Choudwar
Encyclopedia
Choudwar is a city and a municipality
in Cuttack district
in the state of Orissa
, India
.
, on National Highway
42. Choudwar has the unique distinction of being an industrialzone in Orissa
state. The principal language spoken here is Oriya
. The STD Code of Choudwar is 0671, same as that of Cuttack
, while the postal pincode is 754025/ 71 / 72
brothers, with their consort Draupadi
, took shelter in Choudwar in their secret exile.
The region also has two regular colleges and one Textile Technology College:
The Libra Carpets organization was functional until early the early 1990s as an EOU
(Export-Oriented Unit). Plans are currently underway to revive the organization.
After being functional for more than three decades, Orissa Textile Mills had to shut down its operations owing to mishandling of company funds by the higher management. It was an Orissa state government-owned company. With a work force of over 3000, OTM was effective in providing clothing for much of India and it garnered several awards. Now, though it had been shut down for a decade, some officials still reside in company-provided quarters.
Spread across a wide area towards one end of the town is the ARC, where a part of the central government engages in aviation
research and development
activities.
With Kalinga tubes winding up its production units at Choudwar in the early 1980s, Dr. Bansidhar Panda, a prominent industrialist, had taken over the equipment to recreate the current ICCL (established in 1983) as a unit of Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA). The Industry here is responsible for the production of Charge Chrome. At Choudwar, ICCL has an independent 108 MW coal-based Captive Power Plant unit to meet the power requirements of the two industries. ICCL sprang up as a 100% EOU and has kept with the times in achieving the requisite ISO 9001:2000 certifications. 26 November every year is celebrated as Foundation Day, which is the Birthday of the Founder chairman.ICCL has now been merged with IMFA, and the establishment is now Choudwar Division of IMFA Ltd.
The BILT began functioning in the late 1990s as a unit of Ballarpur Industries Ltd. and this company also shutdonw in 2003.
, Choudwar had a population of 42,597. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Choudwar has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83% and, female literacy is 71%. In Choudwar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
, Dola purnima, Chadakai, Saraswati puja, Vishwakarma puja apart from Diwali
, Dusshera(Commonly known as Dusshera jatra), and Laxmi puja.
.
and Sambalpur
or Anugul
move via Choudwar.
The nearest railway station is Cuttack
, which is 15 km away from Choudwar town, while the capital city Bhubaneswar railway station is 42 km away.
The nearest airport is the national airport at Bhubaneswar. The Choudwar town is about 55 km from Bhubaneswar airport.
. Previous MLAs from this seat were Dharmananda Behera of BJD
, who won the seat in State elections of 2004, Bibhubhusan Praharaj who won this seat in 2000 as an independent candidate, Kanu Charan Lenka who won in 1995 representing INC
and representing INC(I) in 1980, Raj Kishore Ram who won in 1990 representing JD
and also in 1977 representing JNP
, Rasananda Sahu of INC in 1985.
Choudwar is part of Cuttack (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in Cuttack district
Cuttack District
Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts in Orissa state in eastern India. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Orissa , after Ganjam.-Geography:...
in the state of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Geography
Choudwar is located on the banks of the river MahanadiMahanadi River
The Mahanadi in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 km2 and has a total course of 858 km. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.-Source:...
, on National Highway
Indian highways
The National Highways Network of India, is a network of highways that is managed and maintained by agencies of the Government of India. These highways measured over as of 2010, including over of limited-access Expressways....
42. Choudwar has the unique distinction of being an industrialzone in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
state. The principal language spoken here is Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
. The STD Code of Choudwar is 0671, same as that of Cuttack
Cuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
, while the postal pincode is 754025/ 71 / 72
History
Choudwar once served as the capital for the Somakuli Keshari Kings of Orissa. Eight prominent Siva pithas were established by the Keshari dynasty in the vicinity of Choudwar, which are now in ruins. Tradition holds that it was the capital for Virat, the brother-in-law of Kichaka. Additionally, the five PandavaPandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
brothers, with their consort Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
, took shelter in Choudwar in their secret exile.
Education
There are several schools which have been educating students according to the guidelines of the government of Orissa:- Affiliated with Board of Secondary Education, Government of Orissa
- Municipal High School is an oriya Medium School
- Nigamananda BidyapithaNigamananda BidyapithaNigamananda Bidyapitha is an educational institution established in 1963 in Daulatabad, India. The place is near to Choudwar Municipal area and adjacent to Cuttack City. It is in the state of Orissa, India....
, named after Swami NigamanandaSwami NigamanandaSwami Nigamananda Paramahansa . His followers idealized him as their worshiped and beloved thakura.Nigamananda was a sannyasi of the Shankar's cult...
, is an OriyaOriya languageOriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
Medium School. - Gopabandhu High School is an Oriya Medium School.
- Kalinga public school is an English Medium School.
- Kalinga Vidyapitha is an Oriya Medium School
- OTM HIgh School is an Oriya medium School
- Charbatia UGME and High School is an Oriya medium School
- Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir,Gandhi chhak,Choudwar
- Affiliated with CBSE, New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
- Kendriya Vidyalaya, CharbatiaKendriya Vidyalaya, CharbatiaKendriya Vidyalaya, Charbatia is one of the top schools in Cuttack and provides quality education to the children of Central Government employees. The school is affiliated to C.B.S.E and the medium of instruction is English/Hindi. The Vidyalaya has state-of-the-art fully accessible infrastructure...
is an English/HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
Medium school and has 11 and 12 standards also
- Kendriya Vidyalaya, Charbatia
The region also has two regular colleges and one Textile Technology College:
- Choudwar College, in affiliation with Utkal UniversityUtkal UniversityUtkal University, Bhubaneswar is the oldest university in Orissa and the 17th oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university that has produced some of the best brains in Orissa. There are at 26 post-graduate departments at the university campus for studies and research in...
