Ganjam team emerges boxing champs

Source: The Sambad, The Hindu

State Govt moots Rs 250 crore water supply project for Berhampur

To tide over the perennial drinking water crisis in Berhampur, the State government has decided to come up with remedial measures. At a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the issues related to drinking water crisis in Berhampur and its remedial measures were discussed. The meeting was attended by MLAs from Berhampur, State Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik, State Water Resources Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Development Commissioner Rabi Narayan Senapati, and Urban Development Secretary Sourabh Garg. During the meeting, the Chief Minister reviewed the drinking water supply situation in Berhampur city. According to a release from the office of the Chief Minister, a new drinking water treatment plant which is envisioned to alleviate drinking water crisis in the city will be functional by April. The new drinking water treatment plant is now under construction at Dakhinpur on the outskirts of the city. As per schedule, the drinking water treatment plant is to be operational by April 15. After getting functional, the new drinking water treatment plant will provide extra water of around 20 million litres per day (MLD). The city gets 37 MLD of water every day from two sources. During harsh summer months, the drinking water supply goes down. The government is of the view that with additional water supply from the new treatment plant, there will be no scarcity of drinking water in the city this summer. The issue of 24-hour piped water supply to all areas of the city was also discussed at the meeting. At present most areas of the city get drinking water supply for one to two hours during early morning.

A sum of Rs. 59 crore will be spent on round-the-clock piped water supply to different parts of the city. The amount will be spent on enhancing the drinking water supply infrastructure of the city. Work on the project will be started soon. This will involve enhancing capacity of storage reservoirs, enhancement of water supply network through replacement and repair of existing water pipeline in the city. Detailed project report for this renovation and replacement of old pipeline is being prepared. The State government is also thinking of a long-term project keeping in view the increased need of water for the population of the city during next three decades. For it, a 250-crore drinking water project is being planned. The project involves lifting of 125 MLD of water from Janibili reservoir.          

Source: The Hindu

Olive Ridleys begin mass nesting at Rushikulya

BERHAMPUR: The Olive Ridleys, the rare and endangered marine turtle species of the world, have started arriving for nesting at Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district. The Ridleys usually start their single mating season every year in the sea near their preferred nesting coast. After the end of the mating season, most male turtles return leaving behind the females to lay their eggs. While the nesting starts sporadically from January-end, the peak period is February.This year, however, nesting was delayed by a month, said Berhampur DFO Ajay Kumar Jena, who is monitoring the protection of these turtles during nesting.The DFO added that over 2,000 turtles had reached the coast in the last two days and the nesting is likely to pick up within a week. The Olive Ridleys nested on a stretch of around 2.5 km near Rushikulya rookery. Rushikulya is one of the most preferred nesting sites of Olive Ridleys.Jena said the mass nesting is expected to continue for a few more days as a large number of turtles are still in the sea near the coast waiting to lay their eggs in the night.Forest Department officials and wildlife experts are monitoring the mass nesting. Data regarding arrival and laying of eggs of Ridleys are also being recorded. Meanwhile, the fishermen of the area and tourists have been advised not enter the sea to help the mother turtles come onto the coast at night. Forest officials are keeping a vigil on tourists to maintain  tranquillity at the beach, a major criterion for mass nesting. Jena said efforts were also being made to protect the eggs from dogs and foxes which usually dig the area and devour them. Forest officials apart, youths of nearby villages and Rushikulya sea turtle protection forum are engaged in protection of the turtle eggs. Fishing has been banned in the area where these turtles are congregating to check turtles’ mortality at the nesting sites on account of trawlers. To check illegal entry of fishing trawlers to this region, regular patrolling is being conducted in the sea. The Government has banned all types of fishing within 10 km off Rushikulya.

Source: New Indian Express

SMIT proposes another medical college in Berhampur

                                                Source: Dharitri & OrissaLinks

Survey begins for setting up of solid waste treatment plant in Berhampur

A survey was initiated in Berhampur to assess the nature of solid waste generated in the city. This survey would help in the designing of the proposed solid waste management plant to be established by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC). International Financial Corporation (IFC), which is providing technological support for the project, conducted the survey. It may be noted that the site for the plant for the city has been already identified. It is to be established near Chandania hill on the outskirts of Berhampur.Recently the representatives of IFC, health officials of BMC and members of VEDIC an organisation devoted to protection of consumers and environment took part in the collection solid waste samples for the survey. Senior Manager of IFC, Ayon Majumdar, Narayan Babu, and Secretary General of Vedic Satish Panigrahi were present to monitor the collection of solid waste samples. For proper assessment of character of solid waste generated in the city, daily waste samples would be collected from families of High Income Group (HIG), Middle Income Group (MIG) and Low Income Group (LIG).

Source: The Hindu

South Odisha remains poorest in the state: Odisha Economic Survey 2011-12

Does South Odisha deserve this?
RP Tripathy

Source: The Sambad

Notwithstanding the tall claims of the State Government, its policies have failed comprehensively to dent poverty in the 10 Southern Districts of Odisha. And, this doesn't come as a surprise for the people barring the fact that, now the State Government's own Economic Survey reveals this ignominious fact. But, the politics of the state is such that the state government is still scratching the surface with Rs2 a kilo rice and other such schemes thinking that some invisible hand will address the development challenges of South Odisha. With more than half of its population living below the starvation line, there is very little that the state government can claim to have offered to this underdeveloped region. South Odisha is still grappling with challenges of malnutrition, education, health, rail & road connectivity, industrialization etc with little evidence that these public goods have shown any sign of improvement.  The rate of urbanization has been extremely slow in the region and lack of urbanization and absence of gainful industrial employment has led to large scale forced-migrations from South Odisha to the neighboring states. While Regional Development Councils have been formed elsewhere, the state government has been completely cold on the demand for formation of South Odisha Development Council. Similarly, there is hardly any sincerity shown over the years for harnessing the river-water potential of the region (Mahanadi-Rushikulya-Vamsadhara river linking project is gather dust) to overcome repeated droughts and improve agricultural productivity and this has allowed the neighboring states to come up with massive river dam projects in the boarder areas to divert this resource. While this picture can be reversed if the state government genuinely wishes so; the failure to address this would prove costlier. The Maoists are already well-entrenched in the region and the area under their influence is rising fast. Deprivation and underdevelopment have resulted in separate statehood demands in several states. If the state government continues with its business-as-usual approach, there are no dearth of examples to show that South Odisha will go the same way.
Related news  from The Pioneer

