Gunupur
| Gunupur ଗୁଣୁପୁର | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
  Gunupur Location in Odisha, India | |
| Coordinates: 19°05′N 83°49′E / 19.08°N 83.82°ECoordinates: 19°05′N 83°49′E / 19.08°N 83.82°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Odisha |
| District | Rayagada |
| Elevation | 83 m (272 ft) |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 87,751 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Oriya, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 765022 |
| Telephone code | 06857 |
Gunupur(Oriya: ଗୁଣୁପୁର) is a sub-divisional headquarter of Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the second biggest town in Rayagada district.
How to reach
Air
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The nearest airport is the Visakhapatnam Airport at a distance of 200 km towards the south. The other nearest airport is the Bhubaneswar Airport, which is about 360 km.
Road
- Gunupur is connected to other parts of Odisha by state highway SH17(Gunupur-Digapahandi-Berhampur) and SH04(Paralakhemundi-Gunupur-Rayagada-Koraput). The nearest major town is Paralakhemundi (in Gajapati district) 55 km away and Rayagada which is 75 km away. It is also well connected with major cities of Andhra Pradesh.
- Odisha State Road Transport Corporation, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, and Private buses run frequently between Gunupur to other parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.The town is well connected to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rayagada, Koraput, Jeypore, Bhawanipatna, Paralakhemundi, Palasa, Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatnam.
- Taxi services are also easily available in Gunupur, You can arrange them from local tour operators.
Railway
Gunupur is connected by the 90 km long broad gauge Naupada-Gunupur branch railway line to Naupada railway junction on the Khurda Road-Visakhapatnam section of the Calcutta-Madras route or Howrah-Chennai main line. Three passenger trains run between Gunupur and Puri, Gunupur and Palasa and another between gunupur and visakhapatnam. - all three are via Naupada. You can connect with main line trains from Naupada junction to other places in India.
| #No | Train Number | Train Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58418 | Gunupur - Puri PASS |
| 2 | 58505 | Gunupur - Visakhapatnam PASS |
| 3 | 58420 | Gunupur - Palasa PASS |
Narrow Gauge Paralakhemedi Light Railway(PLR)
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The narrow gauge line from Gunupur to Naupada was called Paralakhemedi Light Railway (PLR). It was established by the erstwhile Gajapati Kings of Paralakhemundi. The Raja of Paralakhemundi decided to connect his capital, Paralakhemundi, with Naupada, which was only 40 km away and Gunupur which is only 55 km away from Parlakhemundi. The Government sanctioned the route in 1898, work began in full earnest and the traffic was started in 1900. This railway line was built at a cost of only Rs.7 lakhs in those days.
During the SER centenary celebrations in 1987, set of four postage stamps were released. One of the stamps featured the PL 691 locomotive of Gunupur-Naupada Railway.
Geography
Gunupur is located at 19°05′N 83°49′E / 19.08°N 83.82°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 83 metres (272 ft). It is located in the lap of the Eastern Ghat and on the banks of river Bansadhara. It has a mixed climate of mountains & Coastal Plain. Its outer region is completely covered by forests and Hills.
Climate
| Climate data for Gunupur | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38.5 (101.3) |
33.2 (91.8) |
39.9 (103.8) |
38.4 (101.1) |
40.5 (104.9) |
40.5 (104.9) |
39.9 (103.8) |
37.2 (99) |
37.5 (99.5) |
36 (97) |
34.6 (94.3) |
32 (90) |
40.5 (104.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27.8 (82) |
29.3 (84.7) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.8 (89.2) |
33 (91) |
32.3 (90.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31 (88) |
29.8 (85.6) |
28.2 (82.8) |
33 (91) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
22.2 (72) |
24.5 (76.1) |
26.2 (79.2) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.2 (81) |
26.2 (79.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
25 (77) |
23.1 (73.6) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) |
14 (57) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
16.4 (61.5) |
20 (68) |
21.4 (70.5) |
21 (70) |
16.4 (61.5) |
15.6 (60.1) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
10.6 (51.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 12.4 (0.488) |
31.7 (1.248) |
18.6 (0.732) |
18.8 (0.74) |
99.8 (3.929) |
124.7 (4.909) |
133.2 (5.244) |
154.1 (6.067) |
219 (8.62) |
202.4 (7.969) |
99.3 (3.909) |
10.9 (0.429) |
1,124.9 (44.284) |
| Avg. snowy days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 60 | 61 | 63 | 66 | 66 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 66 | 60 | 70.3 |
| Source #1: NOAA [2] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: IMD[3] | |||||||||||||
Culture
- The major languages spoken in the region are Oriya, Telugu, Hindi and tribal languages like Soura and Kui. It possesses a culture with a mix of Oriya, Telugu and Tribals.
