Citizens angry as Berhampur is repeatedly ignored by the Railways

Following is an excerpt from a news report in http://www.tathya.in/

It seems the nerve centre of the Southern Odisha is on boil.

Angry citizens are sending e-mails to the CM Naveen Patnaik and other high functionaries of the State and Central Government over the callous attitude meted out to Berhampur.

And the BJD MP from Berhampur is facing flak due to his lip seal approach on burning issues.

Intelligentsia, young students and social activist are sending e-mails venting their anger and frustration over apathetic approach of the BJD Government as it is ignoring the genuine problems of the area.

Taking the lead R P Tripathy has blamed both State and Centre in neglecting the Berhampur time and again.

While the Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri railway stations are being developed as World class and Modern Railway Stations, Berhampur Rail Station does not figure in the list of Indian Railway Board.

Echoing his voice Prasanna Kumar Mishra, former Union Secretary lashed on the authorities leaving Berhampur like a way side Railway Station.

Berhampur station must be developed into a terminal facility with trains going to Koraput, Parlakhemundi, Chennai, Kolkata,Surat etc.

It is a pity that the station still has the look and facility of yet another roadside station, lamented he.

Abhisek Mishra, an angry young man from the southern zone has blamed it on the cine-actor turned BJD MP from Berhampur .

Mr.Mishra alleged that Siddhanta Mahapatra has turned out to be a puppet politician playing inconsequential role in state and national politics.

Siddhanta a leading actor of Ollywood joined politics in 2009 and has won as the BJD MP with huge votes from Berhampur Lok Sabha seat.

His performance inside the parliament is far from satisfactory and even tribal first time MPs of South Odisha and his colleagues from Nabarangpur, Phulbani and Koraput are doing better job than him.

This is really a pity that Berhampur parliamentary seat which has sent national stalwarts to the Lok sabha has come to be represented by undeserving leaders like the present one.

There are so many issues that confront Berhampur and South Odisha, said he.

Starting from water crisis and negligence by Indian Railways, undue delay in NH-5 golden quadrilateral project and NH-217 bypass for the city, undue delay in STPI project to establishment of IIIT and NID in Berhampur, inclusion of Berhampur under JNNURM to Unitary University status for Khallikote College, list is unending.

But, the MP stays in Bhubaneswar and hardly visits the city, let alone stay in Berhampur city and understand the problems of the people, though claims to be a Son of the Soil, lamented Mr.Mishra.

Even inside parliament he hardly asks questions or raises any issue of public interest, pointed out he.

It is still to be known whether the MP is serious about his role or just thinks his present job to be an extension of his acting profession.

But, one thing the MP must keep in mind that in Politics if some one fails to deliver there is no chance for a re-take and people just dump lock stock and barrel though they may continue to appreciate acting talents of the Ollywood star, warned Abhisek.

Siba Prasad Tripathy on a positive note has pointed out that Berhampur and Rourkela happen to be the two largest cities of Odisha, after the State capital.

And both are primary rail heads of Southern and Western Odisha respectively catering to millions of the people.

But, it is unfortunate that people have time and again brought to the notice of the Chief Minister the greatly felt need for a direct train service between these two cities.

In fact, till the year 2000, the Hirakhand Express used to connect these two cities but the train was withdrawn causing severe inconvenience to the general public and commuters.

A direct train service between Berhampur-Rourkela needs to be considered which may take the route Berhampur-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Keonjhar-Chakradharpur-Rourkela route.

This will not only connect almost 10 districts and four major urban centres i.e., Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela but will bring South Odiissa and Western Odisha a closer to each other leading to their development. In view of its need and being a long standing demand of the masses may kindly be considired at the earliest.

Ajay Sahu has also pointed out that approximately 10 lakh Ganjam people stay at Surat since many decades.

Mr.Sahu has demanded with the Indian Railway Board authorities should add a few coaches which can be de-linked at Khurdha junction and can proceed to Berhampur-Paralakhemundi and Gunupur.

This will benefit the commuters in a big way, said he.

Orissa among five States showing signs of desertification

BHUBANESWAR: Is desertification process in Orissa already on? The answer appears to be yes if one goes by the latest report of Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad that has bracketed Orissa among top five States facing “land degradation and desertification.” For the first time, a national level spatial inventory has been carried out for the entire country giving information on various land degradation processes and their severity.

