Maa Tara Tarini Sthana Peeth, Ganjam, Odisha

How the state government in Odisha cheated the public on the IIM establishment issue?

This is how the state government in Odisha cheated the public on the IIM establishment issue. Actually the State Govt had decided about the location of IIM beforehand and it was just looking for an alibi to justify its decision. The 'airport' clause was self inflicted by the State government to hoodwink the people of Ganjam who tried every possible civilised method to convince the State Govt on the historic necessity of IIM in Berhampur. However, Odisha being Odisha here civilised methods and passionate appeals just does not work despite valid considerations of equity and distributive justice. . 

(The Sambad)

Images of BERHAMPUR BANDH demanding establishment of IIM at Berhampur

Odisha Govt should follow the old Saying, "Dont put all your Eggs in One Basket" and for all round development Education must be evenly spread across the State. 
Images of BERHAMPUR BANDH demanding establishment of IIM at Berhampur

Odisha Govt. Ditched & Deceived the people of South Odisha

Friends If we remain silent today we will have no right to complain in the future

Silence is not the answer to the problems facing South Odisha. If we remain silent today we will have no right to complain in the future. Because remaining silent will mean supporting the present development template being followed by the State Govt. Every citizen in India has right to development and the people of South Odisha cannot be denied this right. The questions raised here are certainly from the perspective of Berhampur city which is agitating for the IIM, but we do know that every single individual in South Odisha and Ganjam is equally concerned about the enigmatic silence of the Statate Govt on development issues after garnering their votes. This is not acceptable and we have to shout at the loudest to be heared by a Govt which is completely deaf and bereft of a sense of equity and justice.

Berhampur erupts in protest against the State Government

Berhampur erupts in protest against the State Government's highly retrograde moves on the establishment of IIM. Students across the district protest against the biased decision even as more aggressive protests have been planned for the coming days.

Handling IIM establishment issue proves lowest point in Naveen Patnaik's career as Chief Minister even as corruption charges flying thick and fast against the State Govt.

People not ready to give up yet on the IIM-Berhampur demand. Massive agitations planned in the coming days. BJD loses its credibility in Ganjam as it is accused of stage-managing the whole episode. Handling IIM establishment issue proves lowest point in Naveen Patnaik's career as Chief Minister even as corruption charges flying thick and fast against the State Govt.

People of Ganjam and Berhampur fought for the establishment of IIM-Berhampur against all odds. But they were fighting against a highly biased State Government, arrogant and drunk with power who have displayed scant respect for distributive justice. Not only Berhmapur city; for 90% of Odisha this decision comes as a big letdown. However this cannot be the end of the story and with greater public awareness we can set bigger goals for Berhampur and Ganjam and aspire for our rightful space in a developed India. Not to be disheartened and time to work with greater vigor and enthusiasm for the cause of Berhampur.

Is Odisha State government forcing the people of Berhampur & South Odisha to demand a separate Kalinga State??????

This is the right time to expose the State Government which has taken the people of Ganjam and South Odisha for granted.These questions follow from the opinions expressed by the readers in the previous post. As responsible citizens you are free to give opinions outsides the choices indicated on the path forward for Berhampur city, Ganjam and the backward southern odisha.

Is Berhampur city (South Odisha, Kalinga) not a part of Odisha State??????

Ganjam produced a former President of India, Former PM PV Narasimha Rao was MP of Berhampur, Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Sadasiva Tripathy, Binayak Acharya, Biju Patnaik and his Son went on to become Chief Ministers of Odisha. Yet 10 lakh people from Ganjam live in the slums of Surat, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Not even a screw and bolt factory has not been built in Ganjam and the last major Institution (the Berhampur University) was established in the district almost 50 years ago. For last 5 decades Ganjam is crying for development but Ganjam people are as passive as ever. If they do not wake up now to question their leaders, then better they should prepare to live like slaves. The question is not only about the IIM; it is about self respect. Some people are saying that Berhampur does not have the infra to host an IIM. But then the question is who is responsible for poor infrastructure in Berhampur and Ganjam. So, time has come when people must speak up and oppose the continuous neglect of the State Govt.

