Comprehensive Development Plan for Berhampur on the anvil

Berhampur Municipal Corporation will soon have its own master plan after a gap of four decades. The Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO) under Union Urban Development Ministry is preparing a comprehensive development plan (CDP) for the proposed ‘Greater Berhampur’ mooted by Orissa government which is likely to be ready in next few months. The CDP for Greater Berhampur would comprise a total area of 317 square km which is expected to have a population of close to one million. The present CDP is being prepared keeping in view the development of greater Berhampur till the year 2031. The area under greater Berhampur will include the urban centres of Berhampur, Gopalpur and Chatrapur and some adjoining villages between them.

Source: Dharitri, BMC, Urban Orissa

Autos to hit newer areas in Berhampur soon

BERHAMPUR: The residents of Berhampur will soon get to enjoy autorickshaw services that will be introduced in select routes across the city. The Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) has conducted a survey and identified eight routes for the plying of autorickshaws. “The BDA is very much interested to implement the scheme. Though no specific date has been finalised to launch the scheme, we are planning to convene a meeting with the office bearers of the autorickshaw drivers/owners association soon,” said BDA secretary Sangram Sekhar Panda.“The BDA would provide parking slots for these autorickshaws at New Bus Stand, Old Bus Stand and other important places. No unlicensed autorickshaws would be allowed,” said Panda. The routes identified for the auto service are Railway Station to New Bus Stand via Kamapalli, Aska Road First Gate to New Bus Stand via Gate Bazar, Railway Station to New Mango Market via Bijipur Tank Road-Gandhi Nagar-Sub Registrar Office-Prem Nagar and Andhapasara Road, Railway Station to Sub Registrar Office via Khaspa Sahi and Haradakhandi, Aska Road First Gate to Courtpeta Junction via Big Bazar-Sana Bazar-Corporation Road-Gate Bazar Junction-City Hospital Road-Utkal Ashram Road-Tata Benz Square-Kamapalli and Courtpeta, Amabapua to New Bus Stand via Courtpeta, Luchapada to Haladiapadar via Gate Bazar Junction-City Hospital Road-Bijipur Tank Road-Gosaninuagaon and Haldiapadar, Courtpeta Junction to Engineering School Square via Kamapalli-Railway Over Bridge-Jail Road-Lanjipalli main road-Industrial Estate and Engineering School Square, according to BDA sources. At present, about 400 autorickshaws are plying in the city out of which 100 autos will be a part of the regulated auto service plan. These autos would be painted in a different colour to have a distinct look. They would run from 5.30am to 1.30 pm and again 2pm to 10pm, BDA sources said. The minimum fare would be Rs 5 and the maximum Rs 15. The name of the routes and the numbers of the autorickshaws would be displayed in hoardings at different places along the eight routes. The auto service in the city at present is not organised. The operators of autorickshaws that run on petrol have organised themselves and formed Berhampur Auto Tempo Chalaka Sangha (BATCS). They park at old bus stand, near the new bus stand and near the railway station.

Source: The Telegraph

Ganjam folk culture at its festive best

Blowing conch shells, 20 folk dancers from Ganjam took part in CWG opening ceremony and won distant hearts

