Umerkote
Encyclopedia
Umerkote also known as Umarkot and Amarkot, is a town of Nabarangpur district
, Orissa
, in eastern India
. Umerkote is an urban area
and the name of a Notified Area Council. The town is a prominent business place of the Nabarangpur District.
Umerkote is situated in the northern corner of Nabarangpur District and administratively borders Chhattisgarh
in the west. It is 62 km (39 miles) away from district headquarters. A left diversion from National Highway 201
at Papadahandi, towards Raipur, connects to Umerkote.
The place is presided over by the local deity
Maa Pendrani
or Pendrahandiani. The word "Maa" means the "mother". She is believed to be the saviour of people living and provider of health, wealth and protection.
, Umerkote had a population of 24,853. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Umarkote had an average literacy rate of 56%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 47%. In Umerkote, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
holds Umerkote at its centre. The average elevation of Umerkote is approximately 2020 feet (615.7 m) above sea level. Small hills and mounts cover the place, providing a number of perennial sources of water as streams and ponds. Bhaskel Minor Irrigation Project, a site 9 km (6 miles) away from Umerkote town, is the source of irrigation. Its out-stream, namely Bhaskel, flows by the town, giving a production of vegetables and pulses throughout the year.
Branches of the main canals of the Bhaskel Minor Irrigation Project surround the outskirts of Umerkote to give up a fertile land for double crops and other seasonal productions.
s to its population. With growth, township people from other parts of Orissa and neighbouring states showed their interest to live at Umerkote. People there mostly do business, and a considerable amount are government employees. Now the place has a majority of Hindus. However, Muslims are more in number than the Christians. Other religious people are very few in count. The major language spoken in this region is Oriya
. The Orissa Government sheltered large numbers of Bangladeshi refugees in this region. They came to India as refugees during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
and paddy
. Outskirts yield maize, and this town is the hub for the transportation of tonne
s of maize in post-rain seasons.
Other than maize, some forest products like Kendu Leaf, Sal Seed, and vegetables are being exported to outside. Being based mainly on agriculture, business relating to fertilizer, pesticides, garments and retail are conducted. Weekly markets (Hato) are organized in a nearby location on fixed weekdays, to share products within different local markets.
Hindu
festivals Dussera, Rath Yatra
, Ganesh Pooja and Kalisi Yatra are some distinguishable festivals observed in Umerkote. Apart from other occasions, traditional festivals like Holi, Biswakarma Pooja, Gajalaxmi Pooja and Deepawali are being celebrated with immense contrast.
Including general celebrations, tribals retain their identity through several typical festivals like Mondei
, Chaiti Parab and Kalashi yatra. Mondei, an annual tribal festival, has its uniqueness which has been predominately celebrated by tribals in order to share the happiness of their fruitful harvest. Later it had been declared a state-level festival and is celebrated officially, each year, in the first week of November.
Temple, Ramakrishna Mission
, Maa Kali Mandir (UV 03 Dongriguda) and Sri Ram Temple and a Church. It has also a major mosque
, and a Madrasa has been set up with help of the local people. Including several other viwable places, nearby to Umerkote, it has Hanuman Vatika at 4 km (2 miles) distance near Nuagaon, adding small places of local interest also visited by many people.
It has two hospitals, one of the government situated at the mid of the town and another as DNK Hospital (Later named as Zonal Hospital). Specialists in different branches provide health service to the people. Pendrani College, established in 1984, has been set up with local help giving education to collegiates up to graduation. Sadasiv Sukumar Government High School, Government Girls' High School, and Saheed Laxman Nayak
Public School here are the centre for higher secondary education. A number of primary schools and upper primary schools have been set up at different locations in the Umerkote town. RRTTSS with OUAT has set up a crop research centre near the town. A newly established women's college, namely Biju Patnaik ST Women's College, Umerkote, has started functioning recently.
, a police station, post office, three filling stations, Government Secondary Training School, BSNL telephone exchange, Industrial Training Centre for Women, a water supply, SOUTHCO, Circuit House, and other different offices along with it.
