Archive for January, 2011

Proposed Vedanta Science College, Lanjigarh to start its academic session from 2011

Following report  is from http://orissadiary.com:

Today the management committee of upcoming Vedanta Science College organized a day long conference on “Emergence of Science Education” in the society at Lanjigarh.

As 21st century every human life is more dependent on technology the knowledge on scientific innovations is becoming essential for all of us . “Science education would not only help in getting employment but also will help us to enhance a quality life in science oriented society’, said Prof. Arun Kumar Pujari, Vice-Chancellor, Sambalpur University during a conference. More than 200 students and faculty members from 15 colleges in Kalahandi and Rayagada participated in this conference.

The objective of the conference was to make the people conscious about the value of science education at degree level as well as to discuss about the proposed Vedanta Science College at Lanjigarh. Dr. Mukesh Kumar, President and COO, Vedanta Aluminium Limited, said, “Vedanta Science College was a long pending demand of the people of Western Orissa. Vedanta is committed to create a state of art Science College that will promote quality science education in western Orissa”. Quality Science education can help in developing technical manpower for industrialization in Orissa, he added.

The proposed Vedanta Science College will start its academic session from 2011 and will provide education in subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Mathematics, Zoology, and Environmental Science. As the local students of the region depend on Bhawanipatna, Rayagada and Bhubaneswar for degree level studies on science subjects, Vedanta Science College can make a valuable contribution to the local people around Lanjigarh,

Prof. Gopabandhu Behera and Dr. A. K. Nanda, who are also the Governing Body member of Vedanta Science College were also present on the dais.

Also present on the occasion were, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pattnaik Vice-President, VAL, Mr. C Joseph, in-charge of the Vedanta Science College, Dr. Nabakrushna Panda, Principal, Govt. Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna, Mr. S. P. Nanda, Principal, Govt, Women’s College, Bhawanipatna, Mr. Sudershan Rath, Principal, Bisamcuttack College, Mr. Bharat Rath, Principal Rayagada Govt. College.

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January 31, 2011 at 7:38 pm 1 comment

Panel recommends common test for PG, MPhil, PhD in central universities

Following is from TOI:

NEW DELHI: A committee of vice-chancellors of central universities (CUs) has recommended common entrance test for admissions into postgraduate (PG) and MPhil/PhD courses across 42 CUs.

Sources in the committee said if the model works well, it can be adopted at the undergraduate level. However, the report is silent on admissions into undergraduate courses.

Another panel on Nava-ratna Universities — Indian equivalent of Ivy League varsities — has recommended direct funding from the central government, freedom to fix salaries, fee structure; reward for performing teachers, cutting increment to non-performers and flexibility to invite the best faculty from any part of the world.

The recommendation on common entrance test could evoke strong reactions. Set up late lst year by HRD minister Kapil Sibal, it said common entrance for PG courses should be based on both performances in entrance test and in the graduate examination. Performance in the first two years of graduation would be factored. The weightage for performance in graduate course may be 30%, and 70% weightage could be given to performance in the entrance test.

The entrance test will consist of two sections: scholastic aptitude and knowledge of subject in which admission is being sought. The committee has suggested that relative weightage between the two could be in the ratio of 40:60. The panel has said universities with special character/historical reasons could be free to have their own admission process.

In case of MPhil or PhD courses, the committee has recommended, common entrance could be similar to the UGC National Eligibility Test for Junior Research Fellowship. The varsities would be free to have their own interviews for MPhil and PhD courses. The institutions would also have the freedom to decide weightage for the interview, but it should not be more than 40% in any case.

January 28, 2011 at 4:29 pm Leave a comment

BJPs Tiranga Jatra sets Twitter on fire

Following are some links:

January 25, 2011 at 1:17 pm Leave a comment

Installation of the idols of lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra will take place in Patali Srikshetra

These idols, kept in the house of a villager in Kotsomalai for the last three years, would be installed in a temple during the Patali Mahotsav next month. Telegraph picture

Following is from The Telegraph:

Sonepur, Jan. 23: Idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, which have been kept in a house at Kotsomalai village in Subarnapur district for over three years, will soon be installed in a temple in the village.

The idols, which were donated by the Puri temple administration to the management of Patali Srikshetra in Kotsomalai about three years back, would now be shifted to a newly constructed temple during the Patali Mahotsav (the annual car festival). The festival is scheduled to begin on February 3.

Gajapati Maharaja of Puri Dibyasingha Deb is expected to attend the installation ceremony of the lords. Sources said Kotsomalai village, which became famous after the Puri temple administration had granted it the Patali Srikshetra status, was unable to observe the annual car festival for the past three years as the deities could not be installed.