The decision on IIM site selection, if true, should serve as a lesson for the people of rest of Odisha (Ganjam in particular) that they are second grade citizens and aliens in their own State who are remembered only once in 5 years during elections as they dont enjoy the rights same as the State capital. See how audacious the corrupt BJD Govt in Odisha has been on the IIM issue? The CM has no time to assuage the people of Berhampur who are on hunger strike demanding the establishment of IIM and the decision is being selectively leaked through the media about the decision to establish yet another central Institute in Bhubaneswar, now the IIM.

Does the CM even know about the IIM-Berhampur agitation?

Does the CM even know about the IIM-Berhampur agitation? He is silent as ever and the Berhampur MP goes missing every now and then to appear only during elections. With such representatives who denied even the Smart-city tag to Berhampur; people are bound to be frustrated.

Stop Step-motherly treatment to South Odisha (Kalinga)..... Establish IIM @ Berhampur

Lawyers go on stir seeking court bench at Berhampur

Members of Ganjam District Consumer Bar Association started indefinite agitation from Friday demanding immediate commencement of proposed circuit bench of Odisha State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (SCDRC) in Berhampur.

Led by the president of the association, Kailash Chandra Mishra, and secretary Shyamakant Jena, the agitating lawyers sat on dharna on the premises of District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum (DCDRF) in the city. They shouted slogans criticising the State government and the SCDRC for the delay in starting of the proposed circuit bench.

In January this year, the government had proposed to have two circuit benches of the SCDRC in Berhampur and Sambalpur. The decision was taken considering the large number of cases pending before the State Commission from southern and western parts of the State. At present the aggrieved consumers of south Odisha have to travel to Cuttack to file cases before SCDRC.

The director of department of consumer affairs had written to the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division and western division as well as the secretary of SCDRC to initiate necessary measures for functioning of the two proposed circuit benches of the commission.

The RDC had given consent to provide all facilities for holding circuit bench the city. But, according to the members of the Bar association, till date the SCDRC has not held any hearing of its circuit bench in Berhampur. They alleged that similar was the situation in Sambalpur. The lawyers said they had given a notice to the State government on their demand 15 days back but no decision has been taken in this regard. They said they would continue their agitation till their demand was met....

Source-the hindu

WHY THE GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA ALWAYS SHOWS STEP-MOTHERLY TREATMENT TO BERHAMPUR ?

Seek solace at Taratarini Shrine

BY: BIBHUTI BARIK

Bhubaneswar, May 18: When chief minister Naveen Patnaik started his electoral journey after paying an obeisance to the famous deity at Taratarini three weeks ago, people of Ganjam and the entire south Odisha were extremely happy.

Before beginning anything auspicious, an average person from undivided Ganjam district and the entire south Odisha would always seek blessings of Goddess Taratarini. It is believed that if you go to the temple with a wish in your heart, then it would definitely be fulfilled.

Situated in Raipura village under Purushottampur block in Ganjam district, lakhs of tourists from nearby areas in Odisha and also from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bengal visit the famous shrine.

The temple on the summit of a hillock is on the right bank of the beautiful and meandering Rushikulya river. The shrine is just 7km away from Purushottampur and 30km away from Berhampur.

Travel writer from Chhatrapur, district headquarters town of Ganjam, Sujata Patnaik, said: “Taratarini shrine has now achieved tremendous popularity for the twin goddesses Tara and Tarini. Both are ancient deities and were worshiped on the hilltop at a small temple for decades in the past. The original structure was demolished in 2005 and the new temple replaced the old one with the Kalingan temple architecture. With beautiful Khandolite stone the temple looks beautiful from the road near the foothill.’’

Nityanand Mondal, a visitor from Bhubaneswar, who came to the shrine with family said: “The ropeway has added a new dimension to the tourism scene. Unlike the ropeway at Nandankanan Zoological Park, which is abandoned now, the cars here give you a feeling of a safe ride. A person can also come to the hilltop without hiring a vehicle and go back by the ropeway.’’

The state government has also taken up widening of the road to the shrine that was earlier narrow. “The road widening work is a good step taken by the authorities. The endowment department should go for facilitating basic amenities near the shrine outside the temple compound,’’ said Nigam Nayak, a tourist, who came from Berhampur with friends.

