About BSNL, DHENKANAL

         Dhenkanal Telecom District is a district level unit of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. It is responsible for providing telecom services in two revenue districts of Odisha, viz. Dhenkanal & Angul. It shares its geographical boundaries with Keonjhar Telecom District , Cuttack Telecom District &Sambalpur Telecom District. It is headed by General Manager, Telecom. There are 9 SDCAs(Short Distance Charging Area) under Dhenkanal SSA(Secondary Switching Area) viz. Dhenkanal, Parjang, Kamakhyanagar, Hindol Road, Athamallik, Chhendipada, Talcher, Angul, Pallahara. Telephone services in this district are being provided from exchanges of different technologies like E-10B, OCB-283, C-DOT etc. In addition to basic telephone services, the district is also providing other new services like INET, Internet, ISDN, Intelligent Networks(IN), WLL, Mobile Telephony, Internet Telephony etc. In an effort to provide a few services at ease in the hands of subscribers,

　　　IVRS based Computerized Automatic Services have been made operational. The Old system of Operator based Manual Trunk Booking and Call Connection Service has been replaced with Computer based Automatic Trunk Booking and Call Connection Service round the clock through the year. Automatic Bill Payment Reminder, Bill Enquiry, Bill Payment Registration, Automatic Fault Booking, Online Telephone Meter Reading, Automatic Changed Number Announcement are a few other IVRS Services available for the benefit of the Subscribers. To help the subscribers to pay their telephone bills comfortably, several Online counters have been installed at Dhenkanal City and at different SDCA Headquarters. Most of the exchanges are connected through highly reliable optical fiber transmission network. The Telecom District Administration is constantly putting its best effort to provide most reliable telecom services to the people in these areas at an affordable price.

      Centrally located on the Geo-Political map of Odisha, Dhenkanal District is surrounded by beautiful wild lives and forests.The District is situated on the Cuttack-Sambalpur road (NH 55) and on the Cuttack-Sambalpur or Baranga-Sambalpur railway line. The Dhenkanal District touches the boundary of Kendujhar district on its north, Cuttack district on south and bounded by Jajpur District on the east and Angul District on its west. It is commonly believed that the Dhenkanal District owes its name to a Savara chief named 'DHENKA' who formerly ruled over in this tract. Dhenkanal District covers an area of 4950 Sq Km. It has a vast area covered with dense forests and a long range of hills.This is the reason of calling the District as 'Home of Elephants and tigers of the country'. The District lies between 85 degree 58' E to 86 degree to 2' E longitude and between 20 degree 29' N to 21 degree 11' N latitude. Dhenkanal District has a moderate climate.The District experiences hot with high humidity during April and May and cold during the winter months, i.e. December and January. The monsoon generally breaks during the month of June with the average annual rainfall being 1421.1 mm. As per the agriculture is concerned, the District produces a substantial agricultural yield and paddy, ground nut, cashew nut, potato, mango, jackfruit, sugarcane and some vegetables as its primary agricultural products.

     Dhenkanal is very rich in case of eminent personalities. Baji Rout (freedom fighter), Bira Baishnaba Pattanaik (Freedom Fighter), Brajanath Badajena (Eminent Poet), Sarangadhar Dash, Nandini Satpathy (First and only woman Chief Minister of Odisha), Kalpana Das (First woman from Odisha to scale Mt Everest) are some of the prominent personalities born in this District. Dhenkanal District is very much famous for its fairs and festivals. Gajalaxmi Puja is very much popularly known festival to be celebrated in the District. Every year this festival begins from Kumar Purnima and continues for eleven days. Kapilash is the abode of Lord Chandra Sekhar which is one of the famous tourist spot of Odisha. Every year during Mahashiv Ratri "Jagar Yatra" is being observed. Dussehera festival of Kamakhyanagar bears a special significance in the culture of Dhenkanal District. Maghamela at Joronda is yet another most famous festival of 'Mahima Dharma'. Every year it begins on 'Magha Purnima' and continues for four days at Jorondo. Bullock festival of Bhuban has a special identity. Racing competition is held among the bullocks and prizes are awarded to the owners.

