Choudwar 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 ...
in
Cuttack district in the
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 ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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 ...
. It comes under Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissionerate.
Geography
Choudwar is located on the banks of
Mahanadi
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 ...
and Birupa river near 16 and 55
National Highway. It is adjoining
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 ...
, a city in
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 ...
. The
STD code for Choudwar is 0671 with 754025, 754071, 754072, and 754028 postal codes. Choudwar comes under the
Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Police Commissionerate which is an upcoming twin-city as per the plan of the
Government of Odisha
The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch.
Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...
''Vision 2030''.
History
Choudwar was thought to be an important center during ''Somavanshi Keshari'' kingdom of Odisha. The Keshari dynasty established eight prominent
Shakti Peetha
The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...
shrines near Chodova, which are now in ruins.
In mythology, it was the capital of ''Virat'', the brother-in-law of
Kichaka
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Kichaka or Keechaka is the commander-in-chief of Matsya kingdom, the country ruled by King Virata. He was the 1st Younger Brother of Sudeshna, the queen of Virata. Kichaka was a very powerful man and had imme ...
. The
Pandava
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
brothers took refuge in Choudwar during their exile. The name Choudwar is made of two words: ''Chou'' implying Four and ''Dwar'' which means gate. The name alludes to existence of an old fort, which had four gates. Baidheshwar temple near Agrahat village has an aquatic spring believed to had been dug with the archery of
Arjun.
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
found many artefacts around these location pointing to ancient settlements. Ten acres of the land has been fenced by the
Archaeological survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
. It has become a tourist place surrounded by a beautiful gardens.
Education
There are a number of secondary schools and colleges in Choudwar:
Secondary schools
The following is a list of schools affiliated with the
Board of Secondary Education.
* Agrahat High school, Agrahat, Choudwar
* Charbatia UGME and High School.
* Gopabandhu High School.
* Jhoteswar High School, Mundamal (Ward 6).
* Kalinga Public High School.
* Kalinga Vidyapitha
*
Municipal Govt High School, Choudwar
*
Nigamananda Bidyapitha, named after
Swami Nigamananda.
* Nigamananda Girls high School, Daulatabad.
* Odisha Textile Mills High School
* Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir, Gandhi Chhak, Choudwar
* Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir, Sarada Nagara, Choudwar
*
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Charbatia
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Charbatia is a school run by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and located in Charbatia Air Base, Cuttack, Odisha. It provides education to the children of both Central Government employees and civilians, from nearby areas. The sc ...
Colleges
* Choudwar College, in affiliation with
Utkal University
Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...
offers three year undergraduate courses in sciences, arts, and commerce in accordance with the
Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE). It is a co-educational institution.
* Choudwar Women's College is offering senior secondary education.
* Industrial Training Institute,
ITT Technical Institute
ITT Technical Institute (ITT Tech) was a private for-profit technical institute with its headquarters in Carmel, Indiana and many campuses throughout the United States. Founded in 1969 and growing to 130 campuses in 38 states of the United Stat ...
campus and Mechanical Trade of the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
offer apprenticeship curriculum.
Industries
* Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (IMF
* ''Libra Carpets'' was functional until 1990s, after which it turned uneconomical and defunct.
* Odisha Textile Mills (OTM), a state owned fabric and textiles entity, was operational for more than three decades before it shut down over legal struggle
* The Thapar paper mill (TPM) began paper and newsprint production in late 1980s until taken over by
Ballarpur Industries
Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) is a subsidiary of Avantha Group, and was once India's largest manufacturer of writing and printing paper. The current chairman of the company is Gautam Thapar, who succeeded his late uncle L.M. Thapar.
B ...
and shutdown in 2003.
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Choudwar had a population of 42,597, of which 54% were males and 46% were females. It has an average literacy rate of 77%. The literacy rate for men was 83%, while for women it stood at 71%. 10% of the population was under 6 years old.
Socio-economic conditions
The population of the town works predominantly in the private agencies. A downturn in employment was observed by the shutting down of OTM and BILT paper mills. A small segment of the population comprises teachers, local administration staff, doctors and government employees at the Charbatia Air Base.
Transportation
Choudwar is well-connected due to presence of national highway, which connects
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Anugul
Angul (also known as Anugul) is a town and a municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level.
The total geographical area of the district is 6232 km2. ...
. Nearest railway station is at 15 km distance in
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 ...
.
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 ...
railway station in the capital is 42 km away. The town is also serviced via two smaller railway stations at Charbatia and Manguli. The nearest accessible airport is the
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 ...
at 55 km distance. The
Indian Air force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
operate a transport and surveillance airfield, exclusive to government use at
ARC Charbatia.
Politics
The current
MLA from the Choudwar-Cuttack assembly constituency is Souvic Biswal of
Biju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the party i ...
. Previous MLAs from this seat were Dharmananda Behera (
Biju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the party i ...
, 2004), Bibhubhusan Praharaj (Independent, 2000), Raj Kishore Ram (
Janata Dal
Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 ...
, 1977 and 1990) and Kanhu Charan Lenka (
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
, 1980s & 1995) and Rasananda Sahu (
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
, 1980s & 1995). Choudwar is part of
Cuttack (Lok Sabha constituency)
Cuttack Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) Constituencies in Odisha state in Eastern India.
Assembly Segments
Assembly Constituencies which constitute this Parliamentary Constituency, after delimitation of Parlia ...
.
References
External links
IMFA group for more information regarding IMFA and ICCLUtkal University
{{Municipalities of Odisha
Cities and towns in Cuttack district
Cuttack district