Kendrapara is a city and a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in Kendrapara district

Kendrapara District

Kendrapara District is an administrative district of Orissa state in eastern India. The town of Kendrapara is the district headquarters. Kendrapara District is situated in the eastern portion of the state, and is bounded on the north by Bhadrak District, on the east by the Bay of Bengal, on the...

 in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

. It is the headquarters of Kendrapara district.

Geography

Kendrapara is located at 20.50°N 86.42°E. It has an average elevation of 13 m (42.7 ft). It is surrounded by Bhadrak

Bhadrak

Bhadrak is a city and a municipality in Bhadrak district in the state of Orissa, India.-Demographics: India census, Bhadrak had a population of 1,33,4000. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bhadrak has an average literacy rate of 73.86, higher than the national average of...

, Jajpur, Cuttack

Cuttack

Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...

 and Jagatsinghpur

Jagatsinghpur

Jagatsinghapur is a town and a Municipality area in Jagatsinghpur district in the Indian state of Orissa. Jagatsingpur got the recognition of a district on 1 April 1994, which is situated at a distance of 60 km from Cuttack. Jagtsingpur district has made Orissa's literature and culture...

 districts and Bay of Bengal in the east.

The river Luna (a branch of Mahanadi) is flowing out side of Kendrapara district.

Transport

Kendrapara is just about 75 kilometres from the state capital, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

. To reach Kendrapara one can go via Cuttack

Cuttack

Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...

-Jagatpur-Salipur state high way or on the National Highway No.5 and 5 A, crossing at ChandikholViaChhata

Chhata

Chhata is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mathura district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Geography:Chhata is located at . It has an average elevation of 186 metres .-Demographics:...

 towards Paradip

Paradip

Paradip, also spelt Paradeep, is a major seaport town and a designated notified area in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, India.-Geography:Paradip is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Paradip Port:...

. Kendrapara is just two and half hour drive from Bhubaneswar Airport on the National Highway 5 and 5 A.(If you go non-stop by your car). The Nearest Railway station is at Cuttack

Cuttack

Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...

 which is 55 kilometre from Kendrapara town.

Demography

As of 2001 India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Kendrapara had a population of 13,01,856. Males constitute 49.6 % of the population and females 50.4 %. Kendrapara has an average literacy rate of 77.33%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87.62 %, and female literacy is 67.29%. In Kendrapara, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. The local language is Oriya

Oriya language

Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...

, the state language, but a high degree of fluency is also present in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 , as well as some familiarity with Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 in some parts of the population.

Hindus form the dominant majority of the population. There is a substantial Muslim minority.

Culture

The Baladevjew Temple

Baladevjew Temple

Baladev Jew Temple is situated in the small town Ichhapur, in Kendrapara District, Orissa. Baladev Jew Temple is a very famous temple of Orissa and Balarama is its main divinity. However, Jagannath and Subhadra are also worshipped in the Ratna Sinhasan in the main temple...

 is located in Kendrapara. A Car Festival or Rath Yatra

Rath Yatra

Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July. Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area...

 is held in the month of Ashadha(June/July). The Gajalaxmi puja onKojaagari Purnima or Kumar Purnima  is celebrated in the month of October and Kartikeya Puja in November and Maa Kali Puja

Kali Puja

Kali Puja or Shyama Puja is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu month Ashwin in Bengal. It coincides with the pan-Indian Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali...

 at Olaver are held each year. Gajalaxmi puja is a big festival here and is celebrated for 7 days. Maa Kali Puja in Olaver is one of the famous festivals in the region. The Oriya sweet dish, Rasabali

Rasabali

Rasaabali Oriya:ରସାବଳି is a sweet dish from Orissa, India. Unlike some other popular Oriya desserts, such as rasagolla which have spread throughout India through Bengal, the popularity of rasabali remains largely confined within Orissa...

, originated from Kendrapara. The car of Lord Baladevjew, also called as 'Bramha Taaladhwaja' is one of the biggest cars of its type in the world. Kendrapara is also known as Tulasi Ksherta (as Tulasi, different from basil tulsi is the wife of Lord Balabhadra) and Gupta Kshetra (Lord Balabhadra wish to stay here secretly). Different types of prasad prepared and used in Baladevjew Temple are Rasabali

Rasabali

Rasaabali Oriya:ରସାବଳି is a sweet dish from Orissa, India. Unlike some other popular Oriya desserts, such as rasagolla which have spread throughout India through Bengal, the popularity of rasabali remains largely confined within Orissa...

, Potali Pitha, Magaja Ladoo, Kakaraa, Khaja, Karanji, Chhena Kheeri

Chhena Kheeri

Chhena Kheeri is a sweet dish originally from coastal Orissa in eastern India, a state known for desserts made of chhena. The popularity of this dish is spreading to other parts of Orissa, as well as neighboring states.-Preparation:...