Orissa comes next to the Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Maharashtra having high proportion of land undergoing degradation. The study reveals that 105.48 million ha area of the country is undergoing processes of land degradation (32.07p.c. of the total geographic area of the country). Area undergoing desertification is 81.4 mha.

The dominant processes of land degradation, water erosion, vegetal degradation, wind erosion, salinisation or alkalisation, water logging, frost heaving, frost shattering and mass movement have been deciphered and mapped using satellite data. Orissa has about 54,69,336 ha of degraded land, more than that of geographically bigger states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Orissa’s degradable land mass constitutes 5.18 per cent of total geographical area of India.

Land degradation

Water erosion is most pronounced process of land degradation and desertification. Water erosion is witnessed in area of 32,06,507 ha of land of the State, which ranks close to States like Rajasthan. Only Maharashtra and Gujarat having more area are categorised under water erosion table. Another major feature relating to Orissa is that it has more area getting waterlogged than any other State in the country. It indicates that natural drains have been gradually blocked. “This is an ominous sign. Rajasthan and Gujarat have traditionally been known for having vast arid zones. Moreover, Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir is identified as a cold desert. Then comes Maharashtra and Orissa.

Land degradation and desertification indicators suggest these two States have their huge task cut out,” said Richard Mahapatra, a New Delhi-based expert on developmental issues. In 2006, Sambalpur-based Water Initiative of Orissa had come out with research paper on desertification indicators. The paper had then created quite a furore in administrative circle, which was reluctant to accept it. “The latest findings have only vindicated our stand. We had then stirred up policymakers saying Orissa would become totally barren in 150 years. Our research say in just 13 years, from 1991-92 to 2004-05, severely degraded land in the State has increased by 136 per cent, barren land has increased by 69 per cent and land converted to non-agricultural uses has increased by 34 per cent,” WIO Convenor Ranjan Panda said.

Pointing out that desertification would impact on the livelihood of millions of people, Mr. Panda said it was estimated that 29 lakh hectares of land had already turned barren.

Source: The Hindu

Orissa yet to submit proposal for NMRI to Centre

The Orissa government is yet to submit a proposal for setting up of a National Mangrove Research Institute (NMRI) though the Centre had in principle agreed to locate such an institute in the state. The chief minister Naveen Patnaik had requested the Union minister of state for environment and forests (MoEF), Jayram Ramesh for setting up of this institute in Orissa during his discussion at New Delhi on 25 September 2009. The Union minister, on his part, had agreed to the proposal as the proposed institute could monitor the impact of the sea level rise, cyclones associated tidal surges and other anthropogenic pressures on mangroves. Since mangroves along the coast can help in minimising the damage caused by tsunami, cyclones and super cyclones, the setting up this institute is of immense importance for the state. However, the state forest and environment department is yet to work in this regard and forward the proposal to the Delhi.

On the other hand, the state government has sent two other proposals for setting up of Rs 50 crore Coastal Zone Management Institute (CZMI) and Rs 54 crore National Wetland and Coastal Eco-system Research and Training Centre to the Centre for approval. The chief minister had discussed about these two institutes with the Union minister along with establishment of NMRI in the state. The CZMI seeks to promote economic and ecological development and ensure proper management of coastal and marine resources in the coastal areas. Similarly, holistic research encompassing catchments, coasts, shelf-seas and on their processes along with capacity building activities are proposed to be taken up by the institute. The proposed National Wetland and Coastal Eco-system Research and Training Centre aims to enhance skills for assessment of values of wetland and diagnosis of threat to wetland eco-systems. Besides, it will work for transfer of technology for regeneration of wetland and capacity building for irrigation of wetland, sources added.

Source: Business Standard

Connecting emerging cities and industrial hubs of Odisha by Air: Need for a dedicated regional air service

RP Tripathy

Recently many State governments like Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Gujarat and some north-eastern states have come forward with plans for dedicated regional air service and have made considerable progress in this. Orissa has been considered a laggard as far as air connectivity is concerned (for that matter many districts are not even properly connected by railways and roads) and just putting the blame on central apathy every time won’t do any good to the State. Further, it may not be feasible for the national carrier to start air services to regional towns and industrial centers of Orissa from other metros of India owing to issues of revenue, passenger demand and lack of infrastructure for landing etc. But, connecting the regional growth centers by air is indispensable for the industrial and educational development of the state. It is also critical for development of tourism sector and faster medical services etc. Can’t our State Govt think of a similar dedicated regional air service to connect the regional growth centers with the state capital or with the nearest metro i.e., Kolkata? A dedicated regional air service connecting =Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Koraput-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Badbil-Kolkata-Bhubaneswar= will ensure faster development of the state and will make the entire state approachable by air.

