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

Gopalpur beach festival beckons: The Telegraph

BERHAMPUR: Preparations are on in full swing for the Gopalpur beach festival that will commence on December 24, at the serene beach resort near Berhampur city. The five-day festival of music and dance is being organised by the Ganjam District Hotel Association in collaboration with the Song and Drama Division, the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), the state culture and tourism department, the Ganjam district administration and the district council of culture. “Singers from both Bollywood and the Oriya film industry have been roped in to entertain the crowd. We expect a large number of tourists from the country and abroad this year,” said Uma Shankar Panigrahy, president Ganjam District Hotel Association and the convenor of the festival. “We have given priority to folk art forms and cultural troupes from across the country who will take part in this beach festival,” said V. Santosh Kumar, co-convenor of the festival. Jodi Sankha (blowing of twin conch shells), Odissi and Sambalpuri dance, Danda Chadheya folk dance, Gotipua, Gond dance of Nabarangpur, Dongria Kondh dance from Rayagada, Ghumra of Kalahandi, animal mask dance, Chinese folk dance and so on will be features of this five-day festival. Artistes from various states will also perform. Visitors to the beach festival can also look forward to fusion dance Sankha Cheel by a troupe from Calcutta, Sidigamma dance from Gujarat, Debojit Saha and troupe from Mumbai, and Kuchipudi by Laxman Kumar from Andhra Pradesh. Renowned singer from the Oriya film industry Sakti Mishra and Rex De’Souza from the Mumbai film industry will also be performing. Berhampur’s Prince Dance Group, which was the winner in the India’s Got Talent show on Colors TV, will perform on the last day of the festival, according to the organisers. 

The state tourism department has included the five-day Gopalpur beach festival in the tourism calendar. “This will help us better market the event outside the state,” said an organiser. The first Gopalpur beach festival was started in the year 1996 to promote tourism and culture. The concept of the festival was conceived by V. Santosh Kumar. “The beach festival was discontinued for three consecutive years — 1999-2001 — and again in 2005, 2006 and 2007 due to various reasons,” Kumar said. He added that the total budget estimate of the festival is Rs 20 lakh. “The festival has several sponsors: corporate houses and public undertakings including Tata Steel, Gopalpur Port Limited, IRE Limited and many others. We have decided not to collect a single paise from the public to organise the festival, but we always welcome any voluntary contributions.” One hundred stalls are being prepared at the festival sites that have been booked by the corporate, government agencies and private concerns. “Special provision has been made for parking during the festival. The public can proceed up to Gopalpur Bus Stand with their vehicles where we have arranged for seven parking spots. We expect inflow of about 50,000 on each day and about a lakh on Sunday to Gopalpur. Arrangements have been made accordingly,” Kumar said. Artistes will be staying at the Youth Hostel of Gopalpur. “We will also accommodate many artistes in Berhampur. The total number of artistes is expected between 1,500 and 2,000,” he said.

Source: The Telegraph

Berhampur based RGB launches CBS operations

BERHAMPUR: The Rushikulya Gramya Bank (RGB), one of the five Regional Rural Banks (RRB) in Orissa, has initiated the process of adopting Core Banking Solution (CBS) in all its branches. The bank today introduced CBS in one of its branches at Berhampur and has set a target to bring its other 80 branches and proposed new branches to the CBS fold by the end of March next year. The Central government has fixed the deadline for all RRBs across the state to be CBS compliant before September next year.  The RGB is operating in two south Orissa districts, Ganjam and Gajapati, with a network of 71 and 10 branches respectively. The bank proposed to open three more new branches before the end of this financial year at Randha, Ganjam town and Nilakanthanagar in Berhampur. Launching the CBS operation, the bank’s chairman PVSTR Seshagiri Rao said, Andhra Bank has provided all technical support in this regard. Hyderabad based Andhra bank is the sponsoring bank of RGB. With the introduction of CBS, the customers of this rural bank can transact their business from any where and at any branch of the bank like its counterpart commercial banks. The business volume of the bank is expected to grow with introduction of this modern technology, he hoped. The bank has achieved business of around Rs 1260-crore (Rs 898-crore deposits and Rs 362-crore advances) so far as against target of Rs 1520-crore (Rs 950-crore deposits and Rs 570-crore advances) by the end of March, 2011.  

