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Odiapediaଓଡ଼ିଆପିଡ଼ିଆ
southern Odishaଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ପଢ଼ନ୍ତୁ

Nuapada district

ନୂଆପଡ଼ା ଜିଲ୍ଲା

Nuapada is a district of western Odisha on the Chhattisgarh border, carved out of Kalahandi in 1993 and known for Sunabeda sanctuary and Patora.

Headquarters
Nuapada
Population (2011)
610,382
Area
3,852 sq km
Villages
669
Literacy (2011)
57.3%
Towns (2011)
2

Nuapada (ନୂଆପଡ଼ା) is a district on the western edge of Odisha, bordering the state of Chhattisgarh. Nuapada is known for the Sunabeda plateau and wildlife sanctuary, for the Yogeswar temple and Upper Jonk reservoir at Patora, for the sacred spring of Patalganga, and for the old town of Khariar, once the seat of a Chauhan ruling family.

The district headquarters is the town of Nuapada. The district has a single sub-division and five blocks: Nuapada, Khariar, Sinapali, Boden and Komna. Its urban centres include Nuapada, Khariar and Khariar Road.

Nuapada was part of Kalahandi district from 1 November 1949, when the Nuapada sub-division was added to it. On 27 March 1993 it was carved out as a separate district.

The 2011 Census gives the district's area as 3,852 sq km; Wikipedia gives a smaller figure of about 3,408 sq km. The 2011 Census counted 610,382 people. Scheduled Tribes made up about 34% of the population and Scheduled Castes about 13%, and literacy was 57.35%.

People of Nuapada district

Census 2011 counted 6,10,382 people in 1,52,210 households in Nuapada district. 5.6% lived in towns, and the literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 57.3%. The census recognised 2 towns in the district.

Population
6,10,382
3,01,962 male · 3,08,420 female
Households
1,52,210
about 4.0 people each
Literacy (age 7+)
57.3%
men 70.3% · women 44.8%
Females per 1,000 males
1,021
Girls per 1,000 boys (0–6)
981
People per km²
158
  • Rural5,76,328 (94.4%)
  • Urban34,054 (5.6%)
Scheduled Castes
82,159 (13.5%)
Scheduled Tribes
2,06,327 (33.8%)

What the 3,05,438 workers did

  • Cultivators71,311 (23.3%)
  • Agricultural labourers37,130 (12.2%)
  • Household industry4,438 (1.5%)
  • Other work38,815 (12.7%)
  • Marginal workers1,53,744 (50.3%)

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 Nuapada

How many of the 656 inhabited villages of this district had each facility within the village itself, from the Census 2011 Village Directory. Together the 668 villages cover 2,593 km², 54% of it sown with crops and 12% forest.

Education

  • Primary school629 of 656
  • Middle school353 of 656
  • Secondary school120 of 656
  • Senior secondary school13 of 656
  • Degree college11 of 656

Health

  • Primary health centre19 of 656
  • Health sub-centre87 of 656
  • Anganwadi centre600 of 656

Water & power

  • Treated tap water0 of 656
  • Hand pump606 of 656
  • Electricity for homes495 of 656

Roads & transport

  • All-weather road495 of 656
  • Public bus125 of 656
  • Mobile phone coverage626 of 656

Services

  • Post office or sub post office113 of 656
  • Commercial bank1 of 656
  • Ration (PDS) shop202 of 656
  • Weekly haat92 of 656
Primary schools
853
Middle schools
407
Secondary schools
141
Degree colleges
11
Primary health centres
25
Health sub-centres
87

Main crops named by villages: Paddy (630), Pulses (308), Biri (66), Mung (62), Wheat (34), Groundnut (29), Ground Nut (27), Mandia (25). Handicrafts: Bamboo Products (7), Earthern Pots (7), Bati, Kondi, Buchi (3), Bamboo Work (2), Tokei (1), Mats (1), Two Families Bamoos Works (1), Bamboo Works (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 Nuapada

2 statutory towns (municipal corporation, municipality, notified area council or industrial township) and 0 census towns — places the census counted as urban but which are governed by gram panchayats.