The extent of the poverty in southern and northern region of the State is still high and remains a matter of concern even as the poverty percentage points reduced to 29.69  per cent. According to the Odisha Economic Survey, 2011-12 report, even after sixty-four years of independence, the State witnesses wide regional and social disparities in development. All regions have not developed uniformly so far. The annual report, which was circulated in the State Assembly on Thursday on the eve of the Budget for the fiscal 2012-13 was to be presented by the Finance Minister on Friday, pointed out that the rural-urban gap remained larger than the all-India average. As per the 66th round of NSS, poverty declined in all NSS regions of the State. However, the coastal region has the lowest incidence of poverty while this time the incidence of poverty is the highest in the southern and the northern regions, the report said. Though poverty ratio has reduced in the State due to the development initiatives like Revised Long Term Action Plan, Biju KBK Plan, Biju Kandhamal O Gajapati Yojana, Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana, Backward Region Grant Fund and Western Odisha Development Council for faster development of backward regions, the State is yet to develop uniformly. As far as poverty is concerned, Odisha is still above national level but in declining trend according to NSS data of the 66th round, while the poverty percentage point was 39.90 in 2004-05, there was a further reduction of 10.21 percentage points from 39.90 per cent to 29.69 percent in 2009-10.

Revival plan for public parks in Berhampur

Berhampur: The Berhampur Municipal Corporation has initiated steps to renovate parks in the Silk City. “The Gandhi Park, situated on the Ramlingam Tank Road near the civic body office, was renovated about three months. We have arranged about 30 decorative lights with music system fitted in it,” said Sukant Sabat, junior electrical engineer of the corporation, who is in charge of the Gandhi Park. “A fountain system and play equipment for the children, including a merry-go-round, has also been provided to the park,” he said.

“The park remains open from 4pm to 9pm. Every morning, we trim the grass and clean the park for evening’s visitors. The park is open to all with a very meagre entry fee. The low-priced entry ticket is just a token to create awareness among visitors about maintaining cleanliness on the park premises,” he said.

The Nehru Park, situated on the Railway Station Road in Hillpatna, also wears a new look. The Nehru Park was made open to the public after renovation last year. Pratyush Majumdar, a student of De Paul School and a resident of Shanti Nagar, said: “I like the Gandhi Park a lot. I visit the park with my mother whenevr I get an opportunity. Earlier, the park was in very bad shape and there were no lights inside it. But, things have changed now as authorities have taken initiatives to renovate it.” K. Bhaskar Reddy, 70, a resident of BRIT Colony at Neelakantha Nagar, said the parks of the city were the only places where one could indulge in some leisurely activities. “The city is growing rapidly and there is no space for the elderly to spend a few hours amidst peace and tranquillity. I have witnessed the evolution of the Gandhi Park. These two parks have now become attractive options to spend leisure hours” he said.

However, M. Tejeswar Swamy, councillor of ward No. 13 of the corporation, asked for more steps to be taken by the Berhampur Development Authority to further develop the Biju Patnaik Park on the Corporation Road. “The lighting facilities in the Biju Patnaik Park are not adequate. Also, the authorities should initiate steps to deploy more security guards there,” said the councillor.

Source: The Telegraph

Canada woos Indian students; Centre for Canadian Studies, Berhampur University, organises two day conference

BERHAMPUR: Canada will welcome Indian students into higher education to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. "Canadian universities not only provide scholarships but good infrastructure and teaching facilities. There is no problem for Indian students to get visa and go to Canada," deputy high commissioner of Canada in New Delhi Jim Nickel said on the sidelines of a conference at Berhampur University. Stating that Canada is one of the top destinations for Indian students in foreign countries, he said the number of Indian students have increased four times from only 3,000 two years ago. At least 50 Indian universities have already tied up with 35 Canadian universities for academic and research activities like exchange of faculty, he said. The two-day seminar on "Diplomacy, Defence and Development: Canadian and Indian Perspective", organized by the Centre for Canadian Studies, Berhampur University and sponsored by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI), New Delhi and DFAIT, Canada, was inaugurated by vice-chancellor J K Mohapatra. "India has a large number of youths. They can play a major role in Information Technology, engineering, social sciences, etc," he said. He stressed on the relationship between India and Canada in trade and commerce, energy security, information and technology, food security, diplomacy and defence. Among others, Chintamani Mohapatra, professor in School of International Studies (SIS), JNU, PG council chairman of Berhampur University N K Tripathy and Prof B C Choudhury were present.

Source: Times of India

Berhampur gets three new weekly trains connecting Shalimar-Secunderabad, Howrah-Mysore and Santragachhi-Mangaluru

As announced in last Railway Budget the Railways have decided to introduce new weekly express between Shalimar-Secunderabad, Howrah-Mysore and Santragachhi-Mangaluru.  All these three weekly super fast trains with stoppages at Berhampur (Brahmapur) will connect Berhampur with some new destinations like Mangaluru and Mysore. This is in addition to two weekly trains connecting Visakhapatnam-Digha and Kharagpur-Villupuram announced by the Railways last week. 

22849 Shalimar-Secunderabad weekly Express will leave Shalimar on every Friday at12.20hrs and will arrive at Secunderabad at 15.00hrs o¬n the next day. In the return direction, 22850 Secunderabad-Shalimar weekly Express will leave Secunderabad on every Sundayat 5.30hrs and will arrive at Shalimar at 09.20hrs on the next day. This train has o¬ne AC-2 tier, 02 AC-3 tiers, 07 Sleeper Classes, 06 General Second ClassCoaches and 02 Guard cum Luggage Vans in its composition having stoppage at Kharagpur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada between Shalimar & Secunderabad.