Among semi/non-government institutions like Saraswati
Sishu Mandir, Sri Aurobindo Purnanga Sikhya Kendra, Swami Vivekananda
Vidya Mandir and the Lions Club are owned by locals.
Cellular mobile service by BSNL and Airtel have been set up earlier, and recently Reliance Communications
has started its Smart and RIM
GSM Service. Internet Connectivity by BSNL Broadband
has been lunched since March 2008. Aircel
has set up its service. Tata Indicom
is expected to also provide cellular mobile service at Umerkote. Most recently Uninor
started its service.
State Bank of India
(SBI), Utkal Gramya Bank, ICICI
Bank and Andhra Bank
have been established with a large volume of business. Both SBI and ICICI
Bank provide ATM
service to the people of Umerkote.
, Andhra Pradesh
and Chattisgarh by road. No railway line connects the town directly, but Umerkote has been provided with several buses to Bhubaneswar
, Cuttack
, Visakhapatnam
, Vizianagaram
, Berhampur
, Jagdalpur
, Raipur. Both private and OSRTC buses run in numbers for passenger transportation.
Nearest railway stations: Jeypore
106 kilometres (66 mi), Koraput
130 kilometres (81 mi), Kesinga
180 kilometres (112 mi), Raipur 285 kilometres (177 mi), Nagpur
315 km, Jagdalpur
85 kilometres (53 mi).
Nearest airports: Visakhapatnam
320 kilometres (199 mi), Raipur Mana Airport 272 kilometres (169 mi) [bbsr 576 kilometres (358 mi)].
and Bhakataka dynasty during the invasion of the Mughals. Later it has been occupied by some Buddhists, and then by the Nanda
Dyansty of Jeypore
region. It is roughly 22 kilometres (14 mi) towards the west of Umerkote, near Dhodra, a small village which is 9 km ahead of Umerkote. The span of Podagad hill ranges 11 km lengthwise and 3.5 km in width (11 by 3.5 km (6.8 by 2.2 mi)). It was 17 small hills meshed up with each other. It has a natural habitat covering many species, and formerly there were many carnivores living in the area. Deforestation for firewood
and timber has been devastating the climate of Podagad. Picnic occasions are held at this place in a massive manner during New Years and other winter days.
(BJD), who was shot dead on 24 September 2011, in a public meeting at Gona; he had won the seat in State Elections in 2009. Previous MLAs from this seat were Sri Dharmu Gond Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), Smt Parama Pujari who won this seat representing Indian National Congress
(INC) in 2000, 1995 and 1985 and representing INC(I) in 1980, Sri Gurubaru Majhi of JD
in 1990, and Late Rabisingh Majhi of Janata Party
(JNP) in 1977.
Umerkote is part of Nowrangpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Sri Pradeep Majhi (INC) is the Member of Parliament
from the 12-Nowarangpur Parliamentary Constituency.
Nabarangpur District
Nabarangpur District, also known as Nabarangapur District and Nawarangpur District, is a district of Orissa, India. The city of Nabarangpur is the district headquarters. Most of its population is tribal, and most of the land is forested. Situated in the southwest corner of Orissa, it borders...
, 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...
, in eastern 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...
. Umerkote is an urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
and the name of a Notified Area Council. The town is a prominent business place of the Nabarangpur District.
Umerkote is situated in the northern corner of Nabarangpur District and administratively borders Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
in the west. It is 62 km (39 miles) away from district headquarters. A left diversion from National Highway 201
National Highway 201 (India)
National Highway 201 is an Indian National Highway entirely within the state of Orissa that links Borigumma in Koraput district and Bargarh...
at Papadahandi, towards Raipur, connects to Umerkote.
The place is presided over by the local deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
Maa Pendrani
Pendrani
Another legend related to the origin of Maa Pendrani is as follows which has been collected and researched by Sri Subash Chandra Mishra of Umerkote. Research accounts of Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra in this context is most important...
or Pendrahandiani. The word "Maa" means the "mother". She is believed to be the saviour of people living and provider of health, wealth and protection.
