Berhampur City bus fares to be revised

It has been proposed to revise the rate of tickets of city bus service for greater Berhampur to make it more competitive. The Ganjam Urban Transport Services Limited (GUTSL) which runs this city bus service through the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) proposed to revise the price of tickets to make it competitive with the private operators. Details of this rate revision were discussed at a meeting of the GUTSL held in the city on Tuesday.

The meeting was chaired by Ganjam district collector Prem Chand Choudhary and attended by officials in the GUTSL including its chief executive officer, the Berhampur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ajit Mishra, Mayor K. Madhavi, Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Aniruddha Singh etc.

Speaking to newsmen after meeting the collector said, proposal for revision of ticket rate would be sent for approval to the urban development department of State government. New rates would be implemented as per the approval and recommendation of the urban development department. Mr. Choudhary added that very soon flying squads would be formed to check for ticketless travel. The erring passengers may have to pay up to Rs. 500 as fine. The GUTSL would also procure electronic ticket machines for city buses.

The city bus service for greater Berhampur would be fully functional with 32 buses by end of June. Apart from routes inside Berhampur, this city bus service also runs between Berhampur and Gopalpur, Chatrapur, Hinjili.

The authorities of the GUTSL also held discussions with private passenger vehicle operators on Tuesday in a separate meeting. Majority of private operators are opposing the city bus service as it would hampering their income. But the GUTSL authorities said city bus service had been started by government for benefit of the common man and any attempt to hinder its service would be dealt with strict action. It may be noted that the city bus service from Berhampur railway station is also facing opposition of autorickshaw owners, who feel it would affect their livelihood. Source: The Hindu

AIRPORT, MODERN RAILWAY STATION IN BRAHMAPUR CITY DEMANDED

A seminar marking the third death anniversary of founder and convenor of the Ganjam Zilla Vikas Manch Suresh Kumar Sahu was organised by the Manch here on Sunday. The Manch members paid their floral tributes to Sahu, who was a great social worker and vibrant reformer. The seminar was presided over by advocate Siba Prasad Mishra.

Most of the speakers stressed the need of developing the railway network and modernisation of the Berhampur railway station; development of a regular airport in Brahmapur; establishment of a permanent Circuit Bench of the Odisha High Court at Brahmapur; implementation of the Chheligada water project; undertaking plantation of trees in all the villages and towns of the district which has been severely affected by the cyclone Phailin to ensure a compatible climate; houses for slum dwellers; widening of roads; construction of a link road; construction of a modern and greater bus terminal for the city; and to make the city crime-free.

If these genuine demands are not met by the Government, the Manch would be forced to create mass opinion in favour of the demands through agitation in the days ahead, Mishra cautioned.

Manch secretary Dillip Choudhury offered a vote of thanks. Among others, veteran trade union leader Govind Das, Manch president Bhukant Sahu, Gopal Satapathy, P Subas Patra, Manoj Sahu, K Rabindra Kumar Das, Basanta Pattnaik, Sagar Ranjan Tripathy, Sushant Sabat, Ranjan Kumar Maharana, Debi Prasad Mahapatra, Aditya Nayak, Prabhat Sahu, Ramesh Chandra Sahu, Jogesh Chandra Sahu and a galaxy of trade union leaders, social workers, and scribes attended the seminar. 

Source: The Pioneer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Yjfq6f7SU

Berhampur University to work on model villages

Berhampur University (BU) has decided to create 10 model villages in different districts of southern Odisha.

Varsity sources said volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS) will work for all-round development of Laxmipur and Dharampur (Ganjam district), B Sitapur and Kharidhepa (Gajapati district), Banamaliput and Old Simaneda (Koraput district), Antarigada (Rayagada), Paburia (Kandhamal), Gandiguda (Malkanagiri) and Jatiguda (Nabarangapur) in collaboration with the local administration.

"National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, an autonomous body under ministry of rural development, would extend necessary assistance to NSS for creating awareness on sanitation, health, plantation, literacy, water conservation and plantation," BU vice-chancellor Deepak Kumar Patnaik said after attending the university-level NSS advisory committee meeting on Friday.

