Posts filed under ‘Kalahandi-Nuapada’
New daily passenger train between Sambalpur and Bhawanipatna
Following is a screenshot from a DNA report:
Green energy corporation seeks land in Kalahandi, Balangir and Boudh districts for solar power projects
Following is a report from TNIE:
The Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL) has moved the State Government for allotment of land in Kalahandi, Balangir and Boudh districts for development of solar power projects.
The wholly-owned subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) has identified expanses of 500 acre each in Kalahandi and Balangir districts along with 300 acre at Manmunda in Boudh district for the projects that are to be developed on a PPP mode.
“The land in the three districts will have a potential to generate around 170 MW solar power. GDECOL will develop basic infrastructure and also facilitate power evacuation to the nearest grid for the solar plants to be put up by the private players. The detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared as soon as the land is earmarked and made available,” Managing Director of OHPC Sahadeb Khatua said at the Odisha Solar Conference organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) here on Friday.OHPC has also firmed up plans to utilise land at its disposal for setting up solar plants. While it has already defined around 700 acre of usable land, a 200-acre patch capable of generating 40 MW at Khatiguda in Kalahandi district has drawn priority.
Besides budding enterprises, many private institutions like hospitals and colleges are approaching GEDCOL for setting up rooftop solar projects, he added.
The GEDCOL is anchoring the ambitious project to bring all Government buildings in the Twin City under the rooftop solar energy project on a PPP mode. The initiative is projected to yield about 10 MW power.
“The Chief Secretary has directed all the department heads to hand over the rooftops for the project. The DPR is prepared by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and would be finalised by year-end,” Khatua said.
Odisha currently generates only around 18 MW solar power, though it has the potential for 14,000 MW. There is an urgent need to tap this energy source to bridge the increasing gap between demand and supply, Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray said.
Chairman of CESU BC Jena, OERC Member (technical) BK Mishra, TiE president JB Pany and secretary Debasish Patnaik spoke.
Western Odisha not priority for CM: Kosal Kranti Dal (KKD)
Following report is from The Pioneer:
Kosal Kranti Dal (KKD) secretary general Baidyanath Mishra on Wednesday targeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as being Bhubaneswar-centric and not at all caring for western Odisha. He said that wester Odisha was not a priority for the CM.
Mishra told reporters here that the progress of work on the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) at Rourkela is still sluggish even eight long years after its foundation. A couple of months back, local MLA and Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak had promised for commencement of the BPUT construction work, but it has been stopped without rhyme or reason, Mishra said.
The BPUT, which is managing more than 150 professional colleges, only has a makeshift office at the UGIE that has become a dumping yard of sacks and trunks of examination paper. The vice-chancellor and a finance officer, along with some junior executives, are running the show.
The university land in the Chhend area is gradually encroached upon by unauthorised persons as there is none to protect the land, Mishra pointed out.
So, he said, an early review of the BPUT’s progress by the Chief Minister is required so that appropriate steps are taken before its head office is finally shifted to Bhubaneswar much to “the delight of a Bhubaneswar-centric Chief Minister,” Mishra said.
On the Western Odisha Development Council; (WODC)-sponsored medical college and hospital, he urged the Government to take steps for getting the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) nod to a hi-tech medical college at Rourkela so that local aspirant students can take admission in MBBS and BDS courses. He also urged the Government to spell out the actual percentage of seat reservation made for the students of western Odisha nativity.
Mishra said Rourkela is deprived of the Commissionerate-II of the Central Excise for the last 14 years. Like the WODC headquarters in Bhubaneswar, some vested interests in the State capital are trying their best to retain this Commissionerate-II office in Bhubaneswar though the July 22, 1997 notification made it clear that the headquarters of the Bhubaneswar-II Commissionerate would be shifted to Rourkela as its jurisdiction is western Odisha.
If these demands are not heeded by the Government, the KKD would have no other option than to launch agitation, he threatened.
Mishra also demanded passenger air line facility for Jharsuguda and Rourkela and an ESIC Medical College in Sundargarh district. He said the State Government should demand another rail coach factory to be set up at Narla, Kalahandi, as promised by former Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. This was hijacked by Naveen Patnaik elsewhere. Similarly, the Government must take early steps to start a medical college at Balangir at its own initiative.
Mishra said that from July 8 to15 a fact-finding team of the KKD would be touring various parts of western Odisha. Among others, KKD working president Sagar Singh Manki, Rourkela unit president Rama Chandra Amat and founder-member Surama Mishra were present at the news conference.
Agitation intensifies demanding rail wagon factory in Kalahandi
Following are some recent reports on this issue:
http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowDistrictNews.asp?id=25784
http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=5133
http://www.dailypioneer.com/329493/Wagon-unit-Cong-launches-stir-across-Kalahandi.html
http://www.dailypioneer.com/329582/MLA-holds-demo-in-Assembly-premises-for-rail-wagon-factory.html
http://telegraphindia.com/1110406/jsp/orissa/story_13814102.jsp
http://expressbuzz.com/states/orissa/congress-legislator-stages-dharna/262779.html
Santipalli of Ganjam district to have rail wagon factory
Following report is from the Pioneer:
The railway authorities after inspecting number of places in KBK districts and not finding them suitable have identified Santipalli at Berhampur in Ganjam district to set up the proposed rail wagon factory.
