Three girls' hostels for Berhampur University

BERHAMPUR: The Berhampur University will construct three new girls' hostels that will accommodate around 300 students. The foundation stone for one these hostels was laid by vice-chancellor J K Mohapatra on the university premises recently. The UGC has given Rs 1.25 crore for the construction work, Mohapatra said, adding that this hostel will house 90 girls. Two more hostels, each of 100-student capacity, will be constructed with financial assistance from the department of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes development. The state government has sanctioned for the construction of the hostels and work is likely to start soon," the vice-chancellor said. The cost of construction will be estimated by the engineers of public works department (PWD), sources said. Construction of these three hostels was likely to be completed by March-end next year, Mohapatra said, adding that will solve the accommodation problem of girl students due to shortage of hostels. 

Source: Times of India

Blackbuck population increases in Ganjam

Demand for Mahurikalua Zoological Park gathering steam in Ganjam

Berhampur: The population of blackbuck, an endangered species locally known as Krushnasara Murga or Baliharina, has increased from 1672 in 2008 to 2181 in 2011 in Ganjam district. The blackbuck census was conducted by the forest department in Aska, Buguda, Polasara, Khallikote and Berhampur forest ranges, the abode of the endangered species of antelope in Ganjam district on Sunday. Around 200 persons including forest personnel, volunteers and experts took part in the five-hour-long enumeration, which concluded at noon. Out of the total number of blackbuck counted this time, 1414 were female, 544 male and 223 young, divisional forest officer (Ghumusara South) R Ch Sethi said. In the 2008 census 411 males, 1123 females and 138 young animals were found. Improvement of habitats and protection by local people as well as forest staff are some of the reasons for the increase of the population of the blackbuck in the area, the DFO said. The population of blackbuck in the area was 523 in 1973. Their number was increased to 551 in 1998, 786 in 2004 and 1101 in 2006, sources said. Sources said, most of the blackbucks were sighted in the Balipadara-Bhetanai area, in around 70 villages of Buguda, Aska and Polasara forest ranges in the district. While in Aska range their number was 706, Buguda has 700, Khallikote 644, Polasara 127 and Berhampur has 4 blackbucks, sources said. The blackbucks of Balipadara-Bhetanai area have been protected religiously by the local people for several generations. The strong belief that the presence of blackbuck in the paddy fields brings prosperity to the village is the reason for villagers protecting the species. "The villagers do not kill the animal, even if it strays into the field and damage their crop", said the president of the blackbuck protection committee in Ganjam, Amulya Upadhyaya. Due to this beilef among the villagers, poaching of blackbuck was almost nil in the area, Upadhyaya said. 

Source: Times of India

Never say die spirit of Berhampur's Uday Mallik

Source: Orissa Sambad

Weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar from Berhampur selected for Arjuna Award

Inhabitants of the Silk city, especially sports enthusiasts, held a joyous celebration on hearing the news of city weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar being selected for the Arjuna Award. Ravi Kumar became the seventh Oriya to get the coveted Arjuna Award. He also happens to be the second sportsperson from the city to get it. Both times the weightlifters have been the award winners. In 1982 Bijay Kumar Satpathy of Berhampur had been selected for Arjuna Award. He had won silver medal in the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Ravi Kumar's selection again proved that Berhampur is the cradle of weightlifting in Orissa, said veteran weightlifter and coach Ramesh Kumar Padhi, who had played a major role in grooming the young international weightlifter.

Ravi Kumar had shot into fame when he broke a record to bag the gold medal in the New Delhi Commonwealth games. He has already been honoured with Ekalavya award. When news of Ravi Kumar getting selected for Arjuna Award spread, the happiest persons were the members and patrons of Veer Hanuman Circus and Physical Institute (VHCPI), a private institution of the city which is continuing to produce national and international weightlifters for the past seven decades.

Source: The Hindu

SOSA demands early merger of 26 villages for development of BMC

It alleges that the government has neglected the interests of Berhampur

The South Orissa Students' Association (SOSA) demanded the State government for early merger of 26 villages on the periphery of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the development of the city. It may be noted that Berhampur, the oldest municipality of the State was elevated to a Municipal Corporation in December 2008. As per the gazette notification made for the purpose the boundary of the new Municipal Corporation was to include 26 villages of 14 panchayats. But till now these villages have not become part of the BMC.