, Ghanabrata, Dahipakhala, Khiri, Puri etc.
Village Kusupur is one of the well known and very important village in the District Kendrapara - Cuttack (earst while) District. Village Poet Nanda Kishore Bal, Village Educationist and socialist leader Surya Mani Jena, Silpiguru Bimbadhara Verma, Pradyumna Bal, Member of Parliament are the most distinguished personalities who hails from village Kusupur. Village Kusupur is also famous for its Dussera Sabha which organizes the traditional Sword Fighting on the eleventh day (next day of Dussera) for last more than hundred years. On this occasion Kusupur Dussera sabha organises various local cultural functions including the sword fighting wherein the Kshetriyas of village Kusupur and from the nearest gadjat areas participate and were being awarded. Apart from the sword fighting the fire fighting (burnati) are also worth watching. Every year about a lakh of people gathered in Kusupur to witness the Dussera Sabha. Village Kusupur is situated in the bank of river Birupa and next to Balichandrapur on the National Highway No.5A. Bhalukuni Melana is celebrated each and every year in Derabis hata ground. It is one of the biggest melana in the district. Ramjan, Eid, bakhrid, muharram are the festivals of Muslims are observed each year with great pump. Derabish is located 11 km away from district headquarters.
Karilopatna located near to Kendrapara is a beautiful place to visit. Potali Matha, located at Balia which is around 5 km towards north of Kendrapara town, organizes a 5-day 'Biswa Santhi yajna' each year in March. People from across India gather there. On the final day of the Yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...

, organized by the local trust headed by Kartik chandra Mishra and there is always a big crowd, more than 20,000 to get the prasad (Yajna Ahuti).
Lohit baba Mandir, located at Chhata Chhaka (NH-5A), Derabish is around 6 km away from Kendrapara town and 20 km away from chandikhol. Dadhibamana Jewish Temple is situated in Derabish.
One of the famous "Boita Bandana Utashv" held on November (Kartika masa) in the village kalapada, which is 7 km from Kendrapara town situated in the bank of Luna river (A part of Mahanadi). Near about 20-30 thousand people gather in this festival that will celebrate for 7 days. And the ultimate part is, it is inaugurated by Power Minister Mr. Atanu Saibyasachi. That festival is mainly celebrated for the remembrance of Sadhabs who were gone to Java and Sumitra etc. for business.

Most of the people here are farmers and some do business and some do fishing in the river and the bay of Bengal. growing prawn near sea shore is a profitable business. Many small-scale industries are coming up so people are now getting more opportunity there.

Politics

The Assembly seats under the Kendrapara parliamentary constituency are Kendrapara, Salepur, Mahanga, Mahakalapada, Ali, Patakura and Rajnagar. The major three prominent political parties in the Assembly and Parliamentary constituency of Kendrapara are Bharatiya Janata Party, Biju Janata Dal and Congress Party. Mr. Prasanta Varma, Advocate Supreme Court of India and the President of BJP Legal Cell, Delhi; The Industrialist Mr. Baijayant Panda of the Biju Janata Dal; Former Cricketer and the Manager of Indian Cricket team Mr. Ranjib Biswal of the Congress Party are the current leaders of Kendrapara Parliamentary constituency.

Throughout the area politics have remained with the local parties since the 1970s. Kendrapara has played a crucial role in Orissa's politics, producing leaders like Member of Parliament

Parliament of India

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...

 Mr. Rabi Ray

Rabi Ray

Rabi Ray is an Indian socialist politician, a former speaker of Lok Sabha and a former Union minister of India. He hails from Orissa...

 who achieved the post of Speaker in Loksabha, and Mr. Biju Patnaik

Biju Patnaik

Biju Patnaik was an Indian politician. Also known as Biju Babu.Son of Lakshminarayan and Ashalata Patnaik, Bijayananda Patnaik was born in Cuttack, Orissa on March 5, 1916..-Role in Indonesian freedom struggle:Biju...

, former Chief Minister of Orissa. Present day leaders from Kendrapara include individuals such as Supreme Court of India

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...

 Lawyer, Mr.Sanjib Kumar Mohanty,Advocate and Former Spokesperson of Delhi University Students' Union and Mr.Prasanta Varma, as well as Member of Parliament of Kendrapara (Lok Sabha constituency)

Kendrapara (Lok Sabha constituency)

Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Orissa state in eastern India.-Assembly segments:...

, Mr. Baijayanta Panda. Current Member of Parliament is Baijayant Panda.Mr Kedarnath Samantray is also a good politician from karilopatna village.He was unable to win any election in his entire life but still he is hopping to stand in panchayat election this time. Lets hope he will win this time.....

Current MLA from Kendrapara Assembly Constituency is Sipra Mallik, who won the seat in State elections of 2004. Previous MLAs from this seat were Utkal Keshari Parida of OGP, Bed Prakash Agarwalla who won this seat in 2000 representing BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

 and also earlier in 1990 representing JD

Janata Dal

Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...

 and in 1977 representing JNP

Janata Party

The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...

