, another for his cook-shed, a third for storing his paddy, and two rooms for sleeping and general use. There is generally a verandah outside the wall on both sides of the principal door for receiving strangers, and as a place where the men of the family talk and lounge. Sometimes, but rarely, the cow-shed is built outside the walls. The mud enclosure stands in the middle of a bright green patch of vegetables, and the whole is shut in with a good fence of prickly shrubs.

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The summer dress of a Baleshwar peasant is a cotton waist-cloth (dhotl) falling over the things, and tucked up when at work, with a scarf (gamcha) thrown over his shoulder; occasionally also a turban around his head. A well-to-do shopkeeper wears an ample cotton shawl (chadar) instead of the scarf, which he twists round his head and ears. He has also a pair of coarse shoes, with long turned-up toes and no heels, elaborately, though roughly, embroidered with coloured thread. In winter the peasant wraps his head and the upper part of his body in a thick double sheet (dohara) ; the shopkeeper indulges in a broadcloth scarf (Iungi) and a cotton shirt. A peasant‘s furniture consists of a few brass pots, plates and cups, one or two bedsteads, a few mats and often some instruments of defence. The better-off class has generally one or two palm-leaf books on Hindu mythology in their houses, or a legend out of the Mahabharata or Ramayana. Rice and milk form a peasant‘s food, even dried fish being a luxury among the poorest classes. The year‘s supply of it is stored up in reed baskets, and sparingly doled out. Vegetables also are luxuries not always within their reach. The peasants set aside their boiled rice till it turns slightly sour and esteem this unpalatable mess a favorite article of diet. After boiling, the rice is allowed to stand for 24 hours in water, until fermentation has slightly set in and to this sour menu a little salt is added. It need scarcely be added that the invariable diet of the Odia peasant is unstimulating and unwholesome‖. Towards the twenties, the traditional style of living for each of the main classes continued and there was no appreciable change in the standard of living, though a tendency towards spurious luxury was noticeable in some of the poorer classes. The trade and commerce of the district was mainly in the hands of the outsiders. Social and religious ceremonies continued to be as numerous and indispensable as ever and there was no tendency for reducing the expenditure on them. Debts were incurred more for this purpose than for agricultural operations but no statistics are available to differentiate between loans incurred for one or the other. Post-Independence period In a sample survey· in 1954-55, investigation was conducted collect information about the size of the income of rural families. As majority of the population live in rural areas, a broad picture of rural income indicated the average level of income of the district. In this survey the family was taken as a unit and the data revealed that the average annual income per farming family was Rs.675·88. Next to the farming families in numerical importance, are the house-holds who depend primarily, and many of them wholly, on wages by working on farms or in non-farm occupations. Their average 209 annual income per family was Rs. 142-84 in 1954-55. The data revealed that the level of income of the barbers, washermen and priests was around Rs.200 a year. This clearly indicates that the families pursuing these occupations belong to the low income group. A family budget enquiry was conducted in 1960. The data show that cereals claimed 27 per cent of the total consumption in the rural areas as against 24.5 per cent in the urban areas. Milk and milk products claimed a lower proportion in rural areas than in the urban. Other food-items constituted 17 per cent in the rural family budget, as against 40 per cent in the urban budget. In non-food items the urban people spent a greater proportion of their total consumption in cash terms where as in rural areas they consume less in non-cash terms. This clearly shows that the urban people buy most of their cereal requirements while rural people depended on home-grown stock or that obtained in exchange of goods and services. As regards milk and milk products, more or less, an even distribution was prevalent between cash and non -cash consumption in the rural areas, while in the urban areas cash consumption constituted the only factor. Milk, which the villagers produce was generally taken to the towns for consumption. In respect of fuel, light, toilet and sundry goods non-cash consumption was very meager. For miscellaneous goods, services, durable and semi-durable goods, cash consumption both in rural and urban areas was of over- whelming proportion. The above consumption pattern holds good till now but the increase in prices of various articles of daily consumption and housing accommodation has hit hard the urban people. In towns, the number of houses has not increased in proportion to the growth of their population during the last decade. However, shops dealing with grocery, (with stationery, oil, fuel, pan- bidi, steel and wooden furniture, utensils, medical equipments, optical goods, books and journals, etc. have sprang up like mushrooms. The number of automobile repairing shops and motor tyre repairing shops is on the increase in the urban areas. The urban area presents a picture of all the socialIy significant sections of the people from the unskilled labourer to the well-to-do and the rich. The impact of urban life and the modern means of communication have some effect on the food habits and luxuries of the rural people. Many fashionable articles like motor-cycles, cars, jeeps, trucks, scooters, radios, transistors, television sets, electric fans, petromax lanterns, stoves, cookers, textiles of wool and synthetic yarn, cycle-rickshaws, watches, microphones, cameras, tractors, water pumps, etc., have made their way into the rural areas. With the expansion and improvement in communication business men are able to despatch their goods to remote countryside. Consequently, shops selling variety of goods, both luxurious and essentials, have now appeared in almost all big villages. Tailoring shops, cycle-repairing shops and tea shops are coming up in every village. 210

With more money in the hands of cultivators and labourers the use of wheat, sugar, egg, fish, meat, milk-products, vegetables, etc., by them is being noticed. Most of the villages have been electrified. Pucca houses with reinforced concrete cement roof have been constructed by the well-to-do people. Model houses are built by the Blocks. The standard of living of the people is improving due to the adoption of improved agricultural techniques, execution of irrigation projects, use of improved seeds and manures, and above all general consciousness created through the agency of Community Development Blocks. The various development programmes of the government evoke an urge for improvement and progress among the masses and they are now being attracted to non-agricultural and non-rural occupations. With the availability of co-operative credit and bank loans the cultivators find an easy way to escape from the clutches of private money- Ienders who charge a high rate of interest. The Savings Bank facility and the availability of Small Savings Certificates in post-offices are attracting many people to keep their savings in pass books and Savings Certificates. Paddy, maize, pulses, oil-seeds and vegetables are grown in the district in plenty. Fish from Chandipur is being exported to the Kolkata market. Baleshwar and Jaleshwar are famous for handloom weaving; Bolang for saIt manufacturing, Nilagiri and MangaIpur for stone wares; Baulagadia for stone-carving, Remuna for the handicrafts, such as, cane and bamboo works, mats and basket works and bell-metal works. Jaleshwar, Nampoo, Navada and Baliapal are famous for coir-mats, carpets and ropes as the traditional crafts. With the nationalisation of banks, people have been benefited by availability of cash loans for productive and self-employment purposes. A number of branch offices the commercial banks including Odisha Gramya Bank have come up in every nook and corner of the district. Baleshwar being essentially an agricultural district, the standard of living of the people is largely determined by the acehivements in agriculture and allied activities. Expansion of education and training, and diversification in economic activities have a decisive influence as also the growth of conscimerism. However, expenditure on food remains very high in the district as can be seen from the following table. Percentage Share of Food and Non-Food Items in Household Consumer Expenditure

The proportion of expenditure on food and non-food items by rural and urban sector based on MRP method has been presented in the following table.

Location Food Non-Food Rural 57.08 42.92 Urban 48.91 51.09

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The expenditure on food remained higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas. In rural areas of Baleshwar district, the share of expenditure on food items constituted 57.8 %. Obviously, urban areas have high share in non food expenditure at 51.09 percent.

District Rural Development Agency

To effectively implement the various poverty eradication programmes, the District Development Organization had to be strengthened. At the district level a single agency being responsible for implementation of all such programmes is the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) which functions under the chairmanship of the Collector and with a class-IOdisha Administrative Officer or an IAS officer as the Project Director. A number of subject matter specialists on veterinary, agriculture, co-operatives, and industry were appointed as Additional Project Officers to assist the agency in identification of families of the target group in each Block, preparation of plans for assisting these families, arranging credit support for them from nationalized banks, monitoring the progress and implementation of the schemes and other follow-up actions to ensure that the beneficiaries derive lasting benefits whereby they come above the poverty line. The normal pattern of assistance to individual family is 25% subsidy for small farmers and 33.33% subsidy for marginal farmers and landless labourers. But for tribal people a uniform subsidy of 50% was fixed. The balance amount required for implementation of the various family-oriented development schemes was to be arranged through bank finance of the various nationalized banks on a differential rate of interest (DRI) which is 4 % against the normal commercial rate or 18%. The DRDA office at Baleshwar is doing a commendable job in the field of rural development.

Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

In 1985, IAY was launched by earmarking funds for construction of houses for SC/ST and freed bonded labourers. When Jawahar Rozogar Yojona was launched in April, 1985, 6% of the funds were allocated for rural housing and from 1996 I A Y was declared a flagship programme by Ministry of Rural Development with the intention to provide houses to the BPL families covering 20 square meters to live with dignity in the society. The present unit cost of the scheme is Rs.70,0001/- per house with convergence of other schemes to provide toilet and 90 days labour to the IAY beneficiaries.

During 2008-09 the Government of Odisha launched Mo Kudia scheme in the line of lAY for those who are not covered under lAY scheme. The said scheme has been launched with the intension to provide pucca houses to the deserving and genuinely poor people who were left out during 1997 BPL 212

Survey and 2002 household survey list. The scheme is poperating in Baleshwar district.

Gopabandhu Gramina Yojana (GGY)

The Government of Odisha launched Gopabandhu Gramina Yojana during the year 2006-07 with the aim of providing Bjuli, Pani, Sadak (electricity, water supply and road) in the rural areas. The projects are selected through Palli Sabha and Grama Sabha on need based manner and in every year the Government releases funds out of State exchequers to create the above infrastructure for the welfare of the public. The district level committee under the chairmanship or Collector approves the projects where Hon‘ble M.Ps, MLAs and President Zilla Parishad are the members. Baleshwar district administration has taken a lead role in implementing the programme.

Constructions of cement concrete road (C.C road)

Government of Odisha launched cement concrete road scheme during 2009-10 with the intention to provide cement concrete roads in the rural areas. The priority has also been fixed to provide cement concrete road (i) in PVTG villages, (ii) ST uncovered/partially covered villages. (iii) SC uncovered and partially covered villages, (iv) for other castes. These projects need to the approved in Palli Sabha, Grama Sabha and the respective Panchayat Samities and are implemented in Baleshwar district..

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been introduced in the district since 2007-08 with intention to provide 100 days engagement to the rural families having job cards, issued through the Sarpanches/panchayat samities and to create public infrastructure in the locality. The major projects under the scheme will be earthen road, farm pond, community tanks, multipurpose farm pond, plantation, watershed projects, BNRGSK building, GP building etc.

All these projects need to be approved in Palli Sabha, Grama Sabha, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad before their execution. The ratio of wage: material is 60:40 to be maintained at GP level. The funding pattern is 100% labour charges by Central Government and 80:20 by Central and State Governments in case of materials. The achievements in respect of implementation of MNREGS in the district in some recent years is given in the following table.

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Year No. of Job No. of Employment No. of Person-days Households Cards households Offered Households employment Completed Issued demanded Employed generated 100 days employment 2007-08 251960 34969 34470 33589 900019 156 2008-09 268031 45419 45299 44860 1191760 367 2009-10 288892 25971 25967 25446 632402 148 2010-11 304656 50304 50280 49322 1970759 1987 2011-12 310247 32296 32296 31798 989430 707 2012-13 322240 55308 55305 51697 1701176 1941 2013-14 327436 53677 53673 50065 1587325 1981 2014-15 334990 41635 41604 37543 1073428 760 2015-16 345601 60769 60695 55451 1604959 1411 Source: DRDA Office, Baleshwar

Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) has started functioning in the district through a cell since 2012-13 with the intention to provide engagement to the members of women self help groups with bank linkages. Initially, the subsidy and revolving fund were provided to the groups. But from 2015-16 the credit linkage to the eligible WSHGS have been provided through Banks and skill development to the rural youths have been provided to enrich the skills of the youths for their engagement in different sectors. Apart from this, producers‘ groups have been organized in different trades and soft loan have been provided by OLM. Bonded Labour Government of India enacted a legislation called the Bonded Labour Scheme (Abolition) Act for the abolition of bonded labour system (Bethi system) with a view to preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the weaker section of the society. With effect from 25th October, 1975, every obligation of a bonded labourer to re-pay any debt as remained unsatisfied stood extinguished and that bonded labourer got free from such obligations. Any agreement or custom in respect of the enforcement of bonded labour system was made illegal and punishable under the Act. But the emphasis remained more on rehabilitation of the bonded labourers rather than on prosecution of bonded labourer keepers. This Act replaced the Odisha Debt Bondage Abolition Regulation 1948 which had aimed at making the Bethi system illegal without making provision for rehabilitation of the helpless bonded labourers. At present, there is no bonded labourer available in Baleshwar district.

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Employment and Unemployment Situation Employment status of people is an important indicator of economic development. This is simply because employment determines income which in turn determines standard of living, work efficiency and economic prosperity. Unemployment, on the contrary, is the root cause of poverty and economic backwardness. Any discussion on the economy of a district / state, therefore is excepted to focus on the employment-unemployment situation prevailing in the region. Some concepts need to be clarified before we probe deep into the study of employment-unemployment scenario in Baleshwar district. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is the number of persons in the labour force per one thousand persons. Worker Participation Rate/ Worker Population Ratio/ Workforce Participation Rate (WPR) is the number of persons employed per one thousand persons. Unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the number of persons unemployed per one thousand persons in the labour force i.e., employed + unemployed. The present analysis of employment-unemployment situation in Baleshwar district is based on two concepts i.e. usual status and current weekly status. The usual status approach uses a reference period of 365 days i.e. one year preceding the date of survey of NSSO for measuring employment-unemployment. It has two dimensions- principal and subsidiary status. Usual Principal Status uses the major time criterion and refers to the activity status on which a person spent longer part of the year i.e. 183 days and more. Usual Subsidiary Status refers to the activity which a person could have pursued for a smaller period, not less than 30 days, in addition to the usual principal status which he/she pursued for a longer part of the year. If these two are added together, usual status is obtained. Usual status is obviously a more inclusive measure. A person is considered as working or employed according to the current weekly status (CWS) if he/she was engaged for at least one hour on any day of the week preceding the date of survey. Alternatively, a person is considered as unemployed according to this criterion if he/she had not worked for even one hour on any day of the previous week. For a clear understanding of employment and unemployment situation in Baleshwar district we have identified four indicators, such as, (a) Work Participation Rate, (b) Classification of Main Workers, (c) Live register, and (d) Unemployment rate. The details of workers and non-workers as revealed from the provisional results of Census 2011 are given in the following table: To facilitate comparison, figures for Odisha have also been given. 215

Indicators Baleshwar Odisha Total Workers (Main + Marginal) 40.19 41.79 Male 57.68 56.11 Female 21.92 27.16 Main Workers 26.63 25.51 Male 45.60 41.46 Female 6.81 9.21 Marginal Workers 13.56 16.28 Male 12.08 14.65 Female 15.10 17.95 Non-Workers 59.81 58.21 Male 42.32 43.89 Female 78.08 42.84 Category of Workers 100.00 100.00 Cultivators 30.97 23.40 Male 35.46 28.36 Female 18.61 12.92 Agricultural Labourers 38.41 38.42 Male 32.10 29.25 Female 55.76 57.78 Household Industry Workers 3.08 4.46 Male 2.72 3.69 Female 4.07 6.10 Other Workers 27.55 33.72 Male 29.73 38.70 Female 21.56 23.20 Source: Census-2011

It may be seen that Baleshwar district has more or less the same work participation rate (40.19 percent) as the State as a whole (41.79). workers have a rate 26.63 per cent while marginal workers have a rate of 13.56 per cent in the district. At the state level main workers have a rate of 25.5 per cent as against 16.28 per cent for marginal workers. Category-wise classification of workers in the district indicates that agricultural labourers have the highest share (38.41 per cent) followed by Cultivators (30.97 per cent), other workers (27.55 per cent) and household industry workers (3.08 per cent) in that order. For the state the pattern in more or less the same with agricultural labours at the top (38.42 per cent) and household industry workers at the bottom (4.46 per cent) but other workers have a higher state (33.72 percent) than cultivators (23.40 per cent). The is in tune with the composition of domestic income presented earlier. In Odisha, the Directorate of Economics and Statistics has prepared district level disaggregated estimates of employment and unemployment for the year 2009-10 on the basis of the 66th Round NSS data. Such data are presented in the following table:

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Employment-Unemployment situation in Baleshwar : 2009-10

Status Indicators Baleshwar Odisha Rural Urban Rural Urban Usual Labour Force 387 350 398 360 Status Participation Rate(LFPR) Worker 378 334 386 330 Participation Rate(WPR) Unemployment 09 16 12 30 Rate(UR) Current Labour Force 351 344 353 352 Weekly Participation Status Rate(LFPR) Worker 334 328 330 324 Participation Rate(WPR) Unemployment 17 16 16 28 Rate(UR) Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Odisha

Using the Usual Status approach the table shows that by and large labour force participation rate (LFPR) and worker participation rate (WPR) are lower for both rural and urban areas in Baleshwar district than for the State. The Unemployment Rate which defines the difference between LFPR and WPR are also lower in Baleshwar compared to Odisha. A more or less similar pattern is indicated when one looks at the situation in terms of CWS. The only difference in this approach is that WPR is higher in Baleswar than in Odisha. District Eployment Exchange The District Employment Office has been functioning since 1958 in Baleshwar. Its jurisdiction is over entire revenue district of Baleshwar. It has been established to promote employment of the unemployed youths of the district. Registration and Renewal of names of the job seekers, sponsoring of names of eligible registered candidates against the vacancy requisition received, collection of placement report, survey of Employment Market Information, inspection of establishment under CNV Act of both public and private sector establishments, vocational guidance work, organising Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp, Group discussion, Career Counseling, Career conference etc. These are the conventional functions. Over the years the role of Employment Exchange has been changed keeping in view the present Job Market scenario. To make the activities more lively, Odisha

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State Employment Mission has been introduced since 2005. Its very purpose is to promote employment and self-employment by imparting Skill Development Training, Placement Linked Training, and Pre Recruitment Training for Defence Services etc. This apart, other additional activities like organizing Job Fair at Sub-Divisional and District levels are organised for facilitating direct employment of job seekers in different growing private sector institutions. Under the District Employment Exchange, there are two Employment Sub-offices one at Nilagiriand another at Jaleshwar. The details of registered job-seekers and Live Register in the District Employment Exchange, Baleshwar are given in the following table. Year Registration Out of Total Registration Male Female Total S.C. S.T. 2012 6692 2486 9178 1537 387 2013 9350 4334 13684 2289 604 2014 7728 3111 10836 2013 511 2015 Up to July 3053 1140 4193 935 209 Employment Market Information (EMI) The EMI section has been effective in Baleshwar District Employment Exchange since 1960. Its actual purpose is to conduct manpower survey and identify employment opportunity in the job market. It is also responsible for enforcing CNV Act 1959 and Rule 1960 in both the public and private sector establishments to ensure equal opportunity of job for the un-employed youths. The information made available for the period 2012-2014 in respect of public and private sectors is given below. Public Sector Year No. of Estimated No. of Estimated Employments Establishments Male Female Total 2012 413 16540 2782 19322 2013 413 16455 2746 19201 2014 413 16264 2750 19014 Private Sector Year No. of Estimated No. of Estimated Employments Establishments Male Female Total 2012 25 6830 87 6917 2013 25 6707 99 6806 2014 25 6705 99 6804 Vocational Guidance Vocational guidance work are done through Career Talks in Educational Institutes, Career counseling, Spoken English courses. One Students Information Bureau (SIB) is functioning at F.M. (Auto) College, Baleshwar, and presently spoken English course programme is taken up by the SIB.

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Employment Mission: Odisha State Employment Mission (OSEM) came in to effect in 2005. District Employment Mission, Baleshwar is a part of the OSEM and it has been doing various activities from the beginning. The detailed activites are as follows. Skill Development training through ITl/lTCs It provides skill development training to yuths for making them employable. The details in this regard are given below. Sl. Name of the No. of Candidates imparted training year wise No. Trade 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1 Welding and 40 40 220 180 440 360 Fabrication 2 House wiring 40 60 280 200 480 280 3 R.E.A 40 40 200 160 420 340 4 Date Entry 40 40 120 60 180 160 Operator Total 160 180 820 600 1520 1140 Atmanijukti Paramarsha Mela. The Programme is being held at Block Level to promote awareness for employment in private sector and self-employment available through various Government departments up to the grass root level. This programme continued till 2009 and it has been converted to Block Level Counseling Camp. Block Level Counseling Camp This programme is conducted at the Block level with the active involvement of the Block Development Officer. Through it a platform is created for the job seekers and the training partner i.e. Placement Implementing Agencies concerned to OSEM to interact directly for bringing about awareness among fresh candidates and select the eligible interested candidates for training under Placement Linked Training Programme (PLTP) and for self employment. Under this, counseling was given to 2300 candidates in 2013-14 and to 3263 candidates in 2014-15. Year No. of candidates counseled 2013-14 2300 20 I 4-15 3263 Placement Linked Training Programme This programme under O.S.E.M. was introduced since 2011-12 and it has been continuing. The very purpose of the programme is to impart training to the unemployed on the demand driven sector of the job market like, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Banking and Insurance, Marketing, Garments, Medical and Nursing, IT and ITES sector, Driving etc.

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The Status of Placement Linked Training Programme from 2012-13 to 2015-16 (July 2015) is shown in the following table

Year No. of Activities in No. of Candidates which Training was Completed Training Given Placement imparted 2012-13 15 412 184 2013-14 14 1230 426 2014-15 18 513 - Job Fair Job Fair is being organised since 2012 district level or Sub-Divisional level to create a platform for interaction between the employer of private sector and job seekers. Placement implementing Agencies also participate for selecting and employing candidates for PLTP. The detailed status of Job Fair organized during 2013-14 and 2014-15 in this district is given below.

Nos of Date of Venue job fair No of candidates No of job fairs organization selected employers of Job fair participated 02 during 16.05.13 K.C. High School 192 for direct 10 2013-14 field, Nilagiri employment and 406 for PLTP 10.12.13 Government, 894 for direct 13 I.T.I., Field, employment and Baleshwar 1329 for PLTP 01 during 07.01.2015 Baleshwar Govt. 435 for direct 11 2014-15 I.T.I. Field, employment and Baleshwar 325 for PLTP

Pre-Recruitment Training Camp Pre-Recruitment Training Camp is organized under Employment Mission to increase employability of youths in Defence Services. One PRT Camp was organized during 2013-14 in this district at Baleshwar Technical School, Baleshwar in which 51 candidates were selected for direct employment in defence services.

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CHAPTER – X GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

The district administration is based on a hierarchical British model with the Collector at the apex of the hierarchy.He is responsible for the maintenance of law and order and revenue and development administration. The Collector is the guardian of law and order, and promoter and advisor of social welfare activities and institutions in the district. He is the Chief Coordinator and the guiding angel in the district administrative machinery. General Information The Collector of Baleshwar is the head of the general, revenue and developmental administration of the district. He is also designated as the District Magistrate and is thus the highest authority in the district for maintenance of law and order. With regard to superintendence and control of the administrative functions, he is under the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Central Division having headquarters at Cuttack, whose jurisdiction also extends to Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Nayagad, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts. So far as the administration of the tenancy acts, stamps, land records and surveys are concerned, he is under the control of the Member, Board of Revenue, Odisha. The power of the Member, Board of Revenue and of the Commissioner vis-a -vis the Collector have been defined in the Odisha Board of Revenue Act, 1951 and the Odisha Revenue Divisional Commissioners Act. 1957 respectively. At present the Collector is assisted by two officers of the Senior Class- IOdisha Administrative Service designated as the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) (General), and Project Director, DRDA. The Collector is in charge of emergency, development, relief and rehabilitation and civil supplies. He is the chairman of the Regional Transport Authority and also controls the District Treasury. The Additional District Magistrate is in supervisory charge of the other sections of the collectorate. He consults the Collector and takes his orders on all important matters concerning their respective sections. The ADM (General) is functioning as the ex-officio District Registrar.

For general administrative purposes, the district is divided into two Sub- Divisions with headquarters at Baleshwar and Nllagiri. Nilagiri Sub-Division was created in 1948 after the merger of Nilagiri ex-state in Odisha. The Sub Collector of the Baleshwar Sub-Division had no separate office or 221 establishment before 1964 as he was to assist the Collector by remaining in charge of some of the sections of the Collectorate. But, as the Sub-Collector has a host of duties to perform, his office was separated from the collectorate in 1964.

The district office of the Collector is divided into component sections like the General and Miscellaneous, Compensation, Revenue, Establishment, Record Room, Judicial, Election, Emergency, Land acquisition, Nizarat etc. Separate officers are posted by the Government for ST/SC Development and social Welfare section and Grama Panchayat section who are designated as ‗the District Welfare Officer, District social welfare officer and District Panchayat Officer respectively. Most of the sections of the district officers are administered by the revenue officers, who are appointed by the Government to remain in charge of a particular section. The functions of these officers are to assist the Collector in taking decisions and in the efficient discharge of various administrative functions. Some of the officers like the Land Acquisition Officer, Certificate Officer and the Compensation Officer are empowered under specific laws to discharge certain statutory functions in their day to day work.

Collector and Judiciary

The above picture does not take into account the administration of criminal justice in the district which has been separated from the executive since 1st May 1960. By this separation, the judicial power of the Collector- cum-District Magistrate with regard to the trial of criminal cases was transferred to a new set of officers, called the Judicial Magistrates. Under this scheme, a Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate along with one or more Judicial Magistrate is posted in each of the Sub-Divisions of the district. They all work under the administrative control and supervision of the Odisha High Court. With the introduction of separation scheme, an officer of the rank of a District and Sessions Judge has been appointed. Subsequently an officer from the cadre of Superior Judicial Service (Junior Branch) has been posted as Additional District Judge having headquarters at Baleshwar. Judicial Magistrates are sub-ordinate to the Additional District Judge while all the Magistrates are subordinate to the District Magistrate. The District Magistrate (Executive) and the Additional District Magistrate (Judicial) act independently of each other in their respective spheres of work. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the pre-separation period who used to combine both executive and judicial functions is now designated as the Sub-divisional Officer, and Magistrate with adequate powers over police for maintenance of law and order and for trying cases under preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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At present there is one Chief Judicial Magistrate at district headquarters, Baleshwar. For all practical purposes he exercises all powers under the code of Criminal Procedure 1973 within the district. There is one Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate for each of the Sub-Divisions of Baleshwar and Nilagiri. The sanctioned strength of Baleshwar Sub-Division is Judicial Magistrate of the 1st class and one Munsif for the Nilagiri Sub- Division exercises the powers of the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, 1st class since merger of the ex-state. The District and Sessions Judge, Baleshwar is in overall charge of the entire civil and criminal administration of the district.

Collector as Development Administrator

The Book Circular No. 34 of the State Government enjoined on the Collector to play the role of a captain of the development team which consists of district level Office of various departments of the state. He was the Chairman of the District Development Committee and the District Development Board. The former is a representative official body while the latter consisted of officials and nominated non-officials. He is also empowered by the government to have considerable administrative control over the district level officers of other departments. The purpose of vesting him with these powers was to co-ordinate the developmental activities of various departments in the district to ensure effective implementation of all plan schemes and to frame future plans and programmes on prescribed lines keeping in view the needs of the people in the district. This set-up lost its vitality after the enforcement of the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act with effect from 26th January, 1961. According to the provisions of this Act, the developmental administration of the district was decentralized into three tiers viz., the Zilla Parishad at the district level, the Panchayat Samiti at the Block level and the Gram Panchayat at the village level with an elected body of members at each stage. But on 1st November, 1968 the Zilla Parishad was replaced by the District Advisory Council. Since 14th November, 1970 the District Advisory Council has been replaced by the District Development Advisory Board (later renamed as District Development Board) constituted of both official and non-official members. Again in the year – Zilla Parishad came into existence. The District Development Committee (D. D. C.) envisaged in Book Circular No. 34 was revived with effect from 26th August 1970 giving a pivotal coordinating and commanding role to the Collector for smooth and effective implementation of development programmes in the district. 289 Gram Panchayats functioning in the district have elected representatives in the manner prescribed in the Zilla Parishad Act to form 12 Panchayat Samitis each of which is coterminous with a Community

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Development Block. Now most of the developmental schemes are implemented through the Blocks and Panchayats.

The Block Development Officer is in overall charge of the Block with a number of Extension Officers like the Agricultural Extension Officer, Social Education Organiser, Veterinary Extension Officer, Welfare Extension Officer, Block Level Extension Officer, Ro, GPEO, SEO, ML. REO, JES/GPTAS (co-operation) and Sub-Assistant Engineer under him, each being a specialist in his respective sphere and receiving technical guidance of the concerned district level officers whenever necessary.

As mentioned earlier, the Collector is designated as the District Magistrate and as such he continues to be the chief functionary under the various special Acts and other enactments in force. He is in charge of public relations and is assisted by a District Information and Public Relations Officer appointed by the Government in Information and Public Relations Department. Similarly, in respect of supply of food-grains and other essential commodities, he is assisted by the Civil Supplies Officer from the Food and Civil Supplies Department. The Additional District Magistrate is the ex-officio Registrar for the district and is vested with necessary powers under the Registration Act. He is relieved of daily registration work by the District Sub- Registrar who remains in charge of this and other routine duties. The Superintendent of Excise functions directly under the supervision of the Additional District Magistrate.

Collector and Treasury

The district treasury is located at Baleshwar. There are also Sub- Treasuries at Jaleshwar, Nilagiri, Soro and Basta. These are managed by the officers from the Odisha Finance Service (Sr. /Jr.).

Sub-Divisional Level Administration

The district is divided into two Sub-Divisions, viz., Baleshwar, and Nilagiri. Each Sub-Division is in charge of a Sub Collector who belongs to the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS-Class I Senior). He continues to exercise within his jurisdiction aII the powers of a Magistrate 1st class under the preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure. He exercises powers in connection with investigation, searches, arrest and enlargement on bails, etc., till the stage of submission of charge-sheet or to accept the final form and to dispose of any objection thereto, if filed in time. Besides he has powers of a Magistrate under the Arms Act, the Cinematography Act, the Dramatic Performance Act, etc. He also functions as the Appellate authority over the orders of the Tahasildars of his jurisdiction in revenue cases. He is entirely responsible for the maintenance of law and order in his 224

Sub-Division. After separation of the judiciary from the executive, the Sub Collector has only powers to take cognizance of offences complained of or brought to his notice while on tour in mufasil areas. But such cases have to be referred to the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate for necessary action. The Sub Collector is burdened with the responsibility of supervision of both revenue and developmental works in Tahasils and Blocks of his Sub-Division and to exercise effective control over all officers and staff.

Each Sub-Division is divided into one or more Tahasils with a Tahasildar belonging to the OAS Cadre. After the abolition of estates, the responsibility for collection of land revenue has devolved directly on the Tahasil staff like the Revenue Supervisors, Revenue Inspectors and Collection Mohorirs. The Tahasildar is aIso the Certificate Officer for recovering arrears of land revenue, FWR Bewf/CBWR., Cess and miscellaneous revenue, and Taccavi loans. The Revenue Supervisors supervise collection, make enquiry into revenue cases and assist the Tahasildar in revenue matters.

Baleshwar Sub-Division

The office of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Baleshwar was separated from the Collectorate in the year 1964. The Sub Collector is functioning as a full- fledged head of office with a separate staff under him. He is assisted by four gazetted officers who are posted as the Revenue Officer, The Certificate Officer, the Nizarat Officer and the Emergency Officer. This Sub-Division has been divided into 10- Tahasils, viz., Jaleshwar, Basta, Baleshwar,Soro. Simulia, Khaira, Bhogarai, Baliapal, Remuna, Bhahanaga. There are 10 C. D. Blocks and 257 Grama Panchayats under this Sub-Division. TheSub- Collector is also assisted by SDPO, Assistant District Welfare Officer, Sub- District Social Welfare.

Nilagiri Sub-Division Nilagiri constitutes a small Sub-Division in Baleshwar district. It consists of two Blocks and two tahasils i.e. Nilagiri and Oupada which are coterminous. The list of offices functioning at Baleshwar is given below. Offices Located at Baleshwar Government of India

a. Proof and Experimental c. Superintendent of Posts Establishment and Telegraphs b. Assistant Engineer, d. Branch Manager, Life Central Flood Forecasting Insurance Corporation

225 e. District Manager, Food h. Assistant Engineer, open Corporation of India line, South Eastern f. Superintendent of Central Railway Excise i. Meteorological Office g. Income-Tax Office

Government of Odisha 1. Sub Collector 19. Executive Engineer, 2. Tahasil Office Electrical 3. Deputy Inspector GeneraI 20. District and Sessions of Police Judge 4. Superintendent of Police, 21. District Planning Authority 5. Deputy Director •. 22. Chief District Medical Agriculture Officer 6. Deputy Director, Fisheries 23. District Treasury Officer (Marine) 24. District Agriculture Officer 7. Deputy Director, 25. Chief Veterinary Officer Fisheries (Inland) 26. District Statistical Officer 8. Deputy Director, 27. District Employment Consolidation of Holdings Office 9. Deputy Registrar, Co- 28. District Health Office operative Societies 29. District Industries Centre 10. Charge Officer, 30. District Rural Baleshwar-Mayurbhanj Development Agency Major Settlement 31. Divisional Forest Office, 11. Superintending Engineer, C.S.B. Division P.W.D.(Rand B) 32. Regional Transport Office 12. Executive Engineer, 33. District Transport P.W.D. (R and B) Manager, O.S.R.T. 13. Executive Engineer, Corporation Irrigation Division 34. Tourist Office 14. Executive Engineer, ft 35. District Education Office Irrigation 36. Block Education Office 15. Executive Engineer, 37. Inspector of Factories Mechanical Division 38. Assistant Labour 16. Executive Engineer, Commissioner Public Health 39. Assistant Commissioner, 17. Executive Engineer, Commercial Taxes National Highway 40. Assistant Soil 18. Superintending Engineer, Conservation Office Electrical 226

41. Assistant Controller, Weights and Measures Government of India

Collectorate : 1. Food Corporation of India 1. General and 2. Commanding Officer, Miscellaneous N.C.C. 2. Revenue 3. Branch Manager, Life 3. Tauzi Insurance Corporation of 4. Establishment India 5. Nizarat 6. Library 7. Judicial 8. District Election 9. District Emergency 10. Compensation Zone I 11. Compensation Zone II 12. Superintendent of Excise 13. District Information and Public Relations 14. Land Acquisition 15. Civil Supplies 16. District Welfare 17. District Development 18. District Panchayat 19. Special Land Acquisition 20. District Record Room 21. District Sports 22. District Culture 23. Assistant Director, Planning 24. District Development Advisory Boa rd 25. District Social Welfare 26. Superintendent of Land Records 27. Main Offices located at Bhadrak 227

CHAPTER-XI REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

Early Revenue Administration As stated earlier, Baleshwar was made a district only in 1828. Till that year it formed a part of the erstwhile Cuttack district. Hence detailed records of Revenue Administration in in the pre-1828 period are not available. Whatever little information is available can be viewed as an integral of administration of Hindu Kings, the Moughal emperors and Marhatas. Hindu Administration During the reign of Hindu Kings,Odisha the country was broadly divided into two administrative Divisions i.e. military chiefs of the hilly tracts on the western border together with a strip along the coast on the east and the crown lands consisting of the more fertile alluvial plains running through the centre of the province. The former had been granted to military chiefs by the reigning sovereign on the condition that they protected the border and furnished contingencies to the State Army in the time of war. They were regarded as ―proprietors‖ having title of Bhuyan or as translated by the Moughals ―Zamindars‖. The other more valuable portion of the country comprising the greater part of the districts of Cuttack, Baleshwar and Puri was regarded as the property of the crown. The rents were collected from the cultivators and paid to the royal treasury by the hereditary officials who were also entrusted with the police administration of the villages under them. The Hindu rulers recognized no middle-men between them and their subjects. Every cultivator was in theory bound to pay to the sovereign roughly about 116th of the produce of the land. The residents of each village paid their quota to the headmen of the village called Padhan. The unit of collection was the revenue village consisting of a collection of houses and the land, cultivated or waste, attached to it. A group of villages made up the district called Khand or Bisi. The names of some of such fiscal divisions still exist in certain parts as Noa- Khand or Derabishi. Over each Khand or Bisi, were the supervising officers, viz., the Khandapati who was charged with generaI management including control of police and the Bisoi (also called Bhoimul), who was charged with collection of revenue, though both were jointly responsible for the payment to the royal treasury. Others were miscellaneous servants and officials. Each revenue village had also two officials, the Padhan and the Bhoi. It was the job of the Bhoi to check the village accounts. All these officials were in 228 practice, though not in theory, hereditary. They enjoyed a certain share not exceeding 1/20th of the total land revenue under collection and were also allowed to retain some part of the collection as perquisite of their offices. This was the system in the regular provinces of the Hindu kingdom but along the hilly borders and on the scantily populated littoral sea-coast the land was held by the military chiefs who paid tributes to their suzerain and were independent as regards the internal administration of their areas. Moughal Administration The Khandapat and Bisoi who held hereditary offices appear to have been confirmed by Todarmal, Akbar‘s victorious General who in 1568 annexed the province after it had been over-run end plundered by the Afghans during some 50 years before. Hence forward the Khands and Bisis were called Parganas. The nomenclature of ―pargana‖ as a fiscal division survived the period of Marahata and British administration. The Khandapatis received the title of Choudhury. The Bisois or Bhoimuls became Kanungos, The Padhan became the Makadam and the revenue village was known as Mouza. The Parganas were divided into two or more Sub-Divisions called Taluks and the officials were known as Talukdars, a name subsequently applied to all pargana officials. The Parganas were grouped under three main divisions or Sarkars as Cuttack, Bhadrak and Jaleshwar, each of which was in charge of an Amil or Chief Executive Officer.lt was Todarmal who consolidated the Moughal rule in Odisha. One of his first acts as an administrator was a detailed survey and settlement of the crown lands, now called Mughalbandi, taken up in 1580 in all the three Sarkars of Cuttack, Bhadrak and Jaleshwar. Rates of rent were fixed for each village. This settlement was concluded in 1591 by Raja Man Singh. The revenue as given in the Ain-l-Akabari was fixed at Rs. 17 lakhs for the whole of the province (According to Stirling the revenue of the province under the Moughals was 15.89 lakh of rupees). In the Ain-e-Akabari the revenue for the four Sarkars of Baleshwar district which then included a portion of Jajpur has been stated as follows No. of Mahals Revenue in Bhadrak Sarkar - 19 4, 02,131 Sora Sarkar - 15 1, 97,814 Remuna Sarkar - 20 2, 18,458 Basta Sarkar - 10 1, 18,752 Total - 64 937,155 The border chieftains were left untouched. The hereditary Hindu officials of the Parganas were confirmed in possession of their lands. The revenue system of the Hindus was maintained almost intact by Todarmal and Man Singh, both being of Hindu stock. The hereditary officials, while 229 being entrusted with the collection of revenue, were also vested with other rights and liabilities of Zamindars for the portion of the Pargana or Taluk under their direct management. The village headman, now called Makadam, who had the customary right to hold one acre in twenty free of assessment was now given a definite quantity of land as Jagir. Where there were no hereditary headman or where the Padhan had been dispossessed, collections were often made through an agent or farmer called Sarbarakar appointed by the Talukdar and many of them developed into hereditary tenure-holders with rights almost equal to those of Makadams. The Talukdars and superior officers were nominally appointed by the sovereign or his representative and could be removed from their office for bad conduct. But under the two centuries of misrule and revolt that followed Akbar‘s reign, their hold on the land grew stronger and the right to appoint lapsed into a purely formaI custom of confirming the heir of the deceased official. Even the Amil and the Sadar Kanungo came to hold large estates stepping into the shoes of dispossessed Talukdars for whom they stood security and they aII claimed proprietary right. This was the origin of the myriads of proprietary, sub-proprietary and proprietary tenure-holder rights which we find during the long period of British rule in Odisha. Their office was abolished by the Marahat who appointed Amils and Sadar Kanungos of their own and at British conquest those ex-officials were found as holders of large and valuable estates. Besides the Talukdars, there were also a few land-holders in possession of a whole Pargana. They alone were officially styled as Zamindars as they were generally either descendants of old reigning princes, as in case of Zamindar of Utikan, who was the Raja of Kanika, or were border chiefs (Khandait or Bhuyan) such as those of Darpan, Madhupur, Balarampur or Ambo. Besides, a good many superior officials of the status of Amils were also appointed as zamindars in return for special services. Like the Talukdars, they also held under deeds of appointment. Though their position was more honourable, their rights and liabilities did not in any way differ from those of Pargana officials. In fact, there was a general fusion of rights and titles of the hereditary Zamindars, officials and officially created Zamindars, while Talukdars became exalted to the rank of Zamindars, the proper Zamindars mounted a step higher and styled themselves as Rajas. Marahata Administration In 1751 Odisha became a Marahata province under the control of a Subedar. The new conquerors made in theory no change in the fiscal organization and recognised people whom they found to be in possession of land without asking inconvenient questions. Baleshwar was divided into three Chakalas or circles, i.e. Bhadrak, Soro and Baleshwar. These were again subdivided into 150 Parganas each of which included a varying

230 number of Taluks. The revenue administration of the whole area was entrusted to 32 officers called Amils. Each Amil was responsible for the revenue of each Chakala, and he was assisted by a Sadar Kanungo under whom there were Gomatos also known as Villayati Kanungos, who made the muffasil collections. The Marahata Subedars recognised only those Talukdars who regularly paid revenue without any trouble. They commenced to oust the Talukdars on the ground of non-punctuality in payment of revenue and towards close of their rule, it also became a common practice to take engagements direct from the village headmen or Makadams who had previously paid through the Talukdars. About 1/8th of the total revenue paying area was so held by Makadams. Though it had previously been the custom to make the yearly detailed computation of rentals on which the Makadam was allowed a percentage for collection expenses, towards the close of the century the Amils found it convenient to take engagements from them for a lump sum. This custom was also followed to some extent with those Talukdars who were fortunate enough to be left in possession of their estates. It was Raja Ram Pandit, described by Stirlingas the most enlightened of the Marahata Subedars, who first commenced to dispense with the Talukdars as collection agents in 1773. This resulted in disappearance of a large number of those hereditary officers. The Sadar Kanungo who generally stood security for payment of revenue by the Talukdars was allowed in cases of default to take over the Taluk on payment by him of the arrears. At the British accession both the Sadar and Villayati Kanungos were found in possession of a large number of estates, who later claimed proprietary right over the lands held by them during the enquiries held by the British officers and were recognized as such in most cases. British Administration When the British conquered Odisha in 1803 it comprised an area of 8085 sq. miles or 20940 sq. km. It was divided into two districts, vlz., Cuttack and Purl. (The revenue administration of Baleshwar, excluding Nilagiri ex- state, finally acquired a definitedimensions in 1870 when the northern boundary was defined and the Baitarani and the Dhamara rivers were made the southern limit of Baleshwar. No revenue documents worth the name were obtainable from the officials of Marahata Government except certain Jamabandi papers or records of assessment. The Kanungos who were the depositories of all information and other relevant materials about land revenue administration were not only indifferent but also hostile towards the new Government. The first British proclamation about the land revenue administration of Odisha was made on the 15th September 1804. This was later embodied in the Regulation XII of 1805. Before this, an area of 186 square miles or 482 sq.km.in 150 permanently settled estates towards extreme north of Baleshwar was originally a part of the district of Midnapur in West Bengal, as

231 early as 1760. Therefore, this area lying between two rivers of Rupnarayanpur and Subarnarekha came within the purview of the Permanent Settlement Regulation of 1793 enacted by Lord Cornwallis. As a result, before Odisha was conquered, a part of Baleshwar district had come under the touch of Permanent Settlement. The rest of the area of the district was subjected to as manyas eleven annual, bienniaI, triennial, quinquennial and decennial settlements till 1837. This was completely a new experience to the people as Odisha was subjected to long term settlements during the pre-British days. It is generally accepted that the early British revenue administration was disastrous in its effect on Zamindars and raiyats alike. If to the errors of administration be added the severe natural calamities to which the district was subjected in the early part of 19th century, it is not difficult to understand and concur in the assertion that the people were not better off under the British rule than they had been under the Marahatas. The causes contributing to the wretched state of affairs of the district in the early part of the 19th century may be summed up as follows (1) Disorganization of the administration (2) Severity of assessment (3) Introduction of Bengal Sale Laws (4) Natural calamities to which the district was subjected (5) Promise of a permanent settlement which was eventually denied Stirling‘s minutes of 1821 was the first attempt made to deal exhaustively with the principles of revenue settlement but it was not until the settlement of 1837-45 that the rights and titles of the land owners were finally settled and adjusted. Meantime there was utter confusion. Marahata officials, viz., Amil, Sardar, Kanungos, Talukdars and Makadams were all intent on preserving for their own use the information which should have been at the hands of Government. Those persons in whom the actual collection of rent was vested were not interested in disclosing the real amount of their collection, while their supervisors used their knowledge as a means of extortion by threatening to disclose to the authorities the fact of under- assessment. Some were busy in establishing a zamindary title which had never existed and others in furthering the claim to hold lands liable to assessment as rent free. ―The hands of the most were against their neighbors and every man‘s hands were against Government‖. The early Collectors being accustomed to the stringency of Bengal Regulations were not at all inclined to admit claims for reduction of the demand on ―various grounds admitted by Marahatas such as failure or shortage of crops owing to drought or flood. No reductions were allowed on ground of abandonment or non-cultivation though such reductions had hitherto been customary. The demand at the earlier British settlement was considerably in excess of that of 232

Marahatas. The severity of early settlement was subsequently fully recognized and in settlement of 1837—45 large reductions were made in previous revenue in certain parts of the district. Since assessments were severe it was not surprising that there were many defaults in payment. The introduction and enforcement of the Bengal Revenue Sale laws was perhaps the most unfortunate feature of the early British rule. At least haIf of the estates in the district changed hands between 1805 and 1822. The policy was certainly disastrous as regards old hereditary official families as very few of them were left at the settlement of 1837-45. (These measures have often been stated to have resulted in the extinction of the Odia Zamindars as the predominantly land-holders of Odisha. They were supplanted in Cuttack and Puri districts generally by Bengalis who were sometimes wealthy absentees, but very often Amlas of the Collectorate. This problem was not so severe in Baleshwar district, because Baleshwar was not made a separate district until 1828 and until that time revenue administration was centered at Cuttack. It was natural that the Bengali Amlas being residents of Cuttack preferred the acquisition of estates nearer their homes. The proximity was convenient and they were much better aware of the circumstances of the properties. Trade interests on the other hand drew a considerable number of BengaI merchants to Baleshwar and only after 1828 they began to turn their attention towards acquisition of estates, when with Rickets as Collector, the old sale policy of selling the estates of the defaulters was put aside in practice. The families of Raja Baikuntha Nath De, the Kars and Bhagaban Ch. Das of Baleshwar town date their rise as Zamindars from this period. During the settlement of 1837-45 out of 1,509 recorded proprietors only 174, i.e. 21 per cent were Bengalis as against 78 per cent Odias). In this confused and disturbed state of the province the question of permanent settlement was mooted in 1806. In fact, orders were actually given to make preparations for its introduction. But this proposal was strongly resisted by the local officers. Though Regulation VI of 1808 held out to the proprietor hopes which were frequently renewed in the subsequent regulations the decision was postponed from year to year, until eventually in 1816 it was practically withdrawn. The policy for making a number of short term settlements each of which was intended to be a preparatory for a permanent one was most ruinous in its effect. The proprietors were interested in concealing their collections and throwing lands out of cultivation in order to get better terms at the permanent settlement. Some, whose estates were extremely over assessed, did not like to forsake the property which was seen to be settled with them forever. None were desirous for improving the conditions of their lands and their tenant. Regulation VII of 1822 which extended the previous settlement for a period of 5 years provided also rules for revision of that settlement. It was proposed that each year a certain number of estates should be taken up in hand; information 233 should be collected and recorded with reference to interests of all persons in the land from the Raiyats upwards that, tables of rates should be prepared and this work should be undertaken by the Collectors in addition to their routine works. As a consequence scarcely anything was done and in 1831 the Collector of Baleshwar, Rickets had completed the settlement of only one small estate and was about to undertake that of the Government Khasmahal of Nananda. Rickets in his explanation had stated ―That he saw no prospect whatever of a settlement under Regulation VII ever being completed. It was 9 years since that Regulation had been passed and in that time 1 /400th had been settled, a rate of proceeding which would require three thousand five hundred ninety one years for the completion of the district‖. He, therefore, recommended for a separate set of officials to be employed exclusively for settlement work under the supervision of the Collector. The recommendation was finally accepted by the Board but the work of revision did not commence until appointment of Maffat Mills as Special Commissioner in 1837. Settlement of 1837-45 The unit of revenue assessment during the British period right from the beginning till the abolition of the estates under the Estates Abolition Act.1951 was the ―estates‖. This was defined in the Bengal Tenancy Act and repeated in the Odisha Tenancy Act as: ―Estate means land included under one entry in any of the general registers of revenue-paying lands, and revenue-free lands prepared and maintained under the law for the time being in force by the Collector of a district, and includes Government Khasmahals and revenue-free lands not entered in any register) and including also the sub-proprietary interests……….. During the settlement operations, this was described as ―mahal‖ or tauzi, meaning revenue paying lands and ―lakhrajbahal‖ or simply ―bahal‖ meaning revenue-free lands. The interest of a sub-proprietor who executed an agreement in course of settlement of land revenue to make payment of his land revenue through a proprietor or another sub-proprietor was also termed as ―estate‖. During the Moughal and Marahata period it has already been stated that parganas were sub-divided into taluks which still remained as collection centres. But owing to alienations or combination of land of various taluks many ―estates‖ became possessed of areas outside the border of their proper pargana: those areas were de-facto included in that pargana. It became the custom to regard any village greater part of which belonged to an estate in another pargana as a ―tahasil-alahida ―village of that pargana and the same confusion was imported into the designation of smaII portions of villages which belonged to an estate holding a neighbouring village, these being regarded as ―tahasil- alahidas‖ of that village. The pargana or estate division therefore bears little reference to physical or other factors considered as a local division. They are confusing. 234

The number of parganas existing in Baleshwar district was 67, divided into five groups, vlz., northern parganas (12), upper central parganas (18), lower central parganas (4 including Banchas-egar group ),south-eastern parganas (10) southwestern parganas (12), the Banchas-egar group itself consisting of 12 parganas. At the time of 1837—45 settlement, there were 953 estates including 150 permanently settled estates in Baleshwar. Excluding killa Ambo (since transferred to Kendujhar district after merger), Mangalpur and Patna, the revenue of which amounting to only Rs.1725 was fixed under special orders, the previous revenue of the district which amounted to Rs. 3,41,332/-was settled for Rs. 3,83,498. The net increase was, therefore, only Rs.42,166 of which Rs.35,434 were contributed by resumed lakharaj holdings. Some reductions (31, 867) in revenue were allowed in estates along the sea-coast and in the north of the district and some increases (73,853) were made in south- western parganas where there had been greater extension of cultivation. This settlement had not been undertaken with any view to benefitting the exchequer, but to equalise the assessment ―which had been fixed and augmented haphazard without reference to the capabilities of the estates, to fix boundaries and decide disputes relating to them on the spot, to settle aII questions of rights and tenures between landlords, and tenants, and to enquire into the validity of the multitudinous rent-free tenures‖. The totaI settlement cost incurred in this district was Rs.5,11,896 and a large share of this expense was assignable to the resumption proceedings. In fact no less than 81.673 claims to hold land revenue-free were investigated. In this settlement in Baleshwar, the cultivated areas dealt with amounted to 2,10,963 hectares of which 1,99,753 hectares were assessed, i.e. a little more than half the total area of the temporarily settled estates. The Regulations provided for the investigation of all claims to hold land revenue-free. In this settlement systematic recordings were undertaken to decide these claims and those found valid were confirmed in perpetuity. The class of tenants known as Bajyapatidars originated in the failure of some of these claims. Out of 81.673 claims to hold lands lakharaji or revenue-free, more than half i.e. 42,200 were found to hold on invalid titles and therefore were resumed and assessed on Bajyapti tenure. In the discussion about the term of the settlement, the authorities considered various aspects from theoretical and practical stand points. A period of 30 years was considered to be advantageous for agricultural improvement. That would balance the vagaries of natural calamities and currency depreciations. The first thirty years of settlement was to expire in 1867 A. D. when Odisha was in the grip of a serious famine, i.e. ―Na-anka Durvikhya‖ in 1866. The famine had completely dislocated the administration and shattered the economy of Odisha. The authorities were not in a position to undertake the responsibility of a new settlement. Moreover, even if there were a new settlement the Jumma could not have risen more than what it 235 was in 1837 settlement because vast areas were left uncultivated. It was therefore decided to extend the first thirty years settlement to another 30 years instead of making a new settlement. Thus the settlement of 1837 which was to end in 1867 was extended to 1897. Those who later advocated against the prolongation for another thirty years contended that ―this extreme leniency was scarcely needed and that a resettlement might well have been made some twenty-five years ago, to the advantage of Government and without undue harassment of the people. The result of the excessive prolongation of the former settlement was the exclusion of Government for a lengthy period from its fair share of the produce of the soil. And retention by the landlord classes in Odisha during the same period of profits to which they had no equitable right‖. During the period of long settlement there was aII-round progress in agriculture, communication and trade. The prices of staple crops were trebled securing considerable profits to the cultivators. Settlement of 1889-1899 (Provincial settlement) The next settlement was made during the years 1889-1899 which is generally known as Maddox Settlement or Provincial Settlement. This was the work of a great magnitude. The operation extended over a period of 10 years from the end of 1889 to the end of 1899 and over an area of 12,949.50 sq. km. It covered the whole of the temporarily settled areas in Cuttack, Puri and Baleshwar districts including the revenue free estates as well as the Killas of Darpan, Madhupur and Aul. The area under settlement in Baleshwar was 1.710‘75 sq. miles (4,430‘92 sq.km.) computed as follows Area of temporarily settled estates -- 9,59,100 acres Area‘ of Lakharaj Bahal lands -- 1,09,000 acres Area of Government lands -- 13,600 acres 10,81,700 acres Deduct lands of Baleshwar estates in (-)-- 7,700 acres Cuttack district Balance -- 10,74,000 acres Add lands of Cuttack estates in -- (+) 20,900 acres Baleshwar district 10,94,900 acres = 44,30.92 sq. km The area of the district as stated in Maddox Report is 2076‘88 sq. miles or 5379‘00 sq. km. which includes 1,11,923 acres or 452.93 sq. km. of permanently settled estates of Kanika in Baleshwar district and 1.21,376 acres or 491 sq. km. of permanently settled estates where settlement was not done. The revenue was fixed at Rs. 6.26,177/- giving an incidence of 92 paise per acre in 1.417 temporarily settled estates (19 Khasmahals included) including Killas Ambo and Mangalpur, the revenue of which were fixed nominally at 440 and 1130 respectively under special orders of Government. 236

The settled assets were 11.51,400 the revenue being fixed at 50 to 55 per cent of the gross assets. The enhancement made in the land revenue was as much as 67 per cent which appears prima facie large. It must be remembered that where the zamindars received an income of about Rs. 1.88,000 at the time of previous settlement,in this settlement they received an income of about Rs. 5.23.300. Thus while the revenue had been enhanced by 67 per cent, their income increased by 163 per cent. The revenue of the temporarily settled areas was revised and fresh engagement taken for a period of 30 years from 1897. The rents of the tenants were settled under section 104 of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885. The total area of the temporarily settled estates increased in this settlement during the last sixty years from 3,81 ,539 hectares to 3,88,257 hectares, or by rather less than 2 per cent whereas the cultivated area increased from 2.10,963 hectares to 2,82,188 hectares and the assessed area increased from 1,99,753 hectares to 2,80,786 hectares. Revision Settlement (1906-1912) After completion of the provincial settlement, the first revision settlement which is generally known as Jame‘s settlement started in 1906 and continued till 1912. In this operation the revenue was unaffected, but settlement of rent was done by application of the parties under section 105 of the Bengal Tenancy Act. This revision settlement was undertaken primarily to clear the way for continued maintenance of records, but the maintenance scheme was ultimately ordered to be abandoned by the Government of India. The revision operation brought prominently to notice the unsuitability of the Bengal Tenancy Act to Odisha conditions and led to enactment of the Odisha Tenancy Act in 1913. Some of the permanently settled estates those were not included in the provincial settlement were taken up during this operation. Dalziel Settlement (1922-1932) The next comprehensive survey and settlement operation covering both permanently and temporarily settled estates was conducted during the period 1922-1932 which is known as Dalziel Settlement. This revision settlement operation covered an area of 2056 sq. miles (5325 sq. km.) in Baleshwar district andis computed as follows: Permanently settled estates -- 336 sq. miles Temporarily settled estates -- 1,512 sq. miles Revenue free estates -- 172 sq. miles Government lands -- 36 sq. miles Total -- 2056 sq.miles

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By Dalziel Settlement also there were still some estates in the Tauzi roll of Baleshwar and Cuttack which had lands partly in Cuttack and partly in Baleshwar district as given below: No. Area Lands in Cuttack included in 109 5,241.02 acres Tauzi of Baleshwar (2,121 hectares) Lands in Baleshwar district included in Tauzi of Cuttack 158 5,496.34 acres Partitions since last settlement led to an increase in the number of temporarily settled estates from 1398 to 2394. The area assessed in those estates during this settlement was 7,41,703 acres (3,00,158 hectares) and un-assessed area was1,98,199 acres (80,208 hectares). As a result of the settlement of rents in this settlement the gross assets rose to Rs.15,45,438. The revenue of the temporarily settled estates rose by 37.5 per cent to Rs.8,20,404 representing 53.1 per cent of the gross assets. The proportion of assets taken as revenue remained practically unchanged in keeping with the approved policy of the Government, i.e. the revenue percentage should lie between 50 and 55. Settlement in ex-state areas of Nilagiri The previous revenue history of the ex-state of Nilagiri is obscure. The first settlement was undertaken in the year 1849 during the time of Raja Krushna Chandra Mardaraj Harichandan and was concluded in the year 1853.According to this settlement the revenue of the ex-state was Rs. 15,233 on an assessed area of 12, 255 acres (4,960 hectares). One Bengali officer was deputed to do the settlement. He applied certain Bengal rates which the cultivators accepted. No record is available regarding the principles followed in applying these rates. The second settlement was done by the same paja after a lapse of 33 years in 1886 and was completed in 1897. This settlement showed an increase of about50% both in revenue and in area. The revenue came up to Rs. 49,412 on an assessed area of 26,169 acres (10,590 hectares). In both these settlements the unit of an area was a Mana which is equivalent to 0.62 acres (0.25 hectares). Lands were measured by means of a rod of 8'-3" in length. No maps ware prepared. Records prepared were Khasra, Khatian, Jamabandi and Ekapadia or rent roll. A copy of the land records was given to each headman of the village for the purpose of collection of rent. The period of this second settlement was 20 years on the expiry of which a third settlement was undertaken in the year 1917 and concluded in 1922. In the third settlement survey was done with more delicate instruments to obtain greater accuracy. Village maps and 238 detailed record-of-right of the tenants were prepared on the area. For the first time in the history of the ex-state, a copy of the Khatian called Parcha was granted to each raiyat. The documents were very much appreciated by the holders. The village boundaries were laid by plain table. The maps and records prepared were very much reliable. Lands were classified on the basis of nature of the soil, situation and advantage and disadvantages. Rates of rent fixed were on the productivity of different classes of lands and on the basis of the produce. Rent was enhanced under section 32 of the Bengal Tenancy Act in consideration of the rise in prices. The gross rental was Rs.83,994 on an assessed area of 32047 acres (12969 hectares). The net revenue of the state after deduction of collection charges was Rs. 73,496. The period of this settlement was 14 years, which expired in 1936. No new settlement was taken up thereafter owing to economic circumstances until the ex-state merged in Odisha on 1st January 1948. The next settlement was taken up in 1962 along with other areas of Baleshwar district. Land Tenures Land tenures in Baleshwar district excluding Nilagiri Interests in the land in the state were made more complicated in the early period of the British and they varied with minor distinctions between rights of different classes which led to litigations in various courts. The series of settlements and tenancy legislations have since gone a long way in reducing their number and variety. Prior to the enactment of land reforms and tenancy legislations various kinds of interests in land were existing in Cuttack and Puri as well as in theerstwhile Baleshwar district. They were i) The so called ‗proprietors‘ directly responsible to the state for the revenue of the land they own, i.e., zamindars and revenue-free proprietors called Lakharaj Baheldars; ii) Tenure holders with quasi-proprietary rights, holding under the proprietors, viz. Makadam, Padhans and Sarbarakars, etc.; iii) Holders of resumed revenue-free tenures or Bazyaptidars; iv) Purchasers of waste lands, reclaimed and settled; v) Resident cultivators, whose right to hold at a rent fixed for the term of settlement was recognised, viz., Thani and Chandana raiyats; vi) Cultivators who had no such recognized rights, i.e. Pahiraiyats, occupancy and non-occupancy; vii) Persons holding land free of rent in consideration of their services to an individual or to the community, i.e. Jagirdars; viii) Under tenants of classes (3) to (7); and ix) Government estates or Khasmahals. Incidence of their rights and liabilities are described in brief as follows:

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Proprietors There were several classes of persons who under the Moughal and Marahata rules were directly responsible for payment of revenue to the state. They were 1) Ancient Zamindars or Rajas of the Killajat estates, 2) Zamindars of Moughal or Marahata creation, 3) Choudhuri and Kanungo Talukdars, 4) Mazkuri Makadams, 5) Mazkuri Sarbarakars and 6) Holders of Kharidagi (purchased) land. None of them except only the Zamindars and the Khandayats of the border had before the British conquest any recognized proprietary right, although a custom of hereditary succession had grown up. On the acquisition of the province by the British, engagements for payment of revenue were taken from the holders of several classes of estates borne on the revenue roll of the Marahatas and also from the holders of the small Taluks and zamindars included in large estates and from the hereditary Makadams who for five years past had paid their revenue directly into the public treasury. To these were subsequently added the holders of lands of more than 75acresinextentwhichwere alleged to have been held rent-free or on a quit-rent but were resumed and assessed during general enquiry. Though not so stated all these persons appear to have been regarded as ―actual proprietors of the land‖ under section VI of Regulation XU of 1805. Either purposely or owing to misunderstanding of their true position, these collectors and payers of revenue were allowed all the rights of proprietors subject only to the liability to saIe of their estates for default and to dispossession for improper conduct. Their various titles of Choudhury, Kanungo and Makadams merged into the more honorific appellation of ―Zamindar‖, They held three classes of estates, viz., permanently settled estates, temporarily settled estates and revenue free estates. The incidence of rights of the proprietors of these three classes of estates was more or less similar except in respect of revenue. In the permanently settled estates, the revenue was fixed for ever. In the temporarily settled estates, the revenue was fixed for the term of the settlement subject only to reduction for acquisition of land by Government and in the revenue-free estates, no revenue was payable by the proprietor to the Government but only cesses were paid. The incidence of their rights and duties as grown up during the British rule were as follows: 1. Right to inherit according to the personal law of the proprietor. 2. Right to transfer the whoIe or any portion of the estate. 3. Right to partition subject to the security of the revenue. 4. Right to receive rent fixed in the settlement and to all profits of new cultivations and to lawful increment of rents. 240

5. Right to all profits from the jungles and waste land and other un- assessed areas and from fisheries and forest subject to the prescriptive rights of the community. 6. Right of co-sharers to open a separate account and pay their revenue separately into the treasury. 7. Obligation to treat rayats well and not to collect un-authorised cesses. 8. Obligation to give information to the police for breach of peace and certain cognizable offences. 9. Liability of the estates for sale in the event of default in payment of revenue before the latest date. 10. Obligation to supply Rasad (supplies) under Regulation XI of 1806. From the British period, the proprietors were permitted to enjoy the right of inheritance according to Hindu law and not according to the law of primogeniture which was in force previous to the British conquest. They were also given almost unlimited right of partition and absolute right of sale and transfer. This led to multiplication and tininess of the estates and placed in their hands the instrument of their own destruction. It is only in the Killajat estates that the law of primogeniture was followed in which the estate passed on to the eldest son, others being provided by grant of Viradar Jagir lands. Although there were 150 permanently settled estates in Baleshwar (Dalziel Report speaks of 189 such estates), none of them were governed by law of primogeniture. But unlike in Cuttack there were a few Killas in Baleshwar. They were only four in number, namely, Ambahata, Patna, Mangalpur and Ambo (Ambo has since been transferred to Kendujhar district after merger). They were held on military tenures subject to payment of a tribute and their circumscribed differed little from those of the tributary states, until the British accession. Although assessed with special leniency the latter 3 Killas have been held on same terms as estates of ordinary Zamindars. Killa Ambahata was resumed by the Marahata and so it ceased to be a Killa except in name. The Killa Patna was sold in 1897 under a civil court decree for debt. The Bhuyan of that Killa was in wretched circurnstances and maintained himself with difficulty from the income of his Debottar lands. Besides, another permanently settled estate Killa Kanika which was borne in the revenue roll of Cuttack district, a part of which lies in Baleshwar (453 sq. km out of 1140 sq. km) was also governed by the law of primogeniture and was therefore impartible.

