Wednesday, July 31, 2013
New VC of Berhampur University eyes academic progress
Discipline and development will be
the buzz words on the Berhampur University campus as Deepak Behera will take
over as the new vice-chancellor tomorrow. “My priority would be to maintain
co-ordination among the students, employees and the faculty members and put the
university on the track of academic progress,” Behera, who was serving as a
professor of anthropology at Sambalpur University prior to this appointment,
told The Telegraph over phone. Behera had been teaching at Sambalpur University
since 1985 and published more than 70 research-oriented articles in various
journals and magazines. Outgoing vice-chancellor Jayant Kumar Mahapatra said
that during his three-year term since July 2010, discipline had strictly been
maintained on the Bhanja Bihar campus. “There was not a single strike in this
period. I carried out a series of academic reforms, including restructuring of
UGC-NET syllabus, non-negotiable exam calendar and publication of results
within 45 days,” he said. Students of Berhampur University, apart from teaching
and non-teaching employees, described Mahapatra’s term as the “golden period”
of the university. Source: The Telegraph
Rare Egyptian vultures sighted in Chikiti forests near Berhampur
BERHAMPUR: Forest officials will carry out a
survey on the rare Egyptian vultures, after a number of them were spotted near
Laxmipur in Ganjam district's Chikiti forest range. A bird-watcher recently
sighted 13 such birds and reported it to the divisional forest officer (DFO),
Berhampur. "A survey should be conducted and their nesting site
located," said honorary wildlife warden of Khurda Pityush P Mohapatra. Supporting
Mohapatra's view, DFO (Berhampur) S S Mishra said, "The sight of vultures
indicates a healthy and rich biodiversity of the area. We will soon launch a
survey."
Berhampur forest division has planned to
submit a proposal to the wildlife wing of the forest department to take up a
project to conserve the endangered species. The action plan will be prepared
after conducting a detailed survey, said Mishra. Locals have sighted these
vultures at different places in the rainy season and feel these have come to
eat the fish or other small animals. The number of vultures in south Asia,
mainly in India and Nepal, has declined drastically over the last few years.
Residues of poisonous veterinary drug in the animal carcasses are a major
reason behind the trend, said Swaparna Rani Das, a zoologist. The government has
already banned the drug, she added.
Source: Economic Times
Hostel relief for Berhampur University students
Accommodation for postgraduate
students seeking admission in Berhampur University would no longer be a problem
with university authorities allotting hostel facilities at the time of
admission. Hostel with sufficient accommodation facilities have been reserved
for first-year students - both girls and boys. The allotment of rooms was made
on the spot of their admission like the major Indian institutes-IIMs, IITs and
NITs.
Students had to face a harrowing time to get
accommodation in the hostels before implementation of this method. The
students, especially girls, constitute around 50% of total students' strength
in the university, were the biggest sufferers. "We have adopted this
student-friendly approach from last year to help students, who came from
far-off places," said vice-chancellor J K Mohapatra, whose three-year term
as VC was over on Friday. Most of the parents expressed satisfaction on the
approach, he said. "We have already allotted hostel facilities to 130
freshers - 70 girls and 60 boys - in the past two days," said hostel
warden Prasanna Kumar Biswasray. The admission process in postgraduate
departments in the university started on Wednesday. There would be no problem
to accommodate hostel-seekers this time, particularly for girls, as the
university will add three more hostels for them this time, Biswasray said. While
a 42-capacity girls' hostel meant for research scholars would start soon,
construction of two other hostels with accommodation capacity of around 200
girls is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, he
said, adding that the university has also hostels facilities to accommodate
over 500 boys.
Source: Times of India
Odisha objects to JSPL acquiring 60% stake in Gopalpur port
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd’s (JSPL) plan to
acquire up to 60 per cent stake in Gopalpur Ports Ltd (GPL) has been aborted
with the Odisha government refusing to permit the company to acquire
controlling stake in the project. The state government reasoned that
acquisition of controlling stake by JSPL would violate the terms of concession
agreement signed with the original promoters of GPL. “The law department has raised
objections to acquisition of 60 per cent stake in GPL by any firm. As per the
concession pact signed with the developers of GPL, the original promoters of
GPL have to retain at least 51 per cent stake for at least three years from the
start of commercial operations. So, we have refused dilution of 60 per cent in
GPL in favour of JSPL,” said an official of commerce & transport
department. JSPL said, the state government has reacted belatedly to its
earlier proposal of acquisition of 60 per cent share in the port project. “Initially,
we had submitted a proposal for picking up 60 per cent stake in GPL. Later,
JSPL presented a revised proposal, stating it is okay with 49 per cent equity
since the concession pact would not allow the company to acquire controlling
stake in the project. But, our revised proposal is yet to be sent by GPL
promoters to the state government,” said a senior company official.