The university had signed an MoU with the institute in August last year for collaborative research in the field of rural development, he added.

NSS coordinator P K Swain said the university has 225 NSS units with 11,250 volunteers. "The units have adopted one village each in their respective areas," he said. Source: The Times of India

BRAHMAPUR RAILWAY STATION RENOVATION TO BE OVER BY JUNE’

The century-old Brahmapur railway station was severely damaged during the Phailin super cyclone and incessant rains and had been left uncared since then. The Railways department had almost lent a deaf ear to repeated appeals by the locals and political leaders for renovation of the station, even as the station generates revenue worth `60 crore annually.

However, all of a sudden, a team of railway officials headed by Chief Commercial Manager of South Eastern Railways KC Pradhan visited the station on Saturday to take stock of the post-Phailin damages and particularly the progress of the work of platform (4). He said that by the end of June next, the platform repair and renovation work would be completed.

The Brahmapur station is in Class-A category for being one of the busiest stations of the State. However, in terms of its development and passenger amenities, including sanitation, the station could not achieve its target at par with other stations in the country. The quality of lighting, flooring, sanitation and cleanliness both inside and outside the platforms is below average.

Pradhan expressed his concern over the inordinate delay in repair work and said that the construction of a new gate was delayed as some portions of the land of station had been encroached.

Still, the Railways will complete its work soon and after construction of the new gate, an entry point and booking office will be opened near gate (4) which is slated to be completed by August this year. Provision of drinking water, a food plaza and a night shelter for the passengers will also be made available soon, Pradhan assured.

Among others, Station Master Durga Prasad Brahma and Commercial Inspector Subas Chandra Pati were present. Source: The Pioneer

Berhampur city bus service to be completed by June

The city bus service for greater Berhampur will be completed in June with 31 buses running under the project. This was declared during a high level meeting held in the city on Monday to discuss the city bus service for greater Berhampur, which had been inaugurated on February 26. The meeting chaired by Ganjam district collector Prem Chand Choudhary was attended by chairman cum managing director of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) Manoj Kumar Chabra, senior officials who are part of the Ganjam Urban Transport Services Limited (GUTSL).

The GUTSL has entered into an agreement with the OSRTC for running of the city bus service for greater Berhampur. At present 16 buses meant for this service have reached and 12 of them are running on various routes. With inclusion of new buses total number of buses of this city bus service would be increased to 31 by June, said the authorities of the GUTSL.

Mr. Chabra said due to restrictions imposed because of imposition of election code of conduct, new appointments of drivers and conductors could not be made.

Replying to a question regarding allegation of passengers that the fare of city buses was higher than private operators, the collector said this issue would be resolved during the next meeting of the GUTSL on May 27. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GUTSL Ajit Mishra informed that several new routes have been proposed. This city bus service was proposed to run buses on routes inside Berhampur and three other routes connecting Berhampur with Chatrapur, Gopalpur and Hinjli. Running of city buses inside the city has also faced hiccups as private autorickshaw operators continue to oppose the service. This issue would also be discussed in the next meeting of the GUTSL. Source: The Hindu

Seek solace at Taratarini Shrine

BY: BIBHUTI BARIK

Bhubaneswar, May 18: When chief minister Naveen Patnaik started his electoral journey after paying an obeisance to the famous deity at Taratarini three weeks ago, people of Ganjam and the entire south Odisha were extremely happy.

Before beginning anything auspicious, an average person from undivided Ganjam district and the entire south Odisha would always seek blessings of Goddess Taratarini. It is believed that if you go to the temple with a wish in your heart, then it would definitely be fulfilled.

Situated in Raipura village under Purushottampur block in Ganjam district, lakhs of tourists from nearby areas in Odisha and also from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bengal visit the famous shrine.

The temple on the summit of a hillock is on the right bank of the beautiful and meandering Rushikulya river. The shrine is just 7km away from Purushottampur and 30km away from Berhampur.

