Bargarh

Bargarh is one of the western districts of Orissa and came in to existence on 1st April 1993. It is bordered in the north by the State of Chhatisgarh in the east by Sambalpur district, by the Balangir and Subarnapur district in the south and flanked on the west by the district of Nuapara. The administrative head quarter of the district is located at Bargarh town. It is on the national highway no. 6.

Bargarh hosts the Worlds biggest open air theatre (festival) i.e. Dhanuyatra which continues for 11 days. During this festival the town which has a population of about 1 lakh spread over a few square miles, turns in to a unique epic town of Mathura. The festival portrays all the episodes of ‘Kans Vadh’  (The killing of Kans).

History
The headquarter of the district Bargarh is situated on the left bank of Jira River. The town Bargarh is on the National Highway-6. The original name of the place was “Baghar Kota” as known from an inscription of the 11th Century A.D. It was called “Bargarh” probably from the time of Balaram Dev, the Chauhan Raja of Sambalpur, who made it for some time his headquarters and constructed a big fort for its protection. Narayan Singh, the last Chauhan Raja granted this place in “Maufi” (free hold) to 2 Brahmin brothers Krushna Dash and Narayan Dash, sons of Baluki Dash who was killed in action by the Gond rebels led by Baldia Ray and Mahapatra Ray. The another part of the district popularly known as “Borasambar” was formerly the headquarters of the Borasambar Zamindari extending over 2178 Sq.Kms. Later, the headquarters of the Zamindari shifted to Padampur, one of the present sub-divisional headquarter. The Zamindar belongs to the Binjhal family and is called Pat-Bariha.

Geography
The Bargarh district lies between 20° 43’  to  21° 41’ North  latitude and 82° 39’ to 83° 58’ East longitude. It is one of the western most districts of the State of Orissa and came in to existence as a district from 1st April 1993. It is bounded on the north by the State of Chhatisgarh and on the east by the district of  Sambalpur, on the south lies the district of Balangir and Subarnapur and on the west the district of Nawapara.  The district has an area of 5837 Sq.Kms.

Tourism
The Bargarh district headquarter is on the National Highway No.6 running from Kolkata to Mumbai, hence well connected to the rest of the country with comfortable  road. There is a Railway Station and the nearest Airport is Raipur (220 Kms) & Bhubaneswar (350 Kms). The best period of the year to visit this place is between October to March. During this period the Dhanu Yatra Festival (World’s biggest open air theatre) is observed here. There are a number of good hotels besides numerous Govt. Circuit House and Guest houses in the district providing accommodation to tourists and visitors through out the year. The near by tourist spots are well connected to the district headquarter with good road and communication facilities.

How to Reach
Road: Bargarh town falls on the National Highway No.6 that runs from Kolkata to Mumbai, hence is well connected to the rest of the country.
Rail: There is a Railway Station and the nearest Airport is Raipur (220 Kms) & Bhubaneswar (350 Kms).