Central team visits diarrhoea-hit Orissa region

A team of medical experts on Monday visited the Kalahandi district of Orissa to take stock of the situation after an outbreak of diarrhoea killed 24 people there and hit thousands over the past one month.

"A three member team led by Uma Chawla, joint director of National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), reached the region on Monday. They are visiting the affected areas," joint director of state health department Bikash Patnaik told IANS.

The outbreak was first reported early this month from a hamlet in Kalahandi, about 450 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, and it later spread to dozens of nearby villages.

Patnaik said doctors have treated hundreds of people in hospitals and temporary camps set up at various places during the past 30 days. He said unhygienic living conditions and contaminated drinking water led to diarrhoea in the district.

"The situation is under control now. There is no report of death or outbreak from the region since Aug 21," he said.

Bhakta Charan Das, who is representing the region in the Lok Sabha, alleged that diarrhoea has claimed at least 38 people. "At least 38 people have died. There are no adequate doctors in the region to tackle the crisis which has taken an epidemic form," Das told IANS.

However, the state health department maintained that diarrhoea has claimed 24 lives.

Kapil Sibal inaugurates Central Varsity of Orissa in Koraput

Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday inaugurated the Central University in Orissa痴 Koraput here. Sibal delivered a speech on 'Innovations and Reforms in Higher Education and Modern India' on the occasion. Vice chancellor Surabhi Banerjee, Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, higher education minister Debi Prasad Mishra and other senior Central and state government officials were among those present. Incidentally, the university has already started functioning and offering courses in English, Oriya, Journalism and Mass Communication, Anthropology and Sociology. Meanwhile, the counselling for English and Anthropology has been extended till September 8. However, the University does not have a permanent campus yet. The varsity is all set to commence classes from September 8 from the temporary Council of Analytical Tribal Studies (COATS) campus.

Election in Educational Institutions in Orissa

Recent violence in Utkal University came into lime light because it is situated in the heart of the state capital where media coverage is the highest in the state and the nature of the violence was high.But this is not the only violence happening in Orissa in recent times or in the past in colleges and universities.It is common for all government institution weather small or big.Six bused were set on fire , six ATM were broken ,one Bank office was damaged , and even one hospital was attacked by some students of Utkal Universityin the recent incident .

What a society can expect from such so called educated students who do not hesitate to attack a hospital where half dead patients are struggling for life and damage public property.One question is that "had they dare to destroy their own property for the sake of strike".On the other hand, the administration is so incapable that few actions has been taken against such students in the past. Either the officials are influenced by the politicians or threatened by the students.

The motto of college election is representation of students in the general activities of colleges and allow them to present their demands.But those who have ever be a part of such institutions in Orissa can realise that the actual positive impact is very less .The represented candidates only interested in corruption , bribe from several companies etc. But one certain result of such election is violence ,damage to government property,interruption of regular classes etc.

So ,why we need such election if the objective deviates from the reality ? There are few colleges in Orissa, where election is restricted or only indirect election is possible. G.M college in Sambalpur conducts such indirect election .The procedure for such election is that first each class will select their leader and the head of the institution (President ,Secretary and others) will be nominated by the selected candidates.Such type of election procedure fulfill the objective of representation and at the same time reduces violence.

The government should think to adopt the indirect election procedure across the state .It will helpful in reducing unnecessary ferocity and will helpful in continuance of peace education in the state.

Student agitation intenfies in Orissa

The students, angry over arrest of their leaders in connection with Utkal University violence, were divided into groups to commit vandalism at several places in Bhubaneswar. At least six buses were set on fire, six automatic trailer machines (ATMs) and branch office of a nationalised bank were damaged and two private hospitals here attacked here.

The violence which began at around 2 am continued till the noon. The agitators also reportedly fought pitched battles with police at different places in Bhubaneswar leading to injuries to at least a dozen people from both sides.

However, no arrests have been made.

Police said the students owning allegiance to students’ wing of the Congress indulged in violence.

The student unrest began after two rival groups attacked each other at the Utkal University here three days ago over union elections, which are barely a month away. Six student leaders including state president of students’ wing of the Congress Chinmoy Sahu were arrested in connection with the incident. All of them were released on bail on Tuesday.

The colleges in Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state recorded thin attendances as the state unit of National Students Union of India, a frontal organisation of Congress, threatened to intensify the stir.

Meanwhile, Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee working president Lalatendu Vidyadhar Mohapatra warned the state government to refrain from its “anti student suppression” activity and threatened that there would be state-wide agitation if the arrested students’ representatives of various colleges and universities were not freed immediately.

“What crime the students have committed? Is it an offence if the students’ leaders tried to expose the Naveen government’s involvement in theft of valuable mineral resources of the state? The state government wants to silence a students’ movement against its corrupt activities,” Mr Mohapatra observed.

