Second ISKCON Temple in Berhampur city

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Go Gopalpur: Mayfair to open heritage resort at Gopalpur-on-Sea from December 9

Mayfair Hotels & Resorts, which operates the Mayfair chain of luxury hotels in various parts of the country, will open its latest resort at Gopalpur-on-Sea for commercial operations from December 9. The sprawling resort- Mayfair Palm Beach Resort, the eighth property of Odisha-based Mayfair Group, is equipped with all facilities of a luxury hotel, spread over eleven acres of land. The Mayfair Group acquired this heritage property from the Oberoi Group in September 2011 and decided to renovate it, said Mayfair Group chairman and managing director Dilip Ray. The resort, at present, has 32 rooms. In addition to the existing facilities, Mayfair Group plans to add a tennis court and golf course to the resort. Besides Gopalpur, the tourists can also visit some other places in Ganjam district like the habitats of the blackbuck and peacock near Aska and the mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles at Gokharakuda near Rushikulya river mouth, Ray said.

History & Background

Before 1830, an Englishman by the name of John Spence had established the Spence's hotel in Calcutta, making it perhaps the oldest western style hotel outside Europe and in 1841 David Wilson built the 'Wilson Hotel' now known as 'Great Eastern Hotel', also, in Calcutta, which was considered to be one of the best of it's kind, in this part of the world. No one had really by then heard of Gopalpur. And Gopalpur returned the compliment. Barely 16 kms from Berhampur, the commercial hub of Southern Orissa, in the Bay of Bengal, it was extremely uncanny of a young Italian Signor Maglioni, to mysteriously find home all the way from Sicily , and establish the 'Palm Beach' in 1914. It was Odisha's first hotel, of its kind.

Gopalpur on sea how very British suffix on sea like Midleton- on- sea /Frankton-on- sea was a palm fringed beach and Maglioni's dream fused with the sepia and romance of the langorous town ,where the silence was broken only by the breakers and the occasional coconut thudding on the ground.

Originally a small fishing village on the coast of Odisha when it was so named, when a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna 'Krishna Gopal' temple was built in the 18th Century. Legend has it that Gopalpur's sands had witnessed maritime ventures of a much earlier age when Odisha had flourished as part of the Kalinga Kingdom in the 4th and 5th century B.C early colonists to Java, Bali and Sumatra were supposed to have sailed from here, carrying the seeds of Indian civilization with them.

Between the two World Wars ( 1914-1918 and 1939-1945) Gopalpur was overrun by the men in Khakis and became the eastern sectors base for flying out troops and supplies to Rangoon. The commercial port became the living symbol of its grandeur and the pulsating lifestyle was evident in the packed dance floors of the hotel 'Blue Haven'. In 1945. The World War2 came to an end and India inched towards being an independent, sovereign republic. By 1947the British had left the Indian shores and the commercial activity of Gopalpur had dwindled to a trickle. The once vibrant, emblazoned ball rooms gaped at open skies. The noisy wharfs moulted and the warehouses became seedy gateways for derelicts. Gopalpur's importance dwindled when trade with Burma abruptly ceased during the war. When the British left India, even members of rich Bengali homes preferred to holiday in other places and Gopalpur began to revert to what it originally was a fishing village.

In 1938,another enterprising, courageous Indian Hotelier, Rai bahadur M.S Oberoi had already taken over a closed down 'Grand' hotel from the Armenian Stephen Arathoon and reinvented it with trademark Oberoi elan' as the 'Oberoi Grand', to make it the most sought after address in Calcutta. In 1947, on a chance visit to Maglioni's 'Palm Beach' hotel his keen eyes did not miss the state of disrepair that the hotel had fallen to. His instinct smelled a bargain and Maglioni was only too happy to sell it to the Oberoi's for a paltry 3.0 lacs rupees.,thereby enabling the Oberoi legend to root itself as the 'Oberoi Palm Beach'.As it's doors opened the who's who of the country , from Prime ministers, to celebrities and royalty left their impressions behind along with their footprints on the sands of time. History was being created every day, as the hotel played hosts to the history makers.

Maglioni's Mediterranean Architecture had undergone a makeover by the Oberoi's ,but the core of the structure was slowly but surely giving way to the Gopalpur on Seacorroding effects of the saline sea breeze. The erosion had begun and no amount of hasty repairs could make it anymore safe for it's guests. The Oberois closed gates in 2002 and decided to distance themselves and sell this piece of Orissa's history to any worthy taker . It was at this time, 201 1, that 'Mayfair hotels and resorts' stepped in. T o protect, renovate and restore the' Palm beach',where history echoed from every cobble stone. Lured by the fact that Gopalpur-on-sea still stood untouched by the concrete commercialism that had destroyed nearby Puri's equally pristine beach and also because Gopalpur had actually wrapped itself in a romantic mysticism that tugged at history but refused to drown in its excesses.