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Revenue-Free Estates (lakharaj Bahal lands) The main classes of revenue-free estates in Baleshwar district were Debottar, Pirottar, Brahmottar, Khairat and Mahatran. Debottar properties formed the bulk of the area of revenue-free estates, being 58,340 acres (23,609 hectares) as per Maddox Settlement Report. As per DaIziel Settlement Report, the Debottar lands were 60,032 acres (27,294 hectares) out of a total of 1,09,841 acres (444.51 hectares) of revenue-free properties. These fall under two main heads according as they were assigned in trust for a charitable or religious purpose or were the absolute property of the individual. The first class consisted mainly of lands bestowed on the Gods such as grants to Hindu idols, and Muhammedan shrines called as Debottar or Pirottar respectively. The managements of these religious grants to deities or Pira lay with trustees who were designated as Sebaits or Marfatadars in the case of Debottar properties and Matawalis or Darogas in the case of Pirottar grants. In the eye of law these grants were of the nature of trusts. The land was the absolute property of the temple idol or monastery. In practice, however, all these revenue-free grants were being treated as the private property of the trustees, and the religious grants were used for secular purposes and freely bought and sold, nominally in the interest of the deities. It was not uncommon to find a grant of land belonging to a Hindu idol in possession of a Muslim or land dedicated to a Pir in possession of a Hindu. In most cases the original object of the charitable grant was entirely lost sight of and the endowments were misapplied or misappropriated and though there was provision in the law for correcting such abuses, it was no one‘s business to take action. The second class included lands originally assigned for their support of individuals, such as grants to Brahmanas, i.e. Brahmottar or Mahatran or ―deliverance‖, i.e. small grants to Hindus other than Brahmanas. Such grants were the absolute property of the grantees who could transfer the whole or any part of it by sale, mortgage or lease. Their paid rent to no one and only rendered to Government taxes and cesses according to the value of the property. Abwabs (Illegal cesses) Although the earlier Regulations and the terms of the Kabuliyats executed by the proprietors stipulated that they should not collect unauthorised cesses from their tenants, in practice, however, besides the lawful cesses, many illegal cesses called Abwab continued to be collected. These extra collections were more prevalent in Baleshwar district. It was estimated during provincial settlement that powerful zamindars were able to extort about 2 annas (Re 0.12) more per rupee in the form of extraordinary demands in addition to regular cesses which was about 4 - 5 annas (Re 0.25 242 to Re 0.31) on a rupee of rent. Imposition of a new cess was attended with less difficulty than enhancement of rent. The cesses recognised by the law were (1) road cess at 2 paise per rupee of rent from raiyats, one anna per rupee from rent-free holders and at intermediate rates from tenure-holders. (2) public works cess at 2 paise per rupee and (3) Zamindari dak cess at one paise per rupee. Kingsford in his provincial settlement report of Baleshwar district instances the following demands which were being regularly levied by the zamindars. 1. Road and Public Works cess at rates varying from one to one- and-a half anna (Re 0‘25 to Re 0.28) per rupee. 2. Bisodhani-atrates varying from six paise to one anna per holding on receipt by the tenant of a Bisodhan or full acquittance of the year‘s rent. 3. Bibahachina or Bahachina - A marriage fee paid by the father of the bride or by the parents of both the parties separately. Some Mahaprasad or betelnuts accompanied the fee varying from Re. 1 to Rs. 4. 4. Suniabheti - Paid on the first day of the Odia year as an acknowledgement of the Zamindar‘s authority mostly in shape of presents according to the profession and circumstance of the raiyat. The Zamindar, however, did not get much profit on this occasion since he had to distribute clothes to feed the villagers and to hold an expensive Puja. In some estates the fee in cash payment was made with the rent at rates varying from two annas to several rupees. 5. Magan - These are miscellaneous subscriptions raised for meeting various expenses of the Zamindar and include Bibaha- magan, for marriage in his family Karma Magan for a funeral and Magan for the festivals of Durga Puja, Dol Jatra, Chandan Jatra and Rahas Jatra or for the purposes of erecting a shrine. The rate varied from three paise to four annas per rupee of rent or from eight annas to Rs. 2 per plough. 6. Salami or Nazarana - This was paid when a tenant took a new land for cultivation or the Zamindar first visited the village or came to it after a long interval or when the raiyat paid his first visit to the zamindar or invited the latter to his home, the tenant who returned from Kolkata with savings or domestic servant returned from Kolkata to his home on leave. The amount varied from eight annas to 50 rupees or more according to the ‗circumstances of the tenant and the strength and capacity of the 243

Zamindar. It is not that every Zamindar practised these extortions. They varied in proportion to his ability to extort them and his power of inflicting punishment for refusal. Besides being rendered subject to the touch of low caste peons, they were declared Nian-pani band, i.e. debarred from fire and water which no villager might supply to them without incurring the Zamindar‘s displeasure. They were denied the aid of the village servants and could obtain neither the Dhoba to wash clothes for them nor the Bhandari to shave them. It is not surprising that they usually ended in purchasing the comfort by submission to the demand. 7. DakhaI Kharaj or mutation -This was a fee collected for entering the name of the transferee or the successor of a holding in the Zamindar‘s records. This was being regularly levied until it was abolished by amendment to the Odisha Tenancy Act in 1938 and it varied up to 25 per cent of the consideration money. 8. Tahasil Kharacha- A fee varying from half-an-anna to two annas (Re0.03 to Re0.12) in the rupee of rent, levied for maintenance of collection staff. 9. Piyadamiadi or TaIwana - A fee varying from one and a half- anna to three annas (Re 0.08 to Re 0.19) per day realised from a tenant by the peon sent either to demand rent or to summon him to Zamindar‘s kacheri. 10. Jorimana - Petty cases were often enquired into and disposed off on complaint by either of the parties or by agreement between them when referred to the Zamindar for decision. A fine was inflicted on the aggressor which was pocketed by the Zamindar. 11. Pathasala Kharacha - A fee to defray the cost of maintenance of a school at the residence of the Zamindar, generally three paise per head. 12. Nacha Salami- A fee to enable the Zamindar to keep a party of dancing girls. 13. Rahadari - A fee for covering the cost of sending money to treasury with escort. 14. Thani Kharacha - A fee realised from the Thani raiyat to retain the services of the Gumasta or Amin for the purpose of remeasuring the holding or laying down the boundary of fields, it amounted to 2-3 annas (Re. 0.12 to Re. 0.19) per holding.

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Khas mahal Khasmahals are those estates which were managed directly by Government without intervention of any intermediaries. They arose out of either recusancy or out of failure of bidders at revenue auction sale for non- payment of revenue at Kist dates in which case Government took over the estate for a nominaI sum of rupee one only. In 1845 the number of Khasmahals was 8 and in 1855 the number had risen to 12 with a gross rental of Rs. 16,170 of which Rs. 15,076 was contributed by Nuananda alone and the remaining by petty estates. In Maddox settlement period there were 19 Khasmahals with settled rental of Rs. 39,675 with a total area of 21,797 acres (8,821 hectares). By Dalziel settlement period there were 11 Khasrnahals, the largest being Nuananda bearing Tauzi No. 1316. It had a totaI area of 17,975 acres (7,274 hectares) in 104 villages and was purchased by Government for Re. 1 at a saIe for arrears of revenue in 1818. This estate contained the important market at Mirzapur. The Bichitrapur Khasmahal (on the river Subarnarekha) was a permanent lease taken by Government from the proprietor of Berapal estate for the purpose of salt manufacture for which it was never actually used. Government paid the rent of Rs. 799/- from 1,809 onwards but derived no income from the estate till 1872 when it was sublet to one Babu Kailash Chandra Ray Mahasaya as an Ijarder. Sub-proprietors and tenure -holders It is doubtful whether under the Moughal and Marahata rule, the Zamindars of the plains had any right to create permanent intermediate tenures between themselves and their raiyats. None of them appears to have been created by the Zamindars with the exception perhaps of some Sarbarakars and Sikimi Zamindars. The other tenures have grown concurrently with the growth of Zamindar‘s interest inspite of the opposition of the Zamindars during the British period. The village headman was transformed into Makadam, the purchasers of the waste land grew into Kharidadars, the Zamindar‘s subordinate rent-collector ripened into Sarbarakar just as the master, having originally been rent collector of a higher grade, crystalized into a permanent Zamindar. During the Moughal period the idea of centralization found favour with the ruling kings. The tables were turned during the Marahata rule when the latter favoured the village headman at the expense of the zamindars. In the earlier days of the British conquest even-handed justice was done to both the classes to save themselves from the Zamindars. Many Makadams and Sarbarakars applied to be admitted into direct engagements with the Government and their prayers were allowed. This accounted for the large number of petty estates not only in Baleshwar but also in two other districts - Cuttack and Puri. Elaborate enquiries were made in 1837-45 settlement and the rights of the tenure-holders were settled once and for all. 245

Bajyaptidars These tenures formed the surviving land-mark of the attempt made by the middle classes to create revenue from lands for themselves in the name of the ruling power. When the British took over the province all persons claiming to hold Lakharaj or revenue-free were Invited to register their claims in the office of the Collector for investigation of their titles under section 18 of the Regulation XII of 1805. It was not until the settlement of 1837 that systematic proceedings were undertaken. Frauds on an extensive sale were attempted. In Odisha ciaims over 3 lakh acres were disallowed and those lands were resumed. But they were very liberalIy deaIt with and most of them assessed at half rates. Such tenures were called Adhajarna or Nisfi- bazyapti land the holders-Bajyaptidars. Such concessions were granted with a view to avoiding wide-spread discontent and hardship. Others were allowed to hold at nominaI rates (but not at full rates). They were called Purajama or Kamil Bajyaptidars and the holders commonly described as Kamildars. The Bajyaptidars were for the most part Brahmans and took pride in calling themselves Lakharajdars. Those whose claim to hold revenue free was disallowed were recorded as Bajyaptidar tenure-holders and those whose claim to hold rent free was disallowed ware recorded as Bajyaptidar raiyats. In Maddox settlement the totaI number of Bajyapati holdings resumed was 42, 200 in Baleshwar covering an area of 1,13,400 acres (45,591 hectares) and they were assessed at Rs. 51,700. Of this Kamil- bajypati tenancy was 14, 100, covering an area of 38,200 acres (15,459 hectares) and the rents assessed amounted to Rs. 28,400. The number of Nisfi- bajyapati holdings was 28,100, covering an area of 75,200 acres REVENUE ADMINISTRATION (30,432 hectares) with a rental of Rs. 23,300. In revision (or Dalziel) settlement the area of Bajaypti holdings in temporarily settled estates decreased to 1,08,224 acres (43,796 hectares) as encroachers on Bazyapti holdings perfecting their title by adverse possession were not recorded as Bajyaptidars but as Stithiban raiyats), but the number of holdings increased to 1,73,114 due to unrestricted partition and transfer. Other Tenants The principaI tenant who held beneath the proprietors or proprietary tenure-holders may be divided roughly into five classes, i.e., (1) Thani raiyats or resident cultivators whose rents were fixed for the term of this settlement, (2) Pahi raiyats or non-resident cultivators who ware practically tenants-at- will, (3) Chandanadars who held only homesteads and whose rent was aIso fixed for the term of the settlement, (4) holders of service or other Jagirs who held their land rent- free either in consideration of service rendered or as rewards for service in the past, and (5) under-raiyats of tenants (1) to (4). Of these, the most numerous and important were the Thani and Pahi raiyats.

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Raiyats The actuaI cultivators of the soil at the time of the British conquest were found to be divided into two classes, viz, Thani or resident and Pahi or non - resident raiyats. The term Thani is a corruption of Sthani or Sthaniya, i.e. locaI. The Thani raiyat had a hereditary right of occupancy in his lands, while the Pahi raiyat was a mere tenant-at-will. The advantages enjoyed by the former were that a) He held his homestead and garden land rent-free, b) his lands were the best in the village, and c) he had the preference in the reclamation of new lands. He had communal rights to pasture, fire-wood and thatching grass. He could not be ousted so long as he paid his rent. The possession of these advantages increased his importance in the eyes of his neighbours and strengthened his credit with the money- lender. On the other hand, his rent was much higher than that paid by the non-resident raiyat: and he under the extra contributions and impositions exacted from him by his landlord. These demands were often so excessive as to swallow up all the profits of cultivation, and the Thani-rayat, reduced to despair, often compelled to abandon his home. The Pahi-raiyat paid a much lower rate of rent, but on the other and he was liable to be turned out of his holding at any moment. Chandandars In the case of the cultivating classes, their homesteads generally formed part of their agricultural holdings, but the, shopkeepers, artisans, and the labouring classes, who had not arable land in the village, but only homesteads wore called Chandanadars. The term originally implied inferiority in status as on this class fell the obligation of supplying forced labour. But this obligation having fallen into disuse, the word ―Chandana‖ came to be used for aII homestead land paying rent separately from the arable lands. At the provincial settlement, Chandanadars were given leases securing to them fixity of rent for the term of the settlement. Under the Odisha Tenancy Act their status was recognised and defined, and they were protected from eviction except in execution of a decree for arrears of rent. Save for these express provisions the incidents of the tenancy continued to be regulated by locaI custom and usage. The term Chandanadar is strictly applicable only to the Chandanadars in the temporarily-settled estates. Homestead tenancies which exist in the permanently-settled and revenue- free estates (recorded under Gharbari status) are governed entirely by contract and custom. But by an amendment of Odisha Tenancy Act (Odisha Act Xof1946) the Chandanadar‘s right in respect of his homestead has been made synonymous with the right of an occupancy raiyat both in the permanently settled and temporarily settled areas. There were 8507 Chandana holdings with an area of 1786 acres (723 hectares) as per DaIziel Settlement Records.

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Jagirdars A Jagirdar is one who holds land rent-free or on low rent in return for services rendered. There were two classes of Jagirdars, i.e., (1) those who rendered services to the landlord arid were liable to ejectment on failure to perform such service, and (2) those who performed services to the village community. Such Jagirs were called Desheta or Chakran Jagirs. The system of giving Jagir land to village servants such as barber, washerman, carpenter, potter, astrologer, etc., prevailed in Odisha from ancient time. In a small or newly established village where the number of inhabitants was too small to offer sufficient remuneration to the barber or the blacksmith, these were induced by grants of small areas of land rent-free to take up their residence and thus complete the formation of the village community. It was never intended that these Jagirdars should supply the needs of the villages without payment. The generaI custom was therefore that these village servants would also receive some small payments of paddy or cash annually from the raiyats. On special occasions they received doles of rice, cloth or money for performing duties connected with religious or social observance of the people. The lands given rent-free to the servants of the landlord were, however, valued for the purpose of revenue assessment. In Dalzlel Settlement, 1615 acres (635‘59 hectares) were recorded as personal Jagirs and 2399 acres (971 hectares) as Desheta Jagirs in the temporarily settled areas. In the permanently settled estates of north Baleshwar 602 and 18 acres (243 and 7 hectares) were recorded as personaI and Desheta Jagirs respectively. Under- raiyats Tenants holding whether immediately or mediately under raiyats (occupancy, non-occupancy and Bazyaptidar raiyats) are classed as under- raiyats. These are commonly called Shikimi raiyats. Besides, persons cultivating protected or Nijot lands of proprietors or sub-proprietors to whom occupancy right could not accrue under the law were also treated as under- raiyats. In Dalziel Settlement there were 24,316 under-raiyats with an area on 12,857 acres (5203 hectares). Of these there were 19,490 cash-rented holdings with an extent of 8470 acres (3428 hectares). Although the Odisha Tenancy Act included under-raiyats as a class of tenants, it did not define their rights visavis their landlords and left them to be governed by contract or custom. Thus the custom or usage under which an under-raiyat could, under certain circumstances, acquire a right of occupancy was saved by section 237 of the Odisha Tenancy Act. They were given occupancy right over their homestead only by an amendment of the

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Odisha Tenancy Act under section 236 in the year 1946. Not until the passing of the Odisha Tenancy Protection Act 1948, they could be statutorily protected against arbitrary eviction and rack-renting. Lands of other statuses In Dalziel Settlement, 10.762 acres (4.353 hectares) were recorded under Kharida Jamabandi tenures, 62,102 acres (25.132 hectares) under Bajyapti tenures; and 33, 299 acres (13.475 hectares) under other tenures. 26.926 acres (10,596 hectares) were recorded as Nijot lands of proprietors/sub-proprietors which were in their Khas possession and being their private lands, raiyati right could not accrue. 84.556 acres (34.219 hectares) were recorded as Nij-chas (lands in possession of proprietors! sub-proprietors which were not private lands), 55,665 acres (22,527 hectares) were recorded as Rakshit (reserved for communal purposes) and 12,437 acres (5033 hectares) as Sarbasadharan. 1.85,171 acres (74,936 hectares) were recorded as Abad Jogya Anabadi (culturable waste) including 1,37,871 acres (55,795 hectares) of old falIow and 28,989 acres (11.731 hectares) of jungle. Besides, 25,141 acres (10.174 hectares) were recorded as current fallow, 3.94,171 acres (1,59,516 hectares) were recorded as Abad Ajogya Anabadi not available for cultivation. Land tenure in Nilagiri ex-state The system of tenures prevalent in Nilagiri ex-state before merger is given in the FinaI Report on the Nilagiri Settlement, 1917-22. Raiyats were divided into five classes. viz., 1. Thani (resident cultivators of a village-28,539.7 acres or 11,711.53 hectares. 2. Pahi (non-resident cultivators)-13,502‘01 acres or 5,464‘26 hectares. 3. Chandana (resident non-cultivators occupying homestead lands only)-138‘70 acres or 56.13 hectares. 4. Bajyapti (resumed Lakharaj lands assessed on full-rent) -4530·47 acres or 1833.42 hectares. 5. Kotha Chas (Khas lands sublet to tenants on payment of Sanja paddy)- 357.08 acres or 144.5 hectares. There was no law or record showing the rights enjoyed by the raiyats. But during the last settlement some rights and liabilities could be ascertained with due regard to establish usage in the state. The Thani raiyats got one Guntha (1/20 acres) of homestead land free of rent on every Mana (0.62acre) of wet land. No class of tenants had any right to transfer the lands without permission of the state. However, numerous cases of illegaI 249 transfers were detected during the last settlement. Mutation fee varying from anna to one rupee was charged for recording transfers, inheritance, saIe or gift. Delays or defaults in intimating inheritance, sale, etc were penalised by charging double the prescribed rates. No raiyat whether Thani or Pahi had a right of occupancy over his holding but no one was to be evicted except on satisfactory evidence of disloyalty to the state or on failure to pay arrears of rent. The raiyat was also liable to be evicted if he failed to bring under cultivation any waste land for which lease had been taken by him. Rent assessed was not liable to be enhanced or commuted during the term of the settlement. The raiyati holding was heritable but could not be divided among the heirs without the knowledge of the state authority. No raiyat could cut or utilize any tree standing on his land but was entitled to fruits of the trees. No unauthorised cess or Magana could be levied on any pretext. For default in payment of rent on due dates, the raiyat was liable to pay kisti khilap and his lands were liable to be sold for the arrear dues. As per last settlement there were 24,649 raiyati holdings with an area of 47,088.98 acres (19.056.32 hectares) average area per holding being 1.91 acres or 0.77 hectares in the state. Besides the raiyati lands, there were Jagir lands. As per last settlement records there were 36 different classes of Jagirs covering a total area of 2,370.76 acres (959.44 hectares). A Jagirdar had no transferable rig ht. Possession over the land continued so long as the specified duties were faithfully performed. Fruits standing on Jagir holdings were enjoyed by the Jagirdars but they had no right over the trees. Among the Jagirdars were the village Choukidars locally called Chatias. They depended more on the charity of the villagers than upon any aid from the state. They received a few sheaves of paddy from every cultivator at the harvest time and every resident supplied them one bowl of cooked rice every month. There were 143 Choukidars who held 368 acres (148.93 hectares) of Jagir lands. There were another set of Jagirdars called Bethias. They were of low-castes. They carried luggages, etc., of the ruling chief and the officers on tour. They also helped ruling chief in Shikars (hunting). Revenue and Rent settlement in the past In October 1803, the British occupied Odisha and in 1804 made the first settlement under the instructions of the Commissioners subsequently embodied in Regulation XII of 1805. S. L. Maddox has given the comparative figures of annuaI revenue for 312 estates that existed under the Marahata and the early British period in the then Baleshwar district as follows: Marahata revenue Rs. 1 ,50,285 Revenue in 1803 -05 Rs. 1,54,381

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Revenue in 1805-06 to 1808-09 R5. 1,62,218 Revenue in 1809-10 to 1811-12 Rs. 1,79,450 Revenue in 1812-13 to 1814-15 Rs. 1 ,80,072 Immediately prior to 1837-45 settlement the revenue was Rs. 3,41,332. In this settlement the revenue was settled at Rs. 3,83, 498. The net increase was mostly due to assessment on resumed Lakharaj holdings. As had been stated previously this revenue remained unaltered till it was revised in Maddox settlement. The total revenue of the temporarily settled estates as assessed at Maddox settlement in 1899 was Rs. 5,96,737 representing 53·3 percent of the gross assets mostly due to extension of cultivation during the last 60 years. But in (Dalziel) Revision Settlement (1922-32) the revenue of these estates (the number was 2304) was Rs. 8,20,404 representing 53·1 per cent of the gross assets (Rs. 12,54,454). To this may be added the total revenue of Rs. 34,835 which was permanently fixed in respect of 150 permanently settled estates in the north of the district. The incidence of revenue per acre of assessed lands in Dalziel settlement was Rs.110 as compared with Re. 0·87 at Maddox settlement. Calculated on total area, the incidence was Re. 0·87 in Dalziel settlement as compared with Re. 0·63 in Maddox settlement. In the provincial settlement the assessed area in temporarily settled estates was 6,78,393 acres (2,74,537 hectares) of which the settled/ occupancy tenants held 4,35,200 (1,76,120 hectares). The then existing rentaI of 7,23,500 of these tenancies was raised by Rs. 60,800 to Rs. 7,84,300 giving an average incidence of Rs.1·77 per acre (Rs. 4·37 per hectare). In DaIziel revision settlement the assessed areas in these estates was 7,39,804 acres (2,99,389 hectares) of which the settled occupancy raiyats held 5,42,575 acres (2,19,573 hectares). The normal enhancement of four annas in the rupee was applied and the average incidence of rent rose to Rs. 2·22 per acre (Rs. 5·48 per hectare) in DaIziel settlement. But in the permanently settled estates the average incidence of rent on occupancy tenants (68,940 or 27,899 hectares) was Rs. 2.00 per acre (Rs, 4·94 per hectare) while in the revenue-free estates (34,627 estates) with 59,982 acres or 24,275 hectares it was Rs.1·83 per acre (Rs. 4.52 per hectare). There were varying rates of rent for different classes of tenancies from Rs. 5.22 per acre (Rs. 12.90 per hectare) in case of Chandanadars to Rs.1.26 per acre (Rs.3·11 per hectare) in case of Bazyaptidars. The Odisha Tenancy Act, 1913, no doubt, had prescribed certain procedures for rent settlement. Even then the emphasis was on existing rent and agreement between the parties to be the basis for rent settlement rather than on a rate of rent for each classification of land. No doubt the Act provided for a table of rate to be prepared and applied for fixation of fair and

251 equitable rent of a holding, but that was never applied in practice. This anomaly was not removed until passing of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958 which for the first time definite principles regarding settlement of fair and equitable rent on the basis of productivity of land and other relevant factors like situation of a village, communication and marketing facilities, liable to vicissitudes of season, etc. the on-going settlement operations in Baleshwar is being earned since the year 1962 under provisions of this Act, and this will be discussed separately in this chapter. Extension of Cultivation In the temporarily settled areas of Baleshwar the assessed areas in Maddox settlement was 6,92,200 acres (2,80,125 hectares) out of a cultivated area of 7,76,000 acres (3,14,837 hectares). But in Dalziel settlement this rose to 7,39,800 acres (2,99,388 hectares) out of a cultivated (cropped) area of 8.46,600 acres (3,42,600 hectares), showing an increase of 9.1 per cent in the areas under cultivation. This increase was 13 per cent in Sadar Sub-Division In the entire district covering temporarily settled, permanently settled and revenue-free estates the cropped area in Dalziel settlement was 9,21,707 acres (3,73,002 hectares). These figures do not include an area of 9·30 sq. miles (24.08 sq.km.) excluded from settlement, i.e., 6.00 sq. miles (15.54 set. km.) of Chandinipal jungles in Killa Kanika,and 2.50 sq. miles (6.68 sq. km.) of Khasmahals borne in the revenue-roll of Midnapur district. In the temporarily settled estates there were 1,65,000 acres (66,773 hectares) of culturable wastes including 1,13,000 acres (45,730 hectares) of old fallow and 22,700 acres (9,186 hectares) of jungle. Dalziel estimated that the additionaI areas available for cultivation are 16 per cent of the totaI area. The area actually brought under the plough since Maddox settlement was 49,400 acres (19,992 hectares) in the temporarily settled areas the then of Bhadrak Sub-Divisionnow Bhadrak district although Maddox settlement report states that only 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares) were open to future cultivation. Dalziel reported that even after extended cultivation there were still large areas in the sea coast available for reclamation. A large area that was previously shrub jungles in the coastal Pargana‘s was opened for cultivation since last settlement. The coastaI tracts were depopulated in the terrible cyclone of 1831 from which it couId not recover for a long time. The Odia cultivators never ventured to re-settle there. It was left for speculators from Midnapur to bring the lands under cultivation by taking settlement of large blocks from zamindars and getting them reclaimed by the Santal labourers from Mayurbhanj and by Muslims from Midnapur. These settlers were known as Chakdars. Although smaII embankments had to be erected, the cost of cultivation was low, the soil

252 being very good. The productivity of the land led to keen competition. The rate of Salami in late twenties rose to Rs. 50 and Rs.1 00 per acre. Subsequent to the last settlement, extensive areas were added to the coastal belt of Baleshwar as accretion from the sea. Those were not surveyed. The ex-intermediaries took advantage of this for settling them with persons mostly belonging to Midnapur and other districts of Bengal by getting higher Salami in preference to the claims of the local people. Some of these leases were made retrospectively after abolition of the estates by giving back-dated Pattas which attracted the penaI provisions contained in section 5 (i) of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act. Under this law if any settlement has been made after the 1st January 1946 with the object of defeating any provision soft the Estates Abolition Actor for obtaining higher compensation there under the Collector can set aside the lease after making proper enquiries. By law these accretions should have formed part of the holdings of the adjacent raiyats subject, of course, to payment of additional rent. These illegal leases led to a lot of commotion in the affected villages. To mitigate the effects of cyclone the Government has taken a decision to take up casuarina plantations within one kilometre belt from the high water mark of the sea under the Coastal Belt Afforestation Scheme. Butthis scheme ran into rough weather owing to large scale cultivation of the coastal lands by way of encroachments or by leases made by the ex -intermediaries. In Nilagiri an area of 55,214 acres (22,344 hectares) were recorded as cultivated and occupied in 1886-97 settlement. But in 1917- 22 settlements an area of 60,851.93 acres (24,626 hectares) were so recorded giving a rise of 5637.93 acres (2,282 hectares) as the extension of cultivation during the course of 30 years. This 10 per cent increase in the cultivated area in a period of 30 years shows that apparently there was not much room for reclamation. Landlord - Tenant Relationship Baleshwar was a district of smaII estates except in respect of a portion of Kanika ex-state which lay in this district. Barring a few, relationships between the landlord and the tenants in most of the estates was never satisfactory during the British period. As has been already stated previously they denied in many cases their legal right of occupancy in land and realised various forms of Abwabs (illegaI exactions) in addition to legaI rent details of which have been given elsewhere in this chapter. John Beams, Who was the Collector of Baleshwar during the period 1869-1873, has given some interesting instances of such Abwabs in his book called ―Memoires of a BengaI Civilian‖ posthumously published by his grandson Christopher Cook, which may be worthwhile to quote here:

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Late Rajendra Narayan Bhanj Deo, ex-Zamindar of Kanika estate had imposed as many as 64 Abwabs in his estate during his rule on tenants which had practically broken their economic condition. This was strongly resisted by the people in his entire estate covering part of Baleshwar and Cuttack districts. The peasant revolution in Baleshwar portion of Kanika was spear-headed by late Chakradhar Behera in the early twenties of this century. Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and UtkaI Keshari Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab had courted their first arrest by taking part in this peasant movement. Repressive measures of the Raja also attracted attention of Mahatma Gandhi. During his second visit to Odisha, in the year 1927, he sailed in Matai River from Charbatia in Basudebpur Thana to Panchutikiri. He heard the stories of exploitation and harassment of the tenants of Kanika estate but advised the leader Chakradhar Behera and his associates to continue their struggle against such repressive measures in a non-violent manner. In fact this peasant revolution was the precursor of the non- co- operation movement or independence struggle in Odisha. Some people in certain areas ceased to pay rent to raja and deposited the amount in the Government treasury. They also brought their complaints to the notice of the British Government. But no step was taken to redress their grievances, the situation gradually worsened and finally the raja took the help of the police contingent from Cuttack. Some people died and many were wounded by the police action in April 1922. At the intervention of raja the British Government took it as a part of non cooperation movement and as such tried to suppress the movement by aII means without making proper enquiries into the state of affairs. The raja also tried his level best not to introduce survey and settlement operations during the last Odisha Settlement by DaIziel. Due to agitation of some leaders like late Chakradhar Behera the Government ultimately agreed to take up survey and settlement operations in Kanika estate which facilitated recording of rights of and fixation of fair and equitable rent on their holdings. A book titled ―Dukhini Kanika‖ was circulated containing various forms of exactions and instances of repressive measures which evoked strong sympathy not only among the people of the estate but also among the people of Odisha in general. The relationship was so strained that at the time of harvest a police force with a Magistrate was being deputed invariably to remain present at the time of appraisement of the paddy in respect of the lands cultivated by the tenants under Dhulibhag status or Nijchas or Nij-jot lands of the proprietor even till the advent of independence. As has already been stated there were hardly any consciousness among the tenants that under the law Dhulibhag raiyats and the tenants of Nijchas lands had occupancy right and they could apply for commutation of rent which rig ht was never exercised. 254

The situation did not change very much even after independence except that the temporary lessees under the ex -intermediaries were granted ryoti right under the Odisha Land Reforms Act after abolition of the estates. The oppression of the zamindars ceased and illegal exactions stopped. But the consciousness of the tenants regarding their rights over lands cultivated by them on Bhaga basis was never roused. Under the Odisha Tenant‘s Protection Act, 1948 the Bhag-chasis were protected against arbitrary eviction and rack-renting by their landlords and this was also reiterated and strengthened in the Odisha Tenants Relief Act, 1955. Bhaga-chasis in generaI did not come forward to enforce this right particularly for payment of lawful rent (1/3rd of the gross produce for occupancy tenants, 2/5th for non- occupancy tenants under the Odisha Tenants Projection Act and 1/4th of gross produce under the Odisha Tenants Relief Act) rather than the customary Bhag of 50 per cent of gross produce. The practice of Bhag-chas was quite rampant in the past and continues unabated even till today in spite of statutory restrictions under the Odisha Land Reforms Act since 1 st October 1965, In the ex -state of Nilagiri a peasant agitation started in the year 1928 demanding abolition of Bethi (forced labour) and other forms of Abwabs. Here also many cesses and fees were collected forcibly some of which went to the private treasury of raja and were not credited to the state treasury. On speciaI occasions, such as Shikar, Kheda, preparing roads for Shikar, carrying wood, coaI and straw for the palace, attending to the tours of the officiaIs, extinguishing fire in the jungle, carrying luggage of the officers, and clearing the aeroplane ground, a paltry sum (2 to 6 paise) was paid to labourers. Rasad which means forced suppIy of articles demanded by the raja or his officers played its part of oppression along with Bethi. Sarbarakars were fined for failing to supply Rasad to raja‘s camp, Fruits, sweetmeats, soda water, lemonade, cigarettes, foreign liquor and food articles which were not available locally were also supplied free of cost by the people procuring these either from Baleshwar or Kolkata, He-goats, fowls, and milch cows were aIso supplied free of cost to the raja, Besides these taxations, Magan was collected on the occasion of raja‘s marriage, marriage ceremony of any of the sisters or near relatives of the raia end the sacred thread ceremony at the rate of 50 per cent to 75 per cent of rent. Suniya Bheti was given to the raja on the day of Suniya (Oriya New Year‘s Day) by all the officers, Sarbarakars, Bhadraloks (respectable men), Lakhrajdars, Purohits and distant relatives of the raj family. There was a puncha system which means people must supply fuel and straw for use in the palace at nominal price. In 1928, the Raja of Nilagiri assessed on the tenants a heavy Abwab in connection with the celebration of the marriage ceremony of his daughter. There had already been discontentment among the tenants due to high 255 taxation and extraction on various pretexts as indicated earlier. So, they did not agree to the assessment of further enhancement of Abwab and revolted against it. The raja started oppression. The tenants on the advice of Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab left the state and came in thousands to Baleshwar. Dr. Mahtab wired Rev. C. P. Andrews to come to Odisha and look into the situation himself. It was at his intervention that a settlement could be arrived at and the raja agreed to pay proper remuneration for services obtained from the people. The tenants then stopped the agitation and returned home. In the book ―India and Simon Commission‖, Rev. Andhrews wrote, ―shortly after the departure of Mahatma Gandhi from Odisha for the Madras Congress about a thousand residents of a neighboring Garjatan away to Baleshwar with stories of relentless cruelty and oppression perpetrated on them. Their allegation was that the Raja was squandering away everything in luxury; that there were no accounts maintained of the rents realized, that people‘s suffering had exceeded all limits and many of them had left the State in search of justice. They were waiting at Baleshwar for months together with endless patience which could be compared with the patience of Job in the Bible.‖ They were firm that they would not return home until their sufferings were remedied. At Baleshwar some Swaraj workers had also helped these poor people by saving them from starvation. The situation changed after merger of the state in Odisha with effect from 1st January 1948 when the raiyats came directly under the State Government. Land Reforms With the implementation of land reform measures various incidences of land tenures described in the preceding paragraphs have only historical significance. The incidence of rights and Iiabilities, etc., of those tenures have either been obliterated or substantially modified since the attainment of independence in August 1947 owing to abolition of intermediaries. Pending enforcement of comprehensive land reform measures certain ad hoc enactments like of Odisha Tenants Protection Act, 1948 and the Odisha Tenants Relief Act 1955 were enforced to prevent arbitrary eviction and rack-renting of the tenants by the landlords. Land Reforms in its proper sense began with the enforcement of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951 (Act I of 1952), which may be considered as the area test revolutionary measure in the field at land reforms. The objective of bringing the actuaI cultivation in direct relationship with the state was achieved in two phases. The first phase consisted of enforcement of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act which sought to abolish intermediaries between the state and the raiyat, and the second phase was the enforcement of the Odisha Land Reforms Act with effect from the 1st October 1965 which aimed at abolishing all raiyat- intermediaries between the state and the actual cultivator where the raiyat himself was not in cultivating possession of the land, by prohibiting Bhag- chas.

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The broad features of these two revolutionary legislations are described in brief in the following paragraphs with their impact on the land tenures in Baleshwar district. Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951 This Act came into force with effect from the 9th February, 1952 and it provided for abolition of all rights, title and interest in land of all intermediaries by whatever name known between the riayat and the state of Odisha and authorised the State Government to issue notification from time to time declaring that any estate has passed to and became vested in the state free from all encumbrance. An intermediary with reference to any estate was defined as proprietor, sub-proprietor, and landlord. land-holder, Malguzar, Thikadar, Gaontia, tenure-holder, under-tenure-holder and included an Inamdar, Jagirdar, Zamindar, llaqadar, Kherposhdar, Praganadar, Sarbarakar and Maufidar including the ruler to an lndian state merged with the state of Odisha and all other holders or owners of interest in land between the raiyat and the state. A raiyat was defined as a person having right of occupancy according to the tenancy law or rules or Custom prevalent in that area. On publication of the notification, the entire estate shall vest absolutely in the State Government free from all encumbrances and the intermediary shall cease to have any interest other than the interest expressly saved by or under the provisions of this Act for which he will get compensation as fixed under the Act. What were saved in favour of the intermediary were the homesteads in possession of the intermediary which he will retain on payment of rent as an occupancy tenant (Section 6 of the O. E. A. Act). Besides he will also retain all lands used for agricultural or horticultural purpose which were in his ―khas possession‖ on the date of vesting which will be settled with him on raiyati status on payment of fair and equitable rent (Section 7 of the O. E. A. Act). Such lands held by temporary lessees were aIso to be settled with him on similar terms if he was the owner of less than thirty-three acres. of land in total extent situated within the state. Temporary lessee (tenants without occupancy rights) under the ‗intermediary: owning more than 33 acres on the date of vesting and Jagir- holders who are village servants would be deemed to be tenants under the State Government and hold their lands under the same terms and subject to the same restrictions and liabilities under which they held the lands before the date of vesting (all such tenants were to attain raiyati status under provisions of the Odisha Land Reforms Act). But Jagir-holders for rendering personal service to the intermediary shall be discharged from the conditions of such service and lands in their possession will be settled with them on raiyati tenure. All such persons claiming raiyati status under the Act were to apply for settlement of lands before the Tahasildar within a prescribed period. As many persons failed to apply within the period prescribed, 257

Government extended the period from time to time by executive instructions and ordered to treat the application for settlements lease applications. The Collector was given the authority to cancel any lease given or transfer made of any land by the intermediary at any time after the 1st January 1946 if such lease or transfer was made with the object of defeating any provisions of the Act or obtaining higher compensation there under after ma king necessary enquiries and after giving opportunity to the parties concerned to appear and be heard (section 5 (i) of the O. E. A. Act). Subsequently from May 1986, Deshata Jagirs (village servants holding Jagir lands) were also abolished and the Jagirdars were treated as occupancy raiyats. On the 27th November, 1952 the first batch of notification under section 3 of the Act vesting 271 permanently settled and temporarily settled estates were issued. The zamindar of Kanika whose estate partly lay to the extent of 453 sq. km, in Baleshwar filed a writ petition in the High Court of Odisha for directing the State Government not to interfere in his rights and not to take possession of his estate which was ultimately dismissed. In the next batchof notifications 472 temporarily estates vested in 1953. In 1954, 2651 estates vested. Between 1956-64, 11 estates vested. Thus a total of 3405 proprietary estates vested in the State Government under the O.E.A. Act. It may thus be seen that in Dalziel Settlement period the number of temporarily settled estates was 2394 and the number of permanently settled estates was 150. Against 2544 estates the number of proprietary estates increased to 3405 mainly due to partition among the co-shares of the temporarily settled estates. Besides the right, title and interest of sub-proprietors, tenure- holders, and revenue-free tenures and revenue-free estates were also abolished in different phases. One sub-proprietary estate vested in 1957, 257 such estates vested in 1958 and 895 in 1959. Thus interests of 1153 sub-proprietor estates vested by 1959 (in Dalziel Settlement period there were 1046 sub-proprietary tenures). Between 1956-1963 interests of 40.502 tenure- holders were abolished. (In Dalziel Settlement period there were 35.917 tenure holders in temporarily settled estates and 2820 in permanently settled estates). 334 tenures in Nilagiri ex-state vested in 1963. The records maintained in the Collectorate relating to the particulars of revenue-free and tiny estates were hopelessly out-of-date. Since notifications have to specify particulars regarding the estate to be vested it was thought that mentioning incorrect particulars may lead to serious legal difficulties. The Act was therefore amended authorising the Government to issue general notifications for vesting without mentioning the name of any intermediaries, but only describing the class to which the estates belong. After this amendment general notifications were issued abolishing aII intermediary interests including interests of revenue-free estates. Three 258 revenue free estates had vested in 1959 and two in 1960. But in 1963 as many as 34,231 revenue-free estates in Baleshwar proper and 5054 in Nilagiri vested. (Dalziel had recorded 34,627 revenue-free estates in Baleshwar.) In Baleshwar district 93,784 compensation cases were started, out of which 90,019 have been disposed of. Compensation of over 2 crores of rupees has been awarded till the end of March, 1987. Cases instituted and disposed of in all the Tahasils of the district under various sections of OEAAct are given below; 40,167 cases were started for settlement of lands under sections 6 and 7 of the OEAAct in Khas possession of the ex- intermediaries including trust estates and aII these cases have since been disposed of by March, 1987. No information or statistics is available regarding the extent of land, the number of beneficiaries and the amount of rent settled. It was, however, found that some intermediaries of petty and small revenue-free estates and tenures could not avail of the opportunity of filing their claims petitions in time due to their ignorance of law. Moreover, by the time settlement operation started many cases had not beer: disposed of by the Tahasildars. All such cases have been recorded under Bebandobast status in the current settlement records. 3,204 cases were started under section 8 (3) of OEAAct for settlement of lands in favour of Jagirdars doing personal service. All such cases have also been disposed of. No information is available regarding the Extent of land settled and the number of beneficiaries. Where cases had not been disposed of by the time settlement operations started, such Jagir lands have also been recorded in Bebandobast status. The Settlement Officer reports that in 3,305 villages completed so far from settlement operations in the district (This does not cover 418 villages transferred to the Consolidation Organization)‘ as many as 57,309 holdings with an extent of 53,809 acres have been recorded in Bebandobast status, These Iands if not covered by proceedings u/s 6,7 and 8 (3) of the OEA Act will either vest in Government or be settled with the beneficiaries by the Tahasildars on fixation of fair and equitable rent. Government is losing a lot of money by not settling them in favour of persons who are entitled to such settlement or by not starting encroachment cases against persons in possession if they are not covered by the proceedings under the OEA Act. 11,268 cases were started under section 5 (i) of the OEA Act, out of which 11,048 have been disposed of leaving a balance of 220 by March. 1987. No information is available regarding the extent of land in which the leases have been declared void and the extent of land confirmed. It has been observed elsewhere that there was substantial accretion of land from the sea after the last revision settlement. The ex- intermediaries had leased out most of these lands in favour of persons from outside Odisha in preference to the legaI claims of the villagers. Most of 259 these lands appear to have been leased out after vesting by giving back- dated receipts/documents. The district administration should take steps for declaring all such illegal leases void. As stated above many ex-intermediaries/Jagirdars could not file claim petitions within the prescribed period for settling lands in their possession in their favour. All such cases were ordered to be treated as lease cases under OEA Act. 66,600 cases were started either on application or suomotu by the Tahasildars. Out of this 66,219 have been disposed of by December, 1986, having a balance of 381. No information is available regarding the extent of land settled and the number of beneficiaries. Before ―enforcement of Land Reforms proper the private land (Iands held on the date of merger by a ruler free of rent) of rulers of ex-states were made liable to assessment and levy of rent under the Odisha Private Lands of Rulers (Assessment of Rent) Act, 1958. Under this law private land belonging to the Raja of Nilagiri and his relatives and dependants were assessed to rent. Chowkidari system was abolished under the OdishaOffices of Village Police (Abolition) Act, 1964. The Jagir lands held by the Chowkidars were resumed and vested in State Government but they were settled with rights of occupancy on fixation of fair and equitabe rent but free of Salami in favour of the Chowkidars or his co-sharers or tenants as may be found in possession of such lands on the appointed date. Government later ordered that if any Chowkidar had no Jagir land. Government waste land and even Gochar lands could be settled with them, if available, free of Salami in the same or in the neighbouring village. These Chowkidars who held offices more or less on hereditary basis were later re-placed by Grama Rakshis appointed under the Odisha Grama Rakhi Act. 1967. Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 That Act came into force with effect from the 1st October, 1965 except Chapters III and IV. Chapter lll providing for resumption of land from ternporary tenants for personal cultivation and for giving raiyati rights to the irresurnable lands to such tenants became effective from the 9th December 1965. Chapter IV relating to fixation of ceiling and disposal of ceiling surplus land became effective from the 2nd October 1973. The main features of the Act as subsequently amended from time to time and Its effect on the land tenures in the district are summarised in the following paragraphs;- In order to acquire the right of a raiyat, the temporary lease, the sub- tenant or the under-raiyat, as the case may be, or his successor-in- Interest (heritability to such temporary tenant was conceded for the first time by an amendment of the Act in 1976) has to apply to the ah3sildar for settlement of 260 the land with him within a prescribed period as extended from time to time and on payment of compensation at the rate of eight hundred rupees per standard acre of land to be paid in five equal installments as may be fixed by the Tahasildar (originally this was fifty per cent of the market value).13,425 persons got raiyati right over 13,685 acres of land in Baleshwar district till the 31 st December 1986 under this provision of law. A raiyat liable to pay produce rent shaII not pay more than 1/8th of the gross produce or equivalent thereof. The rig ht of a raiyat is permanent heritable and transferable but he shall have no right to lease out his lands unless he is a ―person under disabilitv‖ or is a ―privileged raiyat‖, The right of transfer of raiyati land has been made void from 1976 for a period of ten years without obtaining prior permission from the Tahasildar in respect of lands settled for agriculturaI purposes, except transfers made in favour of Scheduled Bank or a co-operative society by way of mortgage. He is liable to eviction if he (a) has used the land comprised in his holding in a manner which renders it unfit for the purpose, (b) Has leased out the land in contravention of the provisions of the Act, or (c) Has used the land for any purpose other than agriculture Conditions (b) and (c) are new obligations of the raiyat which were not there either in the Odisha Tenancy Act or in the Merged State (Laws) Act. Although Bhag-chas has been prohibited since 1st October 1965, rayats who are neither ―persons under disability‖ nor ―privileged raiyats‖ continue to lease out their rayati lands in full or in part to tenants and are realising about fifty per cent of the produce with impunity. Not a single case has been started for eviction of the raiyat for leasing out his land in contravention of the law. No tenant is willing to enforce his right of acquiring raiyati right over such land by applying to the Collector for fear of being evicted by the landlord. The cost of personaI cultivation has become prohibitive owing to sharp increase in cost of agricultural labour and inputs. Bag-chas is likely to continue indefinitely till personal cultivation continues to be unremunerative and till the tenants remain unaware of their rights or are unwilling to enforce them. Enforcement of their right in litigation is not easy. Similar is the case with regard to use of land for purposes other than agriculture. Although large scale conversion of agriculturaI land for non-agricultural purposes has taken place, no step has yet been taken for evicting the raiyat. These two provisions of law have, therefore, remained inoperative in practice. The transfer of land by a raiyat belonging to a Scheduled Tribe/Caste shall be void unless it is made in favour of a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe/Caste or with the previous permission in writing of the Sub-

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DivisionaI Officer·. The Revenue Officer shaII not grant such permission unless he is satisfied that a purchaser being to a Scheduled Tribe/Caste and willing to pay the market price is not available. The S. D. O. suomotu or on application by any person interested shall cause restoration of the property thus illegally interested to the transferor or his heirs after causing necessary enquiry. The transferee after being evicted from such land shall not be entitled to the refund of any amount paid by him to the transferor by way of consideration money. Similar provisions apply to unauthorised occupation of the whole or part of holding of a S.C./S.T. raiyat by way of trespass or otherwise. In such cases, the adverse possession in favour of the occupant will be ―thirty‖ years instead of ―twelve‖ years as provided in the Limitation Act, 1963. 1,065 cases were started for restoration of S. C‘/S. T. lands illegally transferred or forcibly occupied out of which 993 cases had been disposed of by the 31 st December, 1986 in which 273 acres were restored in favour of 469 persons. This provision of law in the O. L. R. Act is not applicable to Nilagiri Block No. 1 which has been declared as a Scheduled Area under the Scheduled Area (Constitution) Order in 1977. A similar law, namely, the Odisha (Scheduled Areas) Transfer of Immovable Property (by Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956 (Regulation 2 of 1956) is applicable to this area, in respect of lands belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. A raiyat or a tenant of a village having no permanent and heritable right in respect of any site on which his dwelling house or farm house stands is entitled to get raiyati right on it or on a portion thereof not exceeding 1/5th of an area. 768 such persons have got raiyati rights over 110 acres of homestead lands under this Act up to the 31st December 1986. A tenant with temporary right (Bhag-chasi) shall not be liable to pay more than 1/14th of the gross produce of the land or value there of as produce-rent subject to a maximum of 8, 6, 4, 2 standard maunds of paddy or value thereof respectively for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes of land. This right has been made heritable (but not transferable) under the Odisha Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1976. The landlord has right to evict such a tenant only if the tenant- (a) Has used the land in a manner which renders it unfit for the purpose of agriculture; or (b) Has failed to cultivate the land properly or personally; or (c) Has failed to pay or deliver to the landlord the rent within a period of two months from the date by which it becomes payable there being no dispute regarding the quantum of such rent. Besides the tenant shall also cease to have the right to cultivate the land if the landlord is a ―person under disability‖ at the end of the year during 262 which the disability ceases or if the landlord being a privileged raiyat person under disability ceases to be the landlord. A person under disability is defined as a- (a) widow, unmarried or divorcee woman; (b) minor; (c) person incapable of cultivating by reason of some mental or physical disability; (d) a serving member of the Armed Forces: (e) a person, the total extent of whose lands held in any capacity does not exceed three standard acres (till 1976 this limit was five standard acres). A standard acre is defined as equivalent to one acre of class land (irrigated land capable of growing two or more crops a year). 1 acres of class land (irrigated land in which not more than one crop could be grown in a year), three acres of class-III land (unirrigated land capable of growing paddy) and 4 acres of class-IV land (any other land). A privileged raiyat is defined as (a) a co-operative society, (b) Lord Jagannath and his temple and (c) any trust or other institutions declared as such under the Act before commencement of Odisha Amendment Act 17 of 1973 or by a competent authority under the OEA Act or by the Tribunal to be a religious or charitable trust under section 57-A or any public financial institution. 1687 religious and charitable institutions have been declared as ―privileged raiyat,‖ but the number of persons declared as ―persons under disability‖ is not available. Bhoodan In the early part of fifties, Acharya Vinoba Bhave initiated a movement called Bhoodan Yagna for acquisition of land through voluntary gift with a view to distributing the same to the landless persons. To facilitate donation of lands in connection with Bhoodan Yagna and to provide for distribution of such lands and for matters of ancillary there to, the Odisha Bhoodan Yagna Act was enacted in 1953 which if implemented with the spirit with which the movement was ushered in, would have brought in a revolutionary chance in the ideas of land ownership. It provided for the establishment of a Bhoodan Yagna Samiti In favour of which donation of land could be made by the la rid-owners. Distribution of donated land was made through the Samiti in the prescribed manner. Certain restrictions were placed on the inthe matter of transfer and dispose of the allotted lands. The total extent of land donated and distributed to the allottees under Bhoodan/ Gramdan is 1424 acres till 31 st December 1986. 968 Bhoodan cases were started, out of which 374 were confirmed, and 517 rejected. 77 cases are still pending for disposal by 31st March 1986. It is known that 102 cases are still pending for disposal by end of December 2014. 263

Waste Land Settlement As has already been stated there were no intermediaries with landed interest between the state and the raiyat in the ex-state of Nilagiri. In this ex- state waste land allotment was made directly by the Durbar Administration The rest of the district was a Zamindari area excepting a small area of 18,558 acres 751 0.19 hectares) in 19 Khasmahals and allotment of land was made either or by sub-proprietors or by tenure holders or their official is according to the degree of ownership each class of tenure had over the estate. Thus-the landlords had the absolute power to lease out waste and forest lands including in some cases reserved lands like Gochar until this power was restricted by the Odisha Preservation of Private Forest Act 1947. This Act was followed by the Odisha Communal, Forest and Private Lands (Prohibition of Alienation.) Act, 1948 (Act I of 1948) which was enacted to prohibit retrospectively from 1 st April 1946 alienation of communaI forest and private lands without prior permission of the Collector. Section 61 of the Odisha Tenancy Act provided that no waste land could be reclaimed by the raiyat without the written consent of the landlord. But the consent of the landlord was presumed if within 4 years from the date on which the raiyat commence declamation the landlord has not made and application to the Collector for his ejectment. Thus aII encroachments over wastelands could be legalised as raiyati lands, as no landlord had exercised this right of filing application for ejectment. This law also applied to government lands in Khasmahal areas where the Government waf the landlord until section 61 was made inapplicable to the Government lands under section 5 of the Odisha Government Land Settlement Act 1962. After abolition of the estates there was no law authorising and appropriate authority to lease out wastelands for agriculturaI or other purpose, except what was contained in a set of executive instructions in the Government Estate ManuaI. Government for the first time prescribed a set of principles for settlement of wastelands i.e. their order dated 26th October 1964 called ―Approved Lease Principles‖. This rule prescribed a priority of settlement outside reserved areas in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes having Iands less than five acres to the extent of 5 acres only including homestead lands, The landless persons belonging to other backward classes and other land- less persons would get preference next to the landless S. Cs. and S. Ts. Persons having lands exceeding five acres were not to get and settlement of wastelands but all encroachments prior to 13th September, 1961 which were not objectionable were to be settled with encroachers irrespective of the area owned or encroached on payment of a nominal Salami of Rs.50/-to Rs.150/- according to the quality and productivity of the land. Under this rule the Tahasildars appear to have freely exercised powers to lease out government lands including those with good forest growth even in favour of persons who were not agriculturists. This happened because definition of ―landless

264 person‖ was not correlated to the source of livelihood. The definition of land- less person‖ was subsequently modified on 29th May1965 to mean a person having no profitable income or livelihood other than agriculture if he owns either as tenant or as raiyat less than five acres of land including land held as such by any member of his family living with him in one mess. The Approved lease Principles‖ were followed by the Odisha Government Land Settlement Act 1963 which came into force from 1st January 1965. This Act was supposed to supersede he executive instructions contained in Approved Lease Principles‖, but the lease principles being more exhaustive were followed in to as the O. G. L. S. Act as enacted in 1962 contained a lot of lacunae. Major changes removing most of the lacunae were effected in the Presidential Act 22 of 1973 which came into force from 1st February 1974. This Act also underwent further amendment in 1975 and in 1981 to make its implementation more effective. Government also amended the lease principles by issuing executive instructions from time to time. Under the revised instructions encroachments made prior to 16th August 1972 could be settled with an encroacher to the extent he was landless. In the definition of land- less 2acres was substituted for 5 acres for settlement of unobjectionable encroachments. But for S. Cs, and S. Ts. the limit of five acres for landless remained unaltered. ‗The lease principles besides making provisions for settlement of land for agriculture also made provisions of settlement of homestead lands in rural, semi- urban and rapidly developing areas according to a certain order of priority. Settlement of land in urban areas was made under the Odisha State Urban Land Settlement Rules, 1959. The present law regarding settlement of government lands is that 70 per cent of the settleable lands shaII be settled with persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their respective population in the village in which the land is situated, and the remaining shaII be settled with other persons in the following order of priority: a) co-operative farming societies formed by landless agricultural labourers; b) any landless agricultural labourer of the village in which the land is situated or of any neighboring village; c) ‗Ex-servicemen or members of the Armed Forces of the Union, if they belong to the village in which the land is situated! d) raiyats who personalIy cultivate not more than one standard acre of land: e) in the absence of persons belonging to any of the foregoing categories, any other person.

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No government land shall be settled in urban areas for agricultural purposes, lands covered by forest growth or recorded as forest shall not be settled for any purpose whatsoever without prior approval of Government In each village, land for homestead purpose shall be demarcated separately and no settlement shaII be made outside the demarcated areas. The statutory rules now provide for settlement of house-sites in urban areas. The powers of sanction of settlement of government land for various purposes have been specified in the Schedule of the Odisha Government Land Settlement Rules 1983. Power for settlement of land beyond the delegations made there in for purposes other than agriculture shaII lie with the Government. The Tahasildar‘s power of settlement for agricultural purposes in favour of landless agricultural labourers is limited to one standard acre and for homestead purpose up to five decimals subject to confirmation by S. D. O. (Sub-collector.) No reliable figure is available regarding extent of land settled under the lease principles or under the Odisha Government Land Settlement Act prior to 1974- 75. But from 1 974 -75 up to 31st March 1986 the extent of land settled with the landless persons is 4,727 acres in favour of beneficiaries. Out of them the number of S. T. beneficiaries is 2,724 who have got 1,785 acres and the number of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries is 1802 who have got 1473acres. Providing homestead to homestead less persons is included in the 20-point Programme and Government also have laid emphasis on providing homesteads free of cost to poor people in the villages. Even in some urban and fast developing areas the homestead less persons are being given land up to 4 decimals free of cost. From the year 1974-75 to 31st March 1986, 10,764 families have got 509 acres of land out of which 5,299 Scheduled Tribes‘ got 266 acres and 3,221 Scheduled Castes families got 138 acres. Section 6-A of the OdishaLand Reforms Act prohibits transfer of such lands within a period of 10 years without the permission of the Revenue Officer (Tahasildar) end Section 3-B of the OGLS Act, authorises him to resume such lands if it is used for any purpose other than that for which it was settled. No case has yet been started for taking action for enforcement of this provision of law. Encroachments Encroachment on wasteland was always being encouraged by the zamindars in the interest of reaIisaton of relit from the cultivators. Encroachments on communal/reserved lands were being dealt with as public nuisance under provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure or the encroachers were being prosecuted under section 290 of the Indian Penal Code which was an indirect method. But under section 61 of the Odisha Tenancy Act an encroacher could acquire an occupancy right even if the Iand was Rakshit, After abolition of inter- mediates which resulted in vesting of a II waste/jungle/ Rakshit communal lands in the State Government free 266 from a II encumbrances, the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act was passed in 1954 for prevention of unauthorised occupation of Government land which included in its definition lands of locaI authorities/corporations/ companies owned or controlled by the State Government. This Act was replaced by the O. P. L. E. Act, 1972 which has since undergone severaI amendments, one in 1975, another in 1976, a third in 1979 and a fourth in 1983. This Act gave summary powers to Tahasildars for eviction of encroachrnents and for levy of assessment, penalty and for imprisonment in civil jail. This Act also provides for settlement of land in favors of encroacher, if the encroachment is unobjectionable in favour of certain categories of poor persons up to one standard e are in rural areas for agricultural purposes and 1/20th of an acre in urban areas for homestead. In spite of such stringent provision of law encroachments both in rural and urban areas are rampant. In spite of the circulars issued by the Board of Revenue and the statutory provision in O. P. L. E. Rules to cover all cases of encroachments by O. P. L. E. proceedings, encroachment cases are started only in respect of a few encroachments. Whatever case is started is not pursued and they continue indefinitely from year to year. According to entries in the encroachment case Registers of the Tahasildars, 40,163 cases were started, out of which only 2,609 were disposed by 28th February 1987, most of which were probably ended ill settlement rather than in eviction. Survey and Settlement The previous Settlement operation known as Major Settlement operation in the undivided Baleshwar district started in the year 1961 for simultaneous operation (Survey, Record of Right Preparation and Settlement of Rent) under Section 36 of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958 just 30 years after the last Settlement was finalized in the year 1932. Notifications bringing different areas of the district within the purview of the Settlement were issued between the year 1960 and1979. The programme covered the whole district including the ex-state of Nilagiri, excluding 345 villages of Basta Police station and 01 village named Nampo of Jaleshwar Police station (These 346 villages were subsequently intended to be covered under the Consolidation operation which were notified in the years 1974-76). Undivided Baleshwar district formed a wing of Baleshwar- Mayurbhanj Major Settlement with headquarters at Baripada with one or two Charge Officers at Baleshwar. Initially it functioned as a part of Cuttack Major Settlement until its separation on 1st April 1964. Before taking up Survey and Settlement operation, the district had a total of 4442 villages. 345 villages of Basta P.S. and 01 village of Jaleshwar P.S. were covered by the Consolidation operation before Settlement operation was taken up in these areas. Another batch of 91 villages consisting of 71 villages of Bhadrak P.S. and 20 villages of Singla p.s. were taken up by Consolidation organization. Thus 4005 villages were left for completion of Settlement operation. 73 villages were amalgamated with the neighboring villages and 267

29 villages were newly formed from the existing villages with the approval of Board of Revenue by resorting to Boundary Change Proceeding under Rule, 61 of Odisha Survey and Settlement Rule,1962. The total nos of villages thus were reduced to 3961 villages. These villages were divided into seven Blocks (A, B, C, D, D-I, E andF) according to the year of initiation of operation. By the end of December, 1987 Settlement operation had been completed in respect of 3315 villages and by the year 1995 Settlement operation had been completed in respect of all 3961 villages. The sabik area of villages comprising the district was 1,324,486 acres (536,003 hecters) during the time of Major Settlement finalized in the year 1932 and the hal area had been increased to 1,422,642 acres (575,725 hecters). Increase in the area is attributed to inclusion of 31 villages (41 villages of Mayurbhanj district and 01 village of Kendujhar district included and 11 villages of Baleshwar district transferred to Kendujhar district), survey of unsurveyed areas and amalgamation of some lands accreated from sea (The information furnished by different agencies with regard to the area of the district did not agree with each other and it was difficult to reconcile these figures. However, the area furnished by the then Settlement officer had been taken to be reasonably reliable). The area occupied by the Reserve Forests were not included with in the village area during the Settlement operation. During the Settlement operation, lands had been recorded mainly under 04 categories. 1. Rayati land, i.e. lands held by rayatis under sthitiban status. 2. Government land under four khatas viz. Abad Jogya Anabadi, Abad Ajogya Anabadi, Sarbasadharan and Rakshit. 3. Departmental lands, i.e. lands held by different Departments of Government. 4. Bebandobasti, i.e. lands vested with Government under the provisions of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951 (Act I of 1952). Settlement operation was done under four stages, i.e. (1) Kistwar and Khanapuri, (2) Bujharat and Attestation, (3) DraftPublication and Objection Hearing, and (4) Final Publication and Patta Distribution. Under the first stage of operation the village was surveyed and lands held by different persons, institutions, departments etc. were separately mapped and preliminary record-of- rights prepared by causing local enquiries. In the next stage of operation extracts of priliminary record-of-rights were supplied to the land owners as well as landlords and record-of-rights explained, called Bujharat. Mistakes, omissions and commissions were enquired into and record corrected and attested. During the third stage of operation, the 268 attested records together with assessment of rent holding-wise were put to draft publication for a period of 60 days. Objections were received and decided by offering opportunities of being heard to all interested persons and maps and records, wherever necessary corrected. The statute was providing opportunities to the aggrieved persons to file appeal and revision before the competent authorities. Lastly record-of-rights are finally published and extract of record-of-rights supplied to the land owners. Settlement of rent was an important work during Survey and Settlement operations. Rent was fixed in accordance with the principles laid down under the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958 and rules framed there under. For fixing of rent villages were first grouped into 03 classes (Class-I, Class-II and Class-III) keeping in view of the situation of the village, communication and market facilities, depredation by wild animals and liability to vicissitudes of season. Lands were then classified with due regard to crop or crops grown on the land, nature of soil, situation of the land in the village and source of irrigation. They had thus been classified into 36 classifications, viz., Sarad (I,II,III), Sarad Dofasali (I,II,III), Sarad Jala (I,II,III), Sarada Jala dofasali (I,II,III) ,Taila (I,ll), Biali, Biali Dofasali, Pala (I,II,III), Baje Fasal (I and II), Bagayat (I,II,III), Jalasaya (I and II), Dalua (I and II), Ghar-bari (I and II), Rayati lands used for commercial purpose, miscellaneous land, puratan patita and homesteads (rural, urban and semi-urban). Varying rates of rent have been fixed (approved by Government) for each such class of land for each group of villages for each Thana completed from rent settlement. Rent of agricultural land is fixed taking into account average price of crop or crops normally grown on land, situation of the land and the nature of the soil and maximum rent assessed on land of similar quality and productivity in the state. Rent was linked with the net profit which a land owner derives from the land. The lands used for any purpose other than agriculture including all kinds of homestead land both in urban and rural areas is fixed having regard to situation of the land, purpose for which it is used, communication and marketing facilities and market value of the land. A statement showing Sabik and hal rent of the police stations completed from the Major Settlement operation in respect of erstwhile Baleshwar district is given below.

SL.No Name of the Police station Sabik rent Hal rent 1 2 3 4 Rs. Rs. 1 Raibania 84,636.38 3,49,833.00 2 Baleshwar 1,84,123.00 4,63,284.00 Sadar and Town 3 Nilagiriand Berhampur 1,31,893.99 3,65,300.00 4 Tihiri 149708.00 3,88230.00 5 Bhograi 1,77,411.50 7,52708.00

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6 Baliapal 57,609.30 2,10,656.50 7 Soro, Remuna and Khaira 4,44,113.58 10,29,331.00 8 Bhadrak, Chandbali, Dhamnagar, 6,64,422.00 17,25,673.00 Bhandaripokhari, Bansada 9 Similia, Bant and Basudevpur 85,860.00 2,02,486.00 10 Singla 67,449.88 3,20,720.36 11 Jaleshwar (R )Jaleshwar( Town) 85,501.78 4,34,914.40

2nd Round of Survey and Settlement Operation The 2nd round of Survey and Settlement operation known as Raghupati Major Settlement (R.M.S.) in the following P.S.s of Baleshwar district have been taken up in pursuance of Government of Odisha, Revenue Department Notification as detailed below.

SI. Name of the P.S. Notification No. and Date No of villages No. taken up 1 2 3 4 1 Remuna 5448/R dt.26.08.1989 169 2 Khantapada 5448/R dt.26.08.1989 116 3 Khantapada 54921/R dt.06.02.1995 03 4 Soro (NAC) 44226/R dt.04.10.1991 26 5 Nilagiri (including 23647/R dt.31.05.1996 254 Oupada P.S.) 6 Berhampur 23647/R dt.31.05.1996 29 Total 597 As such, total 600 nos of villages including 20 units have been taken up for 2nd round Survey and Settlement operation. Out of which Settlement work of 367 nos of villages ( 171 of Remuna P.S., 129 villages- Khantapada P.S., 16 villages/ units- of Sora NAC and 51 villages- Nilagiri, Oupada and Berhampur P.Ss) have been completed by 2006. Out of rest 233 villages, Survey and Settlement operation of 05 villages (01 namely Nuapadhi under Remuna P.S. and 04 nos of villages namely Raipur, Kamarpur, Khandasahi and Gopinathpur under Soro.P.S.) are remained_ stayed by the orders of Hon'ble High Court, Odisha, Cuttack. Out of rest 228 villages 77 nos of villages under Nilagiri, Oupada and Berhampur P.S.s are de-notified vide Govt. in Revenue and Disaster Management Department Notification No.51146/RDM dt.13.12.10 as per policy decision of Government. Out of rest 151 villages de-notification proposal of 08 villages under Nilagiri P.S.(NAC) has been submitted to Government as per policy decision of Government. Final Publication and Patta distribution of rest 143 villages have been completed by the end of 2013. The copy of record-of-right has also been handed over to the concerned Revenue Authorities i.e. Revenue Inspector, Tahasildar and Collector, Baleshwar offices.

