Location

The Kalinganagar Industrial Complex comes under the Sukinda and Danagadi blocks in the Jajpur district of Orissa. Situated about 100 kms from the state capital, Bhubaneswar, the District Headquarters happens to be about 30-40 km away from the Complex area.

The area is served by NH-200 that connects the iron ore/chromite belt of Jajpur and Keonjhar districts with the Paradeep Port. The ‘Brahmani’, a major river in the State runs at a distance of about 5 kms and several rivulets and narrow water channels traverse the area. The topography of the hinterland is distinct from the coastal plains of Orissa and mainly characterised by small hills and jungles and a stretch of grazing land in the Khapuria-Kumbhiragadia locality.

People

Modern Orissa has four distinct cultural regions, defined in many ways by the state boundaries it shares. The north-eastern areas have a strong Bengali influence whereas the southern districts have a large Telegu speaking population and western Orissa shares cultural traits with Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The fourth cultural region mainly comprises coastal districts and is distinguished by social and occupational specialisations. Orissa has a large population of scheduled castes and tribes mainly concentrated in regions like Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh in the North and Koraput, Ganjam and Phulbani in the South.

The Kalinganagar area is primarily represented by its tribal and dalit population. The Jajpur district has a total population of about 17 lakhs, an average literacy rate of 61.8%, the sex ratio being 872 females per 1000 males. Majority of the tribal population belong to the ‘HO’ tribe and speak the ‘HO’ language. While approximately 2% of the tribals have converted to Christianity, most of them pray to the Nature God. Diwali and other Hindu festivals are also celebrated.

Although the local populace has so far been dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, the lack of proper irrigation facilities result in poor crop yields.