Amenities and Living Conditions of major three urban agglomerations/cities of Odisha State of India

Amenities and Living Conditions of the three major cities of Odisha State of India namely Bhubaneshwar (Khordha District), Cuttack, Berhampur Town (Ganjam District), have been discussed here. The State government has proposed to include these six cities in the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) programme.

BHUBANESHWAR (KHORDHA DISTRICT)

There is not even a single million plus city in Odisha.  Bhubaneshwar Urban Agglomeration (UA) has the highest population. Bhubaneshwar is the capital city of Odisha and is located in its Khordha District.  This district has the highest urban population (over 48%).  Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the political capital of the state of Orissa in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain. Bhubaneswar is categorized as a Tier-2 city.

Bhubaneshwar (temple city of India) ranks first in the state with the highest urban population. The high rate of urbanization is attributed to its administrative, trading, tourism based economic activities. An emerging Information Technology (IT) hub, the boom in the metals and metal processing industries have made Bhubaneswar one of the fastest developing cities of India in recent years.  Bhubaneshwar is one of the fastest growing mega cities of the country. 

As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Bhubaneshwar UA is 881,988. The sex ratio of Bhubaneshwar UA /City is 883 per 1000 males, whereas Child sex ratio is 903 per 1000 boys.

Based on the results of Annual Health Survey, 2010, the amenities and living conditions of urban Khordha district are presented as below.           

About 53% households were living in their own houses. About 21% were still living in Kutcha or Semi Pucca houses. Though almost 88% households had access to improved sources of drinking water, only 54% were treating water to make it safer.

Whereas 16% were sharing toilets, still about 18% were defecating in open. About 91% had access to electricity. Though 66% were using LPG for cooking, 26% were still using fire wood/dung cakes/ crop residues for cooking. As high as 85% had telephones/ mobiles and 24% even had computers.

CUTTACK

Cuttack is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 28 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar.  Cuttack is situated strategically at the head of delta. Upland plain and western Orissa cannot be accessed unless one goes through Cuttack. The city is pressed in all three sides by river Mahanadi and Kathajodi and it can spread only in southeast. As it is located in the apex of the Mahanadi delta, the levees of these rivers are higher in elevation than the city core. The urbanization of this district is about 28 percent and the same is attributed to its trading in unique silver filigree works and textiles of woven and tourism based economic activities.  Till now it is regarded as a commercial capital of Orissa. Cuttack Urban Agglomeration (UA) has the second highest population. As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Cuttack UA is 658,986. The sex ratio of Cuttack UA /City is 989 per 1000 males, whereas Child sex ratio is 914 per 1000 boys.

 

Based on the results of Annual Health Survey, 2010, the amenities and living conditions of urban Cuttack district are presented as below.       

About 59% households were living in their own houses. A little less than 21% were still living in Kutcha or Semi Pucca houses. Though almost 89% households had access to improved sources of drinking water, only 37% were treating water to make it safer.

Whereas 16% were sharing toilets, still about 21% were defecating in open. About 98% had access to electricity. Though 50% were using LPG for cooking, 36% were still using fire wood/dung cakes/ crop residues for cooking. As high as 83% had telephones/ mobiles and 12% even had computers.

BRAHMAPUR 

Brahmapur (earlier known as Berhampur) nicknamed "The Silk City", is the oldest city located in the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha, about 160 kilometres south of the state capital, Bhubaneswar.  Brahmapur  is mainly a trading centre for Southern Odisha having its influence over eight districts.  It is the fourth largest city of Odisha with population of 307792 in 2001.  The population as per 2011 census is 355,823.  It has been declared as a Class-I Town Category as per 2001 Census as well.  The sex ratio of Brahmapur  city is 917 females per 1000 males. As per Census 2011, the child sex ratio is 898 per 1000 boys.

Based on the results of Annual Health Survey, 2010, the amenities and living conditions of urban Ganjam district are presented as below.

About 74% households were living in their own houses. Only 9% were living in Kutcha or semi-Pucca houses. Though almost all households had access to improved sources of drinking water, as high as 25% were treating water to make it safer.

Whereas 3.5% were sharing toilets, still about 24% were defecating in open. About 97% had access to electricity. Though 68% were using LPG for cooking, 29% were still using fire wood/dung cakes/ crop residues for cooking. As high as 85% had telephones/ mobiles and 7% even had computers.