Travel writer from Chhatrapur, district headquarters town of Ganjam, Sujata Patnaik, said: “Taratarini shrine has now achieved tremendous popularity for the twin goddesses Tara and Tarini. Both are ancient deities and were worshiped on the hilltop at a small temple for decades in the past. The original structure was demolished in 2005 and the new temple replaced the old one with the Kalingan temple architecture. With beautiful Khandolite stone the temple looks beautiful from the road near the foothill.’’

Nityanand Mondal, a visitor from Bhubaneswar, who came to the shrine with family said: “The ropeway has added a new dimension to the tourism scene. Unlike the ropeway at Nandankanan Zoological Park, which is abandoned now, the cars here give you a feeling of a safe ride. A person can also come to the hilltop without hiring a vehicle and go back by the ropeway.’’

The state government has also taken up widening of the road to the shrine that was earlier narrow. “The road widening work is a good step taken by the authorities. The endowment department should go for facilitating basic amenities near the shrine outside the temple compound,’’ said Nigam Nayak, a tourist, who came from Berhampur with friends.

The twin deities, crudely fashioned in stone, have beautiful silver eyes attached to them. Legends connect the deities to Sakta cult in the past.

Historians say that the Bhanja dynasty rulers of the former Ghumsar state in the undivided Ganjam district installed the enshrining deity. At present the endowment department looks after the temple, but Taratarini Development Board administers the day-to-day affairs.

Interestingly, monkeys in groups often create problems for visitors. “You must not flash a banana or coconuts openly while returning from the temple before getting into the vehicles. You should hide them with a dupatta or a bag,’’ said Nayak.

While the kalpa bata or the banyan tree which fulfils wishes is outside the temple and gets offerings of red scarves, bangles and clothes, a point near the gate also attracts visitors to put their offerings on a platform.

Offerings such as laddu and khichdi are available at a counter near a gate with a nominal price.

Getting there is easy as taxis and auto-rickshaws available at Berhampur and Chhatrapur. There are several places to stay. Moreover, there is a beautiful Panth Nivas run by the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation near the hill. Rail and road links to Berhampur and Chhatrapur are available in plenty.

Source: The Telegraph 

World Bank to provide financial assistance to Odisha's Berhampur University

World Bank team assured financial assistance to Berhampur University to provide quality education. A World Bank team on Tuesday visited Berhampur University, which was severely affected by the Phailin last year, and held discussions with Vice-Chancellor Prof Dipak Kumar Behera on technical and financial assistance to the university.

The team comprising Kurt Laren, Soumi Saha and Nailin Jena which reached at Bhanja Vihar on Monday evening visited several departments, staff quarters and academic block on Tuesday morning and discussed on equity, governance, finance and preparedness of a comprehensive plan for higher studies with the university authorities.

University Registrar Prof Manmath Padhi and PG Councial Chairman Prof Prasanna Kumar Biswasray apprised the team on various issues and the university’s plan to improve quality of education. Sources said the team has assured of all supports, mainly financial assistance, to the university to provide quality education. http://www.orissadiary.com/

Berhampur buildings low on fire safety features

Basic norms as per National Building Code 2005 not adhered to in many structures

Although the city is witnessing a construction boom in the form of high-rise apartments and other buildings, it is alleged that none of the buildings is adhering to basic fire safety norms.

Fire and rescue officials of Berhampur have doubts about the safety of the high-rise buildings. As per norms all multi-storied apartments have to get their fire safety arrangements checked every year by officials and obtain no-objection certificates. But none of the multi storied apartments in Berhampur has opted for such checks nor do they apply for no-objection certificates from local fire office, said Deputy Fire Officer S.P.Behera.

The Fire department had brought this grave issue to the notice of the Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) with the complaint that most of the builders of high-rise buildings were not contacting the department for maintenance of fire safety aspects

According to Mr Behera, officials of Berhampur on their own reviewed the fire safety measures in some of the high-rise apartments. They had found that the basic norms of fire safety according to National Building Code 2005 were not being adhered to. In many cases, apartments have no space for vehicles of fire brigade to move around. In Berhampur, the Fire department is yet to get large mechanical ladders that are used in fire fighting.

