Apollo Clinic inaugurated in Berhampur city

Source: The Sambad

Berhampur to be made child-friendly city

A pilot project named ‘making Berhampur a child-friendly city’ will be launched in 15 slums of the city. The project will be taken up by Youth for Social Development (YSD), a social research and development organisation, with the support of Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF). According to Bibhu Prasad Sahu of YSD, the project is basically aimed at improving physical environment of children living in urban poverty in slums of Berhampur through increased sensitisation, participation, empowerment and involvement of local municipal corporation and other service providers to promote enhancement of physical environment in which the children live. The YSD has also joined hands with the ‘Humara Bachpan Campaign’ to spread the message among the masses to promote improvement of physical environment of children from poor families of the city. Mr. Sahu of YSD and Anant Prasad of ‘Humara Bachpan Campaign’ said it was high time for the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) to prioritise improvement of physical environment of children living in slums of the city. As per them, child-friendly physical environment in urban slums involved access to affordable basic health facilities, adequate sanitation, availability of clean drinking water, proper implementation of urban development policies as well as opportunity for children to have education and recreation.

The YSD activists felt the children living in slums of Berhampur are devoid of proper environment for their proper physical and mental growth. According to a study of the YSD, the city has 135 slums in which a population of around 1,17,541 live. The study also hinted that the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) did not have any specific policies or programmes for children living in these slums. There is also no budgetary provision of the BMC for the purpose. The BMC has not formed any ward committees to take public opinion regarding implementation of developmental schemes. Lack of participation meant that the urban poor did not have a choice or hold in determining their own development needs and priorities.

Source: The Hindu

Mondays of Kartik become picnickers’ favourites in Silk city Berhampur

Lord Shiva worshiped on the Kartik Mondays
BERHAMPUR: Families used Mondays of Hindu month of Kartik for picnicking with a religious fervour. The four Mondays of Kartik are used by Hindu families of South Orissa for the worship of Lord Shiva. With the advancement of communication they have started to use these days for family picnics near some Shiva temple amidst nature. Since morning a huge rush was seen at the Shiva temples of the Silk city as well as at the temples on its outskirts. Most of the city dwellers preferred to spend the day at the Shiva temples at scenic spots like Ghatakeswar or Dhavaleswar on the outskirts of the city near Gopalpur-On-Sea for their family gettogether and picnic.

Hundreds of families were seen cooking their food on the beach near Dhavaleswar temple near Gopalpur. Families from different parts of Ganjam district and South Orissa had come over to this beach to observe religious rituals and enjoy a family gettogether for a whole day. “Usually we do not get a chance to spend a whole day in fun and frolic with the family. At least the religious fervour of Kartik Mondays serves as an excuse for a family picnic,” Mita Lenka said. Similar was the scene near Dhavaleswar temple where families enjoyed the serenity of the jungle and the jungle stream that passes by.
Almost all families cooked pure vegetarian food without using onion and garlic. As per tradition spices and oils are avoided in food during the month of Kartik.
The new generation has also started leaving out oil and spices from food on four Mondays of the month. Due to it even grand parents who observe kartik penance could be included in most of the family picnics on these Mondays. On this Monday several traders of the city prefere to shut down their shops to enjoy the day with their families.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Pauper Prince conquers India to become King

Prince's glory: Silk City dances with joy

Saturday, 9 pm. Residents in the Silk city sit glued in front of giant TV screens. Midnight. Palpable tension now replaces expectation. Thousands cross their fingers in silent prayers Then a voice booms."And the winner is... Prince Dance Group." When actor Rani Mukherjee made this announcement marking the culmination of TV reality show India's Got Talent an entire state waiting with bated breath erupted in joy. Not just because a dance troupe from Berhampur city of Orissa had won a hotly-contested national competition, but also because it had to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds poverty, lack of professional training and even polio, from which two of its members suffered. ..."
In Berhampur the rest was drowned in lusty cheering, wild dances and bursting crackers as the City erupted to celebrate the victory of its home-bred sensations in the reality show. The cheering and crackers were, however, the loudest at Ambapua on the outskirts of Silk city Berhampur. After all, this nondescript village was the proud home of 24 daily labourers and two physically-challenged boys, who had danced their way to grab the Rs 50 lakh award and a Maruti car.
The 24 dancers, who come from Berhampur City and different parts of Ganjam district, displayed a perfect mix of determination and talent to outperform groups from across the country including 10 in the grand finale to pocket the champions' prize. The winning act was a performance based on the theme, Dashavatar.
"We had hoped to win the competition. Now that we have achieved our mission, it is a wonderful feeling. We are very thrilled," troupe leader Krishna Mohan Reddy said over phone from Mumbai. The 26-year-old self-taught dancer-choreographer told, "The prize money has come as a boon as most of the team members are in dire need of it. Some need to build houses in their villages while others have to marry off their sisters." Krishna, a native of the Berhampur City in southern Orissa, said he planned to open a dance academy soon. "We will use part of the prize money to run our proposed institute," he added.
The Berhampur-based troupe, whose story may remind many of the rags-to-riches story of Jamal Malik from Slumdog Millionaire, has become the talking point in entire Orissa ever since its members started demonstrating their skills on the TV show. Such has been the impact of Prince's performances that even chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced last week that he would vote for the group. "I'm delighted. Their performance has been magical and they have made Orissa proud," Naveen said soon after congratulating Krishna and his boys over telephone. The all-conquering members of Prince can expect a reception fit for a king when they arrive in Berhampur. Ganjam district cultural council headed by the revenue divisional commissioner (Southern division) Satyabrata Sahu is planning to accord a grand reception to the group members after their return home. "We will give a grand reception," Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi said.

Courtesy:The Times of India