Burla is a locality in Sambalpur city in the state of Odisha, India. It earlier had a Notified Area Council (NAC) until 2014 after which it was included in Sambalpur city under Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC). It was earlier a small town on the banks of Mahanadi. One can reach this place by road with National Highway 6 which is one of the busiest trunk routes in India as it connects Hazira to Kolkata. Hirakud Railway Station is at one end of the town and a walking distance from the Mahanadi Coal Limited (MCL). Geography Burla is located at . It has an average elevation of 173 metres (567 feet). The locality lies at one end of Hirakud Dam which is located around 2 km west of the town. The Jawahar Minar overlooks the Hirakud Dam, the lake and the surrounding forests of Barapahad (Twelve Hills). At the other side of the dam is the township of Hirakud. Overview Burla is situated in a half an hour distance from Central Sambalpur and two hours distance from Bargarh, which are connected by National Highway 6. Burla houses three leading institutions of Odisha: Sambalpur University and the Institute of Information Technology (SUIIT), Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) (formerly called University College of Engineering-UCE). The town is horse-shoe shaped with an artificial lake in the middle and NH6 traversing through one end. The town centre is small and is divided into 'Kaccha Market' and 'Pukka Market' and hosts numerous small stores and stalls, which are mostly family-based small business enterprises. 'Sambalpuri' is a dialect of the Odia language, and this Sambalpuri dialect is traditionally spoken in the town of Burla, however people here are also fluent in proper Odia and Hindi. The author Ravinder Singh is a native of Burla. Demographics India census, Burla had a population of 39,188. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Burla has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 81% and female literacy of 66%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Economy The area's economy is driven by education, medicine, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. Veer Surendra Sai Medical College is the largest hospital in Western Odisha. Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology is the oldest engineering college in Odisha. Sambalpur University is