Freedom fighter Laxman Nayak's death anniv observed in Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: Political leaders, government officers and school students on 29th of March paid rich tribute to eminent tribal freedom fighter Laxman Nayak, at the Berhampur Circle jail, to commemorate the day he was hanged by the British government. Born in November 22, 1899 in a remote village in Malkanagiri, Nayak was instrumental in spreading the messages of Mahatma Gandhi among the tribal people of the southern Orissa during the national movement. The Berhampur jail authorities have preserved the four cells where Nayak spent his days at the jail before being sent to the gallows on March 29, 1943. Some of his letters and writings have also been conserved. Everyday, the jail employees first pay respect to Nayak before starting their duty. The prison authorities also allow visitors inside the jail twice every year, on March 29 and November 22, to pay respect to the freedom fighter. 

Source: Times of India

Gopalpur port gets much awaited environment nod

The environment and forests ministry has given a nod for the expansion of Gopalpur port project in Orissa, a port official said Thursday. “We received a communication from the ministry in this regard late Wednesday,” P.K. Panigrahi, executive director of the Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL) that is setting up the project, told IANS. The port, about 170 km from here, is a seasonal port operational from November to March and handles cargo, including iron ore, coal and fertilizer ranging from half a million tonnes to 0.7 million tonnes. “The ministry has granted the permission to make it an all-weather port,” Panigrahi said, adding that the construction for the expansion of the project will start within a month and complete within 24 months. The company has planned to invest Rs.1,250 crore initially. The port will have an installed capacity of handling at least 12 millions tonnes cargo by 2013 and aims to increase the capacity to handle 54-60 million tones per annum by 2022, the official said. Initially, the port has planned to receive vessel size of one lakh DWT (Deadweight tonnage) and after enhancement of the capacity it will be able to receive vessel size of 130,000 DWT, he said.

Source: Thaindian News

Thakurani Yatra kicks off in Berhampur; Goddess comes to her parental abode; City erupts in joy

BERHAMPUR: The famous Thakurani Yatra, one of the biggest and attractive carnivals of Berhampur and Orissa,has kicked off on late Tuesday Night. The bi-annual extravaganza began with the presiding deity “Budhi Thakurani” arriving in her father’s house at Desibehra street in the city. 

As per tradition, Durga Prasad Desibehra, main organizer of the festival and known as the “father” of the deity along with his wife went to the Thakurani temple at mid-night on Tuesday in a grand procession to invite the goddess. After performing rituals in the temple, they returned with a garland of flowers in a basket and kept the same in a temporary thatched temple constructed for the purpose in front of the house of Desibehra. The Goddess will take rest for today and tomorrow in her parental abode. From the third day of the commencement of the ceremony, the garland will be kept inside a decorated ‘ghata’ (earthen pot) and the Goddess will visit to different parts of the city, known as ‘ghata parikrama’, on every evening for next one month amid religious fanfare. The main ‘ghata’ is carried by the wife of Desibehra on head; eight other women take position with the pots known as parswadevatas. Several others follow the ‘ghata’ carrying a pot on their head during ‘ghata parikrama’. The Ganjam District administration has initially given sanction for 15 days for the Yatra, which is likely to be extended subsequently. Considered as the biggest festival in this southern Orissa city, the occasion provides the people opportunity to rejoice. People of the region settled in different parts of the country and outside the country visit the city during this Yatra to be with their families. The Thakurani Yatra brings people of the city on to the streets and it turns into a mega carnival when thousands of people get themselves painted as different mythological characters and roam around the city streets. 

