Odisha: formerly known as Orissa,is an Indian state on the subcontinents east coast, by the Bay of Bengal. It is surrounded by the Indian states of West Bengal to the north-east and in the east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the south. It is the modern name of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India and consisted predominantly of Oriya speakers.1 April is therefore celebrated as Utkala Dibas(foundation day of Odisha). Cuttack remained the capital of the state for over eight centuries until 13 April 1948 when Bhubaneswar was officially declared as the new state capital, a position it still holds. Odisha is the 9th largest state by area in India, and the 11th largest by population. Oriya (officially spelled Odia) is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by three quarters of the population. Odisha 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 Dhamra Port. The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi river delta, supports the bulk of the population.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 10:47:23 +0000
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