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Monday, July 28, 2014

Brahmapur celebrates Indian star weightlifter Ravi Kumar’s Silver at CWG 2014


Ravi Kumar personally thanks all Berhampurians through Future Berhampur for congratulating him on winning the weightlifting Silver in the Common Wealth Games 2014
The Silver winning performance of the star weightlifter from Odisha K Ravikumar has led to celebrations in his home town of Brahmapur with family members distributing sweets after his victory.
“I am happy that he has won the silver, though I would have been happier if he had won the gold. But this was the first time he was contesting in the 77 kg category and also the first time he was competing after the surgery. I am sure he would bring the gold at the forthcoming Asian championship,” said his elated mother.
Ravikumar won the silver medal in the 77 kg category at the ongoing Common Wealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow on Sunday.
Ravikumar lifted 142 kg in snatch and 175 kg in clean & jerk to win the bronze in the event in which compatriot Satish Shivalingam from Tamil Nadu won the gold.
Ravikumar had set a new record in the 69 kg category at the last CWG in New Delhi in 2010. This was the first time he participated in the 77 kg category.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

BJP DEMANDS HIGH COURT BENCH AT BRAHMAPUR


While extending support to the lawyers for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the Odisha High Court at Brahmapur, the district BJP has urged the State Government to immediately place the demand of the Ganjam Bar Association and the people of south Odisha in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly and send its resolution for the Central Government’s consideration.
It may be mentioned that the demand for a HC Bench here is being made for the last two decades, but in vain. The BJP is consistently supporting the lawyers’ agitation in this regard, said BJP district general secretary Sunil Kumar Sahu in a statement.
The party would soon bring this demand to the notice of the Union Law Minister as decided at a meeting of the BJP district Mahila Morcha executive body and communicated to the Ganjam Bar Association president Basanta Kumar Panda and secretary Rama Prasad Panda, said Sahu.
Former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rama Chandra Panda has also submitted several memorandums in the past to the State Governor and the Union Law Minister demanding a HC bench at Brahmapur, pointing out that Brahmapur is both commercial and education hub of the entire south Odisha and Ganjam Bar Association is a century-old body. Source: The Pioneer

Government of India and World Bank Sign $153 Million Agreement for Disaster Recovery Project in Berhampur city & Ganjam


