Jharsuguda is a city and district headquarters of

Jharsuguda district Jharsuguda is a district in Odisha, India with Jharsuguda town as its headquarters. This region is rich in coal and other mineral reserves. Of late, many small and medium scale iron and steel units have been set up in the vicinity of Jharsugu ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India through the rail network, and a recently inaugurated Jharsuguda Airport, now renamed as Veer Surendra Sai Airport. It is popularly known as the "Powerhouse of Odisha" due to its plentiful industry, mostly nearby thermal power plants. Jharsuguda has often been referred as "Little India" as well because of its diverse demography, language and culture.

Major Tribes

This district has the major tribal populations among them important tribes are Sabara,

Kisan The Kus Indian Sut Asla Nicaragua ra (Nicaraguan Coast Indian Unity), better known by its acronym KISAN, was a rebel organization formed in 1985 to unify the struggle of the Miskito Indians and other indigenous peoples of Nicaragua's Atlantic Coas ...

, Kurukh,

Bhuiya The Bhuiyan or Bhuiya are an indigenous community found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They are not only geographically disparate but also have many cultural variations and subgro ...

n, Munda,

Santal The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar an ...

. This district has unique diversity in terms of tribal culture, language and other focal culture. Kurukh people speak their mother tongue Kurukh language with

Sadri Sadri is a municipality in the Pali district of Rajasthan, India. It is considered the gateway to Marwar from Mewar. Sadri is one of the main places of worship for the Jain community. Ranakpur Temple and Shri Parshuram Mahadev Mandir are locate ...

language. Munda people speak their Ho language and Kisan people speak their

dialect and Kharia speak their Kharia.

and local

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

dialect is also quite popular among tribal communities.

Geography and Climate

Jharsuguda is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is located in Western Odisha. State highway 10 and National Highway 69 (NH-69) pass through this place. The

Ib river Ib river is tributary of Mahanadi river in North-Eastern Central India. It joins Mahanadi river flowing directly into the Hirakud Reservoir. The river originates in hills near Pandrapet at an elevation of . It passes through Raigarh distric ...

flows along the Western side of Jharsuguda town and the river Bheden flows in the south. The area of the town is 70.47 km², and has a population of 579,499. The town is situated at 21.82° north longitude and 84.1° latitude and at a height of 700–750 feet above mean sea level. The highest temperature recorded during the summer months is 49.4 °C. It has an average rainfall of 1,527 mm.

Culture

Jharsuguda is a cosmopolitan city housing people from various regions of India. Major festivals celebrated in the town are: * Nuakhai: This is an important festival for the people of Western Odisha. This festival falls during Autumn season. It is a harvest festival celebrated after the first crops are harvested (similar to baisakhi in Punjab). Families gather during this period and eat together. After that, the younger take the blessings of elders and dance with friends. * Bhai Jauntia: A festival observed by the women of this region where a sister prays for the betterment of her brother. *

Rath Yatra Ratha Yatra (), or Chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. The term particularly refers to the annual Ratha Yatra in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other East Indian states, particularly the Odia festival that involve a ...

: Rath Yatra is celebrated in the town & villages of the district. Lord

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

, his elder brother lord Balabhadra and his younger sister Subhadra travel in a wooden car to their mausi mandir. *

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

: Durga Puja has been celebrated in public ''

pandal A ''pandal'' in India and neighbouring countries, is a fabricated structure, either temporary or permanent, that is used at many places such as either outside a building or in an open area such as along a public road or in front of a house. This ca ...

s'' in the town for more than half a century. It is one of the most celebrated festival locally in Jharsuguda. Most remarkable and favoured among these are specially Durga pandals of Sarbahal, Chowki para and Mangal Bazar and Puja by Sri Santimai Mukharjee in Chowki Para are major crowd pullers for their majestic and innovative pandals. Traditional Bengali crowd gathers in KaliMandir which is one of the oldest Durga Puja in Jharsuguda *

Ganesh Puja Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

: Ganesh Chaturthi or

Ganesh puja Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

is also one of locally most celebrated festival which is a 10-day public celebration. *

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

and Chhat: It is celebrated with great pomp and show. * Kirtan (Nama Yangya) (Brundamal, Sarbahal, Sahapada, Buromal and Chowki Para): People pray to

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

and

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

Transport

Since the Colonial era, the city has had a relatively developed transportation network. Primary modes of transport are auto rickshaws, taxi and private and state operated buses. The

Jharsuguda Airport Veer Surendra Sai Airport , also known as Jharsuguda Airport, is a domestic airport serving Jharsuguda, Odisha, India. The airport is located north-east from the city centre. The airport is located in Durlaga, approximately from Jharsuguda ...

is operational since 2019 at Durlaga. It had an airstrip since British times, which is currently upgraded to a full-fledged airport. First flight from Jharsuguda took off in September 2018 after Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, inaugurated VSS Airport (Veer Surendra Sai Airport) on 22nd September, 2018. On February 28, 2019, low cost airline Spicejet announced regional connectivity from Jhasurguda to various state capitals such as Kolkata, Hyderabad as well as with New Delhi under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity scheme. UDAN

Jharsuguda railway station Jharsuguda railway station is a major railway junction located in the north-western part of the Indian state of Odisha and serves the Jharsuguda district. History Jharsuguda railway station came with the opening of the Nagpur–Asansol main lin ...

is an important railway junction on the

Tatanagar–Bilaspur section The Tatanagar–Bilaspur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects in the Indian state of Jharkhand and in Chhattisgarh. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through an industrial-mining area ...

of the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line and the Jharsuguda-Vizianagaram line. The railway station comes under South Eastern Railway. Jharsuguda Railway Station, Odisha 1

Jharsuguda is connected to various towns of the states by State Highway 10 (now a part of Biju Expressway) and National Highway 49.

Politics

The current

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

from Jharsuguda Assembly Constituency is Naba Kishore Das, who won the seat in 2009 and again in 2014. Jharsuguda is currently under Bargarh constituency of the Lok Sabha. This constituency came into existence in 2008 as a part of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies based on the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission of India in 2002. Jharsuguda was previously under the Deogarh constituency of the Lok Sabha. The current

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from

Bargarh Bargarh is a city and municipality in Bargarh district in the state of odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District. Bargarh is popularly known for intensive cultivation of 'paddy', therefore called "Bhata Hand ...

is Suresh Pujari from the Bharatiya Janta Party, taking office in 2019.

Education

The pre-collegiate medium of instruction in schools is predominantly English, Sambalpuri, Hindi and Odia. The medium of instruction in educational institutions after matriculation in colleges is English. Other medias of instruction also exist in Jharsuguda. Schools and colleges in Jharsuguda are mostly government-run, but schools run by private trusts and individuals also exist. The schools are affiliated with either the Odisha State Board under the Board of Secondary Education (BSE),

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

or Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE),

Indian Certificate of Secondary Education The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private board designed to provide an examination in a course of general education, in accordance wi ...

. After completing 10 years of schooling in secondary education, students enroll in higher secondary school, specialising in one of three streams – arts, commerce or science. In November 2016, the professional accounting body

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory b ...

opened a branch at Jharsuguda.

References

External links

Jharsugda district website

Jsglive - Local news channel

{{Odisha Cities and towns in Jharsuguda district Jharsuguda district