According to sources, a rail wagon factory is to be set up in KBK districts of Odisha as per the 2010-2011 Railway Budget. Accordingly, the railway authorities visited Kalahandi, Kesinga, Narla Road, Lanjigarh Road, and Bhawanipatna Railway Station area to find out 100 acres of land adjacent to the rail track and submit a feasible report to the Government of Odisha for acquisition of land. However, the railway administration could not find a suitable place for the purpose and moved to coastal districts for feasible locations for wagon factory.
The Ganjam district administration and rail officers made a joint inspection in the district and found a place at Santipalli near Jagannathpur Railway Station of Berhampur. The State Government has approved to provide the 100 acre of land at Santipalli and the proposal has been sent to Railway Ministry, for their final consent for further plan of action. The project would be taken up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Mining Project will bring development for Dongria Kondh People: A report by Kailash Tudu
Following report is taken from Kalahandia blog:
Contributor: Kailash Tudu
“Dongria Kondh Community want development and mining from Niyamgiri will bring a lot socio-economic development opportunity for the tribals,” says Jitu Jakasika, one of the few English Speaking youths in the Kondh Community. However, few days before, He was well known for his hardcore and stiff opposition for Vedanta and its mining project.
He had visited almost all Dongria Kondh villages to organize people to oppose the mining plan. Continuous feeding of misleading facts and systematic brainwash made him to believe that industrialization and development would dilute the originality and culture of Dongria Kondh tribe. He left his education mid-way to join activists and vehemently opposed industrialization and associated development in the locality.
However, one incident opened eyes of Jitu. He was in Bada Denguni village to organize people against industrialization. The village has no motorable road. A pregnant lady suddenly became critical and was required to be taken to the hospital. However, in absence of any ambulance or vehicle, she was portered to the hospital. Jitu was also with her. On the way, she delivered a baby, who died just after birth. Jitu was shocked by the incident. At that time, the lady told Jitu that due to opposition to industrialization and development linked with it, her child died. If he would not have opposed industry and development work carried out by it, there would have been motorable road to the village and she could have gone to hospital in time. “This was a great learning for me. It forced me to think, whether I am doing the right things by blocking development,” said Jitu Jakasika.
He explored more on industry and development. He visited other industrial sites in the locality and mainly the ongoing bauxite mining sites. He saw for himself that neither Bauxite mining is ecologically hostile, nor it dries the spring and underground water. He also realized that ‘industrialization and development do not dilute tribal culture or lifestyle’.
“We did not want mining at Niyamgiri. We were misguided by different NGOs and groups,’ admits Jitu. He reveals that different NGOs from different countries and political parties, who are working only to fulfill their interests, were claiming that Vedanta’s mining at Niyamgiri would destroy the hill and would adversely affect the environment of the area and the lives of the tribals. Of late, he realized that all these were false claims which were intended to instigate the poor and ignorant tribals against Vedanta. They never want the development of the Dongria Kondhs.
Now, He has stopped to help the outsiders who campaign against industrialization and development of tribal children. After seeing the social development initiatives of Vedanta in periphery villages, he was convinced that development through industrialization can bring development for Dongria kondh people by providing them basic services like, health, education, infrastructure and sustainable livelihood. “I always wanted development of Dongria Kondh community and I believe industrialization can bring rapid development for tribal people,” says Jitu.
He also expressed his desired to resume his studies, so that he could know the mainstream world better and work for development of his community. Vedanta Aluminium Limited, under its Scholarship program provided support for his education. Jitu, a dongria kondh tribe, is now studying at a reputed management college at Bhubaneswar in Bachelor of Business Admission (BBA) program. In holidays, he comes to his villages and encourages fellow community members for education and other development initiatives. He is now playing a key role in facilitating education of tribal children from his villages in formal schooling and Colleges. To him “education alone can remove superstition, reduce vulnerability to contamination and can bring empowerment and in turn development”.
Vedanta’s venture into the aluminium sector of Orissa with signing MoU for an alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi and an aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda was an important event in the aluminium industry of the State. After 25 years, Vedanta set up the first Refinery in the state, which is having more than 55% of India’s Bauxite. And also, Vedanta is the only company that has rolled in its project in Orissa as per its agreement with the State Government and has already started its production partially from its Lanjigarh refinery. The company, which has placed itself in a significant position in the global aluminium industry, is very well concerned towards carrying out its Corporate Social Responsibility and has taken up several initiatives with the aim to bring qualitative improvement in the lives of the community surrounding its plant. VAL has expressed and reiterated its commitment towards socio-economic transformation has now reached ‘the society at large’. And fortunately, the particular society, to which it aimed to transform, has now realized the real intention and motive of Vedanta and has now accepted it. This is very much evident from the positive vibes coming from the statements of some tribal leaders including Jitu.
