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.

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November 11, 2016 at 5:32 pm Leave a comment

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.

November 7, 2016 at 8:42 am Leave a comment

IGNOU’s free courses for weavers of Sonepur and Bargarh districts

BHUBANESWARr: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has decided to offer four of its certificate courses, including computer literacy programme, for free to family members of weavers of two western Odisha villages.

“It will help the weavers develop their skills under the government’s Unnat Bharat Abhiyan,” Ignou Bhubaneswar regional director Dr Abhilash Nayak said following the institution’s East Zone Directors’ Meet, which concluded here on Saturday.

He said the university has already selected two weaver villages – Kantapalli from Sonepur district and Sagarpalli from Bargarh district – and they would be trained regarding the best practices used in their field.

“The courses will also help them opt for the latest practices for enhancement of skills in weaving and designing clothes and dresses,” the regional director added.

“We will also connect the weavers with the government offices through information and communication technology (ICT). They will get an idea about the use of new technology for their betterment through our training,” Nayak explained.

He said his university has decided to provide four certificate courses to members of weavers family. The courses are – computer literacy programme (CLP), bachelor preparatory programme (BPP), NGO management and certificate course on entrepreneurship (CCE). BPP is a unique programme through which a school or college dropout can get a chance to directly enroll in a bachelors degree. The person will have to sit for an entrance test and upon clearing it can join the bachelors programme.

“Those who are interested in availing the benefits will have to enroll their names at their nearest Ignou study centre in both the districts. The certificate courses will be completed within six months,” said Nayak.

The university has also announced fee exemption for scheduled castes and scheduled tribe candidates in undergraduate programmes. “It will also translate subject matters from English to Odia for better understanding of students. These initiatives will also help the family members of weavers,” an Ignou source said. Regional directors of 12 Ignou regional centres functioning in Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand attended the two-day directors’ meet.

November 7, 2016 at 8:27 am Leave a comment


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