TownTypePopulationLiteracyWards
Khariar RoadNotified Area Council18,96778.4%17
KhariarNotified Area Council15,08779.7%13

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
Jonk75,53756,57018,96763.0%
Nuapada99,62499,624058.6%
Komna1,27,2061,27,206053.9%
Khariar1,26,8371,11,75015,08761.2%
Boden76,67076,670053.3%
Sinapali1,04,5081,04,508054.6%

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

History

Ancient and early medieval period. The district administration's history traces the region to Mahakantara, the forest kingdom named in Samudragupta's 4th-century inscription, followed by the Nala kings (up to about 500 CE) and later the Somavamsis. It also notes an ancient irrigation work and heritage site at Manikgarh near Patora that it dates to the pre-Christian era.

Khariar and the Chauhans. The Chauhan family of Khariar descended from the Chauhan rulers of Patna (Balangir). The district administration dates the founding of the Khariar line by Gopal Ray to about 1590 CE, while Wikipedia gives about 1600 CE. The Khariar zamindari came under the Marathas in 1741, and after the British defeated the Marathas it came under British occupation in 1818.

Colonial and modern period. In 1906 Khariar was attached to the Mahasamund tahsil, according to the district administration. In 1936 it was added to the newly formed province of Orissa. After independence, the area joined Kalahandi district as the Nuapada sub-division on 1 November 1949, and became a separate district on 27 March 1993.

Development challenges. Nuapada is part of the KBK (Kalahandi–Balangir–Koraput) region identified for special development programmes, and Wikipedia notes that it has often been in the news for reported starvation deaths.

Places to visit

Patora and the Yogeswar temple

Patora, about 18 to 22 km from Nuapada, lies on the Jonk river among green hills. The Yogeswar (Jogeswar) temple houses an ancient Shiva linga, which Wikipedia describes as dating back to the 6th century, and a joint image of Shiva and Parvati. The dam of the Upper Jonk Irrigation Project forms a reservoir where the district administration notes scope for boating, and the site also has a garden called Rajiv Udyan. Odisha Tourism lists the Patora Nature Camp as an eco-stay.

Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary

Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, declared in 1988, covers about 600 sq km of plateau, valleys, gorges and waterfalls adjoining Chhattisgarh. Wikipedia records leopard, Indian gaur, sloth bear, barking deer and nilgai, and about 200 species of birds; tigers have been reported, though poaching has reduced wildlife numbers. A larger tiger reserve including Sunabeda has received in-principle approval but has not been notified.

Patalganga

Patalganga, about 22 km from Khariar, is a spring regarded as sacred. According to local tradition, when Sita grew thirsty during the exile, Lakshmana pierced the ground with an arrow and the spring burst forth. People bathe here in large numbers during solar and lunar eclipses.

Khariar

Khariar, the former seat of the Chauhan zamindars, has temples such as the Maa Samaleswari and Jagannath temples. Wikipedia lists the Tikhali dam of the Lower Indra project, about 17 km away, and Ramgarh hill among nearby sights.

Godheswar waterfall

Odisha Tourism lists a waterfall it calls Godheswar among the district's natural attractions. Ask locally about access, especially during the monsoon.

How to reach

ModeDetails
AirThe nearest airport is Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur; Odisha Tourism gives the distance as about 117 km, while the district administration gives about 142 km from Patora
RailKhariar Road station, about 10 km from Nuapada, is on the Raipur–Vizianagaram line of East Coast Railway, about 110 km from Raipur; Nuapada also has its own station. Kantabanji, in Balangir district, is the nearest station to Khariar town
RoadNational and state highways link Nuapada with Raipur, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar. Wikipedia gives the road distance from Khariar to Bhubaneswar as about 430 km

See how to reach Odisha for more.

Temples (4)

  • Dadhivamana Temple
  • Jagannatha Temple
  • Patalesvara Temple
  • Raktambari Temple

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

Railway stations

3 stations and 0 halts inside the district, as mapped on OpenStreetMap; some on new lines may not yet have regular trains.

