Redhakhol or Rairakhol is a town and a Notified Area Council in Sambalpur district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. Redhakhol town, which is the Sub-Divisional headquarter of Rairakhol Sub-division surrounded by a green belt of reserve forest, is unique for its natural environment and pollution-free status. The town is well known as it is located on the 265-kilometre Cuttack-Sambalpur National Highway-55 where passengers and buses plying through this town make temporary halts to have lunch, tiffin and drinking water.The town is a market place for people from nearby villages who flock to the town for their daily needs and recreational activities.The nearby villagers sell their agricultural produce and other forest products at the Vegetable Market of NAC Redhakhol which is situated in front of Bhima Bhoi college. Moreover the Sub-divisional hospital is situated in the town.

Geography

Redhakhol is located at . It has an average elevation of .

History

During the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

era, Redhakhol erstwhile Rairakhol was the capital of Rairakhol State, one of the several princely states of the Eastern States Agency. It had been a feudatory state to Bamra until the 18th century.Rairakhol Princely State - "The Golden Book of India"; LETHBRIDGE, Roper, MacMillan & Co., 1893 p. 539
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Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Redhakhol had a population of 15,379. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Redhakhol has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 65%. In Redhakhol, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Financial Institutions/Banks

Canara Bank Canara Bank is an Indian public sector bank based in Bangalore, India. Established in 1906 at Mangalore by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. The bank was nationalized in 1969. Canara Bank also has offices in London, Dubai and New York. History Amm ...

* DCB Bank *

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...

* Union Bank of India * Utkal Gramin Bank *

Central Bank of India The Central Bank of India (CBI) is an Public sector banks in India, Indian public sector bank based in Mumbai. Despite its name, CBI is not the central bank of India, a role served by the Reserve Bank of India. History The Central Bank of ...

HDFC Bank HDFC Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest private sector bank by assets and market capitalisation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified the HDFC Bank, Stat ...

Axis Bank Axis Bank Limited, formerly known as UTI Bank (1993–2007), is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's third largest private sector bank by assets and fo ...

* UCO Bank

Connectivity

National Highway 55 passes through Redhakhol. It is 67 km south of the district headquarter

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

and 220 km west of the state capital

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

. After opening of the Kiakata bridge on Rairakhol-Kiakata State Highway, this town has become a junction point, as it provides direct connectivity to Boudh, Phulbani & Brahmapur. The historical Deogarh town is situated 88 km to its north leading to

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

Highway. Rairakhol railway station connects Redhakhol to all major cities in India.

Education

Bhima Bhoi College in Redhakhol town is affiliated to Sambalpur University and provides Degree and +2 courses in Science, Humanities and Commerce subjects. G.C.High Schoolhttps://www.rtiodisha.gov.in/pa/T1RILzEwLzI1MjcvMjg= established in 1947, is one of the oldest schools in Redhakhol providing secondary education. Prabhujee English Medium School established in 2000, provides primary, secondary and higher secondary education from Nursery to XII and it is affiliated to CBSE.

Politics

Redhakhol is a part of Rairakhol Assembly constituency and Sambalpur Parliamentary constituency. Current MLA from this seat is Prasanna Acharya of Biju Janata Dal.

References

External links

Redhakhol

Notified Area Council, Redhakhol
Cities and towns in Sambalpur district {{sambalpur-geo-stub the paragraph