, gives Bachelor-level courses in science, arts, and commerce. It also provides undergraduate courses in accordance with the Council of Higher Secondary EducationCouncil of Higher Secondary EducationCouncil of Higher Secondary Education may also refer to:Indian/State Government Board's of CHSE*Council of Higher Secondary Education, Orissa*West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education...
(CHSE) in the three domains. It is a co-educational institution. - Choudwar Women’s College, which imparts only +2 level education.
- The Textile Technology Institute awards B.TechBachelor of TechnologyThe Bachelor of Technology is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after completion of a three or four year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited university-level institution...
degrees in Textile Technology.
Economy
Some of the current and former industrial employers in the town are- Libra Carpets
- Orissa Textile Mills (OTM)
- Aviation Research Centre (ARC)
- Indian Charge Chrome Ltd (ICCL)
- Ballarpur Paper Industries Limited (BILT)
The Libra Carpets organization was functional until early the early 1990s as an EOU
EoU
EoU can be an acronym for:Names & Organizations*Eastern Oregon University*Encyclopedia of UkraineScience & Technology*EAP over UDP Extensible Authentication Protocol over User Datagram Protocol...
(Export-Oriented Unit). Plans are currently underway to revive the organization.
After being functional for more than three decades, Orissa Textile Mills had to shut down its operations owing to mishandling of company funds by the higher management. It was an Orissa state government-owned company. With a work force of over 3000, OTM was effective in providing clothing for much of India and it garnered several awards. Now, though it had been shut down for a decade, some officials still reside in company-provided quarters.
Spread across a wide area towards one end of the town is the ARC, where a part of the central government engages in aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
activities.
With Kalinga tubes winding up its production units at Choudwar in the early 1980s, Dr. Bansidhar Panda, a prominent industrialist, had taken over the equipment to recreate the current ICCL (established in 1983) as a unit of Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA). The Industry here is responsible for the production of Charge Chrome. At Choudwar, ICCL has an independent 108 MW coal-based Captive Power Plant unit to meet the power requirements of the two industries. ICCL sprang up as a 100% EOU and has kept with the times in achieving the requisite ISO 9001:2000 certifications. 26 November every year is celebrated as Foundation Day, which is the Birthday of the Founder chairman.ICCL has now been merged with IMFA, and the establishment is now Choudwar Division of IMFA Ltd.
The BILT began functioning in the late 1990s as a unit of Ballarpur Industries Ltd. and this company also shutdonw in 2003.
Demographics
As of 2001 India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Choudwar had a population of 42,597. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Choudwar has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83% and, female literacy is 71%. In Choudwar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Festivities
The state of Orissa is famous for festivals over the entire year. Some examples are Rath YatraRath Yatra
Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July. Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area...
, Dola purnima, Chadakai, Saraswati puja, Vishwakarma puja apart from Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, Dusshera(Commonly known as Dusshera jatra), and Laxmi puja.
Socio-economic Conditions
A major cross-section of the society is the employees of the organizations. The closure of OTM and Libra carpets in the nineties was very much apparent across the all sections of the society as there was a sudden fall in purchasing capacity of the area. The other segments of society comprise teachers, staff of the local administration (municipality office), and doctors. A very small segment depends on agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
Transportation
The town, being a part of the NH-5, is well-connected to the rest of the state by road. Buses going between BhubaneswarBhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
and Sambalpur
Sambalpur
Sambalpur is a city in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Orissa.It lies at a distance of 321 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. In the year 1876, Sambalpur was established as a municipality. It is currently the headquarters and the largest city of Sambalpur district. It is also...
or Anugul
Anugul
Anugul is a town and a notified area committee in Anugul district in the state of Orissa, India.-Geography:Anugul is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Demographics:...
move via Choudwar.
The nearest railway station is Cuttack
Cuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
, which is 15 km away from Choudwar town, while the capital city Bhubaneswar railway station is 42 km away.
The nearest airport is the national airport at Bhubaneswar. The Choudwar town is about 55 km from Bhubaneswar airport.
Politics
Current MLA from Choudwar-Cuttack Assembly Constituency is Mr. Pravat Biswal of BJDBiju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal is a state political party of the Indian state of Orissa led by Naveen Patnaik, son of former state chief minister Biju Patnaik. It was founded on 27 December 1997.-History:...
. Previous MLAs from this seat were Dharmananda Behera of BJD
Biju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal is a state political party of the Indian state of Orissa led by Naveen Patnaik, son of former state chief minister Biju Patnaik. It was founded on 27 December 1997.-History:...
, who won the seat in State elections of 2004, Bibhubhusan Praharaj who won this seat in 2000 as an independent candidate, Kanu Charan Lenka who won in 1995 representing INC
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and representing INC(I) in 1980, Raj Kishore Ram who won in 1990 representing JD
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
and also in 1977 representing JNP
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
, Rasananda Sahu of INC in 1985.
Choudwar is part of Cuttack (Lok Sabha constituency)
Cuttack (Lok Sabha constituency)
Cuttack is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Orissa. Assembly constituencies which constitute this parliamentary constituency are: Salepur, Cuttack Sadar, Cuttack City, Choudwar, Banki, Athgarh, Baramba, .-Members of Parliament:...
.