Source: Orissa TV

Ravi Kumar to represent India in Asian Weightlifting C'ship

BERHAMPUR: Commonwealth Games gold medallist K. Ravi Kumar has been selected to represent India in the Asian Weightlifting Championship, to be held in China from April 12. "He is the only weightlifter from the country, selected by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to participate in the Asian Weightlifting Championship, which will be held at Tongling, China from April 12 to 17," said IWF vice president Narayan Sahu. The 22-year-old from Berhampur, Orissa had also won three gold medals in senior National Weightlifting Championships, held in Bangalore on Friday. Representing Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), Ravi won in clean, jerk and overall weight in men's 77-kg event. Ravi lifted a total of 306 kg (138, 168) in the event. Sahu, who was also a former coach of Ravi, expressed confidence about his success in the Asian Championship. Ravi said from Bangalore that he has already started preparing for the meet. "I am very much confident of winning gold in the Asian Championship and I am practising regularly," he said. Starting his career as a weightlifter from the Veer Hanuman Club here about seven years ago, he has established a brilliant track record by winning several gold medals at national and international events. Ravi had also set a record in men's 69-kg category by lifting 321-kg in the last Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Source:Times of India

Greater Berhampur; Better Berhampur

Click here for Greater Berhampur Tour

Berhampur Thakurani Yatra to be held from 28th March

• Official website of the famous Thakurani Yatra (www.thakurani.com) launched.
• City waits anxiciously to welcome her daughter.
• Month long festivity associated with this grand carnival to draw millions

BERHAMPUR: The 29-day-long biennial festival of Buddhi Thakurani, popularly known as 'Thakurani Yatra' will commence here from March 28 to April 25. According to some eminent historians, the cult of Buddhi Thakurani originated along with the emergence of Berhampur town in and around 1672 AD. Telugu Lengayat Dera (weaver) community, who came to Mahuri on the invitation of Raja Saheb of Mahuri to take up their profession of weaving, started their ‘Ghata Yatra’ (Pot Festival) for highlighting the divinity of Mahamayee Thakurani of his capital town Berhampur. The Chief of the Dera community, Kota Chandramani Kubera Senapati, led his community people to migrate to Mahuri and Berhampur who settle down into their hereditary profession of weaving tussar silken products or ‘patta matha’. The ‘Ghata Yatra’ was initiated for the purpose of highlighting the tradition of worshiping Thakurani as well as to use it as a platform for sales promotion of their silken products. The date for Thakurani Yatra was fixed by the yatra management committee at the house of Desi Behera, Chief of the Dera community here late last night. The district administration accorded final approval for the Yatra, Desi Behera P Durga Prasad said and sought the cooperattion of everybody.Buddhi Thakurani is considered as the daughter of the Desi Behera and the deity stays with her father's family during the entire Yatra period. The last biennial festival of Buddhi Thakurani was observed for 27 days in 2009 from April 8 to May 4.

Source: Newkerala.com

Water supply project for Berhampur under cloud

BERHAMPUR: The proposed Rs 250-crore water supply project for Berhampur in south Orissa, being implemented with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been pushed into uncertainty following the recent tsunami and earthquake in Japan. “Japan economy has been hit hard by tsunami and earthquake. If JICA is unwilling to provide loan, the state government may approach some other international financial institute to seek loan for the project”, said a senior government official. The proposed project aimed to supply water from Rushikulya river to Berhampur city, a distance of 55 Km through underground pipeline. The process for preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) for the project is on, said the executive engineer, (urban water supply) D S Mohapatra. It would take about three years to complete the project, he added. For a city with a population of over four lakh and water demand of around 50 million litres per day (MLD), the urban water supply department is supplying only 37 MLD daily from all sources. During the peak summer, the water crisis further worsens. Around 30 per cent of the town is yet to be covered under the drinking water supply scheme. In these uncovered areas, the water tankers are the only relief for the residents. Mohapatra, however, said the government has approved Rs 33-crore scheme to lay new pipelines in these uncovered areas.