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This Raghupati Major Settlement is being done under three stages, i.e. (l) Kistwar and Khanapuri (2) Attestation, Draft Publication and Objection Hearing, and (3) Final Publication and Patta Distribution, which shows that only Bujharat stage has been omitted during this Settlement and Attestation, Draft Publication and Objection Hearing are being done during the second stage but process of working in the above stages are the same with the Major Settlement. Further, the principles of settlement of rent during this R.M.S. is same with the Major Settlement but as the R.M.S in respect of all villages of the district has not yet been completed, the sabik and hal rent statement has not yet been prepared. However, according to R.M.S. rule the classification of lands has been changed to 13 classifications instead of 36, which are: a) Sarada Jala Sechita Ekfasli, b) Sarada Jala Sechita dofasli, c) Sarada Ana Jala Sechita- I, d) Sarada Ana Jala Sechita- II, e) Sarada Ana Jala Sechita- III, f) Pala, g) Taila, h) Bagayat-I, i) Bagayat-II, j) Jalasaya-I, k) Jalasaya-II, l) Gharbari and m) Patita. There were 82 villages on the interstate boundary dispute i.e. 27 villages of Raibania P.S., 18 villages of Jaleshwar P.S. and 37 villages of Bhograi P.S. which adjoin 90 villages of Midnapur district of West Bengal. The interstate boundary dispute of 82 villages of Baleshwar district has been resolved. Further another discrepancy has been created by the local people in the boundary of Sahabajpur with the adjoining village Padima in Midnapur district which is at a strategic point near Digha, a tourist place of West Bengal. Consolidation of Holdings As in other coastal districts of Odisha land holdings in Baleshwar have been increasingly fragmented due to unrestricted sale, partition and successions, etc., over the years. Individual holdings lie widely scattered making their cultivation laborious and expensive. This has not only reduced the productivity of land but has made on farm development impossible resulting in increasing impoverishment of the rural life. The law regarding consolidation of holding sand prevention of fragmentation of land which is called the ―The Odisha Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act, 1972" came into force with effect from the30th November 1972. The objective is not merely to consolidate the scattered holdings to compact blocks but also planning of the rural village to co- ordinate all developmental activities in the village by providing on farm developments like field irrigation, access road to Chaka plots, reservation of lands for community needs like schools, play ground, hospital,veterinary centre, Panchayat Ghar and house-sites for Harijans, Adivasis, etc. The pre- consolidation work in the district started in the year 1974. The programme as on 31st December, 1987 covered 807 villages with 1,05,226 hectares. The

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Director of Consolidation with headquarters at Cuttack is the Head of Department for implementing consolidation programme in the state. One Deputy Collector at Baleshwar with supervising and appellate powers is looking after this work. Mutation Record-of-Rights called Khatian or Khata or Patta is the most useful and valuable document in possession of a land owner as it exhibits identity of his ownership, status under which he holds the land, extent and classification of the land, rent and cess payable. etc. This he requires very often for various purposes like getting loan from Government or financial institutions, dispute over landed property, establishing his identity and owner- ship in Court of Law, etc. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that it should be kept up-to-date. Before abolition of the estates it was the responsibility of the landlords to mutate the names of the successor- in- interest of a tenant due to transfer, succession or partition, etc. Customarily 25 per cent of the consideration money was- payable when a sale took place for entry of the name of the transferee in landlords records. But the Odisha Tenancy Act was amended in 1938 abolishing this fee and ma king it mandatory on the landlord to recognize the transfer on receipt of a copy of the notice of transfer from the Registering Officer specifying the names of the transferor and the transferee and the division of rent. On abolition of the estates the and lords handed over list of tenants from which they were collecting rent immediately before abolition (called Ekapadias)to the Tahasildars, Therefore, maintenance of the record-of-rights to keep them up- to-date (i.e.; mutation work) became the most important work of the revenue administration. This process also got statutory recognition by pre- scribing a procedure for maintenance of record-of-rights in Chapter IV of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Rules. Detailed executive instructions were also provided for in the Mutation Manual. But somehow this most important item of work did not receive as much attention as it ought to have in the hands of the Tahasildar sand supervising officers. Fortunately for Baleshwar, Survey and Settlement operations took over the work of making the record-of-rights up-to- date from the year 1962 during which time the mutation work of the 1ahasildars remained suspended. But after finaI publication of the record-of- rights in most of the villages mutation by Tahasildars was revived. 45,664 mutation cases were pending in the Courts of tahasildars for disposal as on 31st March 1986 where settlement proceedings have been completed. As stated earlier some 58,746 holdings have been recorded in bandobast status as applications for disposal of cases for settlement of land under sections 6, 7, and 8 (3) of the Estates Abolition Act were pending for disposal by the Tahasildars at the time of preparation of‘ draft record-of-rights. As a result

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55.020 acres of land are in occupation of persons entitled to settlement which are escaping rent and cess with serious loss of revenue to Government. . Rent / Cess / Nistar Cess / Revenue As per Dalziel Settlement Report (1922-32) the settled rent in divisional settlement in the permanently settled areas was Rs.1 ,52,239. In the temporarily settled areas including Khasmahals it was Rs.15,95, 744. In the revenue free estates it was Rs. 90,304 and in the sub- proprietary tenures it was Rs. 1,61,791. In Nilagiri as per 1917- 22 Settlement Report it was Rs. 73,496 for the ex-state and R5.2 0,802 for the tenants of Thakuar MahaI. So the total settled rent for the district as per last Settlement Reports was Rs. 20,94,376. On vesting the words ―Revenue‖ and ―Rent‖ became synonymous. Rents were settled in respect of Khas possession (Nijote and Nij-chas) lands of the proprletors sub-proprietors and for personaI Jagir lands on conferrment of raiyati right under sections 6, 7 and 8 (3) of the OEA Act. Wastelands were also settled under the Approved Lease Principles. So by the end of 1966-67 when land revenue was abolished with effect from 1st April 1967 the rent demand had substantially increased. Under the Odisha Land Revenue (Abolition) Act no raiyat or tenant is liable to pay land revenue in respect of any land held by him directly under Government provided such land‘ was used for purposes of agriculture, horticulture or pisciculture or for purposes of any small scaIe industry located outside the limits of the Municipality or Notified Area Council. Thus only homesteads and industries situated in urban areas are liable to pay land revenue. Land revenue was re- imposed in the year 1976-77 but was again abolished trun the year 1977-78. On abolition of the land revenue the cess which was 25 per cent of the rent demand1was increased to 50 per cent. New rent has been settled under O. S. S. Act in respect of 3,754 villages whlch took effect at different periods beginning from the year 1967 -68. According to the report of the Settlement Officer against the existing rent of Rs. 21 ,23,729 in 3,305 villages completed from rent settlement under his organization (excluding villages transferred to consolidations) the settled rent was Rs. 62,43,145 giving a n increase of 192.75 per cent over the existing rent. Besides the cess payable under the Odisha Cess Act, 1962 the tenants of Nilagiri ex-state also pay another cess called ―Nistar Cess‖ or forest cess. It is a commutation fee paid annually by the inhabitants of an ex-state area for free use, for use at concessional rate of timber and other forest produce from the Khesra or B-Class reserved forests for their own use and not for sale or barter. In Nilagiri, Nistar cess was levied at 1/2 annas per ‗Man‘ (2/3 acre) of land on persons holding rent-free lands and one anna per Man by raiyats. They were entitled to take trees of species not declared reserved 273 free for their own use from Khesra forests. This cess continued to be levied after merger. The Demand/Collection and Balance (D. C. B.) position of land revenue (rent cess and Nistar cess of the district during 2012-13 TO 2014-15 is given below. Demand Collection and Balance Statement of the district on Land Revenue, Cess and Nistar Cess for the five years 2012-13 to 2014-15.

Year Item of Revenue Demand Arrear Current Total 2012-13 Land Revenue 8,68,341 24,38,395 33,06,736 Cess 22,42,946 55,24,572 77,67,518 Nistar Cess 4,547 8,285 12,8,32 Part II 1,55,88,753 9,18,38,358 10,74,27,111 Part III 45,00,786 48,85,590 93,86,376 2013-14 Land Revenue 8,12,366 27,43,662 35,56,028 Cess 19,44,624 57,38,342 76,77,966 Nistar Cess 4,551 8,285 12,636 Part II 1,47,05,168 8,66,38,969 10,13,44,137 Part III 46,76,262 48,84,091 95,60,353 2014-15 Land Revenue 10,72,875 28,23,674 38,96,549 Cess 19,29,818 55,27,628 74,57,446 Nistar Cess 11,005 8,285 19,290 Part II 1,68,60,466 559,29,617 7,27,90,083 Part III 45,61,778 48,79,290 94,41,068

Year Item of Revenue Collection Arrear Current Total 1 2 6 7 8 2012-13 Land Revenue 7,67,834 23,26,490 31,14,324 Cess 19,67,474 48,68,976 68,36,450 Nistar Cess 1,871 6,805 8,676 Part II 60,27,469 16,63,94,130 19,24,21,599 Part III 38,48,458 41,69,169 80,17,627 2013-14 Land Revenue 6,20,723 24,36,293 30,57,016 Cess 15,73,795 5,548 60,64,694 Nistar Cess 1,980 5,548 7,528 Part II 25,91,432 18,34,49,063 18,60,40,495 Part III 32,48,087 39,29,747 71,77,834 2014-15 Land Revenue 6,73,221 25,52,476 32,25,697 Cess 14,27,244 45,50,305 59,71,549 Nistar Cess 2,118 5007 7,125 Part II 30,75,681 24,72,09,830 25,02,85,511 Part III 17,89,687 35,70,969 53,60,656 Part III 27,72,091 13,08,321 40,80,712

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Year Item of Balance Revenue Arrear Current Total 1 2 3 4 5 2012-13 Land Revenue 80,507 1,11,905 1,92,412 Cess 2,75,472 6,55,596 9,31,068 Nistar Cess 2,676 1,480 4,156 Part II 95,61,284 42,58,820 1,38,20,104 Part III 6,52,328 7,16,421 13,68,749 2013-14 Land Revenue 1,91,943 3,07,369 4,99,012 Cess 3,70.829 12,42,443 16,13,272 Nistar Cess 2,371 2,737 5,108 Part II 1,21,13,736 3,70,62,874 491,76,610 Part III 14,28,175 9,54,344 23,82,519 2014-15 Land Revenue 3,99,654 2,71,198 6,70,852 Cess 5,02,574 9,77,328 14,78,897 Nistar Cess 8,887 3,278 12,165 Part II 1,37,84,785 469,24,418 1,84,77,203 Part III 27,72,091 13,08,321 40,80,712

Stamp Revenue Revenue is also collected from sale proceeds of stamps (judicial and non-judicial) in the district. The table below shows the revenue earned in the district from 1982-83 to 1986-87. (Figures in rupees) Year Revenue Revenue Insurance Non-judicial Judicial Adhesive Stamp Stamp stamp Stamp

2010-11 67,19,000 11,52,009 1,17,100 68,34,603 10,10,81,207

2011-12 46,03,750 10,24,000 1,82,400 81,77,163 16,56,37,308

2012-13 15,54,500 15,36,000 86,850 1,89,340,804 12,22,11,000

2013-14 22,67,940 8,96,000 3,73,743 96,84,020 18,99,54,332

2014-15 23,22,100 8,96,000 66,000 1,09,69,690 18,62,36,304

Year M.V. Tax (Rupees In lakhs) 2010-11 20,74,24,204/- 2011-12 22,88,25,205/- 2012-13 29,87,37,089/- 2013-14 29,98,33,975/- 2014-15 33,42,000 Registration The district is divided into eight sub-districts for the purpose of registration. Addititonal District Magistrate (general) functions as the District Register of the district. The member, board of Revenue is the appointing 275 authority for Sub-Registratrs. District Registrar is the controlling authority in respect of registration work in the district. The statement below shows the income from registrations in the district form 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Year Income (In rupees) 2010-11 20,74,24,204 2011-12 22,88,25,205 2012-13 29,87,37,089 2013-14 29,98,33,975 Besides he deals with a large number of revenue miscellaneous cases for issue of income certificates, solvency certificates, caste certificates, succession certificates, etc. He is responsible for collection of land revenue, irrigation revenue 2nd miscellaneous revenue, etc. Besides doing the normaI revenue work, he is required to do a lot of non-revenue work in his Tahasil. Apart from pre-occupations with special time-bound programmes like census, agricultural census, election and relief operations during flood, drought and other natural calamities his services are requisitioned whenever a special programme or special item of work has to be taken up in his area regardless of his pre- occupations with normal revenue work. He is also to attend a number of meetings in Sub-Division or district headquarters. He represents the Collector in a number of site selection and other such meetings and has to do a lot of miscellaneous work during. Irrigation Revenue In the matter of supply of water for irrigation and assessment of water rates the BengaI Irrigation Act, 1876 was followed in Baleshwar. The first canal built in the district, was known as Rickets canal in the year 1826and the Odisha Coast CanaI which was opened for traffic in 1885 were meant for navigation and not for irrigation. Both canaIs fell into disrepair and did not serve the purpose for which they were constructed. The High Level CanaI which was taken up in 1867 as a famine relief measure by the East India Irrigation and Canal Company was designed to provide navigable trade between Cuttack and Kolkata and also to irrigate the land area through which it passed. This great scheme was later abandoned and only three reaches were completed-Reaches Iand II being in Cuttack district and Reach No.III lying between Akhuapada and Bhadrak Bhadrak district. This was completed in 1891- at a cost of Rs.9,87,000 including the cost of seven distributaries of 109 km. It was proposed to extend the channeI up to Baleshwar but this project was abandoned as it was found that there were 276 no rivers of sufficient size to afford adequate supply of water to the canal. It was fed from the river Baitarani at Akhuapada and was available both for irrigation and traffic. The Odisha Irrigation Act 1959 came into force in the district on the 1st June 1 963. It repealed the BengaI Irrigation Act, 1876. This Act provided for levy of compulsory basic water rate for irrigation of the staple cereal crop and optional water rates (or simply water rate) for supply of water for any crop other than staple cereal crop. Special rates are prescribed for non- agricultural use of water from irrigation works. Compulsory basic water rate was abolished in the year 1968-69 making it optional for the owners and occupiers of lands to use water from any irrigation works as before. If they desired to do so they were to make applications to the Tahasildar in the prescribed forms. Tahasildars were notified as Irrigation Officers. The regulation of water to fields, assessment of water rate and cess and collection thereof is the responsibility of the Revenue organisation through the normal revenue agency of Collector, S. D. O. and the Tahasildar. During this period the annual demand of water rate fell sharply. The compulsory water rate was therefore re-imposed in the year 1974-75. Initially the compulsory basic water rate for Odisha was very low when compared with other states and the total irrigation revenue was not sufficient to cover the cost of maintenance of irrigation works. The Government therefore enhanced the basic water rates by 100 per cent and water rate by 50 per cent which was made effective from the 24th September 1981. The rates of compulsory basic water rate for staple cereal crop as now applicable to different classes of irrigation works are as follows: Classes Period of Depth of Rate per Supply Supply acre (1) (2) (3) (4) 1st Class June to November 28‘‘ Rs. 16.00 2nd Class June to November 23‘‘ Rs. 126.00 3rd Class June to October 18‘‘ Rs. 8.00 4th Class June to October 9‘‘ Rs. 4.00

Dalua crop carries a water rate of Rs.36.00 per acre, sugarcane Rs.40 per acre, wheat Hs. 13.00peracre and potato Rs.22.50 per acre. Mung carries the lowest water rate of Rs.2.50 and other pulses Rs.4.50 There are thus varying water rates for different crops. Even with this increase in compulsory basic water rate,the rate is still lower than those in some other states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and the receipts do not cover the working expenses.

The DCB position on water rate for the year 2012-13 to 2014-15 are given below. (Those are C.B. water rate andrabi water rate) 277

Demand Collection Balance 2012-13 93,86,376 80,17,627 13,68,749 2013-14 95,60,353 71,77,834 23,82,519 2014-15 94,41,058 53,60,656 40,80,712 Revenue Organisation The Collector is the head of the Revenue administration in the district. There is hardly any Central or State legislation which does not embrace the scope of action of the Collector. Although after independence the emphasis on the role of the Collector has been shifted from collection of revenue to development, the designation of the Collector continues till today. At the Sub-Divisional level the Sub divisional Officer is the counterpart of the Collector. The Collector has other statutory and administrative functions. He is assisted by the SDO(s), Deputy Collectors and Revenue Officers. Estates Abolition Act. Each AnchaI was placed in charge of an Anchal Adhikari who was either Deputy or a Sub-Deputy Collector. The OEA Act originally envisaged consisting of local authorities called Anchal Sasan consisting of an Anchal Sabha and an Anchal Adhikari. On subsequent thought Government decided not to enforce this provision of Act regarding constitution of locaI authority. The O. E. A. (Amendment) Act, 1957 provided that the Anchal will be managed according to the laws, rules and regulations for the time being in force for management of Government estates. The Collectors were placed in direct charge of the administration of AnchaI subject to control of the Board of Revenue. To bring uniformity in the matter of territorial units and their nomenclature throughout the state, the Odisha Revenue Administration (Units) Act. 1963 was passed which provided that the units for purpose of revenue administration throughout the state shaII be the Revenue Division, District, Sub-Division and Tahasil. The Sub-Division is divided into as many Tahasils as the State Government may deem fit provided that the State Government may also declare the whole area of a Sub-Division to be a Tahasil. The Tahasil system of administration was introduced in 1963. Each Tahasil is headed by a Tahasildar who is assisted by one or more Additional Tahasildars according to workload. For convenience of revenue and land administration each Tahasil is divided into a number of Revenue Inspector Circles. The number of Sub-Divisions, Tahasils and R. I. Circles in the district given below: The Revenue Inspectors are assisted by revenue Moharirs for collection work and by a peon for helping him in miscellaneous duties. They are invariably survey trained persons but where the workload is heavy they are assisted by one or more survey knowing Amins to help them in identification and Sub-Divisions of plots, correc- tion of record-of-rights and in miscellaneous enquiries, etc. For assessment of compulsory basic water rates and water rates special Amins are appointed under the Tahasildars.

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For Correction of record-of-rights in the Tahasil office Amins are also appointed. The Tahasildar is the representative of the State Government so far as land administration in the Tahasil is concerned. He is the custodian of Government land in the Tahasil and it is his duty to see that government lands are not encroached upon and steps are taken for removal of encroachments, if any. He is also the authority to deal with aII revenue cases under various Acts such as, (1) Odisha Land Reforms Act (2) Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act (3) Odisha Public Demands Recovery Act (4) Odisha Estates Abolition Act (5) Mutation cases under Odisha Survey and Settlement Act (6) Lease cases under the Government Land Settlement Act (7) Odisha Bhoodan Yagna Act (8) Regulation 2 of 1956 (9) Odisha Irrigation Act

Tahasils at A Glance Baleswar is a coastal district. It has 12 Tahasils and 12 Blocks. The basic functions of Tahasils are: 1.Issuance of Residence, Income, Caste, Legal Heirs Certificates, Solvency certificate; 2.Disposal of Mutation Cases and Correction of RoR; 3.Disposal of Certificate Cases under OPDR Act; 4. Disposal of Encroachment Case both Rural and Urban area; 5.Protection of Government Land; 6.Collection of Land Revenue; 7.Disposal of Cases and collection of conversion fees from the cases U/S-8(A) of OLR Act; 8.Distribution of House site to the homestead less families; 9.Selection of site for different projects; 10.Regularization of advance possession and 11.Deal with preventive Section. A brief profile of Tahasils and RI Circles in the district is given in the following tables:

Name of the Area (Acre/ No of RI No of Sl No No. of Gram Panchayat Tehsil Sq.KM) Circle villages 1 Baleshwar Ac.107278.22 11 27 295 2 Remuna 47842 Sq. KM 9 28 328 3 Simulia 211.44 Sq.K.m. 8 17 154 4 Basta 47.894 Sq. Km 5 22 282 5 Bahanaga 25096.42 hect 6 21 173 6 Soro 522.58 Sq. Kms 8 22 192 7 Jaleshwar Ac 93,151.863 7 27 269 8 Khaira Ac.78699.98 9 30 361 9 Bhogarai 132.68 Sq.mile. 9 32 349 10 Baliapal 110 Sq. miles 6 27 239 11 Nilagiri Ac 88499.37 6 30 252 12 Oupada Ac.20589.85 6 6 81 279

Information on R.I. Circles Sl. Name of the R.I. No. of G.P. No. of Villages No. Circle Sadar 1 Sadar 2 53 1 (municipality) 2 Chandipur 4 15 3 Saragan 2 20 4 Rasalpur 3 21 5 Baincha 1 16 6 Tiakhia 1 15 7 Parikhi 1 2 8 Nagram 2 18 9 Odangi 2 33 10 Rupsa 5 78 11 Chhanua 4 24 Remuna 1 Khirachora 4 56 2 Badagan 2 28 3 Naraharipur 3 39 4 Sahupada 2 37 5 Kuruda 1 19 6 Kuligan 3 21 7 Kurunia 7 92 8 Srijung 4 15 9 Panchagarh 2 21 Simulia 1 Markona 2 12 2 Bari 2 30 3 Maitapur 2 17 4 Purusottampur 3 19 5 Jamjhadi 2 15 6 Khirkona 2 27 7 Ada 2 15 8 Pandu 2 19 Basta 1 Basta 76 2 Dandi 61 3 Sahada 37 4 Gudikhal 59 5 Amarda Road Bahanaga 1 Bahanaga 4 36 2 Khantapada 3 35 3 Gopalpur 4 Baripada 280

5 Bishnupur 6 Anji Soro 1 Manipur 2 17 2 Soro 1 33 3 Anantapur 2 8 4 Pakhar 2 15 5 Dahisada 3 26 6 Kedarpur 4 33 7 Kudei 5 38 8 Mangalpur 3 22 Jaleshwar 1 Jaleshwar 4 59 2 Nampo 4 47 3 Paschimbad 3 25 4 Jamalpur 3 48 5 Saradiha 5 35 6 Olmara 6 48 7 Khuard 2 7 Khaira 1 Antara 4 31 2 Barttana 3 41 3 Dungura 2 44 4 Gandibed 4 45 5 Khaira 4 54 6 Kupari 4 35 7 Saundia 3 32 8 Sanjaypur 3 41 9 Tudigadia 3 38 Bhogarai 1 Kamarda 4 44 2 Nachinda 4 37 3 Mohagab 3 33 4 Batagram 1 17 5 Deula 4 32 6 Bhograi 3 28 7 Gunaibasan 3 37 8 Bichitrapur 5 50 9 Kakhada 5 61 Baliapal Baliapal 5 57 Bolang 3 25 Jamakunda 6 37 Karanj 4 50 Srirampur 5 44 Panchupali 4 26 Nilagiri Nilagiri 6 81 Oupada 06 81

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Modernization of Land Records: In the way of modernizing and bringing efficiency to the land revenue administration as well as to make it citizen-centric, technological intervention has been envisaged under the centrally sponsored Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme. Major focus of the Programme is on citizen services. Various components of the programme are underway in the district which in brief have been outlined below. Under this programme, all textual data of records of rights are being updated and computerized. Data conversion of all textual records has been completed in respect of all Tahasils of the District and has been hoisted in the Bhulekh website. Computerized RoRs are being issued to the citizens. Re-entry of RoR data is being done on continuous basis for further updation. Cadastral map-sheets of all the villages of the district have been digitized and mosaicised. All those maps have been integrated with the textual RoR data of bhulekh website for public view and official use. Steps have been taken to make the mutation process transaction based in which notices of all transactions registered in the registration offices are sent by the registering officers to the concerned tahasil offices for initiation of mutation proceedings. There have been sharp decline in the application based mutation cases during the last 2-3 years. Further all Tahasildars have been instructed suitably to dispose all un-contested mutation cases within a maximum period of three months. People have been greatly benefitted due to quicker up- dation of land records. In line of computerizing the Tahasil offices of the district, Tahasil level computer cells have been made functional in all Tahasils of the district. Information technology is being use for maintaining village wise property records and for providing services to citizens in a better way. All the Tahasil offices have been provided with broadband internet connectivity. In addition, virtual private network over Broad Band (VPNoBB) has been provided in the Tahasil offices for secure data transmission. The VPNoBB connectivity is being used to transmit the updated RoR data from the concerned tahasils to the NIC Head-quarters through File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for reflection of the same in the bhulekh website. Steps have been also taken to provide connectivity through Odisha State Wide Area Network (OSWAN) to all Sub-Collectorates, Tahasils and Registration offices of the district. The District Head Quarters are already connected with OSWAN. In order to replace the existing system of physical storing and maintenance of land records which has a lot of shortcomings and 282 inconvenience, Modern Record Rooms in Tahasil offices are being created under DILRMP. In these Modern Record Rooms, valuable revenue case records shall be stored electronically through document management system software after their scanning. Maintenance of land records in the dematerialized format shall go a long way in long-term storage of the valuable revenue case records as well as in providing better citizen centric services. As of now, Modern record rooms have been made functional in all Tahasils of the district. Under DILRMP, all the Registration Offices of the district have been computerized with adequate hardware, software. All the Registration offices are connected to the Central Server at the State level through a dedicated software on Virtual Private Network (VPN) mode.Bio-metric authentication system has already been put in place in all the Registration offices. Data Entry of Valuation details, legacy encumbrance Data and scanning of old documents in respect of all records from 1995 to date has been accomplished. Citizens are being provided immediate services such as Encumbrance Certificates (E.C.) and Certified Copies (C.C.) at the Registration offices.

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CHAPTER – XII LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE

Incidence of Crime Incidence of crime in the district appears to be normal. But at times, the police are hard pressed to maintain law and order.It is mainly due to the geographical location of the district. The district of Midnapur in West Bengal forms the border of northern Baleshwar. This provides ample opportunities to outside criminals to commit crime in these areas and make good their escape to West Bengal by train or by road before it comes to the notice of the police. The first noticeable gang dacoity committed in the district was in 1930 in which 8 Punjabis including a notorious convict and the leader of the gang were involved. Before that, organised crimes by professional criminals were almost unknown and crime was confined to occasional dragging and robbing of pilgrims on the Jagannath Road (now National Highway No.5). Murders and dacoity were committed rarely and occurred mostly as a result of factions, land disputes and love intrigue. But there was a high rate of suicidal cases especially among women. There arose a communal disturbance in the district in the year 1926 though such type of disturbance was quite uncommon. In the year 1955, two cases of gang dacoities involving 62 criminals were reported. All the criminals of the gang were caught and sent up for trial. In 1959, three cases of dacoity and two cases of robbery were brought to the notice of the police. Hand made bombs and crackers were used by the criminals in the case. The years 1959 and 1962 recorded increase of crimes i.e. dacoities in the district which were due to economic reasons resulting from partial failure of crops and rise in price of the essential commodities. In 1961 alone, 34 cases of dacoities and 44 cases of robberies were reported from different places of the district. Thirty of the dacoits were professionals and the other four were technicals. Total number of cognizable crimes reported to the police during 1975- 1979 varied between 2,849 and 3,073. Most of the cases were burglaries and theft. As mentioned earlier many of the dacoities and robberies were committed by the criminals from outside the state. They, while committing 284 crime, used deadly weapons. The most disturbed area in the district is the Bhograi police-station limits. The bordering area of the police-stations like Jaleshwar and Raibania are also greatly affected by such criminals. Regular patrolling by police both from Odisha and West Bengal has helped to reduce the number of such crimes in these areas in recent times.Copper wire theft which was rampant quite for sometime in the district has now come under control after the introduction of regular patroling by the police. The district is politically conscious. Several miscellaneous cases like rioting cases under sections 324, 325 and 337 of the Indian Penal Code are normally reported due to party friction, for village disputes and the student unrest. It is evident from the available statistics relating to the nature of crimes committed in the district that burglary and theft are the chief forms of crime. Dacoities and robberies are also usual. Murders are not so common. Such crime sometimes occur resulting from petty matters, land dispute or love intrigue. Rioting and formation of unlawful assemblies constitute another popular from of crime involving a number of persons. The statement given below indicates the number of different types of crime committed in the district during the period from 2010 to 2014. Comparative Crime Figures for last 5 years of the District Part-I (IPC Crime) Sl. No. Head of Crimes 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1 Murder 53 62 75 56 65 2 Attempt to commit Murder 40 66 51 101 126 3 Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder. - 1 4 1 6 4 Rape 48 75 87 94 121 5 Other Rape. 48 75 87 94 121 6 Kidnapping and Abduction 75 111 140 176 231 7 (i) Of women/Girls 68 97 130 154 223 8 (ii) Of others 7 14 10 22 8 9 Dacoity 13 24 26 16 15 10 Preparation and assembly for Dacoit. 4 3 6 24 20 11 Robbery. 46 53 62 80 90 12 Burglary. 166 227 234 271 240 13 Theft. 321 397 434 400 357 14 (i) Auto theft. 98 127 130 124 141 15 (ii) Other thefts 123 270 304 276 216 16 Riots 40 45 65 53 62 17 Criminal Breach trust. 35 20 8 16 16 18 Cheating. 96 76 122 169 140 19 Counterfeiting. 3 - 1 2 4 20 Arson. 28 20 19 17 27 21 Hurt. 1363 1552 1720 1397 153

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22 Dowry Death. 40 45 43 49 2 23 Molestation. 188 217 242 232 390 I Sexual Harassment-354(A) - - - - 59 Ii Public Disrobing of women 354(B) - - - - 111 Iv Stakling -354(D) - - - - 2 24 (Eve teasing) 29 19 20 30 26 25 Cruelty by Husband and relatives. 211 279 307 396 380 26 Human Trafficking. - - - - - 27 Causing death by negligence. 5 - - 5 185 28 Extortion 31 24 25 25 21 29 Race driving 376 399 428 407 236 30 Un-natural offence - - - - 1 31 Other IPC Crimes 119 26 144 - 1217 Total Cognizable IPC Crimes. 3330 3741 4263 4067 4307

Part II (SLL CRIME) Special and Local crime data for last five years of the District Sl. Head of Crimes (SLL) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 No. 1 Arms Act, 1952 01 03 20 20 - 2 N.D.P.S Act, 1985 10 11 09 10 06 3 Gambling Act. 10 04 19 19 11 4 Excise Act. 397 368 658 1047 885 5 Prohibition Act. - - - - - 6 Explosive/Explosive Substance Act 01 01 04 03 - 1884/1908 7 I.T.P Act, 1966 03 02 03 02 01 8 Foreigners Act, 1930 - 01 - - - 9 E.C. Act. 1955 14 10 17 24 05 10 Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, 1987 - - - - - 11 Antiquity and Art Treasure Act, 1972 - - 01 - - 12 Child Marriage Act. 1929 - - 01 - - 13 Copy right Act 1957 - - 02 - - 14 SC/ST (PA) 1989 154 196 328 212 - 15 i) For crime committed SCs 132 165 261 159 - 16 ii) For crime committed STs 22 31 67 43 - 17 Other SLL Crimes. 59 70 66 71 73 Total Cognizable SLL Crimes 649 666 1112 1398 981 Police History of PoIice Organisation In accordance with Regulation IV, 1804 and Regulation XIII 1805, four Thanas (police-stations) were established in the district on the 1 st May, 1806 with jurisdiction over a number of neighboring villages. Police-station Number of villages Basta 551 Baleshwar 536 Soro 622

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Later on one more Thana was established at Chudamani and special police arrangement was made for Baleshwar town. In each Thana there was one Daroga with a monthly salary of Rs. 25. He was helped by one Moharir who was (getting Rs. 10 per month. Under the Daroga there was one Jamadar on Rs.8 per month, and 10 Barkanadazas each on Rs.4 per month. A monthly expenditure of Rs. 108 was incurred then for the police arrangements at Baleshwar town. The Magistrate was the controlling officer of the police but in fact the Daroga enjoyed absolute power as the Magistrate had no authority to punish the Daroga directly. The Daroga was punished only by the Nizamat Adalat. In 1860, Government of India seriously took up the question of police reforms in the whole of British India and appointed a Commission to Enquire into the working of police and to recommend measures for increasing the efficiency and reducing the expenditure on police administration. The Commission worked for about a month and submitted its report. In accordance with the recommendation of the said Commission, the Government of Bengal sanctioned a civil police force for the district comprising a Superintendent of Police and his subordinates. In 1906, the district was divided into 9 Thanas of Police Circles, viz., Baleshwar, Baliapal, Basta, Jaleshwar and Soro in the Baleshwar Sub- Division and Bhadrak, Basudebpur, Chandbali and Dhamnagar in the then Bhadrak Sub-Division. There were also 9 independent outposts in the Baleshwar Sub-Division, viz., Remuna under Baleshwar Thana, Bhograi and PanchapaIIi under Baliapal, Rajghat and Singla under Basta, Nampo under Jaleshwar and Anantapur, Khaira and Simulia under Soro; and two in the Bhadrak Sub-Division, viz Banta under Bhadrak and Akhuapada under Dhamnagar. The regular police force in the district in 1905 consisted of one District Superintendent of Police, 4 Inspectors, 30 Sub-Inspectors, 29 Head Constables and 330 Constables, and there was one policeman to every 15·2 sq. km. (5·2 square miles) and for a population of 2,718. In Baleshwer town there was a small body of town-police consisting of two Head Constables, four Constables, four Dafadars and twenty-six Town Chowkidars. The Railway Police Force included two Head Constables and five Constables. The Rural Police Force was composed of 164 Chowkidars and 140 Dafadars.Each Chowkidar was receiving a salary of Rs.4 per month. The sanctioned strength of police force has subsequently increased. The statement given below shows the staff position of the district police force.

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Sl Rank Sanctioned Present Vacancy No Strength strength 1 2 3 4 5 1 S.P. 1 1 - 2 Addl.S.P.s 2 2 - 3 SDPOs 4 4 - 4 Dy.S.P. (including) one post of A.C. Home 6 4 2 Guards 5 Inspector (General) 19 19 - 6 Reserve Inspector (including one post or 2 2 - R.I. HGs)

Ministerial

Sl Rank Strength Present Vacancy No Sanctioned strength 1 2 3 4 5 1 Office Superintendent 1 1 - 2 Senior Stenographer 1 1 - 3 Junior Accountant Including one post of 5 5 - Acct. HG 4 Senior Clerk 2 2 - 5 Junior Librarian 1 1 - 6 Junior Accounts Clerk 5 5 - 7 Junior Clerk including two post of Jr. Clerk in 10 4 6 H.G Orgn. 8 Junior Clerk GR 2 2 - 9 Record Keeper. 1 1 - 10 Daftary 1 1 - 11 Peon including one post of Peon in HG 2 1 1 Orgn.

Sanctioned Strength, Present Strength and Vacancy Position of OR Baleshwar District Police

Sl Name of Post Sanctioned Present Vacancy Remarks No. Strength Strength 1 SI 83 29 54 2 ASI 156 140 16 3 Havildar 54 35 19 4 Constable 508 506 2

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Sanctioned Strength, Present Strength and Vacancy Position of APR Baleshwar District Police

Sl Name of Post Sanctioned Present Vacancy Remarks No. Strength Strength 1 RI (Sergeant 1 1 Major) 2 Sergeant 1 1 3 DSI 3 3 4 Havildar Major 4 4 5 Havildar 55 55 6 Lance Naik 72 12 7 Constable 261 261

Sanctioned Strength, Present Strength and Vacancy Position of Courts in Baleshwar District Police

Sl Name of Name of Sanctioned Present Vacancy Remarks No. Court Post Strength Strength 1 Sadar SI 3 - 3 Court ASI 2 2 Constable 9 9 2 Nilagiri SI 1 - 1 Court ASI 1 1 Constable 4 5 3 SI 1 - 1 ASI 1 1 Constable 4 6 4 SI 1 1 Contstable 5 7

The present staff position of the district organisation consists of one Superintendent of Police (SP), heading the organization in the district, two Additional SPs, four Sub Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs), 06 Deputy SPs, 21 Inspectors, 156 Assistant Sub-Inspectors (SI), 54 Havildars and 508 Constables.

The police establishment in the district comes under the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Eastern Circle, Baleshwar. For administrative convenience, the District has been divided into 25 police stations each under one Sub-Inspector. There are out posts including temporary outposts. The outposts are being maintained by Sub-Inspectors or Assistant Sub- 289

Inspectors and the temporary out posts by Assistant Sub-Inspectors or Havildars. A list of the police circles, police-stations, outposts and temporary outposts is given in below.

Sub division Police station Out post Town outpost Sadar Baleshwar Town Permit Ghat Bicharganj Sunhat Damodarpur Sahadevkhunta Sadar Parikhi Haldipada Jayadebkasaba Industrial Area, Bampada Remuna Golei Chandipur Khantapada Gopalpur Soro Simulia Marine PS, Balramgadi Nilagiri Nilagiri Iswarpur Ajodhya Oupada Berhampur Remuna Durgadebi Khiara Jaleshwar Jaleshwar Nampo Bhograi Laxmipatna Chandaneswar Kamarda Raibania Kushagada Marine PS, Tasari at Udaipur Basta Basta Amarda Road Rupsa Singla Badhana Sartha Baliapala Jamkunda Marine PS, Bahabalpur at Kasafal Spl. P.S. Energy, Baleshwar i) Number of Sub-Divisions : 04 ii) Number of Police Stations : 25 (Post of L.I.C. in P.Ss-18 and O.I.C.s- 07) iii) Number of Out Posts : 17 iv) Number of Town Out Posts : 03

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Police Station-wise list as on 01.08.2015

Sub -Division Police Station In charge of P.S. Sadar Baleshwar Town Inspector Sahadevkhunta Inspector Sadar Inspector Industrial Area, Bampada Inspector Chandipur Sub Inspector Khantapada Inspector Soro Inspector Simulia Inspector Marine PS, Balramgadi Inspector Nilagiri Nilagiri Inspector Oupada Sub Inspector Berhampur Sub Inspector Remuna Inspector Khiara Inspector Jaleshwar Jaleshwar Inspector Bhograi Inspector Kamarda Sub Inspector Raibania Sub Inspector Marine PS, Tasari at Udaipur Inspector Basta Basta Inspector Rupsa Sub Inspector Singla Sub Inspector Baliapala Inspector Marine PS, Bahabalpur at Kasafal Inspector Spl. P.S. Energy, Baleshwar Inspector Ordinary Reserve The Ordinary Reserve Police is maintained at police-stations and outposts. Maintenance of law and order in their respective area is the chief function of this force. They perform night patrol in towns and villages and keep watchful eyes on the coming in and going out of strangers in the local areas. The staff also proceeds to the spots where any crime, dacoity, burglary, theft, accidents, etc. is reported. the present staff position of the Ordinary Reserve in the district includes one Superintendent of Police, Additional Superintendent of Police, five Deputy Superintendent of Police, 19 Inspectors, 82 Sub-Inspectors, 56 Assistant Sub-Inspectors, 54 Habildars and 508 Constables (both permanent and temporary). Armed Reserve The strength of the Armed Police Reserve (permanent and temporary) consists of 2Reserve Inspectos, one Sergeant,3 Drill Sub-Inspectors, 4 Havildar Majors, 55 Havidlars, 12 Lance Naiks and 261 constables. The Armed Reserve provides necessary help to the Ordinary Reserve when the latter fails to tackle the situation. Maintenance of internal security and restoration of law and order; escort for police arms and ammunition and the 291 prisoners, safe guarding of the treasury and banks and other vital institutions are the main functions of the staff. They also help public during the time of natural calamities. They, too, are kept at important places as striking force to meet emergency duties. Court Staff Mainly for prosecution of police cases and maintenance of MaIkhanas, police staffs have been posted at the courts at Baleshwar, Nilagiri and Jaleshwar. The court staff at Baleshwar Sadar consists of three Sub- Inspector, one Assistant Sub-Inspector and four Constables. The court staff at Jaleshwar comprise one Sub-Inspector and five Constables. Home Guard Home Guard is a voluntary organisation introduced in the year 1962 at the time of Chinese aggression to train civilians in police duties to meet emergencies and render necessary help to the police when required. There were three Havildars and 3 Naiks under the control of a Sergeant in the district on honorary basis. Now the strength of the organisation has been increased and it is formed with one Assistant Commandant, one Reserve Inspector, one Sergeant, one Drill Sub-Inspector, six Havildars, four Naiks and one Assistant Driver. The Home Guards are of two types, i. e., Rural Home Guards and Urban Home Guards. They are put under 3-year training in three phases, viz., Basic, Refreshers and Advance Course Training. After training they are being utilised for various purposes such as crowd control, traffic guard, maintenance of law and order and internal security and guarding of vital installations. Besides, they are deputed for night patrol duty and anti-dacoity patrol duty with the police force as and when necessary. The present sanctioned strength of the organisation is 880 Urban Home Guards (including 41 Women Home Guards) and 442 Rural Home Guards. (including 17 women). At present the Home Guards organization, Baleshwar has one Assistant Commandant, one Reserve Inspector of Police, one Armed Sub Inspector, one Armed Havildar, four Havildars, one Assistant Director. The daily allowance of home guards is @ 220/- per day. Wireless Baleshwar district is situated in such a geographical position where natural calamities, border line, naxalite terrorism, antisocial activities, drug trafficking, law and order problems are grievous. For contact and control wireless system is highly essential now-a-days. The oldest H.F. station was established on the 13th January,1949 in Baleshwar district with H.F. stations like Baliapal, Basta, Bhadrak, Bansda,

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Bhograi. Besides, 26 VHF stations were also functioning in the undivided district. The functions of these wireless stations are mainly to receive and transmit messages/information relating to law and order situation, natural calamities, communal, antisocial and political and naxal activities etc. for immediate action. Subsequently after division of district and modernization of signal grids one signal workshop for repair and maintenance as well as zonal inspector post was created in Baleshwar in 1989. Air mail system was installed at Baleshwar wireless station in 2009 foreasy contact with all district headquarters stations of the state. The VHF control of Baleshwar communicated with all PSS, OPs, offices, beat houses, per mobile, six patrolling bikes in the district and also all flood stations like Dahamunda, Bhusandeswar, Kasafal and Dagara. During law and order problems the walkie talkies are utilized in vulnerable points to communicate important information. There are two Sub Inspectors, six ASIs, and two constables working in HF/Air mail and five constables are working in VHF control station. The wireless staffs are working round the clock each and every day. Intelligence Staff There is the District Intelligence Bureau at the headquarters of the district and the staff engaged therein comprises one DSP, one Inspector, two Sub-Inspectors, three Assistant Sub-Inspectors and six Constables. Intelligence staff are also posted at the Sub-Divisional headquarters at Nilagiri and Baleshwar which include one Assistant Sub-Inspector and one constable and one Sub-Inspector and one Constable respectively. They collect necessary information pertaining to law and order situation, political organization and their activities, labour problems and Trade Unions and their activities. The personnel keep an eye on the movement of strangers too. Railway Police There are two Railway police-stations in the district, one located at Baleshwar with a staff of two Sub-Inspectors, four Assistant Sub-Inspectors, three Havildars and twenty-one Constables. The Railway Police-Station including the Out-Post are under the control of the Superintendent of Railway Police with headquarters at Cuttack. The table given below indicates different crime figures of the district handled by the railway police from 2010 to 2014.

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Sl.No Crime 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1 Murder 1 - - - 2 Rape 1 - - - - 3 Dacoity - - - 1 2 4 Rubbery - - 7 1 - 5 Burglary - - - 1 - 6 Theft 43 35 23 22 37 7 Drugging 1 - - 1 - 8 Kidnapping - 1 - - - 9 M.V. Accident 1 1 2 1 10 Miscellaneous 8 10 20 7 5

Fire Services There are eleven Fire Stations in the district. The Fire Station at Baleshwar is a ―B‖ class fire station and it was established in 1944. One Station Officer, two Leading Firemen, three Driver Havildars and sixteen Firemen in each of the stations.Besides one menial is sanctioned for Baleshwar station. One unit of fire station was incepted at Nilagiri in 1982 and the other at Soro with a sanctioned strength of One Station Officer, two Leading Firemen, two Driver Havildars and ten Firemen for each of the units. The details are given below.

Sl. No. Name of the Fire Station Strength Position Present strength 1. Baleshwar F.S. AFO-1 AFO-1 AS-2 AS-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-2 Dr.Hav.-2 FM. DR.-2 FM. DR.-2 FM-16 FM-15 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-28 TOTAL-22 2. Basta F.S. SO-1 SO-Nil ASO-1 ASO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-7 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-19 TOTAL-11 3. Remuna SO-1 SO-1 LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-08 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-13

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4. Jaleshwar SO-1 SO-1 ASO-1 ASO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-07 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-19 TOTAL-12 6 Khaira F.S SO-1 SO-1 LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-09 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-14 6. Nilagiri F.S. SO-1 SO-1 ASO-1 ASO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-3 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-Nil FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-09 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil Total-19 TOTAL-14 7. Soro F.S. SO-1 SO-1 ASO-1 ASO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-10 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-19 TOTAL-15 8. Ada F.S. SO-1 SO-1 LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.- Nil FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-02 FM-10 FM-06 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-11 9. Baliapal F.S. SO-1 SO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-08 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-12 10. Oupada F.S. SO-1 SO-Nil LFM-1 ASO-1 Dr.Hav.-1 LFM-2 FM. DR.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM-10 FM. DR.-1 HGS.-3 FM-06 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-11 295

11. Bhograi F.S. SO-1 SO-Nil LFM-2 LFM-2 Dr.Hav.-1 Dr.Hav.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM. DR.-1 FM-10 FM-09 HGS.-3 HGS.-Nil TOTAL-18 TOTAL-13

The statement given below indicates the number of fire calls attended by the fire stations and the number of human lives saved and lost, cattle lives saved and lost: value of property saved and lost and the number of houses destroyed during the period 2014-2015 in the district.

Items Unit 2014 1. Fire stations 11nos No 846 2. a) Fire accidents No 353 b) Other accidents No 1199 3. Life effect i. In fire accident a) Human b) Cattle No 01 ii. In other accident No Nil a) Human b) Cattle No 277 4. Lives Lost No 45 i. In fire accident a) Human b) Cattle No Nil ii) In other accident No 67 a) Human b) Cattle No 27 5. Total properties lost in fire and other No 16 accident 6. Total properties save in fire and Rs. In lakh Rs. 11,79,73,300/- other accident Rs. In lakh Rs. 15,27,75,000/-

Village Police Chowkidari system was prevalent in the district before independence and this system continued till 1965 when Beat Constables replaced the former. The primary duty of the Chowkidars was to report cases of birth and death and offences committed in their local jurisdiction to the concerned Thana Officer on the parade day once in a week. In addition to the Chowkidars, there were Dafadars in the Sub-Divisions of Baleshwar and Bhadrak. In the ex-state of Nilagiri, which now constitutes a Sub-Division, a Chowkidar was enjoying 5 manas of land as jagir and no cash remuneration was paid to him. The Beat Constable system- continued up to 1967 and Grama Rakshis were appointed to replace the Beat Constable system. It is in vogue at present. In 2015 there were as many as 808 Grama Rakshis in the district. 296

Jails The time of inception of the Jail at Baleshwar may be traced back to the year 1847 on the basis of an available official brass seal engraved with the words and figures ―JAIL BALASHWAR – 1847‖.There is a second class district jail at Balashwar and a Subsidiary jail at Bhadrak‖ writes L.S.S.O. Malley in 1907,―which hasaccommodation for 14 prisoners.It was merely a lock-up. All but short-term prisoners were sent to the district jail at Baleshwar. The latter has accommodation for 155 prisoners viz. for 105 male convicts, 9 female convicts and 17 under trial prisoners, while there are cells for 4 prisoners and a hospital with 20 beds. The industries carried on in the jail are oil-pressing, weaving of coarse ort coir fibre, coconut husks.being easily obtainable, coir producing is the chief industry‖. Baleshwar District Jail The second class jail at Baleshwar received the status of district jail in the year 1938 due to increasing prison population. Prior to appointment of full time Superintendent for the Jail, the Civil Surgeon of the district was working as the part time Superintendent who was assisted by a Jailor, one Assistant Jailor and other subordinates. The present strength of the Jail includes one Superintendent, one Jailor, two Assistant Jailors, three Sub- Assistant Jailors, one chief Head Warder, five Head Warders, four Female Warders and 36 male Warders. In addition to this,one full time Jail Medical Officer, onePharmacist , one Male Nursing Orderly are working in the Jail Hospital. One Prison Welfare Officer, two Clerk-Cum-Typists, one Teacher, one Smithy Instructor, one Technical Assistant, onePeon, One Orderly Peon and six Sweepers are working in the Jail. The District Jail provides separate wards for male and female prisoners, convict and Under-Trial Prisoners. There are 15 wards and 8 cells for male prisoners and 2 wards and one cell for female prisoners. At present the scheduled capacity of the jail is 480 (458 male and 22 Female) which includes 222 convicts (214 male and 8 female). The average daily jail population for the preceding five years is given below.

Year Male Female Total 2010 345.50 14.31 359.811 2011 304.09 16.63 320.73 2012 293.84 13.64 307.48 2013 413.32 16.03 429.55 2014 336.58 18.19 384.77

The table below shows the number of convicts released and transferred during the year 2010-2014 on various grounds.

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Year On expiry On On By order Transferred to Other ground Total of sentence remission Appeal of Govt. other jails /premature Male/ Male Male/ Male Male / release/ parole/ Female /Female Female /Female Female furlough/ hospital etc. 2010 107 ------37 144 2011 142 03 03 -- 07 03 158 2012 78 05 05 -- 07 01 96 2013 57 04 04 -- 07 06 78 2014 29 -- 01 -- 08 66 104 G.Total 413 12 13 -- 29 113 580

Health Service: The Jail Medical A medical is functioning in the jail with indoor for 20 sick prisoners.One Medical Officer, one Pharmacist, and one Male Nursing Orderly are appointed for treatment and care of patient prisoners. Medicines and diet are supplied to the patients from Jail fund. At times Health Camps and Awareness Camps on AIDS, Cancer,T.B. etc are organized by the NGOs to make the prisoners aware of the cause and prevention of different diseases. For check-up of female prisoners and children accompanying the mother prisoners, a lady medical Officer from the District Headquarter Hospital visit the Jail weekly. Patients with psychiatric problem are treated by a psychiatrist. WelfareService Welfare Service provided to the inmates are looked after by a Welfare Officer posted in the Jail who works as a liaison officer between the prisoners and their family members. The Prison Welfare Officer (PWO) hears the personal grievances of the prisoners. Through the P.W.O. the prisoners are given every reasonable opportunity to have communication with their family members, friends, relatives and advocates. The Jail inmates who are willing to consult their legal advisors in disposal of their cases, granting of bail and filing of appeal petitions are allowed to do so with the help of the Welfare Officer. The P.W.O. plays an important role in providing free Legal Aid to the poor and helpless prisoners through the District Legal Service Authority. He also makes necessary arrangements for release of convict prisoners temporarily on executing a bond on Furlough, Parole and Pre-mature release under 14 years rule. He also looks after the education of the prisoners as well as their children.

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Jail Workshop To give vocational training to the convicts, a Smithy Instructor and a Technical Assistant are appointed in the Jail. Weaving, tailoring, farming and gardening training are given to the prisoners. In addition to generation of revenue it helps the prisoners to earn their livelihood after their release.In the weaving unit there are nine conventional looms. The weaving instructor gives training on weaving and dyeing. The prisoners weave cloth, bed sheets, towels and dusters etc. The products are sold to the public and also sent to fairs and exhibitions for sale.In the smithy unit the prisoners manufacture articles like buckets, trunks, water drums, rice trays, scoops, strainers, shoe racks etc. The products are sold to the Government and public.There are 8 sewing machines (6 for males and 2 for females) in the tailoring unit. Prisoners stitch convict dresses. Plastic bags are also stitched and sold to the public. Agriculture and Gardening Cultivation work and gardening work are going on in the land inside the Jail boundary. There are 2 bullocks for plowing the land. Paddy and seasonal vegetables are produced on the land. Fish is produced in the 4 ponds of the Jail. Fish and vegetables are sold to the Government and general public. Education in Jail (I) Jail School A full time teacher is appointed in the school to literate the illiterate inmates. On an average 60 inmates are made literate in a year. (ii) Ama Vidyalaya For education of children accompanying their mother prisoners, a school ―Ama Vidyalaya‖ is functioning inside the female block. An honorary teacher engaged by the ‗Marwari Mahila Sangha‘ Baleshwar teaches in the school. The illiterate female prisoners are taught alphabets by the female warders. (iii) IGNOU Study Centre In an endeavor to provide higher education to those who are deprived of this opportunity as a result of their incarceration, a Special Study Centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is functioning in the jail since 2010. The Prison Welfare Officer is acting as the Coordinator of the centre. Courses offered in this centre are Bachelor in Preparatory Programme (BPP), B.A., M.A., Post Graduate Diploma in Criminal Justice (PGDCJ), Certificate in Human Rights (CHR), Certificate in Disaster 299

Management (CDM), Master in Sociology (MSO), Certificate in Social Work and Criminal Justice etc. The table below indicates the number of students appeared and successfully completed different programs at the centre during the last 3 years.

Year No. of students admited No. of students appeared in No. of students exams successfully completed 2013 06 04 04 2014 22 12 12 2015 50+6 (applications have 08(appeared in June Term 07 been submitted for End Exam. Rest will appear admission.) in December Term End Exam. (iv) Computer Education Computer Education programme sponsored by Lions Club, Baleshwar is available for the inmates. (v) Jail Library There is a library for the inmates of the jail. The inmates read epics Gita, biographies, auto-biographies, story books, novels, poetry, and travel story etc. in the library. They also get the opportunity to read daily news papers in the library. Reformation in Jail The punitive era has been over because of the reformative outlook and concern for human rights.Various measures are taken for reformation and ultimate rehabilitation of the prisoners in the society. (i) Entertainment in Jail To overcome dullness and drudgery of jail life and to deter the prisoners from the evil thoughts of idle hours color televisions are provided in each ward. Game articles like carom, ludo, chess, volley ball, and tabla are also provided to the inmates. At times, cultural programmes like dance and music are performed by NGOs inside the jail. Video programmes are also shown to them for relaxation. Prisoners are also given the opportunity for friendship match with police people. (ii) Yoga and Spiritual Programmes To bring peace and tranquility in the minds of inmates, Yoga is practised regularly. Yoga camps are held by different NGOs at regular intervals. Religious organizations also perform spiritual programme (Bhajan and Kirtan) and give religious sermons to the inmates for mental peace and release of emotions and tensions.

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(iii) Observance of Festivals To promote brotherhood and peaceful co-existence, prisoners are allowed to observe various festivals like car festival, Ganesh Pooja, Siva Ratri, X-mas, Raja, etc. Opportunity to pour water on Lord Shiva at Panchalingeswar in the holy month of Shravan and visit to Chandipur sea beach to float toy boats on the full moon day of the month of Kartika are given to selected prisoners to bridge the gap between jail life and life in the world outside. (iv) Observance of National Festivals National occasions like Independence day and Republic Day are celebrated with great enthusiasm . On the eve of these festivals competition in song, quiz, carom, jhoti, ludo, volly and cricket etc. are held and prizes are distributed among the winners to instill a sense of achievement in them. Video Confernecing in Jail Video conferring facility is available in this jail for trial of the prisoners in their connecting Courts without producing them physically. Board of Visitors The Board of Visitors for the District Jail, Baleshwar constitutes Government Officials MPs, MLAs and non-official members including female members. All non-official members are appointed by the Collector and District Magistrate who is the chairman of the board. At present there are eight non-official visitors, they are the hon‘ble M.L.A. of Bhograi, Baleshwar Sadar, Remuna and one retired Medical Officer, three Social Workers including two Women members and a retired Odisha Administratative Service Officer. The Chairman prepares a roster of the visitors to visit the Jail but the visitors are also at liberty to visit the jail on any working day outside the roster. Meeting of the Board of Visitors is conducted quarterly in the Jail premises. At the time of the meeting the members inspect the Jail building, hear the grievances of the prisoners, examine the prisoners‘ food both qualitatively and quantitatively, verify the punishment register maintained by the jail, look to the health and sanitation and offer suggestions, if any, to the Government for the betterment of the prisoners as well as the prison. Besides the Board of Visitors there is a Jail Committee in which the District Judge is the Chairman and Collector and D.M. and the S.P. are the members. The Jail committee visit the jail quarterly, hears the grievances of the prisoners, make enquiry about the case matter, health and hygiene and atmosphere of the Jail etc. 301

Atomosphare of the Jail Every care is taken to keep the atmosphere of the jail conducive to the physical and mental health of the prisoners. A variety of decorative and flowering plants are maintained with great love and care. Flowers blooming in different seasons enhance the beauty of the atmosphere. The Jail premises and wards are kept neat and clean. The day latrines and night latrines and bathing platforms are disinfected regularly. There is provision of commode for the physically disabled. Drinking water is supplied to the inmates through 08 water purifiers installed inside the Jail. Cleanliness of the Jail is maintained by the Sweepers. Jaleshwar Sub-Jail Established in the year 2011, the Sub-Jail, Jaleshwar is located in the village Panchughunta of district Baleshwar over an area of 4.760 acres. The scheduled capacity of the Jail is 206 (169 males and 37 females). Only Under Trial Prisoners are kept here. A Jailor, one Assistant Jailor, one Head Warder, 10 Warders and 2 female Warders are working in the Jail. There is a Hospital for treatment of sick prisoners. one contractual doctor and a full time pharmacist are engaged in the hospital. The patient prisoners are supplied diet and medicines from the jail fund. In addition to his own duty the Jailor looks to the welfare of the inmates. The Prison Welfare Officer, Baleshwar posted at Baleshwar District Jail visit this Jail periodically and listens to the grievances of the prisoners. Color T.V., carom, chess, and ludo are provided for entertainment and relaxation of the prisoners. Yoga programmes and religious sermons by different organizations are delivered as reformative measures. The average duty population of the jail between 2011 and 2014 is given below Year Male Female Total 2011 21 0.23 21.23 2012 21 0.23 21.23 2013 30.73 2.20 30.93 2014 30.54 1.68 32.22 Sub Jail - Soro The Sub-Jail, Soro was inaugurated on 30.01.2014.It was made functional after transfer of 22 Under Trial prisoners from the District Jail, Baleshwar on 31st May‘ 2014. Only Under-Trial Prisoners stay here. There is one Jailor, one Assistant Jailor, one Chief Warder, 10 male Warders, and 2 female Warders and a pharmacist on daily wage basis are working in the Jail. A part time Medical Officer visit the Jail periodically. 302

There is a garden in the Jail where seasonal flowers and vegetable are grown by the prisoners who work willingly. They get incentive for their work. Reformative programmes like yoga, religious discourse, cultural programmes are organized regularly. T.V., ludo, Carom and chess are provided for their entertainment. There is a kitchen and a dining hall for the inmates. A sweeper maintains the cleanliness of the Jail. The Jail has a Borewell and water is supplied through over head tank. The daily average population of the Jail is 22.529. Nilagiri Sub Jail The Jail at Nilagiri was established during the durbar administration. While writing Bengal Gazetteers, Feudatory States of Odisha, L.E.B. Cobden-Ramsay stated ―The Jail accommodation is small and a new jail is about to be erected.‖ In 1907-08 the average daily population was 13. Present staff strength is one Jailor-cum-Superintendent, one Assistant Jailor, one Sub-Assistant Jailor, one Pharmacist, 2 Head Warders, 8 Male Warders, 2 Female Warders and a sweeper. A part time Medical Officer visits the Jail. The Jail has one administrative block, 03 wards for male prisoners, a ward for female prisoners, 2 cells, a kitchen, a dispensary room and one dining hall. The daily average population of the sub-jail during the last 5 years and release of prisoners are given below.

Year Daily Average number of Release of Convicts Population Male Female Expiry of On On Transfer On Bail Sentence Remission 2010 45.62 01.57 02 -- -- 02 2011 33.35 01.99 ------04 2012 35.12 02.97 -- -- 01 03 2013 33.18 01.90 01 04 04 03 2014 24.28 00.76 01 02 -- 03

Entertainment Facilities 03 Color Televisions, one carom board, ludo and chess boards are provided for entertainment. Yoga in Jail A yoga teacher from Nilagiri Yoga Institution teaches Yoga regularly on every second Monday and Satarday. Shri Satya Sai Seva Samiti, Nilagiri performs spiritual programmes on every Saturday to bring peace in the mind of the inmates.

