Ganjam district


Ganjam district is a district in the Indian state of Odisha. Ganjam's total area is 8,070 km².
The district headquarters is Chhatrapur. Ganjam is divided into three sub-divisions Chhatrapur, Berhampur, and Bhanjanagar. The Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908 lists Ganjam, along with the Thanjavur and South Canara districts, as the three districts of the Madras Presidency where Brahmins were most numerous.
As of 2011 it is the most populous district of Odisha.

History

Ganjam was a part of ancient Dakshina Kalinga. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka inscribed his message at Jaugada near the banks of the Rushikulya, in the present-day Ganjam district. Scholars thus conclude that a significant part of Ganjam was under the rule of Ashoka. There are multiple theories regarding the name 'Ganjam'. During the 7th century, the region was known as Kangoda or Kongoda. Some scholars believe the word evolved from this ancient name. A second theory suggests that one Ibrahim Qutabshahi, Sultan of Golconda invaded the region in 1571 and the region later became known by the Persian adjective 'Ganj-i-am', meaning 'place of the commoners'.
Ganjam district is one of the oldest administrative units of Odisha. It was part of Madras presidency during British rule.

Administrative setup

The 23 Tahasils in Ganjam district under three sub-divisions are listed in the following table.
#Chhatrapur Sub-DivisionBerhampur Sub-DivisionBhanjanagar Sub-Division
1ChhatrapurBerhampurBhanjanagar
2GanjamKonisiAska
3KhallikotePatrapurSeragada
4PurushottampurChikitiDharakot
5HinjilicutDigapahandiSurada
6KabisuryanagarSanakhemundiBelaguntha
7PolasaraKukudakhandiJagannathprasad
8KodalaBuguda

The 22 Blocks in Ganjam district under three sub-divisions are listed in the following table.
#Chhatrapur Sub-DivisionBerhampur Sub-DivisionBhanjanagar Sub-Division
1ChhatrapurRangeilundaBhanjanagar
2GanjamKukudakhandiAska
3KhallikotePatrapurSeragada
4PurushottampurChikitiDharakot
5HinjilicutDigapahandiSurada
6KabisuryanagarSanakhemundiBelaguntha
7PolasaraJagannathprasad
8KodalaBuguda

There are 36 Police Stations under the two Police Districts in Ganjam Administrative district are listed in the following table.
Ganjam Police DistrictBerhampur Police District
1Chhatrapur P.S.Berhampur Town P.S., Berhampur
2Chamakhandi P.S.Baidyanathpur P.S., Berhampur
3Ganjam P.S.Bada Bazar P.S., Berhampur
4Rambha P.S.Gosaninuagaon P.S., Berhampur
5Khallikote P.S.Mahila P.S., Berhampur
6Marine P.S., ArjyapalliSadar P.S., Berhampur
7Energy P.S., ChhatrapurGopalpur P.S.
8Purushottampur P.S.Golanthara P.S.
9Kabisuryanagar P.S.K. Nuagaon P.S.
10Kodala P.S.Jarada P.S.
11Polasara P.S.Digapahandi P.S.
12Aska P.S.Energy P.S., Berhampur
13Hinjili P.S.
14Pattapur P.S.
15Seragada P.S.
16Badagada P.S.
17Dharakote P.S.
18Surada P.S.
19Bhanjanagar P.S.
20Gangapur P.S.
21Buguda P.S.
22Jagannathprasad P.S.
23Tarasingi P.S.
24Energy P.S., Bhanjanagar

Economy

An important contributor to the local economy is production of extracts from Ganjam Kewda Rooh, which are used in perfumery.
Since Ganjam is a coastal district, it is well equipped with Port facilities. Port at Gopalpur and nearby industries cater economic activities of the district and Odisha state.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Ganjam district has a population of 3,529,031, roughly equal to the nation of Lithuania or the US state of Connecticut. This gives it a ranking of 83rd in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.37%. Ganjam has a sex ratio of 983 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 71.88%.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.29% of the population in the district spoke Odia, 7.17% Telugu, 0.44% Kui and 0.42% Sora as their first language.

Politics

Vidhan sabha constituencies

The following is the Vidhan sabha constituencies of Ganjam and the elected members of the area
No.ConstituencyReservationExtent of the Assembly Constituency Member of 16th AssemblyParty
123Bhanjanagar-Bhanjanagar, Bhanjanagar, JagannathprasadBikram Keshari ArukhaBJD
124Polasara-Buguda, Polasara, Buguda, PolasaraSrikanta SahuBJD
125Kabisuryanagar-Kabisuryanagar, Kodala, Beguniapada, Kabisuryanagar, Purusottampur Smt. Latika PradhanBJD
126KhalikoteSCKhalikote, Purusottampur, Khalikote, Purusottampur Smt. Suryamani BaidyaBJD
127ChhatrapurSCChhatrapur, Ganjam, Rambha, Ganjam, ChhatrapurSubash Chandra PradhanBJD
128Aska-Aska, Aska, Kabisuryanagar Smt. Manjula SwainBJD
129Surada-Surada, Belaguntha, Surada, Belaguntha,Purna Chandra SwainBJD
130Sanakhemundi-Sanakhemundi, DharakoteRamesh Chandra JenaINC
131Hinjili-Hinjilicut, Hinjilicut, Hinjili SheragadaNaveen PatnaikBJD
132Gopalpur-Gopalpur, Rangailunda, Kukudakhandi, Berhampur Pradeep Kumar PanigrahyBJD
133Berhampur-Berhampur ,Bikram Kumar PandaBJD
134Digapahandi-Digapahandi, Digapahandi, Kukudakhandi Surjya Narayana PatroBJD
135Chikiti-Chikiti, Chikiti Block, Patrapur BlockSmt. Usha DeviBJD

Lok Sabha constituencies

Since 2008, Ganjam district is represented in Berhampur and Aska.
Berhampur seat earlier Ganjam exist in 1952 and 1957 general elections as two seat constituency and Chatarpur exist in 1962, 1967 and 1971 general elections and later Berhanpur seat exist since 1977 general elections.
Aska seat exist since 1977 general elections and earlier as Bhanjanagar seat in 1962, 1967 and 1971 general elections

People from Ganjam district