Source: Business Standard

Work on Berhampur Sanskrutika Bhawan yet to start

BERHAMPUR: Seven years have passed since the foundation stone was laid for the much-hyped Sanskrutika Bhawan in Berhampur but construction of the building is yet to start. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the Rs 1.82 crore building on January 15, 2004 at Hillpatna. The Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) had demarcated 1.25 acres of land for it. It was supposed to have facilities like auditorium, library and museum, besides functioning as the district culture office. This would have gone a long way in promoting cultural activities in the town that has no proper auditorium and only one library run by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC). Even the district museum is run by the culture department from a rented house is almost defunct. There are few visitors with most people unaware of its existence. According to sources, the department of the culture has sanctioned around Rs 70 lakh to IDCO for construction of the Sanskrutika Bhawan. But work is yet to start. "We don't know the exact reason behind the delay," district culture officer K C Nishank said. Social activists feel that the government should immediately start construction otherwise some unscrupulous persons might encroach upon the land. Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik urged the government to handover the construction of the building to the PWD instead of IDCO. "Since IDCO is delaying construction of the building, it should be handed over to the works department. And, it should be instructed to construct the building within a stipulated time frame" the lawmaker said. 

Source: Times of India

Berhampur’s Santipalli to have railway wagon factory

The railway authorities after inspecting number of places in KBK districts and not finding them suitable have identified Santipalli at Berhampur in Ganjam district to set up the proposed rail wagon factory. According to sources, a rail wagon factory is to be set up in KBK districts of Odisha as per the 2010-2011 Railway Budget. Accordingly, the railway authorities visited Kalahandi, Kesinga, Narla Road, Lanjigarh Road, and Bhawanipatna Railway Station area to find out 100 acres of land adjacent to the rail track and submit a feasible report to the Government of Odisha for acquisition of land. However, the railway administration could not find a suitable place for the purpose and moved to coastal districts for feasible locations for wagon factory. The Ganjam district administration and rail officers made a joint inspection in the district and found a place at Santipalli near Jagannathpur Railway Station of Berhampur. The State Government has approved to provide the 100 acre of land at Santipalli and the proposal has been sent to Railway Ministry, for their final consent for further plan of action. The project would be taken up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Source: The Pioneer

‘Chaitra' fest begins at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

BERHAMPUR: Traditional Chaitra festival began at Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur city, Ganjam district on Tuesday. Four Tuesdays of Hindu month of Chaitra are celebrated as a festival called ‘Tara Tarini Chaitra Jatra' at this hill shrine. Over a lakh devotees thronged to this hill shrine on the first Tuesday of Chaitra.

A new ghat road to the hill top was also opened for devotees. Apart from the road communication there is also a ropeway to the hilltop. But most of the devotees who visited the hill shrine on Tuesday preferred to trek to the hill top rather than opting for easier modes of travel. As per Pramod Panda, secretary of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB), special buses have been arranged to transport devotees to the hill top, yet devotees including the aged, women and children preferred to climb 999 holy steep steps to reach the hill shrine. Around 95 per cent of the devotees preferred to climb to the hilltop. Flow of devotees continued from 4 a.m. when the gates of the temple were opened. It continued till evening. The TTDB authorities arranged medical facilities. A village fair also came up at the foot hill. Devotional cultural programmes continued at the hilltop and downhill.

This year, the almost complete new temple of this hill shrine attracted the visitors. According to TTDB authorities, the date for the ritualistic inauguration ceremony of the new temple would be decided a meeting to be held Thursday. Twelve senior Vedic pundits from all the nine traditional taluks of Ganjam district will attend the meeting.

Source: The Hindu

Dancing sensation Harinath Reddy from Berhampur wins national reality show

Click here to watch You Tube video on Harinath Reddy's performance in the QF round

Harinath Reddy and his group from Berhampur, Orissa, were declared the winners of Colors TV's dance reality show 'Chak Dhoom Dhoom Team Challenge' with their stunning performance. The dance troupe beat Rohan and group from Mumbai, Rock On from Gujarat and AM Unit, in the show, which had participants from Delhi and Bhubaneshwar. The winners walked away with a trophy and cash prize of Rs.11 lakh. The performances of the group left the judges speechless.

Last year Harinath Reddy and Group participated in the Quarter Finals of India’s Got Talent on Colours TV along. Earlier they had won a dance reality show ‘Boogie Woogie’ in Sony TV.
Interestingly, Harinath is the elder brother of Krishna Mohan whose Prince Dance group won the first season of talent hunt show 'India's Got Talent'.