'Kaminey' faces ire of Jagannath priests

A day after priest of the famous Jagannath temple burnt posters protesting against hindi film "Kaminey " for containing ‘‘derogatory reference’’ to Orissa’s reigning deity, the local police on Monday filed a case against the producer of the film alleging blasphemy.

‘‘There’s a scene in the film in which a well-known Hindi phrase, Apna haath Jagannath (self-help is best) is written on the toilet door. A photograph of a scantily-clad woman is alongside. This desecrates the image of our revered god,’’ said Damodar Mahasuar, temple priest.

Police said Kalinga Sena, a Puri-based cultural outfit, had lodged an FIR, alleging blasphemy.

‘‘We have registered a case against the producer for hurting Hindu religious sentiments,’’ said Puri inspector Sudhakar Sahoo.

FIR against KAMINEY film producer UTV

A police complaint on Monday has been filed against UTV motion pictures for the controversial remark in the latest bollywood movie Kaminey.

According to sources, the FIR lodged by Jagannath Sena, has accused the makers of the movie for hurting the sentiments of thousands of devotees of Lord Jagannath. The Sena is actually protesting a particular comment in which the name of Lord Jagannath has been written on a wall, above a nude picture.

“FIR has been registered and our investigations are on,” Sudhakar Sahu, IIC town PS said.

“We have also submitted a memorandum seeking for a law so that nobody defames religion and God of others,” Priyadarshan Patnaik, Convener of Jagannath Sena said.

Earlier, the sevayats on Sunday burnt the posters of Sahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra starer movie Kaminey.

Maheswar Mohanty, MLA Puri has also said to discuss the issue with the government. “ I will bring the issue to the notice of the government and ensure that the controversial comment is immediately deleted from the movie,” Mohanty said.

Following the state wide stir against the bollywood film, the authorities of Sruti theatre in Bhubaneswar deleted the controversial scene today.

“Following the stir we have deleted the scene for the film,” Ravi Moharana, manager of the theater said.

As per the authorities, they have also informed the concerned distributors in this regard. Meanwhile, the audiences have also welcomed the movie of the cinema hall owners.“ Being a devotee of Lord Jagannath, such kind of comment is not accepted by us,” Sangita, audience said.

Leader of Prince dance Group Met Orissa CM Patnaik

After scripting history, founder and member of Prince Dance Group, T. Krishna Mohan Reddy arrived in the state and met chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday.

Patnaik congratulated Reddy who enthralled the audiences’ world wide with their magical performance throughout the competition.

“The magician of Orissa has now returned home. The Prince Dance Group is like the, ‘Diwali ka anaar’ for the rest of the rest of the world and they have made us proud,” Patnaik said.

Patnaik also congratulated the entire group for the achievement. “The moment I watched them performing on Sare Jahan Se Acha, I thought that the act was of international standard. Since then we have been under the magical spell of Krishna and his group. The government is also planning something wonderful for the Prince Dance Group,” Patnaik added.

After the talks with Patnaik, Reddy expressed his gratitude towards the people of the state for love and support for Prince Dance Group. Moreover, Reddy has also informed that Patnaik has assured of all possible help for them.

“It was really nice to hear that CM has assured to assist us in our efforts,” Reddy told.

Reddy also thanked the OTV and other corporate houses for supporting them all throughout the show. Prince Dance Group on Sunday won India’s got talent reality show on channel Colors. With this victory, they have won Rs 50 lakh in cash and a Maruti Sukuzi Ritz car.

To a question on whether the group would continue to work as labourers, Reddy replied life is all set for a new beginning. “When we had left for the competition we had no money and now things have changed and we will continue our hard work and bring laurels for the state in international competitions as well,” Reddy said.

Meanwhile, other members of the group are expected to arrive at Berhampur tonight. The entire Ambabua village is also set to welcome their hero’s who have made the entire state proud.

Recession hits Orissa Tech. Education

Around 10,000 engineering seats out of 30,000 seats in the State are remaining vacant which forcing the authorities to go for second Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) on September 6.

As per the JEE authorities, though only two day are left for the counseling process to end, around 10,000 seats in various government and private engineering colleges are lying vacant.

Apart from engineering, 103 MMBS and 174 BDS seats out of the total 750 medical and dental seats are yet to be filled up. Surprisingly, only 400 pharmacy seats have been filled up against the capacity of 950 seats.

In a bid to complete the admissions to the vacant seats in medical (MBBSS and BDS courses), B.Tech, B.Pharm, MDA and MCA Courses, second joint entrance examination would be held on September 6.

Students can submit their applications from August 22 and the last date for submission of Online application form is August 29, 2009. The results would be published on September 11. Counselling would commence on September 15.