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District Probation Office The District Probation office at Baleshwar started functioning in the year 1962. The District Probation Officer in-charge of the office is mainly a court officer. He makes enquiry and submits report to the courts as to the desirability of releasing of an offender on probation. He also supervises the probationers and submits report to the courts. Probation is a conditional suspension of sentence. Probation includes a positive individualised guidance and assistance involving educational, therapeutic and rehabilitative objective. The method of treatment involves counseling, professional care work, job placement, family readjustment and financial assistance to the offenders. It is chance given to the criminals for their correction and reformation. An opportunity is given to them to refrain themselves from un- lawful association. For better training probationers are transferred to Probation Hostel at Angul. The table below shows the number of probationers socially and economically rehabilitated under the supervision of District Probation Officer, Baleshwar, during the 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Year No. of Probationers Probationers Probationers preliminary transferred for vocationally and remained at the report training socially end of the year submitted to the rehabilitated Court 2010-11 51 -- 10 97 2011-12 77 -- 15 63 2012-13 55 -- 21 78 2013-14 95 -- 28 80 2014-15 113 -- 20 58 District After-Care Shelter, Baleshwar The District After-Care Shelter, Baleshwar was established in the year 1958 with tie jurisdiction over district of Baleshwar, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Its function is to look after the socio economic rehabilitation of probationers released from Baleshwar, Baripada, Keonjhar and Special Sub- Jail, at Bhadrak. The Shelter is managed by one After-Care Officer assisted by a Clerk-cum-Typist, a Chaukidar, a cook and a peon. The organization used to find employment opportunity for the inmates in different public and private sector activities / institutions. Desirous inmates are sent to the Central Home, Baripada for vocational training in carpentry and tailoring to make them eligible for engagement. Justice The judgeship of Baleshwar, was constituted on the 15 January 1959. In the old province of Bihar and Odisha, civil and criminal administration of the district was under the Cuttack-Puri-Baleshwar judgeship. The province of 304

Odisha was created on 1 April, 1936 and since then till 1948, i.e., for twelve years, the administration of justice of the district was under the judgeship of Cuttack-Baleshwar –Sambalpur. After the merger of the princely states, it came under the Kendujhar Judgeship constituted in 1948 having territorial jurisdiction over the two districts of Kendujhar and Baleshwar. The ex-state of Mayurbhanj merged with the state of Odisha in 1949 and it remained under the Mayurbhanj judgeship with headquarters at Baripada till 1959.A separate judgeship for the district of Baleshwar only was created on the 15th January 1959 as mentioned earlier. The Munsif‘s court is the oldest of the courts in Baleshwar which was established probably in 1880 as is evident from old records which indicate that the court was functioning in the same year. It remained under the control and supervision of the District Judge, Cuttack. He was also the Sessions Judge and the head of criminal administration. The Munsif‘s court at Nilagiri came into being when the ex-state of Nilagiri was made a Sub-Division of the district in 1948 after its integration. The District Judge stationed at Baripada was holding circuit court at Baleshwar till 1957-58. It is believed that the Sessions Circuit Court at Baleshwar was established sometime prior to 1915. In 1957-58 the post of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mayurbhanj was created with headquarters at Baleshwar and since -January 15,1959 the District Judge Court is independently functioning at Baleshwar. Prior to the segregation of judiciary from the executive which took place on the 1st May, 1960, the bulk of the administration of the criminal justice at the district and Sub-Divisional headquarters was performed by the Deputy Magistrates and Sub-Deputy Magistrates having the powers of Magistrates First class, Second class ‗and Third class. These officers were revenue and administrative officers and were required to perform multifarious miscellaneous duties in addition to their judicial work as magistrates. Besides, some stipendary magistrates were also posted at certain places to deal with petty criminal cases. These magistrates were under the District Magistrate who was assisted by one Additional District Magistrate. The District Magistrate and the Additional District Magistrate did not hear original cases. The Additional District Magistrate was mainly hearing appeals from the judgment of Magistrates Second Class and Third class and criminal revisions. The District Magistrate combined in himself dun‘ functions, firstly as the head of the criminal administration he directed and controlled the police and in that capacity was responsible for proper prosecution of criminal cases in the Courts of Magistrates, and secondly he was also a judicial officer who was the superior authority over all the magistrates in the district in respect of their judicial work. Just before separation, the district had twenty-three magistrates including the District Magistrate and one Additional District Magistrate. The 305

Sub-Divisional Officers of Baleshwar and Nilagiri were Magistrates having First class power.In the Baleshwar Sub-Division, the District Magistrate was being assisted by one Additional District Magistrate and thirteen Deputy and Sub-Deputy Magistrates. In Nilagiri Sub-Divisions, there were three magistrates. They included the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Separation of Judiciary from the Executive As per the Directive Principles of States Policy in the Constitution of India, there was separation of judiciary from the executive with effect from the 1st May 1960 and the scheme was implemented for the first time in the districts of Cuttack, Puri and Baleshwar. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 was not amended, but under the executive instructions issued by the Government of Odisha the separation was given effect to. The functions of the District Magistrate have been bifurcated due to this separation. His functions which were essentially judicial and of general administrative and superintendence and control over the courts of the Judicial Magistrates were transferred to an officer designated as the Additional District Magistrate (Judicial). Functions which were ―police‖ in nature, as per instance handling of unlawful assemblies and control over investigation by police, and issue of licenses for firearms, etc., continued to be discharged by the Collector-cum- District Magistrate and the revenue officers subordinate to him as before. A new set of officers designated as the Judicial Magistrates were introduced, for trial of criminal cases. The Judicial Magistrates in the lower strata were given powers of Magistrate First class, Second class and Third class. A senior Judicial Magistrate First class designated as the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate remained in charge of a Sub-Division against his counterpart in the executive side as Sub-Divisional Magistrate. As a matter of fact, all Judicial Magistrates of First class exercises the same powers within their respective jurisdictions. The Additional District Magistrate (Judicial) remained in overall charge of this newly born magistracy and he practically functioned for all purposes as a District Magistrate under the Criminal Procedure Code. He did not remain under the control of the District Magistrate but administratively and judicially became subordinate to the High Court. After amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code in 1973, the post of the Additional District Magistrate was redesignated as the Chief Judicial Magistrate and for all practical purposes he exercises powers of the old District Magistrate within the district. Sessions Court As stated earlier, the District Judge, Baripada, was having Circuit Courts at Baleshwar till 1957-58. In view of the increase in the litigation it was felt necessary to have a permanent District and Sessions Court at Baleshwar. Accordingly, sometime in 1957-58 a post of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mayurbhanj, was created with headquarters at Baleshwar and from the 16th January, 1959 the district could acquire an 306 independent judgeship for itself. After creation of this judgeship a new Sub- Judge Court has been established at Bhadrak since the 26th January. 1966. At present there is one Chief Judicial Magistrate stationed at Baleshwar, and two Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrates in the Sub-Divisions of Baleshwar, and Nilagiri. The sanctioned strength of Baleshwar Sub- Division is five Judicial Magistrates, First class and one Judicial Magistrate Second class. In Nilagiri Sub-Division the Munsif, Nilagiri exercises the power of the Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate and Magistrate, First class since the merger of the erstwhile state. The District and Sessions Judge, Baleshwar, is in the overall control of the entire civil and criminal administration of justice in the district. The District and Sessions Judge, Baleshwar, performs dual functions. He is the District Judge relating to the administration of the civil justice and he is also the Sessions Judge for criminal justice. As Sessions Judge, he is empowered to try important cases like murder and gang cases. He is assisted by the Assistant Sessions Judges in disposing of other Sessions cases. He hears appeals against the judgement of the Assistant Sessions Judges where maximum sentence is given upto seven years beyond which the appeal is directly referred to the Odisha High Court. The Sessions Judge has been declared as Special Judge to try cases under section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He has the power to grant anticipatory bail to the accused persons under section 438 of the new Code of Criminal Procedure. In this district, trial of a number of gang cases under section 400 of the Indian Penal Code was taken up for disposal by the Sessions Judge at Baleshwar under orders of the Odisha High Court. It may be mentioned here that in 1973 a gang case was taken up in which as many as 116 accused persons and 1,067 witnesses were involved. the trial of which continued from the 29th March, 1973 to the 31st May, 1976. The Sessions Judge also hears Criminal Revisions against the orders passed by the Judicial Magistrates and Executive Magistrates. The Chief Judicial Magistrate performs administrative as well as judicial functions. He tries criminal cases as Magistrate First class. He is also an Assistant Sessions Judge and tries sessions cases. He hears appeals relating to House Rent Control Act independently. The Sub-judges of Baleshwar and Bhadrak are also Assistant Sessions Judges and they try sessions cases in their respective jurisdictions. Civil Court As stated earlier, the District and Sessions Judge, Baleshwar, is the head of the administration of the civil as well as the criminal justice in the district since the creation of the post in 1959. The District Judge hears appeals against the judgement of the Munsifs and the Sub-judges. He is also having powers to try original cases relating to probate of wills, letters of administration municipal election, Guardian and Wards Act. etc. As the 307 workload on the District Judge increased, necessity was felt for creation of a post of Registrar. Civil Courts at Baleshwar to perform the day-to-day duties of the District Judge and to assist him in all the administrative matters concerning the district. The post in the cadre of a Munsif was sanctioned for the Baleshwar Judgeship in 1968 and later in 1973 the post was upgraded. He is also the Registrar of Sessions Court of the district. Sometimes, in 1977, during the period of National Clearance Drive.the Registrar, Civil Courts. Baleshwar was conferred with the powers of an Assistant Sessions Judge. He is also the Judicial Magistrate First class and he is the Judge-in- charge of Accounts, Record Room, Copying Department, Nizarat and Sessions Malkhana of Baleshwar. The Registrar as Additional Sub-judge hears appeals arising out of the judgement of Munsif, Baleshwar, on transfer. The Chief Judicial Magistrate also exercises powers of an Additional Sub-judge and in this capacity he hears appeals transferred to him by the District Judge. The Sub-Judge posted at Baleshwar exercises unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction in disposing of civil cases. The Sub-Judges hears appeals against the judgment of the Munsif in his respective jurisdictions. There are two Munsifs posted, one each at the Sub-Divisional headquarters of Baleshwar.Till the 7thJuly, 1960, the Munsif. Baleshwar was also the Munsif of Nilagiri trying civil suits and cases in circuit court at Nilagiri. Since the 8th July, 1960, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Judicial), Nilagiri has been vested with the powers of a Munsif to try all civil suits and cases. The Munsif at Baleshwar is full-time Munsif all along. The Munsifs of Baleshwar, and Nilagiri exercise powers in their respective jurisdictions and try civil suits and cases within approved pecuniary limits.They are also vested with small cause powers to try suits up to a certain value. Bar Association There is one Bar Associations in the district located at Baleshwar. Three affiliated association at Jaleshwar, Soro and Nilagiri are functioning.The Baleshwar Bar Association at Baleshwar is the oldest and the largest of its kind in the district. Started in the month of January, 1898 with only five members, the membership of the bar had increased. The association has its own building and a reference library. The Nilagiri Bar Association at Nilagiri was constituted during the Durbar administration of the ex-State.

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CHAPTER – XIII LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

History of Local Self-Government in the District The system of Local Self-Government in India emanated from the idea of entrusting the people with the management of local affairs, there by developing their capacity for self-governance. Likewise in the district local self-governing institutions, viz Baleshwar Municipality, Baleshwar District Board with two Local Boards under it, and Union Committees were constituted before independence. The District earlier had one Municipality at Baleshwar and three Notified Area Councils (NACs) located at Jaleshwar, Soro and Nilagiri. But Jaleshwar and Soro NAC have been upograded to Municipality with effect from 24.02.2014 declared by Housing and Urban Development Deptt. Govt.of Odisha, Bhubaneswar. District Board Outside the municipality of Baleshwar the administration of local affairs were vested in the District Board assisted by the Local Boards constituted for each Sub-Division and by the Union Committees formed at different places of the district. The Baleshwar District Board was constituted in 1887 in accordance with the provisions of the Biharand Odisha Local Self-Government Act, 1885. It consisted of 16 members of whom 5 were nominated by the Government and 8 were elected, while 3 were ex-officio members. The Chairman of the District Board was the controlling authority of the District and Local Boards. The District Board along with two Local Boards under it, was working according to the statutory rules prescribed under the said Act till the last day of March 1954. Then the Government took over the administration of the District Board and the Local Boards on the 1st January, 1954. These Boards under the management of Government continued till 25th J2nuary 1961 and were finally abolished on the introduction of Panchayat Raj from 26th January, 1961. The officer placed in charge of the District Board was designated as SpeciaI Officer. As per Notification No.5-1. S. G. of the 1st January, 1954, the Speciel Officer WGS appointed by the Government to exercise powers, discharge the duties and perform the functions of the

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Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Board as provided in the Local Self- Government Act, 1935 (Bengal Act 11 of 1885). The main duties of the District Board were to look after the education, medical relief, public works, pound, sanitation, vaccination, census, famine relief, communication and other miscellaneous matters in the rural areas. The financial resources of the Board were derived from the local cess, pounds, civil works and government contribution. The local cess formed the chief source of income, but the total incidence of taxation was light, being only 1 anna to 10 paise (about 6 to 10 paise) per head of the population. In 1905-06 its income was Rs. 1,03,000, the principal receipts being Rs.39,000 derived from local cess, Rs. 28,000 contributed by Government and Rs. 20,700 obtained from civil works. The District Board was maintaining 494.27 km. (307 miles) of road, of which 64.40 km. (40 miles) were metalled and 429.87km. (267 miles) were unmetalled Besides, it had maintained a number of village roads with a length of 301.07 km. (167 miles). The expenditure on maintaining these roads in 1905-06 was Rs.122, Rs. 18 and Rs. 16 per mile respectively. It had kept up 77 pounds under the control of a Pound and Ferry Inspector. Its educational expenditure was limited to maintaining 2 Middle schools and aiding 18 schools of the same class, 65 Upper Primary schools, 866 Lower Primary schools and 9 other schools including 5 schools for the education of the children of tribal people. It was maintaining 4 dispensaries and aiding 2 others. A Civil Hospital Assistant was appointed to visit the markets in the Government estates in the Bhadrak Sub-Division and afforded medical relief to the poorer classes. Altogether 6.4 per cent of the ordinary income of the Board was expended on medical reliefand sanitation. It was also maintaining a veterinary dispensary at Baleshwar and when necessary, deputed the Veterinary Assistants to deal with outbreaks of epidemic diseases among cattle in the interior. It is reported that the District Board was most useful institution which worked very satisfactorily. It represented the best and most educated classes of the district and that influential persons of high standing Were chairman and members of the District Board. Local Boards The district had two Local Boards, namely, the Baleshwar Sadar Local Board and the Bhadrak Local Board. These Boards were under the controlofthe District Board and started functioning in the district from 29th March, 1887. The Local Boards exercised powers as were delegated to them by the District Board. The system of election which obtained in some parts of Bengal was not introduced and the members of these Boards were

310 nominated by the Government. The Baleshwar Local Board consisted of 12 members, of whom 10 were nominated and 2 were ex officio members, and the Bhadrak Local Board had 11 members, all of whom were nominated. These Boards were working with the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman. The Primary education was under the control of these Boards. The functions of these bodies were mainly for maintenance of village roads. The Baleshwar Local Board in particular is said to have very little to do and was chiefly useful as a reserve from which to fill up vacancies in the District Board. The Local Boards were under the charge of the part-time gazetted officers. Village Chowkidari System There was village Chowkidari system in the district. For the administration of the village police system, the whole district was divided into 140 unions (79 in Baleshwarand 61 in the Bhadrak Sub-Division) with an average of 11 Chowkidars in each union. The rural police force was composed of 1,549 Chowkidars and 140 Dafadars and there was one Chowkidar for every 691 inhabitants. The village Chowkidar was attached to a big village or a group of small revenue villages and his main job was to guard the village and to prevent crimes and to report births and deaths in the thana. Over a few Chowkidars, there was a Dafadar to supervise their work. The incidence of Chowkidari tax was 1-4 anna per head and the Chowkidar received a salary of Rs. 4 per month if he was not holding any Jagir land called Chowkidari Chakran land. The Odisha office of Village Police (Abolition) Act, 1964 ca me into force in the district with effect from 1st May, 1965 under which the Chowkidari system was abolished and the Jagirlands in their possession were settled with occupancy right in their favour. If he was not holding any Jagir land he was paid solatium equivalent to 12 months of his remuneration in addition to settlement of one acro of government land free of Salami. Where government Anabadi lands were not available even Gochar lands were settled with them on government orders. After the abolition of Chowkidari system, the beat constables were appointed throug hout the district. But this system did not work satisfactorily. The beat constables were withdrawn and the Grama Rakish have been appointed in their Place since 1967 under the Odisha Grama Rakshi Act, 1967. They are functioning as village police at present. In 1985, there were 1,216 Grama Rakshis in the district. There were five Union Committees in the district, viz., Berhampur, Bhadrak, Jaleshwar, Remuna and Soro, all extablished in 1896. They each had an area of 16.10 square kilometers (10squre miles) and a population varying from 10,273 to 10,843. These Committees were practically defunct and existed only in name.

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Municipality and Notified Area Council Baleshwar Municipality Baleshwar Municipal Council has been constituted since 1876 comprising 28 revenue villages. The Baleshwar Municipal Council has been functioning comprising 31 Wards and the last Municipal election was held during the year 2013 and Sj. Alok Kumar Sahu has been elected as Chairperson on 30.09.2013 and Smt. Rasmi Rekha Deb has been elected as Vice-Chairperson on 21.10.2013. The status of reservation of different wards maintained during the last Municipal Election is as follows;

Reservation Male Female Total Category S C 01 02 03 S T 01 01 02 O B C 04 05 09 Un-Reserved 08 01 09 Other Women 0 08 08 Total 14 17 31 Finance and Funding The financial structure and its fiscal policy are generally administered from the revenues derived from own sources and Grants received from Govt. As regards to its own sources of revenue, the Octroi Tax was the principal source of revenue since 1972 and after abolition of octroi ,the Govt. of Odisha is compensating the revenue from Entry Tax in lieu of Octroi Compensation. Besides, other main sources of own revenue are generally derived in three folds revenue structure i.e. Tax Revenue, Non-Tax Revenue and Other Fees (apart from taxation) Holding Tax, Water Tax, Arrear Latrine Tax, Carriage Tax , Licenses from offensive and dangerous Trades U/S- 290,Hoarding and Advertising, Leasing out of Kalyan Mandap and Market Rent from Municipal Shop rooms etceteras. Besides, this ULB also receives grants from state govt. and central govt. for management. The detail Receipts and expenditure (including Govt. Grants) of Baleshwar Municipality are furnished below for last five years i.e. from 2010- 11 to 2014-15; Income Year Taxes and Fees Govt. Grants and Total Expenditure (Including OC Grant) Loans etc. (Rpees in (Rpees in (Rpees in Lakh) (Rpees in Lakh) Lakh) Lakh) 2010-11 479.41 1041.25 1520.66 1203.96 2011-12 498.68 1909.51 2408.19 1380.93 2012-13 587.27 1662.71 2249.98 2690.47 2013-14 754.95 1547.65 2302.60 1929.20 2014-15 707.46 2023.29 2730.75 2742.28

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Roads and Drains Statistics This Municipality is maintaining the following categories of roads and drains including storm water channels within the area of Baleshwar Municipality as on 1st April‘2014. (A) Roads 1. Black Topped Road 306.571 Km 2. Concrete Road 88.989 Km 3. Metal Road 66.731Km 4. Un Metal Road 16.583Km 5. Earthen Road 8.236Km TOTAL 487.110Km 6. Roads within Baleshwar (M) handed over to other departments (-) 16.000Km 471.110Km (B) Drains including Storm Water Channel 1. Earthen Drain 519.97 Km 2. Pucca Drain 110.63Km TOTAL 630.60Km 3. Storm water Channel 32.00Km 662.60Km Street Lighting This Municipality is maintaining 6653 Nos. of Street Light points in and around Baleshwar Municipality. Moreover, some of the street light points are newly installed with pole on LED lighting and some are converted to LED lighting. The details of light points are given below; i) Tube Lights 1016 Nos. ii) T-5 (4x24 Watt) 3054Nos. iii) 150 Watt S.V. Lights 735 Nos. iv) 250 Watt S.V. Lights 290Nos. v) Semi/ Mini High Mast Light 47Nos. vi) High Mast Light 08Nos. vii) 2x36 Watt CFL light 1284Nos. viii) S.C. Bulb Light 32Nos. ix) Flood Light 34Nos. x) LED Light points 153Nos. TOTAL 6653Nos.

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Parks and Auditorium This Municipality is maintaining 03 existing Parks.Two of them parks have been renovated for entertainment of children and dedicated to the people of the town: i) Gopabandhu Park near Gandhi Smruti Bhawan. ii) Fakir Mohan Children‘s Park near F.M.Golei. iii) Shantikanan Park at Mallikashpur. Water Supply The water supply scheme was started in Baleshwar Town in the year 1959 with a perception to promote health hygienie to general public on control of water borne diseases and epidemic like cholera and bacillary dysentery providing piped water through 631 Stand posts and G.I. pipe lines which is wholly maintained by the PHED. Baleshwar Municipal Council is also simultaneously maintaining 200 (two hundred) Nos. IM-II Tube Wells and some IM-II Tube Wells are being maintained by the PHED and total 331 running hand pump tube wells in IM-II (Shallow) within all 31 wards and steps are being taken to hand over all the tube wells maintained by the Municipality to PHED . Jaleshwar Municipality Jaleshwar Notified Area Council was constituted on the 15th April 1964. The area of this Local Body is 17.6 sqkm. Its population as per 2011 Census was 25,747. The 1stElection of Jaleshwar Notified Area Council was held on the 29th June 1973. It was divided into 9 Wards. 2 Wards were double seated. 2 Wards were reserved for sc andST. The no. of Councilors elected was 11. The Second election to the Notified Area Council from 14 Wards was held on the 31st January 1979 and 14 Councillors were elected. 2 Wards were reserved for SC andST candidates. On 30th Sept. 2013 the last election of the Local Body was held and 17 Councillor were elected for 17 Wards of which 1 ward was reserved for SC, 2 Wards were reserved for ST, 9 Seats were reserved for women and 5 seats were reserved for OBCs. The Chairperson Seat were reserved for ST(W). The Local Body has provided 740 light points in the town. From the above light post 118 were bulb point, 206 points are Tube light point, 20 points arf!;frtghmast light point and 396 points are CFL light point. It has constructed 5.6km B. T road, 79.25km Concrete road, 14kms Metalled road, 67.5kms Moorum road and 6 kms Earthen road. The total Road is 172.35kms is being maintained by this ULB now.53kmsofpipeline has been lyingfor water supply in the Town. 220 Stand posts have been provided for drinking water in the town. 259 No. of Tube-wells are also being maintained for drinking water.

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The Source of Income of the Local Body are market fees, Lease of Hat, Tax on Carts andCarriages, fees from offensive and dangerous trade under Section 290 of the OMR-1950 and Cattle pound, Holding Taxes, Street light Tax, Lease Money from the water bodies etc. The total strength of staffs of this ULB is 41. The following is the year wise Income and Expenditure of the Local Body from 2010-11 to 2014-15. Year Income Expenditure Taxes andfees Govt. Grants Total 2010-11 1278543/- 30601223/- 31869766/- 27948503/- 2011-12 1113564/- 32097028/- 33210592/- 39048283/- 2012-13 1549265/- 44549239/- 46098504/- 49078405/- 2013-14 1356014/- 52387595/- 53743609/- 61592242/- 2014-15 1755721/- 51837579/- 53593300/- 38896015/- Soro Municipality The Notified Area Council was constituted on the 14th February 1975 covering an area of 23.88 Square Kilometers (9.22 Square Miles) with population of 18,599 according to 1981census. The first election to the Soro Notified Area Council was held on 31st January 1979 and 15 Councillors were elected. Government in Housing and Urban Development Department declared Soro N.A.C. as Soro Municipality with effect from 24-02-2014. The financial position of Soro Municipality on different heads like collection of Holding Tax, Light Tax, Water Tax and different Licence fee for offensive and dangerous trade, Market rent, Shop Room rent, and Collection of fishery rents along with Govt. grant etc.. The details of general information of Soro Municipality is as follows:

Date of Establishment 14.02.1975 (Declared as Municipality with effect from 24.2.2014.) Total nos. of ward at present 19 nos. Total nos. of revenue villages merged in 26 nos. Municipality Total area in Sq km. 23.88 Sq km. Total population as per 2001 Census 27,794 Male 14,202 Female 13,592 S.C. 4,037(Male-2064, Female-1,973) S.T. 667 ( Male-336, Female-331) Total population as per 2011 Census 32,522 Male 16,622 Female 15,900 S.C. 4,037(Male-2,064, Female-1,973) S.T. 667(Male-336, Female-331) Total nos. of Culvert 61 nos. Total nos. of Bridges 11 nos. 315

Total nos. of slum pockets 28 nos. Total nos. of Tank 22 nos. Total nos. of Kine-house 1 no. Total nos. of daily market 2 nos. Total nos. of fish market 3 nos. Total nos. of Private holding 5000 Nos. Total nos. of Govt. holding 105 Nos. Remunerative Schemes No. of market pindies 54 nos. No. of shop rooms 76 nos. No. of commercial go down 1 no. No. of shop rooms for SC people 10 nos.(Free of rent.) No. of licensees U/S 290 383 nos. No. of public latrine and urinals 2 nos. No. of Kalyan Mandap 1 no. No. of Souchalaya 1 no. No. of Town Hall 1 no.(Under Construction) Total no. of Medical maintained by Govt. under this 1 no. Municipality area Total nos. of Private nursing home 1 no. No. of colleges maintained by Govt. under this 2 nos. Municipality area No. of High Schools maintained by Govt. under 8 nos. this Municipality area No. of M.E. Schools maintained by Govt. under 12 nos. this Municipality area No. of Primary Schools maintained by Govt. under 22 nos. this Municipality area No. of Private English Medium Schools 4 nos. maintained by Govt. under this Municipality area No. of Post Offices maintained by Govt. under this 6 nos. Municipality area No. of Telegraph Offices maintained by Govt. 1 no. under this Municipality area No. of Cinema Halls and Talkies under this 1 no. Municipality area No. of Anganabadi Centre maintained by Govt. 27 nos. under this Municipality area Old Age Pension Scheme

National Old age pension 1417 beneficiaries. Madhu Babu Pension Yojana 1457 beneficiaries. Annapurna Yojana 46 beneficiaries. Antyadaya Anna Yojana 844 beneficiaries. Total nos. of B.P.L. families 3926 nos.

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SJSRY Scheme During the following activities was under taken No. of UWSP groups formed 20 nos. No. of Thrift and Credit Societies 64 nos. No. of N.H. Groups 180 nos. No. of N.H. Committees 19 nos. No. of C.D.S. formed 1 no.

OULM Odisha Urban Livelihood Mission now in force instead of SJSRY with effect from 2015-16 Drinking water system Total nos. of shallow tube-wells maintained by Soro Municipality 377 nos. Total nos. of India-Mark-II tube-wells maintained by P.H.D. 101 nos. Total nos. of public stand posts maintained by P.H.D. 369 nos.

Street lighting system Total nos. of High-mast light 1 no. Total nos. of Semi High-mast light 30 nos. Total nos. of Sodium Vapors light 872 nos. Total Nos. of CFL lights 850 nos.

Roads Total Road length 197.915 K.Ms B.T. Road 30.3458 C.C. Road 27.1674 Metal Road 59.5803 Morrum Road 73.7968 Earthen Road 7.2047 Total 197.915 Km.

Drains Total length of drains 61.790 K.ms Pucca drain 8.43 Earthen drain 53.36 Total 61.790 Km s.

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Swachha Bharat Mission Sl. Items Remarks No. 1 No. of IHL applications received 3111 2 No. of IHL applications verified 3111 3 No. of IHL applications sanctioned 0 4 No. of CT planned 28 5 No. of PT planned 5 6 No. of CT for which land has been 28 identified 7 No. of PT for which land has been 5 identified 8 Authorization received or not For land fill site under SWM authorisation has been received. Buty for CT and PT no authorisation has received 9 Land identified for SWM facility Yes 10 Land identified for STP / Dry sludge Process is going on Management 11 Order of NGT carried out or not Carried out General Election During the year 1992 Direct election was held of total NAC. Prior to that NAC was divided into 13 Wards and before election Nominated Council was functioning in this NAC headed by Sub- Collector, Nilagiri as Cha irman. The last election of 13 Wards was held on 19.9.2013. Source of Income From 1985 the main source of income of NAC are from Govt. as Grant for Development works and another was collected from local market such as Holding Tax, Light Tax, Water Tax, U/S 290 License Fee, Auction of Tanks, Cart and carriage Tax ete. Octroi Tax has not been imposed in this NAC. NAC has imposed 3 % Holding Tax on 1972 house holds comes under valuation and now total 10 % tax has been imposed on Holding Tax, Water Tax and Light Tax. Gradually new tax like Shop Rent, Parking Fee and Tool collection were also imposed by NAC. Public Roads From the inception NAC time has been 138.750 K. M of road and gradually it has increased up to 141.200 K.M road which are specifies as such.

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Beautification For beautification of Town, NAC has provided 1504 nos. of street lights throughout the NAC area. There is one Children‘s Park. Water Supply Prior to 1997-1998, NAC provided drinking water through 186 Tube wells and 36 wells.After 2000-01, piped water supply provided through 142 public tap. Financial Position: After functioning of NAC since 1984-85 Govt. grants are received towards development of roads and drains and the won sources are from H.Tax, and market fees. The yearwise Income and Expenditure Statement of NAC are as follows.

Year Tax and Other Govt. Grants Total receipt Expenditure Fees 1987-88 1,17,343.15 3,00,616.80 4,17,959.25 4,95,573.30 1988-89 1,40,374.55 2,23,477.00 3,63,851.55 3,02,782.00 1989-90 1,33,614.75 2,79,005.00 4,12,619.75 2,30,471.10 1990-91 1,62,556.48 17,94,025.00 19,56,581.48 14,62,474.08 1991-92 4,16,121.15 12,49,239.00 16,65,360.15 13,72,397.00 1992-93 5,47,239.00 10,16,080.00 15,63,319.00 14,59,604.80 1993-94 2,43,692.00 7,74,683.00 10,18,375.00 7,17,514.20 1994-95 5,41,232.03 9,85,803.00 15,27,035.03 14,90,560.00 1995-96 6,72,692.35 12,91,453.00 19,64,145.35 21,02,177.00 1996-97 9,20,083.92 19,75,782.00 28,95,865.92 37,58,218.92 1997-98 6,22,491.60 32,45,156.00 38,67,647.60 26,79,550.00 1998-99 12,53,729.00 28,20,818.00 40,74,547.00 37,47,115.00 1999-2000 11,13,288.90 19,82,200.00 30,95,488.90 38,08,152.40 2000-01 6,98,104.90 28,15,920.00 35,14,024.90 34,16,209.00 2001-02 9,57,329.00 12,30,420.00 28,87,749.00 19,60,161.00 2002-03 15,79,148.00 65,04,450.00 80,83,598.00 37,02,523.00 2003-04 14,70,774.00 44,04,088.00 58,74,862.00 67,23,109.30 2004-05 7,83,953.00 25,70,996.00 33,54,949.00 43,78,221.00 2005-06 16,41,571.00 51,49,665.00 67,91,236.00 55,19,226.00 2006-07 6,07,028.00 93,30,224.00 99,36,452.00 63,28,090.00 2007-08 11,85,415.00 1,25,46,678.00 1,37,32,093.00 1,15,30,060.00 2008-09 10,92,995.00 2,45,57,567.00 2,56,50,562.00 1,73,76,489.00 2009-10 11,59,554.00 2,01,18,235.00 2,12,77,489.00 2,24,42,310.00 2010-11 14,06,421.00 2,47,24,105.00 2,61,30,436.00 2,21,01,565.00 2011-12 13,95,516.00 2,21,94,314.00 2,35,89,830.00 1,48,19,349.00 2012-13 22,55,433.00 2,93,54,646.00 3,16,10,079.00 2,76,36,307.00 2013-14 21,26,696.00 4,08,73,016.00 4,29,99,712.00 2,87,40,491.00 2014-15 23,35,324.50 3,72,78,177.00 3,96,13,501.50 3,87,08,249.00

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General Election

As mentioned earlier, the councillors of the Baleshwar Municipality Soro, and Jaleshwar Notified Area Councils were elected every four years in accordance with section 41 (1) of the Odisha Municipa I Act, 1950 read with section 12(1) thereof. The election of councillors to the municipality and the Notified Area Councils were suspended as per the provisions laid down in the Odisha Local Body (Suspension of Election) Act, 1962. In the beginning of 1963, the said Act was repealed and Government in Health (Local Self- Government) Department letter No.5012 (13)-L. S. G., dated the 8th May 1963 decided to hold the pending election of the municipality and the Notified Area Councils. The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of these local bodies were elected by their respective councillors from among themselves. The councils discharged the duties as provided under the Odisha Municipality Act. 1950, with regard to finanee, public health, public works, education and any other special subjects relating to the purposes of the Act. The State Government have appointed Executive Officers in these locaI bodies to ca rry out day to da y administration. The chairman and the councillors/members of the Baleshwar Municipality, Jaleshwar, Soro and Basudebpur Nilagiri Area Councils were elected directly by the voters of these locaI bodies in accordance with the provisions of section 10 of the Odisha MunicipaI Act, 1950, as amended in the Odisha Municipal (Amendment) Act, 1979. The Chairman was elected from the entire Municipal areas and the councillors/members were elected from their respective wards. The Vice -Chairman was elected from amongst the elected councillors/members of the council. The Chairman presides over the meetings of the council and discharges the duties and performs the functions as has been provided in the said Act or in the Rules framed there under or as is assigned to him by the council. The State Government appoints an Executive Officer, Municipal Engineer, Health Officer and such other officers as may be necessary to carry out the works. Town Planning There are four towns in the district, viz., Baleshwar, Jaleshwar, Soro, and Nilagiri Chandbali. Master Plans for only Baleshwar have been prepared by the Town Planning Unit, Baleshwar functioning under the Director of Town Planning Organization,Odisha, Bhubaneshwar. Steps are being taken for the preparation of Master Plan for Basudebpur town. The other towns of the district are not planned. 320

The Special Plaining Authority, Baleshwar has taken up various development schemes for people of different income groups under Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (I.D.S.M.T.) programme. It prepared sites and services schemes for developing house sites at Kalidaspur and Firingipatna as remunerative schemes. A totaI of 246 house sites of different sizes were constructed and handed over to the applicants. The totaI cost of these house sites amounted to Rs. 18.2 lakhs, Shopping complexes have been developed near station square and Sadar police-station of Baleshwar town. A total of 53 shop-rooms at a cost of Rs. 19.15 lakhs were built and given to the applicants. Another shopping complex under the flyover bridge on the S. E. railway at Remuna level crossing has been started with an estimated cost of Rs. 22.6 lakhs.

Zilla Parishad

In exercise of powers conferred by subsection 3-a of section 6 of ZP‘Act 1991(Odisha Act.170f 1991) the State Govt. published the list of Zilla Parishad constituencies of Balasorc Zilla Parishad determined in pursuance of explanation to subsection 1 and reservation thereof for Schedule Casts, Schedule Tribes and woman made under subsection 3 or the said section and constituted 45 zones and it came into force w.e.f 15.02.1997.

The main objectives or the Parishad is to undertake schemes or adopt measures including giving financial assistance relating to the development of agriculture, social forestry, live stock, industries, co-operative movement, rural credit, water-supply, distribution of essential commodities, rural electrification including establishment of dispensaries and hospitals. communications, primary, secondary and adult education including welfare and other objects of general public utility.

The Zilla Parishad are to prepare plans for economic development and social justice, manage or maintain any work of public utility or any instaurations vested on it or under its control and management, make grants to Samities or GPs, contribute with approval of Govt. .... such sums as it may decide towards the cost of water supply or anti epidemic measures etc. Further the Zilla Parishad shall by resolution constitute 7 standing committee on (i) planning, finance, antipoverty programmes. (ii) agriculture, animal Husbandry, soil conservation, horty culture, water said and fishery (iii) works, irrigation, electricity, drinking water and rural sanitation (iv) health, social welfare including (v) PDS, welfare of the weaker section, forest, fuel and fodder, (vi) handicrafts, cottage industries, khadi and village industries and rural housing, and (vii) education, sports and culture.

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Administrative composition

The President is the executive head of the Zilla Parishad and in his absence (vacant) Vice President shall exercise the powers and function of the President. The Collector or the district shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Parishad who shall subject to the provision of this Act. exercise such powers and performs such function as may be prescribed of. The project Director, DRDA is also the Executive officer of the Zilla Parishad who shall remain under the Administrative control of chief executive officer and shall exercise powers and performs such function as may be prescribed.

Panchayat Samitis

Panchayat Samitis, the secondtire in democratic decentralisation were established throughout the state in accordance with the provisions of the Odisha Panchayat Samitis Act, 1959. In the district the Samitis were constituted on the 26th January 1961. At present there are 12 Panchayat Samitis in the district as per list in the Appendix 1 which includes within G11 to 32 Grama Panchayats. The Panchayat Samiti is coterminous in regard to its area with the Block administration created by the Government in the Community Development Department.

Each Panchayat Samiti consists of both official and non- official members. The officiaI members are the Block Development Officer and the officers of various departments of the State Government ordinarily stationed at the Block level. The non- official members include the Sarpanchs of the Grama Panchayats and a woman member. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes are given due representation in the Samiti. The Chairman is elected directly by the Panchayat members. The non-official members who hold office for five years elect Vice-Chairman from among themselves. Bi-monthly meetings are held regularly. Official members can take part in the discussions of the Panchavat Samiti meetings alongs with the non- officiaI members, but are not entitled to vote.

The planning, execution and supervision of jail the development programmes in the Block area are done by the respective Panchayat Samitis. The Samiti looks after the spread of primary education. It supervises the work of the Grarna Panchavats within its jurisdiction. The Block Development Officer is the Executive Officer of the Samiti. He is also its drawing and disbursing Officer. The main sources of income of the Samitis are the government grants and loans.

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Grama Panchayats

Grama Panchayat is the primary unit in the democratic decentralisation. Some Grama Panchayats were constituted in the district with the introduction of the Odisha Grama Panchayat Act, 1948, to establish and develop local self-government in the village communities and to make better provision for their administration. The Grama Panchayat administration was extended aII over the district covering aII this villages in 1954-55. These institutions are governed under the Odisha Grama Panchayat Act, 1964. Each Grama Panchayat comprising one or more than one village is divided into a number of wards. Election of Sarpanch, Naib Sarpanch, members and the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes members are conducted according to the provisions of the Odisha Grama Panchayat Election Rule. 1965. According to this rule, in every five years one member from each ward is elected to the Grama Panchayat on the basis of adult franchise. The Sarpanch is directly elected by the voters of the Grama Panchayat. But the Naib Sarpanch is elected from among themselves by the Panchayat members. The Sarpanch is the head of the Grama Panchayat. He is assisted by a Naib Sarpanch. According to the Odisha Grama Panchayat Act.1964, the executive powers of the Grama Panchayat for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Act.are exercised by the Sarpanch, He is assisted in his duties by a Secretary appointed under the provisions of the Act. and such other officers and assistants for the Grama Sasan as may be necessary. The office of the members of the Grama Panchayat including that of the Sarpanch and the Naib Sarpanch, is honorary. In areas where the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes population of the Grama Panchayat is more than 5 per cent.provision has been made to elect a Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes candidate. There were 289 Grama Panchayats in the district which included 253 in Balehwar Sub-Division and 36 In Nilagiri Sub-Division as on 31.08.2015.

The Grama Panchayat continues to function as the main agency for the implementation of all local development works and for mobilising manpower in rural areas. Development activities of different departments of the Government which are co-ordinated at the Block level also continue to be executed through the agency of the Panchayats. Besides, they also supervise and co-ordinate distribution of essentiaI commodities through fair- price shops.

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The functions of the Grarma Panchayat include looking after village sanitation, supply of drinking water, maintenance of village roads and wells, ferry ghats, cattle, paunds, providing street lights and implementing different agricultural schemes. Pisciculture is one of the most lucrative schemes in augmenting internal resources of Panchayats.

Besides Government grants and loans, the other sources of income of the Panchayats are the Panchayat taxes, and collection from cattle pounds, rent from markets, vehicle registration fees, and ferries and ghats. The expenditure incurred by the Grama Panchavats include mainly money spent on construction and maintenance of village roads and buildings, education, village sanitation, pisciculture, repair of wells and tanks and othar rermunerative schemes and for paying salary to staff and other contingent expenses. The number of Gram Panchayats and wards per block is given below.

Sl. No. Name of the Block No. of G.P No. of Ward 1 Bhograi 32 602 2 Jaleshwar 27 381 3 Basta 22 389 4 Baliapal 27 368 5 Remuna 28 375 6 Sadar 27 416 7 Nilagiri 25 355 8 Bhanaga 21 325 9 Soro 22 294 10 Oupada 11 163 11 Khaira 30 432 12 Simulia 17 254 Total 289 4354

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CHAPTER – XIV EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Historical Background Baleshwar is one among the few districts of Odissa which is comparatively more advanced in the state. However, it is a very difficult task to throw light on the state of education of the district during the ancient and medieval periods. But it can be said that education through religious teachings was imparted by the priests and Pandits in the temples and Ashrams. Education in Baleshwar In the beginning of 19th century A.D., prior to the advent of western education, the education in Odissa was very much limited to Primary education, taught in traditional Primary schools, popularly known as ‗Chatasali‘ meaning house of learners. The learners were taught primary level of simple arithmetic i.e., Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division etc by the traditional teachers of specific families locally known as ‗Abadhan‘. After the British occupied Odissa in 1803, they took initiative to spread education. According to the recommendation of the Education Committee of the British Government it was decided to establish 159 missionary schools in India during the period from June 1822 to December 1823. Out of these schools Odissa had the share of 15 schools. Two schools were meant for the district of Baleshwar. One was established at Jaleshwar and the other one at Baleshwar. The principal objectives of opening these two schools were is spread and propagate Christianity and introduce English education. Baleshwar Missionary School established in 1823, was the first Middle English School. After that the Baptist Missionary School and American Baptist School were established. In 1840 the American Baptists set up two Boarding Schools at Baleshwar and Jaleshwar. In these schools the students of scheduled caste and schedule tribe were given education by providing food and dress free of cost. It is known from the Bengal Education Committee that twenty boys and ten girls were reading in these schools. In 1845 A.D. vernacular schools were established at Baleshwar and Remuna. As the number of the students in the school at Remuna began to decrease, the then Magistrate closed the said school.

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Beginning of Western Education The Christian Missionaries were the pioneers of modern education in Baleshwar. They took active steps for the development of education. In February 1938, the American Baptists established a baptistery at Baleshwar. They founded an English School in 1853 and a High English School in 1893. The attempts of the missionaries to educate their Christian converts failed to produce any positive reaction on the people due to orthodoxy. Schools which were first restricted to the Christian community were made open for others also. But few students came in. Baleshwar was the seat of brisk maritime activities. So, a good number of people were in demand for maintaining their accounts and doing clerical jobs for which they felt the necessity of English education and became interested for the same. Late Raja Baikunthanath Dey Bahadur of Manikhamb became the champion of English education and founded an English school at Barabati in the centre of Baleshwar town under his patronage. Subsequently the school was shifted to Malikashpur and was raised to the entrance standard in the year 1853. As per Lord Auckland‘s minute of 1843-46, it was resolved to establish Zilla school at district headquarters. The first High English School was thus started by the Government on the 1st November 1853, which now goes by the name of the Baleshwar Zilla School. The Wood‘s Despatch in 1854 gave incentive for the expansion of education and Odissa was made into a division under the Education Department of the Bengal Presidency. A Deputy Inspector of Schools was posted for Odissa with headquarters at Baleshwar. It was noticed that in the year 1845-49 there were only 9 schools with a total attendance of 279 pupils. During the next decade the number of schools increased to 29 and of pupils to 1046. The number of schools and pupils therein further went up to 63 and 4,043 respectively towards 1868-69. The non-availability of trained teachers also seemed to be an obstacle for the spread of education in the early state. Till 1869 there was no institution to train teachers for which a great difficulty was encountered in establishing and maintaining schools. The Government took a notable step of opening a Normal school in Cuttack town in the year 1869 wherein young men were being imparted instructions with the object of qualifying them to become teachers. On completion of the course, these qualified youths scattered over the villages of the state and tried to bring education home to the peasantry. Each teacher collected as much as he could in cash or kind from the villagers who sent their children to his school. A paltry weekly stipend was also given to him from the Government as long as he was discharging his duties sincerely. The number of schools in Baleshwar gradually increased due to Government‘s initiative. In the year 1870-71, the number of recognized schools increased to 28 and the pupils to 1,252. Sir George Campbell‘s 326 scheme of educational reform came into operation in 1872. The grant-in-aid rules were extended to hitherto unaided schools. Many indigenous institutions were brought under the departmental system and the number of inspected schools further increased by 1875 to 217 and the number of pupils to 5972. More remarkable was the advance of education in the next decade and towards 1885 the strength of the pupils rose to 37,707 in 2305 public institutions. But this extraordinary progress of education was temporary and it could not be maintained in the following decade. The cause of this dismay may squarely be attributed to the failure of crops in several years. In 1895 the number of schools fell to 2,156 and the pupils to 35,827. There was a considerable increase in the pupil‘s strength which further rose to 37,687. Apart from these there were 72 non-public schools with student strength of 644. In the later part of the nineteenth century two Middle Vernacular schools were established in Baleshwar town. Of these two, one was called the Victoria Jubliee School and the other Bedon Madrasa, which was later named as Hazi Nasiruddin Middle English School. The medium of instruction was Odia in the former and Persian in the latter. During the first part of the 20th century two more aided High Schools, one at Bhadrak and the other at Lakshmannath were established with the minimum grant-in-aid from the Government. The Vernacular schools suffered as they failed to cope with the demand of the times. By 1925 the number of Middle English school and the middle vernacular schools was 25. But there was no numerical change in the High English Schools. The High English Schools were affiliated to the Kolkata University. Private enterprise was the guiding factor in the field of Primary education. The system of grant-in-aid always added an impetus. There were 1839 indigenous schools at the primary stage in 1915 and the figure came down to 1673 by 1920. The number of such schools fluctuated from year to year. In the last three decades of the 19th century there was a vigorous movement led by Raja Rajendralala Mittra and other eminent Bengalis for substituting Oriya language by Bengali in Odissa on the ground that Odia was not an independent language but a mere dialect and an offshoot of Bengali language. Arguments were further advanced in favour of restricting the study of Odia in elementary schools on the basis that the language was not rich and it did not have standard printed books to be prescribed as text books. However, Fakir Mohan Senapati and Radhanath Ray combated the argument leveled against Odia language and proved beyond doubt that Odia was a modern Indian language – complete and prosperous like any other sister languages in India. John Beams, the famous linguist, who was the Collector of Baleshwar from 1869 to 1873 wrote in his Manual of District of 327

Baleshwar, which was printed in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal that ―they are not an offshoot of the Bengali is proved by the fact that their language was already formed as we now have it, at a period when Bengali had not yet attained a separate existence and when the deltaic portions of Bengal was still almost uninhabited. So that in fact they could not have sprung from the Bengalis simply because there was no Bengalis to spring from. Further, the order of the Lt. Governor of Bengal passed on to the D.P.I. Bengal was ―It is only too evident from what has been reported that the tendency among those who have any influence in the matter of education is and has been to encourage Bengali learning to the almost entire exclusion of the native language (Odia). Your proposal, therefore, to continue the study of Odia simply in the elementary schools and not beyond is, in the Lt. Governor‘s opinion, not only against the wishes of the natives of Odissa, but it is opposed to the policy which he considers the Government is bound on every consideration to follow, viz, that our chief care should be to give to the Odias an opportunity of learning their own language, and the means for this end should be exclusively supplied‖. Thus the study of Odia language was introduced in schools and the long drawn-out strife centering this issue was set at rest. The children had education through the medium of their mother tongue as before. As a result, a few Bengali Primary schools started in north Baleshwar gradually disappeared. Thereafter there was steady growth of education in the district. On 1st April, 1936 when the province of Odissa was created the percentage of literacy in the district was only 6. The following table shows a picture of education in the district at the time of creation of the province of Odissa.

Type of Institutions Number of Number of Number of Institutions students teachers High English Schools/Middle English/ 4 740 50 Middle Vernacular Schools Middle English/ Middle Vernacular 26 1710 104 Schools Primary schools (boys) 511 16037 1276 Primary schools (Girls) 15 422 18 Sanskrit Primary Schools 6 162 9 Maktabs 8 216 8 Madrasas 2 52 5 Tols 10 142 13 Elementary Training schools 5 50 10 Technical schools 1 40 8

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Literacy As per 1901 Census, 7.8 percent (15.7 male and 0.4 females) of the population of the district could read and write. At the time of creation of the province of Odisha. i.e., on the 1st April, 1936, the percentage of literacy of the district was reported to be 6 percent. It is only after independence that the percentage of literacy in the country as a whole and so also in the district took an upward trend. In the Census of 1951 the percentage of literacy was at 23.7 which comprised of 20.3 male and 3.4 female. There was an increase in the percentage of literacy by 5.8 percent during the next decade, (1961 Census) which rose to 29.5 percent comprising 23.2 percent males and 6.3 percent female as against the state average of 17.4 percent and 4.3 percent respectively. Thus it is clear that the district had better literacy than the state average. Among males, the percentage of literacy was 45.8 whereas among females it was 12.7. Towards 1971 the position was still better and the rise of literacy was 4.2 percent more during the decade and 33.7 percent of the population of the district returned literate. For males it was 47.5 percent and for females it was 19.5 percent. In the following decade the literacy figure further went up. According to 1981 Census the percentage of literacy in the district was recorded at 41.84 which was third in the state of Odisha, with Puri district at the highest placed with 45.71 percentage of literacy followed by Cuttack with 45.33 percent. The percentages of literacy among males and females were 55.07 and 25.32 respectively as per the 1981 Census. The literacy rate for male and female as per 2011 census is 81.69 and 58.90 respectively. The general literacy rate is 70.56. The census test of literacy is the ability to write a letter to a friend and read the answer to it. The district of Baleshwar had more literates compared to other two districts, i.e., Cuttack and Puri of Odisha in the province of undivided Bihar and Odisha. The following table shows the progress of education and the number of literates in the district and so also Odisha portion of undivided Bihar-Odisha in the censuses from 1881 to 1931. Number of Literates per 10,000 All Ages 10 and above Year Baleshwar Odisha Males Females Males Females 1881 1680 20 1470 40 1891 1360 40 1440 30 1901 2038 51 1964 54 1911 1802 64 1699 65 1921 1901 91 1873 99 1931 2017 111 1865 116

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This number of literate persons in the district at the Census of 1951 was 2,52,601 made up of 2,24,424 males and 28,177 females. More attention was paid in spreading education in the district in the years after independence resulting in more number of literates coming out every year. Increasing number of educational institutions opened in different parts of the district. More facilities for education were also made available to the people. According to the 1961 Census the total number of literates in the district figured at 4,17,527 of whom 3,28,489 were males and 89,038 females. Thus there was more than 500 percent increase in this field. In the urban areas, out of 91,905 people (49,784 males and 42,121 females), 35,942 person (26,000 males and 9,942 females) were found to have been literate. In the rural areas out of total population of 13,24,018, a total of 6,67,556 males and 6,56,462 females were returned literate. In the rural areas less persons were found to be literate while compared to the figures in the urban areas. According to their educational standard the total educated people in the district as a whole could be break up as 3,57,144 persons (2,76,114 males and 81,030 females) literates (without educational level), 50,166 persons (42,617 males and 7,549 females) of Primary or Junior Basic level and 10,217 persons (9,758 males and 459 females) Matriculate and above. As per the Census of 1971 the total population in the district was 18,30,504 comprising 9,28,342 males and 9,02,162 females of which only 6,17,105 persons (4,40,967 males and 1,76,138 females) were found to be literate and 12,13,399 people (4,87,375 males and 7,26,024 females) were illiterate. More than fifty percent of the male population were found to be educated whereas education among women was much less. Towards 1981 the number of literate persons in the district has increased. Out of a total population of 2,252,808 persons (1,139,355 males and 1,113,453 females) 947,598 persons (6,32,905 males and 3,14,693 females) were returned to be literate. However, more than half of its population was found to be illiterate. As per the Census of 2001 the total population in the district was 20,24,508 persons comprising 10,36,511 males and 9,87,997 females of which only 12,19,495 persons (7,22,244 males and 4,97,251 females) were found to be literate and 8,05,013 people (3,14,267 males and 4,90,746 females) were illiterate. About seventy percent of the male population were found to be educated whereas education among women was about fifty percent. As per the Census of 2011 the total population in the district was 23,20,529 persons comprising 11,85,787 males and 11,34,742 females of which only 16,21,232 persons (9,02,359 males and 7,18,873 females) were found to be literate and 6,99,297 person‘s (2,83,428 males and 4,15,869 330 females) were illiterate. About seventy six percent of the male populations were found to be educated whereas education among women was about sixty three percent. The statement given below shows the level of education of the literates in the district as per the Census of 2011. Educational Level Persons Males Females Literate (without educational level) 25879 26570 Below Primary 186613 177441 Primary 237776 208610 Middle 184060 141450 Matriculation / Secondary 118100 81353 Higher Secondary/ Intermediate/ Pre-University 57624 41279 Non technical diploma or certificate not equal to degree 1673 361 Technical diploma or certificate not equal to degree 10587 1496 Graduate and above 77932 38422 Unclassified 2115 1887

The people in Baleshwar district as per stage of education in 2011 census is given in a table here under.

Sl. No. Stage People 1 Below Primary 364054 2 Middle 771896 3 Secondary stage 312473 4 B.A. and above 116354 Spread of Education among Women Education of girls in the district was initiated by the missionaries. The American Baptist Mission founded a Primary School of girls as early as 1839 which was converted to Middle English School in 1896. In 1939 the school ultimately reached the status of a High English School for girls. There was another Girls Primary School at Barabati in Baleshwar town, managed by the Government. The institution was raised to a Middle English School in 1943 and subsequently into a High English School. The Hemaprava Girls Middle English School at Soro was also on institution imparting education to the girls students. In the year 1904-05 there were 128 girls school and the number of girl students receiving instruction therein was 3,884. Of these schools, three, one at the district headquarters, another at Jaleshwar and the third at Santipur, all under the management of the Baptist Mission, taught up to the standard of Middle Vernaculars; three were Upper Primary schools and 122 were lower Primary Schools. These lower Primary schools included sixteen Zanana classes taught by peripatetic Christian teachers, working under the superintendence of missionary ladies, who instructed 252 Hindu ladies in their homes.

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In the beginning of the 20th century, increasing number of girl students attended educational institutions owing to the popularity of co-education. In this respect the district occupied the highest position among Bengal districts as appears from O‘Malley‘s Bengal Gazetteer. Education for girls received further impetus after independence. To encourage girls education additional facilities are being made available for them. Girls are offered special educational facilities at all stages. For looking after the girl students in the schools, School Mothers were appointed in the schools. Lady teachers were also appointed in the institutions through sympathetic selection methods. In the schools the girls are eligible for free education. Only those whose parents were assessesof income-tax and agricultural tax are charged with fifty percent of the tuition fees. Girls at the college stage pay fifty percent of the tuition fees, except those whose parents are subject to payment of income tax. These measures have brought positive results in the field of women‘s education in the district. Tuition fees for all girls up to post graduate level have been waived from the academic year 1988-89. The number of educational institutions has also gone up. There is co-education at all stages. Development of women education in the district could be well ascertained from the statement given below which shows the number of girls students prosecuting studies in different educational institutions recognized by the Government in the years 1982-83 to 1985-86, and the current status as on 2015-16.

Year Primary Middle English Secondary 1982-83 1,23,397 22,981 18,915 1983-84 1,43,633 24,834 19,182 1984-85 1,69,429 26,777 19,504 1985-86 1,63,432 28,879 20,503 2015-16 1,65,515 44,797 27,865 At present there are three women‘s college in the district and the total strength of women students in these institutions is 1,298. The table below shows the growth of female literacy in the district as per the censuses of 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981 and 2011.

Census Percentage of Female Literacy 1951 6.9 1961 12.7 1971 19.5 1981 28.26 1991 43.40 2001 58.90 2011 72.28

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Spread of Education among Backward Classes and Tribes After the achievement of independence and the framing of the constitution special attention was paid to make rapid stride in the spread of education among backward classes and tribal people. Various welfare programme in the field of education are now under implementation both by the education and youth services department and the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department for improving the socio-economic condition and the rate of literacy among the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. With a view to attracting a good number of children to schools and discouraging the heavy dropouts from schools in the Pre-Matric stage, the Department of Harijan and Tribal Welfare started opening special schools such as Sevasharams, Ashram Schools and High English Schools in different parts of the district exclusively for the education of the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Some of these institutions are residential type where the students belonging to these two groups prosecute their studies with the facilities of free boarding and lodging. Besides general education, the students in these schools are given practical training in different crafts such as carpentry, tailoring, smithy, agriculture, etc. At the post-Matrict levels no special educational institutions are run by the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department. However, for providing residential facilities separate hostels have been established for them. Other educational facilities include free supply of reading and writing materials to the students reading in the education institutions maintained by the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department. Text books are also supplied free to such students reading in Primary Schools of the Education and Youth Services Department. Students reading in the Sevashrams are given free garments. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes students studying in the Middle English schools and High English schools of the Education and Youth Services Department and also the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department are awarded with pre-Matric scholarship.Post-matric scholarship is also awarded to those who prosecute higher studies in various post-matrict institutions in and outside the state. In the year 1985-86 the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department maintained three High English Schools including one for the girls, Ashram schools and 46 Sevashrams in the district specially for the education of these students. The strength of the students in the same year in these High English Schools, Ashram school and Sevashrams was 633,204 and 594 respectively. There were three hostels in the district for accommodation of these students. A total of 360 students found accommodation in the hostels during the same year. Owing to the operation of different reformatory and regulatory measures undertaken by the Government, education has started spreading gradually among these people. According to the Census of 1961, the percentage of literacy found amongst the Schedule Castes and the 333

Scheduled Tribes was 13.9 and 5.7 respectively. In the next decade the percentage of literacy has slightly increased. As per 1971 census 20.5 percent of the Scheduled Castes and 7.0 percent of the Scheduled Tribes population were found to have acquired literacy. The figures further rose to 26.83 among the Scheduled Castes and 11.20 among the Scheduled Tribes in the Census of 1981. The literacy rate of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe rose to 59.41 and 31.88 respectively as per 2011 census. General Education Primary Schools Spread of Primary education received real boost-up in the post- independence days. In 1950-51 there were 998 Primary schools in the district and it rose to 1,712 towards 1960-61. The figures further went up to 2,170 by the end of the following decade (as on 31st March 1970). The rise could be attributed to the effective steps taken by the Government in the Five year Plan periods. Among various measures taken by the Government to attract greater number of pupils to the schools enrolment drive was launched. Other facilities such as free mid-day meal, grant of merit- scholarship and grant for maintenance of poor students in hostels were provided. Primary education has been made free. The results are positive. The number of students in the school has been increasing gradually and steadily. More number of schools are being opened every year. The number of teachers in the educational institutions is also increasing. The information in respect of primary education in Baleshwar district from 1999-2000 to 2015-16 are given here under.

Years No. of No. of teachers No. of Students Primary Male Female Total Male Female Total School 1999-2000 1815 2803 1221 4024 185717 149852 335569 2000-2001 1815 2749 1157 3706 172240 149292 318532 2001-2002 1815 1749 1157 3706 158924 143962 302886 2002-2003 1815 2439 1325 3764 152864 134658 287522 2003-2004 1829 1819 1095 2914 170954 150927 321881 2015-2016 1601 2507 2561 5068 118277 112792 231069

Madrasa There were 5 Madrasas in the district for the education of the Muslims during the year 1985-86. The number of students was 1,174 (888 boys and 286 girls) and the number of teachers was 58 (including one female) in these institutions in the same year.

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Middle English Schools The number of middle English schools in the district, which was 69 only in 1951 went up to 150 in 1960-61 according to the Census of 1961. Like Primary education, the number of Middle English schools increased during the years after independence. In the beginning of the seventies (as on 31st March 1970) the number of such schools further rose to 552. The increase in the number of such institutions was more in the following decade. Towards 1980-81 the number of Middle English Schools rose to 917 (including 3 for girls). Some of the Middle English Schools are run by the Government and the rest are managed privately. High English Schools Spread of secondary education got momentum after fifties. The number of High English Schools in the district in 1950-51 was 24. In the following decade there were 49 such institutions which included two for girls both located at Baleshwar town. Progress of High English Schools was very remarkable during the next decade. As per 1971 Census the number of High English Schools was 208 as on the 31st March 1970. One Higher Secondary School was opened during this decade. The district enjoys better facilities of secondary education while compared to other districts of the state. According to survey report entitled ―Some important findings on schools education in Odissa‖, published in 1973 by the Education and Youth Services Department, 99.90 per cent of the total population of the district enjoyed facility of secondary education in their habitations or within a distance of 5 kms. which was highest and was even higher than the state average of 64.42 percent. Thus it could be inferred that the district made significant progress in the field of secondary education while compared to other districts of the state. In the beginning of the eighties the number of schools had increased considerably. In 1980-81 it stood at 346 including 32 schools for girls. Remarkable change was also noticed in the strength of student and the teachers in these institutions. On 31st March 1961, the number of teachers and students in these schools were 673 and 13,308 respectively. The strength of teachers rose to 1,864 and that of the students to 32,041 according to the Census of 1971. Towards 1980-81 still more was the increase as the corresponding figures stood at 3,102 (including 286 females) and 56,172 (including 16,190 girls) respectively. In the year 2015-16 the number of Primary Schools and Upper Primary School in the district are 1601 and 1225 respectively. Total 5068 and 6648 teachers / Lady teachers have been engaged in these schools. The number of students studying in all these schools at present is 3,57,152.

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As a trend it is seen that in the urban areas as many guardians are interested to educate their children in English medium schools, some English medium schools have been established in towns. The information in respect of High School education in Baleshwar district from 1999-2000 to 2015-16 are given here under.

Years No. of No. of teachers No. of Students Primary Male Female Total Male Female Total Schools 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1999-2000 917 2293 508 2801 33119 22362 55481 2000-2001 917 2120 493 2613 31101 23756 54857 2001-2002 917 2120 493 2613 33407 25886 59293 2002-2003 917 2249 425 2674 32588 27776 60364 2003-2004 1058 2526 745 3272 40548 33829 64377 2015-2016 1225 3516 3132 6648 64629 61454 126083 Private Schools Convent School: The first English Medium school, which was established by American Baptist at Baleshwar is St. Vincent Convent School. This was established in 1973. In the said school education is offered from Nursery class to Class-X. In the year 2015 the total number of students is 2900 and teachers engaged in the school is 75. Odia and Hindi languages are taught as second language. There is a hostel in the campus for the students. This is affiliated to ICSE Board, New Delhi. Srimaa Aurobinda Integrated Educational Centre In this district this school was first established at Kharida Chhak in Bhograi Block in the year 1979. After this, a number of such schools, have been established at places like Gopinathpur, Dahamunda, Jaleshwar, Bishnubidha, Basta, Vellora, Sajanagarh, Oupada etc. One such school has been established in Baleshwar town on 10th July, 1980. The students are taught through both English and Odia. Prangyan Bharati Sikshyakendra: This institution has been established at Gopalgaon of Balsore town in 1993. The students from Nursery class up to Class-X are taught here. This school is affiliated to Indian Educaitonal Council. A Magazine titled ―Pragyan Chetan‖ is brought out by the school. Rani Nursery School: This school was established at Ranipatana of Baleshwar town in 1989. The students from Nursery class up to 7th class are taught here. The number of students in the year 2015 is 171 and teachers is 11.

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Maharsi Vidya Mandir: This is a very reputed school in the town of Baleshwar. It has two branches, one from class nursery to class-VI at Sahadevkhunta and another from class-VII to Vlass-X at Sunhat. The students strength of the school is 701 and the number of teachers is 40. Satyasai Vidyamandir: This has been established in 1949 at Manikhamb of Baleshwar town. It is affiliated to Sikshya Bikas Samiti. Here students from class-I to class-X are taught. There are 22 teachers and 421 students in the school at present. Range School: This school has been established at Chandipur in 1993. The students from class-I to class-X are taught in the school. There are 301 students studying in the school and the teachers strength is 15. D.A.V. School: It was established in 1995 at Baleshwar. This is a English medium school. Education is offered from Nursery class to class-X here. There are 35 teachers and 555 students in the school. This is managed by D.A.V. College Managing committee, New Delhi. Central School: This was established on 28th June, 1972 at Baleshwar. The students from class-I to +2 class are taught here. The students are taught both in English and Hindi here. This has been recognized by Central Board of Secondary Education. In the year 1986-87 there were 597 students (369 boys and 228 girls) and 34 (15 gents and 19 ladies) teachers in the school. At present i.e. in the year 2015 a total of 1145 students are studying and strength of teachers is 42. Secondary Educational Institute in Baleshwar The categories and the number of High Schools in Baleshwar is mentioned belows Category Number Govt. High Schools 249 Aided High Schools 77 Block Grant High Schools 123 Others 112 Total 561 92,620 students are studying in these schools and 3721 teachers are teaching here.

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The information in respect of candidates passed in H.S.C. Exam. from 2000 to 2004. Year Annual high school certificate Supplementary high school result result No. of No. of % of No. of No. of % of total passout result total passout result students student students student 2000 Enrolled 16630 8094 48.94 1967 869 45.14 Corresponds 1275 389 30.63 86 40 46.51 course Ex-Regular 682 253 38.33 75 31 43.06 Ex-Regular 50 15 30.61 8 4 50.00 (Corresponds) Total 18639 8751 46.85 2136 944 44.19

2001 Enrolled 15183 6743 44.85 1689 650 39.37 Corresponds 1145 386 33.74 43 22 51.16 course Ex-Regular 636 179 28.50 118 32 27.35 Ex-Regular 38 13 34.21 8 4 50.00 (Corresponds) Total 17002 7321 43.06 1858 708 38.11

2002 Enrolled 13702 7156 52.40 1287 455 36.20 Corresponds 1116 389 34.98 53 19 35.85 course Ex-Regular 905 303 34.04 141 55 39.57 Ex-Regular 64 30 46.88 9 1 11.11 (Corresponds) Total 15787 7878 49.90 1490 530 35.57

2003 Enrolled 13815 6256 49.75 1029 510 49.76 Corresponds 743 339 46.82 42 19 45.24 course Ex-Regular 899 432 48.70 108 44 40.74 Ex-Regular 82 36 45.57 7 3 47.86 (Corresponds) Total 15538 7063 45.45 1186 576 48.57

2004 Enrolled 16514 9339 56.68 ------Corresponds 506 146 28.97 ------course Ex-Regular 722 279 38.86 ------Ex-Regular 50 12 24.00 (Corresponds) Total 17792 9776 54.94

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The information in respect of candidates passed in H.S.C. Exam from 2011 to 2015-2016

Year No. of No. of passout students Total no. of % of students 1st class 2nd class 3rd class passout passout students 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2011 25145 4400 5732 9404 19551 66.75 2012 28288 4550 5841 12239 22630 70.88 2013 30428 8654 9008 8707 26379 73.88 2014 29918 A1-95 B1-3800 C-7000 27907 93.36 A2-124 B2-6323 D-6332 E-2531 2015 31669 A1-151 B1-5310 C-6541 28985 91.58 A2-1989 B2-7061 D-5402 E-2531 Sanskrit School and College There are Sanskrit Schools and Colleges in the district. In addition to English, M.I.L., Sanskrit is taught like that of general college. In 1985 first Sanskrit Tols was established at Kedarpur near Soro. There is only one Sanskrit College in the district namely the Shyama Sundar Sanskrit College at Bhograi which was opened in 1930 as a Tol and converted to a college in the year 1975. The Sanskrit College provides Sanskrit teaching from Prathama to Acharya (M.A. standard). The subjects taught to the students are Sahitya, Dharmashastra, Vyakarana and Purana in both Sanskrit and Odia languages. Besides, subjects like Odia, English, Mathematics, Science, History, Political Science and shorthand and type writing are also taught. It is affiliated to Sri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishwa Vidyalaya, Puri. During 1985-86 it had 183 students (155 men and 28 women) and 16 teachers (including one female). The institution is privately managed and approved by the Government of Odisha. The number of Sanskrit schools are functioning in the district at present is given below

Category Number of school Number of teachers Number of students Primary School 10 11 300 Secondary School 25 119 750 Total 35 130 1050 The +2 level of general school in Sanskrit College is called Upa- Sikshya and +3 levelis called Shastri Sikshya. There are twenty Sanskrit Colleges in the district and the College at Bhograi is the oldest one.

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Colleges and University Started as a second grade college in July 1944 with 96 seats for intermediate in Arts course, the Baleshwar College was the only institution of the type in the whole of the district in the pre-independence era. In 1946 the Bachelor of Arts class opened and intermediate in Science was opened in 1948 and ultimately after more than a decade the Bachelor of Science class was opened in 1961-62. Now the institution provides education up to post- graduate level in Arts, Science and Commerce. The college was renamed as Fakir Mohan College in 1949 after the eminent Odia poet and novelist Late Fakir Mohan Senapati who was the son of the soil. The Kuntala Kumari Sabat Women‘s College was started at Baleshwar in 1960. It was the only women‘s college in the district. During the sixties, colleges were started at Jaleshwar and Soro (1964) by the initiative of the local people. The Government Evening College at Baleshwar started in 1966 by the Utkal University and later took over by the Government. Private institutions have been playing an important role in spreading higher education in the district. More number of colleges are being opened in different parts of the district in recent years. At present 966 lecturers are teaching in 52 colleges in the district. The district occupies an important place in the field of Higher Education. A list of some colleges in the district indicating the student and teacher strength is given below.

