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Odiapediaଓଡ଼ିଆପିଡ଼ିଆ
coastal Odishaଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ପଢ଼ନ୍ତୁ

Jagatsinghpur district

ଜଗତସିଂହପୁର ଜିଲ୍ଲା

Jagatsinghpur is Odisha's smallest district by area, on the Mahanadi delta coast, home to Paradip Port, the Sarala temple at Jhankad and poet Sarala Das.

Headquarters
Jagatsinghpur
Population (2011)
1,136,971
Area
1,668 sq km
Villages
1,302
Literacy (2011)
86.6%
Towns (2011)
4

Jagatsinghpur (ଜଗତସିଂହପୁର) is a coastal district in the Mahanadi delta of eastern Odisha, where the Mahanadi meets the Bay of Bengal. Its headquarters is the town of Jagatsinghpur. It is the smallest district in Odisha by area. The district is best known for Paradip Port, one of India's major ports, for the shrine of Goddess Sarala at Jhankad, and as the land of the medieval poet Sarala Das.

The district was carved out of Cuttack district on 1 April 1993. It has eight tehsils and eight blocks: Jagatsinghpur, Kujang, Tirtol, Balikuda, Biridi, Naugaon, Ersama and Raghunathpur. The district administration lists 198 gram panchayats and 1,321 revenue villages (checked October 2026). The Local Government Directory snapshot of December 2022 used in the data section below counts 1,302 villages, because the two lists define a village differently.

The district covers 1,668 sq km by the Census figure; the district administration gives 1,759 sq km. It had 1,136,971 people at the 2011 Census. The literacy rate was high, at 86.59%, and about 10% of people lived in towns. About 92% named Odia as their first language. Four of the district's Assembly seats belong to the Jagatsinghpur (SC) Lok Sabha constituency.

Agriculture remains the main livelihood. However, the port town of Paradip has made the district one of Odisha's main industrial centres, with a refinery, fertiliser plants and cargo terminals.

People of Jagatsinghpur district

Census 2011 counted 11,36,971 people in 2,61,307 households in Jagatsinghpur district. 10.2% lived in towns, and the literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 86.6%. The census recognised 4 towns in the district.

Population
11,36,971
5,77,865 male · 5,59,106 female
Households
2,61,307
about 4.4 people each
Literacy (age 7+)
86.6%
men 92.4% · women 80.6%
Females per 1,000 males
968
Girls per 1,000 boys (0–6)
929
People per km²
682
  • Rural10,20,991 (89.8%)
  • Urban1,15,980 (10.2%)
Scheduled Castes
2,48,152 (21.8%)
Scheduled Tribes
7,862 (0.7%)

What the 4,03,649 workers did

  • Cultivators92,062 (22.8%)
  • Agricultural labourers56,051 (13.9%)
  • Household industry10,212 (2.5%)
  • Other work1,31,845 (32.7%)
  • Marginal workers1,13,479 (28.1%)

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 Jagatsinghpur

How many of the 1,223 inhabited villages of this district had each facility within the village itself, from the Census 2011 Village Directory. Together the 1,292 villages cover 1,652 km², 71% of it sown with crops and 2% forest.

Education

  • Primary school1,018 of 1,223
  • Middle school567 of 1,223
  • Secondary school315 of 1,223
  • Senior secondary school67 of 1,223
  • Degree college56 of 1,223

Health

  • Primary health centre4 of 1,223
  • Health sub-centre161 of 1,223
  • Anganwadi centre1,098 of 1,223

Water & power

  • Treated tap water0 of 1,223
  • Hand pump1,193 of 1,223
  • Electricity for homes1,202 of 1,223

Roads & transport

  • All-weather road742 of 1,223
  • Public bus169 of 1,223
  • Mobile phone coverage1,218 of 1,223

Services

  • Post office or sub post office269 of 1,223
  • Commercial bank1 of 1,223
  • Ration (PDS) shop495 of 1,223
  • Weekly haat263 of 1,223
Primary schools
1,465
Middle schools
756
Secondary schools
517
Degree colleges
82
Primary health centres
8
Health sub-centres
161

Main crops named by villages: Paddy (861), Pulses (382), Biri (92), Mung (60), Vegetables (54), Groundnut (37), Dairyfarm (36), Ground Nuts (31). Handicrafts: Furnitures (13), Blacksmith (3), Carpenter (3), Sewing (3), Earthern Pots (2), Bamboo Products (2), Potter (1), Ornaments (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 Jagatsinghpur

2 statutory towns (municipal corporation, municipality, notified area council or industrial township) and 2 census towns — places the census counted as urban but which are governed by gram panchayats.