The all-conquering members of the Oriya dance troupe 'Prince' -- comprising daily wage earners -- may now justly expect a reception

Cinderella men: Two of the 'Prince' troupe's 24 members overcame polio; their leader is a self-taught choreographer.

fit for kings. Since the moment Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee announced that the dancers from far-flung Ganjam district in Orissa were the winners of the TV reality show, "India's Got Talent", everybody and his brother in the state is doing a jig.

And with good reason. The dancers are not just starry-eyed participants in a hotly contested programme where the ultimate prize was Rs 50 lakhand a Maruti Ritz. Nearly every member of the group of 24 has surmounted individual odds -- two of them have overcome polio -- and shown their unbeatable spirit.

Coming from different parts of Ganjam, the dancers displayed perfect symmetry of determination and talent to outperform groups from across India -- including an improbable 10 in the grand finale. Their winning submission was a performance based on 'Dashavatar' -- the 10 avataras of Lord Vishnu.

"We'd hoped to win. Now that we have achieved our mission, we're thrilled!" exclaimed troupe leader Krishna Mohan Reddy (26) on phone from Mumbai. The self-taught dancer-choreographer told TOI, "The prize money has come as a blessing as most of us were in dire need of it. Some needed to build houses, others have sisters to get married."

Krishna -- from a nondescript village Ambapua on the outskirts of Berhampur, Ganjam -- said he now plans to set up a dance academy. "We'll all contribute part of our prize money for the institute," he said.

The Berhampur-based troupe -- their story sounds a bit like the rags-to-riches tale of Jamal Malik in 'Slumdog Millionaire' -- has become a statewide obsession ever since its members startled everybody with their fleet-footed show. Such was "Prince's" impact that CM Naveen Patnaik declared his vote for the group. "Their performance has been magical and they have made Orissa proud," he said after congratulating Krishna and his boys.

'Prince' was formed four years ago. Two of its members, Padmanabha Sahu (24) and Telu Tarini (13), suffer from polio. Most dancers are wage earners in their teens or 20s. They practised in Ambapua and on Gopalpur beach, and have now left their footprints on the sands of time.

Source -Times of India

PRINCE DANCE GROUP - SA RE JHANSE ACHA

PRINCE DANCE GROUP - SOME MEMORIES

Prince Dance Group - Some Jhalak

Prince dance group - Krishna dance in modern way -

Prine Dance Group

Orissa-based The Prince Dance group was declared the winner of TV reality show "India's Got Talent" at the grand finale in Mumbai late on Saturday night after several relatives and friends of the group, apart from state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, corporate houses and social activists joined hands to vote en masse for them.

The reward for the all-male group? A staggering Rs 50 lakhs (Rs 5 million) in cash and and a swish newly-launched Maruti Suzuki Ritz car.

The group, comprising 26 artistes, all below 22 years of age, held the audience - and more importantly, the judges - spellbound with their act, which was based on episodes from the Mahabharata.

While some of the men were painted in silver, one of them essayed the role of Hindu god Lord Krishna.

Led by their 26-year-old dance teacher Krishna Mohan Reddy, the group's members have a rural background and belong to Orissa's backward Behrampore district.

The winners pipped music group Piyush Rajani And The Fine Tuners - all of them men - as well as Ujjain-based Yogesh Malviya and Group, who performed gymnastics in their bid for the top slot. This group had a few women.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and actors Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher were the judges, with the grand finale being graced by Bollywood stars Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukerji, who were there to promote their forthcoming movie "Dil Bole Hadippa".

Prince Dance Group - India's Got Talent (Semi-Finale)

Orissa CM voted for Prince Dance Group

“I have already sent my SMS in favour of the group,” Patnaik said.

Thousands of workers and leaders of Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have also sent similar SMSes, a BJD leader added.

