Cuttack district

କଟକ ଜିଲ୍ଲା

Cuttack district on the Mahanadi delta holds Odisha's former capital and High Court, known for silver filigree, Bali Jatra, Dhabaleswar and Ansupa Lake.

Headquarters: Cuttack
Population (2011): 2,624,470
Area: 3,932 sq km
Villages: 2,300
Literacy (2011): 85.5%
Towns (2011): 11

Cuttack (କଟକ) is a district in coastal Odisha, centred on the old city of Cuttack at the head of the Mahanadi delta. The city lies between the Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers. It served as Odisha's main seat of government for centuries, was the capital of the province until 1948, and is still home to the Orissa High Court.

The district is known for tarakasi, the silver filigree that gives Cuttack the name "Silver City", and for the ruins of Barabati Fort. Its festivals include the riverside fair of Bali Jatra and silver-decorated Durga Puja pandals. The district's western hills hold the Dhabaleswar island temple and the oxbow lake of Ansupa.

Cuttack has been a district since October 1828. In the early 1990s the large old district was split, and Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara became separate districts. Today Cuttack has three sub-divisions: Cuttack Sadar, Athagarh and Banki.

At the 2011 Census the district had 2,624,470 people, the second-highest of any Odisha district, on 3,932 sq km, with a literacy rate of 85.50%. In June 2026 the state government revised the official English spelling of the name to Kataka, along with 63 other places.

People of Cuttack district

Census 2011 counted 26,24,470 people in 5,79,170 households in Cuttack district. 28.0% lived in towns, and the literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 85.5%. The census recognised 11 towns in the district.

Population: 26,24,470; 13,52,760 male · 12,71,710 female
Households: 5,79,170; about 4.5 people each
Literacy (age 7+): 85.5%; men 91.1% · women 79.6%
Females per 1,000 males: 940
Girls per 1,000 boys (0–6): 914
People per km²: 667

Rural18,88,423 (72.0%)
Urban7,36,047 (28.0%)

Scheduled Castes: 4,98,633 (19.0%)
Scheduled Tribes: 93,745 (3.6%)

What the 9,36,365 workers did

Cultivators1,19,181 (12.7%)
Agricultural labourers1,32,637 (14.2%)
Household industry36,649 (3.9%)
Other work4,07,807 (43.6%)
Marginal workers2,40,091 (25.6%)

Marginal workers worked less than six months of the year.

Source: Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract (district, sub-district and town level). Figures are from 2011, the most recent census with published district, town and village figures.

Facilities in the villages of Cuttack

How many of the 1,854 inhabited villages of this district had each facility within the village itself, from the Census 2011 Village Directory. Together the 1,950 villages cover 3,624 km², 48% of it sown with crops and 9% forest.

Education

Primary school1,488 of 1,854
Middle school785 of 1,854
Secondary school399 of 1,854
Senior secondary school53 of 1,854
Degree college47 of 1,854

Health

Primary health centre5 of 1,854
Health sub-centre295 of 1,854
Anganwadi centre1,656 of 1,854

Water & power

Treated tap water0 of 1,854
Hand pump1,195 of 1,854
Electricity for homes1,758 of 1,854

Roads & transport

All-weather road1,353 of 1,854
Public bus263 of 1,854
Mobile phone coverage1,788 of 1,854

Services

Post office or sub post office301 of 1,854
Commercial bank3 of 1,854
Ration (PDS) shop946 of 1,854
Weekly haat140 of 1,854

Primary schools: 2,127
Middle schools: 882
Secondary schools: 493
Degree colleges: 50
Primary health centres: 12
Health sub-centres: 295

Main crops named by villages: Paddy (1,760), Pulses (785), Vegetables (291), Vegetable (202), Sugarcane (124), Groundnut (68), Biri (52), Mung (31). Handicrafts: Rope (1), Glass Work (1), Bamboo Products (1), Cotton Handloom (1), Saree (1), Weaving Products (1).

Source: Census of India 2011, District Census Handbook: Village and Town Directory (Odisha). The facilities were recorded for the 2011 census (reference year 2009 for most items); many places have changed since. Facilities in towns are not included.

Towns of Cuttack

4 statutory towns (municipal corporation, municipality, notified area council or industrial township) and 7 census towns — places the census counted as urban but which are governed by gram panchayats.

