Jatani

Jatani
Khurda Road
Town
Jatani

Location in Odisha, India

Coordinates: 20°10′N 85°42′E / 20.17°N 85.7°ECoordinates: 20°10′N 85°42′E / 20.17°N 85.7°E
Country  India
State Odisha
District Khordha
Elevation 36 m (118 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total ~150,000
Languages
 • Official Oriya
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 752050
Telephone code 0674
Vehicle registration OD-02

Jatani or Jatni or Khurda Road is a town and a municipality in Khordha district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is one of the major sub-urban areas of Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha. Jatni,also known as 'Khurda Road' in Indian Railways parlance, acts as an important railway junction between the main railroads running between Kolkata to Chennai, with diversions to the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri, and also with another diversion to the vast tribal hinterland of Odisha. It has emerged as a commercial hub with a number of educational and other institutions. Jatni is famous for its celebration of the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi and lots of people come here during the festival.[1]

Geography

Jatani is located at 20°05′N 85°25′E / 20.09°N 85.42°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 36 metres (118 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[3] Jatani had a population of 54,550. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Jatani has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 72%. In Jatani, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Its surrounding villages are Bachhara, Khudupur, Uparabasta, Sandhapur, Gobindpur, Gopinathpur, Kusumati, Kudiary.

Culture

A typical pandal during the Ganesh Puja celebration in Raja Bazar in 2012

The population of Jatani consists mostly of Oriya speaking people. Others like Telugu, Marwari, Gujarati, Bengali, etc. are also present in good numbers. It is also the home of highest number of Anglo-Indian people in Odisha. A variety of communities live here because Jatani has been a very important railway station since the British rule. A major chunk of people living here are railway employees.

Jatani is famous for its celebration of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Jatani is very crowded during Ganesh Puja as people from nearby places visit in huge numbers for the occasion.This celebration continues for about a fortnight. People of Jatani maintain communal harmony. Eid ul-Fitr & Christmas Day are also celebrated with religious fervor.

Diwali and Holi are celebrated here with much fanfare. The firework shops in Jatani draw a large number of buyers from nearby places like Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Puri etc. .These fireworks are manufactured in nearby villages, like Padanpur. Apart from being sold in huge quantities in the makeshift shops during Diwali, these fireworks are also sold throughout the year in wholesale shops, mainly supplementing to the fanfare of marriage processions.

Several communities residing in Jatani, keep alive their own traditions, be it the Anglo-Indians celebrating Christmas in the open or the Marwari's Garba in closely guarded community atmosphere or the Muslims carrying out Mourning of Muharram.

Several week-long festivals for the goddess Bhagabati Devi are also celebrated mostly in Railway settlement areas esp. Loco Colony and Retang colony. On the last day, the procession is carried out in public, followed by a carnival depicting stories from Hindu mythologies like Ramayana, Mahabharat etc.

The town is spread across various Railways settlements akin colonies like Traffic colony, New colony, Accounts colony, Retang colony, Loco Colony surrounded by private townships like Nuagaun, Hata bazaar, Raja bazaar, Bali Chakka Sahi, Railway Market, Kudiary, Sitaram Chhack, Thaana Chhack, Bacharapatna (chhack is the local equivalent for Cross, similarly bazaar is the local equivalent for Market).

Temples

There are some good and old temples in and around Jatani. Among the old temples is the Budhapada Mandir (dedicated to Lord Shiva) and devotees from different places in and around of Jatani visit the temple. Other temples are Chotta Somnath Mandira situated at Kudiary, Venkateswara Temple, Maa Damunei (Uttarayani Temple), Maa Mangala, Taleshwar(Lord Shiva) situated at Barapada, and Jatiani temple (the deity from whom Jatni gets it name).

Dola Jatra is celebrated in Harirajpur (4 km away from Jatni town), which takes place on the 5th day following Holi. It is a very big local gathering where idols of gods from different parts of the district are brought in palaki (palanquin) and placed in jatra (fair). People visit and offer their prayers to Gods by applying different colours of Holi. Ganesh puja is the biggest festival of Jatni in which more than 3 lakh people come during the festival to watch the pandals and enjoy the evening in Mina Bazaar with games and end their day with watching Oriya operas known as Jatra party. The most important historical place near Jatani is Barunei hills. During the British times the Khurdha paikas started the freedom movement from here.