Officials allege fire extinguishers were not in proper condition and fear they may not work in case of a fire. Flow of water through pipes was not being checked regularly. The pipes may not work as heat may reach inner rubber lining of pipes. It was also found that the hydrant point motor of the fire safety system of the building was not in running condition. As per the norms, each high-rise building should have a storage facility of 10,000 gallons of water, especially for fire safety, which is ignored in most high-rise apartments.

The officials are also critical of the state of fire escapes in these buildings. They allege that even some buildings do not have any fire escape facility.

As per norms any building higher than 15 meters should have fire extinguishers, a hose reel, automatic sprinklers, a special terrace tank exclusively for fire safety, underground static tank for water storage etc. Storage of water and space for entry of fire brigade vehicles is a must as in urban areas. Source: The Hindu

Special Photo-walk organized on 1st May in Berhampur

To popularize Photography a unique Photowalk programme was organized by the members of the Berhampur Photowalks group on Facebook at the Gopalpur-on-Sea on the 1st of May 2014 between 6:30 AM to 8:30 AM. Eleven photography enthusiasts participated in the programme.

Berhampur Photowalks group on facebook has been operational since the phailin hit Odisha in 2013 and now there are more than sixty members in the group who are actively participating in all photowalk programmes. Todays programme was special because it was organized under the banner of Roots of India a national level organization working to popularize Photography in India. Similar photowalk Programmes were also organized in different cities across India. 

Photos of the walk and the photos by the photographers will be sent to Roots of India for selection and the best selected photos will be published in magazine as well as exhibited across India, said Dr Jyoti Prasad Pattnaik, the leading member of Berhampur Photowalks. 

In future also we will do similar programmes and are now planning to involve school children to make them aware about photography to create environmental awareness amongst them said Dr Pattnaik.

Report by Odisha Diary bureau, Berhampur

Police to initiate steps to decongest traffic in Silk City Berhampur

After getting reports from educational institutions, city police would decide upon the places where stoppages.

The city police have decided to take up measures to decongest traffic in Berhampur, a major urban centre of Odisha.

The Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Anirudh Singh convened a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the problems related to traffic management. The meeting was attended by police officials, representatives of passenger bus operators, lorry owners, autorickshaw owners, citizen representatives as well as officials of administration and the Berhampur Municipal Corporation.

It was acknowledged that unplanned stoppages of passenger buses as well as buses of educational institutions were a major hindrance to traffic management.

Speaking to The Hindu , the Berhamnpur SP said it was decided to demarcate definite stoppages for buses. No buses would be allowed to stop there for more than a few minutes. All educational institutions in and around the city have been directed to provide their list of stoppages to the city police.

Musical bands and processions causing sound pollution and traffic problem were also discussed. The police have cautioned the owners of musical band to adhere to the norms related to sound pollution.

“Otherwise, strict action would be initiated against them,” the SP said.

It was decided that all vehicle workshops on major roads in the city would be directed not to repair vehicles on roads. Inspectors in charge of police stations in Berhampur were ordered to identify crime prone stretches on roads in their areas where there is dearth of lighting.

The BMC authorities were requested to provide proper street lights in these areas. Source: The Hindu

Crackdown on illegal billboards in Berhampur

Authorities of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) with support of the administration and police started demolition hoardings and billboards put up illegally all around the city.

The commissioner of the BMC, Ajit Mishra said this demotion drive against the illegally put up billboards would continue till all of them were removed. On Friday, this demolition drive continued in the presence of police in areas like old bus stand, Girija square and SNT Road. It may be noted that the BMC was not getting any revenue from these billboards and hoardings although the advertising agency behind it was making profits. An advertising agency had put up these hoardings without paying proper licence fee to the BMC. And it was continuing since more than a decade leading to large scale loss for the urban body. The BMC authorities also directed owners of all private buldings who had allowed billboards for advertising on their roof tops to get required license from the BMC after paying license fee otherwise they would also be removed.