GPL was initially floated as a consortium of
three partners- Hong Kong-based Noble Group, Odisha Stevedores Ltd (OSL) and
Delhi-based Sara International Ltd (SIL). Noble Group exited the consortium in
May 2010. The consortium was to develop the seasonal port at Gopalpur into an
all-weather port. Presently, OSL’s holding in GPL is 50.5 per cent while the rest
49.5 per cent is with SIL. The port started its commercial operations last
month when 7,500 tonnes of ilmenite, the sand mineral product of Odisha Sands
Complex (OSCOM), a unit of the Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), was shipped
through a small vessel to South Korea. The port’s total capacity was envisaged
at 54 million tonne per annum (mtpa) and it was to be developed at a cost of Rs
3,500 crore. The state government has initiated the process to resume 269 acres
of mined out land of Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL). The patch will be leased
out to GPL for expansion.
Source: Business Standard
Monday, July 29, 2013
Ray of hope for lighthouses in Odisha
Gopalpur-on-Sea (Berhampur) |
Gopalpur, the famous beachfront
town near Berhampur city in Ganjam district of Odisha is also a well-known
tourist destination. “In the past, we have climbed on the top of the
lighthouse, and seen the beautiful Bay of Bengal and the shadow of it on the
beach. With the proposal from the shipping ministry to make it more attractive,
a lot of tourists will definitely avail the opportunity to explore the
British-era wonder,’’ said Manas Panigrahi of Berhampur city, which is also
known for its silk saris.
Gopalpur lighthouse came into
existence in 1871 for assisting coastal shipping between Rangoon and Coromandal
coast ports. The steamer service to Rangoon also touched Gopalpur port in the
past. Local residents said due to erosion of the coast in 1943, the lighthouse
got heavily damaged and stopped functioning. Later, it remained unused due to
World War II. In 1948, a new gas light inside a 500mm lantern was established
on a hillock about 1km north from the coast. The present lighthouse was
constructed on December 15, 1967.
Tour operator Srikant Mishra from
Bhubaneswar is happy that the Centre has considered the renovation and
development of the heritage lighthouse. “We often get tourists who want to take
beach tourism very seriously and also explore the lighthouses, but there is no
amenities for them. The project will help them to spend quality time there. The
destinations will be helpful for the niche tourists,” he added.
Some of the major lighthouses
included in the programme are the ones at Kanhoji Angre in Mumbai, Kanyakumari,
Rameswaram, Mahabalipuram, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Aguado, Dwarka and Minicoy. Source: The Telegraph
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Berhampur Ring road to be ready in 6 months
A 45km-long Ring Road will come up here within six months to ease traffic problem in the city. “The National Highway (NH) No. 16 has a 13km road from Raghunathpur to Ratnapur around Berhampur. We are planning to connect with the 13-km stretch from Ratnapur to Haldiapadar through Dakhinpur and Lathi (15km) and Haldiapadar to Mandiapalli (17km),” said executive engineer (Berhampur division No. II, PWD) Pradip Kumar Das. The proposed Ring Road will cover Raghunathpur, Ratnapur, Digapahandi Road, Chikiti Road, Haldiapadar, the NH, Korapalli, University Road and Golabandh Gate. “The Ring Road will link all the radial roads touching Berhampur, said development authority Chief Kailash Rana. Source: The Telegraph
Centre for Canadian studies of Berhampur University organised a lecture on Indo-Canadian ties
The centre for Canadian studies of Berhampur University
organised a lecture on Indo-Canadian ties at the political science department
on 24 July.
Charles Borges, associate professor in history from Loyola
University, Maryland, USA, gave a talk on various dimensions of Indo-Canadian
relationship. He also spoke about contribution of Indians living in Canada in
various fields like education, social service, sports and general civic life. Source:
The Hindu
Monday, July 22, 2013
LED lights planned along major Berhampur cityroads
The Berhampur
Municipal Corporation has decided to install energy-efficient LED (light-
emitting diode) lights on a pilot basis under its ongoing street lighting
programme. At least 25 LED lights would be installed along half-km stretch from
Courtpeta to New Bus Stand road. "The tender process is over. Installation
of lights will start soon," said assistant engineer (mechanical) of the
civic body Sukant Kumar Sabat. Installation of LED lights is part of the
corporation's ongoing illumination drive at an estimated cost of Rs 2.50 crore.
The government has sanctioned Rs 1.30 crore to the corporation for the purpose,
said MLA (Berhampur) R C Chyaupatnaik.
Aska Road Berhampur |
While LED lights are costlier, in
the long run they prove to be major energy savers and are low on maintenance.
Moreover life of LED light is roughly three times that of a sodium lamp while
giving more illumination, Sabat said. The civic body has also decided to install
at least 13 more high-mast lights in different places of the city. "We
have identified the places and work will start soon," said mayor S S Das.
At present, the city has five high-mast lights.