District culture officer Gadadhar Barik said the installation ceremony would take place during Patali Mahotsav.

Barik said several people had come forward to donate for the daily expenditure of the deities. “There are several people who have offered for the puja and other daily expenditure of the deities. We have already got donations of Rs 500 each from 365 persons from across the state for daily expenditure. It will last a year,” Barik said.

He also said a new and bigger temple would soon come up at Patali Srikshetra. Puri temple administration has specially made the idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra for nearly Rs 55,000 from the temple treasury and donated the idols to the action committee for installation in 2007.

On hearing the news, Jagannath devotees are happy. “I had been waiting for this day. The past few years had been painful for us as we couldn’t celebrate the car festival at Patali Srikshetra as the gods and goddess had not been installed. Now, we will be able to observe the car festival here,” said a villager of Kotsomalai.

A team, led by the then chief administrator of Puri Jagannath temple, Suresh Mahapatra, and researchers on Jagannath cult and sevayats of the temple, visited Kotsomalai village in 2007. They pronounced that Lord Jagannath had been hidden in a cave at the nearby Trikuta hills for 144 years to get rid of the attack of Raktabahu and Kalapahad.

The Puri temple administration has announced all possible help for development of the area and in a rare gesture, donated the idols for installation at Patali Srikshetra.

January 25, 2011 at 9:44 am Leave a comment

Pictures of the Bargarh Dhanu Jatra 2010-11 closing ceremony

Thanks to Surendra Kumar Hota for the following pictures:

January 21, 2011 at 2:49 pm Leave a comment

Kalahandi Balangir Koraput region remains underdeveloped in health and education

Following is a report from Samaja (online edition):

January 21, 2011 at 10:32 am Leave a comment

Tourism boost plan for Sonepur town

Update from The Telegraph: Sonepur to have ring road

Sonepur, Jan. 20: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today laid the foundation for embankment and construction of the ring road along the banks of the river Mahanadi here. The ring road will not only decongest traffic in the city but also prevent floods.

A joint venture of the state water resource and road and building (R&B) departments, the embankment and the road constructions will be done over a length of 5.1 km on the right banks of Mahanadi from the bridge over the river to the bridge over river Tel. The project is being executed at an estimated cost of Rs21.74 crore.

Addressing a public meeting at Gandhi ground, Naveen said his government was taking care of the overall development of the state. “We are trying to ensure all-round development of our state. The farmers are being given utmost importance and their problems are being looked at sensibly. We intend to uplift the socio-economic status of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. We have decided to distribute cycles to school going SC and ST students,” Naveen said.

He inaugurated the office buildings of superintendent of police, regional transport office and reserve police. He also inaugurated Swarnatoya Cric Fete, the silver jubilee edition of the All India Lalmoney Cricket Tournament.

Talking about the embankment and road project, executive engineer of Balangir irrigation division Naresh Nayak said it would not only act as flood control measure, but also minimise traffic hazards.

Following is from The Telegraph:

Sonepur, Jan. 19: Plans are on to begin a number of projects in Sonepur to exploit the tourism potential of the town.

The government is planning to build an embankment along the Mahanadi to turn it into a tourist hub. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik would lay the foundation of the embankment and the ring road along the river bank here on on Thursday

The ring road would be 3.6km long and would run from the bridge over the Mahanadi to the bridge over Tel. Initially budgeted at Rs 21 crore, the project, which includes the road and the embankment, would be funded by the Union ministry of water resources and Nabard.

Sonepur District Peoples’ Action Committee chairman Gobinda Maharana said the project would serve the dual purpose of communication and tourism. “The demand was there since 1980 but the committee had launched a movement two years ago. Our efforts have been rewarded,” he said.

January 20, 2011 at 11:31 am Leave a comment

Govt plans a health insurance scheme that will cover for all Indians

Following is from The http://www.hindustantimes.com:

A health insurance scheme that will cover every Indian is on the cards. A committee of experts appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by K Srinath Reddy, chief of the Public Health Foundation of India, is working on a public-funded scheme, likely to be introduced in the 12th Five Year Plan, starting in 2012-13.

“We are looking at a scheme where people will pay premium depending on their income,” said Planning Commission member secretary Sudha Pillai.

For instance, the government may pay the entire premium for those below the poverty line. For the better off, the government’s contribution will diminish the higher the individual’s income.

This scheme is likely to cover not only hospitalisation expenses, but also treatment undergone at listed hospitals. Most private health insurance schemes cover only hospitalisation. It will also provide cover for conditions private schemes frequently do not — like heart ailments and pregnancy.  

