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Bhadrak having a rich heritage and history derives its name as legend has it, from the God and goddess Akhandalamani and Bhadrakali whose temple stands on the bank of the river Salandi. This District is bounded by the Balasore district in north, Jajpur district and river Baitarani in the south, Keonjhar district in thewestand Bay of Bengal and Kendrapada district in the east.
Bhadrak is an ancient land that finds mention in many puranas. It contributes to Orissa's maritime & agrarian prosperity, trade and commerce down the ages and recorded in history. Since independence there has been significant development in the sectors like Education, Industry, Agriculture, Trade and commerce.

General Information About Bhadrak District

Geography

Bhadrak is located at 21°03′N 86°31′E / 21.05°N 86.52°E / 21.05; 86.52. It has an average elevation of 23 m (75 ft).
Area=2,677Sq.Km,Forest=97.07Sq.Kms

Population=13,32,249,Literacy Rate=98%

Head quarter Bhadrak Tahasils=6 N.A.C=3

Sub division=1 Villages=1,307 Grama panchayat=1,307

Vidhansabha seats=5

Blocks:-

Bhadrak , Basudevpur, Chandabali ,Tihidi,Dhamnagar and Bhandaripokhari

Tahasils:-

Bhadrak ,Basudevpur, Chandabali ,Tihidi, Bhandaripokhari andDhamnagar

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census, Bhadrak had a population of 92,397. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bhadrak has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of males and 43% of females literate. 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Attractions

.Aradi, Chandabali, Raktatietha Eram(Basudevpur),Dhamanagar, DhamaraPort,Guamala,Nuasasan, Arharpada,Bhadrakaliand Ishwarpur(Dappanaikani) etc are some of the places of tourist interest.

How to Reach

Road: The National Highway No. 5 passes through the district and runs nearly 40 km. This road connects Bhadrak with Bhubaneswar (the State Capital), Cuttack, Jajpur, Balasore and Mayurbhanj.
Rail: Bhadrak is an important railhead on the east coast railway line. All important trains passing through the district take halt at Bhadrak station.

Education

The institutions of this areas are"BIET"(EnggCollege),Bhadrak Autonomous College, Bhadrak Women's College, Bhadrak High school or Zilla School, B.M.Bagurai High School, N.C. High School and Bhadrak Girl's School. Bhadrak High School is one of the oldest school in Orissa, established in 1882. Late Harekrishna Mahatab, first Chief Minister of Orissa studied at this School.

Industrialisation

Bhadrak is carrying a great importance in Orissa industrial revolution. There are few large scale industries like FACOR , Dhamara and Chandbali Port.

Culture

Bhadrak is famous for its Kali Puja held at "Charampa" for seven days. Temple of this goddess, known as "Bhadrakali", is located about 5 km from Bhadrak, Lord Akhandalamani is about 40 km away from Bhadrak. Muslim Sufi Saint Mujahid-e-Millat's Shrine (Mazaar) is at Dhamnagar, which is 22 km from Bhadrak Railway Station and Living legend, renowned Sufi saint Sarkaar Baba resides in Shaikhsahi, Bhadrak which is 3 km away from both railway station and bus stand. Punjabi Saint Guru Nanak ji's tomb/Gurudwar is also in Sangat village near Purana Bazar which is about 5 km from Bhadrak.

Akhandalamani

The celebrated Akhandalamani temple, the abode of "Lord Siva" is located at the bank of river Baitarani, at Aradi, 37km away from the district head quarter of Bhadrak towards east by road via Asurali, Kothara and Dhusuri. Akhandalamani Temple is about 175 km from Bhubaneswar. Aradi can also be reached by boat from Chandbali.

Festivals of Baba Akhandalamani Temple

Several fairs and festivals observed at the temple of Baba Akhandalamani, but the principal among them is the ‘Mahasivaratri’. On this day pilgrims and devotees within and outside the state are assembled and worship Akhandalamani at Aradi. Devotees come to Aradi in large number from different areas in the month of Sravana to worship the God.

Structure of Baba Akhandalamani Temple

The King of Konika Shri Harihara Bhanja and his queen Satyabhama Patadei built the main temple of Aradi. The height of the temple is around 150 ft. The stones used in this temple were brought from the historic hill of Lalitgiri near Chandikhol. A sage named Shri Narasingha Pratap Kumar built the entrance main Hall and a noted sage named ShriDarshanSekharaDas built the surrounding wall of the temple.