The Government of India, the Government of Odisha and the World Bank signed a $153 million credit agreement to help the state build disaster resilient houses, improve the slums and city level infrastructure as well as strengthen its capacity for disaster risk management, following a severe cyclone that hit the state last year.
The credit agreement for the project was signed by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Upendra Nath Behera, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Odisha, on behalf of the Government of Odisha; and Michael Haney, Acting Country Director and Operations Adviser for World Bank in India, on behalf of the World Bank.
 “This project will focus on both reconstruction and disaster preparedness. It will help the Government of Odisha rebuild houses including related infrastructure like roads, water supply, sanitation and power. A very important part of the project will be to help the state be further prepared for the future,” said Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
On October 12, 2013, Cyclone Phailin hit the coast of Odisha near Gopalpur in Ganjam district. It was the strongest cyclone to hit the Indian coast in the past 14 years, affecting about 13.2 million people in 171 blocks in 18 Districts of the state. The state government in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) managed to evacuate over a million people. As a result of this massive operation, loss of human lives was limited to 44. The Odisha State Management Authority (OSDMA), formed after the 1999 Super Cyclone played a major role in improving the capacity of the state in responding to the recent disaster. The Super Cyclone of 1999, which was of similar intensity, had killed more than 10,000, destroyed 275,000 homes and left 1.67 million homeless in Odisha.
“When Cyclone Phailin hit Odisha one million people were evacuated with minimum loss of human lives. We are happy that collectively we were able to achieve a greater degree of preparedness. However, there is still work to be done since despite limited loss of life, the impact on the lives of the people living in these parts was massive and we need to make sure that the physical damage is reduced by building smarter,” said Michael Haney, World Bank’s Operations Adviser in India.
World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly conducted a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) at the request of the Government of India and in close collaboration with the Government of Odisha. The assessment estimated the physical damages across a range of sectors and calculated the cost of reconstruction at about $1.45 billion. The reconstruction cost for the housing sector alone was estimated at $480million. The catastrophic event has particularly impacted the districts of Ganjam (where most of the damage took place and the landfall of the cyclone occurred), Puri, and Khordha. The sectors covered in the assessment included housing and public buildings; roads; urban and rural infrastructure; agriculture; livelihood; energy/power and forest and plantations.
World Bank assistance has been sought in rebuilding fully damaged houses, slum improvements, and capacity building of the disaster risk management institutions. In the Ganjam district of Odisha alone, about 90,000 houses were partially or fully damaged along the coastal areas, many of them mud/thatched houses belonging to poor fishermen, farmers and landless.
Another key component of this project will be to improve urban infrastructure in Berhampur, the largest city in Ganjam district and enhance the technical capacity of the state for managing future disaster risks. With over 40% of Berhampur’s 350,000 inhabitants living in more than 200 slums across the city, the project will focus on improving the living condition of the people living in this city with better drainage system to reduce floods, better streets and street lighting, and access to improved water and sanitation services. Work will be undertaken in about 80 slums in Berhampur city covering a population of about 30,000.
Apart from reconstruction, the project will focus on disaster risk mitigation. It will strengthen the capacity of OSDMA for better risk mitigation, preparedness, and disaster response, in line with global best practices. This will help enhance OSDMA’s role in coordinating disaster risk mitigation related activities with other line departments and integrate it into the overall development work of the state.
Some of the activities that will be undertaken under this component include establishing an integrated complex comprising of OSDMA, Geographical Information System (GIS) cell equipped with a decision support center, Emergency Operation Center and a training center; enhancing the capacity of the OSDMA by providing them specialized dedicated manpower and hiring technical experts in the areas of disaster risk management, hydro-met systems, risk assessment and financing, structural engineering, remote sensing and GIS; and enabling the affected marginalized communities to cope with survival risks posed by natural calamities through community-based initiatives.
“While reconstruction is a key component of the project, globally there is evidence that some disaster recovery programs have focused heavily on rebuilding infrastructure and not enough on better adaptation and preparedness. This project will also focus on better adaptation and preparedness for the future through complementary investments on enhancing risk mitigation capabilities of the responsible institutions. This can not only help in saving lives and livelihoods but also in long-term disaster risk reduction,” said Deepak Singh, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist and World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project.
The project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries – which provides concessional loans with 25 years to maturity, including a grace period of 5 years.

Monday, July 21, 2014

IIM @ Berhampur....


Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's killer Maoist Sabyasachi Panda held from Berhampur


In a major achievement for the Odisha Police, top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda wanted in 61 criminal cases, was arrested late on Thursday from Brahmapur.
This prompted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to again appeal to the Maoists to eschew violence and join the mainstream. "The most wanted Maoist Sabyasachi Panda was arrested from Brahmapur. The arrest of Panda, who carried high reward on his head, is a big achievement for the Odisha Police," Patnaik said on Friday.
Panda was active in the Maoist movement for more than two decades, the Chief Minister said, adding that he was the guiding spirit behind formation of the Chasi Mulia Samiti and Kui Lawenga Sangh in 1995 in Rayagada and Gajapati districts.
Stating that these organisations were the foundation for spreading Maoist network in those areas, Patnaik said Panda was the founder of the Bansadhara and Ghumusur Divisions of the Odisha State Committee (OSC) and secretary of the Odisha State Organising Committee (OSOC) of the CPI(Maoist) till 2012.
Panda was operating in southern Odisha including the districts of Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal and Nayagarh. Panda was involved in numerous sensational cases like the Nayagarh and R Udayagiri armoury loots, killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, abduction of two Italian nationals and blowing up of an ambulance in Kandhamal, besides his overall involvement in killing of 25 security personnel and 34 civilians, the Chief Minister said.
According to information from Brahmapur, due to rains in the forests and non-cooperation of nearby villagers to provide shelter to Panda apprehending police action coupled with lack of fund the Maoist leader was forced to hide in Brahmapur.
Taking intelligence input and on a tip-off, the enthusiastic Brahmapur Police-led by SP Anirudha Singh swung into action and succeeded in arresting Panda from Desibehera Street under the Badabazar Police station. While some speculated that Panda might have surrendered to the police, others considered his arrest as a great success for the police.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

WHY THE GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA ALWAYS SHOWS STEP-MOTHERLY TREATMENT TO BERHAMPUR ?