The twin deities, crudely fashioned in stone, have beautiful silver eyes attached to them. Legends connect the deities to Sakta cult in the past.

Historians say that the Bhanja dynasty rulers of the former Ghumsar state in the undivided Ganjam district installed the enshrining deity. At present the endowment department looks after the temple, but Taratarini Development Board administers the day-to-day affairs.

Interestingly, monkeys in groups often create problems for visitors. “You must not flash a banana or coconuts openly while returning from the temple before getting into the vehicles. You should hide them with a dupatta or a bag,’’ said Nayak.

While the kalpa bata or the banyan tree which fulfils wishes is outside the temple and gets offerings of red scarves, bangles and clothes, a point near the gate also attracts visitors to put their offerings on a platform.

Offerings such as laddu and khichdi are available at a counter near a gate with a nominal price.

Getting there is easy as taxis and auto-rickshaws available at Berhampur and Chhatrapur. There are several places to stay. Moreover, there is a beautiful Panth Nivas run by the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation near the hill. Rail and road links to Berhampur and Chhatrapur are available in plenty.

Source: The Telegraph 

Adhara Pana ceremony @ Maa Tara Tarini hill shrine, Berhampur, Odisha

Is this the world's biggest election loser?

By Sandeep Sahu

Berhampur, Odisha

He has stood in every Indian parliamentary election since 1962 - and lost every one - but that has not deterred 78-year-old Shyam Babu Subudhi from throwing his hat into the ring once again. Dr Subudhi is a homeopathy practitioner in Berhampur, a town in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. And he is contesting two constituencies, Berhampur and Aska, in India's forthcoming parliamentary polls.

Despite losing his deposit in every previous election, having won less than a sixth of the votes cast each time, Dr Subudhi is surprisingly confident he can win both seats this time. His one-page election manifesto even claims that there is "enough of a possibility" of him being appointed prime minister of India after the coming elections.

This will be his 13th attempt in a row to enter India's parliament. I am in electoral politics because I want to end corruption in the country” "People are fed up with the current crop of leaders, who switch parties when they are not given a ticket by their own party. They have seen that I am the only person who has steadfastly refused to join any political party since the 1960s," Dr Subudhi told the BBC at his home in Berhampur.

Dr Subudhi's electoral debut came in 1957, when he battled former State Minister Brundaban Nayak over the setting up of a school in Berhampur. "I fought with him in the Hinjili Assembly constituency and lost narrowly," he says proudly.

What started as a battle over a school soon turned into an obsession for this man, a familiar sight on the streets of Berhampur in his trademark cap, uneven beard, bulging black bag and well-worn suit, even in the scorching summer heat.

He fought in both assembly and parliamentary elections until 1980, when he took on former Chief Minister JB Patnaik in Begunia. From then on, he has focused his efforts purely on parliamentary elections.  Dr Subudhi remembers his "fight" against former Prime Minister Rao (right) as a high point of his career.

The high point of his long electoral career came in 1996 when he "fought" the Prime Minister of India, PV Narasimha Rao, for the Berhampur seat. Biju Patnaik, father of India's current chief minister and the biggest political leader in the state's post-independence history, is among his other notable "rivals".

"I am in electoral politics because I want to end corruption in the country," Dr Subudhi says. But how can he end corruption, even if he wins the election, when he is only an independent candidate? "I am sure I will get the support of many others in parliament," he says confidently.

Curiously for someone who is 78 and on the ballot in two constituencies, his manifesto promises to bar people above 60 from contesting elections, and put an end to the practice of standing in more than one seat.

His campaign style is also frugal and lacks the pomp and ostentation usually associated with Indian elections. He moves about mostly on foot, by bicycle or even bull-drawn cart, as he meets his electorate in ones and twos.

But Dr Subudhi readily concedes that despite his no-frills campaign style, he could end up spending about 500,000 Indian rupees ($8,300; £5,000) this time. But he laughs away any suggestion his family members might be peeved with him for "wasting" the money.

