Корапут ауданы: тарихы, географиясы және мәдениеті

the district

Koraput district is a district of India in southern Odisha, with headquarters at Koraput. The district is located in the Eastern Ghats and is known for its hilly terrain, rich and diverse types of mineral deposits and its tribal culture and traditions. The district headquarters town of Koraput and its largest city, Jeypore are major centres of trade and commerce for South Odisha and fall on an important road connecting Visakhapatnam to Raipur.

The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters, the present town of Koraput. According to Mr. R. C. S. Bell, the name of the town is Kora Putti or “the hamlet of the Nux vomica". Some opine that the word is derived from "Khora," a tribal people who still inhabit nearby villages. According to the second theory, Koraput is a corrupted form of ‘Karaka Pentho’. Karaka literally means ‘hail stone’. Another opinion is often found that the term Kora was the name of a Sun God who was worshipped by the local tribals in ancient times. Hence the town was so named. 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 was permitted to establish this village which was named after him as Khora Putu, and later on the name has been abbreviated to ‘Koraput.

Koraput district is located between 18 degree 13’ and 19 degree 10’ North Latitudes and 82 degree 5’ and 83 degree 23’ East Longitudes. It shares its borders with Rayagada District, Nabarangpur district ,Kalanhandi district on the north, with Bastar district of Chhattisgarh on the west, with Malkangiri District on the south and with Alluri Sitharama Raju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts of Andhra Pradesh on the east. Its area is 8,807 km2, making it the third largest district of Odisha after Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh. About twenty one villages in the Kotia Gram Panchayat are the subject of a long pending territorial dispute with the State of Andhra Pradesh.

The early history of the district is obscure owing to the absence of written records. Its location in the hills, isolation from means of communication and the dense forests all around served to keep the district politically separate from the nearby plains on both sides. The earliest event that can be fixed with certainty is the acquisition of the tract by the Kingdom of Jeypore sometime in the 15th century. Before this, it was probably ruled by the Silavamsi Dynasty. Ruins of 10th century Jain temples in the district point to a presence of that sect as well. The Jeypore Rajas became tributaries to the Qutb Shahi Dynasty of Hyderabad by 1580. This suzerainty later passed to the Mughals, the Nizam of Hyderabad and finally descended to the East India Company when the Northern Circars were ceded to them by Emperor Shah Alam in 1765. After cession, the district formed a part of the Madras Presidency but was largely left in the hands of the local Zamindars owing to its remote location. For administrative purposes, the entire area from the foothills of the Eastern Ghats to the boundaries of Bastar State was added to the Visakhapatnam District. This included the present day Rayagada, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts as well. The Collector of the District functioned in an additional capacity as Agent to the Governor of Madras in this area and exercised significant powers of criminal justice, revenue and civil law. The usual Civil and Criminal procedure codes of British India were not applied and the tract was known as the Agency. In 1863, two Assistant Agents were appointed at Jeypore and Parvatipuram to aid the Agent in his duties. Except for a short lived experiment of clubbing Agency areas of Ganjam, East Godavari District and Vishakhapatnam under a Commissioner in 1920, the administrative system remained unchanged till 1 April 1936 when almost all of the Agency areas of Vishakhapatnam District along with the associated zamindaris were clubbed together to form the undivided Koraput District. The district, along with Sambalpur District and the coastal districts of Ganjam, Balasore, Puri, Cuttack and Angul together constituted a new Orissa Province of British India. It was the first linguistic province of India and Koraput became its largest district in size. A District Magistrate was appointed who was assisted by two Sub Divisional Magistrates at Rayagada and the headquarters. The district had a total of 8 Talukas later replaced by Tahsils and Blocks. Nabarangpur subdivision was created in 1941, followed by Gunupur and Malkangiri subdivisions in 1962 and Jeypore some years later. Finally, the district was divided into four new districts in 1992 the Jeypore and Koraput subdivisions together constituted the new truncated district of Koraput. The district was severely affected by Naxalism after 2000, though instances of violence have come down after 2014. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor and has extensive deployment of police and paramilitary forces at sensitive places.