Even during the process of census this year population of these villages was excluded from the population figures of Berhampur city. Recently, notification has been issued regarding reservation of seats for coming panchayat polls in 2012. These 14 panchayats which are proposed to be part of the BMC are also in the list, which indicates that till now no steps have been initiated for their merger with the BMC. They still are part of different revenue blocks around the city. “This seems to be a well thought out conspiracy of some vested interest to keep the city of Berhampur truncated so that it remains perennially backward and loses out on important government schemes like JNNURM which take population size of the cities as one of the parameter”, said president of SOSA, R.P.Tripathy.

Mr. Tripathy said as per Section-6 of Orissa Municipal Corporation Act, 2003, a Municipal Corporation needs to have at least 39 wards under it. But this policy is not applicable for Berhampur which now has only 37 wards in its limits.

The SOSA alleged that till now the State government seems to have neglected the interests of Berhampur as a result of which the city bus service, proper sewerage system, ring road or even a comprehensive development plan eludes this city. “It is an irony that the State government is neglecting future of cities like Berhampur while other states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are trying to merge more and more villages on the suburb of their cities to come up with ideas of Greater Mumbai, Greater Hyderabad, Greater Visakhapatnam etc to ensure their eligibility for major central plans and future development”, SOSA members said. They pointed out that when the Cuttack and Bhubaneswar urban bodies were elevated to Municipal Corporations, more than 60 panchayats were merged with these urban bodies. But in case of Berhampur similar action is being delayed. They also added that the BMC is functioning with the same set of officials who worked under the erstwhile Municipal council and even the former executive officer of Berhampur Municipality is continuing as the new Municipal Commissioner which according to them puts doubts on intention of the State government to revitalise the urban body of Berhampur.

The SOSA has written to the Chief Minister of Orissa to merge 26 villages on the periphery of Berhampur as early as possible to give the BMC the complete area as notified through gazette notification and take up much needed developmental projects within city limits.

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•Berhampur municipality was elevated to Municipal Corporation in December 2008

•During the process of census the population of these villages was excluded from Berhampur city
Source: The Hindu

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Tata Steel plans to rope in Tata Motors at Gopalpur SEZ

Tata Motors is likely to set up an automobile unit at the Gopalpur SEZ Industrial Park, which has been developed by Tata Steel. “Talks are going on with Tata Motors to set up an automobile unit at the Gopalpur SEZ in Orissa,” said a senior executive of Tata Steel. He said Tata Steel, which is setting up a steel plant with a capacity of 6 million tonnes at Kalinga Nagar in Orissa’s Jajpur district, plans to manufacture finished products for the automobile industry. “Obviously we would like to have Tata Motors set up its unit at the Gopalpur SEZ Industrial Park,” the chief resident executive of Tata Steel in Orissa, Rajesh Chintak said. He said that the proposed industrial park will have a separate zone for the automobile and the auto-component industry, adding that the park is now generating a lot of interest among investors. Chintak also said that the company is now concentrating on developing the park. Once the infrastructure is ready a clear picture of the possible investments will emerge, he added.

The Orissa government, in fact, is lobbying with the Tatas to set up an automobile unit in the Gopalpur SEZ. Even when Tata Motors withdrew the Nano project from Singur, the Orissa government tried to convince the automobile company to relocate the unit in Gopalpur. Tata Steel, which is developing the SEZ Industrial Park over an area of 3,700 acres is proposing to set up a ferro-alloys plant with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes and a 4-lakh tonne cold roll re-bar mill with an investment of R10,000 crore to R15,000 crore as anchor tenant. The managing director of Tata Steel HM Nerurkar who was here last week to apprise chief minister Naveen Patnaik about the progress made by the Gopalpur Industrial Park project, said the Gopalpur Park has received SEZ status. He said that the construction work for the project would be started once the statutory clearances like the environmental clearance are obtained.