Demographics
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...
, Umerkote had a population of 24,853. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Umarkote had an average literacy rate of 56%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 47%. In Umerkote, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Geography
A plateau of the Kondan Range, a terrain of Eastern GhatsEastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the...
holds Umerkote at its centre. The average elevation of Umerkote is approximately 2020 feet (615.7 m) above sea level. Small hills and mounts cover the place, providing a number of perennial sources of water as streams and ponds. Bhaskel Minor Irrigation Project, a site 9 km (6 miles) away from Umerkote town, is the source of irrigation. Its out-stream, namely Bhaskel, flows by the town, giving a production of vegetables and pulses throughout the year.
Branches of the main canals of the Bhaskel Minor Irrigation Project surround the outskirts of Umerkote to give up a fertile land for double crops and other seasonal productions.
Climate
The average annual rainfall experienced is 888.2 millimetres (35 in). Usually summers are hot with a maximum of 45 °C (113 °F), and winters are mild with an average minimum of 6 °C (42.8 °F).| Year | Maximum | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 42.8 °C (109 °F) on 22 May 2008 | 9.2 °C (48.6 °F) on 28 Dec 2008 |
| 2009 | 41.2 °C (106.2 °F) on 1 May 2009 | 8.6 °C (47.5 °F) on 17 Dec 2009, 9.4 °C (48.9 °F) on 18 Dec |
| 2010 | 44.3 °C (111.7 °F) on 24 May 2010 | 4.8 °C (40.6 °F) on 27 Dec 2010, 5.5 °C (41.9 °F) on 4 Dec |
| 2011 | 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) on 19 May 2011 | 6.8 °C (44.2 °F) on 4 Jan 2011 |
People
Umerkote was initially a tribal-dominated place, and the post-independent period added migrantMigrant
Migrant may refer to:*Immigration and emigration, the migration of humans*Bird migration*Migrant worker*Migrant literature...
s to its population. With growth, township people from other parts of Orissa and neighbouring states showed their interest to live at Umerkote. People there mostly do business, and a considerable amount are government employees. Now the place has a majority of Hindus. However, Muslims are more in number than the Christians. Other religious people are very few in count. The major language spoken in this region 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 Orissa Government sheltered large numbers of Bangladeshi refugees in this region. They came to India as refugees during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
Economy
The main economical factor over which Umerkote stands is production of maizeMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and paddy
Paddy
Paddy may refer to:*Paddy , a World War II carrier pigeon*Paddy , a comic strip*Paddy field, a type of cultivated land*Paddy Whiskey, a liquor*Patrick , including people with the name*Padraic, including people with the name...
. Outskirts yield maize, and this town is the hub for the transportation of tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of maize in post-rain seasons.
Other than maize, some forest products like Kendu Leaf, Sal Seed, and vegetables are being exported to outside. Being based mainly on agriculture, business relating to fertilizer, pesticides, garments and retail are conducted. Weekly markets (Hato) are organized in a nearby location on fixed weekdays, to share products within different local markets.
Festivals
The OriyaOriya people
The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
festivals Dussera, Rath Yatra
Rath 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...
, Ganesh Pooja and Kalisi Yatra are some distinguishable festivals observed in Umerkote. Apart from other occasions, traditional festivals like Holi, Biswakarma Pooja, Gajalaxmi Pooja and Deepawali are being celebrated with immense contrast.
Including general celebrations, tribals retain their identity through several typical festivals like Mondei
Mondei
Mondei is one of the prominent tribal festivals observed in interior Nabarangpur District of Orissa. It is supposed to be derived from the word Mandi, which means a small market in Hindi language. Tribals from ancient age celebrate this festival on the harvesting season at different location of...
, Chaiti Parab and Kalashi yatra. Mondei, an annual tribal festival, has its uniqueness which has been predominately celebrated by tribals in order to share the happiness of their fruitful harvest. Later it had been declared a state-level festival and is celebrated officially, each year, in the first week of November.
