Gopalpur, Odisha
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Gopalpur is a coastal town and a Notified Area Council on the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
coast in
Ganjam district Ganjam is a district in the Indian state of Odisha. Ganjam's total area is 8,206 km² (3,168 mi²). The district headquarters is Chhatrapur. Ganjam is divided into three sub-divisions: Chhatrapur, Berhampur, and Bhanjanagar. As of ...
in the southern part of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It's a port town with beautiful sea beach. Gopalpur is around 15 km from
Berhampur Berhampur (; also known as Brahmapur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Odisha, India. Known as the "Silk City" it is the headquarter of Ganjam district, Ganjam district and home to Odisha's one of the major and the oldest railway station ...
.


Demographics

As of the 2001 India
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, 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 region. It is identified with the site Mansurkota located near Gopalpur, just below the mouth of the river Rushikulya.
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
refers to an apheterion or the point of departure located south of Palur port from where ships bound for
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
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. Gopalpur on sea, was once a Dutch establishment. Back in those days, S.K. Dey owned almost half of Gopalpur. 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 that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
The
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
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 rural–urban fringe, out ...
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, to ...
s because the trade with
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
had picked up and it had become a trading point for rice from
Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
. 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 Christian cemetery 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. Once a house to a Europeans and Anglo Indians now only a few of the families live here.


Beach

Barely 16 km away from
Brahmapur Brahmapur may refer to the following places: * Brahmaloka, heavenly abode of the Hindu god Brahma * Brahmpur, Bihar, village in Bihar, India * Brahampur, Nepal, municipality ward in Dakneshwori, Nepal * Brahmapur, Odisha, city in Odisha, India * ...
(it is also at times considered as a part of Brahmapur), the commercial hub of southern
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
and close to the border of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, is the tiny town of Gopalpur on the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
. 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
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and Rangoon across the Indian Sea. Once the renovation of new jetty completed it will become an important port of south
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. 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. People here can speak Odia and English.


Beach festival and other attractions near Gopalpur

Gopalpur Beach Festival: The first Gopalpur beach festival was held in 1996 by Gopalpur Club in association with Ganjam District Hotel Association to promote tourism and culture. The concept of Gopalpur Beach Festival was conceived by members of Gopalpur Club along with the members of Ganjam District Hotel Association.


Geography and climate

Gopalpur is located at on the coast of Bay of Bengal, around 160 km south of
Paradip Paradeep, also spelled Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelled Paradwip), is a major industrial seaport town and municipality, nearly 80 km from Cuttack city, in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep was constituted as an NAC o ...
and 260 km north of
Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
. It is a natural, deep sea port on the east coast of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. 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 oscil ...
. Gopalpur has witnessed notable and strong tropical storms in history, including the Super cyclone of 1999 and
Cyclone Phailin Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin (; ) was one of the most intense tropical cyclones to make landfall in India since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. The system was first noted as a tropical depression on October 4, 2013, within the Gulf of Thailand ...
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 was Trinatha Behera who won this seat in 2004 as INC candidate, Rama Chandra Sethy who won here 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) Brahmapur is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Odisha, India. Assembly Segments Elected Members Since its formation in 1952, 18 elections have been held till date. It was a two member constituency in 1957. List of members el ...
.


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