, Bhagabat Prasad Mohanty of INC

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

 who won in 1995 and in 1985, and Indramani Rout of INC (I) in 1980.

Presently Mr. Pratap Keshari Deb is the MLA of Ali; Mr. Pratap Jena is the MLA of Mahanga; Mr. Atanu Sabyasachi is the MLA of Mahakalapada; Mr. Bed Prakash Agarwala is the MLA of Patkura

Kendrapara is part of Kendrapara (Lok Sabha constituency)

Kendrapara (Lok Sabha constituency)

Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Orissa state in eastern India.-Assembly segments:...

.

Social organisations

• Radha Ramana Matha,Pradhan Patikira Written By Pradyumna Kumar Rout (DIPU) on 20-06-11***
• Narayani Oriental Research Society (N.O.R.S), Tirinia, Kendrapara
• GRACE
• Potali Matha
• Nrusingha Tikiri Matha (BayaBaba Matha), Kendrapara
• Anata Matha
• Baba Baikuntha Nath Brahmachari Math (Hanuman Mandir, Garapur)
• Sankara Baba Matha, Rajagarh
• Sukaparikshita Sanskrutika Parisada, Kudanagari

mahakalpara

• Azad hind sports club, Pattamundai, SK Mustaq Hussain (Secretary)
• Mission for Allied Social Service (MASS), Derabish, Burhan Khan (president) Abdul Raheman Khan (SECY), Naim Akhter (Treasurer) Derabis
• Sahara Educational And Welfare Trust. Chairman (Burhan Khan)

Picnic spot

There are so many picnic spot in Kendrapara. One of the famous place is "Bhitara Kanika". You can see the wildlife animal like Crocodile, birds, Tigers etc., Boating and most beautiful nature. Only 20–30 km drive from Kendrapara you reached at paradeep. You can see the sea beach, port, Neheru Bangala first prime minister of India comes here and also see the entry gate of river to Sea shore. Paradeep is also the last point of east coast of India.
Most popular Udaya Giri & Ratna Giri just 10–15 km drive from Kendrapada. Mainly Budhu Murti, Budhu pratima are conservated there.There also a picnic spot Named Sakhi Bata.It is situated near Luna River.it is a beautiful spot.Lord Baladev and Laxmi Mandir is there.

Education

In the field of education also Kendrapara is not behind. There are so many schools and colleges which are engaged in creating well qualified professionals in all the fields. Some of the educational institutions of Kendrapara are:

• Derabish High School, Derabis
• Kansar Sahaspur High School, Kansar Sahaspur
• Ramachandra High School, Fakirabad
• Chhatabata girls High school, Hafimelak
• Baldevjew High School
• Balia Women's College
• Kendrapara Law College
• Maruti Ucha Bidyapitha, Baghilo
• Panchayat High School, Laxminarayan Pur
• Balia Govt. High School
• Chandol College
• Kendrapara Institute of Engg. & Tech.(KIET)06727-221003
• Jagulaipara Deshpur Girls High School
• Balia High School
• Derabish College
• PNS Diploma college
• NM Industrial Training Center, Balia, Bhagatpur. Miss Mitali Madhusmita Pradhan Member Of Managing Committee
• Bhagabanpur High School
• Kendrapara College http://kendraparacollege.com
• Naindipur High School by Amar Das
• Bharati Bidya Mandir
• Marsaghai College
• Karilopatna college, Karilopatna
• Dohali High School
• Tulsi Women's College
• Government Girl's High School
• Lokanath Mohavidyalaya, Korua
• Gulnagar High School
• Ichhapur High School
• Kalapada High School
• Ideal Public School
• Unique Public School, Derabis
• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Baro
• Joyaram High School Karilopatna
• Kendrapara Boys High School
• Naindipur High School,Naindipur
• Marsaghai High School
• Netaji Subhash English Medium School
• Rajagarh High school
• Saraswati Sisu Vidya Mandir
• Pradhan Patikira M.E. School Written By Pradyumna Kumar Rout (DIPU)
• Unique Public School, Derabis
• St. Joseph School
• Standard Public School
• Sudersan High School, Thakurhat
• Kudanagari High School, Kudanagari
• Balabehari Bidyapitha, Mahal
• Sidha Marichiyani Bidyaptha, Manatir
• Kuanarpal UP School (B) Kuanarpal, Marshaghi, Kendrapara.

Kendrapara has produced a number of well-known personalities. Like famous astronomer, mathematician and writer of Suskhma Sphuta Siddhanta Pandit Sri Gokulananda Routroy (1947–2009). Nowadays young and enthusiastic professionals are coming up and have established their names in the fields like software and IT industry, petroleum industry, management, finance, education, administration, politics, well-known media personality like Itishree Nayak (Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award for Electronic Media Oriya -2006) also belonging to Tripurari Pur village of Mangal Pur Gram Panchayat, Derabish Block of Kendrapara District.