The regular service of 22817/22818 Howrah-Mysore-Howrah Weekly Superfast Express having stoppages at Kharagpur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Katpadi  between Howrah & Mysore will commence from Howrah w.e.f. 24th Feb’12 & from Mysore w.e.f. 27thFeb’2012. Howrah-Mysore-Howrah Weekly Superfast Express will leave Howrah at 16.10hrs on every Friday w.e.f. 24th Feb’2012 and will arrive at Mysore at 05.00hrs on Sundays. In the return direction, this train will leave Mysore at 00.30hrs on every Monday w.e.f. 27thFeb’2012 and will arrive at Howrah at 14.50hrs on Tuesdays.

22849 Shalimar-Secunderabad weekly Express will leave Shalimar on every Friday at 12.20hrs and will arrive at Secunderabad at 15.00hrs on the next day. In the return direction, 22850 Secunderabad-Shalimar weekly Express will leave Secunderabad on every Sundayat 5.30hrs and will arrive at Shalimar at 09.20hrs on the next day. This train has stoppage at Kharagpur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Sompeta, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada between Shalimar & Secunderabad.

Source: East Coast Railways

Little headway in road works

Three World Bank-aided road projects are running much behind the schedule due to incompetence of the executing agencies. The World Bank had sanctioned loan for widening and strengthening of three roads - Berhampur to Taptapani, Bhawanipatna to Khariar and Chandbali-Bhadrak-Anandapur under the Orissa State Road Project (OSRP). All the three projects commenced works in February 2009 and the scheduled date of completion was August 2011. However, the progress of the three projects is very negligible. The progress of Berhampur-Taptapani road project remains far from satisfactory. The 41-km stretch of road from Berhampur to Taptapani was awarded to Backbone-ARSS joint venture company at an estimated cost of ` 81.97 crore. The cumulative progress of the project was less than 22 per cent till the 2011-end.This came to the notice of the World Bank team during their recent visit to the State. The team expressed serious concern over the inordinate delay in the completion of the project.

Source: IBNLive

Berhampur gets two new trains; funds sanctioned for modernization of 4th platform and 2 new railway over bridges

As announced in last Railway Budget the Railways have introduced a new train between Visakhapatnam-Digha and Kharagpur- Villupuram (Tamil Nadu), w.e.f. from 17thFebruary 2012 with stoppages at Brahmapur (Berhampur) station. 22874/22873 Visakhapatnam-Digha-Visakhapatnam Weekly Superfast Express will leave Visakhapatnam at 17.50hrs on every Thursday w and will arrive at Digha at 09.30hrs on the next day. In the return direction, this train will leave Digha at 17.15hrs on every Friday w.e.f. 24thFeb’2012 and will arrive at Visakhapatnam at 08.20hrs o­n the following day. Similarly, 22604/22603 Villupuram-Kharagpur-Villupuram Weekly Superfast Express will leave Villupuramat 10.40hrs on every Monday and will arrive at Kharagpur at 19.30hrs on the next days. In the return direction, this train will leave Kharagpur at 14.10 hrs on every Wednesday and will arrive at Villupuram at 23.00hrs on the following day.

Source: East Coast Railway

Silk City prefers a name change: ToI

BERHAMPUR: Cultural and literary activists of Berhampur want the town's name to be changed to Brahmapur. The Railways have already changed the town's name to Brahmapur following requests from eminent personalities and organisations of the town, including the Utkal Sammilani and Utkal Parishad. Both these socio-cultural organizations promote Odia language. But the central and state government offices are yet to change the name of Berhampur. "It is high time the government changes the name of Berhampur to Bramhapur when the Centre is going to change the name of 25 towns across the country," said Prahallad Panda, a retired professor of Berhampur University. "The town's name was spelt as Berhampur by the British to avoid confusion with other towns, particularly for postal purposes. For example it could have been confused with Berhampore in West Bengal and Burhampur in Punjab's Gurudaspur district, said P Venugopal Rao, who has written the "City of Brahma", a book on the town.

"The state's revenue department should bring an amendment to change the spelling of the names of towns like Berhampur, Balasore, Cuttack and Jatni," said Basant Kumar Panigrahi, a senior advocate. "The names of many ancient towns have been changed. So the government should change the spelling of towns in Odisha, including Berhampur," said Pramod Kumar Panda of Utkal Parishad, a socio-cultural organization. "We require some authentic records from the revenue department to plead to change the spelling of the town's name," a senior officer of the postal department said. "We will alter the name of the town after the revenue record is changed," a BSNL official added.

Berhampur born NRI Odissi exponent enthralls audience in Silk city

Shalini Patnaik, a non-resident Indian (NRI) Odissi dancer from California, America, enthralled the audience through her solo Odissi recital in the city on Monday night.

It may be noted that she along with her two other sisters Labani Patnaik and Shibani Patnaik has played a major role in popularizing Odissi in America and other western countries. The dance recital of Ms Shalini was organised at Kavisurya auditorium by Ganjam Kala Parishad and Chatrapur Kala Vikash Kendra. Her dance recital proved that although she lives thousands of kilometres away Odissi has kept her rooted to the culture.

She preferred to stick to chaste form of Odissi during her performance. During Mangalacharan she danced to pay her obeisance to the mother goddess through Durga Stuti. Her next phase of Odissi dance recital ‘Pallavi' was choreographed to the tunes of Raag Kirabani and during ‘Abhinaya' she preferred to dance to the timeless Sanskrit lyrics of Jayadev. Classical vocal artist Rupak Kumar Parida sang in the background during the performance. Bijay Kumar Narik played mardal, Agnimitra Behera violin and Soumyaranjan Joshi played flute.

