Balangir District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balangir District, also called Bolangir District, is a district in the western part of Orissa, India. The district has an area of 5,165 km², and a population of 1,335,760 (2001 census). The town of Balangir is the district headquarters. The composition of the land is predominantly rural.
[edit] History
The district of Balangir is named after the headquarters towns of Balangir. This town was also the headquarters of the feudatory state of Patna since the 1880s. Balaram Deo, the brother of Narasimha Deo, the 12th Raja of Patna, established Balangir. As Balaram Deo is known to have flourished about the middle of 16th century, the origin of the town of Balangir has also been attributed to that period. It is said that the town being founded by Balaram Deo was named after him as Balaramgarh, from which the present name Balangir has been derived. There is however no recorded evidence to support this theory. The district of Balangir is flanked in the northwest by the Gandhamardan hill. Many hill streams traverse it. It is the land of Tantrik culture. It is also notable for having experimented in the republican form of Government that was overthrown by Ramai Deo. Ramai founded the kingdom of Patna in the 14th century, which within a short span of its militant career become the head of the cluster of eighteen Garhs. The Chauhan rule ended with the merger of the state of Patna and Sonepur with Orissa on the 1st January, 1948. They together form the district of Balangir. Sonepur was carved out as a separate district on April 1, 1993.
[edit] Geography
The district has three revenue sub-divisions,namely, Balangir, Titilagarh and Patanagarh.Sonepur, which was previously a sub-division of Balangir has become a district now.
Balangir is famous for its natural beauty and the tribals. Harishankar, situated 80 kms from Balangir town is one of them. There is an ordinance factory near a small town named Saintala. Titlagarh is a subdivision in the district where the second highest temperature in India was recorded. The important archaeological and tourist sites are Ranipur-Jharial, Ghodar-Sihini, Titilagarh, Saintala, Sindhekela(worship of Shakti in the primitive form of a stone Yoni), Sauntpur, Patanagarh, Surda,and Harishankar.
