Sambalpur

Sambalpur serves as the gateway to the bewitching Western Odisha, abounding in lush green forests, colorful wild-life, exquisite array of hills, waterfalls, rich tribal life & culture, folk songs & dances and a variety of monuments. Sambalpur has its own contribution in the cultural formentation of our country. Sambalpur is famous for its handloom textile works which has earned international fame for their unique pattern, design and texture. Nature has been bounteous to Sambalpur in more than one way. The wide diversity of flora and fauna in and around Sambalpur is an eloquent testimony to mother Nature’s generosity.

The city contains many famous temples, historic buildings and parks. Sambalpur is famous for premier educational institutes like Sambalpur University, Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Gangadhar Meher University, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur and Odisha State Open University (OSOU). Hirakud Dam, the longest earthen dam in the world and the largest artificial lake of Asia, is at Sambalpur.[4]

After the independence of India, many commercial and government establishments sprung up in and around Sambalpur. It is one of the major railway junctions of Odisha with the headquarters of Sambalpur Railway Division under the East Coast Railway Zone. National Highway 53, National Highway 55 pass through the City and State Highway 10 & 15 originate from the city.[5]

Maa Samalei, the reigning deity, from which the city of Sambalpur derives its name

Sambalpur derives its name from the Goddess Samalei (Odia: ସମଲେଇ ମାଁ), who is regarded as the reigning deity of the region.[6] The region in which Sambalpur city is located was also known as Hirakhanda[7] from ancient times. In history, it has also been known as "Sambalaka". Claudius Ptolemy described the place as "Sambalak".

Sambalpur in 1825, watercolour of the fort at Sambalpur, by an anonymous artist for the Gilbert Collection, c. British Library[8]

Sambalpur is one of the ancient places of India, with recorded settlements in the prehistoric age. There are prehistoric artifacts discovered that point to this.[9] Some historians identify it to the city of "Sambalaka" mentioned in the 2nd century Roman text "Geographia, an ancient atlas and a treatise Cartography" by Ptolemy. It is mentioned that the city produces diamonds.[10] In the 4th century CE, Gupta emperor conquered the territory of "Dakshina Koshala", comprising roughly present day Sambalpur, Vilaspur, and Raipur.[11] Later in early 6th century CE Chalukya king Pulakesin II is said to have conquered south Kosala by defeating the then Panduvamsi king Balarjuna Sivagupta.[12] The next dynasty to rule South Kosala was the Sombvamsi dynasty. Somavamshi King Janamajaya-I Mahabhavagupta (Circa 882–922 CE ) consolidated the eastern part of Kosala comprising the modern undivided Sambalpur and Bolangir districts and established matrimonial relationship with the Bhauma-Kara dynasty ruling over the coastal modern Odisha. After Uddyotakeshari(c. 1040–1065 C.E.), the Somavamshi kingdom declined gradually. The dynasty lost its territories to the Nagas in the north-west, and the Gangas in the south.[13] After decline of Somvamshis the area came under Telugu Chodas for a short period. The last Telugu Choda king of south Kosala was Somesvara III who was defeated by Kalachuri king Jajalladeva-I around 1119 CE.[14][15] The kalachuris had an intermittent conflict with Ganga Dynasty of Utkala (Present day coastal Odisha). Ultimately Kalachuris lost the SambalPur Sonepur region to Gangas during reign of Anangabhima Deva-III (1211–1238 C.E.).[16] The Ganga kingdom ruled Sambalpur region for 2 more centuries. However they faced aggression of the Bengal sultanate from north and Vijayanagara and Bahmani empires of south. This incessant struggles weakened the Ganga hold on Sambalpur . Ultimately Ramai Deva, a Chauhan Rajput from North India founded Chauhan rule in western Orissa.[17]

Statue of Veer Surendra Sai at Jail Chhak

Sambalpur came under the Bhonsle of Nagpur when the Maratha conquered Sambalpur in 1800. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817, the British Government returned Sambalpur to the Chauhan king, Jayant Singh, but his authority over the other princely states was taken out.[18][19]

In January 1896, Hindi was made official language of Sambalpur, by abolishing Odia language, which after violent protests by people was reinstated again.[20] During the partition of Bengal in 1905 Sambalpur and the adjacent Odia-speaking tracts were amalgamated with the Odisha Division under Bengal Presidency. Bengal's Odisha division became part of the new province of Bihar and Odisha in 1912, and in April 1936 became the separate province of Odisha, with addition of Undivided Ganjam and Koraput districts from Madras Presidency.[21] After Indian Independence on 15 August 1947, Odisha became an Indian state. The rulers of the princely states of Western Odisha acceded to the Government of India in January 1948 and became part of Odisha state.