BERHAMPUR: Folk art is on a roll. With cultural festivals being staged all over the state, the spotlight is back on folk artistes. The most sought dance in almost all the festivals is jodi sankh dhwani (twin conch blowing) from Ganjam district. Since blowing of the conch is auspicious at the beginning of any event, all festival committees are inviting conch blowers from Ganjam. Blowing of ‘jodi sankha’ was very much a part of the ‘Rhythm of India’ part of the Common Wealth Games opening ceremony. Besides blowing the twin conch, the blowers, attired in saffron, dance to the rhythm of changu and mahuri. There are around 200 groups comprising more than 1,500 conch blowers. They are also invited to festivals outside the state. "After staging our dances at Keonjhar Mahostav, which kicked off on Tuesday, we will be heading for Delhi on Thursday to participate in another festival," said Tulu Raula of Gayatri Jugala Sankh Dhwani of Tanganapalli village. Besides conch blowing, a dozen-member group from Tanganapalli will stage ranapa, chadeya and dandia, other popular folk dances from Ganjam, at the Mayurbhanj Mahotsav. Members of Subhashree Folk Dance Kala Kendra, Narendrapur, who performed at Paraba, the annual cultural festival of Koraput on Monday, is preparing to go to Delhi to participate at the trade fair in the first week of next month. Apart from Parab, the troupe also showcased its artistry at the Puri Beach Festival, Bargarh Dhanu Yatra, Bolgarh Festival in Nayagarh, Nirakarapur Utsav in the last one month, said its leader Rajendra Patra. Patra, who started his career in folk dance at the age of nine, has performed in eight countries. He has visited Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Dubai in 1995 and in 2000 he went to Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. “I was very fortunate to have been a part of Bhagaban Sahu’s group for 25 years,” said Patra, who formed his own troupe five years after the death of Bhagaban Sahu. “The activities of the folk artistes in Narendrapur attracted me towards this form of art since my childhood,” said Patra, who is a graduate.Source: Times of India & The Telegraph

‘Mahanagar Mahotsav' comes to an end

BERHAMPUR: The week long ‘Mahanagar Mahotsav' concluded in the city with a record 400 artistes from 11 organisations taking part in the cultural programme on the last day. This cultural festival was held at the Khallikote autonomous college stadium to promote local cultural talents. It also included a trade fair. On the concluding evening a seminar was held on the topic ‘need for the formation of a special south Orissa development council'. The speakers of this seminar advocated the need for unity among the people and organisations of south Orissa. “Without this unity the voice of south Orissa is not being heard by the government machinery”, they alleged. A long cultural show that continued till night started after the seminar. A large crowd had gathered to enjoy the performances by local artists. There were many budding artists who performed on stage for the first time in their life. Troupes from cultural organisations of the city like Anwesha, Murchhna, Jhumar, Jatiya Sangeet Kala Kendra, Pranaya Dance group etc enthralled the audience. Magician S.Kumar provided a different flavour to the show with his mind boggling tricks on stage. The artists were overjoyed with the response of the audience. Local artists of Greater Berhampur, which includes the Silk City, Gopalpur and Chatrapur, excelled in the Mahanagar Mahotsav, which was held on the Khallikote College ground here for the first time. “Though the recently concluded Gopalpur Beach Festival and the Ganjam Mahotsav at Berhampur gave ample chance to artistes from across the state and beyond to showcase their talents, many budding local artistes are still deprived of a platform to display their skills. Our sole aim is to highlight these local artists,” said Gopal Patnaik, secretary of Mahanagar Mahotsav Organising Committee.

Apart from cultural programmes, the organisers held discussions on separate topic concerning local issues on each day. The topics discussed on various days included “A review on the formation of Greater Berhampur”, “The possibilities of the development of tourism sector and preservation of the culture in Ganjam”, “Development of mass education system”, “The expansion of the geographical limits of Berhampur Municipal Corporation and the health services”, “Necessity of a third drinking water project for Berhampur” and “Necessity of Southern Development Council”. The organisers also gave “Bhanja Yuva Samman” to the dancing star Hari Har Das of Berhampur. Ganjam zilla parishad chairman Kamraju Sethi declared that Mahanagar Mahotsav would be organised on January 12, 2012 at the same venue. “We are overwhelmed with the support of the people as well as the local artists,” he said. As Hari Har was unable to present here to receive the award in person he would be awarded the prize later in a convenient date and venue, said the organisers. Such award would be awarded every year to an outstanding youth of the region who has glorified the name of this region in national and international arena. 