The scheme also intends the Centre to pay a higher premium for women — across all sections. 

There is already a health insurance scheme under the Rashtriya Swasth Bima Yojana for BPL families. Close to half of 6 crore BPL families are covered under this scheme. In the next step, all those enrolled in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will be covered, followed by women enrolled in over 10 lakh angwanwadi centers around the country. 

According to the National Sample Survey Office, an Indian spends 80 % of his health expenses on buying medicine. The high cost of treatment makes health services unaffordable to many. 

Presently, over 90 % Indians are not covered by any public or private health insurance.

January 20, 2011 at 8:43 am Leave a comment

Long live “Kans mama”: A report on Bargarh Dhanu Jatra

Following is from The Telegraph

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 18: Maybe the white-clad Calcutta police should try out what “Kansa” is doing now in Bargarh in multicolour splendour to tame traffic rogues.

A moustachioed man decked out like an ancient king has been making the rounds of the town in western Orissa, sitting atop a caparisoned elephant and barking orders every now and then.

“ Hey, you! Stop, come here,” he beckons a truck driver on National Highway 6. The bewildered driver is fined Rs 500 for speeding and the potentate moves on with his colourful entourage.

A little later, he hauls up a businessman for keeping his premises untidy and orders him to pay Rs 100. The “transgressor” meekly obliges.

This is Kansa, the king who rules Bargarh-turned-Mathura during Dhanu Yatra, an annual theatrical extravaganza that re-enacts the story of the mythological tyrant who was eventually slain by his nephew, Lord Krishna.

Held around this time of the year, the 11-day yatra, possibly the world’s biggest open-air drama, turns the whole of Bargarh into a mobile stage.

While the town itself becomes the city of Mathura, the river Jeera symbolises Yamuna. Ambapali, located on the Jeera’s other bank, turns into Gopapura where Krishna was brought up. To be more precise, the story of Kansa, his death and the exploits of Krishna are enacted at 18 different locations in Bargarh and Ambapali during the yatra, which has become an integral part of western Orissa’s folk culture.

The uncle’s tragic end at the hands of Krishna, a symbolic victory of good over evil, notwithstanding, Kansa is the true hero of the yatra, his larger-than-life character keeping the audiences spellbound.

Striding across Bargarh like a colossus till his “death”, Kansa summons the high and mighty to his “durbar” and issues fiats that no one dares disobey. Even chief ministers have been known to do his bidding during the yatra, some discussing state matters with him.

In the early 1990s, the then chief minister, Biju Patnaik, flew down to Bargarh in a helicopter following summons from the demon king.

It is all good-natured fun. Even senior government officials play along with Kansa, lending a touch of reality to his aura. In the process, sometimes long-standing civic problems like garbage-clearing and erratic water supply in Bargarh get solved.

The man bringing Kansa alive on the Dhanu Yatra stage is a 38-year-old health department employee, Hrushikesh Bhoi, whose huge whiskers and boisterous laughter appear tailor-made for the character.

Making his debut as Kansa in 2008, Bhoi has gathered a fan following, much like his idol, Gopal Sahu, the policeman who played the character for over 22 years.

After each performance, Bhoi makes it a point to visit Puri to offer his apologies to Lord Jagannath for heaping calumny upon Krishna and conspiring to kill him during the yatra.

Dhanu Yatra, which was organised for the first time in 1948 to celebrate the country’s independence and the end of British rule that was often compared to Kansa’s tyrannical regime, is not just about drama.

It is also an occasion to showcase western Orissa’s kaleidoscopic culture, especially its dance forms, with the king himself playing the patron. Dance performances are held daily at his court during the yatra to regale visitors.

Kansa is dead, long live Kansa! 

January 19, 2011 at 1:07 pm Leave a comment

Starvation death continues in Naveen Patnaik’s kingdom

Following is a PTI report:

Bhubaneswar, Jan 18 (PTI) The National Human Rights Commission today asked Orissa government to submit a detailed report on health, education and public distribution delivery system in Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput region after 12 children in that area died allegedly due to starvation.

The rights body issued the direction at its camp sitting here while disposing a case of alleged starvation death of 12 children in Nabarangpur and Balangir districts in 2010.

The issue was taken up by the NHRC which conducted an investigation through its special rapporteur Damodar Sarangi last year.

Besides NHRC chairperson Justice K G Balakrishnan, three other members disposed the matter at the camp sitting.

Though the state government in its report to the NHRC claimed that the death of 12 children in KBK region was not due to starvation, the Commission refused to accept the argument, NHRC secretary K S Mani said.

January 18, 2011 at 4:34 pm Leave a comment

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