Archive for November, 2016
Jharsuguda to get airport by May 2018
Following is a report from http://pragativadi.com:
Bhubaneswar: Chairman of Airport Authority of India (AAI), Guru Prasad Mohapatra during a meeting on Tuesday said that the proposed plan of Jharsuguda airport in Odisha will be completed by May 2018. He said it is a joint project developed by AAI and the state government.
Earlier, the state government had signed an agreement with AAI to develop the airport with an estimated cost of Rs 210 crore by allotting a land of around 106.23 acres, out of which the government land proportion is 51.8 acres and that of private is 54.43 acres. As per sources, the government would fund Rs 75 crore while the rest would be funded by the AAI towards the development of the airport.
Further Mohapatra said, under the project, a modular designed passenger terminal would be made with handling capacity of 300 passengers including 150 for arrival and 150 for departure.
District Collector of Jharsuguda, Bibhuti Pattnaik said that tender has already been issued towards road construction to the airport.
The meeting chaired by the chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi along with other officials of AAI and the state government focused on various issues relating to road connectivity to the airport, land acquisition, strengthening of runway, taxi way, control tower and staff quarters.
Tourism boost to Daringibadi
In peak winter, tourists throng Daringibadi, the picturesque hill town of Kandhamal district, to witness snow flakes as the place is aptly called the Kashmir of Odisha. But lack of infrastructure has been the major stumbling block in the way of tourist inflow.
The town received a tourism boost with the chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday opening a tribal museum at the hill-view park and laying foundation stone of a nature camp, an ecotourism project. The government has given much emphasis on development of tourism and horticulture in Kandhamal, said the chief minister.
Tribal dress, ornaments and musical instruments of Kandha and Kutia Kandha tribes have been displayed in the museum. Kutia Kandhas, one of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups, reside in Belaghara while Kandhas are found in almost all areas of the district.
The museum has been built on 1,100-sqft with an investment of Rs 30 lakh by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda. Almost all the exhibits have been collected from the tribals. Some more attractive items will be added to the museum soon, said Ramesh Chandra Behera, an official of ITDA, Baliguda.
Besides enjoying the nature’s bounty, one can witness the tribal customs in Daringibadi, a tourist destination, he added.
The nature camp, adjoining the existing nature park, is proposed to be set up with an investment of Rs 1.10 lakh by the forest department. The camp will have six cottages, a restaurant and facilities for trekking to the forests, said divisional forest officer (DFO), Baliguda, Kartik V.
Sprawled over four hectares, the nature park was developed by the forest department six months ago with an investment of Rs 55 lakh. The park has butterfly park, medicinal garden, 3D movie halls and display of lifesize images of wild animals apart from a peep into the traditions of Kutia Kandhas.
With these facilities, the tourism in the town will receive a major boost, said collector (Kandhamal) Reghu G. Generally the visitors throng the hill town during the peak winter to enjoy its cool climate.
The butterfly park, second of its kind in the state after Nandanakanan, has at least 15 host plants. While the butterfly park at Nandanakanan is a closed one, Daringibadi park is an open one, first of its kind in the state, said the DFO. Similarly, around 50 medicinal plant species have been planted in the medicinal garden.
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 