Durgi, Odisha

Durgi
Panchayat
Country	India
State	Odisha
District	Rayagada
Elevation	342 m (1,122 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	2,500
Languages
• Official	Oriya, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Telephone code	06856
Vehicle registration	OD 18, OR 18

Durgi is a census village & Gram Panchayat Head Quarters in Rayagada district in the state of Odisha, India.

Geography

Durgi is located at 19.52°N 83.52°E / 19.52; 83.52. It has an average elevation of 342 m (1,122 ft).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Durgi had a population of 2500. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Durgi has an average literacy rate of 50%. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/PopulationFinder/Population_Finder.aspx shows that the total population of the village is 2500 out of which male population is 1500 and the female population is 1000.Gram Devi is the prime Goddess of Durgi. There is a beautiful temple, with its new look, for her.The temple of Lord Jagannath is situated by the main road and opposite of temple of Maa Bhairavi.

Temples of divinity

A no. of temples enhance the cultural beauty of the village. They are;

• The temple of Lord Jagannath by the main road,
• The temple of Goddess Vairavi opposite of Sri Jagannath Temple,
• The temple of Grama Devi(Thakurani Mandir),
• The temple of Lord Shiva which is around 200 years old made by the than ruler of Durgi,
• The temple of Radhakanta by the main road and another Radhakrishna Mandir in mid of the village.,
• The temple of Sai Baba.

Visiting places

A water reservoir is located at "Kundanpadar", Durgi with a catchment area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²). The water of this reservoir irrigates many acres of land near by Durgi, Bhaleri, Kundanpadar, Balipadar and also supplies drinking water to Durgi village. Its construction was completed in the year 2000.The panoramic view of the reservoir is a popular tourist attraction as well as a popular picnic destination. There is also a spring and water fall named "Tumbalpadu", a scenic spot just 2 km away from Durgi.

Educational Institutes

• U.P. School, Durgi(Provides 1st to 5th standard primary education)
• M.E. School, Durgi (Provides 6th and 7th standard middle education)
• P.S. High School, Durgi (Provides 8th to 10th standard higher secondary education)
• Saraswati Sisu Vidya Mandir

Financial and other Government Institutions

• Utkal Grameen Bank
• Indian Post Office, Durgi
• Modern Hospital(Dispensary), Durgi
• Veterinary Hospital, Durgi
• PWD Bungalow, Durgi
• Revenue Bungalow,Durgi

Festivities and Culture

Besides the annual Rath Yatra(Car Festival of Lord Jagannath), another popular festival celebrated in the village is the 'Ghanto Parbo' or 'Thakurani Yatra' (procession of the goddess) held usually during summer. During the festival, every community has the chance to take its goddesses out of the temples and visit all other localities. The processions last for days and weeks, with dramas and other entertainment held during the nights. Local musical instruments like 'Dombo Baido' and 'Singha Baido' accompany such processions. Durgi is famous for its grand Dolo Purnima(Faguna Yatra)celebrations as well. People the educational institutions of the village also celebrate "Ganesh Puja," "Saraswati Puja" every year.

Air

The nearest airport is the Visakhapatnam Airport at a distance of 240 km towards the south. The other nearest airport is the Bhubaneswar Airport, which is about 390 km.

Road

• Durgi is connected to other parts of Odisha by state highway SH17(Gunupur-Digapahandi-Berhampur) and SH04(Paralakhemundi-Gunupur-Rayagada-Koraput). The nearest major town is Gunupur 40 km away and Rayagada which is 51 km away.

• Odisha State Road Transport Corporation, and Private buses run frequently between Durg to other parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.The place is well connected to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rayagada, Koraput, Jeypore, Bhawanipatna, Paralakhemundi, Palasa, Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatnam.

• Taxi services are also easily available in Durgi. One can arrange them from local tour operators.

Railway

Durgi is well connected with the near by railway stations like Gunupur(40;kms away), Muniguda(35;kms away) and Rayagada(51; kms away). Gunupur, which is connected by the 90 km long broad gauge Naupada-Gunupur branch railway line to Naupada railway junction on the Khurda Road-Visakhapatnam section of the Calcutta-Madras route or Howrah-Chennai main line. Three passenger trains run between Gunupur and Puri, Gunupur and Palasa and another between gunupur and visakhapatnam. You can connect with main line trains from Naupada junction to other places in India.

Trains running from Gunupur Railway station :-

#No	Train Number	Train Name
1	58418	Gunupur - Puri PASS
2	58505	Gunupur - Visakhapatnam PASS
3	58420	Gunupur - Palasa PASS

Rayagada railway station is an important station from where direct trains are available to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Puri, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and other cities.

See Rayagada district and Gunupur for more details of railway lines in the district.

List of the trains running from Rayagada railway station :-

#No	Train Number	Train Name
1	18302	Rayagada - Sambalpur Express
2	12844	Ahmedabad - Puri Express
3	12843	Puri - Ahmedabad Express
4	17481	Bilaspur - Tirupati Express
5	13352	Alleppey - Dhanbad Express
6	13351	Dhanbad - Alappuzha Express
7	18448	Jagdalpur - Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express
8	18447	Bhubaneswar - Jagdalpur Hirakhand Express
9	12835	Hatia - Yesvantpur Express
10	18005	Howrah Jn - Jagdalpur Express
11	18006	Jagdalpur - Howrah Jn Express
12	18517	Korba - Visakhapatnam Express
13	18310	Nanded - Sambalpur Nagawali Express
14	12807	Visakhapatnam - H Nizamuddin Samta Express
15	12808	H Nizamuddin - Visakhapatnam Samta Express
16	12836	Yesvantpur - Hatia Express
17	12889	Tatanagar - Yesvantpur Express
18	12890	Yesvantpur - Tatanagar Express
19	17482	Tirupati - Bilaspur Express
20	18107	Rourkela - Koraput Express
21	18108	Koraput - Rourkela Express
22	18189	Tatanagar - Alappuzha Express
23	18309	Sambalpur - Nanded Express
24	18518	Visakhapatnam - Korba Express
25	12375	Chennai - Asansol Express
26	12376	Asansol - Chennai Express
27	18211	Durg - Jagdalpur Express
28	18212	Jagdalpur - Durg Express
29	18437	Bhubaneshwar - Bhawanipatna Link Express
30	18438	Bhawanipatna - Bhubaneshwar Link Express
31	22847	Visakhapatnam - Lokmanya Tilak Super Fast Express
32	22848	Lokmanya Tilak - Visakhapatnam Super Fast Express
33	18301	Sambalpur - Rayagada Express
34	18452	Puri - Hatia Tapaswini Express
35	57271	Vijayawada Jn - Rayagada Passenger
36	57272	Rayagada - Vijayawada Jn Passenger	Rayagada - Vijayawada Jn Passenger

Politics

Current MLA from Bissam-Cuttack (ST) Assembly Constituency is Jagannath Saraka (won by: 29186 votes) of BJD, who won the seat in State elections of 2014 for the first time.

Durgi is part of Koraput (Lok Sabha constituency).