Koraput (Oriya: କୋରାପୁଟ) is a town and a Notified Area Council in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa.
History
The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of Koraput. In ancient times when the Nalas were ruling over this tract, Pushkari near modern Umarkot was the capital city. In the medieval period Nandapur developed as the capital under the Silavamsi kings and sometimes under the kings of the Solar dynasty. Vikram Dev of the Solar dynasty shifted his headquarters to Jeypore about the middle of the 17th century and this town prospered as the capital. Koraput was chosen by the British in 1870 for better health prospects. The origin of the name of Koraput is obscure. There are several theories, none of which is convincing.
According to Mr. R.C.S.Bell the name of the town is ‘Kora-Putti’ or”the hamlet of the nux-vomica” and it is derived presumably from a tree or trees that must at one time have been prominent near the site. But today not a single tree of nux-vomica is to be found near about the town of Koraput and so the assumption or Mr. Bell is open to question.
According to second theory, Koraput is corrupted form of ‘Karaka pentho’ Karaka literally mans ‘hail-stone’. It is also believed that one ‘Khora Naiko’ laid foundation of the village during the time of Nandapur kings. He hailed probably from Ranpur and served under the Nandapur kings in the Militia, and for his faithful and meritorious services he has permitted to establish this village which was named after him as Khora Putu, and later on the name has been abbreviated to ‘Koraput’.
Koraput is also a Tourism Place.The town is surrounded by mountains, thick forests and waterfalls.
Adivasi Identity
This district is a part of the tribal belt in southern Orissa. As the word 'tribal' often denotes a negative connotation, the indigenous people here prefer to be known as 'Adivasis' meaning 'original inhabitants'. Most of the area was under thick forest cover until a few years ago. Many adivasi communities live in this district. Largely due to deforestation, industrialization and urbanization these communities have almost come to modernity and are adopting new ways of life. However, on any Sunday one can see the adivasis selling their products (vegetables and fruits of organic origin) in Sunday markets popularly known as HAT PODA. Tha hat poda or the 'haat' plays an important role in maintaining Adivasi identity [1]. In the month of November (2nd-3rd week), a famous festival of tribals, organised by the district administration DONGAR FESTIVAL or PARAB is being organised every year to showcase the life of adivasis. In reality, one could see the Adivasis being paraded as 'museum specimens' for the sake of the voyeuristic tourist. Many foreign tourists also visit this place to witness this festival. The adivasi languages, culture and traditional knowledge are closely connected with their ecosystem
Sabara Srikhetra
Koraput is mostly famous for its Jagannath Temple which is also known as Sabara Srikhetra. Srikhetra is normally referred to as Puri Jagannath, but the unique identity of the Koraput temple is because of the fact that no section of the society is barred entry. Sabara Srikhetra was founded by, among others, Sri PYARIMOHAN MOHAPATRA, the then the Chief Administrator of D.N.K Project Koraput, Dr. Jagabandhu Samal, Retd. Reader in ECONOMICS, Prof. P.C.Mohapatra, Koraput Sri Abhaya Mohapatra the Then PRO Koraput, Sri Krushna Chandra Panigrahy,the Present Secretary of Sabara Srikhetra Temple and Dr Nirod Gochhayat. Thousands flock to the temple every day for darshan. The Temple trust has built huge accommodation centres for pilgrims and is an important force behind the growing number of tourist arrivals. The trust also runs COATS (Council of Analytical Tribal Studies), a university–like educational institute is a successful attempt to restore and educate tribal way of life, customs, tradition, medicine, language, social structure and history. This quite paradoxical: A group of people building a Hindu temple on one hand and running COATS for tribal culture restoration on the other. This has to be seen in the light of the fact that hinduism has been forced upon the adivasis of Koraput[5]
Geography
Koraput is located at 18.82°N 82.72°E. It has an average elevation of 870 metres (2854 feet).
Hill stations
Being at the heart of tribal belt in south orissa, it has also many hill station tourist attractions though they are not that famous as other hill stations of India. Places like Machkund, Onukadelli, Jalaput, Chindri, Hatipathar, etc. are places to be visited for its scenic beauty.
Economy
HAL factory (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a defence enterprise of the Government of India) is only 15 km from Koraput town. This HAL factory makes military aircraft engines for MiG and expanding for Sukhoi assembly line. The HAL factory and township is surrounded by hills and forest. It employs 6000 engineers and technicians, all are staying in the township next to the factory. The National Aluminium Company Ltd.(NALCO), Damanjodi also has its significance to boost up the economy of Koraput district. Around 2500 engineers & technicians are engaged in the process of extraction of Alumina from Bauxite. Other than the employees there are thousands of workers engaged by hundreds of contractors. Nearby Semliguda is developed to cater this population for marketing as well as entertainment. Semliguda is mostly inhabited by trading community. These traders and contractors do business in HAL, Sunabeda and NALCO, Damanjodi.
Transport
Koraput has good linkage with other parts of the state as well as some major cities of neighboring states, by means of rail and road. National highway number 26(43) passes through the town which connects it with Raipur and Vishakapatnam. Buses are a plenty from Vishakhatanam and Vizianagaram to Koraput. Now-a-days many private cabs are also available from Vizianagaram, which costs about Rs.150-200 per head. Buses to Jeypore, Jagdalpur, Umerkote, etc., also passes through Koraput.
By Rail, it is well connected with Rayagada, Vishakapatnam, Jagdalpur, Howrah, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela.
Educational facilities
Koraput is well equipped with basic educational facilities. The major government and privately owned schools and college include :
Vyomayana Samstha Vidyalaya, Sunabeda, Koraput
Aeronautics College, Sunabeda;Previously named Aeronautics Commerce and Arts(A.C& A)College.
Govt. High School (previously named Govt. Boys High School);
Police High School;
J.E.L.C High School;
Govt Girls High School;
Sri Aurobindo Purnanga Shikhsakendra;
Saraswati Vidya Mandir;
Public School;
Central School (Kendriya vidyalaya);
S.V.B.Vidyapith Eng. Medium School;
Bikash Vidyalaya Eng / Oriya Medium School;
Saints English Medium School.
Siddharth Institute of Engineering and Technology(S.I.E.T)
Central University of Orissa-Koraput
Talents College Of Science& Technology
Jawahor Navodaya Vidyalaya,koraput
As far as higher studies are concerned, Koraput has got one Woman's College and a D.A.V College, both of which are affiliated to the Berhampur University. The quality of higher education in Koraput is still under question.
Apart from traditional courses, Koraput now also provides facilities for professional courses like engineering and pharmacy. There is a demand from the people of Koraput to establish a medical college in the district which has not been entertained by the Government.Koraput is surrounded with industry like HAL, NALCO,and other like power project, which create a demand for technical professionals.
In 2009, a central university was set up in Koraput namely Central University of Orissa. This started functioning from August 2009 providing courses on English, Oriya, Mass Communication, Journalism, Anthropology and Sociology. Prof Surabhi Banarjee has been appointed as the first Vice Chancellor of the University.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census, Koraput had a population of 39,523. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Koraput has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 59%. In Koraput, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
