Harihar Das of Berhampur storms into the finals of India’s Got Talent-II

• To vote for Harihar, Type HD and send SMS to 56882
• Voting lines are open from 25th September till Friday1st October 2010

SMS fever is running high in the silk city with firecrackers going up in the skies as Oriya boy Harihar Das sailed into the final of reality show India’s Got Talent Khoj-II. Harihar Das hailing from Berhampur captivated the judges as well as the audience with his breathtaking performance. The popping and locking artist also stunned Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra with his unique form of dance. Reality show’s judge Sajid Khan showered praise on Harihar and predicted him to have all abilities and potential to represent India globally in this category.

Meanwhile, animation sand artist Manas Sahu and his group, made it to the grand finale through wild card entry. With two teams from the state making it to the finale, everyone is now hoping either of them to rewrite history after Prince Dance Group winning the finale of the reality show in the last edition. To see Harihar scrapping through the final, the entire City has started making wishes and prayers in temples and houses. Students, youth, eminent citizens, organizations and political leaders are busy reaching out the public seeking votes for Harihar to win the competition. 

Source: Future Berhampur

Sanjay Bhosle wins Berhampur half-marathon

The event was organised by Rotary Club of Berhampur

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This year theme was ‘Let us build a city of dreams'

It was flagged off from Khallikote autonomous stadium

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Sanjay Bhosle won the half marathon organised in Berhampur city on September 26.

This half marathon had been organised by Rotary Club of Berhampur on the auspice of ‘World Heart Day'.

The theme of this half marathon this year was‘Let us build a city of dreams', said president of the club Ranjit Panda.

The half marathon was flagged off from Khallikote Autonomous College stadium in the heart of the city. Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Shefeen Ahmed K and Sub-Collector Ajit Mishra jointly flagged it off.

The participants included people of all age groups including women, children and aged. Defence and police personnel also took part in it.

The marathon traversed through different areas of the city to conclude at Rotary Centenary Hall.

More than 60 per cent of the participants managed to complete the marathon, which was a hint that the city was getting health conscious, said secretary of organizing club T.Sanat Patra. Mr Bhosle was the first one to complete the run. The second position in this half marathon was bagged by Ravindra Kumar Yuden.

The waiting crowd at the finishing line burst into cheers when around 70-year-old Prasant Kumar Patra completed the run to win the first prize in the veteran category. He was followed by Amiya Kumar Mahalik who bagged the second spot in this category. In the women's category young sportswoman Sukanti Patra was the winner and Sristi Nagwalia was the runners up.

Source: The Hindu 

Astha International plans Rs 500-cr 'Astha City' township at Berhampur

Astha International Limited, one of India's leading direct selling companies, expects to acquire 300 acres of land at the commercial capital of Odisha, Berhampur by January 2011 for its Rs 500-crore integrated township project called 'Astha City'. This would be the company's first residential cum commercial real estate project in Orissa which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of its overall turnover.

S S Kisan, Chairman and managing director, Astha International said, "We hope to take possession of 200 acres of land for our integrated township project at Berhampur by January 2011. Orissa is an important market for us and besides direct selling of the whole gamut of products, we would also like to invest in sectors like real estate and hospitality in the state."

Astha International, based out of Surat, Gujarat clocked revenue of 40 crore from its operations in the Orissa market in 2009-10 and its revenue is set to reach Rs 50 crore by the end of the current financial year.

To cater to its growing business needs, the company is planning to have ten offices in the state by this fiscal end. These offices would come up at locations like Balasore, Soro, Berhampur, Balugaon and Rourkela to name a few. The company has opened an office in Bhubaneswar and this would serve as the zonal office for the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.Astha International would also scale up its employee strength from 50 at present to over 500 in the next couple of years. The direct selling firm would ramp up its strength of distributors in the state from 1.3 lakh a present to 10 lakh by the end of 2012.

Besides its proposed township project, Astha International has also evinced interest in setting up a three-star hotel in the city but the details are yet to be finalized. The company also intends to build a mall in the city with a total built-up area of 15,000 sq ft.

Astha International, which has more than 10,000 products in 26 different segments, also plans to float a bank called Astha Bank by 2011-12. The company claims to have got the license from the Reserve bank of India and the bank is set to commence operations from 2011-12.e

Source:Business Standard

CM lays foundation stone for Tata Industrial Park and inaugurates STPI in Berhampur

Tata Industrial Park at Gopalpur (Berhampur city)

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of Tata Industrial Park at Gopalpur on August 20. Tata Steel managing Director H.M. Nerukar was also present while laying the foundation. Tata Group will start the project by setting up a Ferrochrome plant and a bar mill as anchor industries for the Industrial Park. The project is likely to be completed in two years time and provide employment opportunity to about 1000 people.