Prince dance group makes state proud

The Prince Dance group was declared the winner of TV reality show India’s Got Talent at the grand finale late Saturday night after several relatives and friends of the group, apart from chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik, corporate houses and social activists joined hands to vote en masse for them.
The reward for the all-male group? A staggering Rs 50 lakhs (Rs 5 million) in cash and and a swish newly-launched Maruti Suzuki Ritz car.
Orissa celebrated right through the night yesterday with fireworks lighting the sky just after midnight when thousands glued to television sets jumped in joy as the Prince Dance Group of Berhampur, an untrained lot largely daily wagers won the talent search reality show India's Got Talent.
The district authorities had arranged display of the grand finale of the program projected on large screens at different parts of the city. Large crowds had gathered up at Khallikote Autonomous College stadium and old bus stand where such show had been arranged. Crowd comprised of mostly youths and government officials, who continued to cheer for the group till it was declared the ultimate winner.
At Ambapua, from where most of the members of troupe hail, there was celebration throughout the night.
The whole city had got together to see to it that their troupe did not fall back in the program due to lack of SMS votes. Different organisations, political parties as well as administrative officials had launched a campaign asking people to send as many SMS as possible to ensure victory of the dance group. Corporate houses, IAS officers and even the chief minister had joined the campaign.
The chief minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik promised to vote for the troupe and this seemed to have made corporate houses and IAS officers join the campaign trail.
At a review meeting of all collectors of south Orissa the revenue Divisional Commissioner, southern division, Mr Satyabrata Sahu asked the collectors to instigate so that this troupe from Berhampur could get more SMS in its favour. He also distributed CDs of performances of the dance troupe.
The Berhampur municipal corporation, Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) and NGOs joined hands. Hoarding were put up urging people to send SMS to get the troupe win the competition. Corporate houses like Gopalpur Ports Limited, Dhamra Port Ltd., Tata Steel came up to sponsor this publicity campaign for SMS. There were rallies and door to door campaign to promote the SMS drive.
The district culture department was also roped in for this publicity campaign for the success of the local dance troupe on a private channel. It was decided that the Block Development Officers (BDO) in 22 blocks of Ganjam would also initiate campaign to create an SMS mania for the purpose. The BDOs were directed to put hoarding if needed.
A RSB Group of entrepreneurs announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for the troupe
Today, each one of them was elated. There were several announcements for the troupe. A group announced 2,000 square feet plot for the Prince Dance Group in Puri while RSB Group of entrepreneurs announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for the troupe.
CM Mr Naveen Patnaik said he had sent a SMS in favour of the dance group and had also watched the final on TV yesterday. ‘I thought it was a magical performance," he said. "They deserve so very much," he added while noting that he will "look into what best can be done for the troupe".
Meanwhile preparations are on in the city to welcome the troupe with much fanfare when they return back.
The Oriya's living in USA have proposed to invite this troupe to their convention next year so that they could perform in different part of north America, where chapters of the Oriya organisation exists. It may be noted that this troupe is said to be comprised of youths of poor families of menial labourers who got together to use dance as entertainment and profession.

CM pushes for design school in Orissa

CM Patnaik requested Union minister for Commerce and Industry for setting up of an National Institute of design at BBSR.

Offering land and other infrastructure support from the state government, the chief minister emphasized that an institute focusing on handloom and handicrafts could ideally be located in Orissa as it could serve tribal regions of not only Orissa but also Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and the entire eastern region. Sharma, according to a press release issued by the chief minister's office, has agreed to consider the proposal.

Earlier, the Union government, going by the National Design Policy, had proposed to establish four new design institutes on the pattern of NID, Ahmedabad, during the 11th five-year plan. Three locations have already identified to cover central, southern and north-eastern regions of the country, officials said.

Naveen requested the Union minister to include Orissa in the e-biz programme, under which five states have already been identified. Sharma reportedly agreed to include Orissa in the e-biz programme in the coming year to facilitate industrial promotion and project monitoring, the release said.

The CM also asked Sharma to acquiesce a proposal to organize International Trade Fair for Orissa handicrafts annually for three years at an estimated cost of Rs 3.30 crore under the Market Access Initiative of the department of commerce. Sharma, according to the release, consented to the state government's proposal to hold the trade fair in Orissa in January, 2010.

Sharma also accepted the state's demand for providing infrastructure support for development of industrial clusters under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) of the central government for clusters located at Balasore (plastic products), at a project cost of Rs 62.50 crore, and another at Mancheswar (engineering) at a project cost of Rs 61 crore, the release said, adding the Union minister for smooth implementation of the metallurgical cluster project at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur.

Orissa will benefit Rs 1 K cr from revised iron ore royalty

Orissa will receive an additional Rs 1,000 crore per annum as royalty charges on iron ore after the Centre’s decision to raise royalty on the commodity, Ashok Dalwai, steel and mines secretary of Orissa said on Thursday.

The Centre recently revised royalty charges on iron ore to 10 per cent ad valorem. Earlier, iron ore miners had to pay Rs 27 a tonne on 65 per cent grade iron ore and Rs 16 a tonne on 62 per cent grade iron ore. Under the new rule, 10 per cent of the selling price of each tonne of iron ore will go to the state government.

“At current price of iron ore, which ranges from Rs 2,000-2,600 a tonne for various grades, we expect to get an additional Rs 150-170,” Dalwai said.

Orissa will get around Rs 500 crore in FY10 (April-March) after the notification, he added.

As per data available with the state government, Orissa received Rs 149 crore as royalty charges on iron ore in FY09 with an overall production of 77.19 million tonnes. “As the decision came in middle of this year, we expect to collect additional Rs 500 crore as iron ore royalty in FY10,” Daslwai said.

