Khariar

Khariar Raj-Khariar
town
Khariar Location in Odisha, India
Coordinates: 20°17′N 82°46′E / 20.28°N 82.77°E / 20.28; 82.77Coordinates: 20°17′N 82°46′E / 20.28°N 82.77°E / 20.28; 82.77
Country	India
State	Odisha
District	Nuapada
Government
• Body	NAC Khariar
Area
• Total	9 km2 (3 sq mi)
Elevation	226 m (741 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	25,778
• Density	2,900/km2 (7,400/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Oriya
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	766107
Telephone code	06671
Vehicle registration	OD-26

Khariar (also called Khadial or Kharhial) is a town and a notified area committee in Nuapada district in the Indian state of Odisha.

Economy

Nuapada district in the State of Odisha is now considered one of the most backward districts in India and Khariar is located in the heart of Nuapada district. It comes under a rain shadow belt and there is never adequate rain fall for a good crop. Practically every year or once in two years there has been drought in the Khariar Tahasil (County). Khariar is the one of the major towns in Nuapada district. It is the main business centre in the locality. It has a daily market and a weekly baazar takes place every Friday. Maximum people of khariar are lower middle class which includes Govt employees, small shopkeepers etc.

Khariar street

Khariar market

Clouds covering the hilltop near khariar

Geography

Khariar is located at 20°17′N 82°46′E / 20.28°N 82.77°E / 20.28; 82.77.^[1] It has an average elevation of 226 m (741 ft). It is located in the Western part of Odisha, close to the border of Raipur District Chhattisgarh State. It belongs to the Mahanadi basin the Eastern Ghats where mountains are interspersed with wide valleys. The elevation is about 200 meters. The climate is tropical with the rainfall is due to the South West monsoon, There are few government and private schools and colleges in the region. Oriya is the official language of the people. Furthermore the region is well connected with roads to many town and also railways to other part of the state. The nearest airport located is Raipur in Chattisgarh. The Indian writers like Jitamitra Prasad Singh Deo and Avinash Patra are from Khariar Region.^[2]

Demographics

As of 2001 India census.^[3] Khariar had a population of 25778. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Khariar has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 52%. In Khariar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Khariar mahotsav

Education

khariar is one of the leading educational center in nuapada district. Khariar has one of the highest school density in nuapada district.There are several schools providing quality education consisting of odia medium and English medium.some of the schools are listed below.

• Raja A.T.High school.
• Saraswati vidya mandir.
• Lohrapali high school.
• Girls' high school.
• Khariar public school.
• Kendriya vidyalaya.
• Western odisha residential public school.rajkhaiar
• Imperial English medium School
• Little Star Play School
• Mission Primary School
• Taj Urudu Prathamika Vidyalaya

For higher studies also khariar proves to be beneficial,because it has some the best colleges in the region.Khariar autonomous college is the only autonomous college present in nuapada district. the other colleges are

• women's college,khariar.
• lokadrusti college of advanced technology.
• samit college of advanced technology
• parikshita tiger +2 science college

Transportation

Khariar is a major transportation hub in nuapada district as people from the three blocks namely boden,sinapali and khariar depend upon the mode of transportation available in khariar.Though khariar is not connected by rail,it is well connected by roads.The major roads passing through khariar are NH 353,SH 16 etc.The nearest rail head is kantabanji,which is situated 35 km apart from khariar.The nearest airport is Raipur airport situated 195 km from khariar.

Religious places

There are several religious places of different religion in khariar,this indicates a diversity in religion,culture in khariar.Some of the temples located in khariar are:-

• Maa samaleswari temple,near azad chowk
• Dadhibamana temple,badgudipada
• Jagannath temple
• Ram mandir
• Hanuman mandir
• Koshaleswar temple,irrigation colony

some of the other religious places of other communities are:-

• Mukti Marg Church, Khariar
• Musjid near old ssvm,khariar

Tourist spots

There are several tourist spots around khariar.Some of them are listed below:-

• Patalganga:-Patalganga,a tourist spot located approximately 30 km from khariar is a beautiful tourist spot which attracts large numbers of pilgrims from different parts of nuapada district as well as from neighbouring districts.A temple of lord Shiva is also there.
• Tikhali dam:- Tikhali dam,officially known as lower indra irrigation project is a dam located 17 km apart from khariar.It is an important picnic spot for the people of khariar.Generally it gets crowded in new year occasion.
• Rusipitha= Rusipitha is located tukla (LINGA RAJ)

Culture

Khariar's culture is a blend of traditional festivals,food,dance etc.Khariar offers a cosmopolitan and diverse lifestyle with a variety of food,entertainment and standard of living.Khariar has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to intermingling of different religions.The major language used is kosli,which is widely used in each and every part of khariar region.English is widely used for official purpose.Nuakhai is the major festival celebrated in this region.The other festivals like dusshera,holi,diwali,eid,Christmas are also celebrated in khariar.Khariar organises Khariar Mahotsav every year,which attracts a large number of people from different part of nuapada district.

References