Public places
Umerkote has many public places like PendraniPendrani
Another legend related to the origin of Maa Pendrani is as follows which has been collected and researched by Sri Subash Chandra Mishra of Umerkote. Research accounts of Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra in this context is most important...
Temple, Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The Ramakrishna Mission is a philanthropic, volunteer organization founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on...
, Maa Kali Mandir (UV 03 Dongriguda) and Sri Ram Temple and a Church. It has also a major mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, and a Madrasa has been set up with help of the local people. Including several other viwable places, nearby to Umerkote, it has Hanuman Vatika at 4 km (2 miles) distance near Nuagaon, adding small places of local interest also visited by many people.
It has two hospitals, one of the government situated at the mid of the town and another as DNK Hospital (Later named as Zonal Hospital). Specialists in different branches provide health service to the people. Pendrani College, established in 1984, has been set up with local help giving education to collegiates up to graduation. Sadasiv Sukumar Government High School, Government Girls' High School, and Saheed Laxman Nayak
Laxman Nayak
Laxman Nayak or Laxman Naik was a civil rights activist of South Orissa in eastern India.Nayak, an Oriya folk-hero of Malkangiri of southernmost part of Orissa and a cult-figure among its tribals, was born in Tentuliguma village of the Koraput district and his father Padlam Nayak was a tribal...
Public School here are the centre for higher secondary education. A number of primary schools and upper primary schools have been set up at different locations in the Umerkote town. RRTTSS with OUAT has set up a crop research centre near the town. A newly established women's college, namely Biju Patnaik ST Women's College, Umerkote, has started functioning recently.
Service
The town has been expanded with fully functional government services, including Panchayat SamitiPanchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...
, a police station, post office, three filling stations, Government Secondary Training School, BSNL telephone exchange, Industrial Training Centre for Women, a water supply, SOUTHCO, Circuit House, and other different offices along with it.
Among semi/non-government institutions like Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....
Sishu Mandir, Sri Aurobindo Purnanga Sikhya Kendra, Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
Vidya Mandir and the Lions Club are owned by locals.
Cellular mobile service by BSNL and Airtel have been set up earlier, and recently Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications Ltd. is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is the world's 16th largest mobile phone operator with over 144 million subscribers. Established on 2004, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group...
has started its Smart and RIM
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
GSM Service. Internet Connectivity by BSNL Broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
has been lunched since March 2008. Aircel
Aircel
Aircel group is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India. The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose current...
has set up its service. Tata Indicom
Tata Indicom
Tata Teleservices Limited is a Indian broadband and telecommunications provider based in Mumbai, India. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian conglomerate...
is expected to also provide cellular mobile service at Umerkote. Most recently Uninor
Uninor
Uninor is a mobile operator in India. The company holds Unified Access Service licences to offer mobile telephony services in each of India’s 22 telecom circles, and has received spectrum to roll out services in 21 of these...
started its service.
State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
(SBI), Utkal Gramya Bank, ICICI
Ičići
Icici is a small place located in the north-east part of Istria, Croatia . It is located under a mountain Učka, on the north part of the Adriatic Sea....
Bank and Andhra Bank
Andhra Bank
Andhra Bank was registered on 20 November 1923 and commenced business on 28 November 1923 with a paid up capital of Rs 1.00 lakh and an authorised capital of Rs 10.00 lakhs. The Bank crossed many milestones and the Bank's Total Business as on 30.06.2008 stood at Rs.83,256 Crores with a Clientele...
have been established with a large volume of business. Both SBI and ICICI
Ičići
Icici is a small place located in the north-east part of Istria, Croatia . It is located under a mountain Učka, on the north part of the Adriatic Sea....
Bank provide ATM
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
service to the people of Umerkote.
Transportation
Umerkote is connected to almost all major cities of OrissaOrissa
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...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and Chattisgarh by road. No railway line connects the town directly, but Umerkote has been provided with several buses to Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
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...
, 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...
, Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
, Vizianagaram
Vizianagaram
Vizianagaram is the main city of the Vizianagaram District of north-eastern Andhra Pradesh in southern India. Vizianagaram district was formed on 1 June 1979, with some parts carved from the neighbouring districts of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam. It is, at present, the largest municipality of...