No more taxes on Berhampur rickshaws

BERHAMPUR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

BERHAMPUR: The civic authorities here have decided to stop collection of taxes from cyclists, rickshaw pullers and bullock-cart drivers from the next financial year. "The move will help thousands of students as well as encourage other denizens of Berhampur to ride cycles, which will ultimately help in reducing pollution. It will also help poor rickshaw and cart pullers in the town," Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) mayor Siba Shankar Das said. The announcement was made during the presentation of the BMC budget for 2011-12 on Wednesday. Das added that the suspension of collection of taxes on cycles and rickshaws will also help the municipal corporation to save revenue. "While the BMC collects around Rs 1.50 lakh in taxes from these modes of transport, the civic body has to spend about Rs 5 lakh for the whole process," the mayor said. The BMC imposes annual taxes of Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 30 per cycle, rickshaw and bullock cart respectively. An extra Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 15 were collected as penalty. BMC officials said the corporation had collected over Rs 1.44 lakh in taxes from these vehicles till February 2011. On the other hand, it had spent around Rs 4.72 lakh in purchase of tokens, publishing advertisements to invite quotations and cost of establishment, the officials added. The BMC budget also proposes to spend around Rs 50 lakh in each of the town's 37 wards on roads and sanitation. "We have decided to construct public toilets with modern amenities near all ponds for the convenience of general public," the mayor said.

Source: Times of India

Modern library to come up at MKCG Medical College

BERHAMPUR: An ultra-modern library for the MKCG Medical College here is going to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore. “The library is expected to be operational within a period of two years,” said Sunamali Bag, principal, MKCG Medical College. The library would be located in front of the BSc Nursing College, which is situated on the medical college campus, he said. The five-storied library building would be designed on the library of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and would meet all the norms of the Medical Council, the principal said. The plan of the library had already been approved and tender for the construction of the building finalised, he said. “There multi-storeyed building will have basement parking and a conference hall in the second floor for students and faculty members. The third floor will be completely devoted to an e-library, where journals of 68 member countries can be accessed. The general library will be on the fourth floor. The fifth floor will have facilities for storing photographs in microfilms and computer data entry. We will provide the service to the student and researchers at a subsidised rate,” he said. The principal has already discussed about the library with vice-chancellor of Berhampur University Jayant Mahapatra. The principal admitted that the present library, which was established in 1963, was not spacious enough to meet the present strength of the students. “The number of MBBS seats increased from 107 to 150 four years ago. But the infrastructure of the library did not develop accordingly. Hence, the construction of an ultra modern library for students, researchers and the faculty members was required,” the principal said. “There are 21,836 valuable books in the library. However, this is not sufficient and we are not able to provide books to most students,” said librarian P Dinabandhu. “We have internet facilities with 8 systems inside the library. This is not insufficient. MCI has asked us to provide at least 40 systems with internet connection,” he said.

