Brajrajnagar is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Jharsuguda district Jharsuguda is a district in Odisha, India with Jharsuguda town as its headquarters. This region is rich in coal and other mineral reserves. Of late, many small and medium scale iron and steel units have been set up in the vicinity of Jharsugud ...

in the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Popular legend says the town was named after Braj Mohan Birla after he setup Orient Paper Mills in 1936. It's a small sleepy town on rocky terrain, built on the banks of IB river, with temples mostly built by the Birlas. Later it became famous for

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

-owned coal mines after

Orient Paper Mills Orient Paper Mill is a paper and paper crafts manufacturer in Amlai (Madhya Pradesh), India. It has been associated with paper manufacture in Africa. The mill is part of Orient Paper & Industries which comprises the paper facility and manufactur ...

Birlas The Birla family is a family connected with the industrial and social history of India. Foundations The Birla family origins lie with the Maheshwari caste of Bania Vaishya traders but they were outcast from their traditional community in 1922 ...

closed down in 1999. Most of the population in this city were working for

, which belonged to Birla Group of industries. Brajrajnagar has in its vicinity numerous open-cast and underground coal mines of

IB Valley Coalfield Ib Valley Coalfield is located in Jharsuguda district in the Indian state of Odisha, in the valley of the Ib River, a tributary of the Mahanadi. ′ History In 1900, when Bengal Nagpur Railway was building a bridge across the Ib River, coal was ac ...

and Orient Colliery Area belonging to government-owned

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) is one of the major coal producing company of India. It is one of the eight subsidiaries of Coal India Limited. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited was carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1992 with its hea ...

(MCL).

History

The Brajrajnagar Police Station was established in 1936, in the same year, when the

was established here. The mill started functioning in 1939, leading to the growth of township around it, inhabited by the employees. Eventually, Brajrajnagar became a

Nagar Panchayat (Notified Area Council) A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

(NAC) in 1968, and in 1989 it was made a

Nagar Palika (Municipality) In India, a Municipal Council (also known as Municipality, Nagar Palika, or Nagar Palika Parishad) is an Urban Local Body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas co ...

, spread over an area of 42.73 km². and includes seven

revenue village A Revenue Village is a small administrative region in India, a village with defined borders. One revenue village may contain many hamlets. Each revenue village is headed by a ''Village Administrative Officer'' ''(VAO)''. History The advent of the c ...

s, Lamtibahal, Telenpali, Remja, Lajkura, Gandghora, Katabaga and Sanjob. Local leaders like Mrutyunjaya Dash, Deepak Kak and Rajkumari from Telenpali and comrades had put valiant efforts during the freedom struggle of India.

Geography

Brajarajnagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 216 metres (708 feet).

Ib River Ib river is tributary of Mahanadi river in North-Eastern Central India. It joins Mahanadi river flowing directly into the Hirakud Reservoir. The river originates in hills near Pandrapet at an elevation of . It passes through Raigarh district ...

, which is a tributary of

Mahanadi river The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...

, flows to the east of the town. Brajrajnagar vidhan sabha consists of vast area of Brajrajnagar, Belpahar, Bandhbahal, Gopalpur, Kanaktura border of Chhattisgarh. Moreover, Brajrajnagar forest range also has very large area which includes area in Remenda, Banharpali, Kudopali, Tilya, Sonari, Rajpur, Rampur, Loising, Barakhandia, Pathrapali, etc. Brajrajnagar also has very large area which includes many villages like Remja, Telenpali, Khaliakani, Gandaghora, Khaliamal, Nuadihi, Gandhichowk, Badheikata, Barghat Quarter, Junenmunda, 9number, Lamtibahal, Mandalia, Hilltop colony, BhootBanglouw, GMcomplex, Minesrescue station, Sanjob, Badjob, Kusamunda, ESIchowk, Sargimal, Baghrachaka, Ainlapali, Amdarha, Baghiaberna, Balangibahal, Baliput, Barpali, Beleidhuda, Bhoimunda, Bundia, Chandnimal, Charbhati, Chelkuthi, Chichinda, Deogaon, Ghusuramunda, Gourmal, Kandakuda, Katapali, Kechhobahal, Koilaga, Kudopali, Loising, Madhupur, Naikdihi, Niktimal, Nuamunda, Rajpur, Rankata, Tharkaspur, Tileimal.