Indian workers make different party campaign flags at a workshop in Hyderabad on 7 March 2014

They do not appear too perturbed. "He spends his own money and never asks for help from anybody," says his daughter-in-law Rashmita. His earnings apparently come from his still-flourishing homeopathy practice, while his sizeable ancestral property ensures that he is never short of money to fight elections.

Many people in the town think he is mad. Others think he is an old man obsessed with getting into the Guinness Book of Records as the man who has contested the most elections.

But there are some - like his contemporary and good friend Venkat Bihari Praharaj - who do take him seriously. They believe he is standing sincerely and is not in the fight for fun. "But the problem is people tend to vote for parties rather than individuals," Praharaj says. There is nothing to suggest that the voters will behave any differently this time. But Dr K Shyam Babu Subudhi will have none of it.

Month long Chaitra Yatra begins at Tara Tarini Shakti Pitha, Odisha

Chaitra Mela/Yatra at Maa Tara Tarini Shakti Pitha Berhampur (Ganjam), Odisha

BJP national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal urged the public to vote for BJP in general election to see Modi as PM

SOUTH ODISHA BJP CADRE GEAR UP FOR 2014 ELECTIONS

A meeting of MLAs, ex-MLAs, office-bearers and senior party workers of the BJP from 10 organisational districts of south Odisha such as Koraput, Rayagada, Malkanagiri, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Chhatrapur, Bhanjanagar and Brahmapur was held in Berhampur city on Wednesday under the chairmanship of former MP Prasuram Majhi.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal urged the public, especially youths, to vote for the party in the ensuing general election to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. He recalled that Modi, after becoming chairman of the party’s Campaigning Committee, first visited Puri to seek Lord Jagannath’s blessings before embarking on a countrywide tour. He urged party workers to make Modi’s February 11 rally in Bhubaneswar a great success.

Lal said the BJP has decided to knock at every citizen’s door with an appeal to cast their votes to make Modi the next Prime Minister. He discussed how to effectively manage booths. Odisha is crucial for the BJP as elections for both State Assembly and Parliament are to be held simultaneously here, he said.

BJP State observer Arun Singh said the BJD is responsible for the poverty of Odisha and its Government cannot escape from its liability in the coal and chit fund scams.

BJP leader and former Deputy Speaker of Assembly Rama Chandra Panda said that interestingly common people are ahead of the BJP in creating public opinion for Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister since they believe that Modi is the right person to lead the national Government as ‘Bikas Purush’. Among others, the party’s senior leader Prasanna Mishra, Ganjam district president Bijay Swain and Bhrugu Buxipatra also spoke.

A public signature campaign was launched by party town president Rama Patra demanding to expedite the Janibilla-Dakshinpur piped water project. The party aims to collect signatures of 50.000 persons from the district for expeditious water supply to Brahmapur. The movement is spearheaded by senior BJP leader Rama Chandra Panda. Source: The Pioneer

Phailin: ‘Berhampur model’ would be adopted in Philippines and other places: UN representative Margareta Wahlstrom

Phailin pat for Berhampur

A special representative of the UN secretary general for disaster risk reduction, Margareta Wahlstrom, declared the municipal corporation here as a role model for effective co-ordination and preparedness to face a disaster. She handed over a certificate of recognition to Mayor K. Madhaviin Berhampur.

The UN representative congratulated all councillors of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation for restoring normality in the city soon after Phailin. “Disaster is a global problem, and here, the restoration process was very good,” she said. While interacting with the councillors, Wahlstrom particularly wanted to know how the number of casualties was so low as compared to the 1999 super cyclone.

Wahlstrom said the Berhampur model would be adopted in Philippines and other places. The mayor, who received the UN certificate of recognition, said: “The credit for the success of Phailin management goes to all the councillors, commissioner and staff members. It was a team effort.”

Municipal commissioner Ajit Kumar Mishra said: “We requested all the 40 councilors to help evacuate the people from the 254 slum pockets immediately after the meteorological department forecast about the cyclone. The accurate prediction helped us prepare for the cyclone well in advance and the councillors played a key role in disaster management during and after the cyclone,” he said.

Mishra added that 30,000 people had been evacuated in just around 30 hours at that time. Councillor Ashok Shukla, P. Asharani and others apprised Wahlstrom of the steps taken by them during evacuation and restoration.

