The rise of Berhampur

Construction of multi-storied residential apartments has gained pace in cities such as Berhampur, Sambalpur, Balasore and Jharsuguda, which boasted only of standalone houses built by individual owners till recently. Contrary to real estate development centered around the Cuttack-Puri-Bhubaneswar triangle alone earlier, several residential projects are coming up in Berhampur, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Balasore, among other towns. Apart from individual merits of certain towns because of industrial activities around them and their strategic locations, apartment culture is picking up across Odisha towns, industry insiders said.

Around 50 apartments with a total of 10,000 dwelling units are under different stages of construction in Berhampur alone. "People prefer apartments and planned constructions to buying land these days. Salaried employees have disposable money but don't have time to construct a house by employing a contractor on their own. They are the large clientele here," said P K Rajeev, a developer in the south Odisha town.

Berhampur with its good road and rail connectivity is a gateway to south Odisha, making it a preferred destination for people from neighbouring districts to invest and own a house here. The real estate price here is now as high as Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per sq ft, only a little less than the price in Bhubaneswar.

Jharsuguda, an emerging industrial town, where the government is planning the state's second airport, is coming up as another real estate hub. "Besides apartments, simplex and duplex houses, there are huge takers for plot schemes here," said Sajid Hussain, a developer there. Sambalpur is witnessing similar vertical and horizontal expansion with multiple developers undertaking huge projects.

Developers said with land price skyrocketing in Bhubaneswar, housing cost in the city is exceptionally high. "This is ruling out a substantial section of low middle class families from buying a house in Bhubaneswar. These people can easily afford houses in the regional and district towns. Many others who have money tend to own houses both in the state capital and in their native towns," said Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India state president D S Tripathy. 

Source: Times of India

Berhampur in news during the Freedom struggle of India

• 1921: March'30th & 31st- Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi visited Berhampur and addressed a gathering for Non-cooperation movement at Barracks ground.
• 1927: 2nd time Bapuji visited Berhampur and other towns of Ganjam like Aska, Bhanjanagar, Kodala, Kabisuryanagar, Polasara, Khallikote and Rambha.
• 1930: Udagye mandir formed at Berhampur by freedom fighters under the supervision of Banchhanidhi Patnaik & Ramalingam Sarala Devi. Freedom fighters Sashi Bhusan Rath, Iswar Sahu, Harihara Patnaik, Banamali Maharara were arrested.
• 1930: Salt Non-Co-operation movement at Humma and Ganjam.
  Smt. Sarala Devi, Niranjan Patnaik, Debakar Patnaik, Radhakrishna Biswasray were arrested by British Govt.
• 1931: First round Table conference at Londan, Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati of Parala represented.
• 1935: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Berhampur to address for freedom Movement. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose also visited Berhampur during that time.
• 1943: March'29th- The Tribal leader of South Orissa and Great Freedom fighter Saheed Laxman Nayak was hanged at Berhampur Circle Jail.
• 1946: January’20th - Gandhiji for the last time visited Berhampur and addressed people at historic Barracks ground.

Berhampur People: NARGIS NATRAJAN

‘The place that had clawed itself out of the Madras Presidency of British India and made it’s presence felt in Orissa. A place called Berhampur- my Daddy’s hometown and the city where I was born. Just to annoy me, Shankar often referred to it as the ‘filthiest village in the world’. But for the Alice in me it is a wonderland. For the child in me it is a Disneyland. For the adult in me, Berhampur was, is and always will be… Paradise!’ (This is an excerpt from Nargis Natarajan's book...'Daddy')

Nargis Natrajan's `Daddy: A Bouquet of Memories', is memoir and tribute to her father, Dr. Ferose Ali, affectionately known as the `poor man's doctor in Berhampur. For a girl from the unpretentious town of Berhampur to have written an excellent book of such richness is commendable. Although the book is about the father of Nargis, in a deeper sense filled with local flavour it is more like a historical account of life in the provincial town of Berhampur and its progressive environemnt in the 70s. Dr. Ferose Ali stood out by his iconoclastic and unorthodox views- a man of goodwill and a great humanist. It is these idealistic aspects of the father’s personality that are the substance of Nargis’ literary imagination.

Source: Sulekha, The Hindu etc.