Ganjam Kala Parishad honoured Shalini. Chatrapur Kala Vikash Kendra honoured the other artists who were part of the performance. Veteran stage craft master Kedar Apta was also honoured.

Source: The Hindu

Nine private agencies submit EoI for IIIT in Odisha; locating it at Berhampur rests on State Govt’s honesty

STPI- Berhampur

The State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik including several of his Ministerial colleagues have expressed their keenness for having the proposed IIIT at Berhampur on multiple occasions. This is mainly because of two reasons. First, Berhampur is still the only measure city in the state without a centrally funded higher education Institution and IIIT can fill the void. Second, other cities of the state like Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur have state funded IIITs and Rourkela has a centrally funded NIT. So, that leaves Berhampur as the only other prominent city which is the most deserving to have this Institute. As the much awaited Institution is on the verge of fruition, now is the test of sincerity of the Government led by Patnaik on whether they keep their promise for a centrally funded Institute at Berhampur or betray the people like their predecessors over the past several decades. Further, the public of Odisha, and Ganjam/Berhampur in particular can’t take the establishment of the Institute for granted. It is also the test of public activism and role of civil society in moulding public opinion and force the Government to implement its promise.

I earnestly appeal all those readers and concerned individuals who feel that the issue is worth fighting for; to voice their demand before the state government for early establishment of IIIT at Berhampur. Following are the emails of the people which you may consider writing to: cmo@ori.nic.in, cmorissa@ori.nic.in, cmo-ps@ori.nic.in, hrm@nic.in, ksibal@sansad.nic.in, kapilsibal@hotmail.com, kapil@kapilsibal.com, d.puran@nic.in, secy.dhe@nic.in, athakur.edu@nic.in, nksinha.edu@nic.in, rpsisodia.edu@nic.in,  csori@ori.nic.in ranjan.khanna@gmail.com, mdeoraoffice@gmail.com, pilotoffice@gmail.com, secretary@mit.gov.in, shankar.aggarwal@mit.gov.in, ajay@mit.gov.in, vbt@mit.gov.in, tsarkar@mit.gov.in, , dstsec@ori.nic.in, itsec@ori.nic.in

Related news from The Telegraph

The state is likely to have its own Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT). This proposed tech institute is among 20 such IIITs that the Centre intends to set up across the country. Official sources said nine private agencies have submitted an expression of interest for the ambitious project that would be undertaken in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. According to the proposal, setting up the institute involves an expenditure of Rs 128 crore of which Rs 54 crore will be provided by the Centre. The state government will invest Rs 45 crore and the remaining amount will be contributed by the private agency that takes up the project. The institute will come up on 50 acres allocated by the state government free of cost. Commissioner-cum-secretary of the state information technology department Pradeep Kumar Jena said the proposal would be sent to the Centre after a private partner for the venture was finalised. “The location (of the institute) will be decided by the private concern,” said Jena. He said the aim of the institute would be to provide state-of-the-art facilities to produce professionals in the field of information technology.

SOSA demands Police Commissionerate system in Greater Berhampur

Dear Chief Minister Sir,

The present state of lawlessness in Berhampur city and its adjoining areas has become a cause for concern. Owing to total lack of alacrity in the police administration here; violence, loot, extortion, murder and gang war have become the order of the day. The Greater Berhampur Region comprising of Berhampur city and its nearby areas of Chatrapur, Gopalpur and Hinjilicut have turned out to be the safe havens for criminals and anti-social elements.  As an upshot of this people here are under panic for the last several months, but the state administration is treating this matter with utter callousness.  The rising crime graph in the City in the last few years under your dispensation not only shows the insensitivity and inability of the State Government in maintaining law and order in this major commercial city but points to the virtual collapse of the state machinery in the entire region of South Odisha.  As the Home Minister of the State the buck stops with you and we demand concrete measures as silence is certainly not the solution.

To deal with the law and order situation in the capital city region, comprising Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, your government created the Commissionerate Police   system there. But in case of Berhampur city, where law and order has completely collapsed the State Government has shown little interest in restoring the rule of law. Berhmapur, being a bordering city of Andhra Pradesh and hence the transit point for the anti-social elements and being surrounded by Maoist infested districts, the need for Commissionerate Police system here cannot be overemphasized. In contrast, the discrimination shown towards the city and the entire region of South Odisha is glaring. To mention just one, the state government has created an IG police range for central Odisha at Cuttack, IG police for Northern range at Sambalpur and IG police for Western range at Rourkela while there is no IG range for the entire region of South Odisha even though the law and order situation here is worse compared to the rest of the state.  

the pioneer

 SOSA demanded establishment of a police commissionerate system at Brahmapur

 The South Odisha Students’ Association (SOSA) demanded establishment of a police commissionerate system at Brahmapur.

In a letter to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the SOSA president Ram Prasad Tripathy said the Greater Brahmapur Region comprising of Brahmapur city and its nearby areas of Chatrapur, Gopalpur and Hinjilicut have turned out to be the safe havens for criminals and anti-social elements. People are in panic for the last several months with a steep rise in the crime graph, but the State administration is treating this matter with utter callousness.
Justifying the reasons for the establishment of the police commissionerate system, the association said Brahmapur is a bordering city of Andhra Pradesh and hence the transit point for the anti-social elements. It is surrounded by Maoist infested districts and so there is a need for restructuring the existing system of policing......................

Ram Prasad Tripathy, president of the South Odisha Students’ Association, has demanded a police commissionerate system for the city and nearby areas of Chatrapur, Gopalpur and Hinjilicut.
“The present lawlessness in Berhampur city and its adjoining areas has become a cause for concern. The region has turned out to be a safe haven for criminals and the state administration is treating this matter with utter callousness,” wrote Tripathy in a letter to chief minister Naveen Patnaik on February 6.
“The state government has created an IG police range for central Odisha at Cuttack, IG police for northern range in Sambalpur and IG police for western range in Rourkela. However, there is no IG range for the entire region of south Odisha even though the law and order situation here is worse compared to the rest of the state,” he said.