Sources: The Hindu, The Telegraph

The Dancing Engineer from Berhampur

Following essay published in the OPEN Magazine (03 January issue) & authored By Sohini Chattopadhyay

A self-taught dancer, Harihar Dash is the boy you can’t take your eyes off in a jazzy new TV commercial. Open traces the unreal career graph of the engineer from Berhampur.

Even if you mute AR Rahman’s funk, it is difficult to peel your eyes off the boy in the green shirt. Indeed, you marvel at the pretty young girl’s resolve as she turns away, sadly it has to be said, from that boy with the liquid moves in the new commercial for a telecom service. Such is the spell cast by 25-year-old Harihar Dash, an electronics and telecommunications engineer from the town of Berhampur in Orissa, who has never had a dance lesson in his life. This might well be the unreal life graph of many a reality show contestant in India, from unnoticed-gawky-talentedness to YouTube stardom, but almost none of these shooting stars has made it in the obvious, splashy, impossible-to-ignore way that Dash has.

It all started, as many of these crazy stories do, with a man called Michael Jackson. “Smooth Criminal, I love that song,” says Dash, in confident English that takes me by surprise. Berhampur or not, he could be the fuzzy-haired, capri-clad, indisputably cool boy who lives above my South Delhi apartment. “I started dancing to Smooth Criminal in front of my mirror after my matriculation exams. I love Michael, I like Black and White (sic) too, but Smooth Criminal is my favourite dance number,” he says. “I would dance by myself in front of the mirror. There were no dance schools in Orissa, there still aren’t any probably. And my parents would never pay for dance class.” Dash kept dancing, though, graduating from Michael Jackson to what he calls ‘popping and locking’. “I was crazy for popping and locking,” he says. What’s that, I ask. “They are hip-hop and street dancing moves,” he explains happily, as if I were a particularly attentive student. “I read up a lot on the internet and learnt that popping originated in the 1970s from a man called Sam Soloman who founded a band called the Electric Boogaloos.” In the absence of formal training, Google and YouTube became his gurus. “I saw some Japanese poppers on YouTube. They were awesome. This is a form of dance called animation popping. I watched and downloaded loads of videos, started practising, and realised that I could actually do this stuff.”

Dash’s parents, though, were not impressed. “They wanted me to be a doctor or engineer. I too thought dancing was only a hobby and I’ve always been a serious student. I sat for all the entrance tests, got through and enrolled for a BTech in electronics and telecom at the Biju Patnaik University of Technology,” he says. “I never bunked class,” he adds earnestly, “I worked hard on my studies. I was quite good, actually, and I enjoyed my course. At the time, I thought I would graduate and get a job like my parents expected me to. I danced at college functions. I represented my college at inter-college meets. And for three years in a row, I was university champ. There are more than 80 colleges in the university, so that got me thinking: maybe I could think of doing something with my dance. Some of my friends said I should try out for the reality shows.”

His parents wouldn’t hear of it, though. “They have never supported my dancing,” he says drily, “and they were dead against the idea. Finally, I cut a deal with them. I would try the reality shows for a year and if it didn’t work out, I would get a job. I had to convince them but they agreed.”

“First, I tried out for Dance Premier League on Sony TV. I made it to the east zone final. Next was Dance India Dance, where I was in the top 57. These shows were a good platform but I didn’t make it to the final stages where you really get personal attention from the choreographers and get noticed by the judges. My year was almost up and my parents were asking me to look for a job. Then came the audition call for India’s Got Talent,” he says dramatically.

This, clearly, was the big one. Log on to YouTube, and a search for Harihar Dash will throw up over 200 results. Most of these videos are from his performances on the reality show India’s Got Talent and have registered thousands of ‘views’. “I had been working on my moves when the call came, and by then I had added a crucial element to my dance: Bollywood tadka. I did my popping and locking to the song Mar Jawaan from Fashion, and one-and-a-half-months passed in a blur. I made it to the finals and stood fifth out of nine contestants.” “Before I entered India’s Got Talent, I had five friends on Facebook. Now, I have had to open another account because you can’t have more than 5,000 friends on Facebook. Once, I didn’t check my mail for five days and I had 977 friend requests pending,” he chuckles unselfconsciously.

