Odisha News June 2012

Berhampur boy tops state in AIEEE

Source: The Sambad

Texas University students impart tech lessons in Gopalpur-on-Sea

Four students from Texas University, USA, are currently in the coastal villages near Gopalpur-on-Sea, Berhampur, Odisha on a mission to train students from fishermen families in basic computer skills and communicative English.

Around 30 college students of Venkataraipur and New Boxipalli villages are taking lessons from them at a village community hall at Venkataraipur in the morning and evening.

John, Reanna, Nessa and Lauren came here and stayed for two months as part of a summer internship project. "We requested them to help students from fishermen's families learn the basics of computer and improve their communication skills," said S B Rao, a social activist from the village. The group is a part of Nourish International, a students' body which works towards addressing global poverty and understanding various development projects across the world, he said. "We are happy to impart training to the students in Gopalpur-On-sea. They are amazing. They are picking up the skills very fast. Many of them can prepare power point slides by themselves," said Lauren. "We want to improve their communication skills as far as possible before leaving the country," Reanna said.

The foreign students have already prepared teaching material for the trainees. They are also using computer sets to enable the young boys and girls have hands-on training of using computers. They started taking classes on May 22, and will continue till July 3.

During the period, they have also decided to conduct a training programme for school teachers to improve their teaching skills and make learning much more interactive and interesting for the students. Besides, the students will launch a sanitation drive in the villages in association with the members of the Self Help Groups (SHG) and village development committees.

The group is also conducting a village assessment programme to identify the availability of the resources and problems in education and to work out for the solution, said B Gopamma, another activist from the village. Source: ToI

 

Artists turn walls of Silk city Berhampur into canvas

Source: The Telegraph

The walls of the Silk City have come alive with paintings depicting the state’s culture, festivals, temples and tribal murals to counter ugly graffiti, unauthorised wall-posters and open-air urinals. Vibrant colours and striking images decorated with mirror pieces and other adornments are lending a royal touch to several drab walls in the city. Artist Pratap Kishore Bishoyi, the 40-year-old who has created paintings on the walls of the official residence of the additional district medical officer at Gate Bazar along with two of his assistants, said their work has received appreciation from passers-by. “We feel glad that our hard work has paid off when people passing by stand and observe the art on the walls. The advent of modern printing and large printed flex boards had snatched away earnings of painters. So, it feels good that as part of this project we are being paid Rs 30/sqft of painting,” said Bishoyi. For another artist, Pratap Kishore, walls are spaces that can act as the preservers of culture, tradition and heritage of the state. “It gives us immense pleasure to create something that will be a part of the city for a long time to come. We use colours that will not be affected by harsh weather conditions and stay fresh even in sun and rain. Hopefully, the public will take care of our efforts,” he said. The city residents seem to be delighted with the beautification project. But they too are worried about the maintenance of the decorated walls. “The wall painting concept was a big hit five years ago. But those paintings are in a sorry state because of poor maintenance,” said Bhim Nayak, a resident of Komapalli. It gives tourists a bad impression, he added. “The law prohibits littering of streets, public walls, office premises, compound walls of residences and government buildings and others. However, these places are being misused with passers-by spitting, putting up posters, unauthorised hoardings and so on,” said Kailash Rana, chairman, Berhampur Development Authority. “The paintings on walls are an innovative strategy to beautify the city’s defaced walls,” he said. The public works department has taken the initiatives of getting walls painted at the residence of the revenue divisional commissioner, southern division, Khallikote Autonomous College, Sashi Bhushan Women’s College, MKCG Medical College and Berhampur Municipal Corporation office. Source: The Telegraph

 

Today is World Environment Day – Work for a greener environment; Plan for the Planet!

Space crunch affects Taptapani deer park

Berhampur: The Taptapani deer park might lose its mini zoo status (MZS) because it is yet to better its infrastructure, including expanding its area. The Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) has accorded the mini zoo status to the deer park in 2009 after the DFO of Paralakhemundi gave an undertaking to increase the space for free movement of animals. But three years have lapsed since then and the required area is yet to be acquired. The park sprawls over 1.86 hectares where 136 different deer species live. It includes 116 spotted deer, 16 sambars and a barking deer. Though the park started with a few deer in 1980, there number is steadily increasing. The forest department wanted an additional 8.4 hectares of land to accommodate the animals and develop it as an eco-tourism centre. At present, the animals have to move about in less than one hectare because a portion of the park is meant for visitors. Also, the space crunch has given rise to infighting among the deer. Three have died in recent times. "We have sought land in the adjoining areas of the existing park to make it an eco-tourism spot," said Jitsatru Mohanty, the DFO of Paralakhemundi. He said the application for the land alienation was pending with the Ganjam administration. He said the administration should give us the land at the earliest because CZAI officials are going to visit the park soon. "Once the MZS status is withdrawn, we won't be able to house the huge zoo population in the park," Mohanty added. Ganjam collector Krishan Kumar said the administration was aware of the fact. "We are pursuing the matter with the government for early hand over of the land," he added. At present, the forest department is planning an alternative. "The deer park is overcrowded. We have planned to accommodate them by creating at least four enclosures and feeding chambers," the DFO said. (Source: Times of India)

Blackbucks of Ganjam migrating to newer areas in Odisha

Blackbucks, an endangered species found in Balipadar-Bhetanai area in Ganjam district of Odisha, seem to be migrating to newer areas, official sources said. At least two blackbucks were rescued by the villagers from various places in the district. One of them was found at Balipada near Berhampur, while another at Babanapur near Aska. “We have rescued a male blackbuck from Balipadar near here. The animal will be handed over to the Nandankanan zoo authority in Bhubaneswar,” said divisional forest officer, Berhampur SS Mishra. The blackbuck also reportedly migrated towards Jagannath Prasad and Belaguntha areas in search of food and water as some of the water bodies in their habitat have dried up, sources said. “When the blackbucks migrate to other areas they may be easy target to the poachers. They also meet with accidents on the roads”, the wildlife experts feared claiming at least five blackbucks had reportedly died in a fortnight. Officials, however, said only two died. “We have information about the migration of the blackbuck. But we have no information about their death due to scarcity of water,” said divisional forest officer, Ghumusar South R Ch Sethi. He said there were several ponds in their areas.”Though the water level receded, ponds have not dried up. The animals are using them,” added another officer at Aska. Increase in population might be one of the causes for migration of blackbucks to newer areas, said an expert. The population of blackbuck in the area was counted at 2181 in the last census conducted in July 2011. The population of blackbuck was estimated at 1672 in 2008. Their number was 551 in 1998, 786 in 2004, 1101 in 2006, sources said. Improvement of habitats, protection given by local people as well as forest staff was some of the reasons for increase of the population of the blackbuck in the area, forest officials attributed. The blackbucks have been protected religiously by the local people for several generations. They have strong belief the presence of blackbuck in the paddy fields brings prosperity to the village. “The villagers do not kill the animals even if they strays into the field,” said president, Blackbuck Protection Committee Amulya Upadhyaya. (Source: The Pioneer)