Berhampur city in Orissa gets country's 51st STPI

Bhubaneswar: The Orissa chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, along with the Union minister for Communication and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot, inaugurated the country's 51st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) at Ambapua, on the outskirts of Berhampur city, about 165 km away from here, on August 20.

"The STPI has built an ultra-modern IT infrastructure having fully furnished 10,000 sq ft built up space over an area of 5 acres at a cost of Rs 5 crore to nurture the need of local enterpreneurs and professionals to explore global opportunities in IT and ITES exports," said state IT minister Ramesh Majhi.

Speaking on the occasion,Pilot said that the Centre has provided Rs 292 crore to the Orissa government for IT related initiatives. He said that two IT pilot projects on rural health are now on in Orissa's Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts.

Berhampur STPI is the thrid such centre in Orissa after Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. In July 2005, an MoU was signed between the state government and the STPI for setting up the centre in southern Orissa. The chief minister had laid the foundation stone for the project on December 13, 2006.

Berhampur Airport (Rangeilunda) progress updates from OTV

Click here to see the future plans for Berhampur Airport at Rangeilunda

The historic Berhampur Airport (Rangeilunda) is located at a distance of around 5km from the city and adjacent to Berhampur University. The Rangeilunda air base was built by the Britishers during the second world war period and it remained as an air strip since then. The runway is currently used by the defence establishment, state government, private companies and VIPs to reach Berhampur and other places in south Odisha. State's second flying training Institute is coming up at Berhampur Airport in Rangeilunda. The Air Traffic Control Tower (MSSR site) and AAI offices are located close to the Airport. Recently efforts are being made by the government to make it a full fledged domestic Airport. This news video on the history and progress of Berhampur Airport is from OTV.

Distance from Rangeilunda Airport- Berhampur University- 0km, Berhampur city 5km, Gopalpur-On-Sea-5km, Chatrapur-10km, Bhairabi Temple-15km, Taratarini Hill Shrine-30km, Chilka-40km, Taptapani-50km.

Family court inaugurated in Berhampur by Chief Justice of Orissa High Court

Ganjam District Bar demands permanent bench of the High Court in the city

A family court was inaugurated on the premises of the Berhampur court on Saturday by the Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice V. Gopalagouda. During his visit to Ganjam district, Justice Gopalgouda also inaugurated the court of the civil judge (junior division) cum judicial magistrate 1st Class at Buguda. He also attended a legal literacy camp at R. Damodarpalli village, which was organised by the Orissa State Legal Services Authority. Justice Das was accompanied by Justice I. Mohanty of the High Court.

The Chief Justice also interacted with the members of the Ganjam Bar Association during his visit to the city. The lawyers of the association through a memorandum put forward their list of long-standing demands before Justice Das.

Their main demand was establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court in the city for the benefit of inhabitants of south Orissa.

The lawyers also wanted filling up of vacant post of second additional district judge in the Berhampur court, construction of a well equipped lawyers' auditorium, posting of magistrates to fill up vacancies of two posts of JMFC. They wanted the MACT court and the office of the Assistant Commissioner Endowment to be shifted to the vicinity of district court. There was demand for establishment of a special court in the city to deal with disproportaionate assets cases arising from south Orissa.

The Ganjam Bar Association demanded the infrastructure on the court premises to be improved. They wanted the existing library building to be demolished and a double storied structure to be built in its place.

Supply of adequate furniture, books and other amenities to the Bar Association also found place in the memorandum.

The lawyers were of the opinion that the entire land of the SDJM court in the city which is under the Revenue department should be transferred to Judicial department for construction of a multi-storeyed building at the spot to locate all the courts of the city at one place.

Source: The Hindu

Prof. Jayant Mohapatra appointed V-C of Berhampur University

Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare on July 24 appointed new Vice-Chancellor for Berhampur University. Professor Jayant Mohapatra, who is registrar of Berhampur University, would replace outgoing Vice-Chancellor Prof. B. K. Sahu whose tenure is ending on July 26. “Prof Mohapatra has been appointed for a period of three years. He is heading Department of Political Science of the university. Besides, he has assumed responsibilities in different capacities,” said a release issued by Raj Bhawan. It said the 52-year-old political science professor was an assessor of NAAC, Bangalore. According to the release, he had guided 13 scholars on various research projects producing 12 Ph.Ds. Transparency in administration will be my top priority. Emphasis will be given on quality education, said Prof. Mohapatra while speaking to mediapersons.

