Orissa Govt. includes two more tourist spots for Ganjam on World Tourism day

On the occasion of World Tourism day two more tourist spots named Gopakuda Island under Keshpur panchayat of Chilika and the Kashi Biswanath temple of Kamalapur village under Digapahaandi tahasil are being added into the district tourism map of Ganjam. It has been decided by the administration to make these two attractive tourist points.

Although the pre-survey reports of the above mentioned places are already submitted by the District Tourism Officer the District Collector has directed him to prepare the full-fledged report and to submit it within a stipulated time period.

With the addition of these spots now there will be 24 tourist spots in Ganjam. Earlier it was 22 in which the sea beach of Gopalpur, Chilka lake & bird sanctuary, beach of Aryapalli, manuscripts of Ashoka at Jaugargh, scenic beauty of Nirmalajhara, Religious place famous Tara Tarini pitha, Narayani, hot spring Taptapani, silk city Berhampur, Biranchi Narayan pitha at Buguda, Girisola at Orissa-Andhra boarder, kulada Byaghra devi, beach of Humma Kantiagargh, historical place Athagargh patna, Sidha Bhairavi temple, Mahuri Kalua, Patisonapur, Potagargh with British memorials,Ghodahada dam of Ujaleswara, religious place Sankulei Pitha, scenic spot of Humuri Tampra and Nijabankeswari temple under Digapahandi block have been included.

It is noteworthy, that the newly added Gopakuda is an Island in Chilika Lake where lord Shiva has been worshipped and popularly known as Gupteswara. The place also consists a Hawa Mahal (palace) as earlier it was the kingdom of Khalikote. Chilika Mahostav, Maha Sivaratri are the major festivals that has been widely celebrated here. Similarly rich in Mythological beliefs Kashi Biswanath temple of kamalapur at Digapahandi is popular as Suranga Saivapitha. Surrounded by the hills the temple is situated on 200 feet above from the surface. Two lingas symbols of Lord Shiva have been worshipped here inside a cave.                    

Mayfair group acquires Oberoi's Gopalpur hotel

The Oberoi Group has sold its 100-year-old hotel property at Gopalpur on Sea in Orissa to Mayfair Hotels and Resorts, a local hospitality company owned by former cabinet minister and industrialist Dilip Ray. The property, Oberoi Palm Beach, was bought by Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi in 1947 from an Italian lady and was the third hotel in his portfolio after Shimla and Kolkata. EIH, formerly East India Hotels, the flagship company of the Oberoi Group, has handed over the property to the Mayfair Group, which now has eight properties, said top executives at both companies.

For the Oberois, the Gopalpur property, though small, had a lot of sentimental value. However, with any significant expansion not possible due to the Coastal Regulation Zone restrictions and high overhead costs, the EIH management decided to lease or sell it. For a few years, they leased the hotel to a Bhubaneswar-based hotelier, but it did not work well, said an EIH source. Ray, who has been expanding his hospitality business in the past few years, said: "It is a dream acquisition. We will try our best to develop this hotel to international standards and expand it."

The Mayfair group now plans to spend 25-30 crore to expand the hotel and add another 15 rooms to the existing 20 rooms. It will also add a spa to the property along with villas.

 Gopalpur on Sea has been a popular destination among the Russian tourists throughout the year. Domestic travellers visit during winters. With Gopalpur port being developed from a seasonal to an all-weather port, commercial and industrial activity is expected to pick up. Tatas too are planning an industrial park at Gopalpur where it will be the anchor investor. The 100-crore Mayfair group operates mid-segment hotels in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Rourkela, Goa, Darjeeling and Gangtok. It also will soon open hotels in Kolkata, Satpada and a new hotel in Puri. Mayfair plans to spend 25-30 crore to expand the hotel and add another 15 rooms to the existing 20 rooms.

River-linking mooted to overcome water crisis in Ganjam

The State Government has proposed linking the river Rushikulya with the Bansadhara through the Nandini Canal Project to overcome drinking water problem in the areas of the Ganjam district affected by drought frequently.

Official sources said the State Government is in touch with the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) for preparation of a pre-feasibility report on the project. This is now at a preliminary stage and details can be known only after the report is completed.

The State Government had earlier proposed to link the Rushikulya and the Bansadhara rivers by constructing a dam near Minajhola in Rayagada district over Bansadhara to tackle regular drought in Ganjam district.

The pre-feasibility report on the project was submitted to the Central Water Commission (CWC) in July 2005 for its approval. But the project idea was dropped after the CWC maintained that it was not feasible.

Agitations by locals were also held� demanding linking of rivers to address their drinking water problem. People from Ganjam and Gajapati districts took out padayatras many times demanding linking of the two rivers.

Rushikulya Banchao Manch, a front led by former deputy speaker Rama Chandra Panda, takes the lead in organising stirs. Representing the plight of the farmers of Ganjam and Gajapati districts, who are facing severe water scarcity, the locals have sought linking of rivers like the Bansadhara and the Mahendra Tanaya, the Mahanadi and the Rushikulya and Rushikulya link project.

The Rushikulya river is the lifeline of Ganjam district and its entire population depends on it for domestic and farming purposes. In the last three decades, the two rivers _ the Bansadhara and the Rushikulya _ are fast drying up because of erratic rainfall, high sedimentation and environmental flow loss besides green cover depletion.

But successive governments have failed to construct low-height dams at different parts of the rivers and their tributaries to save the run off which could have prevented depletion of groundwater. Besides, the major towns of Ganjam such as Berhampur, Aska, Kabisuryanagar, Sorada, Hinjli, Purushottampur, Chhatrapur and Ganjam depend on the Rushikulya for domestic water needs.

Berhampur City alone needs 50 million litre water per day but the supply is just about 35 million litre and with the demand-supply gap widening, pressure on the depleting groundwater is high.

Source: Orissa Diary 

Tata Steel reserves berth at Gopalpur Port

• Jindal Company also visited Gopalpur port to get a reserve berth

• Tata Steel would construct a hospital at Tata rehabilitation colony at Sitalapalli, Berhampur

At a time when the demand for returning the lands acquired for industries in Ganjam district is growing shriller, The Tata Steel Managing Director’s visit to Ganjam district seems to have settled things for now.

Tata Steel MD HM Nerurkar along with vice-president for Orissa Projects of the Company Hrideyshwar Jha visited Ganjam district on Tuesday to take stock of the progress of the proposed projects. They had an informal meeting with Ganjam District Collector Kishen Kumar and Managing Director of Gopalpur Ports Limited (GPL) Mahimanandan Mishra.

Gopalpur Industrial Park project is planned on 3,300 acres of land taken over by the company in 1995 for its now shelved mega steel plant project near Gopalpur port.

Tata Steel, being the anchor investor, has announced a ferrochrome industry with a capacity of around 55,000 tonne a year besides four million tonne capacity rubber industry and a desalination plant. The three units are scheduled to go for production from 2013.

However, as no progress was made even after seven months of the foundation, the displaced families whose lands were acquired started agitation demanding return of their lands.

According to the discussion between Tata Steel, GPL and district administration, Tata Steel would have its own berth and a jetty at Gopalpur Port at Rs. 60 crore for transportation of its proposed production.

However, till the construction of the berth, the port would provide a rebate of around 50 per cent to Tata Steel for transportation.

Tata Steel would construct a hospital in the vacant land at the Tata rehabilitation colony at Sitalapalli for the convenience of port and Tata employees and the GPL authorities would establish a school in the port’s vicinity, in order to reduce dependence on Berhampur.

Meanwhile, a team of officials of Jindal Company also visited the Gopalpur port to get a reserve berth.

Source: IBN Live