The UN representative, accompanied by assistant secretary of the Union home ministry Aparna Ganeshan and K.C. Bishoyi of the Odisha Disaster Mitigation Authority, visited a multipurpose cyclone shelter at Matikhal near Chatrapur, Save the Child organisation in Gopalpur, a fishermen’s village called Nua Golabandha and the Berhampur University campus. Source: The Telegraph

Phailin changes face of ‘green’ Maa Tara Tarini hill Shrine

Nature’s fury in the form of the Phailin cyclone has devastated everything at the famous Tara Tarini hill shrine except the main temple on the hill top.

The 965 feet high hill, which was proud of its lush green vegetation cover, has become totally naked with the brown rocky base showing up. Most of the large trees on this hill have got uprooted or massively damaged by the cyclonic storm. According to secretary of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) Pramod Panda, they included several decade old banyan and peepul trees. “Due to its lush green nature, this hill was being called Purnagiri or Kumari parvat. But the cyclone seems to have snatched away that identity from the hill,” he said. A cashew plantation of the hill shrine at Sholaghara near the hill has also been completely devastated.

The ropeway station at the foothills of the famous Tara Tarini
mangled with uprooted trees in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin 

According to the priests and authorities of the TTDB, this hill shrine had not faced such devastation during the two cyclones that hit Ganjam district in 1999.

Major attraction

A major attraction of this hill shrine was the rope way to the hill top. It is an irony that it was to be restarted recently after renovation. But the cyclone has caused much damage to the ropeway which would surely delay its inception.

Although the towers and cables of the ropeway are in place, they have to be checked up to ascertain whether they are strong enough after the cyclone. The carriages of the ropeway have been damaged.

All buildings at the hill top and most buildings at the foot of the hill were damaged by the cyclone. No structure has remained at the hill top except the newly-renovated temple which was completed in 2010.

This temple had been built as per traditional Rekha style of Odia temple architecture. It again proved that Rekha style of temple architecture as per which famous Jagannath temple of Puri and Lingaraj temple of Bhubaneswar have been built can with stand major cyclones.

The stairway and the road to the hill top have been cleared up but drinking water supply and power connectivity to the hill top remains snapped.

For providing drinking water to devotees, water is being taken by tanker to the hill top.

Nature’s fury also had its impact on the flow of devotees to the hill shrine. Very few visitors are visiting the hill shrine and their number was not expected to rise even during the Kali Puja, the priests of the temple said.

Pre cyclone image

Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division, Bikash Mohapatra, who also happens to be president of the TTDB, said all the developmental projects proposed for this hill shrine were also stalled due to the devastation caused by the cyclone.

The TTDB had planned to move around a ‘rath’ in Ganjam district to collect donations for the development of the hill shrine, which cannot be taken up now as the whole district is devastated by the cyclone and the rains and flood that followed.

“We are now planning to start online donation facility for the restoration and reconstruction works at the hill shrine so that devotees living outside could come over to help in rebuilding the hill shrine to its past glory.

Priority

“Our first priority now would be to regenerate the devastated vegetation of the hill shrine in consultation with the forest department,” said the RDC. The aim would be to plant those species of trees on the hill which would sustain cyclonic storms in future and would not get uprooted. But it is for sure for next few years the hill shrine would continue to have a barren look as a memory of wrath of nature which did not spare the hill which was a major centre of faith. Source: The Hindu

Ganjam worst hit by Cyclone Phailin, 2.4 lakh houses damaged

Uprooted trees on a road in Berhampur caused by cyclone Phailin (Source: The Hindu)

BERHAMPUR: Hit hardest by Cyclone 'Phailin', the coastal district of Ganjam is estimated to have suffered a loss of at least Rs 3,000 crore in the nature's fury which has deprived lakhs of people of their livelihood and damaged 2.4 lakh houses. Fishermen have suffered massive losses as their nets, boats and catamarans have been damaged. The farming community has also been hit with the standing paddy crop submerged in water. Moved by the tragedy that has struck the hapless people here, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, after a visit to relief camps, has ordered payment of Rs 500 each to the affected even as the administration will begin distribution of ration free of cost for two months.