About overall mining royalty, he said, “The figure for mining royalty may touch around Rs 1,700-1,800 crore in FY10.”

The state government received Rs 1,340 crore as mining royalty in FY09, he added. Orissa has huge reserves of minerals such as iron ore, bauxite, manganese, coal, and chromite, among others.

Death sentence for SP, two cops - CPI(Maoist)

Peeved over killing, arrest and surrender of their members in Rayagada district, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) has pronounced death sentence for the Superintendent of Police (SP) and two other policemen engaged in anti-naxal operations, official sources said on Monday.

A seven-page letter signed by one Azad, self-styled secretary of Bansadhara Divisional Committee (BDC), sent to the local Press Club last night, accused district SP Asish Kumar Singh of launching a campaign against Maoists by staging fake surrenders.

Confirming receipt of the letter from the Maoists, DIG, south-western range, Sanjeev Panda said that the ultras resorted to the move as they are frustrated.

The letter is an indication of their organization weakening in the area, the DIG said over phone claiming that at least seven Maoist cadres surrendered and 30 of them were arrested by the police in Rayagada during last three months.

This apart, the killing of three women armed cadre in an encounter with security personnel last week in Rayagada had also come as a blow to the outfit, a senior police official said.

The SP is held responsible for making false claim that some Maoists surrendered before police, the letter said, adding that innocent people were being harassed by police on the pretext of their alleged link with red rebels.

NAXALS SUGGESTED THE TRIBALS TO MAINTAIN SANITATIONS IN THEIR VILLAGES

The week long 36th death anniversary of the naxalite leader Charu Mazumdar (28th July to 3rd August) while observing the week the CPI (Maoists) leaders spoke in well attended Public Meeting at the place close to Chhatishgarh (bordering to Malkangiri district of Odisha) to work hard in agriculture fields for better production of paddy, maintain cleanness in their villages and make the habit of boiled drinking water. Opposing the Government Policy of introducing country liquor, the naxal leaders urged the tribal who attended the meeting in their own tribal dialect to stop consumption and sale of liquor for the better cause. The Maoists condemned the brutal killing of three tribal youth from one family in the name of CPI (Maoists). It is altogether a separate story. As many more than 70 permanent pillars erected to remember their comrades in Malkangiri district alone and 500 temporary pillars erected by their follower and sympathizers. They even gave a call to people join its Liberation Guerrilla Arm to fight for the better society.
Wall posters pasted on important junctions in remote villages under Mathili block urging the Village Heads, Ward Members, Block and Zilla Parishad Chairman to execute with the people to prevent the entry of CRPF in tribal villages in the name of combing operation. If the elected representatives fail to prevent the entry of CRPF, they will be eliminated one after the other, they warned. The Maoists even decided to blow up the bridge on river Kolab at Kiang inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik way back 1994. This bridge in fact strengthened the communication facilities for about 7 Panchayats including Tentuligumma, the residential village of a great tribal freedom fighter Laxman Nayak who was hang to death in 1942.
The construction of school building at Chitrakopa under Kamarapalli Gram Panchayat of Mathili Block under DPEP Funds not allowed for its completion by naxals suspecting the building is not meant for the school children but for deployment of police camps.

Timber mafias nabbed in Angul

The Bantala range officers on Sunday nabbed three timber mafias after an encounter at Badakantakula village in Angul.

The incident took place at 3 am on Sunday, when Bantala range officers were returning after conducting a raid.

The Bantala range officers led by J.P. Singh seized two pick-up vans filled with logs of teak wood.

There was an encounter between the forest officials and the timber mafias while the former were returning after the raid.

In this encounter, three timber mafias were nabbed and the driver of the forest department was injured. Later the driver was taken to Angul hospital.

New ore duty will benefits Orissa

Revenues from iron ore for states such as Orissa is expected to go up substantially following the decision of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) to levy royalty on iron ore on an ad valorem basis.

The CCEA yesterday approved a proposal to levy 10 per cent of market value as royalty on iron ore instead of a fixed rate for different grades of ore.

Orissa has been demanding the adoption of an ad valorem-based royalty system for all minerals for a long time.

Though the exact benefit was yet to be assessed officially, the gain could be about Rs 450 crore this year. If the price of iron ore increased further, royalty could be more. The additional revenue from iron ore was expected to help the state government in achieving the overall mineral revenue target of Rs 1,600 crore for 2009-10.

Sources said, the state was able to collect Rs 1,340.13 crore from the mining sector during the last financial year against the target of Rs 1,250 crore. The government is eyeing a revenue of Rs 1,600 crore from the mining sector during the current financial year.Sources said, royalty from iron ore at Rs 149.83 crore during 2008-09 was likely to increase to about Rs 600 crore during the current financial year.