From 1825 to 1827, Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert (1785–1853), later Lieutenant General Sir Walter Gilbert, 1st Baronet, G.C.B., was the political agent for the South West Frontier with headquarters at Sambalpur. He made a few paintings during his stay at Sambalpur by an unknown artist which are currently with the British Library and Victoria and Albert Museum.[22]

Sambalpur is located at 21°.27' North Latitude and 83°.58' East Longitude. The average elevation is 150.75 metres (494.6 ft) above the mean sea level. Sambalpur falls under the Zone-3 seismic number, which shows the possibility of an earthquake.[26]

Sambalpur lies on the bank of the river Mahanadi. The river flows to the west of the city and separates Burla from Sambalpur and Hirakud. The Hirakud Dam lies upstream of Sambalpur. Budharaja is a small reserve forest located within the city. Sambalpur experiences an extreme type of climate with hot and dry summers followed by humid monsoons and cold winters. The hot season commences from the first week of March and lasts until the second half of June. In May, the temperature rises to 47 °C (117 °F). In December, the temperature comes down to 5 °C (41 °F).[27] Sambalpur gets rainfall from the south western monsoon. The most pleasant months in Sambalpur are from October to February, during which time the humidity and heat are at their lowest. During this period, temperatures during the day stay below 30 °C (86 °F) and drop to about 20 °C (68 °F) at night. This season is followed by a hot summer, from March to May. The summer gives way to the monsoon season. Since 1982 as per the data available with District Emergency section, Sambalpur, there has not been a single occurrence of cyclone in Sambalpur. There are possibilities of strong winds with the speed of 53 km/h (33 mph) before the onset of monsoon.[26] The relative humidity is high during the rainy season, generally being over 75%. After the rainy season the humidity gradually decreases and the weather becomes dry towards the winter. The best time to visit Sambalpur is between September and March. The heaviest-ever recorded rainfall in Sambalpur was 581.9 mm (22.91 in) in 1982, which was the highest ever in Odisha until September 2010.[28] The areas of the Sambalpur town on Mahanadi river sides/low-lying areas are prone to flooding.[26]

Roads

Commuters coming back after office hours, Fatak.

Sambalpur has a well networked transport facility for commercial and public transportation. It is connected to the rest of Odisha and India by national highway – NH 53/Economic Corridor 1 (EC1), which is a part of Asian Highway-AH46 (Mumbai-Kolkata Highway). NH 55 connects with Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, State Highway 15 connects with Sonepur, State Highway 10 (SH10) connects with Jharsuguda and Rourkela and the new Biju Expressway (under construction) will connect Rourkela-Sambalpur-Jagdalpur.[30]

Rail

Sambalpur is one of the three railway divisions under East Coast Railway zone of Indian Railways. Sambalpur (SBP) is a major railway station in Odisha and headquarters of Sambalpur railway division. This railway station is the cleanest railway station of East Coast Railway declared by Indian Railway. There are four other railway stations serving Sambalpur, viz. Sambalpur City Railway Station(SBPY), Sambalpur Road Railway Station(SBPD), Hirakud (HKG), across the Mahanadi and Maneswar Railway Station(MANE).

Air

The nearest airport is Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda (62 km, 39 mi) and Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar is located at a distance of (325 km, 202 mi). Other nearby airports are Swami Vivekananda International Airport, Raipur; Birsa Munda International Airport, Ranchi

[31]

Sambalpur city is governed by a Municipality which comes under Sambalpur Municipal Corporation Area. As of 2011 India census,[32] Although Sambalpur city has a population of 183,383, its urban population is 269,575, of whom 138,826 are males and 130,749 are females;[33] this includes Burla and Hirakud. Sambalpur has an average literacy rate of 85.69%; which male literacy is 90.30 and female literacy is 80.92 percent. The sex ratio is 942 and the child sex ratio is 882. The total children (0–6) in Sambalpur city were 18,555 as per the Census India report of 2011. There were 9,857 boys while 8,698 were girls.

A coal laden goods train at Sambalpur Road

The economy of Sambalpur is basically dependent on trade. Most of the residents are either salaried or self-employed. Forest products play an important role in the economy in terms of contribution to revenue and domestic product. Kendu leaf, Coromandel ebony or East Indian ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon) also forms part of the local economy, with many bidi manufacturing units functioning in Sambalpur.[34]