Source: Financial Express

Merger of 26 villages with Berhampur sought

The South Orissa Students' Association has demanded that the State government merge 26 periphery villages with Berhampur Municipal Corporation early for development of the city. Berhampur was elevated to a Municipal Corporation in December 2008. As per the gazette notification, the boundary of the new Municipal Corporation was to include 26 villages of 14 panchayats. But till now these villages have not become part of the BMC. Even during the process of census this year these villages were excluded from the population figures of Berhampur city. Recently, notification has been issued regarding reservation of seats for panchayat polls in 2012. These 14 panchayats which are proposed to be part of the BMC are also in the list, which indicates that till now no steps have been initiated for their merger with the BMC. The SOSA has written to the Chief Minister seeking merger of the villages.

Source: The Hindu

TISCO hopeful about environmental nod for Gopalpur Industrial Park

Hopeful about securing environmental clearance for its proposed Industrial park at Gopalpur by October, a top Tata Steel official said. “We have already obtained CRZ (coastal regulation zone) nod for Gopalpur project and hopeful of getting environmental clearance by October,” Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurkar told reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Tata Steel, in possession of the land for nearly 20 years, is planning to set up the industrial park at Gopalpur. While the domestic steelmajor would be the anchor tenant at the proposed industrialpark by setting up its own Ferrochrome Plant and a steel Rebar mill, it was hoping of getting good tenants. “With Tata Steel as anchor tenant, there is no problem in getting other investors at the proposed industrial park. I will not reveal their names now. But a good number of investors have expressed their interest to set up their units at Gopalpur,” Nerurkar said.

Source: Odisha TV

Toys fair keeps silk city’s tradition alive

BERHAMPUR: The efforts to promote and market traditional toys took the form of Kandhei Jatra, which is celebrated with enthusiasm every year at Khaspa street area of Berhampur city. The two-day festival ended yesterday night with as many as 60 shops selling traditional toys made of clay, cow dung, paper mache, coir and wood. The fair is held every year in the month of Sravan. As per the locals, it is more than three centuries old and related to the oldest Jagannath temple in the street. During the festival, the pedestal of idol of Lord Jagannath at this temple is also decorated with earthen toys of mythical characters. The fair is held a week after the Rath Yatra. Sources said another aim behind the festival is to promote traditional craftsmen of the area. Earlier, the festival was held for three days and things for domestic use made of clay, wood or metal were also put up for sale. This time, traditional toy-makers from the city, rural areas of Ganjam district as well as from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh had put up stalls. Like a village fair, they built makeshift shops on both sides of the Khaspa street. A local cultural organisation, Ama Sanskruti Ama Parampara, was formed  last year to enliven this unique tradition. It organised night-long traditional cultural programmes to entertain the crowd at the fair. 

Source: New Indian Express, The Hindu

Letter to CM: Stop neglecting Berhampur Municipal Corporation

Hon’ble Chief Minister Sir,           

As you are aware, Berhampur is one of the major cities of Orissa and the only urban hub in the backward southern region of the State.  After years of popular demand, Berhampur, the oldest Municipality of the state, was elevated to a Municipal Corporation in December 2008. The Gazette notification announcing the formation of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) clearly stated the boundary of the Corporation which included 14 Panchayats spread over some 26 villages. The people of the city kept waiting for the merger of these villages with the larger body of Berhampur Municipal Corporation which is necessary for planned development of the city. Months have passed since the decision for formation of Berhampur Municipal Corporation but these villages still continue to be part of the respective Panchayats damaging all hopes for the planned development of the city. In the mean time the process of Census 2011 has also been completed, but unfortunately the population of these villages were excluded from the population figures of Berhampur city. This seems to be a well thought out conspiracy of some vested interest to keep the city of Berhampur truncated so that it remains perennially backward and loses out on important government schemes like JNNURM which take population size of the cities as one of the parameters.  Notwithstanding the fact that the population has rapidly grown in the villages surrounding Berhampur city, the recent notification of Panchayat polls in these villages have dashed all hopes for their merger with the Berhampur Municipal Corporation and expansion of the limits of the Urban local body. While there are many more Panchayats and at least 3 NACs demanding to be considered as part of the larger area of Greater Berhampur, the state Government move to conduct Panchayat polls in villages which were declared a part of the Corporation a couple of years ago can only be termed as regressive and discriminatory.

This raises some important issues which only the state government can answer;

First, why the state government repeatedly follows discriminatory policies towards cities outside the state capital like Berhampur and can’t see their developmental and infrastructure needs? Should it not look beyond Bhubaneswar?