High Court Bench demand galvanizes masses in Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

International Finance Corporation team visit waste management project site in Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Gopalpur-Rayagada railway line project getting delayed for want of funds: ECoR GM

       Source: The Sambad

Odisha History Congress held at Berhampur University

Endangered crocodile population increases in Ghodahada near Berhampur

Population of mugger, an endangered species of crocodiles in Ghodahada irrigation reservoir, near Digapahandi located about 50 km from Berhampur city in Ganjam district, increased by 7 in the last two years. The population of mugger which had counted in the 5-sq km water bodies at 41 in 2010, their number went up to 48 at present. The two-day enumeration of the crocodile ended yesterday, where at least 25 forest officials were engaged in the exercise held after two years.

While the enumerators sighted 41 adult (above 4-ft-long) muggers inside the reservoir area, other seven were sighted outside the reservoir, said divisional forest officer, Berhampur A K Jena. With a major chunk of the mugger living in the reservoir, Ghodahada can be considered as another potential habitat for the mugger, the wildlife experts said. Similipal, Satakosia, Ramtirth and Baisipalli in the states have been identified as the habitats of the muggers.

The wildlife lovers however were excited when they found a number of muggers housed in Ghodahada, the reservoir is meant for the irrigation purpose. "Improvement of habitat, including the conservation measures and constant monitoring of their behaviours are some of the reasons for the increase of the population of muggers in the reservoirs," DFO said.

The muggers in the reservoir swim safely as the local fishermen did not harm them, even though they use the water body for the fishing purpose. This despite frequent reports of destruction of the fishing nets by the animal. The forest officials in the area are also creating awareness among the local people for co-existence of men and animals.

A pilot project on "Biodiversity conservation through community based natural resources management" is being implemented in the area with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for providing alternative livelihood support to the people of the area and to protect the biodiversity in the area. The Rs 70 lakh project which started in 2008-09 will end in the month of March next.

Source: Zeenews.com, The Sambad

Players from Andhra Pradesh excel in AITA tennis championship in Berhampur

Players from Andhra Pradesh ruled in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Talent Series 2011 tournament for ‘under 16 years' boys and girls that concluded in the city January 26,2012.

In the girls' singles final Sai Keerhi Behara of Andhra Pradesh beat her compatriot from Andhra Pradesh Likhita Landa in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 to win the championship. In the boys' singles it was again N. Bhupal Raju of Andhra Pradesh was the winner of the final match. He beat M.M.K. Ramineni of Andhra Pradesh in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. The Andhra boys also excelled in the boys' doubles section. The pair from Andhra Pradesh comprising N.Bhupal Raju and Sajid Ur Rehman won the tournament. They beat the doubles team from Odisha of Adarsh Sahoo and Abhilash Ch. Sahoo in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

Participants of this tournament gathered up valuable points for their AITA ranking. Winner of the tournament would get 25 points, runners-up 20 points, semi-finalists are to get 15 points, quarter finalists would have 10 points, pre-quarter finalists will get eight points and the participants who all won first round got four points for their AITA ranking. The closing ceremony was held at Union Club tennis courting the city.

SOSA meets Rlys Minister for Brahmapur station expansion

Demanding better railway infrastructure and connectivity for Brahmapur and South Odisha in the upcoming Railway Budget, South Odisha Students’ Association (SOSA) has submitted a memorandum to Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in New Delhi. The students’ body has urged the Railway Minister to consider the long standing demand for a railway coaching terminal complex at Brahmapur, provision of adequate funds for the modernisation of century-old Brahmapur railway station with additional platforms, widening of the existing platforms, new entry points in place of the goods-shed which was shifted in 2005, adequate passenger amenities besides new long distance trains and expansion of inter-city trains. The association also demanded the early establishment of the proposed wagon manufacturing unit at Sitalapalli near the city and sought approval for new railway lines connecting Brahmapur and Sambalpur via Phulbani and Gopalpur to Rayagada as these railway lines are both economically viable and socially desirable. In their memorandum SOSA said that Brahmapur railway station handles the second highest number of passengers per day after the Bhubaneswar railway station in the State. “However, this railway station has been facing repeated negligence from the East Coast Railway zone authorities and not a single demand of the people has been addressed in the last decade,” said SOSA president RP Tripathy.

Source: The Pioneer

Photo: www.berhampurphoto.blogspot.com

Gana Samaj protests at Berhampur

Source: Orissa Sambad

Tributes to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 115th birth anniversary today

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose visited Berhampur in 1935 during the freedom Movement and addressed a gathering at the historic Barracks ground in the city

SOSA demands better railway infrastructure and connectivity for Berhampur and South Odisha

The South Odisha Students' Association (SOSA) submitted a Memorandum to Central Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi demanding better railway infrastructure and connectivity for south Odisha and improvement of amenities at Brahmapur railway station. The Students’ body urged the Railway Minister to consider the long standing demand for a railway coaching terminal complex at Brahmapur, provision of adequate funds for the modernization of century old Brahmapur railway station with additional platforms, widening of the existing platforms, new entry points in place of the goods-shed which was shifted in 2005, adequate passenger amenities besides new long distance trains to New Delhi, Ahmadabad, Allahabad, Jamshedpur, Jaipur and Inter-city trains to Rourkela, Baripada, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Koraput etc.  The Association also demanded the early establishment of the proposed Wagon manufacturing unit at Sitalapalli near Brahmapur and sought approval for new railway lines connecting Brahmapur and Sambalpur via Phulbani and Gopalpur to Rayagada for these railway lines being both economically viable and socially desirable.  In their memorandum the SOSA members alleged that Berhampur station has till date not received proper attention of railway authorities. Members of this students' organisation urged the Railway Minister to visit Berhampur to take stock of situation and to assess the need of development. It may be noted that Berhampur is third largest city of Odisha and its railway station is more than a century old. According to reports this railway station handles second highest number of passengers in the State. 

