Jajpur


Jajpur is a city and a municipality in Jajpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was the capital of the Kesari dynasty, later supplanted by Cuttack. Now, it is the headquarter of Jajpur district.

Etymology and names

Jajpur, the place of the ancient Biraja Temple, was originally known as Biraja. Other names of the city in the ancient texts include Viranja, Varanja-nagara, Varaha-tirtha. The Bhauma-Kara kings established their capital city of Guhadevapataka, identified with modern Gohiratikar near Jajpur. The later Somavanshi kings moved their capital from Yayatinagara to Guheshvarapataka, and renamed the city Abhinava-Yayatinagara.
Later, the Jajpur city came to be known as Yajanagara. According to one theory, this name is a corruption of "Yayatinagara". Another theory is that it derives from the Brahmanical sacrifices that became popular during the Ganga-Gajapati period. In the Muslim chronicles such as Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi, the city's name was mentioned as "Jajnagar". Later, the suffix "-nagar" was replaced with the equivalent "-pur", and the city's name became "Jajpur".

History

Earliest account of Jajpur is part of the history of the Odisha. It was the capital of Keshari King Yayati Keshari in 473 CE. Accounts by Chinese travelers mention Jajpur as capital in 7th century. It has been a center of Tantrism. The budhhist kingdom of Bhauma Karas also kept Jajpur as their capital in 8th century CE. Many Buddhist structures have been unearthed in and around Jajpur that point to the Buddhist past of the town.

Demographics

India census, Jajpur had a population of 37,458. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Jajpur has an average literacy rate of 82%, greater than the national average of 65%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 76%. In Jajpur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Politics

Current MLA from Jajpur Assembly Constituency is Pranab Prakash Das of BJD, who won the seat in State elections of 2009. He was elected the second time with a large vote margin. Previous MLAs from this seat were Parameswar Sethi who won this seat in 2004 and Suryamani Jena who won this seat in 2000 representing BJD and also in 1995 representing JD, Jagannath Mallik who won this seat representing JD in 1990 and also in 1985 and in 1977 representing JNP, and Niranjan Jena of INC in 1980. Sri Pranab Prakash Das Jajpur Assembly Constituency has been appointed as Minister of State MoS Energy and Information Technology. Sri Pranab Prakash Das is also entrusted to oversee Disability Welfare in the department of Women and Child Development as MoS
No.ConstituencyReservationExtent of the Assembly Constituency Member of 14th AssemblyParty
48BinjharpurSCBinjharpur, Dasarathpur Smt. Pramila MallikBJD
49Bari-Bari, Jajpur, Rasulpur Debasis NayakBJD
50Barchana-BarchanaAmar Prasad SatpathyBJD*
51Dharmasala-Dharmasala, Rasulpur Pranab BalabantarayBJD
52Jajpur-Jajpur, Jajpur, Dasharathpur Pranab Prakash DasBJD
53Korei-Vyasanagar, Vyasanagar, Korei, Rasulpur Akash DasnayakBJD
54Sukinda-Sukinda, DangadiPreeti Ranjan GhadeiBJD

Geography and climate

Jajpur is located at and has an average elevation of. The climate of Jajpur District is normal as per Indian standards. All the seasons arrive in the District at their usual time. The District's average height from the sea level is 331 m and its average rain fall is 1014.5 mm. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 40 degree C and 10 degree C respectively. Overall, the climate of the District is neither hotter nor cooler. The summer season is from March to June when the climate is hot and humid. Thunderstorms are common at the height of the summer. The monsoon months are from July to October when the city receives most of its rainfall from the South West Monsoon. The annual rainfall is around 1014.5 mm. The winter season from November to February is characterised by mild temperatures and occasional showers.

Colleges

Hari samanta Highschool]