Town	Type	Population	Literacy	Wards
Cuttack	Municipal Corporation	6,10,189	91.0%	54
Choudwar	Municipality	42,784	90.0%	30
Banki	Notified Area Council	17,521	91.0%	17
Athagad	Notified Area Council	17,304	89.7%	18
Nuapatna	Census town	8,057	83.5%	–
Badamba (Nizigarh)	Census town	6,284	89.7%	–
Belagachhia	Census town	5,516	88.8%	–
Dadhapatna	Census town	5,005	88.8%	–
Kanheipur	Census town	4,611	81.5%	–
Ramgarh	Census town	4,545	87.7%	–
Charibatia	Census town	4,016	97.6%	–

Population of the town itself; for towns with outgrowths, the town page also gives the figure including them. Ward counts are the census wards of 2011.

Census sub-districts: town and country

Sub-district	Population	Rural	Urban	Literacy
Narasinghpur	97,624	97,624	0	80.4%
Kanpur	59,577	59,577	0	82.6%
Badamba	1,49,793	1,43,509	6,284	80.9%
Baidyeswar	55,250	55,250	0	84.9%
Banki	1,76,567	1,59,046	17,521	82.7%
Tigiria	74,639	66,582	8,057	81.9%
Athagad	89,132	71,828	17,304	86.1%
Barang	42,545	32,024	10,521	86.8%
Gurudijhatia	34,081	34,081	0	79.1%
Khuntuni	38,761	38,761	0	79.1%
Choudwar	1,16,895	59,880	57,015	84.8%
Tangi	83,690	74,534	9,156	82.5%
Mahanga	1,86,930	1,86,930	0	86.4%
Salepur	1,43,416	1,43,416	0	84.5%
Nischintakoili	53,498	53,498	0	84.1%
Nemalo	69,334	69,334	0	85.1%
Kishannagar	97,616	97,616	0	83.2%
Jagatpur	62,359	62,359	0	84.6%
Cuttack Sadar	1,08,641	1,08,641	0	85.5%
Kandarpur	33,732	33,732	0	83.3%
C.R.R.I.	3,190	3,190	0	88.3%
Gobindpur	63,971	63,971	0	85.5%
Olatapur	25,543	25,543	0	86.9%
Niali	1,47,497	1,47,497	0	84.2%
Cuttack (M Corp.)	6,10,189	0	6,10,189	91.0%

Odisha's census sub-districts are police-station areas, not revenue tahasils.

History

The name comes from kataka, a military camp or seat of government. According to tradition, the city was founded as a fortified camp in the late 10th century. Odisha Tourism dates it to 989 CE under King Nrupa Keshari, while its Barabati Fort page credits Markata Keshari with founding the fort in 987 CE. Wikipedia describes Cuttack as an administrative centre since the Kesari kings of the 10th century.

Under the Eastern Gangas and the Gajapati kings, Barabati became the main royal fort of Odisha. After the defeat of Mukunda Deva in 1568, the region came under Afghan and later Mughal rule. The coastal plain around Cuttack became known as Mughalbandi from the Mughal revenue settlements. The Marathas held Cuttack from about 1750 until the East India Company took it in 1803.

In October 1828 the Company divided its Odisha territory into three districts, Balasore, Cuttack and Jagannath (Puri). Banki was added in 1840. After independence the princely states of Athagarh, Tigiria, Baramba and Narasinghpur were merged into the district in 1948.

Cuttack was the birthplace of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1897 and the home of the early Odia nationalist movement led by Madhusudan Das. When Odisha became a separate province on 1 April 1936 (see Utkal Divas), Cuttack was its capital. The capital moved to Bhubaneswar in 1948.

Places to visit

Barabati Fort

The ruins of Barabati Fort stand on the Mahanadi. They include a moat, a gateway and the mound of a palace once said to have had nine storeys. Sources differ on its founding: some credit the Somavamsi king Markata Keshari in the 10th century, others the Eastern Gangas in the 13th to 14th centuries. The fort is a Monument of National Importance. See the Cuttack travel guide.

Netaji Birth Place Museum

The family home of Subhas Chandra Bose in the old city is now a museum of his life, with photographs, letters and personal belongings.

Cuttack Chandi and the city shrines

The Cuttack Chandi temple is dedicated to the city's presiding goddess and is the focus of its Durga Puja. The Qadam-e-Rasool is a historic Muslim shrine visited by people of several faiths. The Odisha State Maritime Museum, opened in 2013, tells the story of Odia seafaring; see Odisha's maritime history.

Dhabaleswar

This Shiva temple stands on an island in the Mahanadi about 27 km from Cuttack, near Athagarh. It is dated to the 10th century under the Somavamsis. A wire-rope suspension footbridge from Mancheswar, described as Odisha's first, gives access to the island.

