Mythological characters add colour to Thakurani Yatra in Berhampur

Thousands of people are congregating at the Desibehera street in Berhampur to witness the biennial Budhi Thakurani Yatra. Budhi Thakurani, the presiding deity of Silk City, reached her temporary abode at Desibehera Street on Friday and would return to her main temple on the last day of the yatra on April 29. To welcome the Goddess, a temporary 11-foot tall temple is constructed by hereditary craftsmen using casuarina logs and leaves. At the west-side of the temple a pedestal or the Simhasan is constructed to accommodate the Goddess. According to historians the preparations for the festival start from Shivratri.

The Desibehera (barber) goes to the Thakurani temple in the city and invites the Goddess for the festival. He also gets the Shubha Khunti or holy mast from the temple which is put in front of his house. As per the tradition on the day of start of festival Desibehera’s wife goes to the Thakurani temple with floral offerings. The offered flower, which falls from the head of the deity, is then brought back as the representative of the deity to the makeshift temple and is put in a ‘ghatam’ along with eight other ‘ghatams’. On the last day, the ‘ghatams’ return to the main temple in a large procession. During the celebrations all the streets of Berhampur wear a new look and people dressed in mythological characters move around the streets leaving behind a trail of religiousness in every nook and cranny.

The people dressed in mythological characters add zest to the festival. Earlier, the persons dressed as mythological characters had to beg from seven houses and offer whatever they collected at the Thakurani temple. Now it more of an easy income for the unemployed, said an octogenerian. This year, the district administration has deployed 11 platoons of police force and installed close circuit cameras in wake of the large crowd.

Source: New Indian Express

Source: The Sambad

TTDB welcomes the devotees to the Chaitra Yatra at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

Second marine police station in Ganjam district at Pati Sonepur

To strengthen security along the coast in Ganjam district, a second marine police station will soon be set up at Pati Sonepur, about 20 km form Berhampur city. The other police station in the district is currently functioning at Arjeepalli, near Chhatrapur. "The state government has approved plans for the new marine police station and it will initially operate from a private building," said inspector general (law and order) in-charge of coastal security Binayanand Jha. He along with DIG (southern range) Amitav Thakur and SP (Berhampur) Prateek Mohanty visited Pati Sonepur on Sunday.

The land for the proposed marine police station has already been identified. "The land acquisition process has begun and it is expected to be completed by next week," said Thakur. The jetty of the fishery department will be put to use till police set up their own. "Two boats, including an interceptor, will be stationed at the new police station for the costal patrolling," said Mohanty.

Decision to set up a marine police station at Pati Sonepur assumes significance with large number of tourists flocking to the coastal areas and a new port proposed near the site. Besides the sea areas, some nearby panchayats would also fall under the jurisdiction of the new police station, the SP added.

Source: Times of India

Silk City gearing up for Thakurani Yatra

Source: The Sambad

Seminar held in Gopalpur to promote beach tourism

Gopalpur-on-Sea (Berhampur)

Good road connectivity, cleanliness of beaches, proper lighting, pollution control and security are key to a tourism boost in the beach towns of the state, most of the speakers at a seminar held on Tuesday here said. They added that the role of local people and hoteliers was also important. "Barring a few ones, most of the beaches in the state lack these basic amenities," president of the Beach Protection Council of Odisah (BPCO) Jagannath Bastia said. There are 26 beaches on the 482-km long Odisha coast, he added. The seminar on development of beach tourism was organized by the BPC0 in association with the department of tourism and culture of the state government. Gopalpur MLA Pradip Panigahi, however, said the government had taken several steps for the development of beach tourism, particularly at Gopalpur beach. Besides holding the beach festivals, the district administration had started holding culture programmes on every Sunday to attract tourists. He also stressed on the cooperation of hoteliers and local fishermen for development of tourism at Gopalpur. District tourist officer K C Nishonk said the administration had proposed to bring folk dance groups from Kerala, Rajasthan, Manipur and Karnataka to the sea beach town to perform on Sunday evenings. This apart, the state government has sanctioned around Rs 36 lakh for beach cleaning, the tourist officer added. Ganjam district hotel association president Uma Shankar Panigrahi, however, pointed out there was no bus communication between Berhampur to Gopalpur. "Even though the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) promised a bus service some years ago, it has not turned into reality," Panigrahi added. Source: Times of India

Source: The Sambad

Interesting Articles/Blogs/Travelogues on Berhampur

• Berhampur: Sour,Sweet and smooth as Silk! By Sourav Panda (thebrokenscooter.com)
• From Berhampur to Brahmapur!  (svcberhampur.blogspot.in)
• Drifting Into a Side-Stream! By Hendrik Erasmus
• Gopalpur-on-Sea: An unforgettable memory; By Sugata Sen
• Kashmir of Orissa - Daringbari (avik-besttraveldestinations.blogspot.in)
• Weekend Drive to Ganjam; ByPriyadarshini Sur (www.boloji.com)
• Kolakata to Gopalpur-on-Sea : a Long Weekend; By DriveTrain BHPian (http://www.team-bhp.com)
• SilkCity, Berhampur- The Abode of Serenity and Bewildering Beauty (thesereneland.blogspot.in)
• AJourney: Tara Tarini, Orissa, India (Cont.) (prasanta-travel.blogspot.in)
• Weekend Destinations near Kolkata (weekenddestinations.info)

Berhampur Places: Taptapani (Bounty of Nature)