Damaged pandals in Berhampur city in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin (The Hindu)

Official sources have pegged the loss in Ganjam at more than Rs 3,000 crore in this district alone. Power infrastructure has been damaged to a great extent. "There has been extensive damage to the standing paddy crop as a huge area of land covering paddy fields has been submerged in rain water. There has been huge loss to horticulture farming also as an enormous number of mango and coconut trees have been uprooted," District Collector Krishan Kumar told PTI.

Source: MapsofIndia.Com

He said Ganjam is the worst-affected district in Odisha in terms of loss of livelihood and property. "More than 2.4 lakh houses have been damaged which includes fishermen huts and other 'kutcha' houses," Kumar said. A special relief package for fishermen will also be announced by the government. Fishermen have suffered massive losses as their nets, boats and catamarans have been damaged, the Collector said. He said nine people have lost lives due to cyclone in this district alone.]
Source: PTI, Business Standard, The Hindu

Source: The Sambad

Deserted Berhampur road post-Phailin (Source: The Hindu)

Source: OrissaPost

First person account of the night Phailin pounded Gopalpur (Rahul Kanwal, Headlines Today)

Gopalpur-on-Sea (Berhampur, Odisha) on a normal day

Now I know what 'lull before the storm' literally means. At 10 pm on Saturday evening, the howling winds and incessant rains lashing Gopalpur suddenly ceased. It seemed the worst was over. Cyclone Phailin had made land fall along the coast of Orissa in Gopalpur around 9:15 pm. For 45 minutes after the cyclone first struck, the wind Gods seemed to have gone crazy, blowing uncontrollably in all directions.

We were perched on a balcony, on the first floor, in a multi-storey building about 25 meters off the beach front of Gopalpur, a popular beach side resort town in Orissa, located about three hours from Bhubaneshwar. This was ground zero for Cylone Phailin, the deadliest storm to have hit India in the last decade and a half. The hotels in the area had all been ordered shut by the district administration, and the local fishermen living in hatched huts had been put up in a cyclone evacuation centre established at a Government run school located on a small hill away from the sea. We were the only journalists left reporting from the eye of the storm.

The other crews had moved away to the nearest town of Behrampur. At 10 pm, we were on Aajtak decribing the sudden silence around us. The winds and rain that had been pounding Gopalpur through the day had vanished. A few youngsters ventured out. They were whistling, singing and dancing. They seemed to be mocking the cyclone and had declared victory.

Then all of a sudden, just as unpredictably as it had ceased, the tempest was back. Twice as agressive, twice as deadly. It was the cyclone's turn to mock the hapless inhabitants of Gopalpur. Dogs in the area started barking in tandem. Children were wailing. The youngsters ran in back to save their lives. Our most reliable companion, the mobile network, crashed. The glass panes of our window were smashed. Water started lashing into our room. There was no where to hide. We went into the kitchen. But that wasn't much respite. The glass panes there too broke. Then the roof started leaking. The cyclone was closing in at us from all sides.

Soon the water was coming upto our knees. Our equipment, our clothes all got drenched. We had no where to go, no where to hide. I sat down on the bed behind the window, hoping to stay away from the fury of the winds and rain that was pounding  our room. But the pressure of the water was too fast. It was difficult to sit still. So we went into the dining room and stood in the only dry part of the house. There we huddled for two hours while the cyclone wrecked havoc outside. 

Our thoughts were with our OB engineer, Ritesh, who had been inside the OB van at 10 pm, helping us broadcast live from Gopalpur. The winds had struck with such ferocity and with such little notice, that Ritesh was unable to come out of the van. His Tata-407 was exposed to the full force of the cyclone and was being pushed around like a toy.

As the minutes passed, our concern increased. Ritesh was not still back and there was no news from him. Around 3 hours after Phailin made land fall, we heard our door being banged from outside. First we thought it was the cyclone, but when the knocking got louder, we opened the door. It was Ritesh, who had somehow stormed out of the van and made his way to the building. Antennas were strewn around the pathway as also glass shards from broken windows as Ritesh ran back in.