Tribal faith vs Vedanta might in Kalahandi: A report from The Economic Times
Following is the complete report:
LANJIGARH/BHAWANIPATNA: Kalahandi has always captured the national imagination, but never for the right reasons. Recurring poverty deaths and reports about entire communities surviving on mango kernels defined this predominantly tribal district in southern Orissa for decades.
So when the London-listed, Indian-run miner Vedanta Plc announced plans in 2002 to set up a Rs 4,000-crore bauxite refinery and bauxite mining project in the district’s Niyamgiri hills, there was a feeling in New Delhi and Bhubaneswar that Kalahandi was finally climbing on to the development bandwagon.
“A big company was coming to Kalahandi… It would make the district into something like Kolkata or Mumbai. That’s how we felt then,” said local journalist Mahamad Ashlam.
Eight years on, Ashlam is a disappointed man. It is a feeling shared by Kalahandi’s elected representatives, people living near the refinery, the local middle class and the business community. The company, too, says it is disappointed because the refinery can break even only if the state government acts on its promise to let it mine in the bauxite-rich Niyam Dongar mountain.
Vedanta wants the flat-top mountain massif, the best-forested in the Niyamgiri hill range, but the local Dongria Kondh tribals say it is the abode of their god Niyam Raja. The surreal fight between the $12.3-billion mining firm and tribals facing extinction has already drawn parallels with James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar.
The David-versus-Goliath battle has drawn in a variety of actors—from tribals to environmentalists to politicians to non-government organisations. Even the Church of England waded into the controversy, selling its stake in the company last February to protest the company’s allegedly poor human rights record.
The battle is being fought against the backdrop of raging Maoist violence in tribal areas across several Indian states, which means a decision on whether to let the company mine the Niyam Dongar will not be an easy one.
The government, increasingly having to reckon with deep disenchantment felt by several tribal communities about the country’s industrialisation agenda, will be forced to confront the issue soon. The environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee, which advises the government on whether forestland should be diverted for non-forest use, will meet on April 16, after which it will submit its recommendations to the ministry to take the final call.
As D-day approaches, it is instructive to know just how Vedanta got here. To understand that question, and to make sense of the claims and counterclaims made by the company and the local community, ET traveled to Kalahandi last month.
Vedanta hopes to get bauxite from Lanjigarh of Kalahandi
Bhubaneswar, Jan 21 (IANS) British mining company Vedanta Resources is hopeful of getting bauxite for its alumina refinery in Orissa soon, the company’s chairman Anil Agarwal said Thursday.
The London-headquartered metals and mining company has built a one million tonne per annum capacity alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in the state’s Kalahandi district, some 600 km from here.
The company is waiting to mine bauxite from the nearby Niyamgiri hills but is yet to get the final nod from the central government.
“We are getting bauxite from other states,” Agarwal said after talks with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and senior government officials.
“He (Patnaik) has promised us and said that they were sitting on the fourth largest reserve of bauxite. Bauxite should not be a problem. All the bauxite required for the refinery will be provided and the process is on,” he told reporters, citing the chief minister.
Vedanta is also setting up a 0.5 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter and 1,215 MW captive power plant in the state. Group company, Sterlite Energy Limited, is also setting up a 2,400 MW independent power plant at Jharsuguda.
Agarwal said the first unit of the power plant will be commissioned by summer this year.
Asked about the status of the steel plant Vedanta has planned in the state, Agarwal said the plant will be built in joint venture and negotiations are in an advanced stage.
Amenities available in the city like Bhubaneswar should reach Kalahandi:APJ Abdul Kalam
Following is a report from The Pioneer:
In the wake of the visit of APJ Abdul Kalam on Saturday, thousands of people including schoolchildren and their teachers gathered at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here to have a glimpse of the former President
Kalam reached the Police Ground here by a helicopter at around 3.50 pm. First of all he inaugurated the Primary teachers’ Bhawan and then inaugurated the 3rd Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura 2010.
Addressing a huge gathering, he said, “I am happy to here on the Kalahandi festival day. I am delighted to participate in the inaugural ceremony on 3rd day of Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura 2010. I am indeed delighted to inaugurate the Primary Teachers Bhawan.”
“I would like to greet the District Collector RS Gopalan, Minister of Labour and Employment Pushpendu Singhdeo, SP Sudha Singh, former MLA Pradipta Naik, organisers of the utsav and all the schoolchildren, teachers and parents who have come here,” said the former President.
Kalam also interacted with the students and answered briefly to their questions. He said I am going to give you (students) an equation. Knowledge is equal to creativity plus righteousness in the heart and spread courage.
Kalam advised the organisers to launch a new project every year during Kalahandi Utsav, which will boost economic development, improve employment potential in the district. He also said the amenities available in the city like Bhubaneswar should also reach Kalahandi.
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 