Sl. Name of the Year Standard up to Numbers of Number of Remarks No. College of which teaching is students teachers establi imparted Boys Girl Male Femal shme s es nt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Fakirmohan 1944 Degree in Arts, 2177 428 88 11 Government College, Science, post- College Baleshwar graduate degree in Commerce and Mathematics 2 Kuntala Kumari 1960 Post graduate 2921 559 124 10 Government Sabat Women‘s degree in College College, Balsore Economics and Commerce and Degree in Commerce, Science and Arts 3 Dinakrushna 1964 Degree in Arts 1195 141 48 2 Government College, and Science and Aided College Jaleshwar +2 in Commerce 4 Upendra Nath 1964 Degree in Arts, 1574 223 49 8 Government College, Soro Science and Aided College Commerce 5 Fakir Mohan 1966 Degree in Arts 576 111 18 --- Government Evening College, College Baleshwar 6 Nilamani 1976 Degree in Arts 509 43 39 3 Managed 340

Mahavidyalaya and +2 Science privately un- Rupsa and Commerce aided College 7 Subarnarekha 1976 Degree in Arts 854 195 30 3 Managed Mahavidyalaya, and Science privately un- Baliapal aided College 8 Laxmi Narayan 1976 Degree in Arts 512 196 18 --- Managed Mahavidyalaya, and +2 in privately un- Jamsuli Science aided College 9 Gopalpur 1978 +2 Arts 290 94 13 3 Managed College, privately un- Gopalpur aided College 10 Belavoomi 1978 +3 in Arts and +2 265 153 18 1 Managed Mahavidyalaya, in Science privately un- Abhana aided College 11 Dr. Jadunath 1978 Degree in Arts 129 58 9 2 Managed College, Rasalpur privately un- aided College 12 Swarnachud 1978 Degree in Arts 409 147 18 1 Managed College, Mitrapur and +2 in privately un- Science aided College 13 Nilagiri College, 1978 Degree in Arts 441 168 20 1 Managed Nilagiri privately un- aided College 14 Saraswata 1978 + Arts 169 55 12 2 Managed Mahavidyalaya, privately un- Anantapur aided College 15 Oupada College, 1978 +2 Arts 46 29 11 --- Managed Oupada privately un- aided College 16 Khaira College, 1980 Degree in Arts, 394 186 15 4 Managed Khaira and +2 in Arts privately un- and Commerce aided College 17 Siddheswar 1980 Degree in Arts 941 256 28 4 Government College, and Science Aided College Amardaroad 18 Rural Institute of 1980 +3 Arts and +2 703 285 27 3 Privately Higher Studies, Science managed Bhograi unaided 19 Shantilata 1980 +3 Arts 325 85 12 --- Privately Mahavidyalaya managed Uitikiri unaided 20 Similia College, 1981 +2 in Arts and +2 315 72 11 2 Privately Markona Commerce managed unaided 21 Srinibas College, 1983 +2 in Arts and +2 202 68 11 1 Privately Mangalpur in Commerce managed unaided 22 Jaleshwar 1984 +2 Arts 165 --- 10 --- Not yet Women‘s affiliated College, Jaleshwar 23 H.K. Mohatab, 1975 +2 Arts, Science 490 104 13 3 Privately College, Kupari managed

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Law College In 1978 Law College was established and started functioning in Public High School at Baleshwar. At present it is functioning in its own building near Odisha Plastic Factory. The number of students studying in the college is more than 700 and 20 Lecturers have been appointed. University at Baleshwar: Fakir Mohan University has been established at Baleshwar. The main office is functioning at side of the National Highway near Remuna Circle where as the teaching campus is at Nuapadhi. Its jurisdiction consists of the district of Baleshwar and Bhadrak. About 100 colleges have been affiliated to this University. Engineering Schools and Colleges at Baleshwar Baleshwar School of Engineering and Technology : In this institute education is offered in subjects like Computer Science, Information Technology, Electronics and Communication. About 200 students are studying here. The examination is conducted by State Council of Technical Education, Odisha. Satya Sai Engineering College: Established in 1999 it is imparting education in subjects like Electronics and Communication, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. About 200 students are studying here. Baleshwar College of Engineering and Technology: This institution is established at Sergarh, about 100 km South of Baleshwar. Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Electronics and Instrumentation, Mechanical Engineering etc. is taught. Ramarani Engineering College: This college has been established at Kuruda about 5 kms. fromBaleshwar. Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Electronics and Instrumentation, Mechanical Engineering etc. are taught in the college. Baleshwar Technical School: This technical school is functioning in the premises of Christian Mission. Training is imparted in Trade like Fitter, Welder, Draftsman, Secretarial practice and tailoring. Govt. I.T.I. : In 1980 this I.T.I. was established by the State Government. This is the only government I.T.I. It creates employment opportunities for the students. I.T.I., Samalpur: This institution was established in 1990. It has been recognized and approved by N.C.V.T., New Delhi. About 500 students are studying here.

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Modern Industrial Training Centre: Established in 1988, it got affiliated under NCVT New Delhi in 1996. Total 256 students are studying and 15 instructors are teaching. Das Industrial Centre: It is established in 1994. About 200 students are studying here. 20 instructors are teaching students. Institute of Electronics and Marine Technology: This has been established and affiliated to N.C.V.T., New Delhi in 1996. 150 students are studying and 15 instructors are engaged here. Institute of Industrial Technology: This institute was established in 1985 at Arad Bazar, Baleshwar, 128 students are studying here and 20 teachers are engaged. Fine Art Fine Art is one of the most important aspects of culture. The district has a lot of contribution in the field of Fine Art. Art education in Art Institution and award of Degree and Diploma etc qualification was first introduced by the Britishers in India in fifties of 19th century A.D. and in Odisha in fifties of 20th century A.D. Prior to that the art knowledge was transferred through ―Guru Sishya Parampara‖. Paintings, sculptures etc were being created under the patronage of Kings and Zamindars. In Baleshwar in the past the artists were also engaged in creating paintings and sculptures. This is evident from the fact that temples, mathas, statues of gods and goddesses were built in the past. Paintings were also taken up by artists by the orders of nobles and Zamindars in the past. However, different kinds of crafts were prevalent here in the past. Stone carving craft of Baulagadia in Nilagiri Sub-division, Bell metal works at Remuna under Sadar Sub-division, Mat crafts in Bhograi Block, wood carving in the whole of the district were very much popular. In view of their invaluable contribution in the field of Fine Art.Odisha Lalit Kala Academy, Bhubaneswar has conferred Academy Award on some artists of the district in different years. They are Late Anant Panda, Late Uday Narayan Jena, Sri Kali Kinkar Dey, Sri Nikunj Kishore Das, Sri Nityananda Sahu, Sri Gajendra Kumar Sahu, Sri Panchanan Sur, Sri Jayant Das, Sri Srinibas Padhiary and Sri Keshab Charan Das. Blasore College of Art and Craft:This college was established in 1994 with affiliation to Utkal University of culture. 13 batches have successfully passed out from this institution. At present 16 lecturers are

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engaged in teaching and total strength of the students is 160. The college is imparting Art Education up to post graduate level. Other Art Institutions imparting training in Fine Arts to school students are : 1. Fakir Mohan Artistic Craft School, Kalakshetra, O.T. Road, Established in the year 1994. 2. Chitra Kala VIkash Kendra, At./P.O.-Azimabad, Established in 1987. 3. Baleshwar Art School, At.-Rotary Bhawan, 4. Ekalabya Child Art and Crafts Academy, At.-Sabitri School, P.O.- Gopalgaon, 5. Art Centre, At./P.O.-Balia, 6. Child Fine Art and Craft Sikshya Niketan, At.-Chapolia Lane, Bhojsahi, 7. Chitra Lekha Art and Craft School, At./P.O.-Chandaneswar, 8. Bhagdevi Kala Kendra, At.-Radhanath Nagar, P.O.-Soro 9. P.P. School of Visual Art, At.-Salt Road, P.O.-Sunhat, 10. Sunday Art School, At.-Nayabazar, P.O.-Jaleshwar Dance, Music and Drama Dance, Drama and Music are important aspects of culture. The district is very much rich in this field of performing art. Dance and Music: Folk dances in different forms were being performed in the past in the district. Folk dances namely Ghoda Nacha, Chadheiya Nacha, Laudi Nata, Dadhi Nata, Dhana Kojla Nata were very much popular. Leelas like Manasa Leela, Sasthi Leela were being widely performed in North Baleswar area. Pala and Dasakathia were also extensively performed. Artists involved in these art forms were very much respected by the people. Chhau dance of Nilagiri is another important dance form of the district. The artists of Chhau dance organization namely Swarnachuda Chhau Nrutya Pratistham, Nilagiri perform this dance. In the past, the folk dances and folk dramas were the sources of entertainment of the people. So each art form except Chhau had a number of performing troupes. But now a days a few troupes from each art form are performing due to lack of interest of the viewers as cinema and TV attracted their attention.

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However Oddisi dance has became very popular in Urban areas. Dance and music institutions have been established where apart from Oddisi dance, Sambalpuri, folk dance and other modern dances are being taught to the boys and girs. Hindusthani Classical vocal music, oddisi vocal music, folk songs and playing of musical instruments like Tabla, Harmonium, Violin, Guitar are also being taught. Some prominent dance and music institutions of the district are: Nrutya Sangeet Kala Mandir : It was established in 1956. Hindusthani Classical, Oddisi vocal music and playing of gitar, violin, tabla, oddisi dance and folk dances are taugh here. The students are awarded degree and post graduate degree by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharb Mahavidyalay Mandal, Mumbai and Prayag Samiti, Allahabad to which the institution is affiliated. Guru Harekrushna Behera College of Art and Cultue, Baleshwar: It was established in 1999 at Baleshwar with the objective of imparting training in vocal and instrumental music and awarding B. Mus and M.Mus degree. The College is named after Odisi exponent Guru Harekrushna Behera, a central and state Sangeet Natak Academy Awardee. It is affiliated to council of Higher Secondary Education, Odisha and Utkal University of Culture Odisha, Bhubaneswar. Hindustani Classical Vocal, Oddisi Vocal, Tabla, mardal are taught, students have already passed out with B.Mus degree in 8 batches. In 2015 there were 290 students in all disciplines and 21 teachers engaged in this institution. Sai Nrutya Sangeet Mahavidyalaya: This institution was established and registered in the year 1973 at Baleshwar. It is affiliated to Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh and Akhila Bharatiya Gandharb Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. It is imparting training in the disciplines like Hindusthani Classical Vocal, Oddisi Vocal, Tabla, Guitar, Odisi Dance upto post graduate degree level. 34 batches of students in these disciplines have already passed out. 11 teachers in these disciplines are engaged for imparting training. Sri Ranga Charan Kalashram: It was established at Remuna in the year 2005 and registered under Society Registrations Act 1860 in the year 2010. Akademy Awardee Oddisi exponent Guru Ramani Ranjan Jena is its founder. Training in Oddisi Dance, Chhau Dance, Folk and tribal dances are imparted. The artists of the institutions have participated in different district, state and national level festivals. Dayal Sangeed Academy, Baleshwar: It is a dance and music institution of a registered social organization namely Dayal Welfare Organization, Baleshwar. It was established in 1999. It has been imparting training in dance and music subjects like Oddisi dance, Folk dance, Hindusthani classical vocal music, Oddisi Vocal music, Tabla, Violin, Mardal

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etc. It is affiliated to Prancheen Kala Vikash Kendra, Chandigarh. In the year 2015 total number of students learning in the institution was 130 and teachers engaged were seven. Swarnachuda Chhau Institute, Nilagiri : It is an old Chhau dance training institution established and registered in the year 1973 at Nilagiri. About 20 artists get training every year. Three dance teachers and music accompanists are engaged here. Besides training the institute presents Chhau dance performance in different dance festivals inside and outside the state. Besides these above mentioned institutions some other dance and music and cultural organizations are Sri Jagannath Nrutya Sangeet Mahavidyalay, Baliapal, Bharati Kala Niketan, Markona; Nandighosh Seva Sanskruti Anusthan, Baleshwar; Shankar Jew Sanskrutik Kalaparishad, Jamkunda; Janata Kala Parishad, Soro; Nrutya Kala Academy, Baleshwar; Nrutyana, Baleshwar, Kala Vikash Kendra, Nilagiri; Nrutya Sudha Kala Niketan, Mitrapur; Binapani Kala Niketan, Remuna; Khaira Kala Niketan, Khaira which are working in the field of culture. As Baleshwar is a developed district in the field of culture, a number of artists have achieved distinction in the field of dance and music. Notable among them are Late Guru Harekrushna Behera, and Guru Sri Ramani Ranjan Jena, Remuna who have received both central and state Sangeet Natak Academy Award for their immense contribution in the field of Oddisi Dance. Similarly Late Sukumar Sahu, Baleshwar, Late Rama Chandra Mohapatra, Nilagiri and Late Rabi Narayan Mohapatra, Sindhia, Prof. Ramahari Das, Nampo have received state Sangeet Natak Academy Award for their contribution in the field of vocal music. Late Prafulla Kumar Roy and Late Gopal Chandra Das have received Odisha State Sangeet Natak Academy Award for contribution in the field of Instrumental music i.e., Violin and Mardal respectively. Drama : Drama movement started in this district under the patronage of art loving Bengali Zamindars living here. The drama institution, which played important role in staging dramas in the post is Radhagovind Theatre, Baleshwar. It was established in the year 1898 by Late Laxmikant Mishra. Other notable institutions during pre independence period are Paribarik Theater, Juvenile Theaters, Bharati Theatre, Rajalakshmi Theater, Sunhat Theater of Baleshwar, Darabar Rangamanch, Nilagiri, Sanskrut Natya Sangha, Baleshwar, Balangi Dramatic Club and Barnali Natya Sansad, Baleshwar etc. In post independence period a few Drama Instutitons became very much active in the field. They are:

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Srastha : It was established in the year 1979 at Baleshwar. It has been staging drama every year. The drama troupe of the institution has participated in the drama competitions and drama festivals in the state as well as out side. The artists of the organization have participated in Radio dramas and TV serials etc. Bindubalay : It was established in the year 1980. It has played an important role in Neo Drama movement. It has also participated in various district and state level drama competition and drama festivals. Kalakar : It was established in the year 1991. It has participated in state level drama competitions organized by Odisha Sangeet Academy. It has been also organizing successfully children drama festival for last 14 years. It has been also staging good modern Odia plays every year. Besides, these institutions other intuitions working in this field are Natya Prava, Fakirmohan Natya Parishad, Subhrabarani, Rangamati etc. The district is proud of drama artists and play wrights who have contributed for promotion of drama. Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy has conferred Academy award on Sri Bijay Mishra, Playwright; Sri Pususottam Bhuyan, Playwright, Sri Jadunath Dasmohapatra, and Sri Hemendra Mohapatra. Culture Archeology, Sculpture and Architecture The district is rich in archeological treasure. It is filled with archaeological remains of the ancient period. Although a systematic exploration of the district has not yet been done, the inscriptions, coins and other antiquities discovered so far throw light on the history and culture of the district during ancient past. The district has a number of archaeological sites which have not yet been properly surveyed and excavated. The sites filled with Buddist images and antiquities are Ayodhya, Avana, Kasba, Jayrampur. Similarly the sties which were important centres of Jainism are Ayodhya, Pundal, Avana, Bhimpur, Jaleshwar and Baleshwar town. A good number of Buddhisgt stone images such as Bodhistava. Avalokiteswar, Tara, Manjushri, and images of Jainism such as Jain Trithankars, Rishavanath etc have been discovered from these sites. These are specimens of fine sculptures of different religions followed by the people in the district in the past. The district was adorned with many sacred edifices of Hindu religion such as Saivism, Vaishnavism and Saktism etc.

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Noteworthy Saivite monuments are Maninageswar temple of Bardhanpur, Chandaneswar temple of Hoogly, Bhusandaneswar Siva Linga of Kumbhiragadi, Langaleswar temple of village Langaleswar. The famous Vaishnasite monuments in the district are Shyamsundar Temple, Jagannath temple in Baleshwar town, Khirachora Gopinath temple at Remuna, Jagannath temple at Nilagiri, Jagannath temple at Mangalpur;Jagannath temple at Jaleshwar; Baldevjew temple at village; Gud near Anantapur etc. Similarly famous Shakta shrines are Bhudharchandi temple of Sajanagarh, near Nilagiri; Brahmani temple of Avana, Marichi Thakurani of Ayodhya, and Chandi temple at Khajureswar near Sergarh. Besides the monuments of Hindu religion, the district possess monuments of Islamic religion and Christianity. The famous mulsim monuments are Kadam-e-Rasul and Bhujakhia Pir in Baleshwar town. The Christian monuments which stand in Baleshwar town are Baleshwar Baptist Church and Baleshwar Catholics church. Apart from the above mentioned religious monuments the district was proud of its forts and strongholds. In view of its strategic geographical position the district played a very significant role in the military system of Odishan rulers. Many important forts were built in this area to check the foreign invasion to the state of Odisha from northern side. Many of such military forts are no longer in existence and have been devastated. The most famous among these forts is Raibania Fort, which is situated about 15 kms to the north of Jaleshwar. According to the report of John Beams, the Ex. Collector of Baleshwar district, this big fort is having the shape of an irregular pentagon, eastern wall 4950 ft, northern wall 4900 fts, north eastern wall 2640 fts, south western wall 4650 fts and the southern wall 2640 fts. Abul Fazal has recorded the names of several forts in 17 places in Jaleshwar Sarkar. Jaleshwar Sarkar of the Moughal period comprised whole of present Baleshwar Sub-division, major portion of Midnapore district, Bankuda, Manbhum, Singhbhum and some portion of Mayurbhanj district. Thus according to the report of Abul Fazal, there were five invincible forts at Bansada (present, Basta), one at Bhograi, one brick built fort at Jaleshwar Nagar, five forts at Remuna and 13 forts at Raibania. All these forts except at Raibania are no longer in existence. Out of the archaeological remains discovered from the district, coins and inscriptions are very much significant. The Numismatic finds of the district consists of so called Puri-Kushan coins, copper coin of Sri Nanda, Ganga fanam, muslim coins and miscellaneous coins. In 1912, the Collector of Baleswar sent a hoard of 910 Puri Kushan coins to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1952 a hoard of 147 348

copper coins of Sri Nanda were discovered from Gandibedha. In 1970, a hoard of 30 Ganga Fanams were discovered at Khurunta in this district. Inscriptions Inscriptions of the period from 3rd century A.D. to 16th century A.D. have been discovered from the district. The noteworthy inscriptions are (1) Jayarampur copper plates of Gopa Chandra of first half of 6th century A.D. (2) Soro copper plates of Somadatta of 7th century A.D. (3) Baleshwar copper plate of Sri Bhanu of 7th century A.D. (4) Soro copper plate of Banudatta of 7th century A.D. (5) A Sivalinga inscribed with Buddhist Dharani from Soro of 9th to 10th century A.D. (6) Irda inscription of Nayapaladev of Kamboja family of 10th century A.D. (7) Khalada inscription of Nayapala of 11th century A.D. (8) Oriya inscription on a stone image from Gandibeda of 10th to 11th century A.D. (9) Gandibeda Surya image inscription of the time of Karana of 11th century A.D. (10) Oriya inscription from Trisilia dated the 7th Anka of Gajapati Purusottam Deva of 15th century A.D. (11) Garhpada copper axe head inscription of Gajapati Purusottam Dev of 15th century A.D. (12) Srijung inscription of Achyuta Baliar Sing Mohapatra of the time of Rama Chandra Deva of 16th century A.D. Cultural and Literary Organisations Cultural and literary organizations usually concentrate mostly in the urban areas. There are some active organizations in the district. These organizations organise literary meetings and symposia, observe the birth day of the eminent Oriya poets and writers, facilitate distinguished literatures on different occasions, publishes the writings of old poets and writers, etc. Some also publish magazines and journals. The statement given below shows the name of some of the active literary and cultural organizations in the district with their brief account.

Sl. Name of the Date/year of Total Remarks No. organization establishment number of membership 1. Fakir Mohan 1948 145 Maintains a library published books, Sahitya Parishad, namely Fakirmohan Parikrama, Baleshwar Rajatashri Smaranika, Kanheianauna, Fakir Mohan; His life and literature 2. Radhanath 05.10.1949 120 Maintains a good library. Runs an Pathagar, Soro audit education centre, published a book, namely Radhanath Parichiti 3. Dinakrushna 1983 300 Published books, namely Dinakruhna Sahitya Parishad, Smaranika, a souvenir, Samakalina Jaleshwar Sahitya. 4. Uttar Odisha 1976 437 Encourages Orrisan Art, culture and Sahitya Sanskruti literature specially in the border areas.

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Sammelan, Publishes scripts of talented writers. Baleshwar 5. Barta Pratisthan 14.11.1979 --- Publishes a literary quarterly namely, Meghadambaru, Bartta Urmi, a children‘s, magazine- Kuruda Tikifula Raija. It also maintains some social service organizations. 6 Jeevan Sangram 28.2.2011 Trustee and Published ―Jeevan o Saraswat Trust 7 other Sangram‖,‘Odishara Jana Andolana members ,Odishara Ganatantrika Andolana ,Chasi Dalita O Nari‖

Library Library is a centre of learning. With the growth of modern civilization the importance of library has increased. Almost all educational institutions have their own libraries. Offices also maintain reference library for their use. Among the public libraries the name of the Radhanath Pathagar at Soro deserves mentions. It was started in the year 1946. The Subodh Chandra Bani Bhaban at Baleshwar town was another old library in the district. The library merged with the public reading room in 1950. The Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of Odisha maintains library- cum-reading room at Baleshwar and Bhadrak with a daily average attendance of 50 and 65 respectively. There was a reading room at Nilagiri. The District Library at Baleshwar has been set up in since 1979 under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Department of Government of Odisha. A good number of private libraries also function in different parts of the district. A list of some of the important libraries in the district is given below.

Sl. Name of the Library Management No. 1. Information Centre and Reading Room, Information and Public Relations Baleshwar Department 2. Information Centre and Reading Room, Information and Public Relations Nilagiri Department 3. Information Centre and Reading Room, Information and Public Relations Simulia Department 4. Information Centre and Reading Room, Information and Public Relations Jaleshwar Department 5. District Library, Baleshwar Culture Department, Baleshwar 6. Radhanath Pathagar, Soro Private Management 7. Fakirmohan Sahitya Parishad Pathagar, Private Management Baleshwar 8. Nehru Pathagar, At./P.O.-Srirampur Road, Private Management Singla, Dist.-Baleshwar 9. Sri Aurobind Pathagar, At.-Tundura, P.O.- Private Management Inchudi, Dist.-Baleshwar 10. Sri Chandika Pathagar, At./P.O.-Inchudi, Private Management Dist.-Baleshwar 11. Swadhinata Sangram Smruti Parishad, Private Management 350

At./P.O.-Srijung, Dist.-Baleshwar 12. Dinakrushna Pathagar, At.-Shantia, P.O.- Private Management Jaleshwar, Dist.-Baleshwar 13. Srima Sadhana Pitha Trust, Private Management At.-Kharidachhak, P.O.-Nayapalli, Via.- Dahamunda, Dist.-Baleshwar Poets and Writers The district has a special place in the development of Oriya language and literature. Sridhar Swami and Baladeb Vidyabhusan are the two famours Sanskrit scholars and commentators of India who were born in this district. Literatures like Radhanath Roy and Fakir Mohan Senapati, who were the pioneers in various fields of Modern Oriya language and literature also hail from this district. A short account of the distinguished poets and writers of the district in the pre-independence periods is given below. Writers of Pre-independence Period Sridhara Swami, a Sanskrit scholar of repute was born in the village, Maralgan in NilagiriSub-Division of the district in the first half of the 14th century A.D. It is said that for his vast learning and saintly character he was selected as the Mahanta of the Govardhana Math (Bhogovardhana Pitha), a famous Sanskrit monastery at Puri. He had some notable works to his credit, the chief among which is the Bhabarthadipika Tikaan erudite commentary on the Bhagavata Purana, which is accepted to be the best of its kind on the sacred text. Balaseva Vidyabhusan, the great Sanskrit scholar and Vaishnav Philosopher was born at Remuna in Baleshwar district towards the end of the 17th century. His famous commentary on Vedanta Sutra, which he named as ―Govinda Bhasya‖ earned him undying fame. Late Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee in his book ―History of Chaitanya Faith in Odisha‖, has discussed in detail about the birth place and the scholarly attainment of this Vaishnav scholar, from which an excerpt is quoted here; ―He was born in a Khandait (Kshatriya) family in Baleshwar district towards the end of the 17th century. Baladeva was the greatest Sanskrit scholar of Odisha. Apart from his celebrated Govinda Bhasya and Prameya Ratnavali, he wrote the Siddhanta Ratna and the Sahitya Koumodi He also wrote commentaries on Rupa Stavamala in 1764 A.D. Jiva Tattwa Sandarva and on Rasikananda‘s Shyamananda Satakam . The famours Vaishnav poet, Dinakrushna Das‘s literary merit could be well judged from his poetical composition Rasavinodaand other works. He belonged to the 17th century and was born in the village Tinia near Jaleshwar.

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Janaki Ballabh Kar of Bhograi flourished in the 18th century, his famous work being Vishnu Sahasranama. Krushnakanta Das (1838-1903 A.D) of Mangalpur in Soro police station was a popular playwright. He wrote 19 Giti Natyas and other devotional songs. Oriya language and literature owe much to Fakir Mohan Senapati, and his contemporary Radhanath Roy who hailed from this district. It is their powerful writings which opened a new era in modern Oriya literature. Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843-1918) popularly known as Vyasakabi and who is also said to be the Thomas Hardy of Odisha for his novels hails from Malikaspur in Baleshwar town. He was a poet, a writer and above all a novelist. His translation of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata from the original Sanskrit to Oriya earned him the epithet Vyasa Kavi. To remove the deficiency of text-books in Oriya he wrote Rajput ra Itihas, Bharatavarsara Itihas and some other text books. His travelogue Utkal Bhramanwritten in poetry is highly interesting as well as Boudhavatara Kavya are some of his other poetical works. Fakir Mohan, however, excels in the field of short story writing and novels. His short story collection Galpasalpa (MÌiÌ) published in 2 volumes and his four novels, Chhamana Athagunth , Mamu , Prayaschita, and Lachhama have earned him undying fame in Oriya literature and he has been rightly called as the Father of Oriya fiction. His autobiography, Fakir Mohananka Atmacharita, which gives a vivid picture of the social, political and cultural conditions of his time is considered to be a masterpiece of its kind. A sense of humour, mild satire and a deep insight into human nature which make his short stories and novels so interesting, are also amply represented in this autobiography. Radhanath Roy-Born on the 28th September 1848 in the village Kedarpalli near Baleshwar town, he is considered as the pioneer and chief architect of modern Oriya poetry. While Fakir Mohan enriched Oriya prose, Radhanath, the Poet of Nature excelled in poetry. He eschewed the ornate poetic style and Sanskritised diction of medieval Oriya poetry and brought poetry nearer to the heart of Oriya reader by writing in simple and mellifluous style. His poetic excellence lies in his treatment of nature. Instead of writing long Kavyas of the medieval period he preferred short Kavyas or Khanda Kavyas which became immensely popular. The impact of western literature is clearly discernible in his poetic compositions but he never abandoned all that is best in the long and rich tradition of Oriya poetry Chandrabhaga, Kedar Gouri, Nandikeswari, Usha, Parvati, Chilika and Darabar which are some of his most popular Kavyas. He also wrote Mahayatra, an ambitious epic in blank verse, but could not complete it due to his death. He also made

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a successful translation of poet Kalidas‘s Meghaduta into Oriya and wrote some beautiful prose pieces. Chandramohan Maharana, an inhabitant of Remuna and contemporary of Radhanath Roy, was a noted educationist and litterateur. His Kathavali and Odiya Sisu Vyakaran are well-known. Padma Charan Das (1867__1940)-Born at Guharia Sahi in Soro police station. His writings namely, Oriya Kirttan (in two volumes), Sangita Harabali and plays like Kansabadha , Prataprudradev and Shri Shri Radhagovinda Kelivilasaspeak of his literary merit. Asraf Ali Khan was born in the middle of the 19th century in Baleshwar town. His critical appreciation of Meghanadabadha of Michael Madhusudan Dutta, a famous poet of Bengal, earned him the regard of Raychand Premchand and for his poetic excellence he was awarded the title of Kavya Ratnakar. His published works are Jugal Bharati ,Parbara Bheti , Sarbasara Swasthya Sadhana , Islam, Premochhwasa , Asraf Kosa etc. Many other prominent poets and writers are in the district who have made valuable contributions to the glory of Oriya literature. Modern Writers Annada Prasd Rakshit: Annada Prasad Rakshit was born in 1927 in Baleshwar town. His published books are : Kete Kete Phul , Swarna Renu , Ashanta Pruthibi , Anuragini (Novel) Kathanika , Karna , Kunti , Nila Aakash , Aau Sabuja Dharani , Jhada Mana Samudrara (short story), Braja Bidyut (Poetry), Mo Jiban Kahani (Translation), Tima Tim Tim(Children Literature), Late Annada Prasad Rakshit was awarded and felicitated by many organizations. Ananta Prasad Panda: Ananta Prasad Panda was born in 1906 at Kalyani near Gopalpur. He earned name and fame as an Essayst, story writer, dramatist. His ‗Niharika‘, ‗Mo Kabita‘, ‗Kabita ra bilap‘, ‗Tulasi‘, ‗Yuga Rahasya‘, ‗Tarabai‘,(poetry) - ‗Truna guchha‘, ‗Sabhyatara Tale‘, ‗Mana ra bhuta‘, ‗Baramaja‘, (Story book) - ‗Bhagya Chakra‘, ‗Nua Dunia‘, ‗Kula‘, ‗Mukta‘, ‗Aakasha ra bihanga‘, (Story book) - ‗Pashatya Anubhuti‘, ‗Daaeri ru Ketek Prusta‘ (Story book) - ‗Omar Chayanika‘, ‗Atma Jibani‘(Translation). He was honoured by Odisha Sahitya Academy, Sarla Award, Utkal Pathak Sansad, Nila Saila Award etc. Nanda Kishore Das: Late Nanda Kishore Das was born in 1894 in the village Santhasarapur near Soro. He was the speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1951 under the Chief Ministership of Late Naba Krushna Choudhury. His autobiography is ―Mo Jiban O Mo Janjal Kahani‖.

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Adhiraj Mohan Senapati: Adhiraj Mohan Senapati was born in 1893 at Mallikashpur. His books are; His Autobiography, Sisu Patha, Sisu Bodha, Saral Sahitya, Bhougalik Sahitya, Bana Jangala ra Katha, Rama Rajya , Bharat Mata,(Children literature)and Desa Bidesha ra Gaunli Gapa . Dr. Narendra Kumar Mishra: Narendra Kumar Mishra was a reputed Researcher and Critic. His contribution to Oriya literature is noteworthy. His literary creations are; Oriya Gyanakosh, Balaram Das ‗O‘ Odiya Ramaya, Adhunik Kabyadhara 1st and 2nd part, Adhunikata ‗O‘ Adhunik Sahitya, Pandit Nilakantha Jibani ‗O‘ Kruti, Loka Ratna Kunja Bihari Dasetc. He was honoured by Odisha Sahitya Academy, Utkal Pathak Sansad, Utkal Sahitya Samaj, Odiha Gabeshana Parishad. Manoj Das: Great litterateur Manoj Das was born in 1934 in village Sankhari in Bhograi area. He was awarded by Central Sahitya Academy for his book Katha ‗O‘ Kahani. This story writer of international fame has got Padmashree Award. Besides he has received Sahitya Bharati Samman, Sarala Samman,Saraswati Samman etc. His creations are Lakshmi Ra Abhisar ,Abu Purusha , Dhrumav Digant , Manoj Panchabinsati , Amruta Phala , Chandra Lokara Prahari , Aakashra Ishara , Dur Durantar , Indonesia Anubhuti etc. Kabi Brajanatha Rath: Brajanath Rath was born in 1936 at Sunhat of Baleshwar town. His poetries collections are – Maru Golap, Nijaswa Sanlap, Nisabda Pratibad, Manara Manachitra, He Mara Jiban, Laghu Sataka, Samayara Sabdalipi, Samanya Asamanyaetc. His edited books are – Dharitri Kabita Sankalan, Sama Samayika Odia Prema Kabita, Fakirmohan- His Life and Literature. A number of his essays have been published in various magazines. He has been awarded by Odisha Sahitya Academy and Central Sahitya Academy. He has received Bisuba Puraskar, Sarala Smarak Samman, Sahakar Samman, Sahitya Bharati Samman, Satabdi ‗O‘ Baisakhi Samman, Atibadi Jagannath Samman. He has received D.Lit from Fakirmhan University. He died on 31 May 2014 . Bijay MishraDramatist: Bijay Mishra was born in 1936 at village Balipatana near Nilagiri. He has been awarded both by Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy and Central Sangeet Natak Academy for writing play. His best dramas are: Asanta Graha, Pratikshya, Sagara Tire, Jajabar, Saba Bahak Mane, Asatya Sahar ,Bharmabatar , Apratihat Ahwan, Parsuram, etc. Anya Aranya (Radio drama), Jane Raya Thile, TV Drama. A few dramas have been made films. Dr. Manmath Nath Das: Historian Manmath Das was born in 1926 in village Sankhari of Bhograi area. He has written a number of books on history. These books are Glimpses of Kalinga History, The Political

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Philosophy of Jawaharlal Nehru, End of British Empire, His literary creation are : Yuge Yuge Utkaliya Dharma ‗O‘ Sabhyata, Astarag, Aspasta Akshyar, Jibanara Patha Prante, Digantara Drushya, He Bidhata He Basudev , etc. He was the Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University and member of Rajya Sabha. Jadunath Dash Mohapatra: Novelist and Dramatist Jadunath Das Mohapatra was born in 1929 in the village Kudei near Soro. His novels are: Pralay Payodhi Jale, Premara Prathama Sambodhan, Adya Madhya Pranta ,Manisa Rajyara Pasu , Sesa Sanlap, Luhara Phula, Santan Setu, Gramya Nadira Tire, etc. Similarly the poetry books are: Nirbachita Kabita, Manisha Khoja, Megha Barna, Samudra, etc. His dramas are Athaba Andhar, Bandi Begum Badsaha, Setu Bandha, Suryamandir, Bhuli Huena, Kshyama Karibe Ki, etc. He has also created children literature and translation literature. He has received Odisha Sahitya Academy Award, Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy Award. He has received honour from Utkal Sahitya Samaj, Fakirmohan Sahitya Parishad, Bhubaneswar Pustak Mela etc. Brajendra Dutta: He was born in 1933 in village Nahanjara in Jaleshwar area. His profession is teachership, but creation of literature is his love. His poetries are Kalanta Abarah ,Binidra Urmi , Asta Surya Ra Ghoda , Mouna Arohi , Travelogue – Rani Meghambari. He has got Odisha Sahitya Academy Award. Dr. Manorama Biswal Mohapatra: Born in 1948 in the village Jagei of Baliapal she is writer of many poetry books, children literature, poetry translation books. Her books are Sabda Nisabda, Dr. Manasingh Kabya Kruti, Sabda Pratima, Nirbachita Kabita etc. She has got Odisha Sahitya Academy Award for her poetry book ―Phalgkni Tithira Jhia‖. Indu Bhusan Kar: He was born in 1935 in village Chandipur of Bhograi area. His published books are: Nisanga Aakash, Urbasi ra Prarthana.He was awarded by Odissa Sahitya Academy. Kunja Roy: He was born in 1944 in village Padagaon of Kantapada. He has written many plays such as Biday Vikramditya, Anyadina, Anya loka, Sulakshyana, Kalantar, Apratihat Kaharabela, Nayak ra Nama Chandrasena. He was awarded by Odisha Sahitya Academy. Old and Important Institutions Fakir Mohan College, Baleshwar It is now an Autonomous College having full fledged degree and P.G. Degree College affiliated to F.M. University. It was started in the year 1944. The roll strength of the college has risen significantly over the years from a mere 400 in 1944 to about 3500 at present comprising 35 members of

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teaching and more than 60 non-teaching employees. The College is the oldest and most prominent college in the district. Zilla School, Baleshwar Zilla School, Baleshwar was established in the year 1853. The noted teachers of this School were Pandit Biswanath Singh, Dwarakanath Chakrabarty, Gouri Sankar Roy, Poet Madhusudan Rao, Madhusudan Das, Chandramohan Maharana. Noted poet Radhanath Roy, Baikuntha Nath Dey, Laxmi Narayan Sahoo, Laxmikanta Mohapatra, Samarendra Kundu, Manmatha Das, Manoj Das and Rabindra Mohan Das are the distinguished personalities who were students of this institution. It is a prestigious institution in the District. Christian High School, Baleshwar This school is a century old High School established by the Britishers in the year 1893. The pioneer of Odiya language and father of Odiya Modern Literature Byaskabi Fakir Mohan Senapati happened to be a teacher of this School. The School observed its centenary with great pomp and ceremony in the year 1997. Mission Girls’ High School, Baleshwar History of Mission Girls High School is history of Baleshwar and the history of female education in Odisha. The year 1839 is important as it is the year of establishment of this institutions. Mrs Sarah Bachelor started the School with some destitute girl students. This school was set up to uplift the women education in Odisha. From 40 girl students the school has now more than 400 girls. K.C. High School, Nilagiri Kailash Chandra High School,Nilagiri was established in the year 1906. The School was named to commemorate late Kailash Ch. Mohanty, the noted Praja mandal leader who was called Gandhi of the Locality. Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das was Head master of this School. Fakir Moahn Senapati and Acharya Harihar visited School.

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CHAPTER – XV MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES

Medical Climate Many parts of the district are low-lying, swampy and water- logged. The houses which are generally mud huts are surrounded by unhealthy stagnant pools which mostly form breeding places for mosquitoes. Besides, the entire district lies in a flood prone area. Major parts of the district remains inundated during the rainy season for a long time. Certain areas of north Baleshwar, particularly Jaleshwar area is the worst fever zone. Malaria and Filaria are endemic. The climate of Nilagiri subdivison which is low-lying tract and surrounded by range of hills and forests is usually damp and unhealthy. The district which was once a malarial tract has now improved due to various Malaria Control Programs. Epidemics like cholera and small-pox took a heavy toll of life in the past. But owing to implementation of various public heaIth and preventive measures their visitations are now almost under control. Survey of Public Health and Medical Facilities in Early Times The Baleshwar Pilgrim Hospital, the first of its kind in the district was established in 1853 with the object of affording medical relief to the pilgrims to Puri. It had facility for 39 indoor patients (33 males and 6 females) in which an average of 6,000 patients was treated annually. Besides, there was one dispensary, i.e. at Baleshwar town which was opened in 1868. During 2014-2015, there were only 68 PHC(New) in the district which has increased to 88 now. From remote past the Ayurvedic system is popular among the people. The Vaidyas and Kavirajas, the chief exponents of this system used to carry on their profession as a family creed. Despite the medical facilities within easy reach the local people even today take recourse to the use of indigenous herbs and plants containing therapeutic properties. Vital Statistics A systematic collection of vital occurrences throughout the district began from 1892 under the Bengal Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1873 (Act IV, 1873). The primary reporting agency under this Act in the rural area was the Chowkidar who used to collect information about vital occurence during his rounds in villages and reported them at the policestation on weekly or fortnightly parade days. The Thana officer consolidated the reports thus recorded for a month and then sent monthly returns to the District Health Officer. The District Health Officer sent the consolidated returns to the Director Health Services. The transfer of Chowkidars to the pay-roll of the Grama Panchayat caused setback to the system. After the abolition of 357

Chowkidari System in 1965, various attempts were made for effective collection of the information through the Odisha Grama Panchayat Act, 1964. Subsequently the State Government passed the Odisha‘ Grama Rakhi Act,‖ 1967 and the Odisha Grama Rakhi Rules, 1969 under which the Grama Rakhis, besides other duties, are required to report the births and deaths which occur within their jurisdiction to the officer in charge of the respective policestations at an interval of 15 days. But in urban areas the registration of births and deaths are done by the sanitary staff of the local bodies. The vital statistics for Baleshwar town were available from 1951. In these towns, the vital occurrences were collected by the health staff of the municipality and Notified Area Council who sent the monthly returns to the District Health Officer. On receipt of the monthly reports from the Thana Officer, and the municipality and the Notified Area Council, the District Health Officer compiled and forwarded monthly report of births and deaths to the Director of Health Services, Odisha, for compilation of state figure. The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (Act No. 18 of 1969), and the Odisha Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 1970, have been enforced in the district with effect from 1st July 1970. The Health Officer, or in his absence, the Executive Officer in the urban areas, and the Thana Officer in the rural areas are appointed as the Registrars. The Chief District Medical Officer and the Assistant District Medical Officer (PH) act as the District Registrar and the Additional District Registrar of Births and Deaths respectively while the Director of Health Services,Odisha acts as the Chief Registrar. The Act provides for penalties of fairly a nominal amount in a graduated scale for the period of delay or failure to report on the part of the reporting agency. Besides, different officers in charge of various institutions like hospitals, hotels, running trains, buses, etc., are responsible to notify about births and deaths. Comparative vital statistics are shown in the following table.

Comparative Indicators as per Census 2011 Sl no Indicator Baleshwar State 1 Population 23,17,419 4,19,47,358 2 Population Density 609 269 3 Sex ratio 957 978 4 Literacy Rate 80.66 73.45 5 Female Literacy 72.95 64.36 6 Toilet facility at home (DLHS III) 37.6 16.90% 7 BPL card holder household (DLHS III) 54.9 52.20%

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Indicator (AHS) 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2010-11 2011- 2012-13 12 8 CBR (Crude Birth Rate) 19.2 18.8 18.6 20 19.8 19.6 9 CDR (Crude Death Rate) 7.1 6.8 6.7 8.3 8.2 8.1 10 Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) 49 47 45 62 59 56 11 Neo Natal Mortality(NMR) 35 34 33 40 39 37 12 Post neonatal mortality rate (PNMR) 14 13 12 22 21 19 13 U5 Mortality 58 53 51 82 79 75 14 % share of NNM in IMR 71 72 64.50% 66 15 % share of IMR in U5 mortality 84.48 88.67 75.60% 74.68 16 Difference in numbers of U5 mortality 57 b/ 50/56 80 b, 76/81 among boys and girls 59g 84 g 17 MM Ratio (Central Division) 276 222 218 277 237 230 18 Sex ratio at birth 917 902 928 905 903 908 19 Total Fertility rate 2.1 2.1 2 2.3

Diseases common to the district Fever Fever is probably was the largest possible killer in Baleshwar district during the period 1951—60. Incidence of different kinds of fever such as malaria, filaria, enteric fever, viral fever, fever due to influenza. etc., are common. Although incidence of fever is generally high in the district, it is gradually decreasing. The largest death toll due to fever was 1975, claiming 13,781 lives. Malaria Malaria, among other types of fever is common in the district. The prevalence of malaria is large in rainy season. During the period from 1951- 60 a total number of 579.424 malaria cases were recorded to have been treated in the hospitals and other medical institutions in the district. Gradually its endemic nature has been reduced on account of malaria control programs and behavior change. Filaria Filariasis also commonly occurs in the district. A large number of persons are annually affected by filarial fever. The incidence of filariasis, even today is abnormally high. The number of patients treated in all the medical institutions from 1980 to 1985 has increased with slight variation 1981. From 1980 to 1984 not even a single person is recorded to have died indicating that the disease has almost been checked. Typhoid The incidence of typhoid is also high which is evinced from the figures in Appendix III. The highest mortality was in the 1982 when 43 persons died in the disease. People of Baleshwar district suffer greatly from typhoid every year but the number of deaths has steadily decreased.

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Cholera From time to time, there were severe epidemics of cholera in the district. Cholera was prevalent in the district even during the period from 1951-1960. The highest mortality was in 1953 when 718 persons died of Cholera. Least number of causalities has been noticed in the month of September every year. Owing to preventive measures taken against the epidemic cholera has been checked to a greater extent now-a-days. Not a single cholera case was reported in the district during last three decades. Small-pox In the past, the incidence of small-pox was very high in the district. In 1951, the incidence was fairly large and the death toll due to the disease was as high as 1,029. In 1958 also 571 persons died out of which 120 deaths were recorded during April alone. There is not a single death reported during the period from 1980 to 2014. Due to effective preventive measures taken by the World Health Organisation against the formidable disease, it is claimed to have been eradicated, not only in India, but also throughout the world. Yaws Yaws, a malignant type of skin disease is also commonly found among the tribal people in the district. It seldom assumes any formidable proportion. But its incidence is almost completely checked in the district owing to the anti-yaws campaign undertaken in the past. Leprosy The incidence of leprosy is also high in the district. Nowadays, leprosy patients are found in large numbers mostly in the pilgrim centres and towns. The treatment for the disease is conducted in the existing hospitals and dispensaries. The anti-leprosy activities undertaken in Baleshwar district are dealt with separately later in this chapter. Tuberculosis It was one of the principal diseases of the district in the past. From the statistics furnished in Appendix III it is apparent that about 2 to 3 thousand persons were annually affected by this disease. But, during the period from 1980-1985 only 164 persons died of tuberculosis. The Government activities undertaken towards controlling the disease has been described in detail later. Dysentery and Diarrhoea Incidence of diarrhoea and dysentery is highly prevalent in the district. But the number of deaths attributed to these diseases is not very high. The major causes of these diseases were found to be the consumption of impure drinking water and the general ignorance of the people. The figures in

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Appendix III reveal that the annual number of dysentery patients in the district during 1980-1985 is increasing. Other Common Diseases Fevers, cholera, small-pox, dysentery, diarrhoea, elephantiasis and infirmities were the principal diseases of the district in the past. There is a significant change in the situation. The incidence of malaria, small-pox and cholera has been put under control. Other diseases common to the district are influenza, anaemia, malnutrition, respiratory diseases, heart diseases, skin diseases, tetanus, cancer, etc. Public Hospitals and Dispensaries Administrative set-up There was a good dispensary with indoor ward attached at the headquarters of the ex-state of Nilagiri. The dispensary was in charge of an Assistant Surgeon. He was assisted by a Civil Hospital Assistant, who also looks after vaccination work and a qualified female Civil Hospital Assistant for the female patients. After the merger of the ex-state of Nilagiri, the administrative control of the dispensary was vested with the Civil Surgeon, Baleshwar. The Health Officer was in charge of the Public Health administration. Under the present set up, the Civil Surgeon has been re- designated as the Chief District Medical Officer. Under him there are three Assistant District Medical Officers. One of them is in charge of Medical, the second is in charge of Family Welfare and the third in charge of Public Health organisations of the district. In addition, the Chief Medical Officer is assisted by a number of doctors including lady doctors and other technical staffs. Besides, his normal routine duties relating to the administration of medical and public health activities in the district, the Chief District Medical Officer also functions as the District Registrar under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. 1969. He is the local food authority under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. In 1949, there were only 27 medical institutions in the district. With the establishmentof new institutions, mainly the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the remote rural areas, their number gradually increased. By the end of 2014 the district has 2 Hospitals, 17 numbers of Community Health Centre (CHC) and 68 PHC(N) . Thus numerically it rose to over nearly three times the number existing in 1949. A list of such institutions with their date of establishment, number of staff, bed strength, etc., is furnished in Appendix IV. Detailed descriptions relating to the District Head quarters Hospital, the Sub divisional Hospitals, the T. B. Hospital and the St. Vincent Hospital (private) are given separately. One Railway Health Unit is located at Baleshwar which is managed by the South Eastern Railway Authority, the 361

Police hospital and the Jail hospital at Baleshwar are managed by the Home Department of the State Government. Besides, the Gopabandhu Dispensary of Nayabazar at Baleshwar is being managed by the Baleshwar Municipality and the E.S.I, Dispensary at Baleshwar is under the control of the Labour Department of the State Government. Moreover the Lady Liew‘s Maternity and Child Health Centre of Baleshwar town is managed by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the State Government. There are a number of privately managed Nursing Homes at Baleshwar. District Headquarters Hospital, Baleshwar A charitable dispensary known as Raja Shyamananda De Charitable Dispensary was founded by Rai Bahadur Rai Baikunthanath Dey in 1874. In 1894, a female outdoor was attached to this dispensary named as Rani Sreemati Fema Charitable Dispensary. Both the dispensaries were located in Barabati area of Baleshwar town. In 1905, Growse, the Commissioner of Odisha Division amalgamated both the institutions and renamed it as Growse Raja Shyamananda De and Rani Sreemati HospitaI. This institution was run by funds made available by the District Board and the Baleshwar Municipality with the assistance from the Government. An Assistant Surgeon of the State MedicaI Cadre and a lady doctor of Government Subordinate MedicaI Cadre were posted there by the Government. The Baleshwar Municipality provided one Sub-ordinate Medical Officer for the institution. In 1944, it was taken over by Government and was renamed as Government District Headquarters Hospital, Baleshwar. The hospital moved to its new building on 15.8.1956. After that much improvement has been made to the hospital building and its staff augmented. Then the hospital was in charge of a Civil Surgeon and was well provided with medicines and surgical equipments. In 1961, it contained 86 beds for male and female patients. Considering the increasing demand, the staff strength as well the number of beds of the hospital increased from time to time. At present, it provides accommodation for 124 male and 93 female patients. The Assistant District Medical Officer (Medical) under the overall supervision of the Chief District Medical Officer is in charge of the institution. He is assisted by as many as 59 medical officers including 26 specialists, one in each of the branches of medicine, surgery, Obsteritrics and Gynecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, pathology, radiology, skin and VD, ENT, eye and anesthesia. Besides doctors, there are good number of Pharmacists and other technical persons. The hospital consists of a well equipped operation theatre, a surgical ward, a medicine ward, a labour ward, a paediatric ward, an infection ward, post-mortem room and an administrative block. The out-patient department is held in a separate block attached to the hospital. The infrastructures and facilities available in the

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hospital is a pathological Laboratory, an X-ray machine, a deep X-ray therapy and a Blood Bank. Attached to it there are a leprosy clinic, a T. B. clinic, a F.P. Clinic, a dental clinic and a venereal disease clinic. Besides, anti-rabic and cancer treatment facilities are made available here. Ambulance service is available at Baleshwar to the patients on payment. Attached to the hospital is an Auxiliary Nurse and Midwifery Training Centre with training facilities for 120 students in Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery course which extends over a period of two years. Hostel accommodation is also available for the trainees. The following table indicates the number of in and out patients with daily average treated in the hospital during the year 2010 to 2014. Daily Indoor Daily Out Door Year Indoor Out Door Average Average 2010 13945 1,50,633 38 413 2011 45836 1,70,333 126 467 2012 52614 1,79,046 144 491 2013 58547 1,88,939 160 518 2014 62186 1,89,722 170 520 Sub-divisional Hospital, Nilagiri During 1860, a dispensary with indoor accommodation was started at the headquarters of the ex-state of Nilagiri in charge of an Assistant Surgeon. After merger with Baleshwar district the dispensary was converted to a hospital in 1949. Then it assumed the status of the Sub-divisional hospital. In 1961, it had accommodation for 34 patients only. There is a blood storage unit which provides blood to emergency patient. The S.D.M.O. is the in-charge of the hospital under the control and supervision of CDMO Baleshwar. He/She is assisted by 4 nos. of senior MO, 8 specialist under different categories i.e. OandG, Surgery Medicine, Anasthere, Pathology, Pediatric and Opatholomogy. The hospital consists of an operation theatre, an out-patient department, a post-mortem room, a labour room, a maternity ward, medical ward, a surgical ward and an infectious ward. The hospital provides forty beds which are equally divided between male and female patients. There are also an X-ray machine and a well equipped pathological laboratory. There is also a leprosy clinic, a family planning clinic and a T. B. clinic attached to the hospital. Facility for the treatment of anti -rabbis cases is also available here.

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Year Number of Indoor Number out door Daily Average patient treand patient treand Indoor Out door 2010 2353 55236 645 151 2011 7115 60920 19 167 2012 6543 71037 18 195 2013 7772 73315 21 201 2014 8955 82428 25 226 Lady Liew’s Maternity and Child Health Centre, Baleshwar The Lady Liews Maternity and Child Health Centre was established in 1940. Till 1970, It was managed by the Red Cross Society. From 1971, the management was taken over by the State Government. Under the supervision of the Chief District Medical Officer, Baleshwar, one Lady Assistant Surgeon of District Headquarters Hospital is in charge of the centre. She is assisted by two auxiliary nurse midwives, one Dhai, One Aya and other non-technical staff. Services are offered by the centre through clinical method. Antenatal and postnatal cases are examined in the centre and are given required treatment and advice. Antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care including immunization nutritional anemia and prevention against blindness are done by the Lady Health Visitor, ANM and Dhai at the door-step in the municipal area. Now, it has been merged with the Headquarters Hospital, Baleshwar. Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes No authentic statistics is available regarding the number of general practitioners and specialists working in urban as well as in rural areas of this district. Vincent Hospital, Baleshwar The St. Vincent Hospital was established in 1978 by a Christian Mission. It is the first institution of its kind in the district. At present it has 30 beds. There is one Medical Officer assisted by one staff nurse and six non- technical personnel. Apart from this,there are some nursing homes in the urban areas of the district. Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Institutions In the past, the Kavirajas who practised the Ayurvedic system of treatment were popular in the district. Introduction of the Allopathic system reduced the dependency on Ayurvedic treatment. The Homeopathic system of treatment in the district came at a later stage. Now, Govt. has given impetus to Ayurvedic and Homeopathic systems for which they are 364

becoming popular. The Ayurvedic and Homeopathic institutions in the district are directly managed by the Director of Indian Medicines and Homoeopathy, Odisha, Bhubaneswar. Ayurvedic Institutions At present there are 23 Ayurvedic dispensaries functioning in the district. Out of these dispensaries, one is located at Baleshwar and the rest are in the rural areas. Each of these institutions is in charge of an Ayurvedic Medical Officer and an Ayurvedic Distributor. Besides, two Ayurvedic Assistants are also functioning at Baleshwar and Sartha. The number of patients treated in these dispensaries during 2014 was 2,64,545. The system of treatment has received an increased patronage from the public. Moreover, the number of patients attending these dispensaries for treatment is gradually increasing day by day. The date of establishment and location of these Ayurvedic dispensaries are given in Appendix-IV of this Chapter. There are two Unani dispensaries in the district i.e. one at Mundabania under Bhograi Block and another at Jankharai under Sadar Block. Homeopathic Institutions The district had 32 Government Homeopathic dispensaries in 2014. Out of these, one dispensary is located at Baleshwar town and the others are in the rural areas. Each institution consists of one Medical Officer and a Homeopathic Assistant. The number of patients treated in these dispensaries 2014 was in 4,29,954. The Homeopathic system of treatment is gaining popularity in the district and the number of patients is increasing. Public Health Sanitation In 1877, Sir William Hunter remarked ―Till lately no attempt was made at sanitation. Baleshwar town contains no fewer than 11,000 tanks, not one of which can be said to be in a wholesome state. The tanks are the receptacle of every sort of filth, fluid and solid.‖ There has been a significant improvement in the sanitation scenario of the town at present. Tanks have been cleared out, drains opened and conservancy rules enforced. The drainage system of the town is good, all surplus water finding a ready exit, and these natural facilities have been aided by the introduction of an extensive system of drains and by the removal of the old drains which terminated in cess-pools. In the interior rural area, the state of affairs is different. Wells have been sunk and tanks cleaned, but there has been no serious attempt to improve the conditions prevailing in the villages. The villages abound in filthy pits and hollows containing water of the foulest character and full of decaying 365

vegetation which constituted a standing menace to public health. The houses throughout the district were built of mud dug up from the vicinity and the result was that in the neighborhood of almost every hut or house there was a dirty pit filled with overflowing with water in the rainy season and the receptacle of every description of filth. In course of time the peopIe have become more conscious about their health and sanitation through mass education and propaganda by government agencies. Since independence, the government has also implemented a number of successful schemes to maintain a healthy atmosphere by taking protective and curative measures both in urban and rural areas of the district, particularly in digging a large number of tube-wells for supply of pure potable water. Administrative set-up in urban and rural areas Since 1949, the HeaIth Officer, under the control of the Civil Surgeon, Baleshwar was in charge of the Public Health administration. According to the present set -up, the Assistant District Medical Officer (P.H) is directly responsible for the public health affairs in the district and is under the overall control and supervisory authority of the Chief District Medical Officer. In the urban areas, sanitation is managed by the Municipality or Notified Area Council authorities. In the Baleshwar municipality, one Health Officer, three Sanitary Inspectors and four Disinfectors have been posted. The sanitation of Jaleshwar, Soro Notified Area Council is managed by the Sanitary Inspector of concerned Primary HeaIth Centres. These officers work under the control of Assistant District Medical Officer. During big fairs and festivals, temporary conservancy usually appointed to cope with the extra burden of work. There are Food Inspectors now re- designated as Food Safety Officer looking after sanitation in both rural turban areas of the district. In rural areas the sanitation is managed by the Medical Officer of the Primary Health Centre. He works under the supervision of the Assistant District Medical Officer (P H) and the Chief District Medical Officer and is assisted by the supervision and health workers. Under health schemes and programmes, different staff areworking in rural and urban areas for maintenance of health and sanitation in the district. Activities of Health and Sanitary Organisations Prevention and control of main communicable diseases, of provision of protected water supply, drainage and performance of various other functions like slum clearance, etc. broadly constitute the activities of the Health and Sanitary organization.

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T.B. Control Programme Under the supervision of the Chief District Medical officer, the District Tuberculosis Officer is directly in charge of the District. T.B. Control Centre. He is assisted by an Assistant Surgeon (Specialist), one Treatment Organiser, two Male Health Visitors, a Laboratory Technician and a team of 7 technicians. The total number of beds provided in the centre is 18. It is provided with 6 observation Beds and 12 isolation beds for the treatment of indoor and outdoor patients. T.B. Clinic has been merged to the T.B. Control and both treatment and curative facilities are made available here. The B.C.G. team undertakes testing and B.C.G. vaccination given to infants through all Primary Centers as a preventive. Till July 1986 there were 45 T. B. centres in the district. Besides, all Primary Health Centres, Sub-Divisional Hospitals and dispensaries of the district are also taking part in the programme to give full coverage to the rural population for diagnostic and treatment of T. B. patients. Sputum case finding survey camps are held from time to time as a preventive measure. The message is spread through film shows, pamphlets and pre-recorded cassettes containing different aspects of the T.B. Control programme. During 1985, a refresher course for Medical Officers of peripheral units and general practitioners was organised. The revised national tuberculosis control programme has been started in the Dist. w.e.f. 17.09.2003. Staff Position in the District 1. Dist. T.B. officer- One 2. Dist. Programme Co-coordinator- One 3. Public Private Mix Co-coordinator- One 4. Programme Management during Registration- One 5. Senior treatment Supervisor- One 6. Senior T.B Laboratory Supervisor- One 7. T.B Health visitor- (2 Nos) 8. Laboratory Technician -one.

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme(RNTCP) Year Sputum X-ray Extra pulmonary Total +ve Cases +ve cases TB Cases 2010 728 341 393 1462 2011 821 372 459 1652 2012 769 356 408 1560 2012 818 401 494 1713 2014 947 439 531 1917

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National Malaria Eradication Programme The Baleshwar unit of the NationaI Malaria Control Programme was started in 1954 and the scheme continued as such till 1958. Insecticidal spray and other anti-malaria measures were taken up under the programme. The incidence of the disease was reduced considerably. In 1958, the National Malaria Control Programme was converted into the National Malaria Eradication Programme and under it both insecticidal spray and surveillance work were carried out extensively in the district. In 1960, the incidence of malaria was reduced to a great extent and some portions of the district were kept under the maintenance phase and prevalent areas were kept under the consolidation phase with the provision for focal spray. For efficient implementation of the scheme and to render immediate services to the people, a modified plan of operation was introduced in 1978. Under the programme the district achieved 33 per cent reduction in malaria incidence in 1978. Still some CD blocks namely Oupada, Berhampur and Baliapal were endemic for malaria. In view of the detection of falciparum malaria, six CD blocks in the district. Viz Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Baliapal, Basta, Nilagiri and Oupada have been taken up for the intensive measures by WHO. The District Malaria Officer is directly in charge of the programme. He works under the control of the Chief District Medical Officer and is assisted by two Assistant Malaria Officers in the management of office and field works. The District Malaria Officer supervises the activities of his sub- ordinates and issues technical instructions. The Medical Officer of each Primary HeaIth Centre in the district mainly supervises all the activities of the National Malaria Eradication Programme in his area in addition to his other duties and issues technical instructions. The laboratory technician examines about 50 to 60 blood slides and maintains the concerned records, charts, graphs, maps, etc. The Surveillance Inspector supervises the work of the surveillance workers, who visit every house at an interval of about 15 to 30 days to search out fever cases within their areas. They also conduct treatment when malaria-positive cases are discovered. The superior and inferior field workers attached to the laboratory assist the technician in his work. The temporary workers conduct spray operation in the areas under the attack phase. The area included under the consolidation phase regular surveillance is carried out and focal spray planned. The Community Health Volunteers are appointed for every 1000 Population in the district to give presumptive treatment to all fever cases and to collect blood slides for examination. For better treatment of malaria, the Drug Distribution Centres are also opened in the villages. In each village there is well known village member who has been entrusted to give a single dose of presumptive treatment to all fever cases when required by the 368

people. The achievements under the programme for five years are given in the following table.

Blood Slide Collected Positive Cases Year Collected Examined Detected Treated 2010-11 122003 122003 1649 1649 2011-12 146801 146801 1032 1032 2012-13 156391 156391 445 445 2013-14 157683 157683 310 310 2014-15 167482 167482 800 800 National Filaria Control Programme (NFCP) During the year 1971 -72, two National Filaria Control Programme units were established at Baleshwar to control and prevent the transmission of filaria in the towns. According to the instructions of Government of India, the activities of the Programme are confined to the urban areas only. Further, Filaria Clinics have been established during 1984-85 at Baleshwar and attached to the National Filaria Conttrol Programme. The activities undertaken by the units under programme include anti-larvaI operation to check the rising trend of mosquito population by using various larvicides and a treatment of micro-filaria carriers and disease manifestation cases. The total strength of the principal staff entertained in district for implementation of the scheme are four Filaria Inspector five Superior Field Workers and two Insect Collectors. In these towns anti-larval measures are undertaken to reduce the density of vector mosquitoes for filariasis. To assess the impact of anti-larval operation mosquito collection, mosquito dissection, etc. are being made and infection rate and infectivity rate are assessed. Night blood survey is conducted to detect micro filariasis and disease manifestation cases for treatment of the same. The Malaria and Filaria programme is running under the National Vector Borve Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). The achievements are highlighted in the table below.

Year Blood Blood M.F. Blood Slide Disease Slides Slides+Ve Rate +Ve For Rate Collected For M.F Disease 2010-11 2730 29 1.06 26 0.95 2011-12 2896 27 0.93 31 1.07 2012-13 3045 31 1.01 39 1.28 2013-14 3190 28 0.87 35 1.09 2014-15 3660 27 0.73 26 0.71

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Anti-Leprosy Measures There is a District Leprosy Officer in the district under the administrative control of the Chief District Medical Officer. The DLO operates with the help of DO, PMW and SNMS. There is a leprosy colony located at Bampada adjacent to Baleshwar town named Lewi‘s Leprosy Colony. It is functioning since 1944. Twenty beds have been provided in this colony and it is managed by Hind Kustha Nivaran Sangha under the supervision of the Assistant District Medical Officer (P.H.). One Rehabilitation centre is also functioning in the same colony premises since 1983. Adjacent to the Bampada Leprosy Colony, one temporary hospitalization ward has been established since December 1981, with a provision for 20 beds. The Year-wise achievements under the scheme for the period 2010-11 to 2015 in the district is given below. No of cases details No of cases treated Year PB MB TL PB MB TL 2010-11 125 109 234 125 109 234 2011-12 66 107 173 66 107 173 2012-13 111 142 253 111 142 253 2013-14 66 112 178 66 112 178 2014-15 65 103 168 65 103 168 Family Welfare Family Planning later termed as Family Welfare Programe was implemented in the district as early as 1956. The District Family Welfare Bureau was established during 1964. It became target-oriented and time- bound programme and its activities were mainly confined to the distribution of conventional contraceptives. Only some Family Planning Clinics were then established and sterilization facilities were made available in the hospitals of district. Assistant District Medical Officer (Family Welfare, and Maternity Child Health) who works the supervisory control of the Chief District Medical Officer is responsible for implementation of the programme. He is in-charge of the District Family Welfare Bureau consisting four units-administrative, mass education and information, and evaluation, and operation of Mobile Service Unit. The Staff of the Bureau consists of one District Public Health Communication Officer. Immunisation Programme Immunization Programme is being done at DHH Baleshwarand other Blocks on the district in every Wednesday. All the antigens i.e. B.C.G. Hepatitis, D.P.T, Measles, vitamin ‗A‘ and T.T are given to 0-5 yrs children

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and also the pregnant mothers with help of concerned MPHW (Male and female), ASHA, Anganwadi workers and other volunteers. The Medical Officer, Primary Health Centre, looks the Rural Family Welfare Organizations with the assistance a Lady Health Visitor, there are seven other technical and non-technical personnel attached to Bureau. Facilities for sterilization operation and the I. U. C. D. insertion (Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device) are made available in the hospitals and dispensaries of the district. The details are shown in the following tables. Year Number of Sterlilsation conducted Number of I.U.C.D. Insertions Vasectomy Tubectomy Total Loop CU.T Total 2010-11 33 7748 7781 8764 8764 2011-12 17 7105 7162 7702 7702 2012-13 8 6809 6817 8635 8635 2014-15 3 4585 4588 7863 7863

Year Number of Conventional Number of oral Bills Number MTP Contraceptive Users distributed in cycle 2011-12 6951 11841 1040 2011-12 5713 9669 728 2012-13 8391 11801 1429 2013-14 2772 6565 2100 2014-15 1065 4036 2115 Nutrition Programme In 1959, the State Nutrition Division was started under the administrative control of the Health and Family Planning Department except for a few years from 1964 to 1970 when it functioned under the Community Development Department. Potentially the programme is very important in promoting the health and preventing diseases of the people. To know the food habits and diet patterns of the rural mass and to assess nutritional stage of the vulnerable groups, the Nutrition Division conducts now and then base line dietary (food consumption) and nutrition assessment survey as well as evaluation survey in the Applied Nutrition Programme (A. N. P.) Blocks allotted by the Community Development Department. This scheme also affords an effective field service to improve local diet through production, preservation and use of protective foods and ensures their effective utilisation by the vulnerable sections. Simple nutrition principles are imparted to the masses through practice demonstrations. Out of 8 A.N.P. Blocks, a Dietary (food consumption) and Nutrition Assessment Survey of Baleshwar, Basta, Khaira and Tihiri have been conducted by the State Nutrition Division. Besides a rapid Nutritional Survey was also made in Tihiri A. N. P. Block when it was affected by flood 1976. A practical demonstration of ―Infant Diet‖ was conducted by the Lady Nutrition Officer during the period of symposium organized by this Block in the year 1977.