The civic body has launched a
drive to replace vapour lights along major roads, including the national
highway passing through the city, with decorative lights. Around 40 decorative
lights have already been installed in one-km stretch from Bijipur to
Goshaninuagon and 70 along Aska road. Another 40 such lights would be installed
along the Aska road. The civic body has also drawn up plans to install
decorative lights from Gundicha mandir to Andha Pasara, Kamapalli to
Engineering school road, Engineering school road to Gopalpur chhak and
Lanjipalli to national highway, Sabat said.
Source: Times of India
Thursday, July 18, 2013
MKCG eyes better set-up
Authorities of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur
had a detailed discussion with officials of the construction company which the
state government has asked to execute nine development projects on the campus. The
state government has sanctioned Rs 118.8 crore for the projects and Larsen
& Toubro (L&T) has been entrusted with the task of executing the plan. The
facilities include an academic block with a concrete stage and lecture theatre,
1,500-seat capacity auditorium, a six-storey building near the boys’ hostel to
house super-specialty departments, including neurology, burn and plastic
surgery and euro surgery. Separate blocks will be built for some of the
departments and a laboratory.
According to the new proposal, a 300-capacity boys’ hostel, a
100-capacity PG hostel, a 100-capacity senior residents’ hostel, two ladies’
hostel (100-capacity undergraduate and 100-capacity postgraduate), separate
building for the nursing school with 50-capacity boys’ hostel and 200-capacity
girls’ hostel will be built. Principal A.K. Dandapat said: “L&T will built
these projects on a turnkey basis and the medical college will get an
infrastructural boost. The intake of MBBS seats will be hiked from 150 to 250
once the construction is over. Better set-up will help us to approach the
Medical Council of India for an additional increase of 100 MBBS seats from the
next academic year.” He said infrastructure development of the medical college
was the council’s precondition to increase the MBBS seats.
Principal architect of the company S. Krishnamoorty and its
project head Jaydeep Sengupta visited various sites of the proposed projects on
the campus yesterday. “They discussed with me about the inflow of patients,
college and hospital management and the present status,” Dandapat said. “We
want to build a united structure for smooth hospital and college management,”
the principal said. The site selection and development committee of the MKCG
consisting of five professors of various departments, including Dr Srikrushna
Mahapatra (Biochemistry), Dr Bipin Bihari Pradhan (physiology), Dr K.C. Biswal
(radiology) besides the principal, have suggested sites to set up various
buildings.
Source: The Telegraph
Rs. 118 crore sanctioned for development of MKCG Medical College
The State government has sanctioned Rs.118 crore for
infrastructure development projects in MKCG medical college and hospital campus
in Berhampur. According to Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik, this
money would be spent during the year 2013-14. “This infrastructure development
would ensure increase of student intake strength of MKCG medical college and
would also make it a premier referral medical centre of the State,” Mr. Chayau
Patnaik said. It may be noted that the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in
his speech during golden jubilee celebration of this government medical college
on December 1, 2013 had declared that the State government would make all
efforts to enhance infrastructure to increase MBBS student intake capacity of this
college in the city by another 100 students.
As part of the developmental projects to be taken up on the
MKCG medical college and hospital campus, a new central Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) would come up. A building for super specialisation departments would also
be built up. This building would house departments like plastic surgery,
neurology, urology, nephrology, endocrinology, cardiology etc. To meet the
proposed increase in student strength a new hostel for boys and another for
girl students would be built. A new hostel for senior residents of the medical
college hospital is also on the anvil. There would be two new hostels for
nursing students.
This medical college would have a new well equipped
auditorium with capacity to hold an audience of 1,500. Four new large lecture
theatres of the medical college would also come up. They would include three lecture
theatres of 350 persons capacity while the other would have a capacity to have
650 persons. There would be a new building to house all laboratories of the
medical college. It is also planned to have an apartment for the nursing staff
on the campus. Speaking on the vacancies of staff in MKCG medical college, the
MLA said he has urged the State government to make ad hoc appointment of one
associate professor in each of the super speciality departments.
Source: The Hindu
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Berhampur Municipal Corporation corporators demand wards’ reconstitution
Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) has demanded
reconstitution of its wards as per the 2011 Census. The corporators of the BMC
have passed a resolution in support of their demand. They have also decided to
meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue, according to BMC Commissioner
Ajit Mishra.
It may be noted that elections for the BMC is likely to be
held this year. There are three municipal corporations in the State --
Berhampur, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Number goes up
Meanwhile, the wards of the BMC have been reconstituted.
Earlier there were 37 wards in the BMC. After the reconstitution, the number of
wards has increased to 40. But complains have poured in from all major
political parties regarding the reconstitution of wards. Even the present BMC
Mayor S.S. Dash has expressed his dissatisfaction over reconstitution of wards.