Full text of the memorandum: 

Mahanagar mahotsav gets under way

Dance ballets of Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam became highlight of ‘Mahanagar Mahotsav' a cultural festival continuing at Ganjam Kala Parishad in the city. This five-day cultural festival to promote talents of the city would conclude on Friday. Students of ‘Sanskruti Bhavanam', an organisation involved in teaching of Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam enthralled the audience during the festival on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The performers were students of Guru Laxman Das, a major exponent of these two south Indian classical dance formats in south Odisha. “It is my great satisfaction that youngsters of this land of Odishi are also capable of high rated performances of Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam, which hints that traditional dance forms have no boundaries,” Mr. Das said. His students had performed a dance ballet ‘Sita Swayamvaram' in Kuchipudi format on Wednesday evening. Thirteen of his students were part of this performance. The character of Ram was played by A.Silpita while Sita's role was played by S.Nilima. The dancers performed the story from Ramayana to the rhythm and tune of chants in honour of Lord Ram sung by Lata Mangeshkar. This Kuchipuda ballet was more ‘abhinaya'-based. The same troupe performed another ballet based on ‘Draupadi Vastraharan' on Thursday evening. This time they used Bharatnatyam for their recital. The performance started with ‘alaripu' and ‘tillana' and during abhinaya the performers enacted the scene of ‘vastraharan' of Mahabharat.  

Sources: The Hindu, The Telegraph, Orissa Sambad, OrissaBarta

Berhampur Nagarika Manch demands resumption of Industrial Estate railway passenger halt

A citizens' delegation met the General Manager of East Coast Railway in Bhubnaeswar with the demand to reopen the passenger halt in industrial estate area of Berhampur. This delegation was led former Deputy Speaker of State Assembly Ramchandra Panda and included leaders of Silpanchal Passenger Halt Sangarm Samity (SPHSS), an organisation fighting for the demand and Berhampur Nagarika Manch (BNM). During discussion they pointed out that this was a demand of people of Berhampur since last three decades. There have been protest demonstrations and rail-roko for the demand in the past. According to general secretary of SPHSS, Abani Kumar Gaya, passenger halt with the name Lanjipalli Passenger Halt was recorded in the railway timetable in 1946. But for some reason this passenger halt which was near present industrial estate was closed down. With the expansion of the city and rise of population in the area a passenger halt in the area has become an extreme need, Mr Panda said. In November 1998 at a meeting of the railway coordination committee recommendation was made for establishment of a passenger halt in industrial estate area. In 2010, East Coast Railway authorities had agreed in principle to establishment of this halt near industrial estate.  The Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division had also in the past recommended the establishment of this passenger halt. A delegation of railway engineers had also made a spot visit in the past to prepare a feasibility report. But the passenger halt has not materialized yet. During discussion this delegation also demanded better amenities in the DMUs connecting Berhampur with Bhubaneswar. They also wanted the Gunupur-Puri passenger to be made an express train and a new passenger to be started between Palasa and Puri.

Source: The Hindu

Dolphin census conducted at Chilika lake

Berhampur: Annual dolphin census was conducted in Chilika Lake by Chilika Development Authority (CDA) on January 17, 2012. It may be noted that the Chilika Lake in Odisha, which spreads in three districts, Ganjam, Khurda and Puri and covers 1,100 square km is one of the largest salt-water lakes in the country and Asia.

It is home to numerous species of fishes, birds including the Siberian Duck and Ibis and endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. These friendly Oceanic Dolphins who get their name from Myanmar's most important river, are found mainly in and around the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia. The local fisherman in Ganjam and Puri consider them lucky and it was believed that they drive fish towards their nets.

The Executive director of CDA, Ajit Patnaik said 18 teams were involved in this census. According to last year's dolphin census there were 156 Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake.

Source: The Hindu 

Telugus bring Pongal flavour to Silk city Berhampur

The sizeable Telugu population in the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border city of Berhampur commenced their own brand of Sankranti celebrations from January 14 with spectacular rangolis, crackling bonfires and colorful cultural shows.

The first day of the festival was celebrated as 'Bhogi', while the second day was celebrated as Pongal, known as Makar Sankranti in most other parts of the state and the country.

At several places of the city, Odia people joined their Telugu counterparts in the celebrations. "It is the biggest annual festival of the Telugu people and they celebrate it across the country," said S Ram Kumar, president of Andhra Bhashabhivardhani Samajam (ABS).

Telugu dominated villages in and around the silk city Berhampur like Goplapur, Chhatrapur and Chikiti in Ganjam district also celebrated the harvest festival as Pongal.

Girls from the community in Berhampur decorated their houses with colourful rangolis and staged cultural shows in the evening at the Sankranti Sambaraalu (Pongal celebration) event organized by the ABS. "We celebrated this festival in an organized way for the first time here," said P Satyanarayana, convener of the festival. People donned new attire and greeted each other on the occasion. The delicious 'Pongali', prepared with newly harvested rice, dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar and milk, capped Pongal on a sweet note.

The next day was celebrated as 'Kanuma', the last day of the festivities, especially marked by washing cattle and cleaning cattle sheds. "Since very few Telugu people have cattle, Kanuma is rather low key here," said A Srinibash Rao, a youth from the community

Source: The Hindu   

Air Defence firepower on display at Gopalpur

BERHAMPUR: A firepower demonstration was conducted by the Army Air Defence College at Golabandha recently. It was a show of air defence capabilities of the Indian Army for dignitaries. Many from the Army Air Defence fraternity were present. Air Vice Marshal Ramesh Rai, Vayu Medal Chief Instructor (Air), Commodore Lalit Bhatnagar besides 250 student officers of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and 10 officers from friendly foreign countries, witnessed the exercise on the Golabandha shore. The missile systems that were fired included the OSA-AK weapon system on pilotless Target Aircraft (Lakshya), Strela 10M missile Igla-IM shoulder fired missile. The visiting officers were also taken around the military station and shown various state-of-the-art training facilities and infrastructure available at Army Air Defence College. They were accompanied by Lt General Vijay Kumar Saxena, Vishisht Seva Medal, Commandant of Army Air Defence College. The complex is spread over 2,700 acres.

