Odi: ଆସିକା āsikā
‘Sugar City’ [Aska] City/District, Odisha
From Odi: ikṡhu, akhuṡaḻa, ‘sugar cane’, ‘sugar processing’ [Skt: asi, ikṣu, aikṣava, ‘sugar cane’, ‘made of sugar-cane’].
This really is India’s sugar city. The sugar factory here, opened in 1848, was the first of its kind in Asia. Today it crushes about 2,500 tonnes of cane a day and the industry provides jobs (directly or indirectly) to around 50,000 families.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Odisha place names.