Second, while states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are trying to merge more and more villages on the city outskirts with the existing urban bodies to ensure that they are eligible for major central plans and their future development is not hampered (Example: Greater Hyderabad, Greater Visakhapatnam, Greater Mumbai etc.) why the government of Orissa is trying to scuttle such genuine needs in case of Berhampur city?

Third, when the Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporations were formed, more than 60 Panchayats were merged with these urban bodies, then why this discrimination for Berhampur city? Why the State Government is playing with the future of more than 1 lakh people in these 26 villages on the outskirts of Berhampur city by denying them urban amenities and by going back on their proposed merger with the BMC?

Fourth, Berhampur Municipal Corporation is working with the same set of officials who worked under the erstwhile Municipality and yet the state government is unmoved. For example, the former executive officer of Berhampur Municipality is continuing as the Municipal Commissioner making the intention of the state government suspect.

Fifth, As per Section-6 of Orissa Municipal Corporation Act, 2003, a Municipal Corporation need to have at least 39 wards under it, but how come the policy is not applied for Berhampur which has only 37 wards under the present Municipal limits?

Sixth, How can a state government after declaring a measure through an official gazette of merger of villages with an existing urban body can go back on this when the all important Census process is just over and a Panchayat election is just round the corner.

Seventh, why the state government is so callous and insensitive when it comes to Berhampur city, which is considered as the only hope for an otherwise backward region of South Orissa. The funds that are being provided to the city are meager and not a single major infrastructure project has been carried out by the state governmet in the past decade. In the absence of big cities and gainful employment oppurtinities lakhs of people of south Orissa migrate to cities in neighbouring states and it seems the state government is totally unmindful of the large scale migration that is happening in these backward pockets due to the lack of opportunities in nearest urban areas where infrastructure provisions remain woefully inadequate.

The people of Berhampur demand answers from the state government which has deliberately neglected the city and has choked all channels for its development. How else can one explain the recent move to go against a decision taken by the Government itself a couple of years ago for merger of areas on the city outskirts to form the larger body of Berhampur Municpal Corporation?  Notwithstanding this, we expect you to take a just decision keeping the larger interests of Berhampur city in mind and hope for an early action as far as merger of these villages with Berhampur Municipal Corporation is concerned.

With Warm Regards,

R.P.Tripathy

Union Minister Kishore Chandra Deo's Berhampur connections

Source: The Samaja

Berhampur born Sulagna Panigrahi rocks Bollywood

In conversation with Sulagna Panigrahi

When we saw Murder 2, we were bowled over by the performance of a new girl, Sulagna Panigrahi, the actress with the face of an angel. She has been around for past 4 years and has also done quite a few television shows. Soumil Shukla of FilmiTadka caught up with the young actress and the result was a candid chat.

So tell us a bit about your background.

Well, I was born in a small town called Berhampur in Orissa. Then my family moved to Bhubaneswar and then to Delhi where I spent almost 10 years and did most of my schooling. My dad is a serving Indian Army officer. So we have had to move around a lot. In that sense I am a true Indian!.....

Click here to read the full interview

Source: filmitadka.in

Radiation study centre at Berhampur varsity

The Berhampur University (BU) is all set to have a Gamma Chamber-5000 to study plant response to ionising radiation. The facility is being developed as a component of the research project on plant responses to ionising radiation, which is currently in progress at the department of botany. This is the first time that the state will have such as facility, said Brahma Bihari Panda, head of botany department. A team of experts from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc) had visited the university recently and approved the building site after thorough inspection. “We constructed the building as per the guidelines of Barc. But with the onset of monsoon, the delivery of the equipment from Barc has been delayed and we are hoping it will reach us by October or November. The research has been going on since two years,” said Panda. Barc is looking after research components while the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (Brit) will provide the equipment. He said Barc has provided the Gamma Chamber-5000, which is worth Rs 40 lakh, free of cost to the university. An MoU to this effect was signed between the director, health safety and environment group of Barc and registrar of Berhampur University on August 19, 2008.

