Geography

Topologically Kosal is divided into three distinct natural tracts. In the Western and North- Western part there are undulating sub- mountain tracts with isolated hills rising over planes and rocky ridges with narrow valleys. In south too, undulated surface with an elevation of 274.3 m. to 304.8 m. above mean sea level are present. The hills are covered with dense Sal forests. The central plain area extends over a greater part of Sambalpur, Bargarh, and Sonepur dist.

The soil is highly fertile and irrigated by canals from Hirakud reservoir.

Debrigad the highest peak in Barapahad mountain range is 2267 ft above MSL, Narshinghnath peak in Gandhamardan mountain range is 3,234 ft above MSL. There are some beautiful waterfalls in Gandhamardan range. The Baadpati peak in Jharghhati mountain near Loishinha has a height of 2,331 ft. Katpar peak in Khariar is 3235 ft and Makadnacha peak of Banei is 3639 ft above MSL. The famous Khandhadhar water fall, the highest in orissa state is creating scenic beauty in this peak. The other peaks in Banei area are Badamgad with a height of 3525 ft, Kumuritara is of 3490 ft high and Chheliatoka with a height of 3308 ft above MSL. In Palalahada block the Malyagiiri is of 3895 ft high. Some other peaks in this ancient Kosal region of Orissa are such as Bankamundi in Baud with an altitude of 2080 ft above MSL. In Aathhamallik the Panchadhara peak is 2948 ft high. The other parts are covered with either by hill ranges, isolated peaks and running streams or by dense forests. The main rivers flowing in this area are Mahanadi, Ib, Shankh, Koel, Brahmani, Tel, Suktel, Ang, Jira, Indravati, etc. The soil is laterite in character and for the most part it is light and sandy.

The climate of Kosal is of extreme type, hot and dry in summer, hot and humid in the rainy season and dry and cold in winter. The hot summer season commences in March and continues till the middle of June. The monsoon season starts in the middle of June and extends till the end of September. October and November are the post monsoon periods. The cold season continues through December to February. In May, the hottest month of the year, the mean daily temperature varies from 26.9ºC to 42ºC. The maximum temperature at some places goes up to 48ºC. December is the coldest month when the mean daily max. and min. temperature stays between 4ºC to 28ºC. The average annual rainfall in this region is about 1446 mm. and relative humidity is over 75% during rainy season.

Environment:

One of the most important life support component in any environment is land. With 32.35% of geographical area of the state, the ten districts of Kosal region have had 30.62% of the available forest area till 1988-89 along with 29.47% of the area under tree-crops and groves, 34.29% of the permanent pastures and gazing lands and 35.36% of the cultivable wastes. Out of the total land put to non- agricultural use in Orissa, 23.37% are to be found in this Kosal region.

The quality of these western districts is progressively deteriorating due to deforestation, large scale soil erosion in the deforested and mining areas. As per government record, 32.49% of the reserved forest, 29.03% of the demarcated protected forest, 27.19% of the un-demarcated protected forest, 38.36% of the other forest and 30.22% of the total forest of Orissa is located in these areas. But the actual forest left in Kosal is much less. An unfortunate matter in this context is the non- availability with Botanical Survey of India of the details of floral composition of this region. There is every possibility that a number of important and useful plant species would have gone extinct before they are known. In a survey by Mishra and Dash (1984) have shown how 43% and 46% of the reserved forests around Sambalpur and Jharsuguda respectively (within a 20 miles radius) were lost between 1929- 1975 at the rate of 2.75 and 2.78 hectares per day resulting in significant changes in the microclimatic parameters. The story is equally true for mining rich Sundargarh area. Undivided Balangir and Kalahandi districts which boasted vast and rich forests during the British rule have already lost major chunk of it to the mafias. Forests around Titlagarh are the most toiling victims of this process. The recent plea by the government for Bauxite mining in Gandhamardan and Niyamagiri mountains will very soon eat away the remainder of forests.

Place like Thuamul- Rampur in Kalahandi Dist. of this region (Cherapunjee of Kosal) marking the highest rainfall in the state and numerous small, medium and large watersheds here and elsewhere carry the run-off to the major rivers, but silting and sand-casting of these watersheds have caused these flowing water-systems to remain dry for more than six months a year. Most of the perennial springs have now become seasonal and many waterfalls have shrunken to unexpected extents.

It has been believed that a large portion of Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir , Padampur sub-division of Bargarh district and some areas of Sundargarh districts are perpetually drought porn areas. An analysis of rainfall data shows that most of the normal rainfall years are drought years for these.

Pollution is not yet a widespread problem in these districts. It is mostly localized to the industrial and mining areas and to the irrigated command areas due to pesticide use. Industry and mining has also led to more urbanization and due to inadequate urban planning and lack of proper amenities required for domestic pollution control, pollution has become a problem in pockets like Rourkela (Raulkela in Kosli), Rajgangpur, BrajarajNagar, Belpahad, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Bargarh.

(Excerpts taken from the books, “Sambalpur Ithaas” by Sri Shiba Prashad Dash and “West Orissa : A study in Ethos” published by Sambalpur University).