Students’ body battles for HC bench in Berhampur

Permanent bench of High court in Berhampur demanded

BERHAMPUR: South Orissa Students' Association (SOSA) has expressed its solidarity with the agitating lawyers of South Orissa and has demanded early establishment of a permanent bench of Orissa High court at Berhampur- the nerve centre of activities in southern part of the State. SOSA president RP Tripathy said southern Odisha has remained the forgotten frontier of the State with alarming levels of poverty and underdevelopment. While majority people of South Odisha are living under abject poverty and backwardness their genuine demands have been repeatedly overlooked by the state government. The students' body pointed out that lawyers had been demanding establishment of a High Court bench in the city for the past six decades. Both the lawyers and general public of south Orissa have resorted to agitations for this demand in the past. The SOSA activists urged the lawyers in Cuttack, especially the ones of the Orissa High Court, to get out of their insensitiveness towards the problems of people from far off areas to approach the High Court located in Cuttack. It may be noted that the Bar Association of the Orissa High Court and the Cuttack Bar Association boycotted courts on Monday to protest against the statement of Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily in favour of the establishment of High Court benches in Orissa during his visit to Sambalpur. The SOSA activists through a press release expressed surprise that how delivering justice at the doorstep of the poor through benches of the High Court could be opposed by them. They pointed out that former President of India V.V. Giri and former Chief Minister of Orissa Biju Patnaik had openly supported the demand for establishment of High Court bench in Berhampur. They alleged that delay in establishment of permanent benches of the High Court in parts of the state was depriving people of south Orissa their right to get justice at their doorstep.

While recommending a High Court Bench at Berhampur in 2007, the State government opined that there was an urgent need for this in view of the backwardness of the region, popular mood and large number of cases originating from here. As per SOSA, cases from south Orissa constitute more than 30 per cent of the total cases in the Orissa High Court. The geographical spread of south Orissa makes the need of a High Court bench in Berhampur an inevitable one. They said that Berhampur had all necessary infrastructure for the establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court and it was well connected to all parts of south Orissa. The SOSA urged the lawyers of the Orissa High Court to give up stubbornness and support the demand for the interest of the general public. They urged the Union Law Ministry and the State government to expedite the process of establishment of High Court benches in the State.

Sources: The Pioneer, The Hindu, OrissaDiary, KalingaTimes, OrissaBarta

World famous Prince Dance Group to perform at Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

Berhampur (Orissa) based world famous Prince Dance Group, which came to prominence after winning a national reality TV show, 'India's Got Talent' on Colors TV channel last year, will perform at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) on October 3rd 2010 in the national capital New Delhi.

Disclosing it to the media persons in Mumbai on June 01, the programming head of Colors channel Ashwini Yardi said, "We are very happy to announce that the Prince Dance Group that won the season one of 'India's Got Talent show' has been selected to perform at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi".

Hailing from Berhampur city in Orissa, the group comprises of 26 artistes and Krishna Mohan Reddy is the group leader. The group members are mainly from disadvantaged sections of different parts of Ganjam district. Two of them, Padmanabha Sahu and Telu Tarini are physically challenged and majority are daily wage earners.

Berhampur Municipal Corporation takes up beautification of the city

Paintings on tribal life of Koraput depicted on city walls

The Silk city walls have started to come alive with paintings depicting tribal life of undivided Koraput district. It is part of the effort of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation to beautify the city. Most of the walls of public buildings by the side of major roads in the city have got decorated by paintings. These walls earlier bore mutilated look due to posters and graffiti.

But the city dwellers are wondering how come tribal paintings and pictures depicting tribal life got predominance in these paintings. It may be noted that Silk city Berhampur, the largest trading centre of south Orissa and an emerging business destination in eastern India also known as the gateway to South Orissa and the undivided Koraput district. So, no one has complained about it.

But the reason behind this predominant depiction of tribal life on city walls is that some of the painters are from Koraput. Five painters from Koraput have been utilised by the local municipal corporation are involved in this painting work. These painters are also quite happy as it has provided them necessary income source. Senior painter in the team, Manoj Kumar Patnaik said such beautification efforts by urban bodies can provide income source to painters. He added that in recent years, advent of modern printing and large printed flex boards had snatched away earnings of painters. He said they are being paid Rs. 22 per square feet of painting. Till now they have painted 22,000 square feet of wall around the city.

