Jeypore

King Veer Vikram Dev left Nandapur and settled in a valley lying south of their kingdom and named it 'Jeypore' or 'city of victory'. Later, his grandson Vishwambhar Dev established a feudal system and expanded his kingdom till Srikakulam in the east and introduced many feudatories that paid homage to his seat. He stopped the slave trade of the Dutch East India Company and was known as 'Sumber Deo' among the Dutch which was a mispronounced form of his name.

In 1710, Maharajah Ram Chandra Deo and his younger brother Balaram Dev (III) had a personal feud that led to the downfall of the kingdom. The problems arose because of minister Viziaram Raz who was planning to usurp the throne from the weak ruler. Although Balaram remonstrated Viziaram Raz in the court he was favored by Ram Chandra who heavily relied on him.

In 2013, Vishweshvar Dev was crowned as the titular ruler of Jeypore becoming the twenty-seventh ruler on the 570th anniversary of his dynasty.[2]

Jeypore is located at 18.85°N 82.58°E / 18.85; 82.58. It has an average elevation of 659 metres (2165 feet).

The town of Jeypore experiences a tropical monsoon climate, like the rest of Odisha. The monsoon season here is not as harsh as it is in other parts of the state, and summers here are hot and winters are moderately cold.

Summers in the town of Jeypore is slightly hot, and this season runs during the months of March, April, May, and June. The summer months will experience a maximum temperature of around forty-five degrees (45 °C) and a minimum temperature of around nineteen degrees (19 °C).

The monsoon season in Jeypore brings heavy often cyclonic rainfall, and this season is mainly during the months of July, August, September and October. The weather during this time is pleasant and Jeypore can be visited during this time too.

Winters in Jeypore are during November, December, January and February. These months will experience a maximum temperature of around twenty-two degrees (22 °C) and a minimum temperature of around four degrees (4 °C). This is a good time to visit Jeypore, and this is the main tourist season in the region.

As of 2011 Census of India, Jeypore had a population of 181,906. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Jeypore has an average literacy rate of 658, male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 49%. In Jeypore, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

There are several Odia medium schools in the town such as Government Boys High School, Girls High School, Municipal High School No. I, II and III (girls), Upper Kolab Project High School, Saraswati Sishu vidya mandir, etc. The English medium schools are Modern English school, Jeypore Public school, Deepti Convent School, DAV Model Senior Secondary School, Redwoods English School and Noval Siddharth English Medium School.

Government Colleges include Vikram Dev College Jeypore, which is one of the oldest and prominent colleges of Odisha established in 1947. The college started at the present P. G. Block was known as 'Jeypore College' from 1 July 1947. As a tribute to the philanthropist king, Rajarshi Vikram Deb Verma, the college was renamed to "Vikram Deb College" in 1961. Honors subjects teaching were imparted from during 1968–73 and Post Graduate courses were started from 1979. The other colleges being Govt. Women's College and Law College. Of late many private colleges have started in the town making the environment highly competitive. Among them, prominent are Narayani Junior College and vidwan institute of basic sciences.

Jeypore also has colleges offering professional courses such as Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology, which was established in the year 1989. Jeypore college of Pharmacy[3] is another renowned pharmacy institute. Along with it various Engineering Diploma colleges are present namely Institute of engineering & Management (I.E.M),[4] Hi-Tech Institute of Information & Technology[5] and Jeypore School of Engineering and Technologies.

Though traditionally an agrarian economy, Jeypore is the business hub for southern Odisha as well as the bordering towns of Andhra Pradesh. There is high potential growth of this town due to high minerals, opportunities, resources around the district adding to all the facilities like rail, air in this town. There are many renowned industries in and around Jeypore. Business units include Sewa Paper Mills,[6] now a part of BILT, and numerous rice & cashew processing units. PSU company Power Grid Corporation of India has its 400/220kV substation at Kaliagaon for the evacuation of power from the eastern grid to the southern grid. POWERGRID has also installed STATCOM for voltage control and FSC system for enhanced power evacuation, at their above sub-station. NALCO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Coffee Board are government based units situated nearby. Huge granite deposits on hills, rich forests and forest-based produce are important contributors to Jeypore's economy. Apparel, shoes and animal products are also economic contributors.

Upper Kolab Hydro Electric Project, was taken up for excavation in the year 1976 by the Irrigation and Power Department, Govt. of Odisha. This multipurpose project utilizes the water potential of river Kolab a tributary of river Godavari, for hydro-electric power generation, providing irrigation facilities by lift canal irrigation, and supplying drinking water to Damonjodi, Koraput, Sunabeda, and Jeypore town.

Durga Puja Pandal, Jeypore

Besides the annual Rath Yatra, another festival celebrated in the town is the 'Ghata Parba' or 'Thakurani Yatra' (procession of the goddess) held usually during summer. During the festival, every community has the chance to take its goddesses out of the temples and visit all other localities. The processions last for days and weeks, with dramas and other entertainment held during the nights. Local musical instruments like 'Dombo baida' and 'Singha baida' accompany such processions.

Multiplex in Jeypore

All India Radio - Jeypore, is one of the oldest Radio Stations in Odisha, established on 28 June 1964. It is possible to receive Jeypore Radio Signal at the below AM and Short Band frequencies 1467 kHz, 5040 kHz, 6040 kHz. There is local FM program also running at FM frequency.

Aquatica is a refreshment and recreation center where there are the gym, swimming pool, saloon, rain dance, function hall, and spa. There are also a tennis court and a playground in the town.

Kolab at an altitude of about 3,000 ft (910 m) above sea level on river Kolab, stands the Kolab Reservoir generating Hydro Electric Power.

Bagara it is known for waterfalls. The place is reached on Kutcha road for 3 miles from Khondaguda which is 10 miles from Koraput and 6 miles from Jeypore. There are three small waterfalls from a height of about 30 ft on the river Kolab. It has a rest house at the site of the falls for use of the visitors.

Jeypore is known for its Oriya cuisine like pakhala, Khasi mansa/Mutton, Machha besara, Puri, Vada, Upma take stage with South Indian dishes such as Idli and Dosa. There are also a few Punjabi Dhabas and Gujarati hotels. There are a number of shops serving authentic Oriya sweets such as Chenna Poda and Rasgulla. Nearby Ambaguda is famous for its Rasmallais, while numerous stalls on the roadside of the town serve chaats, fast foods like egg and chicken rolls in the evening. However, as in all Indian towns, food is generally unhygienic and flouts all known sanitary rules.

There many small and Big cashew industries around the town. The Odisha state government is having a Cashew Board office located in Jeypore. There are around 40 cashew industries in this area. Some of the product is exported.

After independence, in the first General Election held in 1952, Late Laichan Nayak was elected as the first MLA of Jeypore and reelected for a subsequent term in 1957. Raghunath Patnaik has been elected for 6 times to the state legislative assembly. Rabi Narayan Nanda has been elected for 3 successive terms starting from the assembly elections in 2000. Tara Prasad Bahinipati is the present MLA.[7]

Jeypore is part of Koraput (Lok Sabha constituency).

• Jeypore.net