Odisha demands regional passport centres at Berhampur and Sambalpur

With growing demand for passports among youngsters, the Odisha government on Friday urged the Centre to open two more Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in the state. “I would request you to take immediate action for setting up two Regional PSKs at Sambalpur and Berhampur,”Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Union External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.

Stating that the only PSK at the state capital fails to meet the demands, Mr. Patnaik said the citizens of interior districts located in western and southern regions of the state were facing difficulty in obtaining passports. The average distance of the 10 districts located in the western part of the state is 312 km from Bhubaneswar and as many as 9,011 applications for passport are received in the year 2011 from these areas, Mr. Patnaik pointed out.

Similarly, the average distance of the eight districts located in the southern region of Odisha is 367 km from the state capital and a total of 7,578 citizens from these districts applied for passport in 2011, he added.

“Keeping in view the geographical distance of these districts from Bhubaneswaras well as the number of citizens applying for passport, I would request you to take immediate action,” Mr. Patnaik said in the letter. In case, Mr. Patnaik added two PSKs are established, the average distance of the districts located in the western and southern regions will come down from 312 km to 116 km and 367 km to 178 km respectively, he said.

Month long Chaitra Jatra ends at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine as faith enlivens tradition

With the chanting of the holy names of Maa Tara Tarini, recitation of hymns, Mantras and Jagna on the Fourth Tuesday, the month long Chaitra Jatra came to an end at the famous Tara Tarini Hill Shrine near Berhampur in Odisha. Considered as one of the biggest religious fairs in India, the Chaitra Jatra at this hill shrine has centuries old history behind it.

It is noteworthy that of the 4 Adi Shakti Peethas and other major Shakti Peethas in India, it is only in the Tara Tarini Peetha, considered as the Sthana Pith (Breast Shrine) of Adi Shakti that the Chaitra Jatra is held over the entire month of Chaitra whereas in most other shrines it is held for just one day or the Nine days coinciding with Navratra culminating on Ram Navami.

On the last Tuesday, following the age-old traditions, the Sevakas opened the sanctum sanctorum of the temple past the midnight on Monday. After Snana(the divine bath), Majana and Maha Arati the Amruta Kalasha or the first Bhoga was offered to the goddesses at around 3.55 a.m in the morning. Then the goddesses went for a Parikrama of the temple. After the completion of the Parikrama, large number of devotees who gathered on the hilltop to take the first glimpse of Maa were allowed for Darshan. The Darshan continued non-stop till the late evening of Tuesday.

Like other Tuesdays of this month, around two to three lakh devotees gathered on the fourth and last Tuesday of Chaitra month in the Shrine. The large gathering of devotees and their prayers filled with emotion and enthusiasm surcharged the atmosphere of the ancient Shrine.

Around one thousand barbers were engaged in tonsuring the heads of around five thousand newborn babies on this occasion.

As per traditional beliefs devotees preferred to climb the 999 holy steps to reach the hill top though transportation facilities to the hill top by Arial Rope way and special Buses were made available. They climbed 999 steps as a penance to get the blessing of the deities.

As per initial reports, so far around 20 lakh people have visited the shrine for Darshan during the month, including the four Tuesdays.

People from far off places like North and South India and from the neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, many Sadhakasfrom the Tara Pith and other famous Shakti Shrines of India, many Buddhists and Hindu researchers from Nepal and many people from abroad were present during the Chaitra Mela.

A unique feature of this Shrine is that large number of people flocked to the Shrine from various nearby villages in their bullock carts along with their kith and kin. There were also large number of people seen feasting all across the Shrine as a thanksgiving gesture to the Goddesses. The fair comprising rural artisans had large number of buyers and onlookers. Many devotees who could not take the pain of reaching the hilltop made it a point to worship the sacred Ratnagiri Mountain (Tarini Parvat) from a distance.

It may be noted that over the years the number of visitors to this hill shrine have been growing steadily during this Chaitra festivals. As a result, large number of visitors and mainly the elderly persons who find it difficult to reach the hilltop by taking the overcrowded steps and special buses generally prefer the aerial Ropeway to the hill top which is first of its kind in Eastern India. But, the capacity of the existing aerial ropeway is limited. So, sensing the need to accommodate the ever increasing number of devotees, the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has decided to raise the capacity and frequency of Aerial rope-way service in collaboration with ‘USHA Pvt. Ltd’ a reputed Rope Way service provider in the country. It is expected that by this time next year the carrying capacity of the Aerial rope Way will increase many folds.

On the occasion of the last Tuesday the District administration, Temple administration and Development Board made wide range arrangements like drinking water, Prasad, Transportation, Primary health care facility, traffic control, and police deployment for peaceful Darshan of the devotees. The office bearers, volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs, voluntary organizations, media houses, corporate houses and local residents extended their helping hand through out the month to the devotees who came from various parts of the country.

Visitors throng Tara Tarini

Some eight lakh visited the shrine during four Tuesdays of 'Chaitra'

Over eight lakh pilgrims visited Tara Tarini hill shrine in Ganjam district during the four Tuesdays of the Hindu month of Chaitra.
On Tuesday which was the fourth and last one of the month, around two lakh devotees visited the shrine. Visitors in large numbers thronged the famous Shakti shrine from the wee hours till late evening. Devotees started thronging the spot from Monday night.......................... Link..The Hindu

The annual festivities pass off peacefully
A few projects were inaugurated during the festivities

Astha International plans Rs 500-cr 'Astha City' township at Berhampur

Construction boom in Berhampur

Astha International Limited, one of India's leading direct selling companies, expects to acquire 300 acres of land at the commercial capital of Odisha, Berhampur by January 2011 for its Rs 500-crore integrated township project called 'Astha City'. This would be the company's first residential cum commercial real estate project in Orissa which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of its overall turnover.

S S Kisan, Chairman and managing director, Astha International said, "We hope to take possession of 200 acres of land for our integrated township project at Berhampur by January 2011. Orissa is an important market for us and besides direct selling of the whole gamut of products, we would also like to invest in sectors like real estate and hospitality in the state."

Astha International, based out of Surat, Gujarat clocked revenue of 40 crore from its operations in the Orissa market in 2009-10 and its revenue is set to reach Rs 50 crore by the end of the current financial year.

To cater to its growing business needs, the company is planning to have ten offices in the state by this fiscal end. These offices would come up at locations like Balasore, Soro, Berhampur, Balugaon and Rourkela to name a few. The company has opened an office in Bhubaneswar and this would serve as the zonal office for the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.Astha International would also scale up its employee strength from 50 at present to over 500 in the next couple of years. The direct selling firm would ramp up its strength of distributors in the state from 1.3 lakh a present to 10 lakh by the end of 2012.

Besides its proposed township project, Astha International has also evinced interest in setting up a three-star hotel in the city but the details are yet to be finalized. The company also intends to build a mall in the city with a total built-up area of 15,000 sq ft.

Astha International, which has more than 10,000 products in 26 different segments, also plans to float a bank called Astha Bank by 2011-12. The company claims to have got the license from the Reserve bank of India and the bank is set to commence operations from 2011-12.

Source : Business Standard