Apart from tribal life and traditional tribal paintings, these young painters have also depicted issues related to common man like global warming, depletion of forest cover, wastage of water resources etc. But most of the time the characters depicted in these paintings tend to be tribals. These painters have also drawn up some paintings related to problems of the city like drinkig water crisis and rise in fire accidents during summer months. Source: The Hindu

GPL announces financial closure - Stage set for all-weather Gopalpur port

Gopalpur Ports Ltd (GPL) announced financial closure for the first phase of its all weather direct berthing deepwater port at Gopalpur. The company would be constructing breakwaters with at least three or four berths to handle large vessels with associated material handling equipment, stockyards, warehouses and railway infrastructure in Phase-I.

Managing Director Mahimananda Mishra said that the closure was achieved with a consortium of 11 banks coming forward to support with a total loan amount of Rs 848.78 crore. The loan agreement was signed with the consortium led by Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, State Bank of India, SB of Travancore, Dena Bank, OBC, UBI, Union Bank, Indian Bank and UCO Bank. For the first time, the largest infrastructure financer India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Ltd has participated in a project in Orissa. The project is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore with the rest of the funding relying on investment by promoters and internal accruals.

Following the financial achievement, the stage is set for conversion of the minor port to an all-weather one. Environmental clearance for the project is under process of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and is likely to be handed over soon. “We expect to land the necessary clearances in the next month and a half, and target completing the first phase work in 18 months. GPL has already started the process of awarding contracts,” Mishra said. The port after full development is envisaged to handle 25 million tonne of cargo.

Jointly promoted by a consortium between Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and Sara International Limited (SIL) and operational under a concession agreement from the State Government, the port currently has an anchorage facility and open from September to May.

Director Charchit Mishra said that the port handled five million tonne of cargo during the last shipping season 2009-10 marking an overwhelming 90 per cent increase over 2008-09. The port directly employs 4,500 persons and has revitalised the local economy of the area, he said.

Source: The New Indian Express

Red Ribbon Express a big draw with youth in Berhampur

By Sib Kumar Das

320 get tested for HIV during the two-day stay of the train at Berhampur

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During the visit of Red Line Express in 2008, there was no testing facility

Inside the Red Ribbon Express there were five counselling units

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BERHAMPUR: As a welcome change in psyche, common men especially the youths in Orissa have started to come out for voluntary testing to ascertain their status regarding HIV infection.

The two-day stay of the Red Ribbon Express in Berhampur to reach out to inhabitants of Ganjam district, the most HIV-prone area of the state, made them break the silence. Before the train left for Bhubaneswar on Saturday night, 320 persons had got themselves tested at the HIV testing facility inside the train. A large chunk of them were youths. Some of them also got themselves tested for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) infection. There were also girls among the youths who opted for HIV test. These volunteers had to undergo TriDot test. One among them was found to be HIV positive. He was referred to the MKCG medical college hospital for confirmatory test.

Welcome change

Inside the Red Ribbon Express there were five counselling units. Four of them were for HIV/AIDS while the other was for STD. These counselling chambers remained packed throughout the time when the train remained open for the public, said Manoj Kumar Sahu of mircrobiology department of MKCG medical college, who served as a counsellor. Mr Sahu said the greatest welcome change in attitude was that the persons who opted for the HIV test did not feel shy that they had opted for the test. There were many from rural areas who came back after a day to collect their reports regarding HIV infection, said Mr Sahu.

Lokanath Mishra, regional coordinator of the Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS), said during the last visit of the Red Line Express to the city in 2008, there was no facility for HIV testing. But this time testing facility was a huge draw. “It is a welcome change that the youths who thought they may be having risky life style preferred to voluntarily approach the counsellors and opt for HIV test,” he said. According to him this psychological acceptance of HIV test among the youth would prove to be a great catalyst in checking HIV menace in this high prevalence area.

There were also some youths from rural areas for whom the HIV test was a thing of pride and importance. A youth from Khallikote area who used to work as a migrant labourer in a textile mill in Surat got himself tested to get a report that he was free from HIV infection. “For me this report that I am free from HIV infection would be a gift to my spouse who always suspects I may have got infected by the killer disease like some of my migrant labourer friends,” he said. ........ Read full story........ Source: The Hindu 

Tara Tarini Hill Shrine to be developed as a national level destination

• High-level meeting reviews the development of Tara Tarini Hill Shrine
•  Comprehensive development of the Hill Shrine stressed
•  Land belonging to the Shrine to be recovered
• Work of the Main Temple Complex to be completed by January 2011
• To check erosion and land-slide, retaining walls to come up with state support

After the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the shrine. However, the figures available from the local media reveals that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure anticipated by the Board. Taking this growing number into consideration the Tara Tarini Development Board is expecting the number of visitors to swell further in the coming years.

However, despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Board. On the other hand, unlike Puri Jagannath Shrine the Tara Tarini hill shrine has inadequate infrastructure to support 20 Lakh visitors within a month.