However, this was possible if the new rate came into force immediately and the last year’s iron ore production level was maintained during this year. While the highest grade of iron ore carries the maximum fixed royalty of Rs 27 per tonne, the average per tonne royalty is expected to go up to about Rs 140 per tonne after the revised rate comes into force.

This estimate is based on prices ranging between Rs 1,050 and Rs 1,700 per tonne fixed by the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).The production of iron ore in the state increased to 77.19 million tonnes in 2008-09 from about 46.06 million tonnes in 2004-05. While internal consumption increased from 29.57 million tonnes to 53.89 million tonnes during this period, despatches for exports increased from 10 million tonnes to 16.35 million tonnes during the last financial year.

However, export despatches during the last financial year were lower compared to the previous two years. Despatches were 17.04 million tonnes in 2006-07 and 20.05 million tonnes in 2007-08. The average price of iron ore lumps sold by OMC was Rs 1,689 per tonne having 62 per cent Fe content, and Rs 1,052 per tonne for lumps having 60 per cent Fe content during 2008-09.

People returning Orissa in the fear of Swine flu

People from Orissa working or studying in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are returning home in the wake of the swine flu spread.

"We feel Orissa is safer than states like Maharastra.

Therefore we have returned home," said a management student who came back from Pune, where the highest number of swine flu deaths have reported.

A girl student from Pune with symptoms of the flu was referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Ratnakar Behera said.

An MBA at the Indira School of Business Studies, Pune, Tushita Rath returned here two days ago, accompanied by another girl from Balasore, after the Maharashtra Government declared a holiday in educational institutions. .

TATA Motors to deliver 3,000 Nano cars in Orissa

TATA Motors would deliver 3,000 Nano cars in Orissa in 2009-10 and 2010-11. On a pan India basis, the company aims to deliver 100,000 units of the world’s cheapest car by that period.

As per report out of the targeted figure 1250 cars will be delivered through Swapna Motors a leading TATA Motors dealer in the city while the rest cars will be sold through other dealers.

TATA Motors has started delivery of its different Nano variants across the country in July this year.

Mr BN Saha chairman and managing director of Swapna Motors said that in order to ensure smooth deliveries of the cars TATA Motors aims to ramp up production at the Pantnagar plant and also its upcoming plant at Sanand in Gujarat.

Quake shakes Orissa

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale with its epicentre in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rattled several parts of Orissa in the wee hours on Tuesday. The "great intensity" tremor with its epicentre about 1020 km south-east of Bhubaneswar was recorded at 1.26 am at 14.1 north latitude and 93.0 east longitude, the MET department said .No damage to property or life has been reported due to the earthquake which lasted for a few seconds. Several parts of the state including the state capital, Cuttack, port town of Paradip, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Bhadrak and Balasore were shaken by the tremor.

Panic-struck people rushed out of their houses in many areas.

Nano hits Orissa road today

The wait for the world’s cheapest car is almost over as the keys of Nano would be handed over to the first customer in the state today.

According to sources, the lucky customer who will ride the Nano tomorrow is from Paradip area. The keys would be handed over to him by the authorities of Swapna motors, Tata motors dealers at Bhubaneswar.

Tata’s Nano would be also delivered to nearly 3000 other customers who had been selected through lottery systems in subsequent phases.

Meanwhile, the customers have to pay Rs 1, 40,000 for the cheapest version of the Nano, while the Nano CX would cost Rs 1, 84,000 and a customer would have to shed Rs 2, 20,000 for the LXR version which have facilities of power steering, central locking and power window version of the small car segment.

2, 03,000 people had done their bookings for the first one lakh Nano cars and the Tata motors claims to deliver the India’s dream car by 2010.

