Gopalpur is a coastal town and a

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 ...

on the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

coast in Ganjam district in the southern part 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 ...

. Today it is a commercial port, a famous sea beach and a tourist destination. Gopalpur is around 15 km from

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 ...

. The reconstruction of an all weather port including new berths is under development.

Demographics

As of 2001 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Gopalpur had a population of 6663. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Gopalpur has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 59%, and female literacy is 42%. In Gopalpur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

Ancient Kalinga era

Gopalpur has an ancient sea port which was operational during the heyday of maritime

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

region. It is identified with the site Mansurkota located near Gopalpur, just below the mouth of the river

Rushikulya The Rushikulya River is one of the major rivers in the state of Odisha and covers entire catchment area in the districts of Kandhamal and Ganjam of Odisha. The Rushikulya originates at an elevation of about 1000 metres from Daringbadi hills of th ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

refers to an apheterion or the point of departure located south of Palur port from where ships bound for

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

embarked on its voyage.

Post-Medieval era

Under the ownership of the Soraine family the village grew in wealth, from an obscure little fishing village, Gopalpur became a prominent trading port. The family built the port, the lighthouse and the Albert Hotel and established both a local fishing industry and a trade route with Burma. They also established the bylaw allowing any villagers who could build a house, with a perimeter and light a fire in the fireplace overnight, could then keep the land and house (on the backwaters) as their own. During the British rule family squabbles and disputes resulted in much being transferred to British missionaries. The Albert Hotel now locked in ownership battles and lying derelict is the last remnant of those squabbles. During the days of

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

The

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

built large

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

s and

godown A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, tow ...

s because the trade with

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

had picked up and it had become a trading point for rice from Rangoon. Victor Soraine returned to India from England and built BetVic house where he retired, surrounded by memories of childhood and his family legacy. His final wish was granted when he was buried in his ancestral lands just a few years ago. Gopalpur has reverted to being a quiet, relaxed place but with one major difference — it is one of India's most sought after beaches, with a distinct charm of its own.

Beach

Barely 16 km away from Brahmapur (It is also at times considered as a part of Brahmapur), the commercial hub of southern

and close to the border of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, is the tiny town of Gopalpur on the

. This languorous beach with coconut groves, casuarinas and gentle sand dunes is deserted for miles.

Development

Renovated in the 1970s at the initiative of the

government, the jetties were supposed to revive the trading activities of Gopalpur port. The old jetty in Gopalpur is tourist attraction point, which was a major point for trade and commerce in medieval times. The sailors of those time started their journey from this jetty to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and Rangoon across the Indian Sea. Once the renovation of new jetty completed it will become an important port of south

. It's a wonderful drive-in for the people and from the beach, a vast expanse of deep blue sea and the horizon can be seen. Another thrilling sight is the long stretch of cashew nut trees. Cashew nuts are processed here and exported. A major landmark of Gopalpur is its lighthouse. The view from the top is splendid and one can see at a glance the entire town of Gopalpur. Gopalour is also famous for its 'beach festival' organized annually. A nearby beach is Dhabaleshwar, which also houses a temple of the same name.

Beach festival and other attractions near Gopalpur

Gopalpur Beach Festival: The first Gopalpur beach festival was started in the year 1996 by Ganjam District Hotel Association to promote tourism and culture. The concept of Gopalpur Beach Festival was conceived by Mr V.Santosh Kumar and Mr Sayed Rahim Members of Ganjam district Hotel Association, Brahmapur. The Ganjam District Hotel Association and

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 ...

have been jointly organizing the festival since 1996 in the month of December.

Geography and climate

Gopalpur is located at on the coast of Bay of Bengal, around 160 km south of

Paradip Paradeep, also spelt Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelt Paradwip), is a major seaport city and municipality, from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep Municipality was constituted as an NAC on 27 Sep ...

and 260 km north of

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

. It is a natural, deep sea port on the east coast of

. Gopalpur lies on a 4 km stretch of barren coast line, with no mangrove or tropical forests. The coast line falls in the rain-shadow of the region. The climate in the region is tropical wet and dry. Temperatures range from 32 degrees in summer to 17 degrees in winter. The region receives rainfall in both advance and retreat of the

Southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

. Gopalpur has witnessed notable and strong tropical storms in history, including the Super cyclone of 1999 and

Cyclone Phailin Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin (; th, ไพลิน, translit=Phịlin, lit=sapphire) was the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in India since the 1999 Odisha cyclone until Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal in May 2020. The sy ...

of 2013, the latter hitting the town directly.

Politics

Current MLA from Gopalpur (SC) Assembly Constituency is Pradeep panigrahi of BJD, who won the seat in State elections of 2014 and continuing since 2009. Previous MLAs from this seat Trinatha Behera who won this seat in 2004 as INC candidate, Rama Chandra Sethy who won this seat in 2000 as BJD candidate and as JD candidate in 1995 and 1990, and Ghanashyam Behera who won this seat as INC candidate in 1985 and 1977 and as INC(I) candidate in 1980. Gopalpur is part of

Berhampur (Lok Sabha constituency) Berhampur is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Odisha. Assembly Segments Members of Parliament *2019: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, BJD *2014: Siddhanta Mahapatra, BJD * 2009: Siddhanta Mahapatra, BJD * 2004: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Congre ...

Gallery

Gpur.JPG, Wind Surfing at Gopalpur Gopalpur light house.jpg, Gopalpur light House near Sea Beach. Gopalpur 's beach, the ocean.JPG, The sea-beach at Gopalpur,2010 Gp12345.jpg, Gopalpur Beach Aerial View from Light House North Side Gopalpur Port.jpg, Port of Gopalpur.

References

External links

* https://virtualrealityshow.ueniweb.com/ Maa Khambeswari 9D Cinema * https://eurokidschatrapur.in/our-classes/ Eurokids Chatrapur * http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2002/11/18/stories/2002111800050300.htm
Gopalpur Site Visit www.gopalpur.comCyclone Phailin Relief www.rapidresponse.org.in
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalpur-On-Sea Cities and towns in Ganjam district Beaches of Odisha