It was the YouTube videos that got Dash noticed. Adrian Miller, chief creative officer of J Walter Thomson, New Delhi, who made the ad, says, “We knew we wanted a performer for the role, but we weren’t sure what type. We scoured YouTube looking for the right person and we found Dash dancing in India’s Got Talent.” Airtel’s CEO Sanjay Kapoor too noticed Dash on YouTube. “One day, I got a call from a girl from JWT in Delhi who said they wanted me to shoot for an Airtel ad. I had no idea what JWT was, so I looked it up on the internet. I saw their website and realised how big they were. I called back and said yes immediately,” he recounts. “The shot was scheduled for Prague. But I didn’t have a passport and I needed one in two weeks. It was the time of pujas, and all government officials were on leave except the Berhampur SP. I pleaded with him so much that he asked me whether I was a terrorist. But he gave in finally.”

As it happened, Dash actually danced to no music at all. Rahman’s tune was not ready, and bizarre as it sounds, Dash performed in the middle of the street to the music playing in his own head. He was instructed to do a mix of popping and ballet. And he did. “We shot for two days. The wake-up call was for 5:30 am and it was freezing. My costume was just a pair of jeans and a thin green jacket. But when I started dancing, I somehow forgot the cold. But after one day, I asked them to please play some music. Even slow music would do, but it is funny to dance like that, nah?”

Airtel confirms that Dash is the sole Indian to be featured in its rebranding campaign, besides the work of AR Rahman, that is. Dash himself realised this only after he came back and Airtel held a press conference to unveil its new ad splash. “It is big, no?” he asks.

Now, this boy who never attended a dance class in his life is holding a dance workshop, which has had so many people signing up that he’s having to plan another one to accommodate them. And for that, he’s acquired a personal assistant.

Colourful Pongal in Berhampur and south Orissa

BERHAMPUR: Colourful rangoli, traditional bonfire and cultural shows marked the three-day Pongal festival, known as the mother of festivals by Telugu community in Silk City and across south Orissa. The first day of the festival was celebrated as Bhogi. With a sizeable Telugu population in this Orissa-Andhra border city, the festival is celebrated with pomp and gaiety. In some places, Oriyas also joined Telugus to celebrate the festival. "It's is the biggest annual festival of Telugu people and they celebrate it across the country in association with others," said V Satya Narayana. Besides Berhampur, Telugu dominated villages in and around Goplapur, Chhatrapur and Chikiti in Ganjam district celebrate the festival with their counterpart Oriyas. On the eve of Pongal, second day of the three-day festival, people in different localities lit traditional bonfire to mark the Bhogi. Telugu girls decorated their houses with colourful rangolis and staged the cultural shows. Several girls staged Dandia dance at Military Lines in the City in the morning of Bhogi. The girls of different ages staged the Gujarati dance. "We perform Dandia because of we believe Lord Krishnaand Radha like this dance much," said one of the performers. Bhogi is also marked the closing ceremony of Gobbi, amonth-long ritual celebrated by the female folks. Clad in new dresses, Telugus of all age groups greeted each other. They would distribute "pongal" - food prepared with the newly harvested rice, dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar and milk on pongal day.
Sources: PTI, OrissaBarta

Mahanagar Mahotsab gets under way

BERHAMPUR: Mahanagar Mahotsab, a cultural festival along with a trade fair, was inaugurated in the city on Wednesday evening. Local artistes of ‘Greater Berhampur’ — comprising the Silk City, Gopalpur and Chatrapur enthralled the audience at the Mahanagar Mahotsav — which was organised in the city for the first time. The week-long festival, being held at the Khallikote stadium is aimed at promoting cultural talents of the city and providing platform for local trading community to showcase their products. But, for a large section of the crowd, who are reaching out to enjoy the festival, it is an entertaining way to spend chilled winter evenings. Variety of stalls of eateries and fast food are also attracting children as well as elders. Every evening of the festival is scheduled to start with intellectual seminar on culture, heritage and burning issues of the Greater Berhampur region. The organisers said that those who performed at the Mahanagar Mahotsav did not get a chance to show their talents at the recent Gopalpur Beach Festival or the Ganjam Mahotsav in Berhampur.