A high-level meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble minister of Law GoO Shri Vikram Arukh in Bhubaneswar on April 28, 2010 to review the on going developmental works being undertaken by the Tara Tarini Development Board at Taratarini hill shrine. Issues like creating national standard infrastructure for the benefit of visitors and ways to counter the challenge posed by the consistently growing number of visitors in the coming years were discussed in the meeting.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra, Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda, Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu, Secretary Law Government of Orissa and Commissioner Endowment Government of Orissa, Ganjam District Collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian, all senior officials of the Department of Tourism and many other senior government officials of the state and district administration, apart from Secretary TTDB Shri Pramod Panda, Senior audit officer Shri Arun Kumar Sabat, the office bearers of TTDB, Technical Committee members of TTDB and Temple Management were present on the occasion.

Reviewing the works of TTDB, Shri Arukh said the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine the Breast Shrine of Mata Sati, is one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India and an important prehistoric religious center. It is gradually emerging as the popular destination of visitors in Orissa. He said seeing the number of visitors in one month any body can say that it’s also emerging as a major religious-tourism destination of Orissa after Puri Jagannath.

He appreciated the work of TTDB and advised to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. Shri Arukh also gave importance to the immediate construction of outer protection walls and River-side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop and said the Rural Development department Government of Orissa will undertake the work of both the Northern and Southern side outer protection walls to ensure the safety of the hill top. He assured all help from government side to the Development Board.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra said Taratarini is an important and ancient Shakti centre of Orissa. Goddesses Tara-Tarini not only have been regarded as the presiding deity (Ista-Devi) in almost every household in South Orissa but also is one among the principal centers of worship in the state. Taratarani attracts thousands of devotees, picnickers and visitors throughout the year. He said so far as tourism is concerned this place has enough potentials and as expected its also emerging as a major tourist destination in eastern India. He assured all support to TTDB and regular attention from his ministry to strengthen the infrastructure of the holy shrine and sanctioned Rs. 70 lakh in the first phase for the overall development of the shrine.

On this occasion the Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda presented the keynote address. He gave a proposal to reserve the land in front of the hill shrine for future development of the shrine and it was immediately accepted by the high level committee. Shri Panda also suggested the Board to take the help of reputed NGOs for maintenance of sanitation in and around the shrine and construction of more numbers of Lavatory complexes for tourists.

Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu presented the plan for the overall development of the ancient shrine and put emphasis on the early completion of the main temple, side temples, boundary wall, Bhog Mandap and other necessary constructions of the main temple complex on the hill top with in a time bound period. He gave a number of proposals for the development of the shrine area through PPP mode. Ganjam District collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian delivered the welcome address.

Lastly, in the meeting it was unanimously decided that some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB and sanctioned by the technical committee of TTDB will be commenced soon for the convenience of devotees and tourists. That are:

1. The work of the hill top temple complex with four side temples and boundary wall will be completed by January 2011.

2. Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation and the construction of a bus Stand on the foot hill will be started soon.

3. Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill to be arranged.

4. Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex on the hilltop of the shrine within December 2010.

5. Further widening of the existing Ghat road from Keshpur to the Hilltop at a cost of around 5 crore to be completed by the end of this year.

6. Construction of North and South side outer protection walls and River side retaining walls to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop at a cost of 1 crore will be started soon by the Rural development dept. GoO.

7. The tourism department in the first phase will sanction 71 lakhs for the overall development of the shrine area. A high-level team will visit the shrine area soon for this purpose.

8. It was also decided that Ministry of Law govt. of Orissa will take immediate steps to recover all the donated cultivated and uncultivated land (Around 300 acres in Gajnam district and around the same size in other parts of the state) scattered in various parts of the state on the line of Jagannath Temple, Puri.

Berhampur city reels under water crisis

Rising temperature and drinking water crisis have left several towns in the State virtually dry and the Silk City is no exception to this seasonal trauma. It is a perennial drinking water problem here which only aggravates in summer and long queues of women waiting for tankers become common in several areas of the city.

Though a two-decade-old problem, no serious measures have been taken to counter the crisis for which the city has started feeling the pinch from mid-March. Unlike the previous years when the water crisis was felt in mid- April this year it was a month early posing more problems for the residents.