Gole Bazaar is the main merchandising area of the city. It is famous for handloom and other textile products.[35][36] Other merchandising areas are Khetrajpur, Fatak, V.S.S. marg, Budharaja and farm road. Budharaja is the central hub of the malls and jewellery shops.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited located at Sambalpur, produced 100.28 million tonnes (98.70 million long tons; 110.54 million short tons) of coal and had a profit before tax during 2010–2011 at Rs 4039.30 crore.[37] Hirakud, in the vicinity of Sambalpur, was conceptualized as an industrial town by the erstwhile Chief Minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik. On completion of the Hirakud Dam, power intensive industries such as aluminium smelters, cable manufacturing, steel re-rolling mills etc. established their presence in Hirakud. In the 1970s, Hirakud was a major industrial centre of Odisha, perhaps next only to Rourkela. At this point in time however, the main functional unit at Hirakud is the aluminium smelter of Hindalco and its associated units. The smelter set up by Indal in 1959 at Hirakud and later acquired by Hindalco, was the country's second aluminium smelter operating on grid power sourced from the hydro power station of the Hirakud Dam.[4] It was the first in India to adopt clean coal combustion technology that uses a circulating fluidised bed, which is considered environmentally friendly.[4] Currently the smelter has a capacity of 213,000 tonnes per year (210,000 long tons per year; 235,000 short tons per year), and provides employment to around 1700 persons.[4]

Sambalpur University

The pre-collegiate medium of instruction in schools is predominantly English and Odia. The medium of instruction in educational institutions after matriculation in colleges is English. Other media of instruction also exist in Sambalpur. Schools and colleges in Sambalpur are either government-run or run by private trusts and individuals. The schools are affiliated with either the Orissa State Board under BSE or CHSE, Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE). After completing 10 years of schooling in secondary education, students enroll in higher secondary school, specialising in one of the three streams – Arts, Commerce or Science.

Since the 2000s, there have been a large number of professional institutions established in a variety of fields. The earliest schools established in Sambalpur were the CSB Zilla School (1852) and the Lady Lewis Girls High School (1942).[38] VSS Medical College was established in 1959 and VSSUT in 1956. High School for Blind (1972) and High School for Deaf and Dumb (1972), Burla are Govt. educational institutions imparting education to physically challenged children.[38]

Sambalpur Football Academy

Sambalpur Kala Parishad is the pioneering organisation for the promotion of Sambalpuri dance, and has been responsible for the revolutionary growth of this dance.[39] It imparts education and training on this form of dance.

Educational institutions in the city include Gangadhar Meher University,[40] Women's College, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose College, Lajpat Rai Law College, Silicon Institute of Technology, Sambalpur, Delhi Public School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, St. Joseph's Convent Higher Secondary School (SJC-SBP), Gurunanak Public School, Madnawati Public School (MPS), Indian Public School (IPS), St. John's School, Seven Hills Residential School (SHRS), Sri Aurobindo School (SAIIE&R) and DAV Public School. A new Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM) has been set up in the city. The Sambalpur chapter of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India[41] was set up in 2010.[42]

The world-famous Hirakud Dam, built in 1956 across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km (9.3 mi) from Sambalpur, is a major tourist attraction. It is one of the longest dams in the world, about 26 km (16 mi) in length. It also forms the biggest artificial lake in Asia, with a reservoir covering 743 km² (287 sq mi) at full capacity with a shoreline of over 640 km (400 mi).[47] It also attracts a large number of migratory birds in winter.

The Leaning Temple of Huma, located about 25 km (16 mi) from Sambalpur, built in the 17th century, leans at an angle of approximately 47 degrees to the west. (Pasayat, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008).[48] It is one of a kind in India.

Samaleswari Temple is the main temple of the goddess Samaleswari, located on the banks of river the Mahanadi. Sambalpur owes its name to her.[49]

Chiplima[50] (Chipilima Hydro Electric Project (CHEP)) located about 37 km (23 mi) from Sambalpur, is known for a natural fall (24.38 m (80.0 ft) in height) harnessed for generating electricity. It is an ideal picnic spot and famous for Ghanteswari Temple, the presiding deity of the place. This temple played an important role for river navigation in the past.[50]

Sambalpur is part of Sambalpur (Lok Sabha constituency).[53] Sitting MP from Sambalpur is Mr Nitesh Gangadev of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The current MLA of Sambalpur (Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency) is Jayanarayan Mishra of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Previous MLAs from this seat were Dr. Raseswari Panigrahi (BJD), who won this seat in 2014; Durgashankar Pattanaik of INC,in 1995 and 1990; Sraddhakar Supakar of INC in 1985; Ashwini Kumar Guru of INC (I) in 1980; and Late Dr. Jhasaketan Sahu of JNP in 1977. Sriballav Panigrahi of Indian National Congress represented Sambalpur in the Odisha Lesgislative Assembly in 1971 and 1973.[54]

• Sambalpuri cinema
• Sambalpuri language
• Sambalpuri saree

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sambalpur.

• Official website
• Sambalpur travel guide from Wikivoyage