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Blackbucks migrate to newer habitats in Ganjam


For the past few weeks large herds of blackbucks were sighted in Khallikote range under Berhampur forest division, which was not considered to be their habitat earlier.
Areas under Aska and Buguda forest ranges of Ganjam district are the natural habitat of the antelope. In these areas, blackbucks live close to human habitats in villages like Bhetanai, Buguda, Bajraput, Siddhanai, Banabali etc.
With monsoon being active, large herds of blackbucks were seen in open fields of Khandadeuli, Santoshpur, UDSpur, Poirasi panchayats. As they prefer to remain in the open during rain, they are called the harbingers of rain. Inhabitants of Ganjam district revere blackbucks.
Wildlife activist, R.N.Sahu said the presence of these blackbucks is a welcome change for environment. He urged the forest department to ensure that water was provided to the animals.
Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S.S.Mishra said they had started tracking the movement of blackbuck herds that have started to appear in Khallikote forest range.
“If these blackbucks prefer to stay back in this area, we would make all possible efforts to provide them necessary protection with support of locals,” he said. There are also several young ones in the herd.
According to the DFO, the animals seem to have migrated from Buguda and Aska forest ranges after cyclone Phailin. The Phailin cyclone in October last year and the continuous rains that followed had led to migration of blackbucks from their normal regions of habitation in Ganjam district.
Migration of black bucks is not new to Ganjam district. Earlier, blackbucks used to migrate from Aska and Buguda forest range areas in search of food. In 2012, some blackbucks had migrated to Khallokote forest range, but their number was small. Blackbuck herds were also seen to have migrated to areas near Bhanjanagar in 2012. Source: The Hindu 

NIST, Berhampur among the Best Engineering Colleges of India

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Kabi Samrat Uppendra Bhanja National Award to be instituted by Berhampur University


Will be presented to well-known poets of national stature every year
BY SUNIL PATNAIK

To popularize the works of eminent poet Upendra Bhanja (1670-1740),Berhampur University will institute an annual prize called the Bhanja National Award, which will be presented to well-known poets of national stature every year.
“We will honour famous and established poets at the national-level. It is not necessary for the poet to be honoured to be an expert in Bhanja’s works. But, we intend to popularise the name of Upendra Bhanja, known as Kabi Samrat in our state, at the national arena,” said Deepak Kumar Behera, vice-chancellor of Berhampur University.
The university will observe its golden jubilee in 2016 and the award will be instituted prior to the golden jubilee celebrations, he said. The varsity’s syndicate has approved the proposal.
A committee consisting political science professor Bishnu Charan Chowdhury, syndicate member Sudhansu Pati, registrar Manmath Padhi and chairman of the varsity’s postgraduate council Prasant Kumar Padhi would decide the modalities.
Bibekananda Panigrahi of Odia Science College, Hinjili, who is also a former member of Odisha Sahitya Academy, said: “One can compare Upendra Bhanja with Kalidas. But unfortunately, he is not that well known.”
Panigrahi’s book Upendra Bhanja Parikrama is a reference book at postgraduate level in Berhampur, Utkal and Sambalpur universities.
Few years ago, Sambalpur University has launched the Gangadhar Meher National Award to popularise him at the national level.
Lambodar Panigrahi, a lecturer in Odia language and literature at Mahamayee Women’s College, Berhampur, said: “It requires much efforts to translate the works of the poet into English and other Indian languages. At the same time, we must maintain the aesthetic values of Bhanja literature,” said Panigrahi. Source: Telegraph

Friday, July 4, 2014

Ganjam Kala Parishad renovation on the cards

Source: Orissa Post

Drinking water project for Berhampur hangs fire

Source: OrissaPost

Thursday, July 3, 2014

State Govt going slow on the proposed Police commissionerate system for Berhampur

Source: The Sambad