TownTypePopulationLiteracyWards
ParadipMunicipality68,58585.9%18
JagatsinghapurMunicipality33,63189.3%21
KrushnanandapurCensus town8,97490.6%–
ParadipgarhCensus town4,79086.6%–

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-districtPopulationRuralUrbanLiteracy
Paradip71,6373,05268,58586.0%
Paradeep Lock39,76634,9764,79086.1%
Kujang1,08,9441,08,944087.2%
Abhyachandpur23,58823,588084.0%
Ersama1,06,8961,06,896084.4%
Tirtol2,15,8662,06,8928,97489.0%
Jagatsinghapur2,44,5702,10,93933,63187.0%
Biridi82,79582,795085.9%
Naugaon78,01678,016086.2%
Balikuda1,64,8931,64,893085.1%

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

History

The delta lands of present-day Jagatsinghpur shared in the history of the Kalinga coast and its sea trade with South-East Asia (see Odisha's maritime history). The poet Sarala Das was born at Kanakavati Patana (Kanakapura) in this area in the 15th century, during the reign of the Gajapati king Kapilendra Deva. His Odia Mahabharata is regarded as the first great epic in the Odia language.

The town was earlier called Hariharpur. In the early 17th century the English East India Company set up one of its first trading posts in Odisha here; the district administration names Captain Bruton in connection with it, up to 1633. Under Maratha rule in the 18th century, Jagat Singh was appointed in 1748 to collect revenue. According to the district administration, he governed the area for a long time without challenge, and the town was renamed Jagatsinghpur in his honour around 1786.

The old Kujang estate, now in this district, was ruled by the Sandha family. According to the Kendrapara district administration, Raja Chandradhvaja Sandha of Kujang allied with Nilakantha Mangaraj against the British in the early colonial period.

In the national movement, the area produced leading figures such as Sarala Devi, the first Odia woman to join the Non-cooperation Movement in 1921, and Nabakrushna Choudhury, later Chief Minister of Odisha. Under British rule and after independence, the area formed part of Cuttack district until Jagatsinghpur district was created in 1993.

Paradip's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 3 January 1962. The port opened on 12 March 1966 and was declared India's eighth major port on 18 April 1966.

Places to visit

Sarala Temple, Jhankad

The temple of Goddess Sarala at Jhankad is one of Odisha's major Shakta shrines. The district administration describes the goddess as a blend of Durga and Saraswati. Her eight-armed stone image shows her with one foot on a lion, in the Mahishamardini form. The administration also attributes the shrine to the Bhauma kings of the 8th century. The poet Sarala Das took his name from the goddess. The temple is about 18 km from Jagatsinghpur and about 55 km from Cuttack, and Jhankad Sarala Road railway station is about 2 km away.

Paradip

Paradip (Paradeep), at the mouth of the Mahanadi, combines a busy port town with a long sea beach. Visitors come to see the river mouth, the beach and the ships offshore; port areas are not open to the public without permission.

Gorakhnath Temple

The Gorakhnath temple in Jagatsinghpur is dedicated to Guru Gorakhnath of the Nath tradition.

Bhubaneswar Mahadev Temple, Balia

The Shiva temple at Balia, known as the Bhubaneswar Mahadev temple, is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a Monument of National Importance.

How to reach

  • By air: The nearest airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, about 70 km from Jagatsinghpur town.
  • By rail: The Cuttack–Paradip broad-gauge line runs through the district, with about nine stations, including Jhankad Sarala Road and Paradip. Cuttack is the nearest main-line junction.
  • By road: Jagatsinghpur is about 40 km from Cuttack and about 60 km from Bhubaneswar. Paradip is about 90 km from Cuttack by road along NH-53 and State Highway 12.

For neighbouring districts, see Cuttack, Kendrapara and Puri.

Temples (17)

  • Chandrasekhar & Ganesha Temple
  • Gorakhnath Temple · ଗୋରଖନାଥ
  • Kantaresvara Temple
  • Kapilesvara Mahadeva Temple
  • Khandesvara Temple
  • Kuttamachandi Temple
  • Nagesvari Thakurani Temple
  • Nandikesvara Temple
  • Panchupandava Temple
  • Parasara Temple
  • Radhamadhavajiu Temple
  • Sarala Temple
  • Sekhareswar Temple · ସେଖରଶ୍ୱର ମନ୍ଦିର
  • Sisuananta Temple
  • Subamesvara Temple
  • Svapnesvara Temple
  • Trilochanesvara Temple

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

Protected monuments (1)

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

Railway stations

5 stations and 6 halts inside the district, as mapped on OpenStreetMap; some on new lines may not yet have regular trains.

Culture and festivals

Jagatsinghpur is part of the coastal Odia heartland, and its festival calendar follows the coastal pattern: Durga Puja, Raja Parba, Kumar Purnima and the statewide Boita Bandana, which recalls Odisha's seafaring past. The Sarala temple at Jhankad is the main pilgrimage centre.

The district has a strong tradition of Odisha's popular jatra (open-air touring theatre). Wikipedia lists well-known companies from the district such as Parbati Gananatya, Tulasi Gananatya, Durgashree Gananatya and Gouri Gananatya, and the Benirampur and Tarapur operas. Literature also has deep roots here, from Sarala Das in the 15th century to the Jnanpith-winning novelist Pratibha Ray in modern times.

Handloom weaving is a traditional craft. Wikipedia counts about 603 handloom units in the district.

Geography and climate

Jagatsinghpur is low, flat and fertile delta country, crossed by branches of the Mahanadi. The district is bounded by Kendrapara to the north, Cuttack to the west, Puri to the south and the Bay of Bengal to the east. Its main rivers are the Mahanadi, Kathajodi, Devi and Biluakhai. The Mahanadi enters the sea near Paradip.