Source: The Telegraph, IBN Live

Berhampur News

Source: Pragativadi

Union Govt approves creation of National Land Records Centre at Berhampur

The government of India has approved creation of three National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) centres at Salboni in West Bengal, union territory of Puducherry and at Berhampur, Odisha.

The government has sanctioned 196 lakh rupees for each of the centres during the financial year 2011-12. The centres shall be made operational within a period of one year from the date of sanction.

NLRMP has been conceptualized as a major system and reform initiative which is not just concerned with computerization, updating and maintenance of land records and validation of titles, but also as a programme that will add value and provide a comprehensive database for planning developmental, regulatory and disaster management activities by providing location-specific information, while providing citizen services based on land records data.

The activities to be supported under the programme includes- survey/resurvey using modern technology including aerial photogrammetry, updating of land records including mutation records, completion of computerization of the records of rights (RoRs), computerization of registration, automatic generation of mutation notices, digitization of maps , integration of the entire system digitization of maps and training and capacity building of the concerned officials and functionaries.

In 2008, the cabinet had approved the proposal of the Department of Land Resources , Ministry of Rural Development to merge the two existing centrally-sponsored schemes of Computerization of Land Records (CLR) and Strengthening of Revenue Administration & Updating of Land Records (SRA&ULR) and to replace them with a modified centrally-sponsored scheme in the shape of the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP), with the goal of ushering in the system of conclusive titles with title guarantee in the country.

Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Paradip Port plans to develop cargo-handling facility at Bahuda near Berhampur city

KOLKATA: The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) is planning to develop an additional cargo-handling facility at a location far away from Paradip. “We would like to have a satellite port at Bahuda near Berhampur city in Ganjam district of Odisha,” Mr G. J. Rao, Chairman, PPT, told Business Line. “We've approached the State government for land and waterfront” About 2,500 acres belonging to the State government is already available in the area and PPT has asked for that land. The Government response is awaited.

DETAILED REPORT SOON

Source: Dharitri

When ready for operation, the proposed satellite port, with a capacity of 20 million tonnes (mt), would handle mainly bulk cargoes, Mr Rao said, adding “we will start work on preparation of a detailed project report as soon as the State government gives the clearance”. The cost of the project would be clear once the detailed report is ready.

“By current estimates, the initial investment for constructing two to three berths should be around Rs 2,500 crore, but then it is too early to comment firmly in this regard,” he added.

GOLDEN JUBILEE

Meanwhile, PPT is getting ready for the golden jubilee celebration to be held at Paradip.

The foundation stone for the port was laid by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on January 3, 1962. The first berth, an iron ore berth, was commissioned in 1966. Currently, the port has 14 berths and a single point mooring with the total capacity of 70 mt and the traffic throughput is around 55/56 mt annually.

MAJOR PLANS

The port authorities, according to the Chairman, have ambitious expansion plans to augment the capacity to 250 mt with 28 berths by 2020. The estimated investment could be around Rs 10,000 crore or so.

The Union Shipping Minister, Mr G. K. Vasan, the Minister of State for Programme Implementation and Statistics, Mr Sri Kant Jena, the Odisha Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, the Shipping Secretary, Mr K. Mohandas, the chairmen of all major ports (except Kochi port) and half a dozen former Chairmen of Paradip port, among others, will attend the celebration.

Source: The Business Line 

National seminar on ‘Ecotoxicology and Human Health' held in Berhampur University

Toxins have become a major threat to human health, say experts

Toxins also affect reproductive, nervous and cardiovascular systems of humans

Toxins also affect seed germination and growth in plants

200 delegates from different universities participated in this seminar

Rising toxicity in environment has started to become a major threat to human health, opined experts at a national seminar on ‘Ecotoxicology and human health' being held in the Berhampur University, Odisha. This two-day seminar being organised by the Department of Zoology of the university in collaboration with its Botany Department was inaugurated on Sunday. Inaugural session of the seminar was presided by Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University, Jayant Kumar Mohapatra. The VC of Bikrama Singhapuri University, Nellore G.Rami Reddy was the chief guest.

The Indian Society of Biotechnology & Pharmacy conferred a Fellowship to Prof. N.K. Tripathy for his contributions to Science during this seminar. Around 200 delegates from different universities of the country are participating in this seminar.

Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary discipline that studies effect of toxic chemicals in the environment on flora and fauna including human populace. It can be said to be integration of ecology and toxicology.

During the seminar there was discussion on different types of toxic materials whose stresses are on the rise in the environment. These toxic materials include polycholorinated biphenyls found mostly in coolants, pesticides, volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde, asbestos, heavy metals including arsenic, mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium as well as commonly found chlorine.

Experts said these toxins have become part of food chain and through it they are affecting the human populace.

People who are in continuous contact with these environmental toxins are also at risk of genetic abnormalities. These toxins also affect reproductive, nervous and cardiovascular systems of humans. These toxins also affect seed germination and growth in plants. As plants are the primary producers in any food chain in this world these changes have their long term effect on the human race.

They advocated for regular ecotoxicity tests in all areas and strict measures to check the rise of this menace which would prove lethal for the human life in long run.

Source: The Hindu 

Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) to develop Gopalpur port with 60% stake in SPV

The Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) has replaced the New Delhi-based Sara International Limited (SIL) after its withdrawal from the consortium constituted to set up an all-weather private port at Gopalpur near Berhampur city in Odisha’s Ganjam district. SIL held 50 percent stake in Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) developing the port project, with rest 50 per cent vested with Orissa Stevedores Ltd (OSL).In the restructured SPV, Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) will hold 60 percent stake with OSL’s holding coming down to 40 per cent. JSPL, which is setting up a six million tonne steel plant near Angul, had earlier proposed to set up a captive port at Bahuda Muhan, also in Ganjam district, on its own at a capital cost of Rs 1424.4 crore. The operational cost of running the port would be to the tune of Rs 152 crore per annum. With this development, two of the original promoters of Gopalpur port have quit the consortium in last one and half years. Earlier, Hong Kong-based Noble group had withdrawn from the SPV in May, 2010. The Orissa government had awarded the job of developing the existing minor port at Gopalpur into an all-weather non-major port to GPL, a consortium of three companies- OSL, SIL and Noble group on BOOST basis in 2008.