Ritesh was screaming like a man possessed. Widly describing his experience of being tossed around by winds blowing at faster than 200 kilometers per hour. There was no God he did not remember in the first two minutes of entering the flat.

Huddled in a corner, the night went by slowly. The minutes seemed than on any other other night in my life. It was still raining hard, when day broke the next morning. We ventured out to do a spot check at the fishermen's enclave nearby. A few villagers were milling around assessing the damage to a life time's savings. Relief and fear writ on the faces, relived at having survived but worried about piecing their lives back again.

Source: India Today

Cyclone Phailin set to hit Gopalpur-Berhampur coast in Odisha at a wind speed of 210-220 kmph tomorrow: Administration on tenterhooks

Cyclone Phailin has been predicted to move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha close to Gopalpur-Berhampur coast (Odisha) by Saturday evening as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 205-215 km per hour (kmph), the met department has said. "The very severe cyclonic storm, Phailin, over east central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph and lay centred about 520km south-southeast of Paradip, 530km from Gopalpur and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam," the met department said in its latest bulletin. Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph would commence along Odisha coast from Friday morning. It would increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 205-215 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall. State of the sea along and off Odisha coast will be rough to very rough from Friday morning and will become phenomenal on October 12. The cyclonic storm, Phailin, over east central Bay of Bengal moved westwards and intensified further and lay centred at 230 am on Friday near latitude 15.50N and longitude 89.000E, about 590km south-southeast of Paradip and 600km southeast of Gopalpur.

Similarly, though the met department forecast a storm surge of 1.5 metre to 2 metre in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the coast on Thursday, on Friday it said the storm surge height will be around 2 metre to 2.5 metre above astronomical tide. This would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. A worried state government held several meetings and took stock of the situation in the changed circumstances. The state government has already asked the district authorities to start evacuation of people living in low lying areas close to the sea. Fearing high tide, the seaside hotels have been instructed to cancel their bookings. The possibility of a cyclone has prompted the twin city commensurate police to asses safety measures at large puja mandaps and tableaux made of bamboo, wood and other heavy materials.

'Not less than a super cyclone'

Cyclone Phailin with a windspeed of 220 kmph is turning into a super cyclone before making landfall on Saturday evening near Gopalpur in Odisha where the government has galvanised its machinery to deal with its impact and is evacuating people from low-lying areas. “The U.S. Navy has also forecast that the wind speed will be above 240 kmph. Therefore, the cyclone is not less than any super cyclone for us,” Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mohapatra said.

He said that though the IMD on Thursday indicated that the wind speed would be limited to 185 kmph, it was now forecasting it at 220 kmph. Mr. Mohapatra said the IMD had declared the 1999 calamity as a super cyclone as the wind speed had crossed 220 kmph. “This time around, the wind speed is not much different than the previous super cyclone,” he said. Squalls with a wind speed of 45-55 kmph to 65 kmph have already started along Odisha coast since morning. “It would increase in intensity with gale wind speeds reaching 210-220 kmph along and off south Odisha at the time of landfall,” the IMD said in a bulletin categorised as an Orange Message.

It would make landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Saturday evening after crossing an area between Paradip in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The IMD said the cyclone over east central Bay of Bengal remained stationary and lay 520 km south-southeast of Paradip and 530 km southeast of Gopalpur. The IMD forecast a storm surge of 2.5 meter to 3.0 meter in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts. A storm surge is a rise of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and winds associated with a storm.

Local Cautionary (LC-III) has been hoisted in all the ports in the State.The Navy, the Air Force, the National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force were ready for relief and rescue operations as soon as the cyclone hits the coast, Mr. Mohapatra said. A worried State government held meetings and evaluated the changed circumstances. “At least 28 teams of the National Disaster Response Forces are at the disposal of the Odisha government for evacuation and relief operations,” a senior official said after one such meeting. So far eight teams of NDRF, reaching having 20 personnel, have been deployed in Puri district, the official said. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S.N. Patro said district collectors have been told to complete evacuation of people by Friday evening. “We do not want to take any chance,” Mr. Patro said, adding that shelters were ready.

Source: Times of India, IBN Live, amp; IMD, The Pioneer &The Hindu