      The Dhenkanal district has its administrative headquarters in Dhenkanal town. In the present scenario of the administrative set up, there are 3 sub divisions, 8 tahsils and 8 CD blocks. There are total number of 198 gram Panchayat, 4 Urban Bodies (1.Dhenkanal Municipality 2.Bhuban NAC, 3.Kamakhyanagar NAC and 4.Hindol NAC) and 15 police stations running in the District of Dhenkanal.As per 2011 Provisional Census the Dhenkanal District has 1237 villages having 11,92,948 population out of which 6,12,597 Male population and 5,80,351 Female Population. The Dhenkanal District is having 79.41% literacy rate with total numbers of 4,71,681 male literates and 3,70,307 female literates. As per Educational Institutions are concerned, Dhenkanal District is famous all over the world for Indian Institutes of Mass Communication (IIMC). Educational Institutes like Dhenkanal College, Dhenkanal Law College, Brajanath Badajena High School, Sarangadhar High School, Kamakhyanagar and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sarang are in the Dhenkanal District. Other major Technical Institutes imparting Technical Education are also located in the District like Indira Gandhi Institute of technology, Sarang, Govt. Polytechnic, Dhenkanal, Govt. ITI, Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology, Odisha Institute of Engineering and Technology and Pathani Samanta Institute of Engineering and Technology.

     For the promotion of the different Industrial activities, there is the District Industries centre functioning with effect from 1st, September, 1978, with the jurisdiction of undivided Dhenkanal District. After bifurcation of Angul district, the jurisdiction of DIC Dhenkanal was both Dhenkanal and Angul Districts till 31.12.1999. In Angul District, a full-fledged DIC was opened with effect from 01.01.2000.There are five numbers of Industrial Estates/Areas established in this District by Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO). Different schemes have also been introduced in the District for the betterment of the Industrial scenario. For the development of Handicrafts enterprises, the schemes being implemented in the District are related to the followings: (a) Setting up of handicraft enterprises (b) Rehabilitation of handicraft artisans and (c) Cluster development programmes. Certain industries are also based on the agricultural and forest products available. Dhenkanal consists of many chief minerals like chrome ore and granaite stone sustaining many industries. Some large scale industries like Nilachal Refractories, Utkal Asbestos Ltd, M/S Nababharat Ventures Ltd., M/S. Bhusan Steel & Strips Ltd., M/S. GMR Energy Ltd. and Shakti Sugars are established in the District. The Dhenkanal District is famous all over the world for its Dokra casting, Bell Metals, Horn works, Straw works, Wood carving, Stone carving, Tribal jewellery and Silver Filigree.

      67 km from Dhenkanal and 30 km from Kamakshyanagar, Dandadhar is the site of an irrigation project on the river Ramial- an ideal place for outings. Its blue expanse of sparkling waters caged in a sun-bathed valley is a thrill for the searching eyes. Best for Picnic during Winter (December- February).

      Famous as the religious headquarters of Mahima Dharma, Joranda houses the samadhi of Mahima Gosain, the preacher and propounder of the Mahima Cult. The other sacred tamples are the Sunya Mandira, Dhuni Mandira and Gadi Mandira. Pilgrims in large numbers pour into the Joranda fair for celebrations. This fair is held on the full moon day of Magha, which falls in January, February every year.

      The loftiest peak of Kapilas range enshrines the temple of Lord Shiva, i.e. Chandrasekhar, at a height of about 457 meters. The place is identified with Kailash, the legendary abode of Lord Shiva. A flight of 1,351 steps and a ghat road leads to the temple. Thousands of devout souls throng to Kapilas on Mahasivaratri, the night consecrated to Lord Shiva, in the month of February-March. The hill has several caves and as well as the ruins of a mediaeval fort which are regularly visited by pilgrims. Some of the caves are associated with the Pauranic episodes that have great appeal to the visitors. The great name of Shridhar Swami, the celebrated commentator of the Bhagabat and Mahima Gosain and the founder of Mahima Cult, is historically associated with Kapilas. Besides, the Deer Park and Science Park are two other added attractions of this place that lures the visitors.

      A place of scenic beauty, Saptasajya is situated at a distance of about 11 km to the south of Dhenkanal town. According to legends, Pandavas spent some days of their incognito life (Agnuata vasa) in these hills. The temple of Raghunath, built in honor of Lord Rama, Laxman and Sita by Rani Ratnaprava Devi of Dhenkanal attracts large crowds every year on the day of Ramanavami, in the month of March-April. A small spring flowing close by enhances the beauty of the place. It is an ideal place for picnic and relaxation.

      A rock art sleeping image of lord Bishnu is located at Bhimkand, village on the right bank of river Brahmani. Now it is situated with the complex of the largest coal based super Thermal power plant at NTPC. The image sleeps on its right side is about 42 ft long and 8 ft wide. The image is the second largest image in India which is about 5km from N H 23.

      A small village in the bossom of nature Tikarapada is strategically situated by the side of Satakosia Gorge. The meandering Mahanadi flowing closely amidst, beautiful hills form here the mightiest gorge of India, 22 kms long. It is acclaimed as one of worlds most enchanting sports. The place is ideal for boating, angling and adventure. The forest and hills around the village have varieties of fauna to fascinate the visitors. A Gharial crocodile Sanctuary set up here has enhanced the importance of the sport.