Source: The Telegraph

Gopalpur lighthouse to be converted into a tourist spot

BERHAMPUR: The historic lighthouse at Gopalpur-on-Sea near Berhampur city will be converted into a tourist spot with state-of-the-art facilities very soon in the first phase of a project initiated by the Centre. The department of lighthouses and lightships, under the ministry of shipping of the central government, has decided to convert at least 14 of the 182 lighthouses across the country into tourist spots in the first phase of the development of lighthouses for tourism' project. Three of these 14 lighthouses included in the project are from Orissa, said the deputy director general, directorate of lighthouses and lightships ( Mumbai), J S Chauhan, on Friday at Gopalpur. The ministry, which unveiled the project recently, is looking at completing it in the next four years, Chauhan said. Besides utilizing the tourism potential of the places where the lighthouses are situated, the department has also proposed to provide hospitality facilities to the tourists in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. The detailed modalities in this regard were being worked out by the department, he stated. "Most of the lighthouses in Orissa are situated either at tourist spots or near such places. The lighthouses also bear the silent testimony of the British Rule in the country as some of these were constructed during that time. The project is aiming at utilizing the tourism potential of these spots," Chauhan said. Similarly, the DDG of lighthouses said the department would set up heritage museums in some of the selected lighthouses in the country and Goplapur is one of them. Under the National Maritime Heritage Museum (NMHM) project, the lighthouses will showcase the rich tradition of lighthouses in the country, he added. Orissa's coastline is all set to get at least three more lighthouses including one at Prayagi in Ganjam district. Deputy Director General, directorate of lighthouses and lightships, J S Chauhan, gave this information at Gopalpur-on-Sea in Ganjam district on Friday. The directorate is under the ministry of shipping, surface transport, of the Central government. Five lighthouses are presently operating in the state at Gopalpur, Chandrabhaga, Puri, Paradip and False Point. The construction of the watch tower at Prayagi is on in full swing and it is scheduled to be operational from December next. Around Rs 1.2 crore is being spent on the construction of the 30m-high tower at Prayagi, about 45 km from here.

Source: Times of India, Business Standard

Olive Ridley turtles arrive at Rushikulya coast

BERHAMPUR: Mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles started at the Rushikulya rookery coast in Ganjam district of Orissa from Thursday midnight.On the first night over 20,000 mother turtles travelled up to the sandy beach to lay their eggs, said Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), A.K.Jena, who is monitoring the mass nesting process. These turtles laid their eggs in a stretch of around four kilometres of beach from Purunabandha to Podampeta. They came out on to the beach in the darkness to dig up holes in sand with their flippers and laid their eggs in them. Then they covered them up with sand before escaping into the sea. More than a hundred eggs were laid into every nest. According to Mr Jena mass nesting process is expected to continue for around a week. Sporadic nesting of Olive Ridleys had started at this coast few days back. A team from Indian Science Center, Bangaluru led by scientist Kartik Shankar is also at Rushikulya rookery for study of these endangered reptiles during the nesting process.The entire stretch of four kilometres of beach has been divided into 40 segments. Each segment is being monitored by a forest official along with a daily wager appointed by the forest department. They also serve as sampling points for record data regarding nesting process. Local villagers are also playing a major role in the protection of these turtles. Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee (RSTPC) had been formed at Purunabandha village istaking the lead in these efforts.

Source: The Hindu

BJP state executive meets at Berhampur

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Southern Orissa fails to get Didi's doles: ToI

BERHAMPUR: The aspirations of southern Orissa districts were ignored in the Railway Budget presented by Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday. There was no mention in the budget about a railway terminal at Berhampur, direct train from Berhampur to New Delhi, train from Berhampur to Puri and construction of railway track from Gopalpur to Rayagada, Berhampur to Sambalpur via Phulbani and extension of Nuapada-Gunupur railway line up to Therubali. 

Cutting across partylines, leaders reacted sharply to the budget saying Mamata ignored the southern part of the state in her budget. "We expected more for this region. We thought that the Railway Minister will sanction for construction of Gopalpur-Rayagada new railway line," former union minister and PCC working president Chandrasekhar Sahu said. Sahu said feasibility report on the proposed track has already been prepared. The report is now with the Railway Board. "The proposed track is necessary to connect the port town to the industrial town as several industrial projects are lining up in Gopalpur," he said. The proposed line was his brain child and foundation for the survey was laid by him two years ago when Sahu was a Central minister.

Like the previous year, the state in general and southern Orissa in particular were ignored in the budget, revenue minister S N Patra said. When the railways was getting around Rs 6000-crore revenue from the state, the Centre did not provide same in proportion to the state for the development.

"We proposed for a railway track between Berhampur, the southern Orissa town to Sambalpur, the western Orissa town via Phulbani," said Rajya Sabha member (BJD) Renubala Pradhan.

The proposed line would cover Kandhmal, the most backward state in terms on railway network, she said, adding that Banerjee never mentioned it in the budget proposal.

Sources: Times of India