Being low-lying and on the coast, the district is exposed to cyclones and storm surges. The super cyclone of 29 October 1999 killed about 10,000 people across coastal Odisha, and Jagatsinghpur was one of the two worst-hit districts. Down To Earth reports that in Jhatipari village in Ersama block alone, about 315 of some 850 residents died.

FeatureDetail
Area1,668 sq km (Census 2011); 1,759 sq km (district administration)
TerrainFlat, low-lying Mahanadi delta
RiversMahanadi, Kathajodi, Devi, Biluakhai
ClimateTropical savanna (Köppen Aw); hot humid summers, heavy monsoon rain, mild winters
TemperatureMaximum about 38 °C; minimum about 12 °C
RainfallAbout 1,501 mm a year

Economy

About 70% of the population depends on agriculture. The main crops are paddy, sugarcane, turmeric, cotton and jute. Fishing is important along the coast and in the river mouths.

Paradip is the industrial centre of the district:

  • Paradip Port handled about 150.41 million tonnes of cargo in 2024–25. It is one of the largest ports on India's east coast.
  • Indian Oil's Paradip Refinery, with a capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, was dedicated to the nation on 7 February 2016.
  • Fertiliser plants of Paradeep Phosphates and IFFCO, oil marketing terminals and other port-based industries operate in the area.
  • Paradip is one of India's notified Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIR).

Wikipedia records about 120 secondary industries in the district.

Climate of Jagatsinghpur

In Jagatsinghpur district (at 20.25°N, 86.17°E), the hottest month is Apr (average highs of 36°C) and the coolest nights come in Jan (16°C). About 1680 mm of rain falls in a year, most of it in the monsoon; Aug is the wettest month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)273034363634313131302927
Average low (°C)161923262828262626242016
Rainfall (mm)15152323782253843862921724524
Rainy days11224162526231231

Averages for 1995–2024 at that point (13 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

  • Sarala Das: 15th-century poet, author of the Odia Mahabharata, said by tradition to have been born at Kanakavati Patana (Kanakapura).
  • Sarala Devi (born 1904): freedom fighter, writer and social reformer, born at Narilo. She was the first woman elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly and the first woman member of the Utkal University senate.
  • Nabakrushna Choudhury: freedom fighter and Chief Minister of Odisha, born at Kherasa village, now in Jagatsinghpur district.
  • Pranakrushna Parija (born 1891, Ichhapur): botanist, vice-chancellor of Utkal University and Padma Bhushan recipient (1955).
  • Pratibha Ray (born 1944, Alabol, Balikuda area): novelist, author of Yajnaseni, winner of the Jnanpith Award (2011) and the Padma Bhushan (2022).

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
8
Sub-districts
10
GPs
198
LGD villages
1,302

Community development block

Balikuda

Gram panchayats
30
Villages
240
LGD block code
3386
District
Jagatsinghpur
Open full block page

Villages (…)

All blocks in Jagatsinghpur

BlockGPsVillagesVillage pop.LiteracyST share
Balikuda302401,70,48185.2%0.2%
Biridi218182,79585.9%0.6%
Erasama252091,40,72584.6%0.4%
Jagatsinghpur301671,41,56786.3%0.4%
Kujang281741,71,29887.6%0.3%
Naugaon169077,63486.2%0.3%
Raghunathpur198577,85887.0%1.8%
Tirtol292481,51,43588.8%0.2%

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

Towns (urban local bodies)

Assembly constituencies in Jagatsinghpur

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

Which is the smallest district of Odisha?

Jagatsinghpur is the smallest district of Odisha by area. The Census of India gives 1,668 sq km, while the district administration gives 1,759 sq km.

When was Jagatsinghpur district formed?

Jagatsinghpur district was carved out of Cuttack district on 1 April 1993.

How did Jagatsinghpur get its name?

According to the district administration, the town was earlier called Hariharpur. It was renamed after Jagat Singh, whom the Marathas appointed in 1748 to collect revenue in the area; the new name came into use around 1786.

Is Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district?

Yes. Paradip Port, at the mouth of the Mahanadi, is in Jagatsinghpur district. It opened in 1966 and was the first major port on India's east coast commissioned after independence.

Where is the Sarala temple?

The temple of Goddess Sarala is at Jhankad, about 18 km from Jagatsinghpur town and about 55 km from Cuttack, according to the district administration.

Sources & references

  1. 1Jagatsinghpur district — Wikipedia
  2. 2History — District Administration, Jagatsinghpur (NIC)
  3. 3Maa Sarala — District Administration, Jagatsinghpur (NIC)
  4. 4Jagatsinghapur District: Census 2011 data — Census2011.co.in (compiled from Census of India 2011)
  5. 5Paradip Port — Wikipedia
  6. 625 years of super cyclone: How one fateful day left hundreds of orphans and widows in two coastal districts of Odisha — Down To Earth
  7. 7Pratibha Ray — Wikipedia
  8. 8Nabakrushna Choudhury — Wikipedia

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