Per capita consumption of pulses declines

While the Government seemingly content after harvesting rich over the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme, the very `pulse’ of the nutritio security seem to be at stake in Orissa. At around Rs 90 a kg in the retail market, spiralling prices of pulses has robbed the aam admi of the most potent nutritional source.If the latest Assocham prognosis of further rise in prices of pulses nationally is to be considered, the coming days are set to heap more misery on the common man. The report holds near stagnant yield and acreage as the prime reasons behind abnormal rise in prices. It says per capita availability and consumption of pulses are declining fast and could cast a shadow on nutriotional security.Orissa testifies the conclusions positively. Per capita availability of pulses in the State in 1971-72 was 32 gm a day which has now slipped to around 20 gm. Per capita consumption was at 26 gm/day in 2000-01 and now at only 11 gm/day.The downslide can be attributed to mismatches in actual requirement and actual production. When the State’s total requirement of pulses stood at 7 lakh tonne, the production in 2007-08 was only 3.84 lakh tonne.Thus it depends on supply for other States to meet its pulses requirements.The State is feeling the pinch very acutely as the total pulses availability in the country has reflected a growth of mere 1.39 per cent annually during the last two decades while the population has increased at more than 1.8 per cent. This has led to a decline in per capita availability from 16 kg a year to 12.7 kg a year during the period.Reports are that cereals are being used as replacement to the pulses in rural areas thanks to the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme. The National Nutritional Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) says nutritional security is ensured by comparatively high content of pulses in diet, thus, there is the need to substitute cereals by pulses and not vice versa.Orissa has the second largest undernourished population in the country and also its adult population has the highest chronic energy deficiency (CED) with 39 and 46 per cent for males and females respectively.This abnormal situation could make it much worse unless the Government pitches in with some interventions as market trends show that the prices are set to cool down only in November.

Central minister rejects coal royalty revision plea

The Orissa government's demands for revision of coal royalty suffered a jolt on Saturday as Sriprakash Jaiswal ,Union minister of state for coal rejected it.

Pouring cold water over the Naveen Patnaik government's demands for hike in coal royalty, Jaiswal asserted that there was "no need" to revise coal royalty. "There is no meaning of revision. Whatever coal royalty is being given is more than sufficient," he told journalists after holding a meeting with the chief minister here. "We are worried about how production of coal could go up. We want to double the production. Accordingly, the royalty would also increase (pro rata)," he added.

Naveen, on his part, pointed out that some years ago the Centre had delayed revision of coal royalty by two years and the state has been demanding compensation for that. "The matter will be taken up with the finance commission, which is the appropriate forum for this," he added.

Official sources said the coal royalty, going by the Sarkaria Commission, is supposed to be enhanced every three years, but the Centre had ignored the states repeated pleas and delayed the previous raise (which was done in 2007) by around two years. Ever since the state government has been seeking compensation for the losses incurred by it, but the Centre, despite recommendations from the Eleventh and Twelfth Finance Commissions, has turned a deaf ear.

Jaiswal further took up different issues pertaining to the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a Coal India subsidiary, like forest diversion proposals, environment clearances, land acquisition and rehabilitation and law and order. Jaiswal informed that the CM had assured him that forest diversion and environment clearance issues would be sorted out within six months. Senior MCL officials would discuss these issues with the chief secretary and resolve the problems, he said. The CM further asked the Union government to ensure lot more trees are planted in coal-rich Talcher area to counter pollution.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress also demanded timely revision of coal and non-coal minerals. A Congress delegation, which handed over a memorandum to Jaiswal, said: "Though a time limit of three years has been determined for revision of royalty in consonance with recommendations of both Sarkaria and 11th Finance Commission, we witness perpetual irregularity causing immense loss to Orissa."

Congress also pressed for rationalization of the royalty regime by changing over to full ad-valorem basis or aligning with international best prices and suitable compensation (to state) in case of delay as recommended by the 11th Finance Commission.

Towering worry sends ultras on demolition mood

Maoists seem to be more scared of cellphones than guns. They have, of late, been targeting at least one cellphone tower every month. They see the towers as a threat to their existence. After all with the mobile network spreading, it has becomes easier for the police to snoop in on the Maoists. Intercepting their calls helps the police track the Maoists.
Realising this, the Maoists have evolved a strategy. Before launching any fresh offensive, a section trained in damaging cellphone towers is asked to first disrupt the communication system. "It happened before arms were looted in Nayagarh and also before the attack on Nalco's Damanjodi mines," a senior policeman said.
In the last four months, Maoists have damaged 10 towers in southern Orissa alone. Even on Wednesday night Maoists burnt down two cellphone towers in Koraput district, about 500 km from here.
BSNL's Orissa Telecom circle CGM AN Ray said BSNL had suffered huge losses due to the constant attack on its towers. "Since March, BSNL has lost three huge towers in Southern Orissa," he said. It costs them Rs30 lakh to set up a tower. Besides BSNL, Reliance and Airtel, too, have lost a number of towers, suffering huge losses.
Ray said he had discussed the issue with senior police officials. "But we can't divulge any details," he said. But they will continue to spread their cellphone network, he said.
SPs of all districts where there is Maoist presence feel there is little they can do to prevent the Maoists from blowing up towers. "It is not possible to provide security to all the telecom towers," said a senior policeman. Maoists also damaged their wireless centre at Meghasani in the Similipal forest, he said. As a result, wireless communication systems in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Bhadrak and a part of Jajpur district has been severely hit. The police network depends entirely on eight wireless centres in remote areas of the state.
However, DIG (south-western range) Sanjeev Panda is undeterred. "It we set up a number of towers, how many will the Maoists destroy," he asks. Besides, he says, telecom companies can avail funds from the Universal Obligation Service Fund (USO) to repair these towers. "All telecom companies keep 5% of their profit with the Centre to spread the rural network. A lot of money is lying unspent. They can use it," Panda said.

