Durgapur, Angul

Durgapur
ଦୁର୍ଗାପୁର
village
Durgapur

Location in Odisha, India

Coordinates: 20°56′00″N 84°53′00″E / 20.9333°N 84.8833°ECoordinates: 20°56′00″N 84°53′00″E / 20.9333°N 84.8833°E
Country  India
State Odisha
District Angul
Elevation 247 m (810 ft)
Languages
 • Official Oriya
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

Durgapur is a village located in Angul district, in the Indian state of Odisha.[1][2]

The village is well known from the British colonial era for the good will of Uchhab Pradhan. It offers dense forest and traditional Oriya culture with several festivals. The main attractions of the village are several temples such as goddess Maa Durga temple on Mathamundia Hill, Radha Krishna temple at Pradhan Sahi, Harihara temple and village deity Buddhi Thakurani temple near Charibati Chhak. The village is thirty two kilometers from the district headquarters Angul. NH-55 is five kilometers away from the village at Jarapada. Bakala, Korada, Bhagirathipur and Jarapada are adjacent villages to Durgapur.

Village institutions include a Post Office, Doordarshan, Neelachal Gramya Bank,[3] MINI/AUCC Bank, Schools, Grama Panchayat Office, ANM Center and LI Center. Minor Irrigation Project Jamaijharan, at the foot of the Mathamundia Hill and large pond Gangamunda, irrigates the village farms. A Daka-Bangala from British time, the RadhaKrishna temple from the colonial era and various folk based cultures have lost influence. Mobile services include Doordarshan, Airtel and Vodafone.

Geography

The village is surrounded by forests and hills and is situated almost in the middle of the district of Angul.

Balakrushna Marga(Hawak Road of British time)which is 25 km in length; that connects from Jarapada to Chhendipada-block and runs through the village. The village comes under Chhendipada Tahasil and Jarapada RI Circle.

The forests are managed by two committees, including 'Maa Durga Bana Sarankhyana Samiti', and provide fuel for the village. The Range office of Durgapur Forest Division, has its working office at Jarapada.

Demographics

The population of the village is around five thousand. The last election counted 3,108 voters. According to 'Voter List- 2014' there are 3083 voters in the village; including male voters 1605 and female voters 1478.

Education

Improper schooling and sanitation cause bad literacy and health conditions in the villagers. The local schools are Durgapur Nodal U. P. School, Tangirisahi U. P. School, Panasahi U. P. School, Bana Durga Pada U. P. School, Durgapur G. P. High School and some Anganwadi centers. The nearest college to the village is Patitapabana Mahavidyalaya in Jarapada.

Health

The lack of a permanent site for an ANM center resulted in an overall low level of health of the villagers.

Politics

The village comes within Assembly constituency Chhendipada (62) and Parliamentary(Lok-Sabha) Constituency Sambalpur (03). The three major political parties are Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) (regional party of Odisha). Congress was in control for decades, followed by a shorter run for BJP, in turn followed by BJD. The Communist-supported SUCI party has a small role in nearby industrial areas. Poor education limits development.

Culture

Oriyas have "thirteen festivals in twelve months". Festivals include Bhadraba/Grama Puja, Dusshera/Durga Puja, Dhabaleswar/Bada Osha, Panchuka and Kartik Poornima, Asta-Prahara-Nama-Jagyan/Astapraharee, Shivaratri, Dola/Phalguna Yatra and Chandan Yatra. Other Oriya religious festivals like Pana Sankranti/Hanumana Jayanti, Akshyaya Trutiya/Mutthi Anukula, Raja Parba, Rakhi Purnima, Khudurukuni Osha, Shree Ganesh/Vinayaka Chaturthi, Garvana Sankranti, Kumara Purnima, Deepavali/Deewali, Prathamastami, Manabasa/Mahalaxmi Gurubara, Pausa Purnima, Makara Sankranti, Saraswati Puja, Holi and Basanteeka Durga Puja are observed ordinarily and serially according to the Oriya months.

Economy

Agriculture is the main profession/livelihood of the village. Bullocks are the primary means of ploughing with tractors gradually increasing. Most plots are too small for mechanization. "CHASA" including the titles Pradhan, Sahu, Behera etc. creates the "Farmer-Caste-System" of the village. In earlier times, the farmers sang folk songs while ploughing, but this is no longer common.

References

  1. ↑ "Anugul". angul.nic.in. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Durgapur, India Page". Fallingrain. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Neelachal Bank". Retrieved 25 March 2012.