Odisha TV

Odisha TV or OTV is a regional Odia Indian cable television station. It is the flagship channel of the Bhubaneswar-based Odisha Television Network. It was started and promoted by Jagi Mangat Panda. Odisha Television (OTV) is the first private electronic media in the state of Odisha.

Launched in 1997 in the twin cities of Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack, the channel slowly spread to all major towns of the state. Then it became a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for the people of Odisha. It was converted from cable to a satellite channel in December 2006. It is the most viewed Odia TV channel in the world, with five channels (Odisha TV, Tarang TV, Tarang Music, Prarthana TV and the recently launched Alankar TV).

Programming

Apart from a large viewership in Odisha, OTV has a following in other regions of India with a large Odia speaking population, including Bangalore, Vizag, Surat, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

The key people are Jagi Mangat Panda and her husband and BJD MP Baijayant Panda. Initially four journalism students from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal were selected from the campus by them to start OTV. They are Jajati Karan, Sarada Lahangir, Sriparna Nayak and Sonali Rath. Now OTV has over 300 staff and the company is worth more than Rs 200 crore.

Odisha

Odisha (pronunciation: ⁱ/əˈdɪsə/;) or Orissa (/ɒˈrɪsə, ɔː-, oʊ-/;Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଶା) is one of the 29 states of India, located in the east of India. It is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south and south-west. Odisha has 485 kilometres (301 mi) of coastline along the Bay of Bengal on its east, from Balasore to Malkangiri. It is the 9th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. Odia (formerly known as Odia) is the official and most widely-spoken language, spoken by 33.2 million according to the 2001 Census.

The ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the Kalinga War, coincides with the borders of modern-day Odisha. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions. April 1 is celebrated as Odisha Day. The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana".Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga in c. 1135, after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers, through the British era, until 1948, when Bhubaneswar replaced it as the capital.

Odisha cleistantha

Odisha is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains only one known species, Odisha cleistantha, endemic to the State of Odisha (Orissa) in India. This plant is also detected as a threatened orchid of Chotnagpur plateau.

See also

References