Archive for April, 2012
NUAMALPADA: A village steeped in backwardness
Following is a report from express-buzz:
UAMALPADA (Balangir): This village has just one country boat with the help of which, the 135 inhabitants connect to the mainstream. The boat, the only mode of communication, can only carry three persons at a time. Despite the State Government laying thrust on improving rural connectivity, Nuamalpada village in Bagdor gram panchayat in Belpara block of the district is a shining example of the administrative neglect.
The village is inhabited by 23 Gond and Binjhal tribal families, all BPL, who take help of the boat to reach the panchayat headquarters to collect government aid like old age pension or rice under Antodaya Annapurna Yojana. Surrounded by forest on three sides and water of a minor irrigation project (MIP) over Ganjadharjoar on another side, the inhabitants cross the water of the MIP to reach Banmal village from where they procure their essential commodities.They eke out a living by fishing in the MIP and collecting non-timber forest produce (NTFP) from the forests. A primary school was set up in a thatched house in the village in 2008. The school has seen no renovation since then as no official ever visits it. Altogether 30 students are enrolled in the school from Class I to V and there is one gana sikhyak. Students often drop out after class V as they have to traverse on boat and walk down another 8 km to reach the nearest high school. Moreover, one has to pay ` 20 for travelling in the boat.Septuagenarian Sendra Majhi of the village said at times the boat ride is costlier than commodities. Worse, the village has not been electrified till date. Even as villagers have drawn the attention of the sarpanch and the district collector to their plight, no remedial measures have been taken yet.
Belpara BDO Sanjulata Behera promised to take up development works in the village once she receives fresh financial allotment.
Air link to Rourkela by the end of April
Following is a report from the Telegraph:
Bhubaneswar, April 25: The much-anticipated private chartered flight service from the Odisha capital will be launched by the end of this month.
Bangalore-based Door-to-Door Service (DTDS) has announced the operation of a chartered flight between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from April 30.
This service would be available thrice a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The DTDS officials said the flight service would be extended to Jamshedpur and Calcutta.
The nine-seater flight would take off from Bhubaneswar at 2pm and reach Rourkela in an hour. From there, the journey to Jamshedpur would take 45 minutes, before making its way to Calcutta — its final destination — the scheduled arrival time being 5pm.
On way back, the flight would take off from Calcutta at 7.30am, land in Jamshedpur at 8.30am and then reach Rourkela at 9.15am. After a gap of 15 minutes, the flight would then take an hour to reach Bhubaneswar at 10.30am.
However, passengers would have to cough up Rs 6,990 to travel between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela and Rs 7,890 between Bhubaneswar and Jamshedpur.
Excited over the introduction of flight service, executive of a nationalised bank Barada Prasanna Das said: “Now, the journey time would come down by almost eight hours. But, I hope this service is not discontinued. The entire western Odisha would benefit from the air service.”
Capital-based tour operator Benjamin Simon said: “It would certainly provide better connectivity. However, the company should chalk out a plan to reduce the fare amount, so that the common people can also avail the service.” The company is planning to start air service between Hirakud and Barbil.
In another development, the state government has called for a meeting of prospective international flight operators next month to obtain their willingness to operate flights between Bhubaneswar and different international locations.
Chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik said the government had asked the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation to organise a national-level workshop.
“It would involve the Union ministries of civil aviation and home, Air India and private airlines for showcasing Odisha’s perspectives and opportunities in international flight operations,” he said.
Significantly, the transformation of Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar to an international airport has gathered momentum. Airport officials informed the government that the construction of the terminal for international air service was on in full swing.
Who wrote the first Ramayana in Kosli language?
There is a discussion going on who is the Balmiki of Kosli literature. In this context, the following news reports suggests that both Indramani Sahu and Hemachandra Acharya have written Ramayanas in Kosli language.
So, it seems that the Kosli Balmiki title is not confined to a particular person. And there are many Balmikis in Kosli literature.
Odisha govt. to set-up a 700-bed speciality hospital in Sambalpur
BHUBANESWAR: The state government will establish a 700-bed superspeciality hospital in Sambalpur town in public private partnership (PPP) mode soon, government sources said here on Monday.
Odisha has roped in Kolkata-based Desun Hospital and Heart Institute for the project. The government will provide seven acres of land for the Rs 170 crore hospital to be functional in three years, health minister Prasanna Acharya said.
“People in western Odisha direly need another hospital to ease the load on VSS Medical Collegeand Hospital in Burla. Otherwise, they have to travel all the way to either Cuttack or Bhubaneswar. I hope the new hospital in Sambalpur will fulfill that need,” the minister added.
The government gave a no-objection certificate to the hospital following the proposal’s clearance by a high-level committee led by chief secretary BK Patnaik.
The hospital will have 24 speciality departments, 30 operation theatres and two digital catherization laboratories. The hospital will also house a general nursing and midwifery (GNM) school and a paramedical training centre. Besides, it will offer post graduate medical diploma (Diploma in National Board-DNB) for super specialization in medical field.
The government has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Sahyog Foundation to set up a medical college and hospital in Keonjhar.
Moreover, the government has identified a new site near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for the proposed Regional Institute for Paramedical Sciences (RIPS) in Bhubaneswar.
Earlier, five acres of land was identified near the proposed medical college by Employees State Insurance Corporation in Jaganath Prasad Mouza. But the government changed the decision after a Union technical team suggested a relocation.
Hemachandra Jayanti celebration:Contribution of late Acharya to Odia and Kosli literature
Following report is from the Sambad:
Kalahandi jagaran manch demand rail wagon factory and medical college
Following is a report from the Sambad:
Sambalpur University to set up a centre for rural management
Following report is from the Telegraph:
Sambalpur, April 17: Sambalpur University here has sought the permission of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Delhi, to set up a centre for rural management on its campus.
The syndicate of Sambalpur University had earlier approved the draft proposal of the requirements for the proposed centre, which is now under UGC’s consideration for fund allocation under the 12th Five Year Plan.
“According to the UGC guidelines, the university has submitted two parallel scenarios for the requirements of developmental assistance. A detailed budget of Rs 36.3 crore and Rs 60.95 crore had been submitted to the commission for the scenario one and scenario two requirements, respectively,” said spokesperson of the university Rajat Kujur.
He said a separate proposal of Rs 5.82 crore for other developmental work had also been submitted to the UGC.
“The draft proposal highlights the requirements pertaining to building, staff members, library, campus development, healthcare, students’ amenities, new research activities, new extension activities and outreach programmes,” Kujur said.
As a part of new extension activities and outreach programmes, the university has proposed to conduct training, workshop and awareness programmes on legal rights, human rights, consumer protection and economic rights and organic solid waste management.
“Our vision is to transform the university into a knowledge centre through capacity building, consolidating infrastructure, faculty strengthening, congenial study atmosphere, quality research and incorporating innovative approaches of human development. We want to make the university one of the top ranking institutions in the state,” said Kujur.
Besides the centre of rural management, the university has included several other plans in its draft proposal, including conducting research studies. The topics for research are impact assessment of Sambalpur University educational system on the students of marginalised communities, on Gandhamardan hill resources, impact assessment of Hirakud reservoir and treatment of municipal wastewater by root zone technology.
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 