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Name of the State

Description

  Orissa

Orissa lies on the east coast of India.  It is surrounded by West Bengal on the north-east, Bihar on the north, Andhra Pradesh on the south-east, Madhya Pradesh on the west and Bay of Bengal on the east. The whole state lies in the tropical zone and is divided into four distinct tracts, viz the northern plateau, the eastern ghats, the central tract and the coastal plains.  The state is drained by three great rivers, the Mahanadi the Brahmani and the Baitarani and some lesser rivers, all of which flow into the Bay of Bengal.

The biggest and the most famous lake in the Orissa is the Chilka lake.  Originally, it was part of the Bay of Bengal, but was subsequently closed up by sand dunes.  It is 64 km long and 16 to 20 km wide.  There are two beautiful islands in the lake namely Parikud and Malud.  Two other lakes call for mention, the Ansupa Lake (Cuttak District), about 5 km long and 1.6 km broad, and the Sara Lake, (Puri District) about 5 km long and 3 km wide.  Orissa has an equable climate, neither too hot nor too cold.  The average rainfall in the state is 150 cm.

Sixty-four per cent of the working population is dependent on agriculture.  Rice, pulses, oilseeds, jute, mesta, sugarcane (main cash crop), coconut and turmeric are important crops.  The state contributes one-tenth of the rice production in India.  Forests cover nearly 37% of the area of the state.

Central Sector Projects are Steel Plant at Rourkela, SAND Complex at Chhatrapur, Heavy Water Project at Talcher, Coach Repairing Workshop at Mancheswar, Aluminium Complex at Koraput, Captive Power plant at Angul, Aluminium Smelter at Angul and Fertilizer Plant at Paradeep.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, is known as the cathedral city of India on account of its numerous temples.  A complete study of the “Kalinga Style” of architecture from its very inception to maturity spread over a period of about two thousand years is epitomized in the monuments of Bhubaneswar.  Places of interest are: Lingaraja Temple and Rajarani Temple, the Jain and Buddhist rock-cut caves of Khandagiri, Udayagiri and Dhauli together with Ashoka’s rock edict. Puri and Konark are major tourist attractions.  Odissi, the dance form of Orissa, evolved in the shadow of the magnificent temples of the state.

Hirakud Dam, the fourth largest in the world, on Mahanadi is another attraction. Chilka, the largest brackish water inland lake in Asia, stretches over an area of 1100 sq. km.  The largest Lion Safari of India, and the only White Tiger Safari in the world, are located on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
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  Punjab

Punjab is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the north east by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan.  Physically, the state may be divided into two parts, sub-Shivalik strip and Sutlej-Ghaggar plain.  The sub-Shivalik strip covers the upper portion of Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts.  The Sutlej-Ghaggar Plain embraces the other districts of the Punjab.  The land is highly fertile as they are formed by the tributaries of the Indus, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and Ghaggar.

The land is highly fertile as they are formed by the tributaries of the Indus, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, and Ghaggar.  Punjab is primarily an agrarian state and agriculture occupies the most prominent place in Punjab’s economy.  As against an all India average of 51%, it has 86% of its area under cultivation.  The fertilizer consumption in Punjab is the highest in India.

Punjab’s contribution is highest in the procurement of foodgrains for the central pool. The State produces 10% of India’s milk production.  Per capita availability of eggs in Punjab is 90, one of the highest in India.

Punjab is dotted with places of historical and cultural interest.  Ropar, one of the centers of Indus Valley civilization, Amritsar, the city of the golden Temple, (now renamed Harmandir Sahib), sacred to the Sikhs, the ancient fort of Bhatinda, the architectural monuments of Kapurthala, the City of Garden, Patiala and Chandigarh, the capital designed by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier are among the leading tourist attractions of the state.
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  Rajasthan

Rajasthan is one of the border states of India, sharing India’s frontier with Pakistan on the west and northwest.  Punjab bounds it on the north, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the north-east and east, Madhya Pradesh on the south and south-east and Gujarat on the south-west.

Rajasthan is one of the few states of India that show great contrast from one area to another.  This disparity is noticeable in respect of climate, soil, vegetation, mineral resources, etc.

Textiles, rugged and woolen goods, sugar, cement, glass, sodium, oxygen and acetylene units, pesticides, insecticides, and dyes are some of the major industries. Other enterprises include the manufacture of caustic soda, calcium carbide and nylon tyre cord and copper smelting.  Small scale industrial units numbering 2, 37, 252 give employment to about 913 thousand people: marble work, woolen carpets, jewellery, embroidery, articles of leather, pottery and brass embossing. Rajasthan handicrafts are famous all over the world.  Tourism contributes to 13% of the State Domestic Product.

Rajasthan has several sights to offer the tourist, especially in ancient and medieval architecture.  Places of interest are Mount Abu, Ajmer, Alwar (Sariska tiger sanctuary), Bharatpur (Keoladeo bird sanctuary), Bikaner, Jaipur (the Pink City), Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pali, Jaisalmer and Chittorgarh.  The Ranthambore national park is to be renamed after Rajiv Gandhi.
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  Sikkim

Sikkim, the 22nd state of the Indian union, is a small mountain state in the eastern Himalayas. It is bounded by Tibet on the north, Nepal on the west and Bhutan on the east, West Bengal lies to its south. It is the least populous state in the Union. Sikkim is strategically important for India. It lies astride the shortest route from India to Tibet.

About a third of the land is covered with dense forests, where sal, simbal, bamboo and other plants thrive.  Some of the finest forests lie in the northern-most areas in Lachen and Lachung.  Here the mountains rise to elevations of 7000 meters and more.  Kanchenjunga (8579 m), the world’s third highest peak, rises from this area. The forests here are inaccessible and remain for the most part unexploited.

The population of Sikkim is mainly made up of the Lepchas, the Bhutias and their allied clans and the Nepalese.  The Lepchas were the first settlers in Sikkim.  The Bhutias came from Tibet in the 14th century.  In the 18th and 19th centuries the Nepalese came into Sikkim and established themselves.  And, today, they form the majority community in the state.  On average, Sikkim receives 125 cm rain.  Bt the rainfall varies widely between various regions like sheltered valleys, foothills and high mountains.  River Tista and its tributaries drain the state.  Tista is a perennial river being both rain-fed and snow-fed.

The principal crops are maize, paddy, millet, wheat and barley.  Tea in grown in Sikkim.  There are units engaged in food processing, tanning, watch assembling and distilleries, breweries and flour mills.

Sikkim boasts several hundred different kinds of orchids and is frequently referred to as a botanist’s paradise.

Some of the important tourist centers are: Gangtok, Bakkhim - a natural garden, Yoksum-meeting of three great lamas, Dhubdi monastery, Tashing Monastery Rumtek monastery, etc.  There are 200 monasteries in Sikkim. Khangchendzonga National Park is one of the highest national parks in the world and includes the world’s third highest mountain (Kanchenjunga).  The yak and the musk deer are animals found in Sikkim.
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