Beautiful Sea beach Gopalpur (Brahmapur), Odisha

Maa Tara Tarini Shakti & Tantra Peetha near Brahmapur, Odisha

Chaitra Mela/Yatra at Maa Tara Tarini Shakti Pitha Berhampur (Ganjam), Odisha

Second ISKCON Temple in Berhampur city

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Jumbo number up in Odisha

• In Angul, it jumped from 590 to 633 whereas in Baripada, the number rose from 540 to 549
• In Berhampur Circle, the rise was from 121 to 149 while in Bhubaneswar, it rose marginally from 41 to 43
• In 7 divisions Kalahandi (North), Khariar, Sunabeda, Chilika, Bhadrak, Jeypore and Nabarangpur no elephant was found
• Whereas in 8 divisions, there was no change in their status
• 20 divisions reported a rise in the number of jumbos
• In 18, there was a fall in number which could be attributed to migration as well as deaths

Despite rampant killings, elephant population in the State of Odisha has gone up. From 1,886 in 2010, the jumbo number has jumped to 1,930, the latest census has revealed. During the last two years, the number of tuskers, mostly targeted by hunters, has grown by just two from 332 to 334 while the number of young ones has recorded an increase of 15 from 448 to 463 which is an encouraging sign.
Across all segments, the number of elephants registered a rise. The number of females rose to 1,087 from 1,064 while the figure of unsexed ones too increased to 46, Forest and Environment Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said this paper.

The census was conducted across 46 forest divisions (out of 50) from June 1 to 3. In as many as seven divisions  Kalahandi (North), Khariar, Sunabeda, Chilika, Bhadrak, Jeypore and Nabarangpur  no elephant was found whereas in eight divisions, there was no change in their status. Twenty divisions reported a rise in the number of jumbos. In 18, there was a fall in number which could be attributed to migration as well as deaths.

“We saw that northern Odisha pockets saw a rise in population whereas southern Odisha reported a decline. In Bargarh, which had never reported elephant sighting, at least 35 jumbos were enumerated by the census teams,” Chief Wildlife Warden Janardan Dibakar Sharma said.

In all circles, barring four, the jumbo population rose. In Angul, it jumped from 590 to 633 whereas in Baripada, the number rose from 540 to 549. In Berhampur Circle, the rise was from 121 to 149 while in Bhubaneswar, it rose marginally from 41 to 43.

However, Rourkela Circle, which includes Keonjhar, saw a decline from 245 to 228 while Sambalpur recorded a similar trend  from 249 to 229. In Bhawanipatna too, it fell from 104 to 87 whereas in Koraput, it dropped from 26 to 12.



The elephant reserves of Mayurbhanj and Mahanadi reported a rise while Sambalpur reported a drop.

What remains a cause of concern, however, is the high number of deaths, which included poaching. During the last four years, at least 221 elephants have died in the State. The year 2009-10 reported 51 deaths which rose to 83 in 2010-11. In 2011-12, the casualties stood at 66 while the current year has seen 21 deaths so far. Source: The New Indian Express

Green Tribunal suspends environmental clearance to POSCO

The environment clearance granted to Posco's mega steel project in Orissa in January 2011 will remain suspended till the environment ministry reviews it afresh, the National Green Tribunal held March 30. "The environment clearance granted on January 31, 2011 to the project shall remain suspended till such review and appraisal is done by the ministry," a bench of tribunal comprising Justice C V Ramulu and Devendra Kumar Agarwal held.

The tribunal pointed out that memorandum of understanding between the Orissa government and Posco states that the project is for production of 12 million tonnes of steel per annum (MTPA) but the environment impact assessment (EIA) report has been prepared only for 4 MTPA steel production in the first phase.

It said the MoEF should take "policy decision" that in projects of such magnitude the EIA should be done for the complete project. "The EIA should assess it for the full capacity right from the beginning," it said.

The tribunal directed the MoEF to review the clearance afresh and attach "specific conditions" which Posco would have to follow in a "defined timeline".  It also directed the MoEF to set up a special committee to "monitor the compliance to the environment clearance" thus granted. The bench said appointment of Meena Gupta as chairman of the committee to review the environmental clearance showed "departmental bias" as she had only "supported" the environment clearance granted to Posco earlier during her tenure as the Secretary, the MoEF. "The entire process was vitiated in the eyes of law," the bench said in this regard.