Koraput comes under the Eastern Ghat Highland Agro climatic Zone. It is composed of two separate plateaus at an average elevation of 3000 and 2000 feet respectively which are separated from each other and the surrounding plains by a ring of hills. The 3000 feet plateau forms the boundary of the district with Andhra Pradesh and part of Rayagada district. A line of hills marks its outer boundary to the east reaching a height of 5486 feet at Deomali, the highest peak of Odisha, near Pottangi and 5316 feet at Sinkaram Gutta near Araku on the Andhra Pradesh border. Most of the hills have been denuded of forests due to generations of shifting cultivation and lack any major wildlife. The rainfall averages approximately 160 cm and falls in the Monsoon months of July–August. The plateau itself is marked by undulating hills and valleys through which numerous streams run down to join the Indravati to the north and the tributaries of the Godavari to the south. Most of the land is given over to the cultivation of paddy, ragi and flax. Narayanapatna and Bandhugaon blocks of the district are located before the ring of hills as noted above and geographically form a part of the Nagavali River valley, being located at a significantly lower altitude. The district headquarter town of Koraput is located on this plateau, as are most of the industrial areas of the district. The Jeypore subdivision is a part of the 2000 feet plateau and forms approximately the western third of the district. It is divided from the 3000 feet plateau by a range of hills that runs from the Malkangiri border to the Indravati river. Low hills, some of them reaching to about 3000 feet mark this plateau. They are occasionally covered with jungle but most of the land is given over to paddy cultivation. The plateau gradually slopes west towards Bastar and falls through another ring of hills to the lower plains of Malkangiri to the south. The rainfall is slightly higher and averages about 190 cm annually. The district overall has a warm and humid type of climate, though significantly more pleasant than the rest of Odisha. Mean Maximum summer temperature is 34.1 C and Mean Minimum Winter temperature is 10.4 C. The temperature on the 3000 feet plateau is often much lower and can approach close to freezing during peak winter at certain places. Three large rivers flow through Koraput district. The Indravati rises in Kalahandi District and is dammed immediately afterwards, forming a large reservoir the backwaters of which have cut off certain villages in Dasmantapur Block of Koraput. The river then forms the boundary between Koraput and Nabarangpur district throughout before entering Chhattisgarh near Nagarnar, slightly north of the main Jeypore Jagdalpur road. The Kolab River (known as the Sabari River in its later course) rises near the Andhra Pradesh border at Sinkaram. It then flows north west in a winding course before reaching the Kolab Dam slightly south of Koraput town. The massive reservoir has a catchment area of 1630 sq km and spans the Sadar, Semiliguda and Nandapur blocks of the district. After the dam, the river descends onto the 2000 feet plateau at Bagra near Jeypore through a small cataract before flowing north west and then suddenly south in Kundura block. It then enters the Bastar district before turning east again and forming the border with Koraput. It finally flows into Malkangiri and onwards to the Godavari River. The Machchkund (better known as the Sileru River) enters the district near Chatwa on the Araku road. It forms the boundary between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh for many kilometers before the Jalaput Dam. It then continues along the southern boundary of the district in a series of rapids before falling down 540 feet at Duduma Waterfalls. The river is tapped here for the Machchkund Power Plant. It then flows through a close gorge through Malkangiri before going on to join the Sabari River.

According to the 2011 census Koraput district has a population of 1,379,647, roughly equal to the nation of Eswatini or the US state of Hawaii. This gives it a ranking of 356th in India (out of a total of 640). The largest tribe in the current district are the Parojas, literally meaning "subject", a generic term applying to many different tribal communities in Koraput. They are a significant population in the south and west, on the higher plateau regions. Almost all speak an Odia dialect as their mother tongue. The community has a population of around 2.2 lakhs. The second largest community are the Khonds, who mainly live in the eastern mountains and have a population of 2 lakhs. Other major communities include the Bhottada, Gadaba and Bhumia. The non tribal population is mostly of the castes and communities common to the rest of Odisha, and the Scheduled Caste population is predominantly from the Domba community. The only addition here is of a substantial Telugu element. The Telugus form an important commercial class and are also to be found in Government employment.