The botany department of BU is one of the four centres located in different agro-climatic zones of the country chosen under the 11th plan period to conduct the mega research project of Barc. The other three zones are Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) at Pusa in New Delhi, Barc in Mumbai and Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. “The chamber is the source of radiation from cobalt system which can be used for experimental purposes and scientific investigation. We have already constructed a building, Gamma House, at an isolated area in the botanical garden on the campus. The rest of the equipment will also be installed as soon as they reach us,” Panda said. In addition to the chamber, Barc has also provided other research tools and two research scholars and one field assistant for this purpose. The entire cost would come to around Rs 70 lakh, he said. The departments of chemistry, physics, zoology, marine and pharmaceutical sciences can also use this equipment for an inter-disciplinary approach. “The gamma centre has several applications. We can see the effect of radiation and use it for improvement of crops, sterilisation of medical disposals. Radiation helps preserve food materials. Seeds treated with radiation are not infested by insects. So it is useful for storage of material and aseptic conditions. This is also being considered as a source of income for Berhampur University because it can be used outsourced to researchers and research institutions,” Panda said. He said the importance of radiation was increasing daily with the depletion of natural bio fuel or hydrocarbons. “Radiation will be a perennial and safe source of energy. Because here the regulations are very stringent and there is no pollution from radiation,” he added. The radiological safety division is looking after the safety aspect. “It is a research programme and is well protected. The persons who will work here will be given proper training about how to operate it. A radiation monitor will measure if there is any radiation. The radiation level of this region is slightly high because of the Monazite belt and the black sand at Arjipalli. But we are looking into the safety concerns,” Panda said.

Source: The Telegraph

Phase-II of Gopalpur port expansion by 2013

Following the recent green signal for the development of the minor, seasonal port at Gopalpur into an all-weather port by the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF), the Orissa government has asked the port promoters to commission second phase of the port operations by March 2013. "The Chief Minister has directed the authorities of Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL) to commission the second phase of port operations by March 2013. The state government will also expedite the process of handing over of around 1200 acres of land to GPL for undertaking Phase-II work”, said Gagan Dhal, principal secretary (commerce & transport). The MoEF had given the green nod for the project in March this year. The port project, entailing an investment of Rs 3500 crore, would be developed in phases, and would handle 54 million tonnes of cargo. The state government had requested the MoEF to clear the project following the recommendation of the Orissa State Coastal Zone Management Authority (OSCZMA) in 2009.

GPL, which was originally a consortium of three companies, had signed MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Orissa government in 2006 to develop the Gopalpur port into an all-weather port. The defunct port had started operations within three months of signing of the pact. The port expansion, however, hit a roadblock when several environmentalists and wildlife activists opposed the port project, alleging that it would endanger the mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles at the mouth of Rushikulya river. They had also raised serious concern when oil leaked from a foreign vessel which had anchored near the port two years back. The port project was also mired in uncertainty for a while when Hong Kong based Noble Group, one of the consortium partners, pulled out of the project. Following the exit of the Noble Group, two companies- Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and Sara International Limited (SIL) would develop the port. GPL has already claimed to have achieved financial closure of Rs 1400 crore for the first stage of Phase-II of the deep sea port with the signing of loan agreement with a consortium of 11 banks.

Source: Business Standard

JSPL proposes for a captive port at Sonepur near Berhampur

After committing investments on a new six million-tonne-per-annum steel plant, a captive power plant and a coal-to-liquid project in Orissa, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has evinced interest on setting up a captive port in Ganjam district of South Orissa. It involves a capital cost of Rs 1,424 crore. The first phase is scheduled to be operational by 2017. The location is 30 km south of the existing Gopalpur port and 18 km from Berhampur. JSPL recently made a presentation to the state commerce and transport department on the proposed port at the mouth of the Bahuda river, a perennial ore. The port does not require acquisition of farm land and there are no issues involved with nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles in the area. “JSPL is keen on setting up a captive port at Bahuda Muhan. It has made a presentation on traffic requirement and other aspects of the port,” said Gagan Dhal, principal secretary (commerce & transport). The captive port will handle capesize vessels (150,000 or dwt) for coal and coke and Handymax vessels (50,000 dwt) for general cargo. During the first phase, the port will have two dedicated berths for handling coal and limestone and one berth for general cargo. The port is anticipated to handle about 33 million tonnes per annum of coal and other import items. Work on the second phase is set to begin after 2017, when the port will have three more general berths. The multiplier effects of the port include revenue from cargo handling, regional economic development, and employment generation, development of road and rail connectivity and acceleration of local economy as well as that of the state.

Source: Business Standard