Source: Business Standard

BMC outsourcing garbage collection to pvt parties

BERHAMPUR: Berhampur Municipal Corporation is considering handing over sanitation of more wards to private parties.“We have stopped recruiting new sweepers. With the population of Berhampur growing alarmingly and the number of wards and vehicles to transport garbage increasing, privatisation of sanitation is the only option,” said city health officer Subhakanta Das, adding that out of the 37 wards, sanitation in 13 wards has been privatised and more were on the pipeline. BMC was presently managing 450km road and 450-km drain of the corporation. Sanitation was privatised in ward numbers 10, 13, 14, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 32. Sanitation in another two to three wards would be privatised within two months, he said. “Privatisation has yielded good result and we are initiating steps to privatise sanitation in all wards in phases,” he said. Hadu Patra, corporator of ward number 28 of BMC, is happy with the privatisation of sanitation in his ward. “BMC is providing Rs 1.60 lakh per month to the private contractor taking care of sanitation in my ward. The staff employed by the contractor collect garbage from every house each day, even on holidays, which we can’t expect from the sanitation staff of BMC. The roads, drains and the scavenger lanes are being cleaned everyday and the public is free to complain to the higher authorities,” said the corporator. BMC has 759 sweepers and drain cleaners including 371 regular and 388 casual staff. Considering the national average which states that two sweepers are needed to clean and maintain half-a-km of road and drain, we require a total of 1,800 sweepers in Berhampur. But we are now managing the task with only 759 of them. We have vehicles to transport garbage, said the health officer. Privatisation of sanitation has helped us to deploy sweepers and drain cleaners in only 24 wards which resulted in reducing our burden, he added. BMC has deployed sanitation staff in various wards considering the density of population and the quantity of garbage the area generates. “In ward number 12, the number of sanitation staff is 37 while seven are managing the responsibility in ward number 37,” Das said. “We are dumping the garbage at Chandini Hills near Sukunda Math spread over an area of 20-acres 10-km from the BMC office and strictly instructed the drivers of these vehicles to make two trips during the morning and one trip in the evening on every working days”, said the Health Officer. The BMC has initiated steps to establish a garbage disposal plant at Chandini Hills under PPP mode. “We have already built the boundary wall and the gate. Electrification is under progress and the garbage disposal plant with a capacity of 400 MT may come up with in 2 to 3 years”, said Das.

Source: The Telegraph

Olive Ridley turtles arrive at Rushikulya rookery near Berhampur

Project Smile India

• Rushikulya is one of the biggest mating grounds of Olive Ridleys in the world
• Measures have been initiated to protect these mating Olive Ridleys
• At present small number of mating pairs are visible which is expected to increase
• Fishing has been banned in the area where these turtles are congregating

BERHAMPUR: Rare and endangered Olive Ridley turtles have started to arrive for mating near Rushikulya rookery (about 30km from Berhampur and 30km from the famous Tara Tarini hill Shrine) in Ganjam district is considered as one of the biggest mating grounds of Olive Ridleys in the world. According to officials of the forest department they are now gathering up at a distance of seven kilometres from the coast line. At present small number of mating pairs are visible. But a large number of turtles can be seen. Mating of Olive Ridleys picks up in this area in the last week of December and January. This year these endangered marine turtles have arrived in time.

The Olive Ridleys usually start their mating in the sea near their preferred nesting coast. According to experts these rare turtles have a single mating season in a year. After the end of the mating season most male turtles usually return back leaving behind the female turtles to lay their eggs. The nesting of Olive Ridleys starts from the end of January in sporadic manner which picks up in February.

Measures have been initiated to protect these mating Olive Ridleys in the sea. Fishing has been banned in the area where these turtles are congregating. This involves the stretch of sea up to a distance of ten kilometres from the coast line of Rushikulya rookery. Extension of fishing ban area extends to ten kilometres towards the north and ten kilometres towards south of the rookery.

Illegal entry of fishing trawlers to this region is being checked through regular patrolling at sea said Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer. A team of forest officials is also monitoring the Rushikulya rookery coast line where the turtles would lay eggs after two months. They are also documenting the carcasses of turtles found on this coast to assess the number and cause of deaths of Olive Ridleys out here. DFO said this year deposition was quite good at Rushikulya river coast, which means the turtles would have a good stretch of beach to lay their eggs.

