Bhadrak District is an administrative District of Odisha state in eastern India. The District is named after the town of Bhadrak, which is the District headquarters. It came into existence on 1st April 1993. This District has a rich heritage and history and according to legends, it also derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple stands on the banks of the river Salandi.This District is bounded by Balasore District on the north, Jajpur District and river Baitarani on the south, Keonjhar District on the west and Bay of Bengal and Kendrapada District are on the east. It is located at 21.0667 Latitude and 86.5000 Longitude. The Bhadrak District covers an area of 2505 Sq. Km.with geographical area of 2,46,529 Hect. The total population of the District is 1,506,337 with total male population as 760260 and female population as 746077. Total SC Population of the District is 286723 whereas the total ST population is 25141. Total OBC Population is 15142. The Bhadrak District has got only one sub division namely Bhadrak. There are 07 tahasils and 07 blocks functioning in the District. Two Municipality, Two NAC, 17 Police stations, 218 Gram Panchayats are there in the Bhadrak District. The climate of this District is generally hot and humid with May being the hottest month. December is the coldest month with monsoon generally arriving during the month of June. The rainfall during June to October constitutes at least 75 Percent of the actual rainfall of this District.Agriculture is the main source of income of the District. Paddy is grown as the main crop in Kharif, covering approximately 94 Percent of the total cultivable area. But people in the sea coast area (Dhamara, Chudamani of Basudevpur and Chandabali area of Chandabali Block) also depend upon fishing for their livelihood.
As per District’s economy is concerned Bhadrak District has some big industries like FACOR, one of the largest manufacturers of quality Ferro Chrome in the country and a large number of small industries like AB Electricals, Abhigoura Rice Mill and Aloknath Ice Factory etc. Bhadrak District has a District Industries Centre, which in addition to the promotion of the different industries, performs other functions like implementation of different self employment programmes, undertaking of surveys for potential enterprises and recommending for quality certifications like EPM/ISO for products and enterprises etc. The educational development of Bhadrak District is prominently visible in case of Bhadrak College, established in the year 1948, which later on came to be known as Bhadrak Autonomous College. Bhadrak Women’s College, Bhadrak High School or Zilla School are also some of the leading educational institutes of the District. Bhadrak Institute of Engineering and Technology, Industrial Training Centers and Diploma Colleges are the epitomes of technical education of the District. The District has given birth to a number of prominent personalities like Ex–Chief Ministers Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab and Mr. Nilamani Routray. Other personalities included Moulabi Mohammad Hannif, Kanta Kabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra and Jatiya Kabi Banchanidhi Mohanty. Bhadrak District celebrates numbers of festival round the year. Durga Puja,Kali puja, Jagar (Shivaratri), Panchuka Purnima, Ratha Yatra and Holi are the important festivals of the District.