Demography
As of 2001 India census,[4] Gunupur has a population of 21,196. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Gunupur has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72% and female literacy is 55%. In Gunupur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Bhimasankar Jyotirlinga
According to "LINGA PURAN", Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur around 30 km from Gunupur is one of the Jyotirling, situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya (which is also believed as the Daakini area by many historian), was excavated in the year 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.
Temples of Divinity
There are lot of temples in and around Gunupur.Few famous ones in Gunupur are.......
- Sri Kamakshi-Mrityunjaya temple in Matia-Street.
- Sri Trinatha Mandir, old-octroi-gate road.
- Sri DakshinaKali-Neelakantheswara temple at the old-bus-stand.
- Sri Manikewari temple, old Tahasil office premises.
- Sri Laxminarayana temple, Gandhi park, old Tahasil office premises.
- Sri Seeta-Rama-Laxmana-Hanuma temple, Jailpeta.
- Sri SatyaSaiBaba Bhajana Mandir at the Bebortha-street
- Sri Shiva temple on top of Sephali Mountain
- Sri Shiva temple in front of Gunupur college.
- Sri Trinath Temple near Gunupur Court.
- Maa Mangala Temple near Balaram Nagar.
- Sri Padmavathi-Venkateswara temple, New-bus-stand
- Sri Dakshina-Mukha-Hanuman temple at the old-Gunupur road
- Sri Dwadasha Jyotirlinga temple at Vamsadhara-sangam-ghat, Vikramapur.
- Sri Radha-Krishna temple near the Vikramapur bus-stand.
- Sri Jagannath temple in Old-Gunupur
- Sri Potuluri-Veerabrahmendra-swamy temple at Golla-Street
- Sri Shirdi-Sai temple at Golla-Street
- Sri Shirdi-Sai Mandir at the Gaddiyakhola road
- Sri Ramalingeswara temple (Bhago Devulo) near Brahmin street
- Sri Gramadevi temple at the main-road
- Sri Kanyaka-Parameswari temple at the main-road, Kottapeta
- Sri DharamaSaasta-Ayyappa Temple in Gunupur, opposite to Town Hall.
- Lord Shiva temple in Bikrampur, Gunupur
Churches
St. Paul's Church at Gunupur is a place of divinity for Christian community. This is the best place for celebrating Christmas and New Year.
Tourist attractions and Picnic Spots
Gunupur and its vicinity have of many charms, is a thrill to the searching eyes. It has the facilities to serve as a base for visiting the nearby place of interest.
- Badanala Dam – The only one water reservoir in the Rayagada district with Hydro electric capability .It is a famous leisure and picnic spot. You can also do fishing and traditional boat ride for recreation here. It is about 35 km from Gunupur on SH17.
- Pradhaniguda, Turkaniguda and Penguda locality which is having ancient temples sounded by greenery in the bank of Bansadhara River is an old traditional picnic spot. It is about 5 km from Gunupur.
- Pulugumi is a small water fall with dense Green habitation, it is a regular picnic spot for gunupur students and young masses. It is about 10 km from Gunupur by SH04.
- Lord Jagannath and Gundicha temple locality at Old-Gunupur, near to the Vidyaniketan Public School is a good peaceful picnic spot for all the age groups. It is surrounded with dense cashew and mango plantation with a small waterfall .It is only about 2 km from Gunupur Bus stand.
- Minajhola is only 70 km from Gunupur. It is a beauty spot of nature, has a siva temple at the confluence of three rivers. It is situated in the heart of dense forest, rich in wildlife. Sivaratri is a popular festival of this place. Though there is no good all-weather road yet, the place is worth visiting. Regular bus service is available from Rayagada and Gunupur up to Gudari. The rest 25 km road is Jeepable.
- Padmapur houses the shrine of Manikeswari Siva. It is identified to be the seat of Dharmakirti, the Budhist-Logician-philosopher. It is a 7th-century temple. In one of the temple something is written in some strange language (Pali) and the temple is built using only seven stones.It is 20 km from Gunupur.
- Chatikona is located about 60 km from Gunupur surrounded by a series of valleys and wooded hills of varying colours and the place is a center of pilgrimage for the temple of Mahadev. It offers picnickers gorgeous view of the waterfall. The Siva temple is the focus of hectic activities on Siva Ratri. The Dongaria Kondha of Chatikona represent the primitive section of the tribe.