Source: The Hindu, Photo source: Project Smile India & Flickr

New and extended trains that pass through Berhampur City

Haldia-Chennai (new weekly superfast), Paralakhemundi-Puri (Earlier Palasa-Puri) and Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur (Earlier Bhubaneswar-Koraput) trains pass through Berhampur city
BERHAMPUR: As announced in the last Railway Budget the 2755 Chennai-Haldia weekly Super Fast Express has started operation from December 9 from Chennai. The train will leave Chennai at 2.35p.m every Thursday and will arrive at Howrah at 06.10p.m on Friday. In the return direction, 2756 Haldia-Chennai weekly Super Fast Express will leave Haldia at 11.30 am every Saturday and will arrive at Chennai at 5 pm on Sunday. This train has one AC-2 tier, five Sleeper Class, six General Second Class and two guard cum luggage vans having stoppages at Ongole, Vijaywada, Rajahmundry, Vizianagaram, Berhampur, Khurda Road, Cuttack, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Kharagpur, Panskura and Tamluk between Chennai Central & Haldia.

Similarly, Ministry of Railways has decided to extend the services of Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Koraput Hirakhand Express upto Jagadalpur and Puri- Berhampur-Palasa passenger to Parlakhemundi w.e.f. 18th December 2010 in East Coast Railway jurisdiction. 217 Puri-Palasa passenger which is leaving Puri at 07.50a.m and arriving Palasa at 03.25p.m will leave Palasa at 04.30p.m and will arrive at Paralakhemundi at 06.45p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 218 Paralakhemundi-Puri Passenger will leave Paralakhemundi at 07.45a.m and will arrive at Puri at 09.05p.m. This train will stop at Pundi, Rauthpuram, Naupada, Tekkali, Pedasana, Temburu, Ganguvada, and Pathapatnam between Palasa and Paralakhemundi. The timings of 217/218 Puri-Paralakhemundi-Puri passenger will remain unchanged between Puri & Palasa. The train will run as a special train on the flagging off day of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Puri w.e.f 19th December and from Paralakhemundi w.e.f 20th Dec’2010. 8447 Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Koraput Hirakhand Express, which is leaving Bhubaneswar at 07.35p.m and arriving Koraput at 09.45a.m on the next day, will leave Koraput at 10.05a.m and will arrive at Jagadalpur at 12.40p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 8448 Jagadalpur-Berhampur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will leave Jagadalpur at 03.30p.m and will arrive at Bhubaneswar at 08.25a.m on the next day. This train will stop at Jeypore and Jagadalpur in the extended portion. The timings of 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will remain unchanged between Bhubaneswar and Koraput. The train will run as a special train on the day of flagging off of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Bhubaneswar on 18th December and from Jagadalpur from 19th Dec’2010.

Berhampur University gets its campus radio

BERHAMPUR: The department of journalism and mass communication has started the campus radio in Berhampur University. Vice-chancellor Jayanta Kumar Mohapatra officially inaugurated “Bhanjabani”. The vice-chancellor appreciated the efforts on part of the staff and students in this and also highlighted the decisive role of campus radio as to how it promotes one to be an effective communicator. He further encouraged the students to take part and gain much out of this opportunity. Third semester student Sulachana Nayak was the anchor of the day. Rajeev Lochan Rathan and Sangram Kesari Das Mohapatra, being at the desk, furnished news collected by the students. Mohapatra has also announced to set up a multimedia lab for the department by March 2011. Laxmi Narayana Rout, chairman of the post graduate council, encouraged the students to avail of the opportunity. Sunil Kant Behera, J.S. Giri Rao, Pradeep Mohapatra, Jaganmohan Mohapatra and Sanat Panda guided the students in running the campus radio.

Source: The Telegraph

Co-operative University proposed at Gopalpur near Berhampur city

New building for Berhampur Municipal Corporation office

Following story by Sunil Patnaik from The Telegraph            

BERHAMPUR: Berhampur Municipal Corporation, which was declared the first municipality of Orissa 143 years ago, has initiated steps to construct a new building to accommodate various departments including administrative, engineering, planning, revenue, health and community welfare. “The building would be built at a cost of Rs 15 crore. Berhampur was declared as the first municipality of Orissa in 1867 and two blocks for housing the office of the mayor and commissioner, besides the office of the nizarat, were built by the British rulers then,”said mayor Siba Shankar Dash. “These two blocks would be untouched and kept as heritage structures. The present building, housing the PWD and the health department built half-a-century ago along with the mini park would be razed and we would build an attractive structure there,”he added. The architect of the proposed building, Prabir Kumar Dash, said it would be a five-storey structure with stilts and basement with parking facilities for two-wheelers and light four-wheelers. “The construction of the new building would start from January end. The green building technology to build the structure would be the only of its kind in south Orissa,” he said. The five-storey building would come up over an area of 18,200 square feet to accommodate 20 VIP rooms, more than 80 general rooms, two small conference halls of 720 sq ft each and one large conference hall of 5,100 sq ft. “We will also implement solar energy techniques. The solar cell panels would be embedded above the roof slab of the central conference hall on the fifth floor, said Dash. However, the corporation vehicles would be parked outside the campus.