Ansupa Lake

Ansupa is a horseshoe-shaped oxbow lake of about 231 hectares on the left bank of the Mahanadi, opposite Banki and about 40 km from Cuttack. It lies below the Saranda hills, draws migratory birds in winter, and was designated a Ramsar site in 2021.

Charchika and Bhattarika temples

At Banki, the Charchika temple houses an image of Chamunda dated to the 9th or 10th century, in a temple rebuilt in the 19th century. Bhattarika temple at Sasanga, on the Mahanadi in Baramba area, is another major shrine of the goddess.

Other protected monuments

Besides Barabati, the Archaeological Survey of India protects several lesser-known sites in the district as Monuments of National Importance. They include a ruined fortress at Choudwar, the Churangarh (Sarangarh) fort at Dadhapatna, the remains of a Buddhist temple at Bandareswar and a monolithic pillar at Sriapur. Few have visitor facilities, so ask locally before you go.

Naraj and Deojhar

Naraj, where the Mahanadi branches near Cuttack, is a local pilgrimage site, and Deojhar waterfall lies in the western hills.

How to reach

By air: Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport, about 35 km from Barabati Fort according to Odisha Tourism.
By rail: Cuttack railway station is on the main Howrah–Chennai line, about 5 km from Barabati Fort.
By road: National Highway 16 (Kolkata–Chennai) passes through the district. Cuttack is about 22 to 28 km from Bhubaneswar, depending on the route, with frequent buses and taxis between the twin cities.

See how to reach Odisha and the Cuttack travel guide for more.

Temples (37)

Ananateshwar Mahadev Temple
Angesvara Temple
Bali Bhuasuni Peeth · ବାଲି ଭୁଆସୁଣୀ ପୀଠ
Bhadresvara Temple
Bhattarika Temple · ଭଟ୍ଟାରିକା ମନ୍ଦିର
Bhubaneswar Mahadev temple
Bindo Bihan Jiu Temple
Bramha Temple
Budhalinga Temple
Champanath · ଚମ୍ପାନାଥ
Charchika Temple · ଚର୍ଚ୍ଚିକା ମନ୍ଦିର
Durga Temple
Durga Temple, Motia · ଦୁର୍ଗା ମନ୍ଦିର, ମୋଟିଆଁ
Durga temple
Hanumana Temple
Jagannatha Temple
Kalesvara Temple
Khiresvara Temple
Laxminarayan Temple
Maa Jhanjiri Mangala Temple
Madhavananda Temple
Mahimamani Temple
Manikesvara and Bhagabati Temple
Muktesvara Temple

And 13 more. Photos and map links in the temple directory. Today's tithi, sunrise and Rahu Kala here.

Protected monuments (11)

Ruined fortress, Agrahat N-OR-2
Ruins of the Buddhist temples and images, Bandareswar N-OR-3
Ancient monuments of Barabati Fortress and the ruins and remains…, Cuttack N-OR-6
Churangarh Fort, Dadhapatna N-OR-7
Monolith called Chandeswar Pillar, Sriapur N-OR-13
Simhanatha Mahadeva temple, Simhanatha Pitha N-OR-14
Pancha Pandava temple, Ganeswarpur N-OR-15
Durga temple, Baideswar N-OR-16
Banasur Temple, Ancient site at Baneswaranasi, Padamal Pattana N-OR-17
Mahimamani Temple, Ragadi N-OR-18
Ancient site at Chowdar, Budhalinga Temple N-OR-19

Monuments of National Importance protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. All of Odisha.

Railway stations

16 stations and 8 halts inside the district, as mapped on OpenStreetMap; some on new lines may not yet have regular trains.

Culture and festivals

Durga Puja in Cuttack is famous for its chandi medha, silver backdrops and ornaments made by filigree workers for the goddess. Bali Jatra opens on Kartika Purnima on the Mahanadi bank near Barabati Fort. It recalls the voyages of Odia merchants to Bali and Java and has become one of the largest open-air fairs in India. Dawn Boita Bandana launches of toy boats mark the same morning. The Cuttack district administration announced the 2026 fair for 24 November to 1 December.

Cuttack's crafts have two registered Geographical Indications. Cuttack Rupa Tarakasi (Silver Filigree) was registered in 2024; read more on our tarakasi page. Khandua Saree and Fabrics, the silk ikat of Nuapatna and Maniabandha, was registered in 2010 and is traditionally linked to Lord Jagannath; see Khandua silk.

