Khariar

The region of Khariar was under the rule of the Chauhan dynasty of Patna State which was established by Ramai Deva of the Chauhan dynasty in the 14th century CE who were vassals of the Eastern Ganga dynasty which was declining following invasions from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.[1][2] The Chauhan reign from Patnagarh continued over the region and later expanded through the establishment of their cadet branches extending their rule over areas of Western Odisha and eastern Chhattisgarh.[3] In 1600 CE, Raja Gopal Rai who belonged to the Chauhan family of Balangir was crowned as the first king of Khariar. This led to the formation of the Khariar zamindari that remained until India's independence in 1947.[4]

Khariar Old Daily Market

Nuapada district is located in western part of Odisha and Khariar is located in the middle of the Nuapada district. Khariar is the one of the major towns in Nuapada district and the main business centre in the locality. It has a daily market and a weekly bazaar which takes place every Friday.

Khariar town is located at 20.28°N 82.77°E / 20.28; 82.77.[5] It has an average elevation of 226 m (741 ft). It is located in the western part of Odisha, close to the border of Raipur District, Chhattisgarh. It comes under a rain shadow belt. It belongs to the Mahanadi basin the Eastern Ghats where mountains are interspersed with wide valleys. The climate is tropical with the rainfall is due to the South West monsoon.

As of the 2011 Indian census, Khariar has a population of 15,087. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Khariar has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 52%. In Khariar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Odia is the official language of Khariar. Hindi is also spoken in Khariar. English is widely used for official purposes.

Khariar Mahotsav

Khariar is a major transportation hub in Nuapada District as people from the three blocks, namely Boden, Sinapali and Khariar. Though Khariar is not connected by rail, it is well connected by roads. The major roads passing through Khariar are NH 353 (Khariar-Raipur), NH 59 (Khariar-Gopalpur), SH 16 (Khariar-Sambalpur), and SH 44 (Khariar-Bhawanipatna). The nearest rail head is Kantabanji, which is situated 35 km from Khariar.[6] Another nearby railway station is Titlagarh (which is also the hottest place in India). The nearest airport is Raipur Airport, situated 195 kilometres (121 mi) from Khariar.

Khariar is connected by bus via the NH 353 & NH 59. As of 2023, railway line survey work is in progress for the 220-kilometre (140 mi) Kantabanji-Rajkhariar-Ammapani-Nawarangpur-Jeypore route.

There are several religious places of different religions in Khariar. Some of the temples located in Khariar are:

Khariar's culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, dance etc. Khariar has a cultural heritage that arose due to intermingling of different religions. The major language used is Odia, which is widely used in each and every part of Khariar region. Nuakhai is the major festival celebrated in this region. The other festivals like Rathayatra, Dusshera, Holi, Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Chindaguda (Dhanujatra, Anchalika Sanskrutik Utsav) are also celebrated in Khariar. Khariar organises Khariar Mahotsav[8] every year, which attracts a large number of people from different places.[9]

The activities of this town include running of schools, shops or very small industries and bus communications. Other than these activities, political activities across the town are also common.

• Jitamitra Singh Deo, present Raja Saheb of Khariar. He is also a poet and historian
• Manish Bansal, founder of news portal Newstrend.news.[10] In 2018, it was among the top 10 most popular websites of India with a position of number 10.[11][12]
• Prayag Dutta Joshi, writer and activist[13]
• Adhiraj Mohan Panigrahi, member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly[14] of Khariar (Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency).
• Kapil Narayan Tiwari (1929–2022), member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly[15]
• Ujjwal Gupta Chairperson Notified Area Council - Khariar

• Dr Tara Dutt (2015). Odisha District Gazetteers: Nabarangapur (PDF). Government of Odisha. ISBN 978-81-86772-17-1.