found in the villages of Maniabandh and Nuapatna in Baramba and Tigiria blocks. This is the last remnant of a much larger Buddhist community that dominated Odisha for close to a thousand years till the 14th century. Almost all of them are weavers and produce the well regarded Maniabandh sarees. Apart from the usual Buddhist deities, a large number of Hindu deities are also a part of their pantheon. They are unique in being the only indigenous Buddhists to have survived outside the Himalayas in mainland India. Small communities of Sikhs and Jains are also found in Cuttack city. They are mostly traders and maintain strong links with their brethren in other parts of India. Languages At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.36% of the population in the district spoke Odia, 4.66% Urdu, 1.24% Hindi, 0.86% Bengali and 0.78% Telugu as their first language. Odia is the language of the Odia people and is spoken throughout the district. It is often the only language spoken outside the urban areas. Cuttack Odia is widely considered to be the standard dialect of the language and is frequently used in Odia newspapers, cinema and literary works. Urdu, or more properly Odia Hindustani, is the language of the Odia Muslims who speak it as their mother tongue. In its general construction, the dialect is almost indistinguishable from the standard Hindi/Urdu of cities in Eastern India like Kolkata and Patna. However, the spoken dialect has a number of peculiar features due to the influence of Odia. The grammar is somewhat simplified and significant features of a patois are seen. Code switching is common and standard Urdu is always used for writing and formal communication. Most Muslims also speak Odia as a second language. Standard Hindi is the language of recent migrants from North India to Cuttack city. Cuttack city also has small Bengali and Telugu communities who migrated during the late 19th century. The former were landlords or employed in the courts and offices while the latter were mostly labourers and menial workers. They speak their respective languages with significant Odia admixture. Politics Under the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj, the district is divided into three Lok Sabha constituencies, 9 Vidhan Sabha constituencies, 1 Zila Parishad, 14 Panchayat Samitis and 373 Gram Panchayats. The Zila Parishad is an elected body entrusted with the responsibility to oversee development activities in the district. It