“The recently concluded Gopalpur Beach Festival and the Ganjam Mahotsav showcased art and artistes from different districts and states. But still many budding local artistes could not get a chance. They feel neglected and need a platform to showcase their talents,” said president of the Mahanagar Mahotsav Organising Committee Sudhanshu Sekhar Panda. After clamouring for several years, the people of the region the state government granted municipal corporation status to Berhampur. Except for the change in its nomenclature, there is no other impressive change visible in the structure, said Panda. “Organising Mahanagar Mahotsav at this critical juncture is a step forward to highlight the formation of Greater Berhampur,” he said.“Apart from cultural programmes, we have decided to organise discussion on separate topics concerning local issues on each day to give a regional touch to the festival and remind others to stress on formation of a Greater Berhampur,” said secretary of Mahotsav Organising Committee Gopal Patnaik. The topics to be discussed include review on the formation of Greater Berhampur, potential for development of tourism sector and preservation of local culture, development of mass education system, expansion of the geographical limits of Berhampur Municipal Corporation and the health services, necessity of a third drinking water project for Berhampur and necessity of Southern Development Council. The organisers have also decided to present ‘Bhanja Yuva Samman’ award every year to an outstanding youth of the region who has glorified the name of this region in national and international arena.

Sources: The Hindu, The Telegraph

Berhampur places: Bhanjanagar

Sources: Dharitri, The Samaja, OrissaLinks

Grand temple of Maa Tara Tarini getting ready for inauguration

Traditional ritualistic inaugural ceremony of the grand new temple dedicated to Goddesses Tara Tarini will be held from March 03-09, 2011. This was decided at a general body meeting of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) which was chaired by the State Law and Rural Development Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh. The new temple on the hilltop was built as part of the measures initiated to transform the hill shrine into a major tourist destination of Orissa. The new temple is unique as it is a modern temple completely built adhering to the tenets of ancient Orissan temple architecture. It is a ‘Rekha' style temple and bears intricate carvings. Sculptor Padmavibhusan Raghunath Mohapatra was the master architect of this modern temple built up in ancient form. Its major building material was sandstone which was abundantly used in the ancient temples of Orissa. Construction of the temple started in 2003. According to TTDB secretary Pramod Panda, the finishing work of the construction is on and within next one-and-half months total construction work of the temple will be completed. The new temple has replaced the old temple of colonial era at the hill shrine. The new Rekha style temple at the hill shrine has an elevation of about 68 ft. above the hilltop. So, it is easily visible from places within a radius of 10 km from the shrine. The sandstone slabs used for the construction of the temple were procured from Ganjam and Nayagarh districts. Like the traditional temples, large black granite slabs were used as lintels for the new temple. These black granite slabs were procured from Buguda region of Ganjam district.

TTDB secretary Pramod Panda further said that the work on the new ghat road to the hill top, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 5 crores by the Rural Development Department is also scheduled to be completed by the end of February, 2011. Another ring road being constructed around the Tara Tarini hill is also to be completed by the time.