Source: The Telegraph

Flying Training Institute at Berhampur takes off

Excerpts from a report by Sunil Patnaik in The Telegraph

BERHAMPUR: After Bhubaneswar, Oissa’s second flying club started functioning from the Rangeilunda airstrip near Berhampur city last week. The club accommodates 100 plus pilot trainees of the Government Aviation Training Institute (Gati), Bhubaneswar. “As the Bhubaneswar airport runway suffers from traffic congestion most of the time, the civil aviation ministry was in search of a suitable substitute and considered Rangeilunda airstrip as the best,” Capt. M.S. Mander, flight instructor in-charge of Gati, said in an exclusive interview to The Telegraph. “We have at present 100 plus trainee pilots at Gati, Bhubaneswar, and we impart aviation training for one-and-half to two years. We mainly provide training on two courses — Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and Private Pilot Licence (PPL). We are now doing six-day camp here and would again go back to Bhubaneswar,” Capt. Mander said. According to this provision, if one has 200-hours of flying experience, he or she is eligible to pilot a commercial plane and it is 50 hours for a private plane. Gati had five training planes including two Cessna-172 (four seater), two Cessna-152 (two seater) and one twin engine Pipper Seneca (six seater), Capt. Mander said. Indian economy is booming and aviation sector has greater prospects. “As corporate airlines are purchasing lots of aircraft and 34 airfields are coming up in the entire country, the future of Gopalpur and the trainee pilots is very bright. There is good connectivity between small airfields and more people are travelling in plane for business purposes,” said Capt. Mander.

However, Capt. Mander stressed on the need to improve the Rangeilunda airstrip. “We have urged the district administration to extend the present runway of the Rangeilunda airstrip so that regional aircraft can come. If that could be done, Gopalpur could bet air connectivity with Calcutta, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad and other important places. This would help Gopalpur to attract more tourists,” Capt. Mander said. Capt. Mander had surveyed the Rangeilunda airstrip along with Wing Commander Pradeep Chakraborty and Gopalpur MLA Pradip Panigrahi on October 12. A senior pilot of the ministry of civil aviation also visited the Rangeilunda airstrip a few months ago and asked the works engineer to develop it as a visual flight rule (VFR) airstrip and to provide at least two rooms to conduct the pilot training institute. Rangeilunda airstrip is situated on 40-acres and is under the control of the public works department. “Though the runway of the airstrip is used only 8-10 times in a year, we are maintaining it regularly. The length of the present runway is 750-meter and it is ready now for the flying training institute,” said P. K. Das, executive engineer, PWD. Rangeilunda is located at a distance of around 5km from Berhampur and is adjacent to Berhampur University. The Britishers built the Rangeilunda airstrip during the Second World War.According to sources, the defence establishments at nearby Golabandha, chief minister, VVIPs and corporate executives use the runway very often to reach Berhampur and other places in southern Orissa.

Berhampur University authority had provided four quarters in the Teachers’ Colony to the PWD on rent after the civil aviation ministry had sought four residential quarters and an office building for the Flying Training Institute. “We agreed to provide the quarters on rent as per provision,” said Prof. Jayant Mahapatra, vice-chancellor, Berhampur University. “The Aviation Training Centre, Bhubaneswar, also requested us alert students of the six boys’ hostels (including Rushikulya Hostel, Bansadhara Hostel, Nagabali Hostel and Jogendra Hostel) who usually use the airstrip as a thoroughfare. Though we have our separate approach road from the hostel to the PG departments, I have already communicated the message to the hostel inmates and all have agreed not to use the runway when the flying training institute begins to function,” the VC said. But the runway is yet to be free from trespassers. Onlookers gather there to catch a view of an aircraft landing or taking off. “The obstruction on the runway must be tackled immediately,” said Capt. Mander. R.D. Kabilan from Chennai, who is a trainee pilot, is happy with the course and Gati. “We have one chief flying instructor Capt. M.S. Mander and four other Instructors including Capt. Sandip Pradhan, Capt. Sandip Hati, Capt. Sukhnaib Singh and Capt. Ashok Kumar Sanday,” he said. “Though I am far away from home, the hospitality of the people of Orissa have impressed me,” he said. Kabilian along with five other trainee pilots are presently staying at the Inspection Bungalow at Gopalpur.

Source: The Telegraph