Orissa
| Country |  India |
|---|---|
| Established | 1 April 1936 |
| Capital | Bhubaneswar |
| Largest city | Bhubaneswar |
| Districts | 30 |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare |
| • Chief Minister | Naveen Patnaik (BJD) |
| • Legislature | Unicameral (147 seats) |
| • Parliamentary constituency | 21 |
| • High Court | Orissa High Court, Cuttack |
| Area | |
| • Total | 155,820 km2 (60,162.4 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 9th |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 41,947,358 |
| • Rank | 11th |
| • Density | 269.2/km2 (697.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-OR |
| HDI |  0.452 (medium) |
| HDI rank | 27th (2005) |
| Literacy | 83.45% |
| Official languages | Oriya |
Orissa , officially Odisha since November 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in India, and consists predominantly of Oriya speakers. 1 April is therefore celebrated as Utkal Divas. Cuttack remained the capital of the state for over many centuries until April 13, 1948 when Bhubaneswar was officially declared as the new capital of Orissa, replacing Cuttack. Bhubaneswar is the present capital.
Orissa is the ninth largest state by area in India, and the eleventh largest by population. Oriya is the official and most widely spoken language with 93.33% Oriya speakers according to linguistic survey.Other languages spoken in the state are Hindi, Bengali, and Telugu, Orissa has a relatively unindented coastline (about 480 km long and lacked good ports, except for the deepwater facility at Paradip, until the recent launch of the Dhamara Port (The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) is a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. DPCL has been awarded a concession by Government of Orissa to build and operate a port north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district). The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta supports the bulk of the population. The interior of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated. Deomali at 1672 m is the highest point of the state. Orissa is subject to intense cyclones. The most intense one, in October 1999, Tropical Cyclone 05B caused severe damage and nearly 15,000 deaths.
Orissa is home to the Hirakud Dam, near Sambalpur the longest earthen dam in the world. Orissa has several popular tourist destinations. Puri, Konark & Bhubaneswar are known as Golden triangle of eastern India. Puri, with theJagannath temple near the sea (famous for Rath Yatra or the Car Festival), and Konark, with the Sun Temple, are visited by thousands of tourists every year. The Jagannath Temple of Puri, the Konark Sun Temple, the Lingaraj Temple, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Dhauligiri of Bhubaneshwar, Ashoka's famous Rock Edict at Jaugada near Berhampur city and the Barabati Fort of Cuttack are important in the archaeological history of India.
Bhubaneswar is the capital of Orissa. It is famed for its magnificent temples, numbering around a thousand. Cuttack, the former capital of Orissa, is 22 km from Bhubaneswar. With the rapid expansion of two cities and better road connectivity, the two cities are now almost conjoined and considered as twin cities. The city of Puri is about 60 kilometers from Bhubaneswar and lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Puri is considered a holy city and the abode of the deity Lord Jagannath. It is one of the Char Dhams (Four holy places) of Hinduism. The world-famous "car festival" (rath yatra) is celebrated every year in the Hindu month of Ashadha (Mid June to Mid July) in Puri.
The Chota Nagpur plateau occupies the western and northern portions of the state, while along the coast are fertile alluvial plains and the valleys of the Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani rivers, which fall into the Bay of Bengal. These alluvial plains are home to intensive rice cultivation. The Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Asia's largest rice research Institute is situated along the bank of Mahanadi in Cuttack. One of the major nesting ground for the Olive Ridley sea turtles can be found in the Beaches of Orissa; in Devi, Gahirmatha and Rushikulya, which are known to be the nesting sites for the L. olivacea Indian Ocean population. In 2007, around 130,000 turtles nested on the beaches of Gahirmatha. The shore line also acts as their mating site and have attracted various scientific communities for research and studies.
Although most of Orissa's forest cover has been denuded lately, one of the greatest attractions of Orissa is its still vast expanses of unspoiled natural landscape that offer a protected yet natural habitat to the state’s incredible wildlife. There are many wildlife sanctuaries in Orissa. The Simlipal National Park Tiger Reserve is a huge expanse of lush green forest with waterfalls, inhabited by tigers, elephants, and other wildlife. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has been protecting estuarine crocodiles since 1975.
Chilka Lake, a brackish water coastal lake on the Bay of Bengal, south of the mouth of the Mahanadi River, is the largest coastal lake in India and the second largest in the world. It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent. It is protected by the Chilka Lake Bird Sanctuary, which harbors over 160 migratory and resident species of birds. Birds from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here. It also has the small area of Satpada which is a safe sanctuary for the lesser known and endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins.
The highest mountain peak in the state is Deomali (1672 m), which is situated in Koraput district in southern Orissa. It is also the tallest peak of the Eastern Ghats. It is part of the Chandragiri-Pottangi mountain system. Location: 18°40'3"N 82°58'59"E