Pattamundai
Pattamundai is a town and a municipality in Kendrapara district in the Indian state of Odisha, located on the centre of SH-9A from Cuttack to Chandbali along the south end of Brahmani River. It is also the headquarter of Pattamundai Block.
Etymology
Pattamundai derives its name from being the last town on the gate on the Pattamundai Canal and Gobari Canal junction at Alva. and the Gobari canal ends at Gandakia, the present end point of the Gobari river. The Gobari river is still active in some portion. nd there are many theories prevailing on the sources of derivations and we may place those derivations as follows:01. The earlier name was "PATUMUNDA" and it has been converted to current name through colloquial processes. And the word PATU is an Odia word which means the "Alluvial soil or silt" which is normally flows with the floods in the rivers. And the word "Munda" is head or side in Odia. The Brahmani river was earlier flowing through this village long back. You can find now the marks of the river beds between present village "Bangali Diha and Mandapada" and " Kasananta and Balipada"., which I have heard during my school days. The word "Chatara" also means "A wide expansion of plot of the surface of a tank not overgrown or covered with aquatic grass or reeds". The branch was called the Gobari and as the river was dead after the track of the Brahmani changed to a straight link after the village "Balipatana" towards village "Patrapur". When the river Gobari was live, during floods heavy deposits of the alluvial soil was deposited at "chatar" location. Hence the village was called "Patu Munda"
02. The second derivation is from the name "PATAMUNDA" . The theory goes like this. The Rivers do have some unique features like "PATA" and "PALA" on them. The word "PATA" which denotes "Fen; Low and unproductive land; Bog; Marsh; Swamp" and the word "PALA" means "the silted land on the bed or bank of a river". Among many Patas of the area, the biggest was the "BOITALA PATA", which was few kilometres towards eastern direction of the Brahmani and the Gobari river system. And many villages now exists like Taradipala, PenthaPala, Belapala in these river systems. As the village was situated on a side of a larger Pata, the naming also might be justified with the name "PATA MUNDA". And with passage of time it is now Pattamundai.
03..The weaker derivation might be, the name of the town is derived from the word "Pata" which means Canal Gate a reference to the ancient lock on Pattamundai Canal at Alva and "Munda" means head. It is the biggest market-hub in the whole of Kendrapara District due to its position and connectivity to Rajnagar, Aali, Rajkanika & Cuttack.Pattamundai is famous for Durga Puja.
History
Pattamundai is an ancient trading river port. The town came into historical limelight during the Mughal Empire. However, no archaeological remains have been found. Scanning the area is almost impossible as for the high density of population that resides over it. Akbar established the land revenue system here in 1515 AD. Mentions can be found when Emperor Aurangzeb imparted financial and manpower patronage to the Madrasa at Pattamundai port to impart education to their children, which even flourishes today. Muslim ruled from 1576-1751 AD. Pattamundai was under the Utikan Pargana and they placed an Amil here for land revenue collection. British forces under Colonel Harcourt marched from Cuttack to Kujang sometime during late October- early November 1803 and Pattamundai fell from the hands of the Marathas unopposed. The Paika Bidroha broke out in the neighboring kingdom of Khurda in 1817 and had spread to Pattamundai in July, where 200 paikas attacked the Thana and killed many. The Pattamundai Thana included 3 influential Zamindar lords - Bhatikona, Ali & Kanika. Mention can be found during Damage Assessment after the floods in October 1848 when it used to be a Taluka under the Utikan Estate, Madanpur. The Cuttack-Chandbali road had to be lowered a number of timer to allow the flood water to pass by so as to prevent abnormal flooding. In the Kendrapara sub-division the great cyclone of September 1885 destroyed 46 villages in thana Patamundai, most of the inhabitants of which were either drowned or succumbed to the fever and cholera which usually form the sequel of such calamities, while those that survivedemigrated to tracts less exposed to the destructive action of storm- waves. In the census of 1901, it was noted that the population of pattamundai was steadily growing after the construction of protective embankments and the offer of easy terms of settlement by the British led to considerable reclamation of land which had been thrown out of cultivation by the salt-water floods of 1885. The Sub-Registrar's office was opened in Pattamundai in 1908. Pattamundai was a part of the Cuttack District until 1994. During the British period it was an important point between the capital city of Cuttack and the estates of Aali & Kanika and the ports of Chandabali and Dhamara. Being a major center of business, markets flourished here along with other places like Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara. Agricultural and hand crafted products were exported to other parts of India like Madras, Bombay, Ceylon, the Maldive islands and European countries.
