their accession to India. Subdivisions like Gram Panchayats and Community Developments blocks were introduced in 1962. A small portion of the district adjoining Bhubaneswar was transferred to Puri district that year. Before the division of the district in 1992, it was the largest in Odisha by population. It had no less than 42 blocks and six subdivisions with headquarters at Banki, Athagad, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada. The last three were split off to form separate districts that year. Geography and Climate The district covers an area of 3,932 km2. The geographical location of the district is 20,4625° N latitude and 85.8830° E longitude. The average annual precipitation over the district is about 1,440 mm, most of which occurs during south-west monsoon period (June to September). The temperature seems moderate for the area throughout the year except for the summer season (March to mid-June), where the average maximum temperature is 41 °C. The average minimum temperature over the district is 10 °C. The district is divided into two distinct geographic regions. The Sadar subdivision mostly consists of the alluvial delta formed by the River Mahanadi and its distributaries. The width of the delta stretches to about 60–75 kilometres from the coast. The land is mostly flat and is intersected by numerous channels, active and abandoned, of the Mahanadi system. Few isolated hillocks near Cuttack form the only break in the plain. The land is often waterlogged during the Monsoon and an elaborate system of canals, embankments and weirs is used for both flood control and irrigation. Paddy is the primary crop and is grown throughout the year. The villages are located on an artificial high ground and are usually surrounded by copses of banyan, mango and other large trees. Most villages have one or more tanks called pokharis that supply their fresh water needs. The Athagad and Banki subdivisions consist of broken hill country on either side of the Mahanadi river. Most of the hills are of low height and present a rounded appearance reaching a maximum of around 2500 feet along the border with Hindol. Occasional fertile, narrow valleys formed by riverine action are also found – especially near Khurda district. Numerous small streams run down these hills to join the Mahanadi. Substantial forested tracts are still to be found in the Dampada block and Narasinghpur blocks while Athagad, Tigiria and Badamba blocks are largely agricultural. A thick layer