Food

Cuttack is known across Odisha for street food. Its signature dish is dahibara aloodum: lentil fritters soaked in spiced yoghurt water, served with spicy potato curry. Thunka puri, a large puffed puri, is sold at the Bali Jatra fair. Salepur, in the east of the district, is a well-known rasagola centre.

Geography and climate

The Mahanadi cuts across the district from west to east. Below Naraj it splits into distributaries, including the Kathajodi, Birupa and Chitrotpala, which spread across a flat alluvial delta. Wikipedia describes this eastern Sadar area as low, waterlogged and laced with canals.

The Athagarh and Banki sub-divisions in the west are quite different. They are broken hill country, with rounded hills of up to about 2,500 feet near the Hindol border and fertile valleys between them.

The district borders Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh and Khordha on the west and south, and Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur on the east and north.

Feature	Detail
Landform	Mahanadi delta in the east; hills in Athagarh and Banki
Rivers	Mahanadi, Kathajodi, Birupa, Chitrotpala
Wetland	Ansupa Lake, Ramsar site (2021)
Rainfall	About 1,500 mm a year, mostly June to September
Climate	Tropical savanna: hot summers, mild winters

Economy

Cuttack is often called Odisha's commercial capital. Wikipedia notes its wholesale textile trade, its silver filigree workshops and its industrial belt, which includes Choudwar (ferro-alloys and power), the Jagatpur industrial estate and units around Athagarh. The High Court, SCB Medical College and many educational institutions anchor a large services sector.

The ICAR National Rice Research Institute (formerly the Central Rice Research Institute) is at Cuttack. In the delta, paddy farming supported by canals and river water remains the main rural livelihood.

Climate of Cuttack

In Cuttack district (at 20.46°N, 85.88°E), the hottest month is Apr (average highs of 37°C) and the coolest nights come in Jan (16°C). About 1640 mm of rain falls in a year, most of it in the monsoon; Jul is the wettest month.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high (°C)	27	31	35	37	37	34	31	31	31	31	29	27
Average low (°C)	16	19	23	26	28	27	26	26	25	24	20	16
Rainfall (mm)	14	16	26	30	78	226	386	384	283	146	31	21
Rainy days	1	1	3	3	5	16	25	26	22	12	2	1

Averages for 1995–2024 at that point (27 m above sea level), from the Open-Meteo historical weather API (ERA5 reanalysis by ECMWF/Copernicus, CC BY 4.0) — modelled values on a ~25 km grid, not station readings from the India Meteorological Department. A rainy day has 2.5 mm or more.

Notable people

Subhas Chandra Bose (born 1897): nationalist leader and head of the Indian National Army, born in Cuttack.
Madhusudan Das (1848–1934): Utkal Gourab, lawyer and architect of the movement for a separate Odisha, born at Satyabhamapur in Cuttack district.
Biju Patnaik (1916–1997): aviator and twice Chief Minister of Odisha, born in Cuttack.
Rama Devi (1899–1985): freedom fighter and social worker, born in Cuttack.
Gopinath Mohanty (1914–1991): novelist and Jnanpith Award winner, born at Nagabali near Cuttack.

Blocks, sub-districts, panchayats & villages

Choose a block, sub-district or town to see its details and its gram panchayats and villages. Open any village for its own page.

Counts below: Local Government Directory, December 2022 snapshot (LGD villages, which can differ from the district administration's revenue-village count).

Blocks: 14
Sub-districts: 26
GPs: 374
LGD villages: 2,300

Community development block

Athagad

Gram panchayats: 34
Villages: 295
LGD block code: 3332
District: Cuttack

Open full block page

Villages (…)

All blocks in Cuttack

Block	GPs	Villages	Village pop.	Literacy	ST share
Athagad	34	295	1,44,670	82.2%	12.4%
Badamba	38	144	1,43,509	80.5%	5.9%
Banki	20	167	1,17,573	82.7%	5.5%
Banki- Dampara	17	49	96,723	82.4%	8.1%
Baranga	16	122	79,144	85.1%	4.0%
Cuttacksadar	23	124	1,40,484	84.8%	2.0%
Kantapada	14	92	89,514	85.9%	0.4%
Mahanga	37	198	1,87,341	86.4%	0.5%
Narasinghpur	38	335	1,57,403	81.2%	4.9%
Niali	23	133	1,47,135	84.2%	0.3%
Nischinta Koili	41	221	1,92,217	84.2%	0.7%
Salepur	35	198	1,89,617	84.4%	1.5%
Tangi Choudwar	24	170	1,34,643	81.4%	14.4%
Tigiria	14	51	66,582	81.7%	3.6%

GPs and villages: Local Government Directory (Dec 2022). Village population, literacy and Scheduled Tribe share: sum of the block's villages in Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract (village level).