The erring advertising agency had been given time by the BMC authorities to deposit the licence fee by 5 p.m. on April 24 which it did not do. According to the mayor of BMC, K.Madhavi the total outstanding amount which the defaulter advertising agency had to pay to the BMC was worth Rs. 1,18,58,131.

“An advertisement agency named ‘Adworld’ had taken up the tender for putting billboards in and around the city in 2001. But for some reason neither was its rate revised nor was it pressed to pay up its dues till 2012” , said Mr Mishra.

In 2013, the BMC decided to have new tender for advertisements through billboards in the city. The owner of the ‘Adworld’ which had been blacklisted by the municipal corporation applied in the name of another firm named ‘Excellent Advertisement Agency’ and grabbed the contract by becoming the highest bidder. This new firm had to deposit licence fee worth Rs. 60 lakh which it never did but put up its billboards all around the city.

When the BMC authorities objected and tried to remove the billboards in 2013, the owner of the advertising firm approached the Odisha High Court to stop the process. In March this year, Odisha High Court dismissed his case. Source: The Hindu

Famous Gopalpur-on-Sea Lighthouse (Berhampur)

POST ELECTIONS, POWER CUTS AGAIN HIT SILK CITY BERHAMPUR

The denizens of this Silk City, who are reeling under hot summer, are now facing post-election punishment through regular and frequent power cuts.Hardly a week after the completion of the State’s first-phase polls in Ganjam district, the Southco seems to have deliberately resorted to frequent and unscheduled power cuts in the district, more particularly in Brahmapur city, leaving its consumers to suffer.

It may be mentioned here that the Brahmapur residents remained without power for more than a month after the twin natural disasters of Phailin and incessant rains. The Southco took nearly four months to restore normalcy in power supply and the consumers are yet to forget their sleepless nights.

Because of the elections, the Southco did not resort to power cuts so frequently as it is doing now as its old practice, observed a senior citizen. The consumers are now experiencing power cuts more than five times a day ranging between five minutes to an hour, particularly during the period when the temperature has reached 40 degree Celsius.

Frequent power cuts coupled with low voltage in the city has put the citizens in great distress and trauma. Supply of power has been vested with the Southco not only for Brahmapur but also its adjoining areas like Kanisi, Gopalpur and Kukudakhandi. There are currently 1.30 lakh consumers.

Moreover, consumption of electricity increases manifold during summer. Even at 9 in the night, no AC or air cooler is working. While the total consumption of energy in the city is 30 MW in other seasons, it has increased to 50 MW during this hot summer,sources said.

When some of the consumers wanted to know the reason of such frequent power cuts, a senior officer of the Southco said that repair works of some transformers and sub-stations were kept suspended during the election period and have now been undertaken, as a result of which the Southco may again resort to power cuts for two hours, ie from 4 pm to 6 pm every day, if required. Source: The Pioneer

Gopalpur-on-Sea Beach to Berhampur Road @ night

Adi Shakti Maa Tara Tarini (Breast Shrine of Shakti & Istha Devi of Odisha)

Source: The Sambad 

Meru Sankranti & Hanuman Jayanti celebration in Berhampur

Is this the world's biggest election loser?

By Sandeep Sahu

Berhampur, Odisha

He has stood in every Indian parliamentary election since 1962 - and lost every one - but that has not deterred 78-year-old Shyam Babu Subudhi from throwing his hat into the ring once again. Dr Subudhi is a homeopathy practitioner in Berhampur, a town in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. And he is contesting two constituencies, Berhampur and Aska, in India's forthcoming parliamentary polls.

Despite losing his deposit in every previous election, having won less than a sixth of the votes cast each time, Dr Subudhi is surprisingly confident he can win both seats this time. His one-page election manifesto even claims that there is "enough of a possibility" of him being appointed prime minister of India after the coming elections.

This will be his 13th attempt in a row to enter India's parliament. I am in electoral politics because I want to end corruption in the country” "People are fed up with the current crop of leaders, who switch parties when they are not given a ticket by their own party. They have seen that I am the only person who has steadfastly refused to join any political party since the 1960s," Dr Subudhi told the BBC at his home in Berhampur.