Source: The Hindu

Curtains down on Ganjam Mahotsav

BERHAMPUR: Curtains came down on Ganjam Mahotsav on Sunday evening with a Daskathia performance by Ramahari Padhi and his assistant from Haladiapadar, and Bharatlila by Santosh Padhi and group from Mahanala. Daskathia, a popular form of art in Ganjam, is performed by two people. One is the chief singer and the other is a ‘palia’ who helps the singer in singing and acting. Bharatlila is a type of folk dance performed in Ganjam. It is based on an episode called Subhadra Parinaya (marriage of Subhadra), which is borrowed from the Mahabharata. It depicts how Lord Krishna plays the role of a mediator between Arjun and Subhadra.Ramhari Padhi, who performed Daskathia, is a 76-year-old man. He has been practicing this art form for 61 years. “I started performing Daskathia in 1954-55. Then I was around 15. I used to get 50 paise to perform in a show,” Ramhari said. Former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Rajya Sabha member Ramchandra Khuntia, deputy general manager of Sambad Berhampur edition Prasad Rao stressed on the need to enlist Ganjam Mahotsav in the calendar of the culture department. All the speakers said though the Mahotsav is a crowd puller, it was organised every year without any government assistance. Earlier, on the fifth day, a dance celebrating the Kothisala festival by artiste Simanchal and group reminded the people of a rich tradition of Ganjam. The artistes from local Sanskruti Bhabanam performed Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam. The other items included bhajans by the artistes from Gandharva Kala Niketan, classical songs by the artistes from Kala Bikas Kendra of Chhatrapur, folk dance by Nrutyam of Berhampur, Binakar dance by Bichitra Barnali Natya Sansad of Digapahandi, modern dance by Dance Track and Dance Attack of Berhampur. Artistes from Natraj Kala Mandir of Phulbani performed Odissi and folk dance and the artistes from Pipili also performed Gotipua dance. Sarat Kumar Patnaik, principal of Uma Charan Patnaik Engineering School, demanded that the Industrial Training Institute, Berhampur be named after Kavi Samrat Upendra Bhanja. Patnaik also suggested that the local Women’s Polytechnic College be named after Kavi Surya Baladev Rath to remind the younger generations of the legacy of Oriya literature and culture. He also proposed to set up a music college in Berhampur. Shyantanu Rath, director of All India Radio, Cuttack, who was posted in Berhampur for several years, said that Ganjam district had been able to retain its separate identity through its literature, art and culture.

Source: The Telegraph

Army displays fire power at Gopalpur

BERHAMPUR: The Indian Army gave a demonstration of fire power at the Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur today. It was a show of air defence capabilities of the Indian Army for visitors from Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. “The visitors included air vice marshal Ramesh Rai, chief instructor (Air), Brigadier Rajbir Singh, senior instructor (Army) and Commodore Lalit Bhatnagar, and senior instructor (Navy) of the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College. A total of 222 student officers, including 17 from 15 friendly foreign countries, witnessed the demonstration,” said Major Joginder Singh, general staff officer-2. The visiting officers were also taken around the military station and shown various state-of-the-art training facilities and infrastructure available at the college. Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh, commandant of the Army AD College, was the chief host. The fire power included firing of three types of missile, including OSA- AK weapon system on pilotless target aircraft Lakshya, and para barrels dropped from AN-32 aircraft from an altitude of 5,000 metre. Major Manish Saigal of the Infantry Army, who is on a visit to the Army Air Defence College, said: “I think it is a very good opportunity for all the three services that the Army AD College has been able to showcase all its might.” “The fire power demonstration was very interesting,” Saigal added. Commodore Das of the submarine wing of the Indian Navy said: “The fire power demonstration has made us happy that the nation is in safe hands. It was a wonderful display of the air defence capabilities of the Indian Army.” Army Air Defence College, a prestigious training institution of Army Air Defence, is located near the Bay of Bengal. The sprawling campus has state-of-the-art training infrastructure and facilities ably managed by a team of instructors. In addition to army, personnel of the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and students from friendly foreign defence forces also undergo various courses at the college.