- Maa Markama Temple is located at Bissam Cuttack, 70 km from Gunupur. The temple got a new look and surrounded by lush green forest. Many people visit from near and far especially on Tuesdays. The town college has also been named after Goddess Markama.
- Maa Majhighariani Temple is famous in Southern Division of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Most of the devotees come from Madhyapradesh Chhatishgarh, Andhrapradesh including undivided Koraput District. During Sunday, Wednesday and Friday a large number of devotees come to worship the Maa MajhiGhariani . The temple is famous for Chaitra-Parba, i.e., March–April of every year.
- Laxminarayan temple is at IMFA Factory, Therubali. The deities Laxminarayan, Hanuman, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and Lord Siva are worshiped by thousands devotees. is located about 80 km from Gunupur
- RAYGADA KORAPUT RAILWAY LINE: the distance form Rayagada to Koraput is about 176 km this route is full of adventure since there 36 tunnels and about 250 bridges fall in this route. this route is like konkan railway route and one can see animals while this journey. the koraput distinct is situated at the height of 870 meter from the sea level.
Fairs and festivals
- Bansadhara Moho-Uchhav during Jan-Feb, Dhepo Ground, Gunupur.
- Rath Yatra during July near Jagannath temple, Gunupur.
- Kali Puja during November near Shantinagar, Gunupur .
- Dusshera/Durga Puja during October at Electric Office, Gunupur.
- Ganesh puja at Bakiti Street & Near Govt Boys High School, Gunupur.
- Christmas in St. Paul's Church, Near Old Bus stand, Gunupur.
- Chaiti Festival at GCD Grounds, Rayagada.
- Gaja Laxmi Puja in Bissam Cuttack at Dalamandap, Bissam Cuttack.
Education
Gunupur is a tribal dominated area but the focus on education has been there from a long time. Its literacy rate is way above the national average. Gunupur had got its first high school way back in 1903 before Independence. It got it first Degree College Estd. 1972. Now Gunupur is a hub of fine educational institutions.
- Government Boys' High School, Gunupur, established before the independence. (ESTD 1903).
- Government Girls High School, Gunupur, Providing education for the girls. (ESTD 1962).
- Gunupur Govt College, Gunupur Providing Education in Art, Science and Commerce stream under Berhampur University. (ESTD 1972).
- Sahid Laxman Nayak Memorial High school, Gunupur. (ESTD on 1989).
- Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology (GIET), Gunupur. It is top Engineering college of Odisha attracts students from all part of India and overseas. This college has 11 BTech branches and affiliated to BPUT. (ESTD 1997).
- Thayaramma Women's College, Gunupur providing good education in Arts stream under Berhampur University (ESTD 1998).
- Gayatri Institute of Computer and Management Studies (GICMS), Gunupur. This provides courses on BCA, MCA, MBA, B-PHARMA, D-PHARMA under BPUT.(ESTD 1999).
- Vidyaniketan Public School, Gunupur. This school provides education to students from Nursery to +2 Science. It is a CBSE affiliated English Medium School. (ESTD 1999).
- Gandhi Public School, Gunupur. This school provides education to students from Nursery to +2 Science students. It is a CBSE affiliated English Medium School. (ESTD 2004).
- Balaji Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS), Gunupur. This institute provides diploma courses for the students under Berhampur University.(ESTD 2009).
Courts
There are several Judicial courts at Gunupur under the control of District Court Rayagada.[5] The Court of Senior Civil Judge-cum-Asst. Sessions Judge, the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class and other revenue courts like the Court of Sub Divisional Executive Magistrate cum Sub Collector and the Court of Tahasildar are situated here. As per the demand of the Bar Association, Gunupur and the litigant public, the Court of Additional District & Sessions Judge at Gunupur started functioning from 20 Sept, 2014.
Politics
Current MLA from Gunupur Assembly Constituency is Sri Trinath Gomango of BJD, who won the seat in State elections of 2014. Previous MLAs from this seat include rammurthy mutika who won the seat in 2004 (BJD), Ram Murty Gamango who won this seat in 2000 as BJP candidate and as a JD candidate in 1990, Akshaya Kumar Gomango of INC in 1995, and Bhagirathi Gomango who won this seat as INC candidate in 1985 and 1977 and as INC(I) candidate in 1980.[6]
Gunupur is part of Koraput (Lok Sabha constituency).[7]
References
- ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Gunupur
- ↑ publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |accessdate = 24 December 2012}}
- ↑ "Extremes of India" (PDF). Indian Meteorological Department. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ↑ "Official site of District Court,Rayagada"
- ↑ "State Elections 2004 - Partywise Comparison for 80-Gunupur Constituency of Odisha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ↑ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies of Odisha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
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