History of Baba Akhandalamani Temple

The temple was built by the King of Konika Shri Harihara Bhanja and his chief queen Satyabhama Patadei. The temple is about 150 ft high and all the stones used for its construction was brought from the historic hill of Lalitgiri near Chandikhol. The main entrance hall was built by a sage named Shri Narasingha Pratap Kumar and the surrounding wall of the temple was built by a noted sage named Shri Darshan Sekhara Das.
According to legends, around 350 years ago during the rule of Raja Sri Niladri Samara Singha Mohapatra, one morning the Raja sent a peasant to cultivate his Paddy field, located on the bank of the river Baitarani. While cultivating, the blade of his plough was broken on striking a solid material. Astonished, the peasant discovered a black glazed granite stone drenched in blood flowing towards the river Baitarani. Afraid, the peasant called the King. The king Niladrisamar Singh hurriedly came to the spot, and discovered an overflow of milk replaced by blood and a huge black cobra hooding the stone. On that night the king had a dream regarding the arrival of the God Akhandalamani on that place. The news spread like wild fire. The following day, the king Niladri Samara Singha Mohapatra started worshiping the great god and immediately built a wooden temple on the spot. A large number of devotees from different villages started visiting and worshiping the deity. The king invited five Brahmins from a village named Naharagrama of Jajapur district to perform seva-puja (Worshiping and taking care) of lord Akhandalamani.
and pour holy water over the lingam. The devotees carry holy water from different rivers of India like Ganges, Baitarani, Mahanadi, Salandi etc with a bamboo lever.

Bhadrakali

Bhadrakali one of the Shaktipithas, named after the King Chanda Bhadra the son of Soudhan. The devotees of Maa Adyashakti Dakshina Kali stepped forward to construct a temple of Dakshina kali in December 2002 with an intention to achieve Viswashanti and to spread the message of divine belonging at a burial ground at Mathasahi a village on the Bank of River salandi about Ten Kilometers away from Historical temple of Bhadrakali. The saktas(the devotees of Goddess Kali the Adishakti) believed that the Dakshin kali temple of Bhadrak will not only meet the divine needs of people of Bhadrak but also of Orissa, India and the world as a whole. The temple is located at near the Bhadrak railway station.

DHAMARA

The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) is a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. DPCL has been awarded a concession by Government of Orissa to build and operate a port north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district on BOOST (Build, Own, Operate, Share and Transfer) basis for a total period of 34 years including a period of 4 years for construction. The lease period may be renewed or extended for two additional periods of 10 years each on mutually agreed terms and conditions.

Situated between Haldia and Paradeep, the port at Dhamra will be the deepest port of India with a draught of 18 meters, which can accommodate super cape-size vessels up to 180,000 DWT. The master plan provides for 13 berths, capable of handling more than 83 million MT per annum of dry bulk, liquid bulk, break bulk and containerized cargo.

During Phase-I, DPCL is constructing two fully mechanized berths of 350 meters each along with backup facilities for handling imports of coking coal, steam/thermal coal, limestone and export of iron ore. The Company is also laying a 62 kilometers rail link from Dhamra to Bhadrak on the main Howrah-Chennai line. The estimated capacity of Phase-I is 25 million MT per annum.

The Company has achieved Financial Closure for Phase-I of the project in February’07 with signing of a loan agreement with the consortium of lenders led by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). The construction of Phase-I has commenced in March’07 and port is expected to be ready for commercial operation by March'10.

The location of Dhamra in close proximity to the mineral belt of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal and its deep draft suitable for large vessels is going to make Dhamra port the most cost-effective and efficient port on the Eastern coast of India.

Some upcoming projet

The State is all set to have a shipbuilding factory at Charidiha near Dhamara in Bhadrak. It will be the first such private sector venture in eastern India. The Apeejay Surrendra Group and Bharati Shipyard Limited would set up the ultra-modern ship-manufacturing factory jointly with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore. In the first phase, Rs 900 crore will be invested in the project. Visakha is proposing to set up an 1100 mw plant in Bhadrak district entailing an investment of Rs 4800 crore. Welspun Power and Steel Ltd’s proposal for setting up a 5 million tonne per annum iron ore beneficiation plant and 3 million tonne per annum pelletisation plant at Dhamara was also cleared. While the company had received approval for setting up of a 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant at Tangi at an investment of Rs 6103.80 crore earlier, it proposed to set up a iron ore beneficiation and 3 MTPA pelletisation plant at Dhamara.

Chandabali

Chandbali port occupies a distinct place in Orissa's trade and navigation. Chandbali is 50 Kms away from the district hedquarters of Bhadrak. It is located on the bank of the holy river Baitarani. Presently Chandbali is the headquarter of Chandbali tahasil as well as Chandbali block.It is also a popular tourist spot and the gate-way to the famous tourist spot-andlifeSanctuary"Bhitarkanika" inthe water way, being accessed by boats through the river Baitarani.