Source: The Telegraph

Ganjam Mahotsav enthralls audience

BERHAMPUR: The second day of Ganjam Mahotsav kicked off with the performance of Harihar Das from Berhampur, who reached the finals of the India’s Got Talent Khoj-2 on Colors TV. “Although his dance was not in the programme schedule, he performed instantly on the request of the audience after Harihar was felicitated by the organising committee of the Ganjam Mahotsav. He danced to the tune of ‘My love is gone’ from the film Arya-2 and the audience too danced with him spontaneously,” said convenor, Bhagaban Sahu. With the blow of conches, beating off cymbals and drums Harihar was welcomed up to the stage. When the chief guest of the evening Prof. Jayant Mohapatra, vice chancellor Berhampur University presented him a bouquet and a shawl in recognition of his unique style of dance, he was requested by the audience to dance. “I feel very honoured and overwhelmed with such a response,” Harihar said. “Such festivals not only provide entertainments to the public but also help to preserve and resurrect the cultural tradition and folk art,” Prof Mohapatra said. “Weightlifter, K. Ravi Kumar, dancer Harihar Das, Prince Dance Group and IFS topper Sangram Behera have made residents of Ganjam feel proud. They have been an inspiration to stride forward,” said Sangram Sekhar Panda, secretary of Berhampur Development Authority. The cultural programme was packed by ‘Gotipua’ dance of Puri organised by the State Culture Department, Odissi and folk dance by Kala Vikas Kendra of Chatrapur and Odissi Nrutyana of Berhampur, Odissi and Chinese dance by Swastik Creatives of Berhampur, Odissi by Anwesha Kala Kendra of Berhampur. The audience was spellbound when child artistes of Anwesha Kala Kendra sang famous bhajan Ahe Nila Saila of Bhajan Samrat late Bhikari Bal.

Source: The Telegraph

Naveen seeks extension of eastern freight corridor up to Berhampur

With the freight traffic in Orissa projected in excess of 300 million tonnes per annum in the next five years and augmentation of rail infrastructure needed to meet the demands of the upcoming industries, the state government has sought the extension of the proposed Ludhiana-Dankuni eastern freight corridor up to Berhampur in south Orissa. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this connection. "The eastern dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni must be extended to Berhampur so that the vast northern and central hinterland of the country can have an easier access to upcoming modern ports of Orissa which are going to become the country's gateway to international maritime trade as well as for coastal shipping within India. In the last budget, it was announced that the preliminary engineering cum traffic survey of the proposed East-West and East-South freight corridors shall be taken up. The roll out and timely implementation of these projects is of critical importance to the trade, commerce and industries of the entire eastern region of the country”, Patnaik stated in a letter to the Prime Minister.

Patnaik has also requested the Prime Minister to advise the Railways to expedite the execution work of the proposed world class station in Bhubaneswar and take up the development of multi-functional complexes at stations located in the district headquarters as well as important tourist and industrial centres of the state. He has stressed on the need to commence detailed planning for a rail-based city transport system through Central agencies to cater to the urban needs of the Greater Bhubaneswar region. Stating that 70 per cent of Orissa's interiors are either untouched or negligibly touched by the rail network, he has underscored the need to set up new railway links."It is imperative that new virgin areas are opened up for industrialization and development. In this context, the construction of Bhadrachalam Road-Talcher railway line via Malkangiri, Jeypore and Lanjigarh and Sambalpur-Berhampur railway link via Phulbani assumes importance. The surveys of these lines have been sanctioned and I would like you to advise the Ministry of Railways to execute these projects on priority basis. These projects should be treated as 'national projects'”, Patnaik said in his letter.

Source: Business Standard

‘Ganjam Mahotsab' begins in Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: The six-day long cultural festival ‘Ganjam Mahotsab' was inaugurated at the ITI grounds in the city on Tuesday evening and it pulled thousands of spectators on the very first day. The festival had its formal inauguration with the lighting of ‘Bhanja jyoti' flame at the venue. The ‘Bhanja jyoti' torch was brought along with a motorcycle procession from the Bhanja Vihar campus of Berhampur University. It may be noted that great Oriya poet Kavisamrat Upendra Bhanja was from Ganjam. An exhibition of handicrafts and amusement rides for children is also part of the cultural festival. This festival is aimed at promoting the folk art forms of Ganjam district as well its local talents.

