Brahmapur is a municipal corporation located on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha in East India, about 169 kilometres (105 mi) south of the state capital Bhubaneshwar and 255 kilometres (158 mi) north of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the oldest and largest cities of Odisha. Nicknamed "The Silk City", it is famous for its silk saris, temples and unique culture. River Rushikulya is called the "Ganga" of Ganjam. It flows at a distance of about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the city and discharges into the Bay of Bengal near Gopalpur port. May is the hottest month in the year whereas December is the coldest. The average annual rainfall is 1250 mm and the region receives Monsoon and torrential rainfall for four months only in a year from July to October. Theatre has been very prominent since the late 1930, and was the main source of entertainment until the advent of motion pictures. Ganjam Kala Parishad and Prakasam Hall, located here, are some of the oldest drama halls in India. The oldest theatre in the history of Odisha was the Sri Sitaram Vilas Talkies (SSVT, established in the year 1927), which was closed down following severe damage by a super cyclone on 29 October 1999. There are many temples in Brahmapur, including Lord Sidha Vinayaka Temple, Lord Nilakantheswara Temple, Lord Sri Radheshyam Sunder Temple, Bhairabi Temple, Taratarini Temple, Venu Gopalaswamy Temple, and Budhi Thakurani Temple. Brahmapur city is connected with National Highways NH-5 (Chennai–Kolkata), NH-59 (Gopalpur–Nauparha) and NH-217 (Gopalpur–Raipur) and other cities and towns of Odisha. The three-wheeler auto taxis are the most important mode of transportation in this city. Taxis also ply on the city's roads. The Ganjam Urban Transport Services Limited (GUTSL) with joint partnership with Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) have come up with an agreement, to run a city-bus service for Berhampur to urban centres on its periphery (Chatrapur, Gopalpur and Hinjili) on February 27, 2014. Brahmapur railway station is situated on the East coast railway line, a major route connecting the two metros Kolkata and Chennai of India. It is directly connected to New Delhi, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Puri, Raipur, Sambalpur, Palasa, Vishakhapatnam, and many more cities of India. Cuttack – Brahmapur connectivity (DMU) is popular connectivity to reach Cuttack. It is one of the busiest railway stations in Odisha. The nearest airports are Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar (169 kilometres (105 mi)) and Visakhapatnam Airport, Visakhapatnam (256 kilometres (159 mi)). Rangeilunda airstrip is located at about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of the city and was built by the British during World War II. It is adjacent to the Berhampur University. The city is served by two ports, Gopalpur Port and a new satellite port at the Bahuda Mouth (Muhan), operated by Paradip Port Trust (PPT).