The shortage is felt even as the city gets its water supply from two major sources -- the Dakhinapur drinking water project and Rushikulya project at Badamadhapur besides bore wells, tube wells and open wells.According to sources, Berhampur needs over 54 million gallons of water per day. Even the two fully active water projects are unable to meet the demand. Both the projects provide less than 35 million gallons of water per day, said the Public Health Executive Engineer............Read full story............Link........ http://expressbuzz.com/states/orissa/berhampur-reels-under-water-crisis/167654.html,

Source: New Indian Express

Devotees make beeline on the concluding day of Chaitra festival in Taratarini hill shrine

With a mammoth gathering and marked by devotional celebration on the fifth and last Tuesday of the auspicious month of Chaitra, the month long famous and biggest annual Chaitra festival at the ancient Taratarini Hill shrine came to an end. The ritualistic worship of the devotees and invocation of divine benediction charged the atmosphere with an exhilarating blend of spirituality and an all pervading solidarity.

It is notable, that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of celebration at this hill shrine and devotees gather in lakhs from the cross section of the country to take a glimpse of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini (Sthana Peetha of Mata Sati and one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India) to eradicate evil from the world and to fulfill all their worldly desires.

Like the other Tuesdays of the month there was also heavy rush on the last and fifth Tuesday on the hill top temple as it also happened to be Chaitra Purnami and the last day of the holy month of Chaitra. Darshan for the devotees started in the specially decorated sanctum sanctorum of the hill top temple after the midnight of Monday at around 3.00 a.m and continued up to late evening.

It is important to note that after the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board this famous Breast Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the entire month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the Sthana Peetha. However, the figures available from various unofficial sources, particularly from the local media reveal that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure mark anticipated by the board.

It a known fact that despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Taratarini Development Board (TTDB). Being aware of this challenge the present Tara Tarini Development Board Chairman and RDC Southern Division Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector and deputy chairman of the Board Shri VK Pandian and other board members have decided to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up more number of developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. To keep pace with this, the Board has approved a number of new projects recently. Some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB to be taken up for the convenience of devotees and tourists are…………

• For the benefit of devotees steps would be taken next year to arrange around 5000 tents with all other basic facilities for the temporary accommodation of at least 50,000 people.

• Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation.

• Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill.

• The work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall to be completed in a time bound period.

• Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex within a month on the hilltop.

• Construction of Mundan shade on the hilltop.

• Further development of Arial Rope-way.

• Construction of outer protection walls and River side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop.

• Construction of huge parking space at the hilltop.

• Lighting arrangements at the hilltop and the ways leading to the hill top temple.

• Widening of stone steps and arrangement of public utilities/ rest houses.

• Further widening of the existing road to the Hilltop.

• Maintenance of eco-system in and around the sacred hill by huge plantation in its nearby areas etc.

This year the biggest fair of Orissa at this shrine has passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents. TTDB thanks the local administration, volunteers, social organizations and local people for their excellent support during the month. The media (both electronic and print) which ensured that the happenings of the festivals reach those people who could not physically attend the festivities at the hill shrine of Maa Tara Tarini and their devoted work is praise worthy. TTDB appreciates their tireless efforts. By RPTripathy

With 300% increase in number of visitors on 4th Tuesday, Chaitra festivities reach a crescendo at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

On the sacred occasion of Fourth Tuesday of the famous Chaitra festival around five lakhs devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine from various parts of the state and outside. It may be noted that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine and this is the biggest fair held here in honour of the twin goddess.

Like the Third Tuesday (Around 7 lakh devotees gathered on that day) there was also heavy rush on the Fourth Tuesday on the hill top temple of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini as coincidentally it was also Mahastami day of Navaratri festivities.

On this Tuesday, the massive gathering broke all records of previous years as it saw a three fold increase in the number of visitors as compared to the last year. There were visitors from far of places like Assam, North eastern States, and Tamilnadu apart from states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

The festivities had started at this shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the devotees. After some ceremonial works the sanctum of Maa Tara Tarini opened at around 2 a.m in the morning and darshan started after that. As per the report available on that occasion at least 50,000 people offered the hair of newborn babies at the Shrine similar to the practice found at Tirupati Balaji.

It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. So, sensing that the devotees would increase further, the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has carried out a lot of development works and made wide arrangements for the smooth darshan of devotees.

Meanwhile, Orissa Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik has also taken steps for the development of this Shrine. As part of the development programme, on the eve of the commencement of Chaitra festivities at the Shrine the CM has inaugurated a multifunctional complex and a lavatory complex on the foot hill of the Shrine and another ultra modern lavatory complex is also coming up on the hill top for the benefit of devotees. Appreciating the developmental projects taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); which led to major transformation of this ancient hill shrine Shri Patnaik expressed his satisfaction with the progress made so far which has led to the emergence of this Adi Shakti Peetha as a major centre of religious tourism in Orissa.

Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian, Collectors of many other districts, BMC Commissioner Sh. Veemsen Manseth, Superintendent of Police Berhampur and Ganjam and many other senior state and central government officials, apart from the office bearers of TTDB were present on the Fourth Tuesday.

On the sidelines a meeting was held where the Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda and all office bearers of TTDB participated.

• It was decided that for the benefit of devotees next year steps would be taken to arrange around 5000 tents with all other facilities on temporary basis for the accommodation of atleast 50,000 people.

• More number of buses would ply for the smooth transportation on to the hill top.

• It was also decided that retaining walls would be constructed on both sides of the hill top to protect the area from land sliding.

• And the work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall will be completed in a time bound period.

Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian assured all help from government side to the Development Board.

The Ganjam District administration made elaborate arrangements for the visitors. The volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs and voluntary organizations, the temple management and local residents extended their helping hand to devotees who came from various parts of the state and other neighbouring states.

_______________________________

R P Tripathy

Media & Publicity In-Charge

Tara Tarini Development Board

Berhampur

Orissa

Lakhs of turtles nest in Rushikulya beach near Taratarini Hill Shrine,Orissa

Over one lakh endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have laid eggs on the beach adjoining the Rushikulya river mouth near Taratarini Hill Shrine in district Ganjam, Orissa since March 13 as scientists observed the phenomenon with interest. The eggs are expected to hatch in the first week of May, about 45 days after the mass nesting. Rushikulya river mouth is just 20km from the famous Shakti Shrine Taratarini and around 40 km from Berhampur city, Orissa.

While 6,000 turtles emerged from the sea to lay eggs in the wee hours of March 13, around 65,000 swarmed the four-km long sandy beach between Gokharakuda and Kantiagada the next day. The number of nesting turtles came down thereafter.

Kartik Shanker, a turtle biologist from the Indian Institute of Science - Bangalore and Basudeb Tripathy of the Wildlife Institute of India, who are here to study the pattern of mass nesting, said the laying of eggs could continue sporadically for a few more days.

Source: PIT

Source: Anupam Bharat (Odiya Daily)

Sea of devotees throng TaraTarini Hill Shrine on 3rd Tuesday of Chaitra

Lakhs of devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur, on third Tuesday of Chaitra and on the first day of Navaratri. It may be noted that the four Tuesdays of Hindu month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine. On this Tuesday more than  five  lakh devotees had reached the hill shrine. There was heavy rush as it was also day for the start of Navaratra festivities. There were visitors from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand as well as some NRI families. Following major transformation due to developmental projects taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); this hill shrine has now become a major centre of religious tourism in south Orissa.

Chaitra month

It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. The TTDB authorities hope this year the devotees would increase further. The festivities had started at this hill shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the visitors to the shrine. Although this hill shrine boasts to be having the only ropeway to a hilltop in the State, yet most of the devotees due to their traditional belief decided to climb to the top of the hill shrine. They walked on the ghat road or used the steep stair case. They climbed 999 steps as a penance to the deities.

Rural fair

A rural fair was on at the foothill. Urbanites who had reached the spot as picnickers enjoyed the village fair. Forgetting mental blockades related to hygiene for some time they relished fresh sugarcane and colourful sweets sold by the roadside vendors at this rural fair. The beautification and developmental works were taken up at the hill shrine by the TTDB from donations from the public. The State government in cooperation with the Ganjam district administration has formed the TTDB for development of this hill shrine into a major tourist destination. This board includes eminent persons of Orissa especially from southern region. The TTDB has now replaced the old temple with a new one in the traditional ‘Rekha' style of Orissa.

Source: The Hindu

Source: The Anupam Bharat (Odiya Daily)

Thousands throng Tara Tarini hill shrine on first Tuesday of Chaitra

The famous annual Chaitra festival at the Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur city in Orissa started from Tuesday. It is believed that Taratarini Sthana Peeth (Breast Shrine of Mata Sati) is one of the ancient and among the four major Shakti centers in India. Thousands of devotees had started gathering at the hill shrine from Monday afternoon itself. Transport Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian and many other senior state and central government officials, apart from the office bearers of TTDB and Temple Management were present on the occasion.

The Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) made elaborate arrangements for the devotees. Apart from the aerial rope way the TTDB had also arranged special buses to carry visitors to the hill top. But most of the devotees, of all age groups, preferred to climb the 999 holy steps to the hilltop as they consider it to be a penance. Recently the steps have been repaired before the annual festival. The ghat road to the hilltop and the foot hill roads have also been widened in view of the growing number of visitors to the Shrine. On Tuesday only the special buses of the TTDB were allowed to ply on the ghat road for security reasons.

The Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur, Berhampur Municipal Corporation, Ganjam District administration and District police made elaborate arrangements for the visitors. The volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs and voluntary organizations, the temple management and local residents actively helped the devotees who came from various parts of the state and other neighbouring states.

Congress Memo to Railway Minister includes issues of South Orissa

The state Congress has demanded enhanced allocation for the ongoing railway projects and sanction of new lines to give a boost to the process of industrialization in Orissa. In a memorandum submitted to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committe KP Singhdeo has demanded sanction of four railway line projects for which survey was completed several years back. Referring to the Bargarh-Nuapara rail link for which survey was completed in February 2003 with a favorable rate of return of 18.32 per cent, Singhdeo said that this will pass through Nuapada and Balangir districts in Western Orissa. Requesting the minister to sanction the project in 2010-11 budget, he said that this could also be used as an alternative route for transport of coal and other minerals. Survey report for the 245-km Talcher- Gopalpur rail link was submitted to the Ministry of Railways with a favourable rate of return. With Gopalpur port being developed into an all-weather port, connectivity between Talcher and Gopalpur by rail will ensure smooth flow of raw materials and finished products, he said. The survey for the Rupsa-Bangiriposhi line sanctioned in 2005-06 had already been completed. This link will serve as an alternative route besides providing access to states in the hinterland which do not have a port. The conversion of Nuapada-Gunupur line from meter gauge to broad gauge will be completed by March 2010. However, on its own this railway line project will barely provide any freight movement, Singhdeo said, adding that the extension from Gunupur to Theruvali will not only connect the hinterland of KBK districts but provide port connectivity to Gopalpur. He said that the project should be sanctioned in the 2010-11 budget as this will enable the alumina/aluminium industries located in the KBK districts to import and export via Gopalpur port. Separately mentioning about the 289-km Khura Road-Bolangir railway line project, Singhdeo said that allocation for this line should be increased and progress closely monitored to ensure timely completion. He said that though this project was sanctioned in 1994-95, the progress has been tardy. Detailed estimate for 36 km-112 km has already been submitted to the ministry for sanction. Singhdeo demanded that the section from Khurda Road up to 36 km should be commissioned by 2010-11. He also requested the minister to sanction Puri-Kanyakumari, Titlagarh- Bhubaneswar (via Rayagada, Vizianagaram, Berhampur), Hatia-Chennai/Bangalore (via Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur), Puri-Jammu Tawi, Sambalpur-Howrah (via Angul) trains and intercity express between Koraput and Visakhapatnam for Orissa. Thanking the Railway Minister for proper allocation of funds in the last railway budget, Mr. Singh Deo has pointed out that Orissa has only 2500 km of railway route length at an average of 15.3 km per 1000 km as against the national average of 19 km.

Coaching terminals

Congress Party has also reiterated the need for establishment of coaching terminals at Koraput and Berhampur.

Sources: New Indian Express and The Hindu

Ganjam heritage: College of Art & Crafts, Khallikote

College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, near Berhampur city in Ganjam District, is one of the leading Visual Art Institutions in India and the oldest institute of its kind in the State. It was established on 25th October 1957 in the palatial building of the Raja Saheb of Khallikote and it celebrated its golden jubilee a couple of years ago. Situated on the bank of the famous natural lake “Chilika” and surrounded by lofty mountains, lush green forests and a natural spring “Nirmal Jhar” the College attracts art lovers from across the country. Khallikote was a princely state of pre-independent India and is famous for its worthy rulers who laid the foundations for higher education in southern Orissa with the establishment of historic Khallikote College, several Mardaraj High schools and the college of Art and Craft. Raja Ramchandra Mardaraj Deo of Khallikote played a major role in the formation of the modern state of Orissa on linguistic basis and he attended the Round Table Conference in London for this purpose along with Maharaja KC Gajapati of Parala. Infact, His palace at Rambha was the epicenter of the movement.

The glorious history of Khallikote and the contributions of its rulers for higher education and in state formation have gone unrecognized thus far. Infact, two of their significant contributions i.e., Khallikote College at Berhampur and College of Art and Craft at Khallikote have received scant attention from the State Government. While the Government is dilly-dallying on Unitary University status for Khallikote College, recently there is a demand for Autonomous College status for the College Art and Craft, Khallikote and to bring it under the proposed Khallikote Unitary University. Further, the college is yet to receive a special grant of Rs. 2 crores as announced by the Chief Minister to make it a centre of excellence. It is time when the State Government takes special care to protect this heritage Institution dedicated for Art and Craft by making it an Autonomous Institution.

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