Khallikote College students launch stir demanding Unitary University Status

BERHAMPUR: Khallikote college students are again back on the streets demanding Unitary University status for their almamater, shortage of teaching faculty and the inordinate delay in transfer of 17 acres of OSRTC land to the Institution. Students of the biggest college in the city started dharna on the six-point charter of demands which includes unitary university status for the historic Institution. Student leaders threatened to continue the stir till fulfillment of the demands. The agitating students also demanded the handing over of a patch of land under Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) to the college. This land was earlier leased out to a to a retail major. But due to opposition of students and citizens of the city, the Chief Minister had intervened to cancel the lease last year. It was decided to alienate the land to more than a century old institute for its expansion. But the land has not been handed over to the institute till date. The agitators claimed that the government had promised to hand over a plot belonging to Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) to the college last year. They added that the government had earlier planned to give the land to a retail major but reviewed its decision after a protracted students' agitation. The students also demanded the filling up of vacancies of teaching staff of this institute. According to them most of the departments of the college were short staffed which had affected the teaching process.

Source: The Hindu, Dailypioneer, Times of India, Odishatoday

Prince Dance Group and Naveen Patnaik are nominees for Indian of the Year contest

BERHAMPUR: Odisha has an unique opportunity to hog national limelight once again as the CNN-IBN has shortlisted Naveen Patnaik and Prince Dance Group in Politics and entertainment categories respectively for its “Indian of the year (http://www.indianoftheyear.com/)” contest. There are five different categories-Politics, Sports, Entertainment, Business and Public Service. Last year Nitish Kumar won the CNN-IBN Indian of the year 2008. Recently Naveen has appealed one and all to vote for Prince Dance Group in the contest organized by the Colors Channel. And the Prince Dance Group won handsomely in the contest, bringing laurels for the state. Interestingly in the CNN-IBN contest in Entertainment category both Prince Dance Group and Colors are also vying for the award. It seems the Prince Dance Group; a team of daily wagers from Berhampur, have won the hearts of the Indians and have earned a place for them.

Source: CNN IBN, Tathya.in

Youth Festival 2010: Albino crocodile is mascot

Gori, the lone albino crocodile of Bhitarkanika, has been chosen as the mascot for the national youth festival to be hosted by the State Government here from January 8 to 12, 2010. This was decided at the national steering committee meeting of the festival, co-chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister for Sports MS Gill in New Delhi today. Orissa is hosting the festival for the first time and the Chief Minister promised that the State Government would take all steps to make the event a memorable one for the youth of the country.

Naveen and Gill reviewed the arrangements made for the festival. Secretary of Sports and Youth Service PK Mohapatra made a presentation before the committee about the arrangements made for accommodation, food, transport, security and conduct of various events. Naveen maintained that the rich cultural heritage of the State will be showcased in the opening and closing ceremonies to be organised at Kalinga stadium. About 4,000 youths from all states and Union territories in the country will compete in about 17 categories of cultural competitions in both classical, semi-classical and folk arts during the mega festival. The theme of the festival, `celebrating diversity’ was well received at the meeting. The festival logo depicts six active youths portraying the `unity in diversity’, plurality of the country. The Chief Minister said that the mascot and logo will be unveiled by the State Government in a befitting manner at Bhubaneswar in the second week of December.