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The Nutrition Division supervises the feeding centres from time to time under Special Nutrition Programme, CARE. Special Child Relief Programme and World Food Programme are implemented by the Community Development Department in the district. Drugs Control The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is in force in Odisha since 1st April, 1947. For the first time in the state one Provincial Drugs Inspector was posted in 1951 at Bhubaneshwar for enforcement of the said Act. It continued till the middle of 1967 and after that five ranges were created for the state. The Baleshwar district was under the control of Western Range with headquarters at Cuttack. The office of the Drugs Inspector, Baleshwar Range, with headquarters at Baleshwar started functioning since 1970. He is directly under the supervisory control of the Drug Controller, Odisha. The Important functions of the organisation are enforcement of the Drugs and Consmetics Act,1940 and other allied Acts, and Rules made thereunder. The Inspector in course of his duties chiefly attends to the complaints relating to the adverse drug reactions and sale of substandard and spurious drugs and cosmetics. He conducts surprise checks on the sale premises, seizes suspected batch of drugs, looks into the availability of essential drugs in the district, scrutinises the objectionable advertisements and enforces the Dangerous Drugs Act, in collaboration with the excise authorities. Further, he ensures the drugs price display and price control and issues essentiality certificates to the Pharmaceutical industries. Actions under the provisions of the relevant facts are taken against the sale of misbranded and substandard drugs. Frequently surprise inspections are conducted against misuse and sale of the dangerous drugs, such as, morphine and pethidine at hig her price. But the performance of the Inspector in the district is very poor as will appear from the achievements of the organization given in the following table:

Year Sale Showcause notice Prosecution Number or Complaints premises suggested to the Launched samples received and inspected Licensiry authority drawn reported after investigation 2010-11 403 275 1 164 -- 2011-12 433 270 4 171 -- 2012-13 613 686 3 195 -- 2013-14 697 648 4 181 1 2014-15 667 593 5 150 3

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Veneral Disease In most of the hospitals and dispensaries in the district facilities are available for the treatment of veneral diseases. The Director of Health and Family Planning Services, Odisha is the Food Health Authority under the provisions of the Central Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, which came into force in the entire state of Odisha in the year 1959. Under him there are two part-time Food Inspectors, i.e., the Chief District Medical Officer and the Assistant District Medical Officer (P. H.) who are directly in- charge of implementation of the Act. Besides, there is one whole time Food Inspector for the collection of food samples of all the district. The Chief District Medical Officer, Baleshwar acts as the licensing authority under the Act to grant license in respect of manufacture and sale of food articles within his jurisdiction. The table below shows the year-wise achievement of food samples collected from the district during the period 2010-14.

Year No. of food No. of food No. of samples No. of water samples samples drawn samples found collected and examined adutterated examined 1 2 3 4 5 2010 55 55 10 -- 2011 63 63 15 -- 2012 76 76 16 -- 2013 82 82 20 -- 2014 92 92 22 -- 103 103 28 --

During the above period, no water samples from the district were collected or examined under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. Health Education The Health Education Bureau according to the pattern prescribed by the Government of India, was started in the state in 1960 and was attached to the Director of Health and Family Planning Services Odisha. The objectives of the scheme are to make the people realise their responsibility about their own health, the health of their family and that of the community at large. The State Health Education Bureau, Bhubaneshwar now renamed as State Institute of Health and Family Welfare,Odisha takes up health education activities in the district by deputing Health Education Units during flood, cyclone and epidemics when required by the Chief District Medical Officer.

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It mainly sends health education materials like posters and pamphlets on communicable disease, public health activities, etc. to the Chief District Medical Officer and the Primary Health Centers of the district. The staff of the Primary Health Centre like Medical Officer, public Health Extension officer Lady Health visitors and Supervisors utilise them for disseminating sanitary and hygienic principles among the vulnerable groups. It also takes part in public education programmes during fairs and festivals in the district. The big Mela at Chandaneswar is attended by the staff of the State Health Education Bureau every year with health education materials like posters, health literature, audio-visual equipments etc., for awareness of villagers and pilgrims on food, water and environmental sanitation, and on different communicable diseases. Besides, the National School Health Programme has also been implemented in the district to impart school health education and health examination of the primary school students. The primary objective of the scheme is to cover the students of primary schools of the hilly, the tribal and backward area of the district. The Primary Health Centre, Berhampur under Nilagiri C. D. Block has been selected by the Government of India for this purpose. School Health Service The School Health Service is one of the oldest schemes. It is working as a link with the general health programme. The School Health Service aims at preventing various diseases and malnutrition among the school children of 0-15 age-group and protects them against future health hazards. The Government has formulated a scheme to undertake the medical examination of the students from the Primary to the High English schools. Accordingly, Medical Officers examine the students at regular intervals and make necessary prescriptions and provisions for cure. The School MedicaI Officer with headquarters at Cuttack examines the students of all the Boy‘s High Schools and the School Lady Medical Officer with headquarters at Bhubaneshwar undertakes the medical examination of the girl students of aII the Girls‘ High Schools of the district. There is an Assistant District Medical Officer (PH) for the medical examination of the students of Boys‘ Middle English Schools. But the girl students of the Girls‘ Middle English Schools of the district are examined by the Lady Assistant Surgeons of the Sub-divisional and the District Headquarters Hospitals who are in charge of the Maternity and Child Health Program. The Medical Officers of the Primary Health Centres are generally conducting the medical examination of the students of Primary Schools located within their jurisdictions in the district.

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According to the instruction of the Government of India, the National School Health Service, another new scheme has been started since 1977 in some selected C. D. Blocks of this district. The Primary Health Centre located at Berhampur under the Nilagiri Block of the district has been selected and the scheme is in operation there. The Primary Health Centre was provided with the cumulative health records, books, health kits and other school health materials for proper implementation of the scheme. The Medical Officer of the Primary Health Centre examines all the children of the Primary Schools located under the Block area at least twice during their school years. The Assistant District Medical Officer (PH) is entrusted to supervise the activities and progress of the scheme. Under the present scheme the school children are given necessary protection by preventive measures like inoculation against cholera when required. Besides, under the National Leprosy Control Scheme the school children are surveyed by the para Medical Workers. The cases detected among the school children are treated with anti-leprosy drugs. So far 19,465 number of school children have been physically examined and 9 cases of early leprosy has been detected. Under the Immunisation Programme the school children are given immunization in order to protect them from communicable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, measles, TB, and typhoid. Water Supply Safe drinking water schemes and provisions are being taken up at a never before pace to secure the communities from water borne diseases and sicknesses. National Health Mission (NHM), Baleshwar The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has been operational in Baleshwar since 2005 with an aim to provide accessible, affordable, accountable and effective quality health services to rural and urban population. NRHM includes interventions on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), Immunization, National Disease Control Programme, Integrated Disease Surveillance and other initiatives. NRHM has also incorporated into its fold new initiatives like Mainstreaming of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) systems of health to ensure expanded access to alternative systems of medicine. NHM is an umbrella which integrates all the vertical health programs. Initially planned for 7 years during 2005 – 2007, the program has been extended for a further phase of 4 years till 2017.

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The status of health care institutions in the district is given below.

No. of Blocks and GPs 12 and 289 No of District Head Quarter Hospital 1 No of Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH) 1 No. of Community Health Centers 17 No. of Primary Health Centers (New) 69 No. of Total medical institutions 88 No. of Post Mortem Centre 07 No. of ANM Training Centre 01 No. of Sub-centers 275 Sub-Centers having building 132 No. of hospital beds Sanctioned vs. Functional 587/664 No. of Ambulance 10 No.of Janani Sisu Surakhya Karyakram institutions 28 No. of Delivery Points 28 No. of ASHA and ASHA Sathi 1946and58 NO. of Gaon Kalyan Samiti 2450 No. of SNCU and NBSU 01 and 03 No. of NBCC 33 108 Ambulance 23 102 Ambulance 23/29 No. of NRC 01 No. of MMT(Rastriya Bal Surakhya Karyakram - RBSK) 25 MHU 1

Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) RMNCH+A approach has been launched in 2013 and it essentially looks to address the major causes of mortality among women and children as well as the delays in accessing and utilizing health care and services. The RMNCH+A strategic approach has been developed to provide an understanding of ‗continuum of care‘ to ensure equal focus on various life stages. Priority interventions for each thematic area have been included in this to ensure that the linkages between them are contextualized to the same and consecutive life stage. It also introduces new initiatives like the use of Score Card to track the performance, National Iron + Initiative to address the issue of anemia across all age groups and the Comprehensive

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Screening and Early interventions for defects at birth, diseases and deficiencies among children and adolescents. The RMNCH+A appropriately directs the Districts to focus their efforts on the most vulnerable population and disadvantaged groups in the community.

The following table contains information on institutional deliveries in the district during 2006-07 to June, 2016.

2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2014- 2015-16 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 (upto june) Institutional 10457 25239 35237 29627 35686 37726 34200 34026 31850 7303 Deliveries

There is a remarkable rise in institutional delivery due to successful implementation of JSY, JSSK, ASHA, Janani Express and Ambulance service etc. and provision of better health care services at the Hospitals. Due to this initiative, the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate are reduced. Janani Sishu Surakhya Karyakram (JSSK): The JSSK envisages cashless deliveries including Caesarean sections and Sick new born services (up to one year) at Public Health institutions(Delivery Points), in both rural and urban areas, in the Baleshwar District from 1st Nov 2011.This new scheme is aimed at mitigating the burden of out of pocket expenses incurred at public health institutions. The following are the Free Entitlements for pregnant women i) cashless delivery; ii) C-Section; iii) drugs and consumables; iv) diagnostics; v) diet during stay in the health institutions; vi) provision of blood; vii) no user charges; viii) transport from home to health institutions; ix) transport between facilities in case of referral and x) drop back from Institutions to home after 48hrs stay. The following are the Free Entitlements for Sick newborns till 30 days after birth. This has now been expanded to cover sick infants up to 1 year with provisions for free treatment, free drugs and consumables, free diagnostics, free provision of blood, exemption from user charges. Janani Express (102): Under NHM, 15 Janani express were provided to the 12 Blocks and these vehicles are exclusively used for transportation of pregnant mother for delivery and sick new born. Now it has been converted to 102 Ambulance and increased to 29 vehicles for the district.

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Odisha Emergency Medical Ambulance Service (108 Ambulance): A large number of deaths are attributed to delay in reaching the health care facility within the golden hour in case of emergency including epidemic outbreaks road accident, trauma etc. To address this issue, the HandFW dept has initiated a comprehensive pre-hospital emergency medical service providing 23 high end ambulance transportation systems from the doorstep of the patient to the appropriate health care facility within the shortest possible time in a phased manner. This is bridging the missing link in providing timely adequate and appropriate care to the needy citizens in rural areas so as to considerably bring down preventable mortality arising out of the unforeseen circumstances. MHU and RBSK: Mobile Health Unit services were provided to the most difficult and interior blocks like Berhampur (Nilagiri). Through this service the MHU provide proper health care to the remote area population regularly. Rolling out of Rastriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) through engagement of 25 dedicated mobile medical teams for Child health screening and early intervention services on 4 Ds would be given due priority for implementation. Patients treated under MHU are 30487 in number. ASHA and Yosoda: In the district 1946 ASHAs (Urban and Rural)have been working in different pockets of the district. They work like a bridge between the patient and Health system. They provide some curative health services with sensitization of the population on the health aspects regularly. They accompany the pregnant women for delivery, bringing children for the immunization, providing malaria treatment, providing DOTs. Under Yosoda programme, at District hospital 15 Yashoda were appointed and provided the post-natal care to the mothers at the maternity ward regularly. The status of ASHA is given in the following table.

ASHA Status SI. Name of the Total Achievement No. of Trained ASHA Bicycle ASHA No. Block No village in sathi Received Gruha ASHA without All an Module ASHA (1-5) 1 Khaira 198 193 4 193 5 197 2 Sadar 214 213 1 211 5 213 3 Bhogarai 265 262 1 260 6 264 1 4 Oupada 90 89 0 89 4 89 5 Remuna 141 139 1 136 4 136 6 Jaleshwar 177 177 0 177 5 177 1 7 Bahanaga 121 119 2 118 4 119 8 Soro 121 119 2 116 5 119 1 9 Baliapal 176 172 2 169 5 169 1 10 Basta 165 164 1 163 5 163 1 11 Simulia 105 105 0 105 5 103 12 Nilagiri 162 157 3 157 6 156 1(SDH) 13 Urban Slum 34 31 3 31 0 26 1(DHH) TOTAL 1969 1935 20 1925 59 1931 7

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Gaon Kalyan Samiti (GKS): Gaon Kalyan Samiti is formed in all revenue villages (2450) of Baleshwar District from last four year. An amount of @Rs. 10000 to each GKS provided in each year for carrying out various health, sanitation and hygienic related activities at the village level Hospital Development: In the district 86 Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) have been functioning. RKS have been very instrumental for decentralization of the decision making process and speed up the health development in the Hospital by way of strengthening the patient friendly environment. Mamata Diwas: To reduce malnutrition and mortality of children in the age group below 5 years, Mamata Diwas is organized at every Aganwadi Centre on monthly basis and facilitate treatment of the sick and malnourished children at the Block CHCs. Special New Born Care Unit (SNCU) and NRC: One SNCU-II at District Headquarters Hospital and three NBSU at Soro, Basta, and sub divisional hospital of Nilagiri are functioning to take care of Sick New Born. Besides that New born corners are established at all 32 labour rooms across the district. One Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) has been established at sub-divisional hospital at Nilagiri from 1st January 2013 and another NRC has been planned to be set up in district headquarters hospital, Baleshwar. Health Management Information System (HMIS)/MCTS: All the health related data are being computerized at the Sub-Centers level regularly which make a valuable database for analysis, interpretation, policy making and preparation of the rational budget. Likewise the data regarding the pregnant mothers and children also computerized at the sub-centre level helps to target 100% immunization coverage and Birth preparedness of the mothers in advance. Strengthening of MCH Centers/Delivery Points: As per the guideline it has been proposed to set up 23 numbers of delivery points and make necessary arrangements like skill updation, staff, equipments and required infrastructural facilities for the Centers. Activities through Public Private Partnership Management of PHC (N) by NGO- Paschimabad PHC (N) under Jaleshwar block is managed by ‗ARM‘, NGO since 24.12.2007. The services provided by the NGO includes OPD services, Laboratory services, Ambulance services, IEC activities in outreach areas, emergency health services during disaster situation.

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Skill based and Capacity building Training: Skill up-gradation trainings like SBA, NSSK, PNC, waste management, IUD, Minilab, IMNCI and NSV etc are conducted at the district level to improve the skill of the service providers for better implementation of health services. Family Welfare and Immunization activities: Under FW activities the following achievements have been made. Under the supervision of the ADMO (FW) the programs are implemented in the district. The Medical Officer in-charge monitors the programs on monthly basis.

SL ITEMS Target:13- Progress upto Target:14- Progress Target:15- Progress NO 14 March‘2014 15 upto 16 upto March‘15 June‘15 1 STERILIZATION 9802 7381-75% 11174 4588-46% 11279 433-4% 2 I.U.D 11300 9245-82% 14308 7863-62% 14308 1307-9% 3 C.C. USERS 20630 2772-13% 22619 1065-5% 22619 245-1% 4 ORAL-PILL ( USERS 12450 6565-53% 13306 4036-33% 13306 1166-9% 5 M.T.P 3400 2021-59% 3400 3400 577-7% 6 T.T. ( Peg) 44400 37683-85% 49498 36252-73% 49498 9148- 18% 7 D.P.T 40533 37271-92% 44997 37390-83% 44997 7903- 18% 8 POLIO 40533 37472-92% 44997 37390-83% 44997 8499- 19% 9 B.C.G 40533 38653-95% 44997 37151-83% 44997 8332- 19% 10 MESEALS 40533 36089-89% 44997 37183-83% 44997 8533- 19% 11 VIT-A 40533 36089-89% 44997 37183-83% 44997 8533- 19% 12 D.P.T ( 5 Years) 41794 34689-83% 46206 34433-75% 46206 7508- 16% 13 T.T. ( 10 YEARS) 44744 36308-81% 48868 34503-71% 48868 5619- 11% 14 T.T. ( 16 YEARS) 49224 35630-72% 52014 33951-65% 52014 5296- 10% 15 Large Follifor 44400 43757-99% 49498 37064-75% 49498 9652- 19% NHM under Department of Health and Family Welfare has a major intervention in the name of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for early detection and complete healthcare of children. Screening of the new- born, both at home and public-health facilities, pre-schooling children up to 6 years from Anganwadi centres and school going children and adolescents in the age group of 6-18 years studying in Government and Government aided schools are the targeted beneficiaries under this programme. Under RBSK Programme 30 identified health conditions under ‗4D‘ approach viz. Defects at birth, Deficiencies, Diseases, Development delays including disability is being addressed through Child Health Screening and Early Intervention services. Twenty-five numbers of dedicated Mobile Medical Team have been engaged at each Block to cover non-Residential Schools at least once in a year, Anganwari centres on bi-annual basis and quarterly to the Residential Schools. The children seeking special care are being covered through District Early Intervention Centres (DEIC) and empanelled Hospital for specific case. Sincere efforts are being given to achieve desired outcome for child health care in Baleshwar.

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National Urban Health Mission (New Scheme) NUHM envisages to meet health care needs of the urban population of Baleshwar Municipality with the focus on urban poor, by making available to them essential primary health care services and reducing their out of pocket expenses for treatment. This will be achieved by strengthening the existing health care service delivery system, targeting the people living in slums of Baleshwar and converging with various schemes relating to wider determinants of health like drinking water, sanitation, school education, etc. implemented by the Ministries of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Human Resource Development and Women and Child Development. NUHM would endeavour to achieve its goal through a) Needbased city specific urban health care system to meet the diverse health care needs of the urban poor and other vulnerable sections, b) Institutional mechanism and management systems to meet the health-related challenges of a rapidly growing urban population, c) Partnership with community and local bodies for a more proactive involvement in planning, implementation, and monitoring of health activities, d) Availability of resources for providing essential primary health care to urban poor and e) Partnerships with NGOs, for profit and not for profit health service providers and other stakeholders. Online Issuance of disability Certificates Disability certificates are necessary for different purposes such as availing benefits related to education, employment or various Government scheme applicable for disable persons. For this purpose Government has launched this certification system. Under the system malpractice in issuing of disability certificates can be eliminated. Five types of disabilities are considered under this application, these are - i) Visual Impairment, ii) Hearing Impairment, iii) Physical Impairment, iv) Mental Retardation and v) Mental Illness. PC and PNDT Act The PC and PNDT Act enacted in 1994 and was amended in the year 2003 to discourage the misuse of parental diagnostics techniques for sex determination at pre conception stage and action against advertisements promising a male child. A cell is established at the district level to facilitate strengthening of monitoring of the PC and PNDT Act implementation in Baleshwar. The cell is working towards strengthening institutional mechanisms and streamlining processes of effective monitoring of the implementation of pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostics techniques, and to develop linkages with various agencies for awareness generation, community mobilization for preventing sex determination. There are 22 USG clinics operational in the district.

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National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) The National Leprosy Eradication Program achieved the goal of Elimination of Leprosy (Prevalence rate one or below on per 10000 population) on 31st July 2006 in Odisha. The Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) has been introduced since 1983 to achieve elimination of Leprosy in Baleshwar. Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) The implementation of the second phase national IDSP started in 2006- 07. The objective was establishing a decentralized system of surveillance for communicable and non-communicable diseases with the involvement of community, so that timely and effective public health actions could be initiated in response to health challenges. Secondly, improvement in the efficiency of the existing surveillance activities of diseases control programmes and facilitationin sharing of relevant information with the health administration, community and other stakeholders so as to detect disease trends over time and evaluate control strategies, which was a specific objective of the IDSP programme. Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) The National Tuberculosis Control Programme has been implemented in Baleshwar since 1964 with the objective to provide free and domiciliary treatment to the patients detected through passive case finding method. The NTP did not achieve the desired success as a result the programme was revised with DOTs (Directly Observed Treatment short Course Chemotherapy) strategy and was launched for implementation in Odisha in 1997. This was started with objective to detect 70% of infectious sputum positive TB cases and cure at least 85% of them. The programme is being successfully implemented as per the technical, operational and financial guidelines of RNTCP. NB :Total Designated Microscopic Center (DMC) : 20 T.B. Unit : 7 (DHH-Baleshwar, SDH-Nilagiri, Soro-CHC, Basta-CHC, GKB- CHC)

Particulars 2010 2011 2012-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 Sputum Exam Target 12148 12848 8800 13864 10800 Achievement 8103 9271 11870 11870 9740-90% TB Case Detection Target 4623 4854 3373 5290 4140 Achievement 1627 2073 2294(68%) 2943 2375-57% Cure Rate Target 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% Achievement 80% 82% 85% 86% 86% Success Rate Target 90% 90% 90% 90% 90% Achievement 87% 89% 91% 89% 88% No.of MDR patients under treatment in the District:37 No. of TB-HIV co-infected patients under treatment:08

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National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB)

Implementation of National Programme for Control of Blindness will take place largely through the District Blindness Control Societies which have the authority and accountability for programme implementation at the District level. The District Programme Manager will be the member secretary of the society and is responsible for day to day management of the programme. The District Ophthalmic Surgeon will have the responsibility for technical aspects of the programme. A systematic management training of all programme managers is provided to enable them to effectively implement the programme. The objective of the DBCS is ―To achieve the maximum reduction in avoidable blindness in the district through optimal utilization of available resources in the district‖.

SL Activities 14-15 No. 1 Cataract Dist. Hospital-667 1931 Performance NGOs-472 Private Sector- Total 1931 2 School Eye No. of School going Children Screened 24865 Screening No. of School going Children detected with 2835 refractive errors No. of school going children provided free glasses 2827 3 Training No. of ASHAs trained -

National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) is being implemented for prevention and control of vector borne diseases like Malaria, Filariasis, Kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Dengue and Chikungunya. Most of these diseases are epidemic prone and have seasonal fluctuations. However Malaria continues to be a major public health problem in Baleshwar. The goal is reducing mortality on account of malaria by 50% by 2010 and efficient morbidity control (base year 2004).Now 2 sentinel site malaria lab functioning at DHH and SDH for drug resistance study. Similarly One ELISA Lab established at DHH,Baleshwar for Dengue detection. Blood Bank, DHH, Baleshwar The Odisha Red Cross Blood Bank, Baleshwar established in 1960, is situated inside the campus of District Headquarters Hospital, Baleshwar. It is now functioning from its own building. It is affiliated to State Blood

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Transfusion Council, Odisha (H and FW Dept. Odisha) vide No. 18/SBTC dated 23.02.05 and issued license No. 627 dated 14.03.97 (renewed up to 31/12/12) to ―manufacture for sale of Whole Human Blood I.P‖ by Drugs Controller, Odisha, Bhubaneswar. This is a major Blood Bank in North Odisha. There are three Blood Storage Centers at Basta, Jaleshwar and Soro. It also caters services to the blood needy patients of three adjacent districts viz. Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Midnapore (west) of West Bengal. It was established in 1960 and its storing capacity is 1500 units. Blood Donation: One of the Hall markof the district is organization of Blood Donation Camps by voluntary organizations in various parts of the district throughout the year. A detailed account of the lood collection in the district during the past 6 years is given below:

Mode of Male Female Total Grand Collection Total Year Camp Blood Camp Blood Camp Blood Bank Bank Bank 2010 Voluntary 6,083 3,684 693 157 6,776 3,841 10,617 Replacement 0 1,102 0 36 0 1,138 1,138 2011 Voluntary 7,828 3,259 1,118 280 8,946 3,539 12,485 Replacement 0 819 0 54 0 873 873 2012 Voluntary 7450 3548 1075 295 8525 3843 12368 Replacement 0 1248 0 67 0 1315 1315 2013 Voluntary 9134 1873 962 215 10096 2088 12184 Replacement 0 1402 0 117 0 1519 1519 2014 Voluntary 9163 2423 1457 362 10620 2785 13405 Replacement 0 590 0 76 0 666 666 2015 Voluntary 2668 428 631 76 3299 504 3803 (upto Replacement 0 140 0 62 0 202 202 mar)

Key Facts (a) Thalassaemia Patients:There are 370thalassaemia patients registered in this Blood Bank. They are being provided free blood regularly as per their requirement. Service charges for maximum patients have been exempted by the Chairman-cum-Collector and District Magistrate, Baleshwar. (b) Blood Storage Unit: Blood Storage unit at G.K.B. Govt. Hospital, Jaleshwar, U.G. PHC, Basta and CHC, Soro are fully operational and being supplied blood units regularly as per their requirement.

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AIDS Control Programme,Baleshwar The working of the programme is indicated below.

Epidemiology of Baleshwar Year wise detection of HIV positive cases Total Counseling 2,12,937 YEAR Male Female children Total (Including ANC) Total Testing 1,68,047 2003 11 7 0 19 Total +ve 1,018 2004 16 7 5 28 Positivity Rate : M – 558 2005 23 17 7 47 0.66 % F - 460 2006 31 21 4 56 ANC – 55 2007 41 36 9 86 MSM-23 2008 32 27 3 62 FSW-51 2009 66 54 16 136 Death 215 2010 64 54 19 137 Pre ART 819 2011 66 59 16 141 On ART 429 2012 74 71 18 163 MBPY 583 2013 64 54 6 124 Sanctioned Mo Kudia Yojana 123 2014 58 39 12 109 (Up to Oct) Total 546 446 116 1108 Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana(BKKY) RSBY has been launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of India to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial liabilities arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization. Beneficiaries under RSBY are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs.30,000/- for most of the diseases that require hospitalization. Government has fixed the package rates for the hospitals for a large number of interventions. Pre-existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no age limit. Coverage extends to five members of the family which included the head of the household, spouse and up to three dependents. Beneficiaries need to pay only Rs.30/- as registration fee while Central and State Government pay the premium to the insurer selected by the State Government on the basis of a competitive bidding. In Baleshwar 16 Health Institutions are provided the RSBY services from 1st June 2012. Similarly the BKKY started from 1st January 2014 in the all empanelled hospitals of RSBY. Under this scheme the beneficiaries will be getting benefit upto Rs.1,00,000.00.

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Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) The Odisha State treatment fund will provide financial assistance to the poor patients who are suffering from life threatening disorders and diseases, for treatment of their major ailments. The financial assistance would be released in the form of one time grant which will be released to the Medical Institutions in which treatment has been /is being received. In DHH, Baleshwar the facility was provided to the patients.The fund is managed by an autonomous society known as “Odisha State Traetment Fund Society”. Jan Aushadhi Jan Aushadhi is meant for ―Quality Medicine at Affordable Price‖ which is an initiative of Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt. of India. It is coordinated by Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) and in partnership with Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), Hindustan Antibiotic Ltd (HAL), Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Ltd (BCPL), Karnataka Antibiotic and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KAPL) and Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (RDPL). The Jan Aushadhi Store is functioning at DHH, Baleshwar From 28th April 2012. In Jan Aushadhi Counter 80 variety of medicines are available. The types of medicines are – Vitamin, Antibiotics, Iron, Calcium, Antacids, Pain Clear, Enzyme, Anti fungal, Diabetes and others. Trend of expenditure under this head is given below.

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Rs.5,98,333.00 Rs.4,03,109.00 Rs.4,05,323.00

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CHAPTER – XVI OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES

In separate chapters elaborate accounts on education, medical and public health services, economic services, etc., which concern the entire population of the district have been given. Only those which primarily relate to some sections of the people find mention in this chapter. They chiefly include labour welfare, prohibition advancement of backward classes and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes charitable endowments. Labour Welfare The district is mainly an agricultural tract than an industrial one. The bulk of its labour force, therefore, constitutes cultivators and agricultural laborers. Industrially the district is not so well advanced. There are 3 major Industrial Estates in Baleshwar district namely Ganeswarpur Industrial Estate, Baleshwar Industrial Estate, Balgopalpur Industrial Estate containing large medium and small industrial units. The major industrial units relate to manufacturing of tyre, paper, alloys, plastic products etc. The others are rice mills, saw mills, printing press, fishing industries, brick kilns, etc. The labourers engaged in agriculture, construction and maintenance work are spread over the entire district. The workers in urban areas are engaged in various factories, corporations and commercial establishments and are able to protect their interest through their organizational set-up such as trade unions, associations etc. The workers in rural areas are devoid of such facilities. Most of the Central and the State Labour Acts and Rules are implemented in this district. The legislations mainly aim at securing the interest of the labourers and workers in different spheres of their activity, safeguarding their exploitation in different forms at the hands of their employers and maintaining peaceful, congenial and harmonious relationship between the employers and the employees in the industrial field. Proper implementation of these Acts chiefly devolve on the labour organizations and associations functioning in the district. Organization set-up The Assistant Labour Commissioner, having headquarters at Baleshwar is primarily responsible for the administration and implementation of the various labour laws in the district. The Assistant Labour Commissioner also Acts as Inspector under various labour laws and as Conciliation Officer under the Industrial Disputes Act. Being the Supervisory Officer, the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Baleshwar is assisted by one District 387

Labour Officer, two Assistant Labour Officers and two Rural Labour Inspectors in headquarter office at Baleshwar. Besides one Sub-ordinate Assistant Labour Office functions at Nilagiri for implementation of labour laws at sub divisional level. Being the zonal Supervisory Officer, Assistant l.abour Commissioner, Baleshwar, supervises the work of District Labour Officer, Assistant Labour Officers, Labour Inspector and Rural Labour Inspector of Mayurbhanj, Baripada and others sub-divisional units which function under the District Labour Office, Mayurbhanj, Baripada. Settlement of Disputes The labour disputes are settled mostly through bilateral settlements and conciliations. The Assistant Labour Commissioner, District Labour Officer, Assistant Labour Officers are declared as the Conciliation Officers under the Industrial Disputes Act, of 1947. If conciliation fails the matter is referred to the Industrial Tribunal / Labour Court for adjudication. Trade Unions The right to form union by the industrial workers is guaranteed under the Trade Union Act. The object behind formation of such organizations is to effectively protect the interests of industrial workers through collective bargaining process. Minimum Wages Act The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 came into force with effect from March- 1948. In the State sector, District Labour Officer and Assistant Labour Officers in their capacity as inspectors under various labour laws safeguard the interests of the labour and ensure enforcement of the implementations of the Minimum Wages fixed / revised from time to time. At present 88 scheduled employment are covered under the Minimum Wages Act. New Horizon of Social Security Measures In keeping with its objective of welfare state, the Central Govt. passed an Act in the year 1996 to regulate the service conditions of the building and Other Construction Workers and provide for their safety and welfare. Accordingly, as per an estimate by the National Sample Survey, the Building and Other Construction Workers account there are more than 26 million work force in India out of which the State of Odisha contributes more than 1 million. In order to cover the construction workforce under a well planned social security umbrella, the Government of Odisha enacted corresponding rules in the name of Building and Other Construction Workers (REandCS) Rules 2002. Under the said rules, the state Welfare Board in the name of Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board was constituted having its headquarters at Bhubaneswar. The said Board

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through its advisory committee recommends various social security benefits to its registered beneficiaries from birth to death including pension after sixty years and grant-in-aid for construction of houses. Although the Rule was framed in 2002, but as a matter of fact, the Govt of Odisha in Labour and Employment Department (at present Labour and ESI Deptt.) passed Resolution dtd. 15.12.2008 for collection of Cess @ 1 % of the cost of all building and other construction work including the Govt. Project. After 2008- 2009 the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board started functioning for the Social Security Coverage of Construction Workers. The cess collected and deposited with the Board provides recourses for taking up the social security activities implemented by the board for its registered eligible beneficiates in the state. At present more than 38 thousand building and other construction workers have been registered as beneficiaries under the Board and many more are waiting for enrollment after due verification. Similarly an amount of Rs. 1,12,57,784/- has been disbursed to 3516 beneficiaries towards various financial assistance from 2009 to end of July 2015. Housing Scheme No steps have been taken by the Government for construction of houses for industrial workers. However, some sheds have been constructed by a few rice mill owners to provide accommodation to their employees. Provident Fund Provisions relating to the Provident Fund Act were introduced in the district since 1952, under which members are required to contribute 6 to 8 percent of their total wages to Provident Fund. A similar contribution is further required to ‗be made by the members, towards Family Pension Scheme which was introduced in the district from the 1st March 1971. Members are entitled to get back their contribution with interest. Ordinarily the beneficiaries under the scheme get back their contributions with interest after retirement. In case of retrenchment or accident they get back their dues from the fund. Besides, for purchase of land for house, construction of dwelling houses, marriage of their daughters or sons, etc., they are eligible to draw advances with stipulation of refunding the same in installments. Benefit under Provident Fund Scheme is extended to the employees in the establishment and factories who are in service for more than six months. Till 31st December 1985, 8,340 employees out of 12,648 employees working in 184 establishments of the district enjoy the facility of Provident Fund. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Till independence, no specific policy was followed to uplift the socio- economic standard of the Adivasis and the weaker sections of the society by 389

the- Government. In 1946, the Provincial Government seems to have started some work in this direction on the recommendation of the Thakkar Committee appointed to find out ways and means for their welfare. After attainment of independence and with the Constitution of India coming into force, promotion of the educational and economic interests of the weaker section of the people particularly of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes became the primary responsibility of the state. According to the Census of 1971, the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes constituted 18.51 per cent and 7·06 per cent respectively. According to 1981 Census, the percentages were 17·94 and 6.84 respectively. In the present set-up, the District Welfare Officer is functioning at Baleshwar since January 1950 under the supervision and control of the District Collector. He is in charge of execution of various welfare schemes undertaken in the district from time to time for the benefit of S.T, and S.C, There are three Assistant District Welfare Officers functioning at the sub- divisional level under the direct supervision of the respective Sub-divisional Officers. Besides, one Assistant District Welfare Officer is attached to the office of District Welfare Officer at the headquarters. In the Community Development Block level there are twenty-one Welfare Extension Officers who work under the supervision of the Block Development Officer, one each for 19 Blocks, one for D.A. and one for I. T. D. A. A number of schemes are in operation for the upliftment of these backward classes of people. Expenses incurred on account of the development programmes executed for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes people are shared by the State Government and the Government of India. The schemes for the welfare of backward classes may be broadly classified into (a) educational advancement, (b) economic upliftment (c) health and sanitation and (d) miscellaneous welfare measures. Emphasis is laid on the educational schemes as they make the backward communities more conscious of their rights and privileges in the society. Educational Advancement Until 1950, very little efforts were made towards achieving any tangible progress in the field of education among the traditionally backward Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes people of the district. Various efforts have been made since then to help the spread of education among them. In 1985-86, there were 46 Sevashrams. One Boys non residential Ashram School at Dahapania (in Tihiri Block) and 3 High schools, i.e. one Girls and two Boys high schools managed by the Harijan Tribal Welfare Department, for educational upliftment of the students belonging to the

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Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the Sevashrams, education is imparted upto Upper Primary standard. The students are provided with text books, garments, reading and writing materials, etc. In some Sevashrams provision for mid-day meals has also been made. In the Ashram schools the pupils are imparted basic training in different crafts like carpentry, weaving, tailoring and agriculture in addition to the general syllabus of Middle English school standard. During the academic session 1986, 4,594 pupils were studying in Sevashrams. Boarding charges as fixed by the Government of Odisha from time to time are paid to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes students. So far, 3 hostel buildings are functioning and 360 students have been accommodated. In addition to the boarding and lodging facilities, the inmates are supplied with beds and utensils in hostels. A sum of Rs. 18,40,963 was spent on the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes Students during 1985-86 for pre-matriculation scholarship and Rs. 8,31.605 for post-matriculation scholarship. Besides, the Education Department annually incurs huge expenditure in providing stipends and lump grants to the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes students studying in Upper Primary, Middle English standard and High schools other than the above specialized schools managed by the Harijan Tribal Welfare Department. In 1985, 11 Scheduled Tribe students passed in the High School Certificate Examination. The Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department also provided stipends for their higher studies. During 1985-86, 2,290 Scheduled Castes and 251 Scheduled Tribes students were given Rs. 7,59,511 and Rs. 81,994 respectively as post-matriculation scholarship for conducting higher studies. Provision for special coaching in Sanskrit, Mathematics and English is also made for them. Economic upliftment Beneficiary oriented poverty eradication programmes like (Economic Rehabilitation of Rural Poor (E.R.R.P.), Integrated Rural Development (I. R. D.), National Rural Employment Programme (N. R. E. P.), and Rural landless Employment Guarantee (R.L.E.G.P.) are implemented in the district. These schemes mainly aim at raising the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes above the poverty line. I. R. D. Programme was introduced in 1978-79 in Remuna, Bhandaripokhari and Simulia Blocks. It was extended in 1980-81 to Soro and Baliapal Blocks. Special programmes like S. F. D. A. and M.F.A.L. were introduced in the country during the 4th Plan period for economic development of small and marginal farmers which were later merged in I. R. D. programmes. People belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes are extremely poor for which they are unable to take recourse to courts of 391

law to claim their rights on landed property. To enable them to establish their rights, free legal aid scheme is being implemented though legal aid cells were formed in the district. To protect them from the exploitation of the landlords O. L. R. cases are being instituted. Government sanctioned an amount of Rs. 4,000 by which 12 Scheduled Castes people were benefited in 1985-86. Miscellaneous Welfare Measures Miscellaneous welfare measures for improving the social status of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes people have been implemented. Inter-caste marriage is being encouraged and Government has spent Rs. 3,000 on this account during 1980-81. In the employment sphere their representation has been statutorily reserved. Financial and other concessions such as relaxation of age-limit, reduction in examination fees, etc., are also extended to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes candidates. Old Age Pension The Old Age Pension scheme was introduced in April, 1975. The beneficiaries under the Old Age Pension Rule, in the district were 6,780 during 1984-85. The amount of pension received by the beneficiaries was Rs. 25/-each per month. But the amount was increased to Rs. 40/- with effect from 1st June, 1980. Widow Pension Widow Pension scheme· was introduced in 1964. The beneficiaries under Widow Pension scheme in the district were 267 till 1985. Freedom Fighters Pension The Government of India has decided to give pension to the freedom fighters who dedicated their life for the noble cause of India. The following table shows the number of persons and the total amount incurred in the district from 1981 to 1985. Year Name Treasury Number of beneficiaries Amount incurred (in Rs.)

State Central State Central 1981 Baleshwar 412 336 4,88,187·95 15,46,197·46 1982 Baleshwar 328 335 5,66,006·00 15,41,334·47 1983 Baleshwar 317 322 5,02,000·65 14,39,502·03 1984 Baleshwar 306 266 5.43,095·20 17,16,406·15 1985 Baleshwar 374 335 8,93,166·‘ 8 18,99,172·05 Prohibition Prohibition was first introduced in the State in respect of opium in the district of Baleshwar in 1938 as opium consumption was the highest there. After independence, to further prohibit the consumption of opium, the 392

consumption quota was reduced at the rate of 10 per cent annually with an aim to achieving the total prohibition of opium in a period of 10 years. Opium was completely prohibited from 1st April 1959 and opium shops were abolished. With regard to prohibition of liquor, Tari and Pachwal, it was first introduced in six police stations of Baleshwar district and some areas of Cuttack and Purl districts during 1947-48. Then it was gradually extended to other areas of the district and the entire Baleshwar district excepting the ex- State of Nilagiri was declared dry during 1955-56. From 1st April, 1956 prohibition was extended to the ex-State area attached to Baleshwar. According to Opium De-addiction Scheme, medicinal opium, processed in the Opium Processing Centre at Cuttack, is to supply to the registered addicts in tablet form (1 gram each) of opium at Re. 1/- per gram according to the quota fixed by the Chief District Medical Officer depending on the condition of the addict. The medicinal opium is sold to the addicts through the Medical Officer as well as from the departmentaI sales centres. The registered addicts can possess opium to such limits as is fixed for them by the Chief Medical Officer. Gradually other areas were brought under prohibition and by the end of 1954-55 the entire district was covered. This arrangement lasted till 31st March 1968, after which the out still system of supply of liquor was introduced in the district. Thereafter country spirit system (distillery system) was introduced with effect from 1st April 1978 and this system is continuing since then. In Odisha partial prohibition has been in vogue from time to time through restriction of opening of number of retail shops, prescription of limit of possession, tightening of enforcement machinery, etc. In accordance with the national policy on prohibition, many country liquor shops were closed during the year 1978-79 and 1979-80. The State Government, however, decided not to close any more shops further as there was no common policy on prohibition in the entire country as the neighboring states did not close their shops in the border areas. Therefore, new Iiquor shops were allowed to be opened in places having genuine demands for country liquor. Prohibition policy was not a success as it was enforced not under any special enactment whereby possible infringement could have been effectively checked under the Act, which mainly aimed at collection of revenue. Possession of intoxicants and not drinking itself was made an offence. Hence, the man caught for being heavily drunk is not treated as an offender. Lack of follow-up action and mobilization of public opinion against the use of intoxicants are also partially responsible for its failure. The Collector of Baleshwar under the supervision of Excise commissioner, is the chief executive head in the administration of the Excise Acts in the district. He is assisted by the Additional District Magistrate and

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the Superintendent of Excise. The superintendent of Excise, under the supervision and control of the above functionaries, is directly responsible for the smooth and efficient management of the department. He is assisted by an Inspector, Sub-Inspectors; Assistant Sub-Inspectors end Excise Constables in addition to ministerial and other staff. The responsibility of collection of excise revenue vests with the Inspectors and Sub-inspectors. The powers and functions of the Collector, Additional District Magistrate and various other excise staff are specially embodied in the Odisha Excise Manual, Vol. III. The Excise Acts in force in the district are, (1) The Bihar and Odisha Excise Act, 1915, (2) The Indian Opium Act, 1878, (3) The Dangerous Drugs ‗Act, 1930 and (4) The Medical and Toilet Preparations Act, 1955, as amended with effect from the 28th February 1981. These laws chiefly aim at regulating the manufacture, import, export, transport, possession and sale of excisable articles, and imposition and collection of revenue thereof. They also embody suitable penal provisions to deal with the offenders. Under various sections of the aforesaid Acts, the excise officers are empowered to detect offences. They can make house search with a warrant from competent authority where necessary. The Odisha Excise Manual Vol. I provides detailed procedures for detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes. The services of police are also requisitioned at the time of need for detection of cases. Common intoxicants of the district are out-stilling liquor, medicinal opium, Ganja, Bhang, India-made foreign liquor and country liquor. No individual is allowed to possess more than the prescribed quantities of the aforesaid items. For manufacture and sale of out-still liquor, Ganja, Bhang and Tari licenses are to be obtained. These licenses called exclusive privilege to conduct retail sale of intoxicants by the Collector after obtaining approval from the Government through the Excise Commissioner. Facility has been accorded to the local Adivasis for preparation of home-brewed Pachwai from rice or Ragi on festive Occasions up to a limited quantity at a time and not for sale. The Secretary, Odisha Rajya Talgur Samabaya Sangha is permitted to issue licenses to the tappers of Dhmnagar area for tapping date-palm and palmyra tree with a view to manufacturing gur from the sweet juice obtained from them. The juice, called Neera, is also well relished by the people. Licenses are ordinarily granted for one year for manufacturing and sale of the above items by the Collector. The Superintendent of Excise issues permits to the concerned licensees to import foreign liquor, beer, rectified spirit and denatured spirit. The importers are prohibited to obtain more than the stipulated quantity from different places of the state. 394

Charitable Endowments In 1986 there were 153 Charitable Endowments in Odisha out of which 26 were found in Baleshwar district. These have been created by the donations and contributions rendered by benevolent persons. The Treasurer, Charitable Endowments, Odisha, under the Charitable Endowment Act, 1890 is the custodian of these properties. The income derived from the funds is disbursed according to the principles laid down by the Government with regard to the wishes of the donors. A brief account on these endowments is furnished below. Fakir Mohan Prize or Medal Fund In 1920, Upendra Narayan Duttagupta, created a fund with rupees 500 in the name of the renowned Oriya writer Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Senapati for encouraging Oriya literature among the students of Baleshwar Zilla School, for securing highest mark in Odia literature in Matriculation examination. The District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar and the Headmaster of Baleshwar Zilla School, are its joint administrators. Till 1985, 66 Students have been benefited by the fund. Ramnath Das Prize or Medal Fund Ramnath Das, a retired Deputy Inspector of Schools, made a donation of Rs. 300 for the creation of Ramnath Das Prize or Medal Fund in 1927. The fund is meant for awarding annually a prize or medal to a student of Baleshwar Zilla School who secures first position in English essay writing. The District Magistrate and the Headmaster, Baleshwar Zilla School are the joint administrators. 39 students have been benefited by the fund till 1985. Biswanath Parida Trust Fund The Biswanath Parida Trust Fund was created in 1927 by the donation made by Biswanath Parida for maintenance of the Charitable dispensary at Jamalpuri. The corpus of the fund is Rs.3,800 and its administrator is the District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar. Sir Stewart Bayley Modal Fund A sum of Rs. 600 was donated by Raja Baikuntha Nath Deb and Babu Satyendranath Deb of Baleshwar to Sir Stewart Bayley Medal Fund in 1934 for awarding medal annually to the student of Baleshwar Zilla School who stands first in Sanskrit in the Matriculation examination. The District Magistrate.Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. 51 students have been benefited by this fund till 1985. The Jagannath Asha Trust Fund The Jagannath Asha Trust Fund was created after the name of the donor in 1934 with a donation of Rs. 2, 300. The District Magistrate of 395

Baleshwar and the Headmaster of Baleshwar Zilla school are the joint administrators of the fund. The beneficiaries of this Trust are the students of Tambuli caste. Annually two free studentships are awarded to two Tambuli caste boys reading in any of the four highest classes of the Baleshwar Zilla School. 102 students have been benefited till 1985. Bhuban Mohini Devi Prize Fund Bhuban Mohini Devi Prize Fund was created for encouraging learning of Mathematics among the students of Baleshwar Zilla School by awarding books to a student who stands first in Mathematics in the annual Matriculation examination. Kishore Mohan Mukherjee contributed Rs. 400 in 1934 for this purpose. The District Magistrate, Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. Fiftyone students have been benefited by the fund till 1985. Mrs. Smith Prize Fund Babu Satyendranath De of Baleshwar, contributed a sum of Rs.600 for the creation of Mrs. Smith Prize Fund in 1934 for the purpose of awarding a medal in each year to the girl who stands first in the district in the Middle English School Certificate Examination. Fiftyone students have been benefited by the fund till 1985. The Raja Rajendralala Mittra’s Sports Prize and Pandit Ishwar Chandra Baidya Sagar Scholarship Fund In 1934, a sum of Rs. 1,400 was donated by Satyendranath De of Baleshwar, for the creation of Rajandralala Mittra‘s Sports Prize which is meant for awarding prizes to the competitors from among the Hindu boys in the annual sports, from the schools in the town of Baleshwar and for giving scholarship to a poor Hindu boy from among the schools of the district who fails to obtain government scholarship at the Middle English School Certificate Examination. The District Magistrate, Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. 102 beneficiaries have been benefited by the fund till 1985. The B. De Fund A leading gentleman of Baleshwar, donated a sum of. Rs. 2,900 in 1934 for the creation of the B. De Fund for awarding scholarship of Rs. 4 per month for four years to a student who stands first in the Middle English School Certificate Examination from any school in the district of Baleshwar and for scholarship of Rs. 4 per month to the student of any school in the said district who secures next highest place in the said examination. The District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. 26 students have been benefited by the fund till 1985.

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Srimati Sukhoda Dasi Reward Fund towards the Dehruda Tol A sum of Rs, 50 is being awarded annually to a student who successfully passes Acharya Examination in Sanskrit in any subject from Srimati Sukhoda Dasi Reward Fund which was created in 1934 by Babu Kailash Chandra Ray Mahasaya, an ex-Zamindar of Dehruda in Baleshwar district. The corpus of this fund is Rs. 3,400. The District Magistrate and Collector is the administrator of this fund. 51 beneficiaries have been benefited by the fund till 1985. Shrimati Bhagabati Dasi Prize Fund Babu Kailash Chandra Ray Mahasaya, an ex-Zamindar of Dehruda, created in 1935 the Shrimati Bhagabati Dasi Prize Furd with contribution of Rs. 1.400 for awarding an annual stipend of Rs. 40 to a student securing highest place in Acharya examination in Sanskrit in Odisha. 51 students have been benefited by this fund till 1985. Kailash Chandra Ray Mahasaya’s Tol Fund Rs.7 per month is paid from Babu Kailash Chandra Ray Mahasaya‘s Tol fund for repairing of the Tol house from time to time. The corpus of this fund is Rs. 2,900. The Chairman of Baleshwar Municipality is its administrator. 33 Tol houses were benefited by the fund till 1969. Since then the fund is not operating. The Tute Muhammadan Educational Fund The Tute Muhammadan Educational Fund was created in 1935 with the donation of Rs. 5, 400/ -for awarding scholarship for pursuing studies for four years to the Muslim pupils of the district who pass Middle School Certificate Examination. The District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. Babu Sristidhar Roy Mahasaya Water-supply Fund The Babu Sristidhar Roy Mahasaya Water-supply Fund was created in 1906 by Babu Kailash Chandra Roy Mahasaya. The corpus of this fund is Rs. 3,100/ -. The object behind this fund is to improve the supply of drinking water for the public use in the district. The District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar is the administrator of the fund. Saudamini Prize Fund The Saudamini Prize Fund was created by Miss N. Naik, lady principal, Sailabala Women‘s College, Cuttack, with a donation of Rs. 1,100/-in 1954. This fund is meant for awarding a prize to a student of fourth year class of the Fakir Mohan College, Baleshwar, who secures highest place in the 3rd year Annual Class Examination. The District Magistrate and Collector,

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Baleshwar, is the administrator of this fund. 31 beneficiaries have been benefited till 1985. Santi Silver Medal Fund The Santi Silver Medal Fund was created with a corpus of Rs. 300/. in 1957. The purpose of this fund is to award a silver medal to a student who stands first in the Pratharna Examination of Odisha Association of Sanskrit Learning and Culture of Baleshwar district. . The District Magistrate and Collector, Baleshwar is the administrator of this fund. 28 students have been benefited by the fund till 1985. Ranu Roy Smruti Trust Fund The Ranu Roy Trust Fund was created in 1968 with a donation of Rs. 1,700/ -. This Trust Fund aims at awarding a scholarship to a girl student who secures highest mark in Bengali or Domestic Science in the district. The Inspector of Schools. Baleshwar is the administrator of the fund. 18 students have been benefited by the fund till 1985. Dohurda Mahasaya Upendra Chandra Award Fund The Mahasaya Upendra Chandra Award Fund was created in 1968. The Inspector of Schools.Baleshwar, is its administrator. The income of this fund is utilized in awarding to a student of Jaleshwar High English school who secures highest mark in aggregate in the High School Certificate Examination. 17 students have been benefited by the fund till1985. Sarajubala Smarani Fund The Sarajubala Smarani Fund was created with a corpus of Rs. 1,000 in 1968. The Inspector of Schools.Baleshwar, is the administrator of this fund. The income of this is utilized in awarding a scholarship to a poor student who passed the High School Certificate Examination from Jaleshwar High English school, 17 beneficiaries have been benefited by this fund till 1985. Baleshwar Poor students Educational Fund by B. Barjorji Baleshwar Poor Students Educational Fund was created with a donation of Rs.7,000/-in 1967. The Collector, Baleshwar, is its administrator. The aim of this fund is to give help to needy and deserving students of the district.

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CHAPTER – XVII GENERAL ELECTIONS

General Election: 1989 onwards The ninth General Election to Lok Sabha in the State was held in the month of November, 1989. The district had two parliamentary seats, i.e. Baleshwar and Bhadrak. The number of Parliamentary seats of the district remained unchanged during this election. One seat, i.e. Bhadrak was reserved for the scheduled caste. Five political parties fielded twelve candidates for these two seats. Besides three independent candidates, one Jharkhand Party candidate for Baleshwar Parliamentary seat, the Indian national Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Janata Dal, the Janata Party had fielded their candidates. The number of candidates fielded by different political parties is given below.

Political parties Baleshwar Bhadrak Total Parliamentary Parliamentary Constituency Constituency 1 2 3 4 INC 1 1 2 BSP 1 1 2 JP 1 1 2 JD 1 1 2 Jharkhand Party 1 - 1 IND 2 1 3 Total 7 5 12

The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency comprised Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Baleshwarand Soro Assembly Segments of Baleshwar district and Baisinga (ST) and Khunta (ST) Assembly segments of Mayurbhanj district. Out of total electorate of 9,64,996 in the election, 6,57,153 i.e. 68.10 percent exercised their franchise. In the contest, Janata Dal candidate won the election by capturing 3,62,537 votes. The Bhadrak Parliamentary Constituency comprised Nilagiri, Simulia, Bhandari Pokhari(SC), Bhadrak, Damnagar, Chandbali(SC) and Basudevpur Assembly segments of Baleshwar district. Out of the total 9,57,256 electors, 6,70,289 i.e. 70.02 percent exercised their franchise out of which 12,613 votes were rejected. Among the contestants the Janata Dal candidate got 3,76,546 votes and was elected.

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The number of candidates fielded by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates of both Baleshwar and Bhadrack Parliamentary Constituencies are as follows.

Name of the Political Number of valid votes polled in Number of valid votes polled Party Baleshwar PS in Bhadrak PS INC 244733 270019 BSP 4,182 3,588 JP 14754 5177 JD 362537 376546 Jharkhand Party 15,017 - IND 3,101 2,346 Total 644324 657676 Tenth General Election to Vidhan Sabha, 1990 The Tenth General Election of the State Legislative Assembly was held in February, 1990. Out of the 12 Assembly Constituencies, two constituencies namely Chandbali and Bhandaripokhari were reserved for the schedule caste candidates. 12 political parties and independent candidates took part in the election. The number of candidates fielded, the number of seats won and the number of valid votes polled by the candidates set up by different political parties were as follows.

Name of the political Number of candidates Number of seats Number of valid parties set up won votes polled Janata Dal 10 09 5,00,458 INC 11 01 3,57,359 BSP 07 - 7,004 BJP 02 - 8,851 Janata Party 04 - 5,867 JMM 03 - 5,936 Doordarshee 02 - 332 Proutist Block of India 03 - 1,762 CPI 03 01 1,27,888 OKKKG 01 - 506 United CPI 01 - 7,213 CPI(M) 01 - 31,917 IND 25 01 61,759 TOTAL 73 12 11,16,852

Altogether 73 candidates contested for twelve Assembly seats. Janata Dal candidates captured Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Simulia, Bhandaripokhari (SC), Bhadrak, Dhamanagar, Chanbali(SC) and Basudevpur Assembly Constituencies. Communist Party of India candidate 400

in Baleshwar Assembly Constituency, Indian National Congress candidate in Soro Assembly Constituency, Independent Candidate in Nilagiri Assembly Constituency won the election. The table below shows exhaustive information about the 10th General Election, 1990.

Name of the No. of No. No. of No. of Total Percentage Total Percentage Party Assembly polling of persons electors votes of votes valid of valid votes won Constituency stations seats polled polled votes

Bhograi 153 1 06 1,45,045 1,02,927 70.96 1,02,002 70.32 JD

Jaleshwar 172 1 11 1,58,785 1,08,264 68.18 1,07,277 67.56 JD

Basta 137 1 06 1,30,632 91,077 69.72 90,109 68.97 JD

Baleshwar 174 1 07 1,72,290 90,907 52.76 90,005 52.24 CPI

Soro 139 1 06 1,38,605 91,024 65.67 89,916 64.87 INC

Simulia 138 1 05 1,32,493 82,379 62.17 81,275 61.34 JD

Nilagiri 151 1 10 1,41,198 94,713 67.07 93,009 65.87 IND

B.Pokhori(SC) 123 1 03 1,23,206 78,959 64.08 78,051 63.34 JD

Bhadrak 153 1 06 1,45,475 95,033 65.32 93,715 64.42 JD

Dhamnagar 138 1 04 1,40,257 94,858 67.63 93,610 66.74 JD

Chandbali(SC) 149 1 04 1,51,333 99,548 65.77 98,064 64.80 JD

Basudevpur 139 1 05 1,42,221 1,01,089 71.07 99,819 70.18 JD

TOTAL 1766 12 73 17,21,540 11,30,778 65.68 11,16,852 64.87

Tenth Lok Shabha 1991 The Ninth Lok Sabha Election having been held in November, 1989, the election to tenth Lok Sabha was due to be held sometime in November,1994. But due to conflict among the partners of the coalition government in power, the Parliament was dissolved and the Election Commission of India decided to conduct polls for the tenth Lok Sabha. Hence, elections were held in May, 1991. Like the previous election, the number of Parliamentary seats of the district remained unchanged and the Bhadrak seat was reserved for scheduled caste. Eight political parties set up twenty one candidates for two seats. Besides five Independent candidates, the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Party, the Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Doordarshee, the Proutist Block of India and the Odisha Vikash Parisad fielded their candidates for each Parliamentary seat.

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Numbers of candidates fielded by different parties are given below.

Political parties Baleshwar Bhadrack Parliamentary Total Parliamentary Constituency Constituency BSP 1 1 2 BJP 1 1 2 INC 1 1 2 DDP 1 1 2 PBI 1 1 2 OVP 1 1 2 JP 1 1 2 JD 1 1 2 IND 3 2 5 Total 11 10 21 The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency comprised Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Baleshwarand Soro Assembly Segments under Baleshwar district and Baisinga (ST) and Khunta (ST) Assembly segments under Mayurbhanj district. Out of total voter of 9,95,301 in the election 6,03,786 i.e. 60.66 percent exercised their franchise. In contest, Indian National Congress candidate won the election by capturing 2,66,139 votes. In Bhadrak (SC) Parliamentary Constituency, out of total 9,80,232 electors, 5,92,297 i.e. 60.42 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 7,835 votes were rejected. Among the contestants the Janata Dal got 2,56,690 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different Political Parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates of both Baleshwar and Bhadrak Parliamentary Constituencies are as follows.

Name of the Political Number of valid votes polled in Number of valid votes polled Party Baleshwar PS in Bhadrak PS BSP 760 2870 BJP 61360 67,808 INC 266139 2,45,751 DDP 425 173 PBI 1221 3737 OVP 1116 2689 JP 6293 10470 JD 252921 256690 IND 13551 2109 TOTAL 603786 5,92,297 Eleventh General Election to State Assembly, 1995 The eleventh General Election of Odisha Legislative Assembly was held in March, 1995. After creation of Bhadrak District, Seven Assembly Constituencies were under Baleshwar district namely 1-Bhograi, 2- Jaleshwar, 3-Basta, 4-Baleshwar, 5-Soro, 6-Simulia, and 7-Nilagiri assembly Constituencies. 11(eleven) political parties and Independent candidates took 402

part in the election. The number of candidates set up, the number of seats won and the number of valid votes polled by the candidates were as follows.

Name of the Political Number of Number of seats Number of valid votes Parties candidates set up won polled SJP(R) 5 - 5,089 INC 7 4 3,74,102 JD 6 2 2,68,222 BJP 7 - 36,867 Odisha Communist 1 - 8,109 Party CPI(M) 2 - 38,273 JMM 1 - 1,708 PSS 4 - 931 CPI 2 - 23,419 Janata Party 1 - 286 BSP 2 354 IND 38 1 1,43,817 TOTAL 76 07 9,01,177

Altogether 76 candidates contested for 7(seven) Assembly seats in which Indian National Congress candidates captured four seats, Janata Dal won two seats and Independent one seat. The following table shows exhaustive information about the eleventh General Election, 1995.

Name of the No. of No. of No. of No. of Total Percentage of Total Percentage of Party Assembly polling seats persons electors votes votes polled valid valid votes won Constituency stations polled votes Bhograi 220 1 8 165835 133131 80.27 131946 79.56 JD Jaleshwar 231 1 15 181940 146843 80.70 145107 79.75 INC Basta 193 1 10 147315 124731 87.66 123328 83.71 JD Baleshwar 233 1 15 194588 143258 73.62 141103 72.51 IND Soro 209 1 10 158858 118377 74.51 116758 73.49 INC Simulia 201 1 8 153814 118380 76.96 116648 75.83 INC Nilagiri 223 1 10 161322 128470 79.63 126287 78.28 INC TOTAL 1510 07 76 11,63,672 9,13,190 78.47 9,01,177 77.44 Eleventh Lok Sabha Election, 1996 The eleventh General Election to Lok Sabha in the State was held on May, 1996. There was one Parliamentary Constituency in the district of Baleshwar i.e. Baleshwar. Seven Independent candidates, the Indian national Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Party, Proutist Samaj Samiti andAIILC(T) had fielded their candidates for this Parliamentary seat. The numbers of candidates set up by different Political Parties are given below.

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Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency INC 1 BJP 1 JP 1 PSS 1 AIILC (T) 1 IND 7 Total 12

The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency comprised Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Baleshwar and Soro Assembly segments of Baleshwar district and Baisinga (ST) and Khunta(ST) Assembly segments of Mayurbhanj district. Out of total of 11,36,681 electors, 7,77,266 i.e. 69.02 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 7384 votes were rejected. Among the contestants, the Indian National Congress candidate got 4,11,168 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates of Baleshwar parliamentary Constituency is as follows.

Name of the Political Party Number of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PS INC 411168 BJP 99409 JP 2328 PSS 1150 AIILC (T) 7272 IND 255939 Total 777266 Twelfth Lok Sabha Election,1998 The eleventh Lok Sabha Election having been held in May, 1996, the election to twelfth Lok Sabha was due to be held sometime in may, 2001. But due to conflict among the partners of the party in power, the Parliament was dissolved and the Election Commission of India decided to conduct polls for the Twelfth Lok Sabha. Hence, election was held in February, 1998. Like previous election, this time also the number of Parliament seat of this district as remained unchanged. Two Independent candidates, the Janata Dal, the Indian National Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Biju

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Janata Dal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Ajay Badi Party, and the Proutist Samaj Samiti had fielded candidates for this parliamentary seat. The numbers of candidates fielded by different Political Parties are given below.

Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency JD 1 INC 1 BSP 1 BJP 1 RJD 1 ABP 1 PSS 1 IND 2 Total 9 The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency having total 11, 99,969 number electors out of which 7, 91,921 number of electors i.e. 65.99 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 7547 votes were rejected. Among the contestants, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate got 4, 21,068 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates in respect of Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency is as follows.

Name of the Party No. of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PC JD 14424 INC 337066 BSP 2459 BJP 421068 RJD 1272 ABP 852 PSS 2809 IND 11971 TOTAL 791921 Thirteenth Lok Sabha Election, 1999 The twelfth Lok Sabha Election was held in February, 1998. The election to thirteenth Lok Sabha was due to be held sometime in February, 2003. But due to conflict among the partners of the party in power, the Parliament was dissolved and Election Commission of India decided to conduct poll for the thirteenth Lok Sabha. Hence, Lok Sabha election was held in October, 1999. Baleshwar was the only parliamentary seat in the district. Seven political parties set up their candidates for this seat. Besides one Independent candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National 405

Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Janata Party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Bharatiya Republican Prakasha had fielded their candidates. The number of candidates set up by different political parties are as follows. Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency BJP 1 CPI 1 INC 1 NCP 1 JP 1 JMM 1 BRPP 1 IND 1 Total 8 The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency comprised Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Baleshwar and Soro Assembly segments under Baleshwar district and Baisinga (ST) and Khunta (ST) Assembly segments under Mayurbhanj district. Out of total electors of 12,42,578 in the ensuing election, 7,68,769 i.e. 61.86 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 7105 votes were rejected. In the contest, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate got 4,28,070 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates in respect of Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency is as follows.

Name of the Party No. of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PC BJP 428070 CPI 26586 INC 291698 NCP 2729 JP 2901 JMM 14813 BRPP 863 IND 1109 TOTAL 768769

Twelfth General Election to Vidan Sabha,2000 The twelfth General Election to State Legislative Assembly was held in February, 2000. Like the previous election, the number of assembly seats of this district remained unchanged. 13 Political Parties and Independent candidates took part in the election of seven Assembly Constituencies under Baleshwar district. The number of candidates set up, the number of seats won and the numbers of valid votes polled by the candidates set up by different political parties were as follows.

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Name of the Number of Number of seats Number of valid Political Parties Candidates set up won votes polled BJD 3 3 1,73,924 INC 7 2 3,33,752 BJP 4 1 1,93,123 ALLITC 1 - 3,549 CPI(M) 2 1 52,140 NCP 2 - 468 CPI 3 - 8,496 Janata Dal(S) 3 - 648 SJP 1 - 99 PSS 1 - 649 BBM 1 - 77 Shivsena 1 - 223 BSP 5 - 3,486 IND 10 - 86,964 TOTAL 44 07 8,57,598 Altogether 44 candidates contested for seven Assembly seats in which Biju Janata Dal candidates captured three seats, Indian National Congress candidate captured two seats and Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat each. The following table shows exhaustive information about the twelfth General Election, 2000.