Geography
Pattamundai is located at 20.57°N 86.57°E. Pattamundai is located 22 km from the Bay of Bengal in the Utkal Plains, at an elevation of 6 m from sea level. Pattamundai is a flat, low-lying delta region in the Lower Mahanadi River basin. The Brahmani river divides it from the Aali Block. The Pattamundai Canal running from Cuttack to Alva Lock constructed by the East India Company during the mid 19th century, is a major irrigation canal passing through the city.The river Brahmani is passing by the side of this municipality and flood water of this river has been inundating over 50% geographical area of this municipality every year. This municipality also comes under the purview of cyclonic zone. So the residence of this municipality suffers a lot due to natural calamity every year.
Climate
Pattamundai experiences a tropical wet and dry climate. The summers are much rainier than the winters in Pattamundai. This location is classified as Aw by Köppen and Geiger. The average annual temperature in Pattamundai is 27.0 °C. Precipitation here averages 1502 mm.. The summer season is from March to June when the climate is hot and humid. The temperature around this season is 35 °C to 40 °C Thunderstorms are common at the height of the summer. Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south west summer monsoon lash Pattamundai between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of. The highest monthly rainfall total,, occurs in August. from the South West Monsoon. Temperatures are considerably lower during the rainy season, averaging around 30 °C. The winter season from November to February is characterised by mild temperatures and occasional showers. The winter months feature chilly northerly winds which bring down the temperature to around 15 °C, though the bright sunshine helps maintain the pleasant weather. Temperatures may exceed 45 °C at the height of summer and may fall below 10 °C in winter.Floods
Due to the proximity to coast and being located near the delta of some great river systems, cyclones and floods are a permanent feature of this region from the Bay of Bengal. The rivers that flood Pattamundai are Brahmani, Kani and Gobari. Some great floods recorded after the advent of the British Raj are in 1855,1866,1892,1896, August 1907, August 1920, August–September 1926, August–September–October 1955, Aug-Oct 1971, 1977,1979,1982, 1991,1992,1994,1995,1997,1999,2001,2003,2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013. Besides. Tsunami, drought, crop loss, cyclone, sun-stroke, lightningetc. are the natural calamities faced by the district which has impact on the economy of the district.
Cyclones
Some great recorded cyclones occurred in 1445, 1823, 1831, 1832, 1835, 14 to 16 October 1842, 1865, 22 Sept 1885, June 1890, 22 Sept 1892, storm of 1893 & 1908, 1936, 9 September 1967, 29 October 1971, 3 June 1982, Super Cyclone of 1999, October 2013, 2014. The United Nations Development Programme reports that there is "very high damage risk" from winds and cyclones. The 1999 Odisha cyclone caused severe damage to the town claiming many lives.Crocodiles escape from the Bhitarkanika National park during flood times and roam free around the region.
Heat Wave
In May 1998, the heat waves caused sun-stroke which blew over coastal Odisha including Pattamundai. During this period, the temperature of Pattamundai was between 45-48 degree Celsius. 15 people died of sunstroke in Kendrapara district in 1998.Flood and Cyclone are a perennial phenomenon of Pattamundai. The main cause of concern is the geographical location of the town and the rivers system netting in the region. The Bureau of Indian Standards places the city inside seismic zone III on a scale ranging from in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes.
Culture
Pattamundai has a religious brotherhood and people from all religions celebrate festivals together. It was in March, 2017 when a Muslim girl named Firadus from the neighboring village of Damarpur won the Bhagwad Gita recitation contest.The place has some minor population of Muslims. There was some misunderstanding with Hindu community with a stray incident of a Kartikesar Puja. But later it was resolved amicably. The Christianity is almost nil..
Festivals
- Durga Puja: Pattamundai is famous throughout the area for its Durga puja celebrations. Nearly 20 earthen idols of Goddess Durga and other idols are prepared by the different Puja Committees of the city to celebrate Durga Puja. Pattamundai celebrates Durga Puja with full energy on Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and on Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra by burning an effigy of the demon Ravana. People from Kendrapara district visit Pattamundai during this period to observe the famous festival.
- Boita Bandana: This festival is celebrated on the last day of the holy Hindu month of Kartik. On this auspicious day people flow miniature boitas or model boats in the Baitarani river to pay homage to the ancient merchants of Kalinga Kingdom. This day also marks the beginning of Bali Jatra. The celebration is to commemorate the old memory of the business with South eastern countries of Asia by Sadhaba community with ritualistic floating of model boats around the same time of year.
- Kartikeshwar Puja: The puja in Pattamundai is organised since last few years by the puja committees of Pattamundai. This festival is observed to worship Kartikeya, the eldest son of Lord Shiva.