Source: New Indian Express

CII Study on prospects for Retail Sector in Odisha

Retail sector has not witnessed its characteristic boom in Orissa. Barring probably Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, organised retail has so far remained untapped. A latest CII study says things would see a big change. Metro Cash and Carry, rural procurement centres on the lines of eChoupal by ITC, could be a reality in next six years. A Skill Gap Analysis Study by CII says given the limited growth in the State, organised retail has huge potential in the Tier-II cities reasons for which could be higher disposable income due to IT and ITeS sector boom as well as the manufacturing sector growth. The demand has not reached saturation point whereas lower rentals compared to metros and mini metros make the State an ideal destination for organised retail venture,” the report says. Basing its analysis on the feedback provided by the existing players in the State, the report said the size of the organised retail is likely to grow by at least 150 percent by 2015. Supermarket chains like More are set to get into the fray in the State. Interesting is the trend it projects for the sector which says it will move from Bhubaneswar towards Berhampur, Puri, Sambalpur and Rourkela. It will not only provide more employment to people but also the economic chain will be positively affected.

Since Bhubaneswar boasts of just a few of the lifestyle top-end chains, the CII-PWC report says, by the turn of 2015, high-end luxury brands, both national and international, would enter the State hinting that Shoppers Stop, Westside, Planet Retail and Lifestyle would soon be a reality. Keeping the current expansion plans of the existing players, the report is of the view that the people to be employed in the retail sector in next three to four years would witness a 100 percent jump. By 2015, employment figure would have crossed 10,000.

Source: New Indian Express

State awaits Centre's nod on 2nd IIIT at Berhampur

The Orissa government has submitted its proposal to the Centre for setting up of the second International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Berhampur. The state government is now awaiting the Centre's nod in this regard. The second IIIT at Berhampur is proposed to be set up on the public private partnership (PPP) mode. “The state government has already submitted its proposal to the Centre for the second IIIT in the state. We are awaiting the final approval from the Centre to go ahead”, said Pradipta K Mohapatra, the state IT secretary recently. It may be noted that the Centre planned to set up 20 more IIITs across the country on the PPP mode. The state government has identified around 100 acres of land at Rangeilunda near Berhampur for setting up the second IIIT.

Meanwhile, the full-fledged campus of the existing IIIT in the state at Bhubaneswar has been inaugurated by the state chief minister on October 9 this year. The new campus of IIIT-Bhubaneswar is coming up on 23.5 acres of land at Gothpatna on the outskirts of the city at an investment of Rs 48 crore. Plans are also afoot to get the deemed university status for this institute. The institute is presently operating out of the campus of the Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC). The institute is expected to be fully operational in the next five years. Once the institute is fully operational, the student intake will go up to 2,000. The faculty strength is expected to be about 20 by the end of 2009. Earlier, IIIT-Bhubaneswar had announced that it would offer BTech courses in four streams of engineering as well as doctoral programmes from the 2009-10 academic session. The BTech courses would have a total intake of 240 students. These courses would be offered in four streams of engineering- computer science, electronics, information technology and electrical engineering.

Source: Business Standard

Manufacturing to be big recruiter in Orissa by 2015

With an investment outlay of nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore, Orissa is all set to create huge employment opportunities across the sectors. According to a report on ‘Skill Gap Analysis’ for Orissa, prepared jointly by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and PriceWaterHouseCoopers, metal and manufacturing, mineral and mining, chemical and fertilizer, power, IT & ITeS, tourism, retail, health care and port sectors would be the major employment generators by 2015.

The metal and manufacturing sector would witness a capacity addition of nearly 58 million tonne by this period, which is projected to lead to an additional requirement of 60,000 skilled manpower like engineers, diploma holders and ITI passed technicians. As per the report, the state government has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for production of nearly 75 million tonnes steel. This is going to generate additional employment of nearly 1 to 1.25 lakh.

Similarly, power sector would see an additional requirement of nearly 30,000 persons. The sectors like chemical and fertilizer are expected to experience a growth of about 10-12 per cent. The growth in the manufacturing sector would boost the service sector particularly organized retail, healthcare and tourism. That apart, the service sector growth would be fueled by the growth of IT and ITeS sector in the state. After recovery from the current slowdown, the state will require additional 10,000 to 12,000 skilled hands in the IT and ITeS sector by 2015.

On the other hand, the organised retail sector would grow by over 150 per cent by this time and an additional 10,000 jobs are expected to be created. Tourism sector which is now facing a negative growth would turn around and there would be an addition of nearly 3000 hotel rooms in the state leading to creation of employment opportunity for nine to twelve thousand more people. Demand for professionals related to healthcare sector would grow as corporate hospitals like Apollo and Care are setting up their facilities in the state, the report forecast.

Source: Business Standard