Former Union Minister Chandrasekhar Sahu, who was the chairperson of the
municipality in the past had also objected to the reconstitution of wards.
The objections are regarding area, population as well as
reservation of wards as per the census of 2001. Some Congress corporators have
also decided to approach the court of law against the ward reconstitution and
reservation.
It is felt that the recent reconstitution of wards of the
city as per the 2001 Census does not reflect the proper representation of the
present city populace. It may be noted that in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack
municipal corporations, there have been similar protests against demarcation of
wards as per the 2001 Census. Most of the corporators of the BMC were of the
opinion that 2011 census report should be teh basis for demarcation of wards in
Berhampur Municipal Corporation.
Not in uniform
As the recent demarcation of wards is as the per 2001
census, the wards are not uniform in nature. Some of them have around 3000
voters while in some other wards the number is more than 7000 voters.
Apart from it, the wards are also not in series as per their
boundaries. But some corporators like Ashok Shukla are of the opinion that the
recent resolution of the BMC is a delayed one. “This resolution should have
been passed much earlier and sent to the government for timely action,” he has
said. Source: The Hindu
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
High Court Bench in Berhampur still elusive
Berhampur continues to be deprived of a separate Bench of
Orissa High Court in spite of several agitations by different sections of
society for several years. On the other hand, a commission set up by the State
Government to look into the demand is yet to file even an interim report after
five years of its formation.
The demand for the Bench at Berhampur dates back to 1st
April 1936 when Orissa was made a separate State. Since then the litigants, the
people’s representatives, general public, the Ganjam Bar Association and other
bar associations have been bringing the matter to the notice of the State
Government, Central Government and the High Court of Odisha but to no avail.
The Ganjam Bar Association (GBA) has been resorting to
agitations to press the demand since 1974. The advocates boycotted all the
judicial courts in the city from December, 2007 to April, 2008. Closure of
judicial courts for around four and a half months has posed serious problems
for the litigants and the work of judicial courts came to a standstill.
During the period the advocates regularly brought out
rallies, organised street corner meetings, besides boycotting the the meetings
of ministers.
Following the agitation, the State Government appointed a
Commission headed by CR Pal, a retired judge of Orissa High Court, to look into
the demand.
The Commission has been continuing its enquiry till date
with five extensions and around ` 1.4 crore has been spent on it, But it is yet
to submit an interim report.
Meanwhile Jyoti Prasad Chotray, former secretary of GBA,
compiled a booklet elaborating the justification of setting up a high court
bench in Berhampur and sent it to the President of India requesting him to
intervene in the matter.
In the book Chotroy has stated that in 2007 the State
Government had requested the Orissa High Court to consider the proposal afresh
for establishment of permanent bench in western and southern Odisha.
But the Chief Justice
of Orissa High Court turned down the proposal for want of material and
considering the judicial guidelines of the Supreme Court.
Chotroy has pointed out that due to lack of safe and
comfortable communication system, the litigants have to face hardship in
instituting, prosecuting and defending their cases in the High Court at
Cuttack. It takes the litigants of Malkanagiri, Nuapada, Koraput, Rayagada and
Nawarangapur more than 10 hours to come to Cuttack.
Chotroy further said increasing the number of judges in the
Orissa High Court cannot serve the purpose due large number of pending cases.
The only remedy lies in setting up benches of Orissa High Court at Berhampur,
Chotroy concluded. Source:
New Indian Express
Monday, July 1, 2013
Berhampur University (BU) to have special website for distance mode
Several developmental projects would be taken up in Berhampur University during current academic year.
They were elaborated by the Vice-Chancellor of the Berhampur University Jayanta Kumar Mohapatra during the 18th convocation of the university.
He said the university was planning to introduce more innovative courses under distance education. To make learning under distance education mode easier the university plans to launch a separate website for its Harihar Mardaraj Distance Education Centre. It has been proposed to start a full-fledged placement cell at Berhampur University during current academic year.
It would cater to the needs of the students on the verge of entering the competitive world to face the challenges. During current academic year the total number of womens’ hostels on the campus would increase to six.
It may be noted that this university has more than 50 per cent girl students. The V-C said, the new womens’ hostel named Jhanjhabati would be ready to accommodate students during the start of admissions of current academic session. Two more ladies’ hostels which are under construction were expected to be complete by October, he added.
The university is trying to further strengthen teaching, research and extension activities during 12th plan period.
According to the V-C, it has been decided to renovate and upgrade the laboratory facilities at the university to undertake advanced research. “We are conscious of the fact that there would be financial constraints but we are confident of making best use of our limited resources for the purpose,” the V-C said.
According to Prof. Mohapatra, the university is also exploring possibilities of undertaking collaborative research and promoting industry-academia collaboration. It is need of the hour, he added.
The university plans to sign up MoUs with reputed research organisations and universities for the purpose. Source:The Pioneer