Demographics

India census, Brajarajnagar had a population of 80,403. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Brajarajnagar has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 77% and female literacy of 60%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Place of Interest

Chandi Mandir
Brajrajnagar * Laxmi Narayan Temple, Brajrajnagar * Birla Temple
Shiv Mandir
, near Lamtibahal, Brajrajnagar * IB Bridge * Lal Pathar * Satya Sai Mandir * Barghat Mandir * Underground and Open cast Mines * Cineplex (Vikram Talkies) - Single screen advanced cinema hall * Maa MulaBhudi Mandir (Gandaghora) * Maa Samalei Mandir (Rajpur) * Shiv Mandir (Nuadihi) *Shirdi Sai Mandir (Gandhichowk)

Industry

Brajrajnagar had one large paper mill named

which happens to be the oldest industry in the state of Odisha, having set up in the year 1936 and production being started in 1939. Though since 1999, the O.P.M of Brajrajnagar has been shut down. Since then, thousand of workers have either shifted to the O.P.M. at Amlai,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

or are working at

Brajrajnagar. The IB Valley Coal Area is also in Brajrajnagar and nearby areas. Prior to nationalization in the year 1973, three underground mines were operational in Brajrajnagar. Post nationalization, the IB valley Opencast Mines were opened from 1984 onwards. At present IB Valley Area consists of three Opencast Mines namely Lajkura Opencast mine, Samleswari Opencast mine and Lilari Opencast mine. And all the underground mines are operational in Orient Colliery Area.

National Aluminium Company National Aluminium Company Limited (abbreviated as NALCO; incorporated in 1981) is a government company having integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power under the ownership of the Ministry of Mines and Government of India ...

Ltd, a government owned company, is planning to set up an

Aluminium smelter Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery. This is an electrolytic ...

plant and one of the largest power plant near the town. '
TRL Krosaki Refractories Limited
'' (Formerly Tata Refractories Limited, ) is an Indian refractory company. It was established in 1958 in Belpahar, a city in Jharsuguda district of Odisha. It mainly produces basic, dolomite, high alumina, monolithics, silica, flow control products and tap hole clay refractories having a consolidated installed capacity of 304,760 tonnes per annum

Transport

Road

Brajarajnagar falls on

National Highway 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba Hig ...

(NH 49) which connects Bilaspur, of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. Many Private buses runs daily service to major cities of Odisha such as

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

Berhampur Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...

Rourkela Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surro ...

and

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

Railways

Brajrajnagar Railways Station (BRJN) is a station on the

Tatanagar–Bilaspur section The Tatanagar–Bilaspur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects in the Indian state of Jharkhand and in Chhattisgarh. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through an industrial-mining area ...

of Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line. It is managed by Bilaspur division of

South East Central Railway The South East Central Railway (abbreviated SECR) is one of the 19 Railway Zones in India. The Zone Office is headquartered at Bilaspur and comprises the Bilaspur, Nagpur and Raipur Division. History This Zone was formerly part of the South ...

. It serves as important loading point for various coal-mines located in this area of

. Brajrajnagar railway station is well connected with trains from

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India through the rail network, and a rece ...

which is 11 km away is connected from the rest of the country including Chennai and Bangalore. It has another railway station, IB which is 1.5 km away from Brajrajnagar.

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

The closest airports are the Veer Surendra Sai Airport,

(15 km),Bilasa Devi Kenvat Airport, Bilaspur (219 km),

Swami Vivekananda Airport Swami Vivekananda International Airport (referred as VARP until February 2018), formerly known as Mana Airport, is a major airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and the busiest in Chhattis ...

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

(319 km),

Birsa Munda Airport Birsa Munda Airport is a domestic airport serving Ranchi, the capital city of the Jharkhand, India. It is named after the Indian tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, and is currently managed by Airports Authority of India. The airport is locate ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

(351 km) and

Biju Patnaik International Airport Biju Patnaik International Airport is an international airport serving Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. It is situated around south-west from Bhubaneswar Railway Station and from the city center. Named after the former chief minist ...

(360 km). In 2009, the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

decided to set-up the second domestic airport in the state of

. After completion in 2012,

Jharsuguda Airport Veer Surendra Sai Airport , also known as Jharsuguda Airport, is a domestic airport serving Jharsuguda, Odisha, India. The airport is located north-east from the city centre. The airport is located in Durlaga, approximately from Jharsuguda Jun ...

became the nearest airport to reach Brajrajnagar (20 km).

Air Odisha Air Odisha wasch-aviation.com – Air Odisha
retrieved 14 April 2019 ...

launched non-scheduled commercial flights between

and

on 2 November 2012.