Name of the No. of No. of No. of No. of Total Percentage Total valid Percentage Party Assembly polling seats persons electors votes of votes votes of valid votes won Constituency stations polled polled

Bhograi 220 1 05 1,88,340 1,22,053 64.80 1,21,445 64.48 BJD Jaleshwar 231 1 05 2,07,297 1,45,348 70.11 1,44,663 69.78 INC Basta 193 1 07 1,66,027 1,15,477 69.55 1,14,969 69.24 BJD Baleshwar 240 1 09 2,17,950 1,30,999 60.10 1,30,060 59.67 BJP Soro 209 1 07 1,79,744 1,15,318 64.15 1,14,638 63.77 INC Simulia 201 1 05 1,71,694 1,14,497 66.68 1,13,739 66.24 BJD Nilagiri 223 1 06 1,75,767 1,19,264 67.85 1,18,084 67.18 CPI(M) TOTAL 1517 07 44 13,06,819 8,62,956 66.03 8,57,598 65.62

14th Lok Sabha General Election, 2004 Simultaneous General Election to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly, 2004 in Baleshwar district covers two part Parliamentary Constituencies. The details of which are indicated below This parliamentary Constituency consists of 7 Assembly segments out of which 2 Assembly segments are under Mayurbhanj district and the

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remaining 5 Assembly segments are under Baleshwar district. The details are as follows.

8-Baisinga(ST Under Mayurbhanj District 9-Khunta(ST)

11-Bhograi 12-Jaleshwar 13-Basta UnderBaleshwar District 14-Baleshwar 15-Soro 3-Bhadrak (SC) Parliamentary Constituency Out of 7 Assembly segments under this Parliamentary Constituency, 2 Assembly segments are under Baleshwar District and remaining 5 Assembly segments are under Bhadrak district.

16-Simulia 17- NilagiriUnderBaleshwar District

18-Bhandaripokhari 19-Bhadrak 20-Dhamnagar Under Bhadrak District 21-Chandbali 22-Basudevpur

The 14th General Election to Lok Sabha in the State was held in April, 2004. Six candidates were fielded in this parliamentary Constituency. Besides one Independent candidate, the Bahartiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party , the Republical Party of India and the Bharatiya Manavata Vikash Party had fielded for this Parliamentary seat. The number of candidates set up by different Political Parties is as follows.

Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency BJP 1 INC 1 BSP 1 RPI 1 BMVP 1 IND 1 Total 6

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In Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency, out of the total 13,30,406 electors , 9,47,569 people i.e. 71.22 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 851 votes were rejected. Among the contestants the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate got 5,53,087 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates in respect of Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency is as follows. Name of the Party No. of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PC BJP 553087 INC 316132 BJP 21204 RPI 15026 BMVP 13873 IND 28247 TOTAL 947569

13THGeneral Election to State Legislative Assembly, 2004 The 13th General Election to State Legislative Assembly was held in April, 2004. Like previous election, the number of Assembly seats of this district remained unchanged. 12 political parties and Independent candidates took part in the election of seven Assembly Constituencies. The number of candidates set up, the number of seats won and number of valid votes polled by the candidates set up by different political parties are given below.

Name of Number of Number of seats Number of valid the Political candidates set up won votes polled Parites BJD 3 2 1,95,970 INC 5 2 2,71,171 BSP 5 - 8,787 BJP 4 2 2,88,815 BMVP 3 - 3,470 SJP 3 - 2,614 OGP 1 1 73,291 JP 1 - 1,006 PSS 1 - 1,443 RPI 1 - 746 CPI(M) 1 - 46,778 JMM 1 - 3,980 IND 14 - 1,00,021 TOTAL 43 07 9,98,092 Altogether 43 candidates contested for seven Assembly seats in which Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party candidates captured two seats each and Odisha Gana Parisad candidate owned one seat.

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The following table shows exhaustive information about the thirteenth General Election to State Legislative Assembly, 2004.

Name of the No. of No. No. of No. of Total Percentage Total valid Percentage Party Assembly polling of persons electors votes of votes votes of valid votes won Constituency stations seats polled polled Bhograi 195 1 06 2,02,240 1,40,375 69.41 1,40,375 69.41 BJD Jaleshwar 206 1 05 2,18,577 1,64,574 75.29 1,64,574 75.29 BJP Basta 172 1 06 1,85,723 1,36,749 73.63 1,36,692 73.59 BJD Baleshwar 207 1 11 2,32,559 1,54,744 66.53 1,54,438 66.40 OGP Soro 187 1 05 1,96,129 1,35,899 69.29 1,35,899 69.29 INC Simulia 190 1 03 1,90,477 1,31,082 68.81 1,31,082 68.81 INC Nilagiri 197 1 07 2,03,723 1,35,154 66.34 1,35,032 66.28 BJP TOTAL 1354 07 43 14,29,428 9,98,577 69.85 9,98,092 69.82 15THLok Sabha General Election, 2009 Now therefore, in pursuance of clause(d) of sub-section 2 of section 9 read with sub-section(2) of section 4 of the Delimitation act, 2002 (33 of 2002) as amended, the Delimitation Commission hereby determines and also published in Odisha Gazette No.1771, dt. 15.12.2006 the present territorial extent of the Parliamentary Constituency of this District are as follows. The territorial Parliamentary Constituencies into which the State of Odisha shall be divided for the purpose of elections to House of the People and the extent in respect of Baleshwar and Bhadrak Parliamentary Constituencies are given below.

Parliamentary Constituencies and their extent: Sl No. and Name of Extent in terms of the Assembly Parliamentary Constituency segment 32-Badasahai Under Mayurbhanj District 35-Jaleshwar 36-Bhograi 6-Baleshwar 37-Basta Under Baleshwar District 38-Baleshwar 39-Remuna(SC) 40-Nilagiri 41-Soro(SC) Under Baleshwar District 42-Simulia

7-Bhadrak(SC) 43-Bhandari Pokhari 44-Bhadrak 45-Basudevpur Under Bhadrak District 46-Dhamnagar(SC) 47-Chandbali

The Parliamentary Constituency of Baleshwar constituted Seven Assembly segments. The detail position is here under.

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Sl. Name of the Extent of Parliamentary/Assembly Constituency No Constituencies 1 32-Badashai(SC) Badashai Police Station, Betnoti Police Station, Badashai, Balabhadrapur, Bhimda, Bireswarpur, Chandanpur, Chhelia(A), Durgapur, Jogninuagan, Kendudiha, Kochila, Khunta, Madhpur, Manogovindpur, Mantri, Patisari, Paunsia, Salgan, Sialighaty, Suhapur, Talapada, Pratappur, Gram Panchayat of Badashai Block, 2-Betnoti Block 2 35-Jaleshwar Jaleshwar Police Station, Nampo Police Station, Raibania Police Station, Jaleshwar Block, Natakata, Purusottampur, Kulida, Santoshpur, Raghunathpur, Chermera, Singla, Paunsakuli, Tadada, Putura, and Nabara Gram Panchayat of Baste Block, Jaleshwar NAC 3 36-Bhograi Bhograi Police Station, Kamarda Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division and Bhograi Block 4 37-Basta Basta Police Station and Baliapal Police Sation, Singla Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division. (i) Baliapal Block (ii) Mukulushi, Brahmanda, Sadandapur, Baharda, Rautpada, Mathari, Sahada, Naikudi, Gadapada, Darada and Irda Gram Panchayat of Basta Block 5 38-Baleshwar Town Police Station, Sadar Police Station, Saghadevkhunta Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division (i) Kasipada, Rasulpur, Srirampur, Kasafal, Sartha, Bahabalpur, Chhanua, Haldipada, Olandasaragan, Odansi, Nagram, Buanli, Sindhia, Gopinathpur, Parikhi, Patrapada, Kuradhia and Srikona, Gram Panchayat of Baleshwar Block and Baleshwar Muncipality 6 39-Remuna (SC) Remuna Police Station, Industrial Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division. Sahadevkhunta Police Station-part. (i) Remuna Block,(ii) Ranashai, Guda, Padmapur, Jaydevkusabe and Hidigan Gram Panchayat of Baleshwar Block 7 40-Nilagiri Nilagiri Police Station, Oupada Police Station, Berchmpur Police Station, Khanta Pada Police Station in Nilagiri Division (i)Nilagiri Block(ii)Oupada Block(iii)Chakajaganathpur, Kasbajaypur, Khanta Pada, Panpara and Patharapentha Gram Panchayat of Bahanaga Block (iv) Nilagiri NAC After delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies the 15th General Election to Lok Sabha in the State was held on April, 2009. There is one Parliamentary Constituency in the district of Baleshwar i.e. 2- Baleshwar. Nine candidates from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress, the Samrudha Odisha, the Jana Hitakari Party and two Independent candidates contested for this seat.

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The number of candidates set up by different political parties are as follows. Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency JMM 1 NCP 1 BJP 1 BSP 1 INC 1 SAMRUDHA ODISHA 1 JHP 1 IND 2 Total 9

Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency having total 12,65,651 number of electors out of which 8,92,262 cast their votes i.e. 70.49 percent exercised their franchise. Among the contestants the Indian National Congress got 3,13,888 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, number of valid votes polled by the candidates in respect of Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency is given below.

Name of the Party No. of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PC JMM 25577 NCP 274988 BJP 219908 BSP 6980 INC 313888 SAMRUDHA ODISHA 25485 JHP 7962 IND(2) 17474 TOTAL 892262

14THGeneral Election to Legislative Assembly, 2009 Now therefore, in pursuance of clause (d) of sub-section-2 of section-9 read with sub-section(2) of section-4 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 as amended, the Delimitation Commission hereby determines and also published in Odisha Gazette No.1771, dt. 15.12.2006. The present territorial extent of the Assembly Constituencies of this District are as follows. The territorial Assembly Constituencies into which the State of Odisha shall be divided for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State and the extent of each such Constituency shall be shown as follows.

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Sl. Name of the Extent of Parliamentary/Assembly Constituency No Constituencies 1 35-Jaleshwar Jaleshwar Police Station, Nampo Police Station, Raibania Police Station, Jaleshwar Block, Natakata, Purusottampur, Kulida, Santoshpur, Raghunathpur, Chermera, Singla, Paunsakuli, Tadada, Putura, and Nabara Gram Panchayat of Baste Block, Jaleshwar NAC 2 36-Bhograi Bhograi Police Station, Kamarda Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division and Bhograi Block 3 37-Basta Basta Police Station and Baliapal Police Sation, Singla Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division. (i) Baliapal Block (ii) Mukulushi, Brahmanda, Sadandapur, Baharda, Rautpada, Mathari, Sahada, Naikudi, Gadapada, Darada and Irda Gram Panchayat of Basta Block 4 38-Baleshwar Town Police Station, Sadar Police Station, Sahadevkhunta Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division (i) Kasipada, Rasulpur, Srirampur, Kasafal, Sartha, Bahabalpur, Chhanua, Haldipada, Olandasaragan, Odansi, Nagram, Buanli, Sindhia, Gopinathpur, Parikhi, Patrapada, Kuradhia and Srikona, Gram Panchayat of Baleshwar Block and Baleshwar Muncipality 5 39-Remuna(SC) Remuna Police Station, Industrial Police Station in Baleshwar Sub-Division. Sahadevkhunta Police Station-part. (i) Remuna Block,(ii) Ranashai, Guda, Padmapur, Jaydevkusabe and Hidigan Gram Panchayat of Baleshwar Block 6 40-Nilagiri Nilagiri Police Station, Oupada Police Station, Berchmpur Police Station, Khanta Pada Police Station in Nilagiri Division. (i)Nilagiri Block(ii)Oupada Block(iii)Chakajaganathpur, Kasbajaypur, Khanta Pada, Panpara and Patharapentha Gram Panchayat of Bahanaga Block (iv) Nilagiri NAC 7 41-Soro(SC) Soro Police Station, Khanta pada Police Station part under Baleshwar sub-division. (i)Soro Block(ii)Anji, Arunabad, Avana,Bahanaga, Baripada, Bishnupur,Chittol, Dandaharipur, Gopalpur, Kalyani, Kharsahapur, Kochiakili, Kuruda, Sahaspura, Saud and Talkurunia Gram Panchayat of Bhanaga Block (iii) Soro NAC 8 42-Simulia Khaira Police Station Simulia Police Station under Baleshwar Sub-Division. Khaira Block and Simulia Block

After delimitation of Assembly Constituency, the 14th General Election to State Legislative Assembly Constituency was held in April, 2009. Eight Assembly Constituencies were under Baleshwar District, of which two seats i.e. 39-Remuna and 41-Soro were reserved for the schedule castes. 13 political parties and Independent candidates took part in the election of eight Assembly Constituencies of Baleshwar district.

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The number of candidates set up, the number of seats won and number of valid votes polled by the candidates set up by different political parties are as follows.

Name of the Political Number of candidates Number of seats Number of valid votes Parties set up won polled INC 8 2 3,30,038 CPI(M) 2 - 39,587 JMM 5 - 8,556 BSP 8 - 7,522 SJP 3 - 2,626 JDP 1 - 685 Samrudha Odisha 5 - 5,136 BJP 7 - 1,41,351 Kalinga Sena 3 - 1,399 BJD 5 5 3,22,982 JHP 1 - 523 CPI 1 - 11,318 OMM 1 - 701 IND 17 1 1,62,898 TOTAL 67 08 10,35,322

Altogether 67 candidates contested for eight Assembly seats in which the Biju Janata Dal candidates captured five seats, the Indian National Congress candidates two seats and one seat was captured by Independent candidate. The following table shows more information about the 14th General Election to State Legislative Assembly, 2009.

Name of the No. of No. of No. of No. of Total votes Percentage Total valid Percentage Party Assembly polling seats persons electors polled of votes votes of valid won Constituency stations polled votes Jaleshwar 223 1 11 2,05,021 1,45,770 71.10 1,45,745 71.08 INC Bhograi 220 1 06 1,90,606 1,37,773 72.28 1,37,752 72.27 BJD Baste 219 1 07 1,89,919 1,46,933 77.36 1,46,932 77.36 BJD Baleshwar 179 1 10 1,87,769 1,22,680 65.33 1,22,668 65.32 BJD Remuna 192 1 11 1,75,585 1,17,568 66.95 1,17,522 66.93 BJD Nilagiri 196 1 07 1,68,606 1,15,972 68.78 1,15,970 68.78 IND Soro 199 1 08 1,81,648 1,16,172 63.95 1,16,138 63.93 INC Simulia 252 1 07 1,96,054 1,32,618 67.64 1,32,595 67.63 BJD TOTAL 1680 08 67 14,95,208 10,35,486 69.25 10,35,322 69.24

16THGeneral Election to Lok Sabha, 2014 For the 16th Simultaneous General Election to Lok Sabha in the state was held in the month of April, 2014. Like previous election, the Parliamentary seats of the district remained unchanged. Seven political parties set up their candidates for this seat. Besides, three Independent candidates, the Bharatiya Janata party, the Communist party of India, the 414

Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Congress, All India Trinamool Congress and the Aam Admi Party had fielded their candidates for the seat.

The number of candidates set up by different parties are given below.

Political parties Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency BJP 1 CPI 1 BSP` 1 BJD 1 INC 1 AITC 1 AAP 1 IND 3 Total 10 The Baleshwar Parliamentary Constituency comprised 32- Badashai(SC)-Assembly segments under Mayurbhanj district and 35- Jaleshwar, 36-Bhograi, 37-Basta, 38-Baleshwar, 39-Remuna(SC), and 40- Nilagiri Assembly segments under Baleshwar district. Out of total 13,65,505 electors in this election, 10,41,734 electors i.e. 76.28 percent exercised their franchise. Of this 411 votes were rejected. Among the contestants, the Biju Janata Dal candidate got 4,33,768 votes and was elected. The number of candidates set up by different political parties, numbers of valid votes polled by the candidates of both Parliamentary Constituencies are as follows. Name of the Parliamentary No. of valid votes polled in Baleshwar PC BJP 291943 CPI 14538 BSP 3240 BJD 433768 INC 277517 AITC 9856 AAP 2664 IND(3) 8208 1041734 15THGeneral Election to Odisha Legislative Assembly, 2014 The 15th Simultaneous General Election to Odisha Legislative Assembly was held in April, 2014. Out of Eight Assembly Constituencies, two namely 39-Remuna and 41- Soro Assembly Constituencies were reserved for the scheduled caste candidates. 16 political parties and Independent candidates took part in the election. The number of candidates set up, the number of seats won and the number of valid votes polled by the candidates set up by different political parties were as follows.

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Name of the Political Number of Number of Number of valid Parties candidates set up seats won votes polled 1 2 3 4 BJP 8 1 2,36,245 BJD 8 7 5,18,028 INC 8 - 3,64,828 BSP 7 - 3,973 CPI(M) 3 - 23,103 AAP 7 - 3,098 Samrudha Odisha 2 - 871 AITC 6 - 6,301 OJM 3 - 1,419 Samatakranti Dal 2 - 527 Samajwadi Party 2 - 568 CPI 3 - 3,883 Biju Swabhiman Dal 1 - 118 Utak Samaj 1 - 813 Kalinga Sena 1 - 390 Ama Odisha Party 1 - 511 IND 7 - 33,614 TOTAL 70 8 11,98,290 Altogether 70 candidates contested for eight Assembly seats of which the seven seats were captured by Biju Janata Dal and one seat was captured by Bharatiya Janata Party. The following table shows exhaustive information about the 15th General Election to State Legislative Assembly, 2014. Name of the No. of No. of No. of No. of Total votes Percentage Total valid Percentage Party Assembly polling seats persons electors polled of votes votes of valid won Constituency stations polled votes Jaleshwar 237 1 11 2,13,224 1,64,082 76.95 1,64,002 76.91 BJD Bhograi 233 1 06 2,03,313 1,52,646 75.07 1,52,486 75.00 BJD Basta 232 1 08 2,02,766 1,60,318 79.06 1,60,201 79.00 BJD Baleshwar 199 1 14 2,00,708 1,44,255 71.87 1,44,151 71.82 BJD Remuna 210 1 08 1,95,817 1,47,813 75.48 1,47,603 75.37 BJP Nilagiri 205 1 09 1,81,081 1,39,329 76.94 1,39,158 76.84 BJD Soro 210 1 06 1,93,915 1,35,816 70.03 1,35,698 69.97 BJD Simulia 255 1 08 2,13,324 1,55,137 72.72 1,54,991 72.65 BJD TOTAL 1781 08 70 16,04,148 11,99,396 74.76 11,98,290 74.69 News Papers and Periodicals The publication of newspapers in the district may be dated back to 1868-69. The ―Baleshwar Sambad Bahika‖ was published under the editorship of famous novelist Fakir Mohan Senapati and Govind Chandra Pattanaik. At first it was being published as a monthly. Later on it became a fortnightly and ultimately a weekly newspaper. Later it was discontinued but in 2006 it was republished as a fortnightly by Bismay Mohanty. In 1978 with the encouragement and assistance of Raja Baikunthanath Dey of Baleshwar the ―Utkal Darpan‖ was published for sometimes. It flourished by the endeavour of Kabibar Radhanath Ray and Bhaktakabi

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Madhusudan Rao. The ―Sikshya Bandhu‖ and Dharmabodhini were published from Baleshwar by Bhaktakabi Madhusudan Rao. ―The Prajatantra‖, a well known Odia daily was published from Baleswar by Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab in 1923 as a weekly with the aim of carrying the massage of National movement to the people. This paper became a daily in the year 1947 and it was Published from Cuttack. The ―Dagar‖ a well-known literary magazine was being published in 1936 from Baleshwar by Kantakabi Lakshimikanta Mahapatra which was subsequently published from Cuttack. At present ―The Ajikali‖ Odia Daily published by Bismay Mohanty (since 1986). Odia Daily ―The Nutanbarta‖ by Binapani Das (since 1986).Odia daily ―The Dhwani Pratidhwani‖ by Sairendri Sahoo (since 2006), Odia daily ―The Seithu Arambha‖ by Deepak Kumar Das ―The Anudhyan‖ by Bansidhar Jena, ―The Bada Khabar‖ by Sameer Acharya and Odia daily namely ―The Kalantar‖ have been publishing from Baleshwar. A news paper in Odia namely ―The Rashtradoot‖ 1972 by the founder Ray Shri Upendra Prasad Nayak was published. At first it was being published as a weekly. Later on it became a daily since June, 1975 and now it has discontinued. ―The Janapriya‖ a Odia daily was published from Baleshwar in 1985 but it has since been discontinued. Besides these, the well-known daily newspaper in Oida such as ―The Samaj‖, the Prajatantra and the Matrubhumi published from Cuttack : the Swarajya, the Dharitri, the Sambad, the Pragatibadi, the Dinalipi and the Prameya Published from BBSR are in circulation in this District, Among the English daily, the statesman, the Amrita bazaar Patrika, The Telegraph, The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Hindu etc. published from outside state and the only English daily of Odisha, The Sun times, published from BBSR have a fair circulation in the District. Among the newspaper in Hindi, the Nav Bharat Times, the Biswamitra and the Sunmarg published outside the state are in good circulation among the Hindi-Knowing People. Bengali newspapers such as Jugantar and Basumati have good circulation among the Bengali-knowing persons. Certain Urdu and south Indian Language newspapers also have their circulation in the district. Apart from dailies, a good number of periodicals published outside and inside the state in different languages are also in circulation. Of the Odia weeklies published in the district, the ‗Balanga Barta‘ was published from Baleshwar. Later it was discontinued. ‗Samayara Pratibimba‘ and ‗Khola Khabar‘ are being published now a days in the district. One Odiya fortnightly, namely the ‗Remuna Samachar‘ started publication in 1975 and later it was discontinued. Among the Odia magazines mention may be made of monthly ‗Prava‘ and ‗Nabarag‘, both literary periodicals, started their publication in the year 1972 and 1975 respectively. The ‗Kridalok‘, which deals with sports, started its publication in 1983. The ‗Swastik‘ is being published since 1977. Besides 417

these, an English quarterly namely ―Asulini‖ was published from Soro since 1953. An Odia quarterly named ‗Udgata‘ appeared in the year 1974. An English half-yearly namely ―Image‖ started publication in 1976 from Baleshwar. Now a days ―Samayara Chakra‖ by Sarbeswar Jena, ―Yugashree Yugadarcee‖ by Mamata Mohapatra and ―Sagarika‖ by Srustidhar Parida are publishing from Baleshwar. Apart from the above newspapers and periodicals most of the educational as well as literary institutions in the district are publishing their own souvenirs and magazines.

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CHAPTER – XVIII NATURAL DISASTERS

Baleshwardistrict has the Bay of Bengal to its east and is hill-locked to the west. Many rivers are also passing through the district. It has witnessed vagaries of nature many a times in the past. Natural calamities like flood, drought and cyclone have been a frequent feature in this district. The floods result from the sudden rising of the rivers, which have their source in the hilly region to the west. During summer they are nearly dry and their beds consist of vast stretches of sand, stripped by long reaches of land-locked water, through which small streams meander from bank to bank. But in the rainy season, and especially after a depression in the Bay of Bengal followed by heavy shower, they present an extraordinary contrast. They rise to a great height in a few hours, rush down with extreme violence and cause floods, which are frequently of short duration, but quite unmanageable when they last. These rivers drain a large area, and so they bring down an enormous volume of water which the lower channels are unable to discharge, and which spreads over the land far and wide except where it is checked by embankments. Droughts are due to the deficiency of the rainfall. In most years the rainfall is sufficient for the needs of the district, but in some years, as in 1967, its early cessation proves fatal to the rice crop on which the people depend. Practically the whole of the cultivated area is under rice in Kharif season and other crops are scarcely grown at all. There is, however, to a certain extent, a compensating influence in droughts and floods. While heavy floods drown the low-lands, the higher levels escape. If the floods are caused by an excessive local rainfall, as occasionally happens, the dry uplands are greatly benefited, but their extent is so small that this does not compensate for the loss of the crops in the low- lying tracts. The district does not present such extremes of dryness or moisture, that any considerable area ordinarily lies fallow in the uplands for want of rain, or upon the lower levels on account of the marshy character of the land. In years when there is scanty rainfall the low-lying tracts make up, to an important degree, by their freedom from flood for the loss of crops in the arid higher levels. The pats or cup-lands produce magnificent harvests in dry seasons while the higher tracts suffer severely. It may accordingly be accepted as a rule that in years of drought the sterility of the higher-levels may often be compensated by the increased outturn in the low-lying tracts. Generally speaking, a year of flood does more harm than 8 year of moderate drought.

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Cyclones Besides droughts and floods, the district is liable to a third form of natural calamity. Placed at the north-west corner of the Bay of Bengal, it is exposed to the full brunt of the cyclones generated at sea, which travel in a north-westerly course up the Bay and sometimes burst upon its shores accompanied by irresistible storm waves. These cyclones are generally generated during the transition periods antecedent and subsequent to the full establishment of the south-west monsoon, i.e. during the months of April and May and October and November. Their most striking features are the great barometric depression in the centres and the magnitude of the storm area. These two causes produce a large accumulation of water at and near the centre, which progresses with the storm and gives rise to a destructive storm-wave, when the centre reaches shelving coast. It then sweeps inland, and the damage caused is terrible and widespread. History of major cyclones and storms Because of its proximity to Bay of Bengal, it experiences cyclone very often. Severe cyclones have ravaged the district in many years. 27th May, 1823: Furious cyclone, sea suddenly rose and penetrated six miles (9.6 km.) inland carrying with it large ships .and sweeping away whole villages with every living creature in them, not even the vestige of a human habitation being left. 31st October 1831: Coast submerged by a storm-wave 7 to 15 feet in height, which breached the Trunk Road at a point nine miles (14·5 km.) from the east. 1831-32: Inundation of the sea on the Baleshwar coast claimed 22000 lives and about 50,000 cattle heads. Storm in 1872: In 1872 the storm was accompanied by a tidal irruption all along the coast, claiming many human lives and a great number of cattle. Storm in 1885: In 1885, In Baleshwar, the only track which suffered severely from this cyclone and sea-wave was the government estate of Birso, where most of the tenants lost all or nearly all their crops, houses and livestock. Storm in 1887: The last great cyclone was that which burst upon the coast in the early morning of the 26th May, 1887, when the sea swept over the Odisha Coast Canal embankment and penetrated within 3.2 km. of the town of Baleshwar.

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16th October, 1942: Cyclone caused a great deal of damage to crops, cattle and houses. The northern portion of the district, comprising the four police-stations of Bhograi, Baliapal, Jaleshwar and Singla, was badly affected. The on-rush of sea-water submerged vast stretches of land to the south of Bhograi police-station. The calamity took a toll of 291 lives. More than 35.000· houses had collapsed and 23,000 heads of cattle were lost. 29th September, 1959: Cyclone accompanied with torrential rain hit different parts of the district, but its intensity was felt more in the coastal belt. Eighty-three lives were lost. More than 4,00,000 people and 1,50,000 acres of cultivated land were affected. About 19,000 houses were damaged and 2500 numbers of cattle lost. 12th May, 1976:It affected seven villages which caused immense damage to private houses, public institutions and government buildings. Besides, more than 150 livestock and four human lives died and as many as 57 persons received injuries. Government sanctioned house building grants for aII the collapsed houses at the rate not exceeding Rs.150·00 per house. 8th to 10th December 1981: terrible cyclonic storm caused immense damage to crops, houses, educational institutions and other public properties. In this calamity the C. D. blocks of Bhograi, Baliapal, Jaleshwar, Baleshwar, Remuna, Bahanaga, Soro, Khaira, Simulia, Nilagiri and Oupada of the district were affected. In Bhograi and Baliapal Blocks huge damage had been caused to the betel vines. 3rd June, 1982: Cyclonic storm moved in north-westernly direction causing heavy rains in the district of Baleshwar, along with six other districts of the state. It badly affected 11 Community Development Blocks. i.e., Khaira, Simulia, Bahanaga, Soro, Baleshwar Sadar, Remuna, Basta. Baliapal, Nilagiri and Oupada. The value of crop loss was estimated at Rs.34.28 lakh. Supercyclone 29 October, 1999: 155 villages in 11 Gram Panchayats of 8 Blocks in the district were seriously affected leaving 44 dead. Phailin 12/13 October, 2013: 2093 villages in 11 Gram Panchayats of 8 Blocks in the district were affected and 9 persons were reported dead. Floods Baleshwar district gets serious floods almost regularly. Burhabalanga and Subarnarekha rivers get swollen with heavy rain and wash away the areas on the banks.

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Flood of 1868 So far as its effect on cultivation is concerned, the duration of a flood is more important than the maximum rise and the period of the season at which it may occur is of even more / importance. The flood of June, 1868 which occurred after a fortnight‘s heavy rain and was then the highest within the memory of the people, fortunately did not do much damage. Flood of 1896 In August 1896, great damage was caused by exceptionally heavy and prolonged floods; the district was under water for nearly a month, and the loss was therefore exceptionally great. The inundations were due to the rising of the river Subarnarekha in the north. The central part of the district, along the Burhabalanga suffered less than the northern tract, where about 300 square miles were inundated. Flood of 1900 In this flood the water rose 18 inches higher than the highest flood previously recorded. Prompt measures were taken for the relief of the sufferers. There was little loss of human life, but a large number of cattle were drowned. The agricultural embankments were breached and the crops suffered severely, especially in the western part of the district. The railway line was also breached at several places, and the running of trains from Baleshwar to the north was stopped for some time. Floods of 1913 and 1920 In 1913 the rivers Matai and Burhabalanga rose in spate and caused extensive damages. Flood in 1920 again swelled the Subarnarekha, Panchpara and Matai rivers. A number of breaches in their embankments did considerable damage to crops. Floods of 1955 Torrential rain for a week ending on 4th September, 1955 caused devastating flood that breached embankments, roads and washed away many villages, and sandcasted vast areas of paddy lands. The loss sustained was colossal. The flood caused damages in this district to hundreds of villages affecting thousands of people and thousands of acres of cultivated land. There were many breaches of roads and embankments, hundreds of houses were damaged. Flood of 1956 In 1956, contrary to expectation, there was an earlier break of monsoon followed by a heavy rainfall throughout the first week of June and the rivers

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Burhabalanga and Subarnarekha, with their branches and tributaries, were in spate. Crop loss due to the lFlood was enormous. Floods again occurred in 1958 and 1959 but the damage inflicted did not assume any serious proportion. Flood of 1960 The district was badly affected by the flood in 1960 which occurred twice from 15th to 25th August and from 25th September to 2nd October. Flood of 1969 As a result of torrential rainfall in the catchment areas from the 13th August, 1969, there were high floods in the rivers of Subarnarekha, Burhabalanga and Kansabansa. As a result, floods were experienced in the Baleshwar and Nilagiri Sub-Divisions and loss of house, property, crop and cattles was colossal. Flood of 1971 There was heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the river Subarnarekha and Jalaka, on the 7th June, from the 27th July to 28th July and 8th August to 9th August 1971. As a result, the above rivers were in spate affecting large areas. Flood of 1972 Due to excessive rains on 13th and 14th July, 1972 the rivers of this district were in spate causing damage by sand-casting of land, destruction of crops, loss of human life and livestock. In this flood Soro, Simulia, Bahanaga blocks of Baleshwar district. Flood of 1974 There was heavy rainfall and gales with a speed of about 80 kilo metres per hour from the morning of the 15th August and it continued on the following day. As a result, there were high floods in the rivers of Subarnarekha, Jalaka, Kansbans, Burhabalanga and other small rivers flowing in the district. In this flood many villages belonging to Bhograi, Jaleshwar, Basta, Baliapal, Baleshwar and Remuna blocks were affected. Flood of 1975 Due to heavy precipitation in the catchment areas of Subarnarekha, Burhabalanga, Jalaka and Kansbans, all these rivers were in high spate crossing the danger levels between the 18th and 22nd August, 1975. River Jalaka in Basta area and Kansbans in the Soro area were also in spate. Communications from Basta to Baliapal were completely disrupted. Flood water entered Jaleshwar town in the evening of 19th August. 423

Flood of 1978 There was a mild flood in September 1978 in the rivers of Subarnarekha, Jalaka, Pejagola, Burhabalanqa, Sone and Gangahar causing damage to the Blocks of Basta, Baliapal, Baleshwar, Bhograi, Jaleshwar and Remuna in Baleshwar district. Flood of 1981-82 The district experienced its first phase floods in the last week of June, 1981 in Genguti and Burhabalanga rivers. As a result of this flood extensive damage to property was caused. Flood of 1984 The district of Baleshwar is generally affected by flood from August to October. But during 1984, there was flood in river Subarnarekha on 5th June, 1984. The river further erased danger level on 28th June 9th, 15th and 28th August and on 5th September, 1984. Rivers Burhabalanga, Kansbans and Jalaka were also in spate during the year. Flood of 1985 During 1985, there was flood during the months of August, September and October. Flood during October 1985 in river Subarnarekha was the highest in recent memory. There was also heavy flood, in rivers Burhabalanga, Kansbans, Sone and Jalaka. All the Blocks of the district were affected. Many private houses and school buildings were either collapsed or damaged. A number of roads and embankments were also damaged. Floods of 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 In these years floods have occurred in the district mainly because of the spate in Subarnarekha river causing extensive damage to property and crops. Flood of 2001 In this flood 204 villages in 40 Gram Panchayats of three Blocks were affected very badly. 7447 Ha.of crop were damaged. Flood of 2003 In this flood 230 villages in 39 Gram Panchayats of seven Blocks were affected and crops in 106125 Ha. were damaged. Floods of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008: In these floods extensive damage has been caused. A brief summary of floods in the present century is presented in the following table. 424

Year No. of Blocks No. of Gram No. of Villages Area Suffered Affected Panchayats Affected Affected crop loss / damage 2001 3 40 204 7447 Ha. 2003 7 39 230 106125 Ha. 2004 4 29 140 47456 Ha. 2005 10 192 1305 67165 Ha. 2006 9 120 843 38640 Ha. 2007 12 270 2364 72046 Ha. 2008 12 115 1150 24926 Ha. Famines The following is an account of early famines taken from 0' Malley‘s, Baleshwar District Gazetteer (1907). ―Previous to the inception of the Odisha canal system, droughts and famines were of frequent occurrence. Historical records show that terrible famines occurred in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries; and during the rule of the Marahatas the district suffered grievously from repeated famines. In the memorable famines of 1770 the land lay untilled, rice was not to be had at two seers per rupee, and while the people were dying by hundreds of thousands, the Marahatas soldiery plundered and devastated the country. In 1780, the whole country had sunk into such absolute desolution that there was not a single place except Puri and Cuttack which could furnish even one battalion with provisions. In 1792-93 the miserable peasants again experienced the horrors of famine; scarcity followed in 1803, and when the country passed into the possession of the British its condition was wretched. A large portion of the land had been thrown into waster, many of the people had fled to the jungle, and the population was insufficient to till the fields.‖ Famine of 1865-66 In 1865-66, a famine of most intense and desolating in character, popularly known as ―Na-Anka Durbhikhya‖, visited the district. No such calamity had ever occurred. ―It had to be dealt with by a body of officials, ignorant of the signs of its approach, unprepared to expect it, and inexperienced in the administration of relief measures, nor were the native inhabitants more aware of what was coming on them than the British Officers. The rainfall of 1865 was scanty and ceased entirely after the middle of September so that the out-turn of the great crop of winter rice, on which the country mainly depends, was reckoned at less than a third of the average crop. Food-stocks were low both because the quantity exported in 1865 was unusually large, and because the people, unaccustomed to 425

precarious seasons, had not retained sufficient stores at home. When the harvest failed, the gravity of the occasion was not perceived and so special inquiries were instituted, while prices long remained so moderate that they offered no temptation to importers and forced no reduction in consumption on the inhabitants, till suddenly the province was found to be almost bare of food. It was only in May 1866 that it was discovered that the markets were so empty that the jail prisoners and the Government establishments could not be supplied, but the southern monsoon had now begun and importation by sea or land became nearly impossible. Odisha was at that time almost isolated from the rest of India; the only road leading to Kolkata was unmetalled and unbridged; and there was little communication by sea. By great exertions, the Government succeeded in importing about 10,000 tons of food-grain by the end of November, and this was given away gratuitously or sold at low rates, or distributed in wages to the starving population. But meanwhile the mortality among those whom this relief did not either reach, or reached too late, had been very high, and it was estimated that nearly 10,00,000 persons had died (in the whole of Odisha). The rate of mortality reached its climax in August, when heavy rains caused great suffering among the people, who were then at the lowest state of exhaustion, emaciated by hunger and without adequate shelter. Disastrous floods in Cuttack and in the south-east of Baleshwar followed these rains and in all the low-lying lands the crop was lost. The harvest in the higher lands was, however, a good one, the new crop came into the market in September; and though the rate of mortality continued high for sometime owing to cholera, the famine came to close in November. With this brief sketch of the generaI history of this disastrous famine, we may turn to a more detailed account of the progress of events in Baleshwar. The rice crop of Baleshwar in 1864 had been unusually a good one, and the exports enormous. In 1865, no alarm seems to have been felt regarding the safety of the cold weather or rice crop till September, or even later, prices still ruling at 23 to 20 seers per rupee. At the end of October, however, complaints were received from the Zamindars that the crops were ruined: that the ryots, being unable to obtain advances, could not pay their rents; and that the cultivators had blindly disposed of all their produce and kept no stock in hand. In November, prices had gone up to 16 and 11 seers per rupee, and the distress became acute. Accordingly, a Relief Committee was appointed, but it was considered that no immediate measures of relief were required. Early in 1866, there was an extraordinary outbreak of crime, and the houses of those who were supposed to possess grain were attacked and plundered by their destitute neighbours. At the end of January, starvation appeared, the poor began to flock into the town and gratuitous distribution of food was commenced. In March and April, the number of 426

starving people in the town rapidly increased; and on the 2nd May the Commissioner reported that, owing to the extraordinary rise in prices it had been for some months beyond the means of the poorer classes to procure sufficient rice to support life, and that they were eking out a miserable subsistence by eating roots, herbs and leaves. The general population had fallen into a state of dejection, and had lost all energy. They were swarming into the villages, and they were dying of cholera, dysentery or hunger. Even in Baleshwar town, the organised relief was utterly insufficient to meet the need of food. A distribution which the Commissioner witnessed in April was a scene of utter confusion, the starving crowds were beyond management; they seized the food as soon as they saw it, and even fell on the Commissioner, snatching from his hands and pockets the rice which he intended to distribute. So uncontrollable was the attack of the paupers on the pots of cooked food, that for a time the Committee was obliged to give our un-cooked rice, but it was soon found that the rice so given was devoured raw, and the Committee therefore reverted to cooked food. Government began to import grain in June, steamers being sent round by sea with large cargoes of rice, and by the end of July 12,000 maunds had been imported. Private importations by land from Midnapore into the north of the district were also considerable, but still hardly sufficient to meet the demand from day to day. Traders too, began to import grain from Kolkata on pack-bullocks, but in the middle of June this traffic was stopped by the rains, which made the unmetalled road impossible. Rice shops were opened early in the town and at several places in the interior for the sale of rice to all- comers at a low rate; but, unfortunately, the relief operations received a check, just at the time when they were in full operation, by a failure in the supply of rice. In August the stock became exhausted at a time when a vessel was lying at the mouth of the river with a cargo of 10,000 maunds of rice. Draught of water however, was so great, that she could not come within 8 miles of the shore and the country boats and sloops could not get out to her without the assistance of a steamer. Unhappily, no steamer was available at the time; and ultimately bad weather set in, which drove the ship across the Bay of Bengal to Akyab. Thus the supply of rice was unexpectedly snatched away almost from the mouths of the people just when it was most needed. The result was intense distress in the first half of August, and in the first 12 days of that month the police removed over 1000 corpses from the town.‖ The Collector in his report to the Commissioner wrote: ―The death rate was found to diminish steadily in direct ratio to the distance from the sea. The tract under the hills of Nilagiri kingdom suffered but slightly from the famine. This is probably due to the fact that the ryots here bunded the small hill-streams and they stored the main part of the scanty supply of rain which 427

fell in 1865. The ryots on the east of the trunk road trust mainly to their tanks for water, and as these did not fill in that year, death was the consequence.‖ The Famine Commissioners in their Report give the following general review of the operations ―After the famine had unmistakably declared itself, the local endeavours to meet it were crippled by want of funds. Until May, the possibility of obtaining assistance on such a scale as that on which it was subsequently obtained was never contemplated, nor indeed, was any adequate idea entertained of the dimensions which the requirements for aid would assume. There were starving people in April, it has been said, ―but we did not realize that they would come pouring in such thousands‖, Nor indeed, could these numbers have been anticipated by the residents of Baleshwar, for many of the paupers came from other districts and from the estates of the Tributary Rajas. After the importation of rice was undertaken, it was more than once necessary to restrict the district operations, in consequence of the scantiness and uncertainty of the supply, and many of those who received the imported rice in June and July were probably too far gone to be saved. The number of paupers ascertained to have in the town of Baleshwar alone between June and October was 8,900, of whom 6,132 died in the streets and 2,768 in the hospital. The mortality culminated in August, and was to some extent affected by the rains and inundations of, that month.‖ ―The mortality in and around Baleshwar town, and the famine sights to be seen there were more terrible than at any other place in Bengal or Odisha. The mass of paupers assembled was larger than it was elsewhere. The town lay in the way of many who left their homes in hopes of reaching Kolkata. Of these, many exhausted and disabled by hunger and diseases from going further, remained to swell the number who were fed by the Relief Committee. Subjects of the neighboring Tributary Rajas also flocked in to share in the relief. These, as well as the travellers generally, arrived in such a condition that they were beyond recovery. In the early months, cholera, and subsequently other bowel-complaints caused by bad and insufficient food, carried off hundreds; the least change of weather to cold or damp was immediately fatal. Many who were caught by bad weather at a distance from the places of distribution had not the strength to crawl back to get their meal, and so died, where they lay, in out-houses or by the way-side. Even in fine weather, many were found dead in the morning where they had lain down to sleep at night; others, when they went to drink, fell into the water through sheer debility and were drowned.‖ The role played by the native Zamindars to relieve the distress has been stated in the following words by the then Collector.

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―I regret to state that the Zamindars throughout the district have done little or nothing for their royats; the advance of rice that they have sometimes, assisted men of substance who were likely to be able to repay them, but gave little aid to those need was direct. More than this it is reported that they have, with some exception, collected as much as possible of their rents.‘ Scarcity of 1897 There was scarcity in 1897. ―The rainfall in 1896 was 9 inches above the normal, amounting to 69 inches, but its distribution was untimely. There was heavy rain in June, July and August, but there was an almost complete cessation of the rainfall from the latter part of September to the close of January. The consequence of these abnormal conditions was that there were successive and heavy floods followed by drought. The floods almost totally destroyed the winter rice crops in nearly all the tracts not protected by embankments. These were also breached in many places, and extensive tracts lay under deep water for a considerable period. The peasants endeavoured, after the floods subsided, to recoup their losses by fresh planting, but the cessation of rains from the latter part of September gave the finishing stroke in many places to what had escaped or been replanted after the flood. Want of rain in September and October was equally injurious to the rabi crops. The people tried their best to meet the loss by raising dalua and other special crops, and the situation was also relieved by the railway works then in progress, which gave employment to a large number of the labouring classes. These works were supplemented by those started for the repair of the damages caused by the floods, and fortunately there had been good harvests in the two preceding years. Notwithstanding, therefore, the poor out-turn of crops, no rice had to be imported, but on the contrary the export of rice from Baleshwar increased. The result of this exportation at a time when prices were very high outside Odisha meant that the cultivators received good prices for such surplus stock as they possessed, though much of the profit doubtless went to middlemen. The classes that suffered most were the landless labourers and those depending on fixed Incomes, including the poors whose circumstances were constrained by high prices. The wants of the former were, however, met to a large extent by the demand for labour in railway and public works activities and where necessary, by district works that answered the purpose of relief works. The case of the very low castes and of those who ordinarily depend on private charity was the worst and the former, being very poor, felt the pinch most acutely. For the ordinary recipient of private charity, where private charity was exhausted, gratuitous relief was afforded, so that the apprehended generaI scarcity was quietly tided over, and the district did not experience anything of the proportion of a famine.‖ 429

Droughts of 1918 and 1949: There were not many years of acute scarcity after 1897. The first decade of the present century was a period of droughts occurring frequently due to scanty rainfall. The year 1918 witnessed one of ·the severest years. The distress that came was acute. The district was again affected by drought in 1949 and Simulia, Soro, Singla, Baliapal and Bhograi police-stations were largely affected. Droughts of 1954 and 1965: In 1954, the rainfall was only 32·61 inches. How acute could be the condition of the drought and the fate of the crop due to this low rainfall could be imagined from the rainfall in the district in 1865 (the Na-Anka famine year) which was 52·60 inches. Nearly 4,25,500 acres out of the totaI cropped areas of 9,39,393 acres were affected by severe drought involving a population of 11,06,012 of the district. The average out-turn of cramp was 6 annas, i. e., 37·5 per cent though in certain pockets it was even 4 annas, i.e., 25 percent. During the early period of monsoons of 1965, the rainfall in most parts of the district was so insufficient that the agricultural operations could not be carried on properly. Towards the latter part rains intensified but this was untimely and excessive, causing floods and damaging the standing crop by submersion. In north Baleshwar, the late rains could do no good to the crops which gave poor yield. In fact, with the late rains the impression that the crops regenerated themselves was created by what was really an abundance of straw bearing chaff. Drought of 1979-80: During the year 1979 there was practically no pre-monsoon rain in most of the districts of the state. In this district also monsoon started late and the rainfall was erratic. There was a shortage of 0·5 per cent, 62 per cent, 39 per cent, 25 per cent, and 28·8 per cent of rainfall than the normal in the months of April, May, June, July and August, 1979, respectively. As a result agricultural work hampered and there was drought which affected most of the Grama Panchayats of all the Blocks. In all the Gram Panchayats, there was a crop loss of 25 to 49 per cent. Drought of 1982: Due to inadequate rainfall there was a severe drought during Khariff. Out of 4353 villages, 1758 villages sustained crop loss of 50 per cent and more. Drought of 2002: A severe drought occurred in the district in the year 2002 due to unusually scanty rainfall. It badly affected 2586 villages in 258 Gram Panchayats in all the Blocks of the district. As large as 487695 Ha.of agricultural land suffered heavy crop loss.

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Drought of 2012: The recent most drought experienced in the district was in 2012. In this drought 278 villages in five Blocks of the district were badly affected. 25011.45 Ha. of agricultural land suffered serious loss of crops due to the drought.

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Disaster Resilient infrastructures in Balasore District Vulnerability of district The super cyclone of 1999 with a death toll of around ten thousand humans was an eye-opener for the state machinery to assess its capability to deal with disasters of such intensity and to identify the vulnerable areas mostly in the coastal Odisha. The government of Odisha therefore initiated steps to provide necessary life shaving infrastructures along with capacity building of the communities prone to frequent disasters. Accordingly, the State Government decided to survey the most vulnerable areas for identification of suitable sites for construction of infrastructures like cyclone shelters and assigned the job to the IIT, Kharagpur in December 1999. This survey suggested construction of cyclone shelters in a 10 km grid zone from the High Tide Line (HTL) in each vulnerable district. Balasore district is not only vulnerable to cyclonic storms of the highest intensity and the concurrent high Storm Surge, but also subject to high floods, due to back water on account of river systems not draining in to the sea at high tidal levels. As per the vulnerability atlas published by the Building Materials and Technology Council, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India (1997), Balasore has been assessed as a severely vulnerable district. The vulnerability maps show that the risk due to cyclones, for the district is very high (RISK FACTOR- High) with the possible height of storm surge above the concurrent sea level upto 9.8 meters. These data have been corroborated in a study conducted by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences of IIT, New Delhi. The maximum possible wind speed has been assessed at 78m/sec (i.e. 280 Km per hour). The coastal 10 km zone is very much susceptible to inundation, particularly with the present drastic reduction in vegetative cover. Another study was conducted by a committee, chaired by Dr. A.N.Khosla in 1974, after occurrence of similar disasters. For Balasore, the study was conducted for the area from Dhamara mouth to West Bengal border. The mouths of Kantiachira, Atala, Budhabalanga, Saratha, Hanskura and Subarnarekha created the zone of vulnerability although presence of sand bars from there on the West Bengal border provide some relief. Seven coastal blocks namely Bhogarai, Baliapala, Basta, Balasore Sadar, Remuna, Bahanaga and Soro are coming under High Risk Zone and most vulnerable for cyclone, tsunami and flood. During the super cyclone, almost all the mud walled and thatched houses collapsed due to high wind, continuous rain and flooding. No shelter was available for the villagers and many of them perished. In the super cyclone, there was a loss of human lives, live stock, crops, aquatic animals 432

etc. with large scale damage to the environment. Those escaped became destitute. Therefore the state government decided to build elevated structures to withstand very high wind speeds, proof against flooding, and saline inundations. The Human Rights Commission of India had advised the state govt. to take necessary steps to provide safe shelter for the vulnerable communities of Odisha and it was decided to construct safe shelter buildings across the coastal districts. Then Government of Odisha assigned IIT, Kharagpur to provide assistance for selection of sites in coastal Odisha for construction of multipurpose cyclone shelters. IIT, Kharagpur made a study on the vulnerability due to cyclone, basing on the disaster history of the areas for past years positioned within 10 kms from the sea coast, population assessment, identification of gap, premises location and capacity choice etc. Subsequently the state govt. decided to provide shelters to the flood affected people also. Accordingly, flood shelters are being constructed in different vulnerable areas of Simulia, and Nilagiri Blocks including seven coastal Blocks of the district basing on the recommendations received from the district administration. Drawing and Design of shelter buildings Two types of drawing and design have been developed by IIT, Kharagpur; one for 3000 capacity and another for 2000 capacity. These buildings can withstand high-speed wind and moderate earthquakes. The buildings have been constructed above high flood level (HFL) with raised platform and stilted floors, so that the flood water will not affect the shelter building. Even in case of very high floods, the water can pass through the stilted floors without affecting the shelter in the first floor. All the shelter buildings are connected with all weather approach roads for easy access and smooth movement of relief materials at the time of disaster. Use of the shelter buildings Almost all the shelter buildings are mainly constructed inside the school premises or adjacent to the school so that it can be used as class rooms during normal time and potential shelters at the time of disasters. The ground floors of these buildings have been designed to be used as shelters for livestocks during emergencies. Relief materials and medicines can be stacked for emergent situations. Additionally, these shelter buildings can be used as community halls and can be put to various other community uses like Anganwadi centers, training centers, marriage mandaps and for other social gatherings etc. with payment of agreed user charges. Therefore, the shelter buildings are known as Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters (MCS) and Multipurpose Flood Shelter (MFS).

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Features and facilities available in the MCS and MFS buildings All the MCS and MFS have separate hall and toilets for men and women, special room for the sick, labour room, one store room, drinking water supply through submersible pump, internal electrical wiring with all fittings, ramp of 1:12 slope and separate toilets for disabled persons, 5 KVA noiseless diesel generator, shelter level emergency equipments etc. Community based management and maintenance of the shelter buildings and Capacity Building of community To ensure the sustainable maintenance of these shelter buildings, community-based Cyclone/Flood Shelter Management and Maintenance Committees (CSMMC/FSMMC) are formed and imparted suitable orientation trainings. In addition, shelter level taskforce volunteers have been identified and they are being oriented, trained and involved regularly. Further, the shelter level Mock Drill on disaster preparedness is also conducted at each shelter on 19th June every year. The minor repair works of the shelter buildings are taken up by the CSMMC/FSMMC whereas the responsibility of the major repairs lies with the authority. All the CSMMCs/FSMMCs have been provided with corpus fund to the tune of Rs. 5.00 lakhs each for regular capacity building of the local community out of the interest generated per year. Different Schemes for construction of MCS and MFS Sl. Name of the Scheme MCS / No. of Shelters Period of No. MFS construction i. Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund MCS 11 immediate after Super (CMRF) Cyclone 1999 (2001- ii. World Bank (Immediate MCS 05 2004) Phase) iii. Prime Minister‘s National MCS 05 Relief Fund (PMNRF) iv. Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund MFS 07 2008-09 (CMRF) and CMRF surplus fund v. State Plan MFS 04 2011-12 vi. Container Corporation of MCS 02 2012-13 India Ltd. vii. National Cyclone Risk MCS 56 2011-12 Mitigation Project (NCRMP), World Bank assisted viii. National Cyclone Risk MCS 20 2014-15 Mitigation Project-Additional Financing (NCRMP-AF), World Bank assisted ix. Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund MFS 17 Post Phailin (2013-14) (CMRF) / State Plan x. Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund MCS 01 Post Phailin (2013-14) (CMRF) / State Plan xi. Indian Red Cross Society, MCS 12 Pre and post Super Odisha State Branch Cyclone 1999 Total 140

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Availability of Block-wise shelters in Balasore district:

Sl. No. Name of Block Total number of MCS and MFS

1 Balasore Sadar 30 2 Simulia 2 3 Bhograi 22 4 Jaleswar 3 5 Remuna 17 6 Baliapal 36 7 Basta 3 8 Bahanaga 22 9 Soro 4 10 Nilagiri 1 Total 140

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) and NCRMP (Additional Financing): World Bank assisted National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) has been drawn up to strengthen the structural and non-structural mitigation efforts towards reducing the risk and vulnerability of the coastal districts of Odisha to cyclone-related disasters. All the 56 Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters under NCRMP (Phase-I) have been constructed in this district including godown and shelter connectivity approach roads. Funds are provided under NCRMP (Additional Financing) which was approved by the GoI after the very severe cyclonic storm, Phailin that hit Odisha on 12th Oct 2013. 20 MCS under this scheme are presently in different levels of construction and will be completed by October 2017. Construction of MFS under Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) and State Plan: After Phailin, visualizing the requirement for more cyclone/flood shelters in Odisha, the State Government has decided to construct 18 MFS and MCS out of the Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund and State Plan in Balasore district.

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Photo of MCS and MFS in Baleshwar district

Hidigaon MCS in Baleshwar Sadar Baripada MCS in Bahanaga Block under Block under NCRMP, World Bank NCRMP, World Bank funded. funded

Putina MFS in Bhogarai Block Mahapada MFS in Baliapal Block under State Plan under State Plan

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CHAPTER – XIX PLACES OF INTEREST

Abhna Abhana is a village under Soro police-station, about 20 Km from Bahanaga railway station and is famous for Brahmani Temple and Buddhist remains. The presiding deity, Brahmani, widely acclaimed by the local people is actually a Chamunda image of the Saptamatruka group. The figure is visible only from neck portion upwards with four hands. The lower limb of the fugure is under the ground. There is a short inscription on one of the stone sculptures preserved here. The Brahmani temple is made of laterite stones in Khakhara design. There were debris all around and the students of Belabhumi College cleaned the debris in 1981. The dilapidated Jagamohan of the temple under the debris was exposed up to the plinth level only after the excavation of the site. The lintel of Brahmani temple preserves an inscription which palaeographically can be assigned to the Bhaumakara period. The remains exposed during the clearance include two images of Mahisamardini Durga, a Saptamatruka panel, figures of Ganesh, Parvati, Boddhisatva, Jaina Tirthankaras and terracotta tablets depicting Buddhist dharanis. Such seals containing Buddhist dharanis are also found in different places of the village during agricultural operations, construction of houses, digging of wells etc. This indicates that there was a Buddhist Vihar at the place which was subsequently changed to a Brahminical site. The archaeological remains are preserved in a room of the Belabhumi College at Abhana. Ayodhya Ayodhya is situated in Nilagiri Sub-Division at a distance of 10 km. from Nilagiri town. It is surrounded by rivers, the Gharghara flowing in the east, the Sona in the north and the Sindhu in the west. At Ayodhya there are vast ruins of an old township with a large number of Hindu and Buddhist temples. From the inscriptions on the images, the date of Ayodhya can be traced back to the 10th century A. D., if not earlier. The presiding deity of Ayodhya was Marichi, and this goddess is worshipped here even today on whose honour a festival is held annually during Durga Puia (Dasahara). The huge mass of architectural ruins indicate that the original temple of Marichi was a very large one and it was situated in the centre around which no less than one hundred shrines were scattered. Some Matruka images, such as, Manjusri, Lokeswar and Tara have also been found from the debris. The images of Manjusri. Lokeswar and Marichi found here are great treasures of Buddhist art, and these three in combination convey the intensity of religious feelings of an age when the 437

Tantric worship was in ascendency. Besides, the Tara images of Ayodhya are most remarkable for their size, number, variety, artistic beauty and grandeur. The image of Vajra Tara inside the modern temple of Uttareswar is a rare specimen of sculptural art in India. A group of new temples, namely Jayadurga, Bateswar, Dakshineswar and Maninageswar have been constructed by one Bhanu Khuntia. Except the Jayadurga temple, Sivalingas are worshipped in other three shrines. The larger shrines are constructed in rekha style while the smalIer ones represent pidha order. All of them are thickly plastered with lime mortar. The sixteen-sided monolithic pillar installed in front of Jayadurga temple was brought from another site of the village. In the sanctum of the Jayadurga temple besides the image of Marichi there are beautiful figures of Manjusri, Lokeswar and Bartali. The three-faced and eight-armed Marichi image stands in the alidha pose on a chariot drawn by seven pigs. The effigy of Dhyani Buddha Vairochana is depicted on the crown. Attributes like Tarjani, goad, thread, needle, Vajra and arrow are shown in the hands of Marichi. A series of devotees are noticed on the pedestal. The image is 1.0668 metres (3.6 feet) in height, and the popular Buddhist formula ‗Ye dharma hetu,‖ etc., has been inscribed on the slab in the character of 10th century A.D. indicating that the antiquities of the site are assignable to this period. The two armed Manjusri image on a lotus pedestal in a graceful Tribhanga pose is kept to the right of the Marichi figure. Sudhan Kumar with manuscript and Yamari riding over a buffalo are carved on the right and left of the image respectively. A beautiful torana with Gajasimha motifs at the base and Kinnaris at the both ends of its architrave and Vidyadharis holding garlands in hands are carved while a group of devotees in kneeling pose with folded hands are represented below the lotus pedestal of the God. The two-armed image of Padmapani Avalokiteswar on a double- petalled lotus pedestaI is installed to the left of Marichi figure around which are seen a series of devotees in kneeling pose. The image of four armed and three-eyed Bartali, considered as one of the four attendants of Marichi, is kept on the floor of the sanctum. It stands in alidha pose on a well decorated lotus throne. In addition to above, a few other images of miniature size are fixed in the niches of the walls of the Jagamohan. The image of Gajalaxmi is carved on the entrance door. An image of Buddha in Bhumisparsa mudra is kept in a niche of the wall to the left of the entrance door. In the sanctum of the Bateswar temple are found a Sivalinga within the Saktipitha , In the Maninageswar temple are kept two Jaina images of

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Risabhanath and Ambika. A beautiful image of Parswanath of chlorite stone is found resting at the outer wall of the temple. It stands on a double-petalled lotus pedestal with a canopy of seven-hooded snake overhead. The other notable features of this Tirthankara are the two Chaurl-bearers, the Astagrahas, trilinear umbrella, Kevala tree and the Gandharvas holding garlands and playing cymbals. A number of beautiful sculptures are in possession of the private people of the village of which the images of Tara, a headless Budha figure, Parswanath images, the figure of Ambika, a remarkable Jaina Tirthankar image of Mahavira and an image of Radha- Krushna are notable. In the premises of the Ayodhya High English School a good number of fragmentary sculptures have been kept. Recently, the Odisha State Archaeology, Bhubaneshwar, have erected an archaeological shed at the site. There are High English schools, dispensary and post-office in Ayodhya. A bi-weekly market sits here on every Wednesday and Saturday. Population of the village in the Census of 2011 was 2,381 persons. Badagan The village Badagan is situated at a distance of about 8 km. from Soro under Baleshwar Sub-Division. The annual car festival held here attracts a large number of people from the neighbouring area. The Baseli temple located here is a modern temple without any distinct architectural design. The presiding deity of the temple is identified with Vajra-Varahi of the Tantric Buddhist pantheon prevalent in Odissa in early mediaeval period. Local people worshipped this deity by mistake as Baseli Thakurani. Besides the presiding deity, the figures of a ten-armed Mahisamardini Durga, Astika- Jaratkaru and a stone slab containing ten lines of an inscription in proto- Oriya script are found in the premises of the temple. The remains of a fort are noticed in the adjoining area of the village. Large-sized old bricks and stone slabs are lying scattered in and around the fortified area. It is locally believed that the fort was erected by lord Ramachandra during the period of his exile (Banabasa). But the date of the fort can be assigned to the 8th century A. D. on the basis of the evidence available from the remnants of the fort. Balaramgarhi Balaramgadi is a village under Baleshwar Sub-Division, situated about 15 km. east of Baleshwar town on the mouth of the river Burhabalanga. An English cloth factory was located there. The village was destroyed by the cyclone of 1831. Now it is growing as a major fishing centre for exporting sea fish to Kolkata. Numbers of power as well as country boats are engaged for fishing in the deep sea and tonnes of fish are being sent through roadways

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and railways to different places. The Fishery Department of the Government of Odisha has established here a jetty, a cold storage and an ice-factory. A private cold storage-cum-ice-factory has also come up recently. Tourists can stay at Chandipur which is 2 km. away from Balaramgadi or in the Kashmiri Hotel close to Fishery Department‘s ice-plant and can go into the deep sea by a power boat available locally. Baleshwar Baleshwar is situated on the right bank of the Burhabalanga River and is the principal town and administrative headquarters of the district. The temple of Lord Baneswar still stands in the village puruna Baleshwar in the town. Baleshwar did not come into prominence till after the Muslim conquest, when a number of soldiers settled down at Kasaba, a suburb of the town. Its rise as a commercial town happened in the beginning of the 17th century A. D., when the fine muslin and cotton fabrics woven by its weavers began to attract attention. It was at this time a favourite resort of the Moughal Governor Mir Taqi Khan was built. He also built the masonry tank, the reservoir, the mosque and gardens known as Qadam Rasul. Later it was the headquarters of the Marahata officers called Faujdars, and various parts of the town have names recalling their residence in it. The name of Bhaskarganj was so called after the Faujdar Bhaskar Pandit (1760 A. D.), Lala Kishore Rai is said to have founded the Lala Bazar and to have built a Baraduari or twelve doored palace near that place; and Motiganj, now the centre of the town and the principal market place, was founded by Motiram (1785-90), while the last Marahata Faujdar Mayur Pandit lived on the side where the present Jagannath temple stands. The rest of the town was covered with jungle and shrubs. The main road that led to Puri, ran through the town by the Gadagadia tank and Phulwar Ghat. The town was lastly captured by the British in 1803 during the Marahata war. Baleshwar contained some of the earliest European settlements established in Bengal. The first English factory was established by Ralph Cart-Wright in 1933 here, then regarded a great sea-town. The town contains several objects of antiquarian interest belonging to the Hindu, Muslim, Marahata and British periods. A tradition is current that the capitaI of the demon Banasura was established somewhere near the old town of Baleshwar. A great devotee of Siva, he installed 5 lingas around the present Baleshwar town. The Sivalinga bearing his name was installed in a temple in the eastern boundary of the town near the Farasidinga. The original temple was destroyed and on its foundation a new temple has been constructed. Besides the Baneswar Linga, there is another Linga of 440

Jhadeswar Mahadev. The temple was completely dilapidated but later a new temple has been built on the foundation of the earlier. A peculiar phenomenon associated with this Linga is that when milk is poured over the Linga it turns as clear as water. The Jagannath temple of the town is believed to have been constructed by Mayur Pandit, the last Marahata Faujdar stationed at Baleshwar during the years 1800-1803 A. D. The Shyama Sundar temple is located close to the Christian cemetery of Barabati area of the town. It is one of the leading Vaishnavite shrines of the town and is greatly attended by the devotees. The temple complex comprising the main shrine, antarala and pillared mendapa appears to have ‗been built in Gaudiya style of architecture and thickly plastered with lime mortar. The mendapa roof is supported by 12 pillars. The roof is formed of a series of inter-connected domes. The inner walls of the mandapa are represented with panels depicting the scenes from the Bhagavata Purana in stucco and bright colours. The Rasamandapa is located to the west of the main temple. The topmost part of this mandapa is adjoined with sixteen miniature temples arranged in two successive tiers. The Garuda pillar is erected to the south of the front apartment. The Chandi temple as well as the other miniature shrines in the premises is all built in bricks. At Balighat there is a beautiful Jaina image of Ambika. This image was brought from a village situated near Sergarh. The image is carved in Lalita pose seated under a mango tree. She carries a baby on her left lap. The image of Uma-Maheswara, Yamaraj and the figure of a dancing girl are located under a tree at Manikhamba in the old town area. Ruins of a Stupa called Ushamedha in Sunhat area of the town is traditionally associated with the spot where Usha, the daughter of Banasura, united in marriage with Aniruddha. A stone bridge known as the Marahatabridge on the third kilometre of the Khirachora Gopinath Mandir road to Remuna is believed to have been built by the early Hindu rulers of Odissa. Another object of interest in the town is the tank called Killa Pokhari. Formerly, there was a big fort ascribed to the Muslim period within which the tank was situated. In former days there was a fountain connected with this tank traces of which are still extant. According to local tradition this tank was constructed by the orders of the Muslim Subedar Taqui Khan for the use of the ladies of his harem. The Juma Masjid of the town was built under the orders of the emperor Aurangzeb. The three domes and the corner minarets of this mosque represent true characteristics of Moughal architecture. The Qadam Rasul or the Bhuja Khia Pir near Sunhat area was erected during the time of Taqui

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Khan which contains a tomb. The edifice had been so named because a stone with footprints of the great Prophet Muhammad was fixed in one of its walls. The Christian cemetery located in the Barabati area of the town is another centre of attraction. The memorials erected here were greatly mutilated. Several of these had been damaged and from others, the brass and marble plaques containing the names of the deceased persons had been removed by the miscreants. The oldest memorial of the place was erected in 1684. Of a later date was the memorial erected in 1886 to the memory of Sir Henry Ricketts, the first and ablest Collector of Baleshwar, with an inscription recording the fact that he served for twelve years in Odissa and that ―he never forgot Baleshwarnor the Oriyas‖. The names of Thomas Betts, Margreto Isabella, Alfred Bond, Captain Francis Wallwer and Laura (the beloved sister of W. S. Dicken) are still to be found at the place. In the premises of Fakir Mohan College there is a huge image of Padmapani Avaloktesvar and there are two images of Kartikeya and Lakulisa. The Avaloktesvar image, though damaged, still displays the conventional attribute of lotus in the left hand. The Kartikeya image is found seated on his mount, the peacock. The lakulisa image is seated in Yogasana pose on a lotus pedestal. He carries a club on the left hand and displays Dharmachakra Pravartana Mudra against his chest. All the three images are built in chlorite stone. Recently, a museum has been established in the Santikanan area of the town by the Department of Tourism, Sports and Culture of the Government of Odissa and is placed under the supervision of the Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneshwar. The museum contains stone sculptures associated with all major cults of mediaeval Odisha. The cult icons include Mahisamardini Durga, ‗Vishnu, Manasa, Saptamatruka, Goplnath, Ganesh, Yami, Avalokitesvar, Risabanath and ‗Boddhisattwa. In addition to these icons, broken door-jambs of ancient temples; fragments of a few sculptures and an iron anchor have also been preserved in the museum. There is an inscription in the museum inscribed at a door lintel containing Saptamatruka figures in a standing posture. It was originally found from a ruined temple of Soro in the district. Here one can see the statue of Fakir Mohan Senapati, a great litterateur of Odissa as well as the chair of dewan Fakirmohan Senapati in the Darbar of NilagiriKing . The place contains many government offices, High Englisn schools, colleges, mosques, churches, convent school, reading rooms, district headquarters hospital, cinema halls, recreation centres, clubs hotels and lodging houses, circuit House, inspection bungalows, rest shed, post and telegraph office, telephone exchange, industrial estate with many small and 442

medium industries, railway station, commercial banks, low-power T. V. centre, Fakir Mohan. University and many other amenities of a modern town. The civic affairs of the town are managed by a municipality. Bardhanpur The village Bardhanpur is situated at a distance of 11.2 km. from Baleshwar town. The place is famous for the Siva temple of Maninageshwar believed to have been installed by Banasura of epic fame. But the architectural features of the temple give adequate information that it was constructed in the 11th century A.D., by the Bhanja rulers. The original Maninageshwar temple was destroyed by the Moughals during their invasion oF Odissa and it was later on repaired by one Bhagawan Das of Baleshwar town in 19th century A.D. Even after renovation it preserves broad aspects of the architectural design and sculptural arrangements of the original temple. The main temple is Pancharatha in design. The Jagamohan in front of the temple represents the features of a pidha temple. The Nabagraha panel over the doorway of the Jagamohan is wrongly placed during the time of renovation. The doorway leading to the sanctum is made of granite with Gajasimha motifs carved below the door jambs and the Gajalaxmi figure at the centre of the top horizontal bar displays remarkable sculptural skill and architectural beauty. The door jambs and the horizontal bar are beautifully decorated with Naga motifs, scroll work and creepers laden with leaves and flowers. In the outer niches of the main temple images of Kartikeya and· Parvati are installed as Parsvadevatas. Basta Basta is a village in Baleshwar Sub-Division situated on the National Highway No.5, 29 km. and is north of Baleshwar. It has a railway station near which Rajnagar or Nagar village is situated where the remains of a building said to have been the residence of a Marahata chief is found. The village also contains the tomb of Shah Hussain Sahid who fell here during the Muslim invasion. There is a temple dedicated to Mahadev Baneswar. Bhusandeswar Bhusandeswar of Rasulpur panchayat under Bhograi block and Bhograi Tahasil of Baleshwar district is 100km away from district headquarters. This place is famous for the shiva temple where the height and breadth of Shiva Lingam is unique is Asia. The priest who worships Lord Shiva uses Ladder to pour water and milk on the head of the lord Bhusandeswar. This place is identified as a Tourist spot of Odisha in 1973.