Rebuilding the core structure from scratch, lovingly touching up the details, reinventing the old magic, preserving the memories, Mayfair has now breathed new life to the 'Oberoi palm Beach' in its all new avatar- 'The Mayfair palm Beach resort' Its the ultimate tribute to your senses and helps in stealing your time and mind in order to find your DNA and recreate you for future generations... where always, every time, anyday 'sometimes the sky looks like the sea and sometimes the sea looks like the sky'.

Source: Business Standard & www.mayfairhotels.com

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to inaugurate MKCG Medical College golden jubilee

Preparations were in final stages for the five- day golden jubilee celebration of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG) medical college in the city, which is to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday. According to organising secretary of the golden jubilee celebration, S.N.Mohanty, it was an occasion to celebrate for whole of south Odisha as this institute happened to be the only medical college in this region. The hospital attached to the medical college was also the only referral hospital in south Odisha.

The State government had started a medical college in Berhampur in 1961. Due to dearth of its own campus it was being run in the building in front of the City Hospital, which is now being used as office of Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO). Later it was shifted to the building which is now being used as living quarters of Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division and the building which is now being used by the Ophthalmology Department of the medical college. On November 30, 1963, foundation stone was laid for the new building of the medical college and the hospital attached to it. In 1966 it was named after Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, who had played a pivotal role for the formation of modern Odisha State on linguistic basis. New building of this institution was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Odisha Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo on February 21, 1969.  

During the time of inception this institute had intake strength of 40 students. Now 150 students are getting admitted into its MBBS course every year. At present 96 students were studying in post graduate courses of the institute. As the hospital attached to it happens to be the only referral hospital in south Odisha, more than 1,000 patients reach its out-patients section every day. On an average more than 120 patients get admitted in the indoor wards of the hospital every day. The alumni of the institute include several physicians of national and international repute. According to Dr. Mohanty around 5,000 delegates would attend the golden jubilee celebrations. First principal of the institute Sukumar Das would also attend the inaugural ceremony. As part of the celebration several technical seminars would be held in which experts of international fame would take part. Present as well as past students of the institute were also busy preparing for cultural shows they would perform during the five-day long celebration. 
Source: The Hindu

60 special trains for Jagannath Rath Yatra

In its bid to meet extra rush of passengers during the Rath Yatra, the East Coast Railways (ECoR) will run 60 special trains from different parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. This arrangement will be over and above the existing trains coming to Puri.

Special trains to Puri will run from Visakhapatnam, Palasa, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Paradip, Bhadrak, Berhampur city, Sambalpur and Gunupur, the ECoR said. One special train will leave Visakhapatnam at 6 pm on June 20 and arrive at Puri at 7.45 am on Rath Yatra day. In the return direction, this passenger special will leave Puri at 12.15 am on June 22.
Similarly, two special passenger trains will start from Palasa while the rest of the stations will see one special train each for the annual Car Festival. Similarly, special trains will also run to and from Puri to clear the extra rush of passengers on the occasion of ‘Sandhya Darshan’, ‘Bahuda Yatra’ and ‘Sunabesha’ which attract huge number of tourists and pilgrims to the town.
At least eight trains will have be rescheduled due to the extra arrangement while some others will have to be cancelled, the ECoR sources said.Source: New Indian Express

TaraTarini Hill Shrine to get a facelift

BERHAMPUR: The Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has decided to take up construction work with around Rs. 1.2 crore within next one year to further develop the temple complex at the hill top. This was decided at a meeting of the TTDB chaired by its president Chandrasekhar Kumar, RDC, southern division. The main temple of this hill shrine was reconstructed at a cost Rs. 2.5 crores in traditional ‘Rekha' style of Oriyan temple architecture by master sculptor Padmabhusan Raghunath Mohapatra. The TTDB has entrusted Mr. Mohapatra with the next phase of construction work on the temple complex at the hill top. The design of the construction work was finalised at a meeting by the technical committee of the TTDB. Under it, a boundary wall will be built around the temple in traditional form at a cost of around Rs. 50 lakhs. Four ‘parswa' temples will be built up at four corners of the temple complex at a cost Rs. 44 lakhs. Apart from it, a modern kitchen will also be added to the temple complex. The kitchen complex will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 25 lakhs. “We have decided to complete these projects within a year and Mr. Mohapatra has also agreed to it,” said Pramod Kumar panda, secretary of the TTDB.

Meanwhile, work on the new ghat road to the hill top is also under way. The new road will be less steep and wider than the existing old road. The road is being laid at a cost of Rs. 5 crores by the Rural Development Department. Another ring road is also being laid around the Tara Tarini hill at a cost of Rs. 50 lakhs. The RDC directed the department to complete the construction of the roads by April, 2011.

The Tourism Department has also come up with plans of developmental projects for the hill shrine with Rs. 71 lakhs. Survey for it has already been complete. The TTDB has also decided to prepare a comprehensive master plan for the area around the hill shrine. A survey will be taken up in five km radius around the hill shrine soon for the purpose.

Source: The Hindu