Communication and Internet

2G, 3G, 4G, Broadband

Brajrajnagar has Reliance Jio, BSNL, Airtel, Idea 4G services for fast Internet services as well as BSNL Broadband Internet services. There are various 3G, 2G service providers in brajrajnagar like Aircel, Airtel, BSNL, Reliance, Vodafone, Docomo, Idea and much more. BSNL landline also provides telephone services.

Politics

The current MLA from Brajarajnagar Assembly Constituency is Mr. Kishor Kumar Mohanty of BJD, who won the seat in State elections of 2019 defeating Mrs.Radha Rani Panda of

Bhartiya Janta Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

. M
Anup Kumar Sai
is three times MLA in Brajraj Nagar assembly constituency from 2001to2014 Mr. Keshba Chandra Sahu had won this seat in 1999 for 17 months and before him, Mr. Prasanna Kumar Panda of

CPI A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...

had won this seat in 1995, 1990 and in 1985. Mr. Upendra Dikshit had won this seat as INC(I) candidate in 1980 and as INC candidate in 1977. It was a part of

Deogarh (Lok Sabha constituency) Deogarh Lok Sabha constituency was a Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituency in Orissa state in eastern India till 2008. Assembly constituencies which constituted this parliamentary constituency were: Pallahara, Talcher, Brajarajnagar, Jharsuguda, ...

, though now it is a part of

Bargarh (Lok Sabha constituency) Bargarh is a city and municipality in Bargarh district in the state of odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District. Bargarh is popularly known for intensive cultivation of 'paddy', therefore called "Bhata Handi" o ...

, after a new

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

constituency was created after 2008

delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

of parliamentary constituencies based on the recommendations of the

Delimitation Commission of India The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the vari ...

in 2002. Mr.Suresh Pujari of

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

is currently the M.P. from

Education

# Believers Church Residential School # Gandghora High School # Neheru Memorial M.E. School, Rajpur # Rampur Colliery High School # Bundia High School # Kudopali High School # O.P.M Boys High School # O.P.M Girls High School # H Line Girls High School # Lamtibahal High School # Siksha Niketan # DAV public school # Daniel Public School # Little Angels' SR. Sec School # Srima Arabina High School # Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir There are also other secondary schools.

Festivals observed

Major festivals celebrated in the Brajrajnagar are: *

Nuakhai Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha in India. Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the calendar it is observed on ''panchami tithi'' (the fifth day) of the lunar for ...

: This is an important festival for the people of Western Odisha. An agricultural festival celebrated to welcome the new rice of the season. Families gather during this period and eat together. After that, the younger take the blessings of elders and dance with friends. * Bhai Jiyuntia: A festival observed by the women of this region where a sister prays for the betterment of her brother. * Rath Yatra: Rath Yatra is celebrated in the town & near by villages of Brajarajnagar. *

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

: Durga Puja has been celebrated in public pandals in the town for more than half a century. Specially Durga pandals of Gandhi Chowk, Black Diamond (Mandalia), Hill Top Colony and ESI Chowk is very devotional. The puja pandal of OPM (Golchakkar) is one of the oldest celebrated Durga puja of town. Besides these it is also celebrated in various temples of town. *

Ganesh Puja Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

: Ganesh Puja is celebrated all over the town including various schools and colleges. * Diwali and Chath: It is celebrated with great pomp and show. *

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

: It is celebrated with great pomp and show in Khaliakani of the town. * Gokulashtami (Prathamastami)Yatra is one of the oldest celebrated festival observed in Rajpur village. * Nagachaturthi Yatra is one of the oldest celebrated in Nuadihi village. * Shirdi Sai Palki Yatra is a festival observed on the day of Makar Sankranti.

Places of interest

# Chandi Mandir, Brajrajnagar # Laxmi Narayan Temple, Brajrajnagar # Birla Temple (Shiv Mandir), near Lamtibahal, Brajrajnagar # IB Bridge # Lal Pathar # Satya Sai Mandir # Barghat Mandir # Underground and Open cast Mines # Cineplex (Vikram Talkies) - Single screen advanced cinema hall # Maa MulaBhudi Mandir (Gandaghora)

References

External links

*Orient Paper Mill to reopen ( http://jsglive.in/2017/05/11/orient-paper-mill-brajrajnagar-is-likely-to-be-re-open/)
Jharsuguda district, Official website

Brajarajnagar
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Jharsuguda district Mining communities in India