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Chandaneswar Chandaneswar is situated in Bhograi police-station of Baleshwar Sub- Division. It is 88 km. from Baleshwar by road. Bus communication is available from Baleshwar and Jaleshwar. The nearest railhead is Jaleshwar. It is 8 km, from Digha in West Bengal and can be approached by road. Situated amidst beautiful natural setting, the virgin beach Chandaneswar is a place of attraction for the visitors. One can observe with wonder the glittering glory of the beach at sun-rise and sun- set. On the tranquil beach stands the shrine of Lord Chandaneswar. During Nila Parba, a local festival, which falls in the month of Chaitra (March-April) pilgrims from neighbouring places visit the shrine and a great mela takes place. On the day of Sivaratri thousands of devotees from different parts of Odissa and West Bengal congregate here for worshipping Lord Siva. A Revenue Rest Shed and a forest bungalow is located at Chandaneswar. Chandipur Chandipur is a village in Baleshwar Sub-Division situated on the sea coast about 15 km. east of Baleshwar town and 3 Km. from the mouth of the Burhabalanga river. For a long time during the East India Company period the European residents including the Collector of Baleshwar regarded the place as their summer residence. Because of its proximity to Kolkata there is an inflow of visitors to enjoy the sea-beach at Chandipur. There is a Panthanivas, a PWD Inspection Bungalow, a Forest IB and many private hotels and lodging facilities where the tourists take accommodation. The beach is long and levelled and sea bathing is possible in the absence of surf. This is one of the unique places where the sea water recedes to a distance of 5 to 7 km. from the seashore due to the shallowness of the sea. The open beach without water encourages the tourists to walk into the sea up to a distance of 5 km.

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surrounded by casuarina trees. Large quantities of fish are caught from its river mouth. The Fishery Department has set up an ice plant, cold storage and a Fishermen Training Centre. A Co-operative Society of Fishermen is operating there for facilitating capture, storage and marketing of sea fish. Population of this place according to the 2011 Census was 1150 persons. The place first came into prominence in 1894 when the Ordance Proof Department opened a sea range here for testing its fire arms on its long levelled coast. Recently, the place got into national and international prominence due to successful launching of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) ―Agni‖ ( a surface to surface missile) from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur. It is called Interim because the National Range Project at BaIiapal could not come up in time for the testing of flight vehicles. The success of this long range ―Agni‖ missile project was followed by another short range missile ―Akash‖ (surface to air missile) which was launched from Chandipur on 14th August 1990. Thereafter lndia‘s first indigenous third generation anti-tank missile ―Nag‖ was successfully flight- tested at Chandipur on 29th November 1990. ―Trishul‖ (both surface to surface and surface to air missile), said to be Indian version of the American anti-missile ―patriot‖, was successfully tested during March 1987. Thereafter a modern and sophisticated medium range missile ―Prithvi‖ was launched from here on 5th May, 1992. Chasakhanda Chasakhanda village of Remuna Block of Baleshwar district, 10 km away from district headquarters, is the fighting spot against Britishers by National Heroes including Bagha Jatin who sacrified their lives for the cause of Independence. In the year 1998 Chasakhand is identified as tourist spot of Odisha in the memory of Bagha Jatin. Chowmukh-Dagara Chowmukh and Dagara, the coastal villages of Baliapal block of Baleshwar district, has calm and serene atmosphere, long stretches of silvery sands, witling casuarina and red crabs which are some of the attractions of these lovely beaches. Chowmukh-Dagara is identified as Tourist spot of Odisha in 1998. Gandibed Gandibed village near Soro was brought to light during the course of recovery of a large hoard of copper coins. These coins (147 in number) are now preserved in the Jayadev Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneshwar. On one side of these coins there is the emblem of a couchant bull and on the 445

other side there is a line of writing mentioning ―Sri Nandasya‖. The Oriya inscription on a stone image (10th-11th century A.D.) and the Surya image inscription (11th century A. D.) were recovered from this place. Besides, a number of stone sculptures belonging to the Brahmanical pantheon, viz., Surya. Ganesh, Kartikeya, Parvati, Mahisamardini Durga and Vishnu are found in this village. Gud Sri Sri Baladevjew Temple of Gud under Soro block and Soro tahsil of Baleshwar district is situated 51 km away from district headquarters. Since it is the only temple of Lord Balabhadra in the area, a lot of pilgrims from all around the state and country visit it throughout the year. It is identified as a tourist spot of Odisha in 2008. Huguli Huguli is a village in Baleshwar Sub-Division, situated 17 km. east of Baliapal near the sea in the extreme north-east corner of the district. It is famous for the Chandaneswar Mahadev temple built in Gaudiya style with a series of dome-shaped chambers. The zamindar of Panchetgarh took initiative and built the present shrine through the financial assistance of the local people. This deity is widely revered not only by the locaI people but also by the devotees of the neighbouring villages of West Bengal. During the later half of the Chaitra month (March-April) large number of devotees flock to this place to become bhaktas. They observe serious penance for the whole period with the hope of getting children and for being cured from chronic diseases. A large Yatra, called Chadaka, is held here annually during this period. Inchudi Inchudi is a village, situated 19 km. from Baleshwar town. It is famous for the historic Salt Satyagrah of 1930. It is said that the success of mass civil disobedience against Salt Laws occupied the second place in India after Dandi in Gujarat where Mahatma Gandhi himself led the movement. The participation of several women in the Inchudi campaign and the spread of the campaign to other places in the coastaI belt of Odisha were regarded by the then Congress High Command as the highlight of the movement. Jaleshwar Jaleshwar is a town in the north-west of Baleshwar Sub-Division, situated on the NationaI Highway No.5. It is connected to the railway station by a 3 km. long road. Historically, Jaleshwar is one of the most interesting places in the district. It was for a long time an important frontier fortress. In the neighborhood of Jaleshwar, in the year 1575, the great battle of 446

Mughalmari (the Moughal slaughter) occurred. In 1592, a second great battle was fought in the neighborhood on the northern bank of the Subarnarekha between the Afghans and the imperial troops under Man Singh, the former being again defeated, the Moughals took possession of Jaleshwar. There are still the remains of a large fortress, which is said to have extended over 20.7192 sq. km, (8 square miles). It was divided into two parts joined by a drawbridge, and was surrounded by ramparts of earth and stone with seven concentric ditches. The latter have been filled up and cultivated and the earthen ramparts have disappeared, but the stone ramparts still remains. The buildings inside are all in a dilapidated condition. The village aIso contains an old mosque said to have been built by a Nawab in the 16th century A.D. Jaleshwar used to be a trade centre of some importance, and in Hamilton‘s Hindustan it is mentioned as one of the three principal places in Midnapur, The English at one time had a factory there, of which no trace is left. There are temples dedicated to Jagannath, Satyanarayan and Kali. Poet Dina Krushna Das lived here about 350 years ago. There is a police-station, hospital. High English School, College, Post and Telegraph Office, Tahasil Office, Block Development Office, Sub- Registrar‘s Office, Veterinary Dispensary, Regional Marketing Society, inspection bungalow, commercial bank, hotels, railway station and market. The civic affairs of the town were managed by a Notified Area council, which has been upgraded to municipality in February 2014. Population of the place in the Census of 1981 was 13,146. Jayarampur Jayarampur in Bhograi police-station of Baleshwar Sub-Division came into prominence in 1960 by the discovery of a copper plate inscription of Maharajadhiraja Gopachandra, The copper plate inscription was discovered while excavating a mound in the village situated in a place called Ahutikunda. Besides the inscription, huge quantities of old bricks, a female image made of granite and a votive bronze Buddha figure were discovered from this place, The copper plate inscription and the bronze Buddha figure have been lodged in the Jayadev Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneshwar. The inscription contains fifty lines on the whole on both sides of the plate. The seal contains a defaced figure of bull. Paleographically this inscription may be assigned to the 5th-6th centuries A. D. It is an important document so far as the history of Odissa and Bengal is concerned. Kasiari About 3 km. to the south of Mughalmari, the famous shrine of Gaganeswar Siva and about 1.6 km. to the north of it, is situated the ancient village Kasiari. On one side of the village as noted above is located the 447

shrine dedicated to Gaganeswar Siva and on the other the shrine of goddess Sarbamangala. The most notable remnants of the ruins of Gaganeswar Siva temple is its enclosure built in red sandstones. Inside the enclosure at the eastern extremity is the temple. It is about 200 cubits in length and 150 cubits in breadth. The Odiya inscription found on its western wall has been badly defaced. Nearby, there is a mosque containing an inscription written in Persian language. From this inscription it is learnt that it was built by Muhammad Taher in 1082 Hizra. The Sarbamangala Devi of this place is greatly revered by the people of the adjacent villages of Odissa as well as West Bengal. The presiding deity represents a form of Gouri and is carved with two hands. She is seated on a spirited lion. The original temple of Sarbamangala was razed to the ground by the Muslims. But, subsequently, a ruler of Odisha constructed the present temple with its Jagamohan. Kasaphal Kasaphal under Sadar block of Baleshwar is 65 km away from district headquarters. It is famous for calm sea beach and Baruni Yatra at Khiramanitri Temple when lakhs of pilgrims gather there. Kasaphal beach is an ideal fishing harbor. The calm and quiet rural atmosphere and whistling casuarinas attract nature loving tourists. This place is identified as a tourist spot of Odisha in 1994. Kuldiha Kuldiha is a famous hunting ground high above the hills amidst the reserved forests. It is 16 km. from Nilagiri town. The place is cool round the year. The fort, Harichandan garh, contains ruins of an old fort. There is an inspection bungalow of the Forest Department of Government of Odisha. Kumbhirgari Kumbhirgari or Bhusandeswar, a village situated between the Bayof Bengal and the Subarnarekha river in Bhograi area of the district is noted for the worship of Bhusandeswar Siva Linga. In summer season people usually visit the place in large numbers for worship. The Siva Linga is made of well polished black chlorite stone and is designed in three separate sections. The total height of the Linga Is about 3.6576 meters (twelve feet). The upper most part measuring about 1.2192 meters (four feet) in cylindrical shape contains a line of carving which the local people consider as the sacred thread ·of the deity. The middle portion measuring about 1.2192 metres (four feet) is in octagonal shape. The lower portion, i.e., the base of the Siva Linga is in square plan. The circumference of the Shakti is about 9.144 448

meters (30 feet) with spout to the south. The stone altar originally fitted to the Linga measure 1.8288 meters (six feet) in each side and its depth is 0.6096 meter (2 feet) at the most. This has now been removed from the original place and preserved in a thatched shed to the west of the Siva linga. The Siva linga which was lying on the ground due to repeated floods of the Suharnarekha river was brought to position in 1965 by a Hindu devotee. He also cleared the surrounding jungIe for the convenience of the worshippers. The area around the Siva linga is now under cultivation. The striking feature of this Siva linga is its colossal size which can be compared with the Siva Linga in the temple of Bhaskareswar in Bhubaneshwar. Makara Sankaranti is observed here with much pomp and ceremony. Kupari Kupari is a village in Baleshwar Sub-division, situated 67 km. south- west of Baleshwar town and 29 km. south-west of Soro. The Neulpur copper plate inscription of King Subhakaradeva I mentions about the place and the hills that stands close to it. The place is interesting for the distinct traces of Buddhist relics that are still observable. It stands in a level plain surrounded on three sides by low rocky hills. The ruins stand on the north side of the village, the more important and better preserved portion being situated in the middle of the flat laterite surface, but other parts are found in the softer soil among trees. Laxmannath Laxmannath under Jaleshwar block is 59 km away from district headquarters. It is the welcome point of Odisha. The old palace, the gada of Ray Mahasay of Laxmannath is the main attraction of the spot. The temple of Shymakali, Lord Jagannath and Dwadasha Shiva are worth seeing of the spot. During Kali Puja and Durga Puja a number of people gather here. This place is identified as Tourist spot of Odisa in 1994. Manikchak The village Manikchak in Jaleshwar area is known for two jaina relics of which one is the image of Santinath and the other a . Both the relics have been shifted to the Jayadev Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneshwar, for preservation. The image Santinath with deer as the conventional mount has a canopy of five-hooded snake over head; a peculiar feature unnoticed elsewhere. It stands on a double petalled lotus pedestal flanked by chauri bearers. Figures of eight grahas are carved seated in Yogasana pose on the side. The other relic, a Jaina chaumukha, discovered from this place is designed in the shape of a miniature pidha shrine. The pidhas numbering 449

five are arranged in gradual receding pattern, intervened by supporting lions on corners. The crowning element consists of amalaka and khapuri. The pinnacle, kalasa is designed like a lotus bud. In the outer niches of the four sides of the chaumukha are placed the nude Tirthankara figures of Mahavir Santinath, Risavanath and Chandraprava in standing posture. The village, Martasal is situated in the close neighbourhood of Manikchak which has also yielded Jaina antiquities of immense value. People in the neighbouring villages often come across ancient relics at the time of cultivation, digging of wells, renovation of tanks, construction of houses, etc. which connotes that the place was once a flourishing centre of Jainism. Markona Markona is situated on the National Highway No.5 between Bhadrak and Baleshwar. Kanhelvindha.a small hamlet located in the close neighborhood of Markona preserves a unique ten-armed Mahisamardini Durga image of 12th century A. D. The deity holds in her five right hands sword, spear, arrow, short spear and disc; and her five left hands display attributes like bowl, Parasu, goad, snake and shield. The deity as depicted is engaged in serious fight with Mahisasura with a curved sword in right hand and a shield in the left hand. A short dagger is firmly attached to his waist belt. The demon in human form is shown coming out of the decapitated body of the buffalo. Lion, the conventional mount of goddess Durga, is seen pouncing upon the demon. She has placed her right leg on the lion. At Markona, there are rice mills, Primary Health Centre, Police Station, Post Office, Railway Station, High English School, College, and Revenue Rest Shed. Langaleswar Langaleswar is a village in Singla situated 29 km. north-west of Baleshwar town. It derives its name from Langaleswar, i.e., the God of Plough, the legend being that Siva cultivated 64,74,992 hectares of land there, which to the present day is called ‗Sivaputha‘. The temple is 7.62 mt (25 feet) high but the Sivalinga is not visible on the Saktipitha. On the walls of the temple are engraved the figures of Surya, Uma-Maheswar, Mahisamardini Durga and Ganesh. A beautifully carved bull has been installed in front of the entrance of the temple. On the day of Sivaratri, in February, a big mela is held here. Nilaglri Nilagiri was the head-quarters of the ex-state of Nilagiri and now the headquarters of a Sub-Division of the same name. Baleshwar is the nearest railway station though situated at a distance of 22 km. The Jagannath temple constructed before the Muslim occupation of Odissa is the oldest 450

temple of the place. Besides, it contains several other religious edifices known as the Mausima temple, Tarakeswar Siva temple, Mangala temple, Gauranga temple and the Mahanta Math. The Jagannath temple situated near the place of the ex-ruler of Nilagiri is in a fairly good state of preservation. The Viman and the Jagamohan are built in pidha style and thoroughly plastered. In the sanctum sanctorum images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are placed over a big masonry pedestal. The Garuda pillar has been installed in the Jagamohan. In front of the Jagamohan is a pillared chamber. The inner walls of the mandap are decorated with remarkable execution of stucco works representing Dasabatara, Gajalaxmi, Ganesh, Karttikeya and several male and female figures painted in different colours. The premises are surrounded with high compound walls. Within the premises are noticed the dilapidated kitchen room and several other subsidiary shrines. The Mausima temple built in the Bengal style of architecture is located at a distance of 1 km. from Jagannath temple. During the annual car festival the three deities, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, used to come here in a big chariot and stay till the commencement of their Bahuda Yatra, (the return journey) to the main temple. The car festival of Lord Jagannath is the most important event of the place. Visitors from all over the district and Udala Sub-Division of Mayurbhani district come to witness the festival. Weekly twice, i.e on Tuesday and Saturday market sits there. The chief commodities in transaction are rice, stone utensils, tassar, Mahula, cotton, resin, tamarind and minor forest products. There are co-operative societies of carpentry, blacksmithy and stone works. There are Post and Telegraph Office, High English schools, hospital, inspection bungalow, police-station, Block Development Office, commercial bank, Land Development Bank, jail, sub-treasury, veterinary hospitaI and sub-divisionaI Government office. Orangi Orangi is situated at a distance of 2 km. from Haldipada railway station and 7 km. from Baleshwar town. The National Highway No.5 passes through this place. The place is famous for Bagha Jatin. a martyr of freedom struggle who was fired by the British soldiers and succumbed to death on the 10th September 1915. Every year on 10th September people observe the death anniversary of Bagha Jatin. There is a statue of the martyr in open air inside the campus of Bagha Jatin High English School.

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Panchalingeswar Panchalingeswar is a beautifuI spot on the top of a hill situated about 10 km from Nilagiri town. There is a motorable road from Nilagiri town to the foot of the hill. One has to climb up to a height of 152 meters to reach the place amidst dense forest and natural sceneries. There is a perennial stream which flows over the five Lingas throughout the year except for a few days during the summer season. Visitors feel the presence of the Lingas inside the water. It is traditionally believed that Lord Ramachandra worshipped these Siva Lingas during his exile period. Many pilgrims and visitors come to this place throughout the year for Darshan of the Lords and enjoy the natural scenery. It is a beautiful picnic spot. A Panthasala has been constructed here by the Tourism Department, Government of Odisha. There is also a Revenue Rest Shed at the place. Pipili Pipili is a village formerly situated near the mouth of the Subarnarekha in the north-east of Baleshwer Sub-Division. It was once the most important port on the Odisha coast and contained settlement of the Portuguese and the Dutch. Within two decades of Vascodagama‘s discovery (1498 A. D.) of the sea-route to India, the Portuguese could establish a flourishing trade mart at Pipili. The Portuguese settled there in 1514, and for many years it was a centre of trade and power. Later the Dutch (1625 A. D.) took the opportunity to establish themselves here, and in Hamilton‘s Hindostan it is said that they shipped 2,000 tons of salt annually from the port. The English also appears to have had a settlement at Pipili, though it is disputed. Of the Portuguese, Dutch and English settlements every vestige and trace have been obliterated and the remains of even a single building cannot be traced. Raibania Raibania group of medieval forts is situated 14.5 km north of Jaleshwar and 3.2 km. from the right bank of the river Subarnarekha. The traditional view regarding the fort goes back to the Puranic age when king Virata was ruling over this land. He is said to have enshrined goddess Kichakeswari in this fort which was later‘ on removed by a Bhanja ruler of Mayurbhanj who installed the deity in a temple at Khiching. Ruins of this fort still indicate the

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shrine of Kichakeswari. The presiding deity Kichakeswari of Khichingeswari of the temple at Khiching can be assigned to the 10th-11th centuries A. D. Raibania has High English School, Police-station, Maternity and Child Welfare Centre, Rest Shed and Post Office. Remuna Remuna is a village situated 8 Km west of Baleshwar town. It is famous for Khirachora Gopinath and has been a seat of Vaishnavite culture for centuries. The temple attracts large number of devotees from far off places round the year. The Main temple enshrining the Gopinath image is of modern construction with aII other accessories like kitchen, store room, dancing hall and open courtyard paved with dressed masonry blocks of stones. The courtyard behind the temple is shrouded by rows of houses constructed for the accommodation of pilgrims coming from long distance. The inner area of this courtyard is filled with Champak and Kadamba trees. The Chandana tank and the kitchen garden meant for the deity are located outside the premises of the temple. The floors of the Jagamohan and the main shrine are paved with decorative and colored marble stones. The image of Gopinath had been installed on an elevated pedestal erected at the centre of sanctum sanctorum. There is very little difference in the style and technique of carvings of this image. The image measuring 1.0149 mt x 0.5059 mt (3‘4"X1‘8") stands in a captivating tribhanga pose with flute in a playing posture. Eight gopis, sakhas and 12 cows and caIves have been carved on both sides of the image. Kadamba tree, Jambu fruits and flying Apsaras are also seen carved on the back slab. Lord Gopinath wears a well-designed Kirati, sandles, vanamate and a set of richly carved decorative ornaments. The image is in perfect condition as it has escaped the hands of Muslim iconoclasts. Images of Govinda and Madana Gopala are kept on the left and right side of Gopinath respectively. Apart from the Gopinath image worshipped in the main shrine two other sculptures depicting the figures of Aruna and the Navagraha have been preserved in the front courtyard. The Navagraha slab appears to have been

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attached originally to the main temple. Khira, a special milk preparation is the most delicious and main prasad of the Lord. A religious fair is held annually here in February. The fair lasts for 13 days and is attended by large number of people. The Alarpur and Kendupatna copper plate grants of Narasinghdev (1278-1308 A. D.), the builder of the famous Konarak temple, refers to the establishment of Gopinath image at Remuna kataka which gives a positive clue for assigning the date to the idol. Madhavendrapuri, the teacher of Shri Chaitanya, himself and his disciple Jeevaswami Goswami are said to have visited the place for worshipping Khirachora Gopinath. On the way to Khirachora temple there is a fine monastery of Goudiya Mission. The images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are worshipped here. The Rasikananda Samadhi, Madhavendrapul Math, Saptasara river, Chandi and Gargeswar temples are the other sites of attraction of the place. About 2 krn.west of Remuna there is a large and deep tank called Kutapokhari. Nearby there is a big statue of granite of Goddess Durga with 18 hands. A festival is held here on the first day of Baisakh. Remuna has police-station, Block Development Office, High English schools, CT Training school for girls, Post Office, Rest House, Primary Health Centre, mosque, college, dairy farm, Panchayat industry, bell metal industry and veterinary dispensary. The weekly market sits here twice on every Sunday and Thursday. Sajanagada Sajanagada is situated at a distance of 5 km. to the west of Nilagiri town, the sub-divisionaI headquarters. ‗The place is famous for Budhar Chandi deity, worshipped in a renovated temple and regarded as the tutelary goddess of Nilagiri Raj family. According to the Settlement Report of the Nilagirl ex-state, 1921, the temple was built between 1521-1564 A.D. by the 13th ruler of the ex-state of Nilagiri. The originaI temple has been greatly renovated by the later rulers. It consists of four parts. vlz., the Garbhagruha, the Jagamohan, the Bhogamandap and the Natamandap. The main temple has been built in rekha style where as the Jagamohan in pidha style of architecture. The inscriptlons originally inscribed on the door-ways ofthe Garbhagruha. Jagamohan and Natamandap have been damaged. The roof of the Natamandap is supported by a series of masonry pillars. Goddess BudharChandi, which was kept earlier in a room adjacent to the Natamandap, has been Installed on a masonry pedestal at the centre of the Garbhagruha. The temple premises are enclosed by high masonry walls with a painting on the eastern side. The niches of the compound walls to the inner side contain mythological figures built in stucco work. Shergarh The village Shergan in the Khantapada police-station of the district is famous for the Khajureshwar group of Siva temples. Khajureshwar Sivalinga 454

is said to have been installed by Banasura along with the Baneshwar Shivalinga of Baleshwar town, Gargeshwar Sivalinga of Purusottarnpur village, Panchalingeshwar of Nilagiri Sub-Division and Maninageshwar in Bardhanpur. One can approach the Khajureshwar group of temples covering a distance of nearly 3.2 km., from Shergarh on the National Highway No.5. The main temple along with its Jagamohan was built in laterite stones and has been thoroughly plastered with lime mortar. Both the structures are in pidha design. Within the sanctum is worshipped Khajureshwar Sivalinga placed at the centre of a Saktipitha. Several bulls and a big figure of Narayan are also kept in the pavement of the sanctum for worship. In the inner niches of the Jagamohan are found figures of Narayan and Varaha- Vishnu. Both the idols are provided with their conventional attributes in hands. The Parsvadevatas of this shrine are Ganesh, Surya and Mahisamardini Durga. Besides there are many broken images preserved here after recovery from the adjacent tank during the time of renovation. The outer niches of the main shrine and the front apartment ate set with beautiful figures of Ajaikapada Bhairava, Gajalaxmi, Ganga, Yamuna, Parvatl, Surya and Ganesh. The door lintel is said to have been contained an inscription which has been thoroughly defaced and covered in lime mortar. The jambs of the door way are carved with beautiful scroll designs and floral motifs. The Gajalaxmi figure on the centre of the door lintel is carved, seated in lalita pose on a double-petatled lotus pedestal, displaying varada mudre and lotus in hands. Four more laterite shrines of miniature size are also seen in the premises of the temple, of which one is exclusively reserved for the Devi deity. They are all in a damaged condition. Behind the Devi temple are kept on a row, figures of Karttikeya, Ganesh, Surya, Yamuna and Khetrapala. The Khetrapala image is seated on a horse back with a sword raised in the right hand. Built on a low foundation of laterite stone, the Devi temple stands at present to a height of 3.9224 meters (13 feet only). The door frame made in chlorite stone is richly ornamented with floral designs and ‗scroll motifs. The lower part of the door jambs are shown with five foiled niches with a standing DwarapaI. At the centre of the lintel is the conventional Gajalaxmi image. Inside the Devi temple are kept a four-handed Ganesh image, a seated Manasa figure with canopy of seven hooded snake overhead and two eight-handed Mahisamardini Durga images. Soro Soro is situated in the Bhadrak-Baleshwar section of National Highway No.5, about 32 km. south-west of Baleshwar. It is an important centre of political and cultural activities. Archaeological relics of the place indicate the prevalence of Brahminical religion during the mediaeval period. Buddhist and Jain relics too, are noticed in this place.

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Gohiriasahi, a small hamlet located at a distance of 3 km. from the Sora railway station preserves a large ‗number of archaeological relics of 7th to 11th centuries A. D. Among the antiquities, there is a small Sivalinga fixed to Yonipitha with the well-known Buddhist Dharma inscribed on four sides of its square pedestal. The stone is of bluish chlorite and is finely polished, According to its palaeographical features the inscription may be assigned a date in the later part of the 9th century A. D. the beginning of the 10th century A. D. Near the site where the Sivalinga was found lie the lower portions of two images of Sun god. On two corners of the tank nearby two more Sivalingas were recovered while digging. Another Sivalinga is worshipped in a modern temple. It thus proves that originally there were four Sivalingas installed at this place. At several parts of the village one can notice a series of broken Images associated with Buddhist, Jaina and Brahminical cults. A huge slab of stone containing Saptamatruka figures has been removed to Baleshwar town and is preserved in a museum located at Santikanan. The stone slab also contains an inscription. The area has infrastructure and public facilities like police-station, dispensary, inspection bungalow, railway station, post office, high english school, college, Block Development Office, Tahsil office and daily market. The civic affairs of the town are managed by Municipality. Population of the place in the Census of 1981 was Talasari Talasari is a picnic spot situated at a distance of 4 km. from Chandaneswar, and 92 km. from Baleshwar town. The sandy beach at Talasari is pleasantly surrounded by casuarina groves. A drive from Talasari to Digha about 7 km. is worth experiencing. Tourism Department, Government of Odissa, have constructed a Panthasala to cater to the needs of the tourists. Tipisagadia Tipisagadia of Makhanpur panchayat under Khaira block is famous for Lord Bakreswar Shiva Temple. The most beautiful part of the place is that it has been surrounded by river Kansabansa in four sides which creates a panoramic beauty of the place. It is identified as a tourist spot of Odisha in 1998. Tudigadia Tudigadia sahid pitha of Gagandhuli Panchayat under Khaira block is 45 km away from district headquarters. During Quit India Movement the freedom fighters namely Raghu Behera, Makara Lenka and Kalu Sahu got martyrdom on 28th Sept. 1942 due to open fire of British police. Every year on 28th Sept. people of Tudigadia celebrate Sahid Diwas in the memory of the freedom fighters and freedom struggle. This place is identified as a tourist spot of Odisha in 2015.

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Tundara Tundara is located at a distance of 3 km, from Bhimpur towards the south. There were many temples on the seashore of this village. but were washed away by the high tides. Some of the images of these temples are placed in different Parts of the village and under a big banyan tree. In the northern part of the village, there is an image of four-handed goddess with a boy on her lap, her head being covered by the canopy of a seven-hooded snake. The list of important tourist centres identified by Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha is given below. Sl. Tourists‘ Centre Importance Description Yearof No Identification 1 Chandipur Vanishing beach 16 kms from Baleshwar 1973 2 Bhusandeswar Shrine of Lord 100 kms from Baleshwar 1973 Budheswar 3 Balaramgadi Sea beach and fish 2 kms from Chandipur 1973 trading 4 Chandaneswar Shrine of 88 kms from Baleshwar and 4 kms 1973 Chandaneswar from Dighas 5 Panchalingeswar Forest Hill and 30 kms from Baleshwar 1973 stream 6 Raibania Fort –Historic 75 kms from Baleshwar ,25 kms 1973 Importance from Jaleshwar 7 Langaleswar Religious centre In Baliapal Block ,46 kms from 1973 Baleshwar 8 Remuna Lord Khirachora 9 kms from Baleshwar 1973 Gopinath 9 Talasari Sea beach 90 kms from Baleshwar and 5 kms 1973 from Chandaneswar 10 Kasaphal Do 33 kms from Baleshwar 1994 11 Laxmannath Welcome Point 55 kms from Baleshwar 1994 12 Baleshwar Dist. Hqrs. and 210 kms from Bhubaneswar 1994 Strategic point 13 Sajanagarh Goddess Bhudar In Nilagiri Block , 28 kms from 1996 Chandi Baleshwar 14 Ayodhya Religious and In Nilagiri Block ,35 kms from 1998 Archeological sites Baleshwar 15 Bardhanpur Shrine of Lord 12 kms from Baleshwar 1998 Maninageswar 16 Chasakhanda Bagha Jatin 10 kms from Baleshwar 1998 Memorial 17 Chowmukh Sea Beach 14 kms from Baliapal 1998 Dagara 18 Tripisgadia Lord Bakreswar 48 kms from Baleshwar in Khaira 1998 Mahadev Block 19 Kupari Ruins of Budhist 67 kms from Baleshwar 1999 Culture 20 Inchudi Labana Satyagraha Under Remuna Block and 20 kms 2003 from Baleshwar 21 Gud Shrine of Baladev 45 kms from Baleshwar 2008 Jew 22 Tudigadia Historical Centre 45 kms from Baleshwar ,15 kms 2015 from Khaira Block

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A list of hotels with their accommodation capacity in imporatn towns of Baleshwar are given isn the table below.

Sl No Name of the Place No. of Hotels No. of rooms No. of Beds 1 Baleshwar 26 496 1043 2 Chandipur 13 279 663 3 Chandaneswar 2 24 44 4 Panchalingeswar 7 96 267 5 Jaleshwar 3 28 38 6 Soro 2 14 24 7 Dagara ------8 Remuna 1 6 12 9 Talasari 3 62 103 10 Uttareswar 1 10 19 11 Laxmannath 1 9 18 12 Udaypur 2 15 34

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Bibliography

Information and Data submitted by line Departments of Baleshwar District

Assistant Fire Officer, Baleshwar Assistant Labour Commissioner, Baleshwar Chief District Medical Officer, Baleshwar Chief District Veterinary Officer, Baleshwar Commissioner of Walf, Odisha, Cuttack Deputy Director, Fisheries, Baleshwar District Culture Officer, Baleshwar District Education Officer, Baleshwar District Election Officer, Baleshwar District Employment Officer, Baleshwar District Judge, Baleshwar District Panchayat Officer, Baleshwar District Project Coordinator, SSA, Baleshwar District Rural Development Agency, Baleshwar District Social Security Officer, Baleshwar Divisional Forest Office, Wild Life, Baleshwar Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Baleshwar Executive Engineer, Odisha Lift Irrigation Division, Baleshwar Executive Engineer, Roads & Buildings, Baleshwar Executive Officer, Urban Local Bodies, Baleshwar, Soro, Nilagiri, Jaleshwar General Manager, DIC, Baleshwar Guidelines and Notification Issued by Government of Odisha in Revenue and Disaster Management Department Lead District Manager, UCO Bank, Baleshwar Regional Transport Officer, Baleshwar Station Manager, Railway Station, Baleshwar Superintendent of Police, Baleshwar Tourist Officer, Baleshwar Flood of Odisha Rivers, 1955, 1956. Survey of India SE, Division, Balasore Census-2011 M.C. Chrindle, Ancient India as described in classical literature. K. C. Panigrahi, History of Odisha. Archeological Survey of India, Annual Report, 1924, 1925. Odisha History Rearch Journal Vol-I. R. C. Mojumdar, History of Bengal The history and culture of Indian people, R.C. Mojumdar, Vol.III. 460

Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Letters, Vol.XIII. History of Odisha, H. Mohatab, Vol.I, Cuttack (Cuttack 1959). Odisha under Marahatta‘s Dr. B.C. Roy Odisha, WWW Hunter, Vol.II. A portrait of population, Orissa 1971, 1972. A portrait of population, Orissa 1981. History of Chaitanya faith by Pravat Mukherjee 1979. L.S.S.O., Malley, Bengal District Gazetteer, Balasore, 1907. A portrait of population Odisha, B. Tripathy, Census of India-1971. Economic Survey of Odisha, 1954, 1955, Vol.I, by Sadasiv Mishra. Studies in Odisha History, Archaeologies Archives by Padmashri Paramananda Acharya. Balasore Gazetteer-1994. Balasore Gazetteer-1994, 2nd Edition. History of Odisha by Dr. Manmath Pradhan. L.S.S.O., Malley, Balasore, Gazetteer, 1907.

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Glossary Abadhan Teacher of old time village school Alidha A particular attitude of legs in which the right leg is outstretched while the left one is slightly bent. Alpana Painting or decorative designs made on the wall or on the floor on festive occasions Amabasya New Moon-day Amalaka Fluted disc resembling Ania fruit, crowning the top of the spire Amin Surveyor Anjalihasta Folded hands Asadha Indian month corresponding to June-July Asram Hemitage Astagraha Eight celestial planets accordingly to Hindu astronomy Asthi Bone Ashwina Indian month corresponding to September-October Avinaba New Bahal A low lying land Baisakh Indian month corresponding to April-May Bajyaptidar Holders of resumed tenures Balia Sandy mud Bhadrab Indian month corresponding to August-September Bhajan Medlodious recital of devotional songs with playing musical instruments, such as, cymbals, conical drums and flute Bhanga Leaves of the intoxicating Indian Hashish (cannabis indica) Bhoga Food offered to a deity Bhoodan Literally means a land gift; it refers to the Bhoodan Movement started by Acharya BinovaBhabe for collection of land for the landless Bhumisparsa A sitting posture of Lord Buddha by touching earth on a Mudra finger Bisarjan Immersion Bisoi Title of the collector of revenue of a Bis or Pargana during Muslim rule Bujharat Explanation of the entries made by the Amin during field work in Settlement Operation by Munsarims before attestation of the records by the Assistant Settlement Officer. Chaitra Indian month corresponding to March-April Chak Contiguous plots of land in a particular area in a village Chapel Slipper Chatashali Old-time village school Chautha A sort of tribute levied by the Marathas corresponding to one-fourth of the gross produce

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Choudhuri Chief Revenue Officer for a Talik under the Muslim rule Choukidar A watchman; village police Chudi Bangle Chuna Lime Dalua Spring rice sown in November-December and harvested in March-April Darshan To have a look of the deity while praying Daskathia An indigenous form of ballad singing by a party of two persons who dramatise and sing epic songs or episodes with the accompaniment of a pair of castanets or wooden-clappers fitted with a bunch of tiny ankle-bells as the only musical instrument Dewan Chief Executive Officer nest to the Ruler in ex- feudatory state Dharani Buddhist votive Dharma Chakra Prabartana Mudra Particular pose of the hand symbolizing Buddha‘s preaching the law. Dharmasala A rest house for pilgrims Dhupa Burning of incense sticks during worship Dhyanamudra Meditative posture Dipa Lighted small lamps Dofasali Double cropped land Dorasa A mixture of clay and sand in nearly equal parts. Fauda Spade Gahira Low lying land Gajasimha A rampant lion on a couchant elephant Gamuchha A towel; a piece of cloth used for bathing, etc. Gandharva Celestial dancer Ganaja An intoxicant Indian hemp Garbhagruha Sanctum sanctorum Garhjat Feudatory states of Orissa Ghanta Bell shaped member in finial of a pidhadeula; a bell shaped gong Gharbari Homestead land Ghat Ferry Gochar Pasture Gotra Lineage Gramadevati Village goddess Gramapanchayat An elected body of local self government at village level Guakati Betel nut cutter Gumasta A minor official; a landlord‘s clerk Habisanna Vegetarian diet prepared in Ghee without condiments taken by Hindu widows during the month of Kartika (October-November) before sun-set Hal Current / recent Handia A sort of intoxicating drink prepared by fermenting boiled rice; rice beer 463

Hat Rural market Hensa Mat Huluhuli Ululation Jagamohan Rectangular or square hall or porch in front of the sanctum Jajamani Hereditary service Jama Gross receipt ; annual rent or revenue Jyestha Indian month corresponding to May-June Kalasa Crowning element of the temple in the form of a vase, figuring as the container of the nectar of immortality Kanungo A subordinate revenue official / Accountant during Mughal and Maratha periods Kanyadan Giving a girl (Bride) away in marriage to the bridegroom Kartika Indian month corresponding to October – November Kaudi Cowry; Cypraeamoneta Kaunria Mesta Khadi Cloth woven by hand spun yarn Khadi Chalk Khakhara Semi cylindrical member resembling the fruit BoitalaKakharu Khanapuri Literally means filling in columns; the stage of operation of preliminary record of rights in Settlement operation Khanda Sword Khandapati An officer under the Hindu kings of Odisha having chief control of a Khand or circle; a king Khapuri Skull; slightly curved stone slab covering the roof of the amalaka Kharif A crop season for staple cereal crop Khasmahal Government estate Kula Winnow Kunda A small square vat for containing liquid etc. Kutumba Family Lalitasasan A particular attitude of sitting in which one of the legs is pendent and the other lies pending on the throne Linga Phallic symbol denoting Lord Shiva Mahajana Money lender Mahaparinirbana Eternal sleep of Lord Buddha Mahuri Indigenous clarionet Macadam Headman; tenure holder Mantra Incantations Margashira Indian month corresponding to November-December Matala Soil which includes a large proportion of clay Math Hindu monastery MelanaPadia Religious congregation ground of Radha Krishna deities during Dola festival Mouza Revenue village

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Na‘Anka A great famine that befell Odisha in 1866. It is so named for it occurred in the ninth regnal year of the then Raja of Puri Nabagraha Nine celestial planets according to Hindu astronomy Nala Small stream; channel Natamandap The dancing hall in a temple Nij-Jot The private land of the proprietor or proprietary tenure Nirbandha A sacred agreement for the marriage made before a deity by the parents / guardians of the bride and the bridegroom Pachwai Country liquor; fermented juice of Mahua flower Pahada Hill Pakhia A shade made of palm leaves to protect the head from sun and rain Pala A form of ballad singing associated with the worship of Satyanarayan by a group consisting of 5 to 7 persons with the accompaniment of Mrudanga, cymbals, etc. Palki Palanquin Pan Betel leaf Panigrahana Marriage Parambrahma The Eternal soul Parbat Mountain Pargana Obsolescent term denoting collection of villages, or tract of land constituting a revenue unit during Muslim period Patu Alluvium Pausa Indian month corresponding to December-January Phagu Coloured powder Phalguna Indian month corresponding to February-March Pinda Paying oblation to ancestors Pidha Downward curing pediment; projecting member constituting the pyramidal roof of a Jagamohan Pothi Palm-leaf manuscript; book Prasad Delicacies offered to deity Puchi A kind of play amongst Odia girls with frisking movement Purdah Curtain; veil Rabi A crop season (Autumn-Spring) Rahu The 8th celestial planet in Hindu astronomy Raiyat Tenant having right of occupancy in land Rakhas Demon Rakshit Protected or reserved land Rekha Order of temple characterized by a curvilinear spire which presents the appearance of a continuous line Sabik Previous Sahukar Village money lender Salami Cash or premium paid to a landlord by a tenant Sanad Firman, a grant, a written order signed and sealed by a King or Government 465

Sani Saturn Saptamatruka Seven mother goddesses Sarad Rice reaped in Winter season (November-January) Sarbarkar A village headman appointed for collecting land revenue for a village or group of villages in a Government estate. In many cases the Sarbarakars had become tenure-holders Sarbat A cold soft-drink Sardar The headman of a village; the headman of a caste; the headman of a group of persons Sarei A rest house for travelers Sena A basket made of split bamboo for bailing water for irrigation and other purposes Shikar Hunting SikimiRaiyat Sub-tenant Sinduka A big wooden box Shraban Indian month corresponding to July-August Swarajya Independence Tadi Country wine; fermented juice of the palm tree Tahasil A unit of land revenue administration Tahasildar A Revenue Officer holding charge of a Tahasil Tarpan Offering water to the God Tenda A water lift; a contrivance to lift water from a lower level to a higher level for irrigation purpose Thakuramahal An estate given to deity Thakuranimahal An estate given to a female deity Toran Portal, porch, entrance, arch Tribhangi A standing pose with the torso inclining towards the left and the head inclining towards the right Tulasichaura A raised structure on which Tulasi plant is planted and worshipped by the Hindus Viman A towered sanctuary in which the image of a deity is enshrined Yangya The oblation of clarified butter and other articles of offering made to the deities through fire Yogasana Meditative posture Zamindar A landlord

466

Index

A Baleshwar, v, vii, viii, xii, xiii, xv, xvi, xvii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, Adishakti, 82 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, Agarpada, 60 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, Ajaikapada, 455 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, Akbar, ix, 41, 229, 230 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 73, 74, Alekha Dharma, 77 75, 76, 77,78, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 90, Amarda, 77, 280, 290 91, 95, 96, 97, 98, 106, 110, 111, 114, Ambahata, 241 116, 117, 119, 120, 123, 124, 125, Ambo, 2, 230, 235, 236, 241 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, American Baptist Foreign Mission 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, Society, 78 140, 142, 143, 147, 148, 149, 150, Anantapur, 16, 179, 181, 281, 287, 341, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 348 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 170, 171, Anantavarman Chodagangadeva, 39 172, 173, 174, 176, 177, 179, 180, Ankura, 45, 83 181, 182, 183, 184, 187, 188, 189, Arabandha, 14, 15, 16, 30 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, Arad Bazar, 343 197, 198, 199, 200, 202, 204, 208, Asan, 5, 24, 30, 31 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, Asoka, 36, 37, 76, 176 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, Aswini, 79 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, Aul, 236 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, Aurangzeb, 66, 78, 441 241, 242, 245, 246, 248, 250, 252, Aurobindo, 109, 351 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, Avalokitesvar, 442 261, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, Ayodhya, xvii, 32, 347, 348, 437, 439, 276, 279, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 457 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 306, B 307, 308, 309, 310, 312, 313, 314, 320, 321, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, Badagan, xvii, 77, 280, 439 331, 334, 335, 336, 337, 340, 342, Badhei, 79, 119 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, Bahanaga, xv, 3, 4, 64, 159, 161, 167, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 279, 280, 378, 411, 413, 421, 423, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 432, 435, 436, 437 364, 365, 366, 368, 369, 370, 371, Bairi, 59 372, 373, 375, 377, 379, 380, 381, Baisinga, 399, 402, 404, 406, 408 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 390, Baitarani, 2, 41, 44, 231, 277 392, 393, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, Balabhadra, 83, 118, 446, 451, 454 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, Baladia, 16 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, Balaramgadi, xvii, 3, 9, 147, 439, 440, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420, 421, 457 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 428, 429, Balarampur, 230 430, 436, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 467

444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, Basudebpur, 61, 254, 287, 320 451, 453, 455, 456, 457, 458 Basuli, 106 Balia, 23, 134, 344, 460 Basumati Puja, 117 Baliapal, xv, xvii, 3, 4, 8, 17, 36, 46, 74, Baudpur, 183 77, 95, 128, 134, 144, 149, 151, 159, Baulagadia, 163, 165, 190, 211, 343 160, 161, 166, 179, 189, 191, 211, Baura, 8 225, 270, 279, 281, 287, 292, 295, Bay of Bengal, 1, 8, 9, 14, 51, 66, 125, 324, 341, 346, 355, 368, 378, 391, 176, 419, 420, 427 411, 413, 421, 423, 424, 430, 435, Bengal, 1, 14, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 436, 445, 446, 457 51, 53, 60, 62, 66, 67, 75, 78, 83, 117, Balighat, 441 128, 159, 168, 177, 181, 183, 190, Balisahi, 35 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 253, Bamanihuli, 5 271, 284, 285, 287, 303, 310, 325, Bamboo, 5, 23, 32, 113, 165, 166, 167, 326, 328, 332, 348, 353, 357, 384, 205 386, 419, 428, 432, 440, 444, 446, Bampada, 151, 159, 161, 162, 290, 291, 447, 448, 451 370 Bengali, 50, 75, 233, 238, 327, 328, 346, Banasura, 440, 441, 443, 455 398, 417 Bandhan, 31, 118 Berhampur, 4, 81, 181, 269, 270, 290, Banerjee, 53 291, 311, 368, 374, 375, 378 Bangreah, 46 Betei, 16 Bania, 32, 79 Betnasia, 78 Banktira, 134 Bhadrak, 1, 2, 3, 10, 14, 41, 44, 45, 53, Bankura, 40 55, 59, 60, 61, 63, 74, 134, 142, 148, Bansada, 270, 348 149, 171, 177, 181, 221, 227, 229, Bansbonia, 78 230, 252, 267, 270, 276, 287, 292, Bant, 270 296, 297, 304, 307, 310, 311, 327, Banyan, 76 342, 350, 384, 399, 400, 401, 402, Barabati, 66, 67, 84, 326, 331, 362, 441, 408, 410, 450, 455 442 Bhalukasuni, 12 Bardhanpur, xvii, 348, 443, 455, 457 Bhandari, 80, 87, 188, 244, 399, 410 Barik, 104 Bhandaripokhari, 61, 270, 391, 400, 408 Barikpur, 122 Bhanja, 82, 83, 443, 452 Baripada, 14, 30, 34, 58, 159, 177, 181, Bhaumakara, 38, 39, 437 182, 267, 280, 304, 305, 306, 388, Bhimpur, 79, 347, 457 413, 436 Bhograi, xv, 3, 4, 8, 17, 37, 44, 84, 95, Basta, xv, xvii, 3, 4, 8, 9, 36, 42, 45, 55, 161, 163, 164, 167, 184, 191, 269, 78, 81, 84, 95, 134, 161, 163, 165, 271, 281, 285, 287, 290, 291, 293, 166, 177, 179, 189, 224, 225, 229, 296, 301, 324, 336, 339, 341, 343, 267, 279, 280, 286, 287, 290, 291, 348, 352, 354, 355, 365, 368, 399, 292, 294, 324, 336, 348, 368, 371, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 378, 379, 382, 384, 399, 400, 401, 408, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 416, 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 421, 423, 424, 430, 435, 443, 444, 411, 413, 415, 416, 421, 423, 424, 447, 448 432, 435, 443 468

Bhubaneshwar, 320, 372, 373, 374, Chandraprava, 450 439, 442, 445, 447, 449 Chanuya, 6 Bhusandeswar, 64, 293, 443, 448, 457 Charbatia, 254 Bidyadharpur, 81 Chardia, 45, 78 Bihar, 53, 56, 59, 62, 75, 176, 304, 329, Chauri Chaura, 55 394 Chhanua, 280, 411, 413 Bija, 24, 30, 31 Chittagong, 149, 176 Birajakhetra, 176 Chota Nagpur, 7 Birbhum, 40 Christmas Day, 122 Biswakarma, 79, 119 Chudamani, 10, 45, 46, 148, 287 Biswanath, 54, 55, 56, 356, 395 Church, 78, 112, 348 Board of Revenue, 48, 221, 267, 268, Civil Disobedience Movement, xiii, 57, 278 58 Bolang, 45, 149, 164, 211, 281 Coast Canal, 6, 8, 10, 51, 184, 420 Bombay, 55, 168, 176 Cornwallis, 44, 47, 232 Boudh, v Cuttack, v, vii, 2, 34, 38, 41, 44, 45, 47, Brahmani, 77, 348, 437 48, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 62, 70, 72, Brahmin, 81, 90, 105 142, 159, 177, 181, 182, 183, 221, British, ix, xiii, xv, 17, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 228, 229, 231, 233, 236, 238, 239, 47, 49, 51, 53, 57, 59, 61, 66, 67, 68, 241, 245, 254, 267, 270, 272, 276, 69, 70, 72, 107, 147, 148, 168, 221, 293, 304, 305, 306, 326, 329, 372, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 239, 374, 393, 397, 417, 425, 426 240, 241, 245, 246, 247, 250, 253, 254, 287, 325, 355, 425, 440, 451, 456 D Bruton, 149 Buddha, 118, 168, 438, 447, 460, 461, Dahamunda, 293, 336, 351 462 Dahapania, 390 Dalziel, xv, 2, 200, 237, 238, 241, 245, C 246, 248, 249, 251, 252, 258, 273 Dandabhukti, 38 Campbell, 326 Dandi, 57, 280, 446 Caste, 79, 96, 128, 261, 266, 279 Darkhuli, 5 Chandal, 58, 94 Darpan, 230, 236, 416 Chandaneswar, xvii, 64, 76, 117, 121, Das, Manoj, 356 123, 144, 179, 290, 344, 348, 374, Dasmalong, 10 444, 446, 456, 457, 458 Deepavali, 120 Chandanpur, 411 Deer, 17, 19 Chandbali, 17, 51, 149, 176, 270, 287, Deulgan, 40 320, 399, 400, 401, 408, 410 Dhamara, 176, 179, 181, 231, 432 Chandigarh, 345, 346 Dhamnagar, 41, 270, 287, 401, 408, 410 Chandinipal, 252 Dhenkanal, v, 77 Chandipur, xvii, 3, 9, 15, 30, 63, 64, 79, Dhobasila, 5 123, 143, 144, 190, 211, 280, 290, Digha, 179, 271, 444, 456 291, 301, 337, 355, 440, 444, 445, Dola, 80, 121, 462 457, 458 469

Durga, 77, 104, 106, 119, 243, 437, 439, Gujarat, 57, 75, 446 442, 446, 449, 450, 454, 455 Durga Puja, 77, 119, 243, 449 H Dutch, 66, 67, 147, 176, 452 Haj, 122 E Hanuman, 19 Harichandan, 16, 68, 238, 448 Earth, 101, 117, 133 Hariharpur, 43 East India Company, 43, 44, 68, 148, Haskura, 8 168, 176, 444 Hatigarh, 78 Eastern Ganga, 39 Holi, 121 Eastern Ghats, 5 Hooghly, 66 Eastern States, 2, 62, 72 Huguli, xvii, 446 Eram, 61, 62 I F Id-Ul-Fitre, 122 Festival, 117 Inchudi, xvii, 57, 58, 59, 350, 446, 457 Fox, 19 J G Jagannath, 61, 64, 77, 104, 107, 117, Gajalaxmi, 438, 443, 451, 455 163, 263, 284, 339, 346, 348, 354, Gamai, 10 395, 440, 441, 447, 449, 450, 451, 454 Gambhari, 25 Jain, 347, 455 Gamha Purnima, 83, 118 Jaina, 437, 438, 441, 449, 450, 456 Ganesh, 80, 118, 156, 301, 437, 442, Jajati, 39 446, 450, 451, 455 Jajpur, 2, 38, 39, 44, 176, 221, 229 Ganesh Chaturthi, 80, 118 Jalaka, 7, 9, 423, 424 Gangahor, 9 Jaleshwar, xv, xvii, 3, 4, 30, 35, 41, 42, Gangasiuli, 25, 26 55, 74, 77, 78, 82, 84, 95, 119, 139, Ganjam, v, 38, 51, 58, 87 155, 160, 165, 167, 171, 172, 177, Garapada, xvii 179, 182, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, Garhpada, 41, 349 211, 218, 224, 225, 229, 267, 270, Gauda, 38, 39, 80, 98, 122 271, 279, 281, 285, 287, 290, 291, Gharghara, 437 292, 295, 302, 308, 309, 311, 314, Goat, 139 320, 324,325, 331, 336, 340, 341, 344, God, 37, 79, 83, 101, 107, 118, 120, 121, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 355, 357, 122, 438, 450, 464 366, 368, 378, 379, 384, 398, 399, Gohiratikiri, 41 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, Good Friday, 122 408, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 416, Goojaduha, 13 421, 423, 424, 444, 446, 447, 449, Gopinathpur, 270, 336, 411, 413 452, 457, 458 Govinda, 40, 68, 82, 351, 453 Jamalpur, 16, 281 Gudia, 80 Jamka, 10 470

Janmastami, 118 Kumar Purnima, 119 Jayarampur, xvii, 37, 349, 447 Kumbhar, 32, 82, 108, 191 Jhanuadi, 5 Kumbhirgari, xvii, 448 Joranda, 77 Kundupur, 78 Kupari, xvii, 5, 16, 39, 79, 81, 123, 179, K 181, 281, 341, 449, 457 Kusudia, 78 Kachara, 81 Kusum, 25, 31 Kahasin, 40 Kutapokhari, 454 Kalahandi, v Kali, 106, 120, 343, 447, 449 L Kalidas, 353 Kalidaspur, 321 Laichanpur, 6 Kalika, 16 Lakshadweep, 176 Kalinga, 35, 36, 37, 81, 120, 156, 176, Laura, 442 354, 414, 416 Leopard, 19 Kamar, 32, 79, 87, 119 Lomasa, 94 Kamarpur, 270 Kanpur, 165 M Kantabania, 35 Kapilendradeva, 40 Machhana, 13 Karana, 87, 349 Machhua, 5 Karma, 60, 243 Madhpur, 411 Karnadeva, 39 Madras, 50, 53, 66, 168, 176, 181, 182, Kartika Purnima, 120 183, 256 Katillia, 5 Mahatma Gandhi, 109, 213, 254, 256, Katsahi, 61 446 Kendujhar, 2, 5, 41, 148, 235, 241, 268, Mahisamardini, 437, 439, 442, 446, 450, 305 455 Kendupatna, 454 Mahula, 451 Keuta, 190 Makar Parba, 101 Khaira, xv, 3, 4, 77, 81, 102, 135, 137, Makara Sankranti, 101 160, 163, 167, 225, 270, 279, 281, Mali, 82 287, 295, 324, 341, 346, 371, 378, Mangala, 82, 108, 451 413, 421, 456, 457 Mango, 76 Khairadihi, 61 Manikchak, xvii, 79, 449, 450 Khandayat, 81 Maratha, 462 Kharipada, 79 Mardaraj, 16, 68, 70, 238 Khiching, 452 Marichi, 348, 437, 438 Khunta, 399, 402, 404, 406, 408, 411 Markona, xvii, 182, 189, 191, 280, 341, Khuntia, 438 346, 450 Kichakeswari, 452 Math, 351, 451, 454, 462 Kosala, 39 Mayurbhanj, v, 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, Kshatriya, 82, 351 41, 70, 82, 99, 106, 142, 148, 159, Kumada, 189 171, 182, 221, 226, 252, 267, 268, 471

304, 305, 306, 348, 384, 388, 399, O 402, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 415, 452 Midnapur, 14, 36, 38, 78, 83, 231, 252, Odia, 53, 58, 63, 64, 65, 75, 76, 81, 84, 253, 271, 284, 447 87, 106, 209, 233, 243, 252, 327, 328, Mills, 48, 151, 154, 163, 207, 234 336, 339, 340, 347, 354, 395, 417, 463 Mir Kasim, 149 Odisha, v, vii, xv, xvi, xvii, 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, Morada, 9 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, Mosque, 112 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, Motiganj, 84, 171, 440 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, Muharram, 122, 123 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, Mysore, 75 81, 83, 84, 88, 89, 90, 95, 96, 99, 102, 104, 105, 108,110, 111, 112, 116, 117, N 124, 125, 126, 129, 130, 131, 132, 135, 136, 137, 143, 147, 148, 149, Nagpur, 51, 54, 181 155, 160, 161, 162, 170, 171, 176, Nampoo, 211 177, 184, 186, 192, 194, 195, 197, Nangaleswar, xvii, 121 198, 199, 200, 202, 203, 205, 208, Narangabad, 2 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, Natha, 82 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 226, 228, Nayabazar, 344, 362 229, 230, 231, 233, 234, 235, 237, New Delhi, 143, 175, 336, 337, 342, 343, 239, 244, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 432 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, Nilagiri, xv, xvi, xvii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267, 12, 13, 17, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 61, 63, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 276, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 81, 277, 278, 279, 282, 285, 301, 303, 82, 101, 113, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 304, 306, 307, 309, 311, 312, 317, 123, 124, 135, 136, 137, 139, 149, 320, 321, 322, 323, 329, 339, 342, 160, 161, 164, 165, 166, 171, 172, 343, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 179, 181, 182, 187, 188, 189, 190, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 358, 191, 192, 200, 203, 204, 211, 220, 362, 365, 372, 373, 378, 382, 383, 221, 223, 224, 225, 231, 238, 239, 386, 388, 391, 393, 394, 395, 397, 249, 253, 255, 258, 260, 262, 264, 398, 401, 402, 403, 409, 410, 411, 267, 270, 273, 279, 281, 289, 290, 412, 414, 415, 416, 417, 420, 425, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 303, 426, 428, 429, 432, 433, 434, 435, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 318, 320, 439, 440, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 323, 324, 341, 343, 344, 346, 348, 448, 449, 452, 456, 457, 462, 463 350, 354, 356, 357, 361, 363, 368, Odra, 38 374, 375, 378, 379, 382, 388, 393, Oupada, xv, 4, 160, 161, 165, 166, 225, 399, 401, 402, 403, 407, 410, 411, 270, 279, 281, 290, 291, 295, 324, 413, 414, 415, 416, 421, 423, 427, 336, 341, 368, 378, 411, 413, 421 433, 435, 437, 448, 450, 452, 454, 455, 457 P Nolia, 82 Panchalingeswar, xvii, 64, 121, 123, 301, 452, 457, 458 472

Panchapara, 9 Rupsa, 3, 152, 159, 177, 181, 182, 280, Panchayat Samiti, 213, 223, 322 290, 291, 340 Paramanandapur, 81 Parswanath, 439 S Parvati, 116, 352, 437, 443, 446 Patara, 83, 152 Sahada, 9, 280, 411, 413 Pataspur, 44 Sahara, 26 Pathuria, 79 Salandi, 135, 137 Phagu Dasami, 121 Sambar, 19 Pharasidinga, 59 Sani, 464 Piasal, 5, 26 Sapua, 10, 24, 92 Pipal, 76 Sarada, 109, 269, 271 Pipili, xvii, 6, 8, 43, 66, 67, 176, 452 Saraswati Puja, 121 Praja Mandal, 70, 71 Saratha, 6, 8, 9, 432 Prathamastami, 120 Shab-E-Barat, 122 Puri, v, 37, 40, 44, 47, 51, 52, 58, 59, 81, Sheep, 139 176, 221, 228, 233, 236, 239, 245, Shivananda, 109 304, 306, 329, 339, 348, 351, 357, Similia, 270, 341 425, 440, 463 Sindhia, 346, 411, 413 Sisu, 353, 354, 376 R Siva, 1, 104, 301, 348, 440, 443, 444, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 454 Raibania, xvii, 3, 40, 81, 123, 139, 148, Sivaraja, 37 269, 271, 285, 290, 291, 348, 411, Sohanpur, 79 413, 452, 453, 457 Solampur, 39 Raipur, 270 Soro, xvii, 3, 4, 10, 37, 38, 43, 44, 45, 55, Raja Sankranti, 117 64, 74, 77, 81, 82, 111, 119, 120, 147, Rajnagar, 443 155, 159, 165, 166, 171, 177, 179, Raju, 83 182, 183, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, Rangamatia, 12, 13 193, 224, 225, 230, 270, 279, 281, Ranital, 177 286, 287, 290, 291, 294, 295, 302, Rasalpur, 51, 151, 152, 280, 341 308, 309, 311, 315, 317, 320, 324,331, Rautapada, 9 339, 340, 344, 346, 349, 350, 352, Remuna, xv, xvii, 3, 4, 40, 41, 42, 46, 61, 353, 355, 366, 378, 379, 382, 384, 64, 74, 77, 79, 81, 118, 123, 134, 139, 391, 399, 401, 402, 403, 404, 406, 149, 151, 152, 156, 159, 161, 163, 407, 408, 410, 413, 414, 415, 416, 165, 166, 171, 187, 189, 211, 225, 418, 421, 423, 430, 432, 435, 437, 229, 270, 279, 280, 287, 290, 291, 439, 442, 445, 446, 449, 455, 458 294, 301, 311, 321, 324, 325, 342, Sualgiri, 84 343, 345, 346, 348, 351, 353, 378, Subhadra, 118, 451, 454 391, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 416, Sugo, 179 417, 421, 423, 424, 432, 435, 441, Sun, 101, 107, 120, 156, 417, 456 445, 453, 454, 457, 458 Sunaposi, 9 Risabhanath, 439 Sunari, 26, 31, 79 Sunari Bania, 79 473

Sunei, 135 Tulasi, 76, 353, 464

T U

Tahasil, xv, 3, 148, 225, 226, 244, 276, USA, 165 278, 279, 282, 283, 443, 447, 464 Usha, 352, 441 Tamarind, 17, 207 Utkal, 35, 36, 38, 39, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, Tambuli, 84, 396 63, 152, 155, 340, 343, 345, 352, 353, Tanti, 79, 96, 119 354, 355, 416 Tatanagar, 159, 183 Uttareswar, 165, 438, 458 Teli, 83, 101 Thatari, 81, 189 V Tihiri, 269, 371, 390 Todarmal, 229 Vascodagama, 452 Tosali, 36, 37, 38, 176 Viraja, 38 Tukaroi, 41

474