, Berhampur
Berhampur
Brahmapur , nicknamed "The Silk City", is a city located in the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Orissa, about south to state capital, Bhubaneswar.It is also dubbed as "The Dance City" of Orissa after Prince Dance Group and Harihar Das made the state famous in India's...
, Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the...
, Raipur. Both private and OSRTC buses run in numbers for passenger transportation.
Nearest railway stations: Jeypore
Jeypore
Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...
106 kilometres (66 mi), Koraput
Koraput
Koraput is a town and a Notified Area Council in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa.-History:The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of Koraput. In ancient times when the Nalas were ruling over this tract, Pushkari near modern Umarkot was the...
130 kilometres (81 mi), Kesinga
Kesinga
Kesinga is a town and a notified area committee in Kalahandi district in the Indian state of Orissa.-Geography:Kesinga is located at . It has an average elevation of 187 metres . River Tel and Uteh meet not very far from Kesinga, providing appreciable ground for summer sand crops...
180 kilometres (112 mi), Raipur 285 kilometres (177 mi), Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
315 km, Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the...
85 kilometres (53 mi).
Nearest airports: Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
320 kilometres (199 mi), Raipur Mana Airport 272 kilometres (169 mi) [bbsr 576 kilometres (358 mi)].
Podagad
Podagad, a hill range in the west of the town preserves some historic evidences of ancient dynasties ruling over the area. Rock scriptures, caves and remains of usables have been found. It has a rich ruin of the NalaNala
Nala , a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Virasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling...
and Bhakataka dynasty during the invasion of the Mughals. Later it has been occupied by some Buddhists, and then by the Nanda
Nanda
Nanda is a surname of Punjabis . Nanda is a Tarkhan , Ahluwalia and Kamboj surname. All the clans of Tarkhan , Lohar, Gujjar, Kamboj, Ahluwalia tribes have a close genetic and ancestral relationship with each other, and together they form the Khatri/Rajput caste.-Among Kamboj people:*Nanda is a...
Dyansty of Jeypore
Jeypore
Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...
region. It is roughly 22 kilometres (14 mi) towards the west of Umerkote, near Dhodra, a small village which is 9 km ahead of Umerkote. The span of Podagad hill ranges 11 km lengthwise and 3.5 km in width (11 by 3.5 km (6.8 by 2.2 mi)). It was 17 small hills meshed up with each other. It has a natural habitat covering many species, and formerly there were many carnivores living in the area. Deforestation for firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
and timber has been devastating the climate of Podagad. Picnic occasions are held at this place in a massive manner during New Years and other winter days.
Chandan Dhara
Chandan Dhara is a nature area with scenic beauty situated in the deep forests 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Umerkote, through the village Jharigam. There is a waterfall nearby to the small village Dongriguda. Administrative efforts have been initiated to make it a place of attraction for tourists.Burja
Burja is about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Umerkote, famous for the Siva Mandir. A Siva Linga was discovered by a small girl while she was digging in the field circa 2004. A big temple is now under construction.Politics
Current MLA from 75-Umarkote (ST) Assembly Constituency was the late Sri Jagabandhu Majhi of Biju Janata DalBiju 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:...
(BJD), who was shot dead on 24 September 2011, in a public meeting at Gona; he had won the seat in State Elections in 2009. Previous MLAs from this seat were Sri Dharmu Gond Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP), Smt Parama Pujari who won this seat representing Indian National Congress
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...
(INC) in 2000, 1995 and 1985 and representing INC(I) in 1980, Sri Gurubaru Majhi of 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...
in 1990, and Late Rabisingh Majhi of Janata Party
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...
(JNP) in 1977.
Umerkote is part of Nowrangpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
Nowrangpur (Lok Sabha constituency)
Nabarangpur Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Orissa state in eastern India.-Assembly segments:...
.
Sri Pradeep Majhi (INC) is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from the 12-Nowarangpur Parliamentary Constituency.