Hinduism is the dominant religion of the district with more than 93.8% of the population being returned as Hindus in the Census of 2011. However, in practice, there exist significant differences in the identification with mainstream Hinduism. Almost all tribes have a distinction between a Hindu ised segment that follows the rites and rituals of Hinduism and another one that still worships the indigenous deities and follows rules of worship that are different from the general practice of the faith. Intermarriage and dining together are often the differentiating markers between these groups. Some of these deities include Jakari and Thakurani, who are worshipped by animal sacrifice like other folk religions. Most villages will have a stone or tree where the deity of the village is believed to reside.

The district economy mainly depends on agriculture and which mainly depends on rainfall. The rainfall depends on South West monsoon. Out of total cropping area of 296000ha in Koraput, irrigation potential in Kharif is 30.71% and in Rabi is 21.51%. Generally crops grown during Rabi like Paddy, Wheat, Maize, Ragi, Mung, Biri, Groundnut, Mustard, Field Pea, Sunflower etc. needs assured irrigation. An idol of a four armed Tara (a Jain yakshi) in the temple complex is also noteworthy. A Parab festival is organised by the temple management every year. A 4 feet (1 m) Jain idol was discovered in 2020 during excavation.

Naxalism is a serious matter of concern in south Odisha, including Koraput district, since around 2000. Earlier, the Naxalite activities were confined to districts such as Malkangiri, which share its borders with the neighboring states. With time, the Naxal activities has spread to Koraput as well as other tribal dominated districts like Rayagada and Nabarangpur. The inaccessible hilly terrain, dense forests, lack of development, grievances of the tribals and poor, and the absence of administration have been conducive to the spread of left wing extremism in Odisha. The seriousness of the problem was underlined by a co ordinated Naxalite attack on the District Headquarters and armoury at Koraput on February 6, 2004. Another prominent leader, Nachika Linga, president of Chasia Mula Adivasi Sangh with Maoist links, organized tribals of Narayanpatna block against moneylenders and landlords who had taken their lands and in 2009 marched on the Narayanpatna police station. Naxal group, namely People's War Group (PWG), has carried out numerous operations (attacks on rich farmers, police, bureaucrats and politicians, loots from godowns) within last few years in Koraput as well as in its neighboring districts. CoBRA BN of CRPF was deployed here for this purpose and it has helped to reduce Naxal activities to a large extent.

Owing to its hilly terrain, transport in Koraput is dependent upon certain trunk roads that climb up the passes on the Eastern Ghats. National Highway 26 takes off from National Highway 16 near Vizianagaram. It enters the district before Sunki and rises to around 3500 feet at Ralegada through a number of sharp curves. It then descends onto the 3000 feet plateau and passes Pottangi and Kunduli before meeting the alternative road to Vishakhapatnam through Araku at Similiguda. The road then passes Koraput and descends through a steep ghat to Jeypore before going straight north through Borigumma to Nabarangpur. NH 63 takes off from this road at Borigumma and proceeds straight west through Kotpad to Jagdalpur in Bastar. Major District Roads connect the road to other parts of the district. Secondary major roads include NH 326 that enters from Rayagada before passing through Lakshmipur and Kakirigumma to join NH 26. It then diverges again at Jeypore to pass through Boipariguda before entering Malkangiri district near Mathili. Koraput railway station is a junction station on Kirandul Visakhapatnam railway line that branches towards Rayagada railway station on the other side. Other main railheads include Jeypore, Kotpad Road Station, Damanjodi, and Lakshmipur Road. Jeypore Airport has direct, daily flight connections to Bhubaneswar and Vishakhapatnam.

In accordance with the three tier system of Panchayati Raj, the district comprises one Zila Parishad of 29 constituencies (or Zones) further subdivided is divided into 240 Gram Panchayats in 14 Panchayat Samitis. The President, Zila Parishad heads the body while the Collector and CDO function as its CEO and EO respectively. Each Panchayat Samiti is headed by a Chairman with the BDO as the CEO while the Panchayat is headed by a Sarpanch with an executive officer. Like the Zila Parishad, the other two bodies also have constituencies like PS Zones or Wards respectively. Each of these bodies has access to annual grants from the Finance Commission and are responsible for approving their own budgets in general body meetings.