“We have already apprised the Orissa government about the new Development (exit of SIL)", said Manmohan Moharana one of the directors of GPL. “With the entry of JSPL, we expected the work on the port project would be expedited", he added. JSPL which has several steel and power projects in Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and other states has captive cargo of around 20 million tonnes per annum. “The captive cargo of JSPL will be the guaranteed cargo for the Gopalpur port to handle, when it is developed as an all-weather port", he added. The operation of the existing minor port at Gopalpur has been stalled for last two years to facilitate construction work.

However, construction work could take off only last month due to delay in obtaining environment clearance from the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF). The company authorities expect to start handling cargo in the next year, Moharana said. GPL, the second biggest non-major port investor in the state after Dhamara Ports Company Ltd (DPCL), has invested Rs 421.09 crore during 2007-08 to September-end of 2011-12. GPL has invested Rs 51.09 crore in 2007-08, Rs 30 crore in 2008-09, Rs 50 crore in 2009-10, Rs 40 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 250 crore in this fiscal (till September-end).

Source: Business Standard

Berhampur University holds 46th foundation day

The Berhampur University held its 46th foundation day on 2^nd January 2012 in its Bhanja Bihar campus near Berhampur city. The university’s focus for the next academic year would be provision of required infrastructure such as classrooms and hostel facilities along with inclusion of new subjects into the curriculum, said the speakers on the occasion. Social worker Padmashree Tulasi Munda and distinguished orator professor Rajat Kumar Kar were honoured for their contribution to education and development. Berhampur MLA RCC Patnaik and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi felicitated Munda and Kar. A new website buodisha.bu.co.in was launched by the Vice-Chancellor of the university professor Jayanta Kumar Mahapatra. Presiding over the function Mahapatra said, “Although the university has been facilitating teaching, research and extension for years, new subjects that can generate a source of income will be included in the study curriculum from the current year.” Students and scholars from the university and various affiliating colleges were presented with medals and certificates for their performances in various examinations. Besides this, a laboratory journal ‘Bhanja Bihar Reporter’ of the Postgraduation department of Journalism and Mass Communication was released on the occasion.

Source: The Pioneer

'Winterfest-2012' kicks off at Berhampur University

The Berhampur University campus was abuzz with activities on the occasion of the 3-day winter festival ‘Winterfest 2012’ that began last week. Participants from colleges of different parts of the State have reached the Berhampur University campus to participate in the cultural fest. More than 500 students from six universities and 200 colleges participated in various activities held at the university campus.  A colourful musical rally by the participants and students on Thursday marked the beginning of the ‘Winterfest' on the Berhampur University campus. The festival brought to the fore a large number of young talents in events such as quiz competition, debate, dance and music. A colourful cultural rally by the participants on Thursday marked the beginning of the festival. At Bhanja Mandap, an open air stage, the cultural fest was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of the university professor Jayanta Kumar Mahapatra. The festival is being organised by the students’ union of the university with the support of the district administration.

Source: The Pioneer, The Hindu

Central ICU for MKCG Medical College at Berhampur

A central intensive care unit (ICU) will be set up in MKCG Hospital in Berhampur which was announced by the health minister Prasanna Acharya in the recently concluded Assembly Session in December. Responding to MLAs' concern over lack of critical care facilities in state-run hospitals, the minister said the government will also upgrade the ICU at Capital Hospital in city. Raising the issue of poor critical care facilities, some lawmakers had pointed out that even the medical colleges lacked ICUs. The members also said that ventilators and other life saving equipment were lying defunct in government hospitals. The minister said since ICU in private sector is far costlier compared to the government facilities, people were dependent more on the government facilities. Keeping this in mind, the government is trying to create more ICUs, he added.

MKCG ailing on many fronts

It is the premier medical in south Odisha. People of 10 districts depend on this as their referral hospital. One of the oldest and well-known in the State, the Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital (MKCG) itself is gasping for breath.

Forget about treatment, the institution which produces doctors has not enough teaching staff and looks for periodic deputations. This has defeated the very mission of institution to cater to the needs of patients in rural areas.

MKCG-MCH, it is said, has not yet been able to meet the criteria fixed by the Medical Council of India (MCI) that includes new rooms and faculties.

Sources said, every year during the MCI team visit, some window-dressing is done. The Health Directorate has initiated some construction work and also ensures presence of doctors on deputation during the visit. Once the visit is over, everything is back to square one. Many important machines and equipment have been kept unused for months together. Some machines gather dust just because there are no adequate staff.

Teaching in the college has remained anything but encouraging. MKCG has 33 departments __ 11 super speciality departments with sanctioned 36 professor, 75 Associate Professor, 111 Assistant Professor and 117 tutor posts. According to official records, the vacancy list includes 10 professor, 24 Associate Professor, 50 Assistant Professor and 61 Tutor posts.

Even two of the super speciality departments like Nephrology, CT and Surgery have contractual faculties. The irony is that Prof Sonamali Bag wears many hats. He is the dean and principal, hospital superintendent as well as head of the Nephrology Department.

The Health Directorate turned a blind eye on the vacancies __ a must for treatment and medical education __ but it has created new posts for the hospital.

Earlier, the hospital was managed by the superintendent with an administrative officer, finance officer and nodal officer. Now, while the superintendent charge has been entrusted to the principal, it does not have an administrative officer. Only recently, two persons were appointed as senior hospital administrator and hospital manager.

Sources: Times of India, IBN Live