Transport

Khurda Road rail station
National Highway 5 near Jatani
Talakheta road, one of the road connecting Jatani with National Highway 5

It has excellent railway connectivity with most major cities in the country. Jatani Railway Station is known as Khurda Road and is the biggest Railway Junction of the East Coast for the Indian Railways in the state. Trains from different parts of the country are routed to different cities from the Chennai-Kolkata main line.

Roadways

It is well connected to all other cities in the state. The NH-5 National Highway (connecting Chennai & Kolkata) runs close to Jatani (around 7 km). The state capital, Bhubaneswar, is located at a distance of 25 km. Khurda is located at a distance of 8 km. Pipili is located at distance of 13 km.

Railways

It is well connected to other cities like Bhubaneswar (19 km), Puri (44 km), Howrah (456 km), Mumbai (1913 km), New Delhi (1819 km), Chennai (1204 km), Hyderabad (1124 km), Bangalore (1606 km) etc. by rail. Khurda Road railway station is a large railway junction. There is a popular saying here that, One must come to Khurda Road railway station and one will get a train to any part of this country. This is one of the most important division of East Cost Railway.

Airports

The nearest Airport is at Bhubaneswar, which is 25 km from here. Now,the brand new upgraded Biju Patnaik Airport is situated in the city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It is currently the only major airport in Odisha. It is named after the former Chief Minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik, who was also a famed aviator and freedom fighter. In 2013, a new domestic terminal with a capacity of 800 passengers per hour (4 million annually) was inaugurated, while the old terminal is being renovated for starting international operations.

Medical

It is an old hospital run by the Odisha Government that provides necessary health care services to the populace of local and neighboring areas. It operates for about 8 hours in a day. It has experienced doctors and pharmacists, who are very dedicated towards their work.
This hospital is set up for the Railway employees only. Employees from areas around Jatani and neighboring towns and villages also avail of the facilities provided by this hospital.

Education

Schools

Kendriya Vidyalaya - Popularly known as KV-KUR, it has both Secondary and Senior Secondary level education system. It provides facilities like computer labs, science labs (biology, chemistry, physics and junior science), library and a playground having areas for cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, badminton, skating, etc. Dance, music, cultural programs, youth parliament, acting, drama, art, drawing, crafing, SUPW, yoga are some of the extra-curricular activities done at this school.

Mission School - This is a school affiliated to the I.C.S.E. board, also popularly known as Bethel Chapel school.

ST. Xaviers High School - This is a school affiliated to the C.B.S.E., situated opposite to Jatni Medical (Govt.).

NDRC High School - It is an Oriya medium school affiliated to the Odisha State Board, which is situated in Retang Colony.

Prananath (P.N.) High School - The oldest school in the town, which is an Oriya medium school affiliated to the Odisha State Board. Situated near Jatni College. Late Prananath Pattnaik built this school.

Railway school - A State board school run by the East Coast Railways. Of late, the teaching is mainly done in English. It is situated near the Railway Hospital in Traffic Colony.

Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir

S.D.P Bidyapitha High School - It is an Oriya medium (Odisha State Board) school situated near Bachharapatna.

Kudiary High School - It is an Oriya medium (Odisha State Board) school situated in Kudiary.

Some other schools are Shishu Sikshya Niketan, SERWWO(South Eastern Railway Women's Welfare Organisation) school, St. Xavier High School, A.D.S public school, Swosti Jyoti Vidya Mandir, Girls high school, Boys high school, D.A.V public school, Cristal valley school, Konark Public School, etc.

Higher education institutions

Politics

Current MLA from Jatni Assembly Constituency is Bhagirathi Badajena of BJD from May 2014, successor to Bibhuti Balabantaray,[4] who won the seat in State elections of 2009. Earlier Sarat Paikary also won in 1990 as JD candidate. Winner of this seat in 2000, 1995, 1985, 1980 and 1977 was Suresh Kumar Routray, who represented INC in 2000, 1995 and 1985, represented INC(I) in 1980 and JNP in 1977.[5]

Jatni is part of Bhubaneswar (Lok Sabha constituency).[6]

Photo Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Rath, Tapan (2012). "Jatni soaked in Ganesh spirit - The New Indian Express". newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 5 October 2012. One among the few places across the country where Lord Ganesh is worshipped for 11 days
  2. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Jatani
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ http://www.elections.in/orissa/assembly-constituencies/jatni.html
  5. ↑ "State Elections 2004 - Partywise Comparison for 51-Jatni Constituency of Odisha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  6. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies of Odisha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-09-24.