All census sub-districts

(1)
Athagad (197)
Badamba (143)
Baidyeswar (61)
Banki (153)
Barang (70)
C.r.r.i. (2)
Choudwar (65)
Cuttack (M.Corp.) P.S (1)
Cuttack Sadar (101)
Gobindpur (67)
Gurudijhatia (49)
Jagatpur (37)
Kandarpur (30)
Kanpur (79)
Khuntuni (51)
Kishannagar (112)
Mahanga (197)
Narasinghpur (258)
Nemalo (119)
Niali (134)
Nischintakoili (62)
Olatapur (22)
Salepur (132)
Tangi (106)
Tigiria (51)

Towns (urban local bodies)

Athagad · Notified Area Council
Banki · Notified Area Council
Choudwar · Municipality
Cuttack · Municipal Corporation

Assembly constituencies in Cuttack

87BarambaBijaya Kumar Dalabehera · IND
88BankiDevi Ranjan Tripathy · BJD
89AthagarhRanendra Pratap Swain · BJD
90Barabati-CuttackSofia Firdous · INC
91Choudwar-CuttackSouvic Biswal · BJD
92NialiSCChhabi Malik · BJP
93Cuttack SadarSCPrakash Chandra Sethi · BJP
94SalipurPrasanta Behera · BJD
95MahangaSarada Prasad Padhan · IND

Source: Local Government Directory (lgdirectory.gov.in), Government of India — data dump of December 2022 via github.com/planemad/india-local-government-directory. Sub-districts follow the Local Government Directory, which for Odisha uses the Census sub-districts (police-station areas) — these are not the same as revenue tahasils. Boundaries and names change over time; check the district administration for current status.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Cuttack called the Silver City?

Cuttack is known for tarakasi, a silver filigree craft made from fine twisted silver wire. It was registered as the Geographical Indication 'Cuttack Rupa Tarakasi (Silver Filigree)' in March 2024.

Was Cuttack the capital of Odisha?

Yes. Cuttack was the capital of Odisha province from its formation in 1936, and the main administrative centre long before that, until the capital moved to Bhubaneswar in 1948. It remains the seat of the Orissa High Court.

Is Cuttack now spelled Kataka?

In June 2026 the Odisha government revised the official English spellings of 64 places to match Odia pronunciation, and reports list Cuttack as 'Kataka'. Both forms are in use while records are updated.

Which districts were carved out of Cuttack?

In the reorganisation of the early 1990s, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara were separated from the old Cuttack district.

How far is Cuttack from Bhubaneswar?

Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are twin cities about 22 to 28 km apart by road, depending on the start and end points.

Sources & references

1Cuttack district — Wikipedia
2Cuttack District at a Glance — District Administration, Cuttack, Government of Odisha
3Districts of Orissa – Census 2011 population — Census2011.co.in (compiled from Census of India 2011)
4Odisha revises English spellings of 64 places — OrissaPOST
5Dhabaleswar Temple — Wikipedia
6Ansupa Lake — Wikipedia
7Cuttack — Wikipedia

Last reviewed 6 October 2026. How we check articles

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On Odiapedia: Cuttack

Travel

Cuttack Travel Guide

କଟକ

Cuttack travel guide: Odisha's 'Silver City' and former capital, with Barabati Fort, Netaji Birth Place Museum, filigree, Bali Jatra, food and how to reach.

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Travel

Diamond Triangle: Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitgiri

ରତ୍ନଗିରି, ଉଦୟଗିରି ଓ ଲଳିତଗିରି

Odisha's Diamond Triangle of Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitgiri is a cluster of excavated Buddhist sites near Cuttack and Jajpur. History, museums, travel tips.

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Culture & Festivals

Bali Jatra, Cuttack

ବାଲି ଯାତ୍ରା

Bali Jatra is Cuttack's annual fair on the Mahanadi, starting on Kartika Purnima, that recalls Odisha's old sea trade with Bali, Java and Sumatra.

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Culture & Festivals

Tarakasi – Cuttack Silver Filigree

ତାରକସି

Tarakasi is the silver filigree craft of Cuttack, Odisha, made from fine twisted silver wire. It became the GI 'Cuttack Rupa Tarakasi' in 2024.

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Food

Dahibara Aloodum

ଦହିବରା ଆଳୁଦମ

Dahibara aloodum is Cuttack's signature street food: urad dal vadas soaked in tempered curd water, served with spicy potato curry and ghuguni.

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