Dr Subudhi's electoral debut came in 1957, when he battled former State Minister Brundaban Nayak over the setting up of a school in Berhampur. "I fought with him in the Hinjili Assembly constituency and lost narrowly," he says proudly.

What started as a battle over a school soon turned into an obsession for this man, a familiar sight on the streets of Berhampur in his trademark cap, uneven beard, bulging black bag and well-worn suit, even in the scorching summer heat.

He fought in both assembly and parliamentary elections until 1980, when he took on former Chief Minister JB Patnaik in Begunia. From then on, he has focused his efforts purely on parliamentary elections.  Dr Subudhi remembers his "fight" against former Prime Minister Rao (right) as a high point of his career.

The high point of his long electoral career came in 1996 when he "fought" the Prime Minister of India, PV Narasimha Rao, for the Berhampur seat. Biju Patnaik, father of India's current chief minister and the biggest political leader in the state's post-independence history, is among his other notable "rivals".

"I am in electoral politics because I want to end corruption in the country," Dr Subudhi says. But how can he end corruption, even if he wins the election, when he is only an independent candidate? "I am sure I will get the support of many others in parliament," he says confidently.

Curiously for someone who is 78 and on the ballot in two constituencies, his manifesto promises to bar people above 60 from contesting elections, and put an end to the practice of standing in more than one seat.

His campaign style is also frugal and lacks the pomp and ostentation usually associated with Indian elections. He moves about mostly on foot, by bicycle or even bull-drawn cart, as he meets his electorate in ones and twos.

But Dr Subudhi readily concedes that despite his no-frills campaign style, he could end up spending about 500,000 Indian rupees ($8,300; £5,000) this time. But he laughs away any suggestion his family members might be peeved with him for "wasting" the money.

Indian workers make different party campaign flags at a workshop in Hyderabad on 7 March 2014

They do not appear too perturbed. "He spends his own money and never asks for help from anybody," says his daughter-in-law Rashmita. His earnings apparently come from his still-flourishing homeopathy practice, while his sizeable ancestral property ensures that he is never short of money to fight elections.

Many people in the town think he is mad. Others think he is an old man obsessed with getting into the Guinness Book of Records as the man who has contested the most elections.

But there are some - like his contemporary and good friend Venkat Bihari Praharaj - who do take him seriously. They believe he is standing sincerely and is not in the fight for fun. "But the problem is people tend to vote for parties rather than individuals," Praharaj says. There is nothing to suggest that the voters will behave any differently this time. But Dr K Shyam Babu Subudhi will have none of it.

Chaitra Yatra Third Tuesday at Maa Taratarini hill shrine, Odisha

Perennial drinking water crisis in Berhampur city

Residents of Ashok Nagar threaten poll boycott

The perennial drinking water crisis in Berhampur which continues to be an election issue leaped to the fore when residents of an area held protest demonstration and threatened to boycott polls to protest against disruption of drinking water supply to their area since cyclone Phailin hit the area.

Residents of Sarada Bhavan Sahi and Cooperative colony blocked the Ashok Nagar main road with empty pots. They also put up a banner threatening to boycott the coming polls on April 10, if they did not get any written promise from the authorities of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) regarding solution to their problem.

Pushpanjali Mishra, a woman who led the agitation said since cyclone Phailin hit, piped drinking water to their area had completely snapped. Till now it had not been repaired and water was being distributed to the area by tankers, which was not sufficient during the summer months. Former mayor of the city Siba Shankar Dash, who has defected from the ruling BJD to become the candidate of the BJP for Berhampur assembly seat reached out to the protestors and held discussions with them. The BJD corporator of the area Surendra Moharana also rushed there. The corporator accepted that the residents of the area were suffering due to lack of piped drinking water supply since past few months. Mr. Dash and Mr. Moharana urged the voters to refrain from poll boycott call as the problem could be solved. Source: The Hindu