The tribunal also said that the project proponent should generate its own source of water instead of utilising the drinking water meant for the Cuttack city in Orissa.b "In the country drinking water is scarce. It would be better to ask the project proponent to generate its own source of water. Avoiding utilising water meant for Cuttack city could be asked by the ministry," it said.

The order came on a plea filed by environment activist Prafulla Samantray seeking quashing of the environmental clearance granted to Posco on the ground that it was "contrary to the provisions of the EIA Notification 2006" and was "illegal and arbitrary".

Advocate Ritwick Dutta, appearing for the petitioner, had said that impact on environment in case of steel production by the plant to its full capacity would be much more. Prafulla, in his petition said, "It is admitted that the project will not be viable if it is restricted to the steel production of only 4 MTPA. In such circumstances, the EIA report should have been for 12 MTPA (of steel production). The project proponent has opted to do an EIA for 4 MTPA since the likely impact of 12 MTPA is bound to be much more and very significant". Posco India Pvt Ltd was granted environmental clearance for its two projects, steel-cum-captive power plant project and captive minor port, in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa in 2007. The MoEF after reviewing the same, granted environmental clearance with additional conditions on January 31, 2011 which prompted the petitioner to move the tribunal.

The clearance was assailed contending that "the whole approach of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) was not to give an unbiased opinion, but rather to justify the decision to grant environmental clearance to both the projects."

The Environment Ministry, however, had told the tribunal there was no infirmity in its decision to grant environmental clearance to Posco. Posco had also maintained that it has not violated any law and is working in compliance with the norms.

Source: The Pioneer

Road mishaps claim 3,900 lives every year in Odisha

More than 9,000 road accidents take place every year in Odisha that kill over 3,900 and leave 11,000 plus others injured. This was revealed by chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik while addressing at the closing ceremony of the State Level Road Safety Week. Principal Secretary, commerce & transport GK Dhal, transport commissioner Surendra Kumar and Khurda collector Roopa Mishra were present at the meeting.

While rash driving, overloading, untrained drivers and poor roads are among the factors that have led to the rise in fatal accidents, a majority (94 per cent) of them were due to drunk driving and human error, the chief secretary pointed out. In the last two years alone, 7,464 people lost their lives in road mishaps.

The state government has now decided to concentrate on proper training to the untrained drivers and initiated talks with Maruti Suzuki and many other automakers to set up modern driving training institutions in the state, Patnaik said.

Odisha is the third state to set up a driving training institute with the help of the largest automaker, Ashok Leyland in Jajpur district. Every year, more than 3,000 drivers would be trained in this institution, he said. Dhal revealed that the state government would frame tough rules against drunken driving. Such drivers’ licences would be cancelled.

He informed that there are 30 lakh vehicles in the state, and the number is rising at a rate of six per cent to seven per cent every year.

The number would reach the 45-lakh mark during the next 10 years. The transport commissioner said that every year the country loses Rs one lakh crore due to road accidents, which is three per cent of the nation’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Road accident have turned epidemic with 94 per cent of the mishaps being caused by untrained and drunken drivers. He said that the state government is mulling use of speed governors in three-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Source: Orissadiary.com 

Konark festival kicks off

A mesmerizing portrayal of embodiment of beauty, ‘Lasyalila’ in Odissi dance form by Konark Natya Mandap set the tone for the Konark Festival inaugurated at the Open Air Auditorium in Konark by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on December 01.

The Odissi performance had some memorable compositions of late Guru Gangadhar Pradhan.

It was followed by ‘Konark Lasyalila’ by Aruna Mohanty and group of Orissa Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar.

‘Krida’ in Bharatnatyam dance form was presented by Prof CV Chandrasekhar and group of Nritya Shree, Chennai, and an artistic duet by Baladev Moharatha were also presented on the day.

The festival will continue up to December 05. Various classical dance forms will be performed during the five days.

Higher Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, Tourism and Culture Minister Samir Ranjan Dash and Principal Secretary to Tourism and Culture Department Lalbahadur Sahoo were present.

Source: New Indian Express 

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.