Culture and festivals

Language. In the 2011 Census about 58% of the people spoke Odia, about 24% Sambalpuri and about 15% Chhattisgarhi as their first language, reflecting the district's position between western Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Festivals. Nuakhai, the festival of the new rice, is the most important festival of the district, as it is across western Odisha. Shiva shrines such as Yogeswar draw pilgrims on Maha Shivaratri, and Patalganga attracts bathers on eclipse days.

Communities. About a third of the population belongs to Scheduled Tribes. The Chuktia Bhunjia live in the hills of the Sunabeda plateau in Komna block and keep their distance from outsiders; their festivals include Dussehra, Chaval Dhona and Naya Khana (the new-harvest festival).

Geography and climate

Nuapada lies on the western border of Odisha. The Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh borders it on the north, west and south, and Bargarh, Balangir and Kalahandi districts lie to the east.

Plateau and hills. The district has hills and plateaus forming an extension of the Eastern Ghats, with plateau tops at around 4,000 feet according to Wikipedia. The best known is the Sunabeda plateau, with valleys, gorges and waterfalls.

Rivers. The Jonk drains the Sunabeda plateau and is dammed at Patora for the Upper Jonk irrigation project. The Udanti and the Indra are other important rivers; the Lower Indra irrigation project has its dam at Tikhali, near Khariar.

Climate. Nuapada has a hot summer, a monsoon season and a cool winter. Wikipedia gives average annual rainfall of about 1,230 mm. Odisha Tourism suggests visiting from October to March.

Economy

Nuapada is mainly agricultural. Rice is the main crop, followed by maize, cotton and onion. Three irrigation projects, the Upper Jonk, the Sundar dam and the Lower Indra project, serve farmland in the district.

Climate of Nuapada

In Nuapada district (at 20.82°N, 82.54°E), the hottest month is May (average highs of 40°C) and the coolest nights come in Jan (15°C). About 1390 mm of rain falls in a year, most of it in the monsoon; Jul is the wettest month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)273135394035302930302827
Average low (°C)151721252827252424221815
Rainfall (mm)1812202023208370348261781613
Rainy days2122214232219811

Averages for 1995–2024 at that point (330 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.

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
5
Sub-districts
6
GPs
131
LGD villages
669

Community development block

Boden

Gram panchayats
15
Villages
89
LGD block code
3531
District
Nuapada
Open full block page

Villages (…)

All blocks in Nuapada

BlockGPsVillagesVillage pop.LiteracyST share
Boden158981,68752.4%39.2%
Khariar261191,13,54958.7%24.6%
Komna321691,37,76754.7%43.7%
Nuapada311611,20,94756.1%41.4%
Sinapali271311,22,37857.4%27.6%

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

Towns (urban local bodies)

  • Khariar · Notified Area Council
  • Khariar Road · Notified Area Council
  • Nuapada · Notified Area Council · no matching Census 2011 town

Assembly constituencies in Nuapada

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

When was Nuapada district formed?

Nuapada district was carved out of undivided Kalahandi district on 27 March 1993. It had been part of Kalahandi as a sub-division since 1 November 1949.

What is Nuapada famous for?

Nuapada is known for the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary on its plateau, the Yogeswar temple and Upper Jonk reservoir at Patora, the sacred Patalganga spring, and the historic town of Khariar.

Is Sunabeda a tiger reserve?

No. Sunabeda is a wildlife sanctuary of about 600 sq km, declared in 1988. A larger tiger reserve covering Sunabeda and the Patdhara forest has received in-principle approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority but had not been formally notified, according to Wikipedia.

How do I reach Nuapada?

Nuapada is on the Raipur–Vizianagaram railway line, with Khariar Road station about 10 km from Nuapada town. The nearest airport is Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Sources & references

  1. 1History | Nuapada District — District Administration, Nuapada, Government of Odisha
  2. 2Patora | Nuapada District — District Administration, Nuapada, Government of Odisha
  3. 3Patalganga | Nuapada District — District Administration, Nuapada, Government of Odisha
  4. 4Nuapada District: Census 2011 data — Census2011.co.in (compiled from Census of India 2011)
  5. 5Nuapada — Odisha Tourism, Government of Odisha
  6. 6Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary — Wikipedia
  7. 7Nuapada district — Wikipedia

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