On the first day of the festival there were performances of Odissi dance by Music Circle Berhampur, Sambalpuri dance by Guru Kelucharan Kalatirtha, Berhampur and modern dance by Suri Group and Ganesh Dance Group both from Berhampur. The audience appreciated the Ranapa dance organised by District Culture Department, Bagha Nacha (tiger dance), snake and snake charmer dance by Badrinarayan and party. The highlight of the event was a performance by conch-blowers from Ganjam district. They presented various formations blowing jodi-sankha or double-conch simulataneously. “I am delighted with the stage and audience of Ganjam Mahotsav. Fifteen artists, including myself, performed the jodi-sankha,” said Rajendra Prasad Patra (39), leader of the famous Folk Dance Group of Narendrapur. The group had performed at the inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi. “I am very fortunate to be part of the group of Bhagaban Sahu for 25 years,” said Prasad who formed his own troupe five years ago after the death of Bhagaban Sahu. The group performs ‘ranapa’, ‘chadheya nrutya’, ‘ghumra’, ‘lahudi’, ‘Naba Durga nrutya’ and ‘bagha nacha’ besides ‘jodi-sankha nrutya’. “The activities of folk artists in our village Narendrapur always attracted me towards the folk art form since my childhood and I’m hapy to be a performer,” said Prasad. Revenue minister Surya Narayan Patro, who inaugurated the Mahotsav, said while the Gopalpur Beach Festival was being organised to attract more tourists and develop tourism as a sector, the Ganjam Mahotsav intends to preserve the region’s folk culture which is dwindling. “Although the aims and objectives of the festivals are different, both pull huge crowds. If sustained, it would boost the social and economic development of the entire Ganjam district,” the minister said.

Source: The Hindu, The Telegraph

Berhampur University Celebrates 45th Foundation Day

BERHAMPUR: Berhampur University celebrated its 45th foundation day on 2nd January at its Bhanja Bihar campus. Vice Chancellor of the University Prof Jayant Kumar Mahapatro presided over the main function to mark the establishment day of the premier institution of south Odisha. Finance Minister of Odisha Shri Prafulla Ghadei, Members of Parliament from Berhampur and Puri and the MLAs of Berhampur and Gopalpur along with several leading academicians of the state attended the foundation day celebration of the University.

There is need to open up more universities in Orissa to develop infrastructure for higher education in the State, said finance minister of Orissa Prafulla Ghadai. Interestingly this declaration came at a time when Orissa High Court has ordered to stop land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University at Puri citing violation of several laws and Orissa government has approached Supreme Court in favour of this private university. According to Mr Ghadai Orissa is yet to become a big name in the field of higher education in the country due to lack of proper number of institutions and universities in this field. This function was also attended by MPs Pinaki Mishra and Siddhanta Mohapatra, MLAs of Berhampur RCC Patnaik, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi, vice chancellor of the University Jayanta Kumara Mohapatra. Two writers were honoured during this function. They included Abhiram Panda, well known for his children's literature and Banamali Rath, a Sanskrit scholar who has researched and written books on Sanskrit and Oriya literature. During this foundation day celebration, the guests also released a house journal of journalism and mass communication department ‘Bhanja Vihar Reporter' and a documentary film on Berhampur University. Online edition of ‘Bhanja Vihar Review' was also inaugurated by the guests. Berhampur University was established on Jan 2, 1966 with only 11 colleges and 4586 students under its jurisdiction.. During the last four and a half decades the number of colleges affiliated to the University has gone up to 131, out of which 101 colleges have been granted permanent institution.

Source: The Hindu. Orissa Barta