Orissa agrees with Centre for PPP in National Highways

With no takers to the changed policy of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for development of national highways, the State Government has agreed to adopt public-private partnership model enunciated by the Centre.
As per the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the NHAI has been insisting that all the states should take up the highways development projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Majority of the states are still reluctant to accept the PPP proposal in view of the lukewarm response from private builders to the new concept.
The Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways has been insisting that all the states sign a memoranda of understanding with the Centre as a token of acceptance to the PPP model.
If the NHAI’s new policy is acceptable, each state has to sign a state support agreement (SSA) with the agency executing the highway development project, official sources said.
Under the SSA, signatory state will have the responsibility to ensure that the private agency got back its investment on the road project through toll collection. If the builder failed to recover his investment within the stipulated time, the state concerned will compensate.
Private builders are not keen to take up road projects which are not economically viable under PPP mode. Four-laning of Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway is a case in point, the sources said.
Under the existing policy, NHAI is awarding national highway development project either under build-operate-transfer (BoT) toll model or B o T a n n u i t y mode. While in BoT (toll), an operator is entitled to earn its investment from toll revenue during the concession period, in BoT (annuity) the operator gets return from semiannual payments from the NHAI.
While the tollbased projects have a provision of viability gap funding (VGF) up to 40 per cent of the project cost, the annuity-based projects do not have such a provision.
During his recent visit to Delhi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held detailed talks on the highway development projects of the State with Union Minister Kamal Nath. The Chief Minister had reportedly given his consent to the new policy adopted by the NHAI.

Orissa cops discover Rs 107-crore cheat' funds scam

The state Crime Branch on Wednesday claimed to have busted a multi-crore scam involving fake marketing companies and chit funds. Police said they have frozen bank accounts worth Rs 107 crore and arrested one person in this connection.

SP (Crime Branch) Santosh Bala said sleuths from the department had arrested Saroj Kumar Samanta (30) from Akandi in Balasore district's Singla police station area on Tuesday.

"Samanta had been running a fake company, Dream Achiever, since April 14 by hosting a website www.dreamachiever.in. Though he was operating the company from Balasore, he had given a Delhi address," the SP said.

DSP (Crime Branch) Pramod Kumar Panda, who led the investigation, said Dream Achiever duped public by promising them to triple their money within a year. The trick had worked and around Rs 4.46 crore was deposited into the accounts of Dream Achiever within a short span of time. "The scheme came with offers for prospective investors, who were promised special discounts for introducing two other depositors," Panda said. The Crime Branch investigation came in the wake of several complaints lodged with Balasore police by money losers. After a preliminary investigation, SP (Balasore) Rekha Lohani had handed the case over to Crime Branch.

"As many as six cases have been registered in this connection. We are also inquiring into the involvement of banks in the racket without whose help such companies can't flourish. Besides, efforts are on to nab the promoters of other such organizations," the officer said. The Crime Branch has so far zeroed in on as many as seven such fake companies and chit fund organizations, which had been duping people by using accounts in reputed banks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDBI Bank and SBI. Officers said a total amount of Rs 107 crore have been frozen in 11 accounts held in branches of the banks in several cities, including Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Kanpur, Delhi and Mumbai.

"The companies whose accounts have been frozen include Trident Advertising & Trade Link Pvt Ltd, Fine Indisales Pvt Ltd, Eve Industries, Lakshya Level Marketing Pvt Ltd, Lui Brail Educational Society, Many Mantra Marketing Services Pvt Ltd and Dream Achiever," Panda said. "Apart from these seven, many such companies are operating in and outside Orissa and the total money involved in the racket will be more than Rs 1,000 crore. Orissa's share will not be less than Rs 150 crore," he added.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India had warned all nationalized and private banks not to have accounts of as many as 10 such companies, including six that are already under the Crime Branch scanner. The other four are Alaska India, Superlife Linked Distributors, Star Consultancy Pvt Ltd and Seashore Funds Management Pvt Ltd.

An RBI memorandum on July 11 had advised not to allow these 10 companies and organisations to open accounts with them. "These MMCs are opening accounts without complying with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act. Innocent people are being trapped by fraudulent schemes launched by such unscrupulous persons and companies," the memorandum read.

Banking services hit in Orissa as employees go on strike

Banking services across Orissa on Thursday badly affected with members of United Forum of Banks Unions boycotted their work and joined a nation wide two-day long strike.

The UFBU forced to boycott work after the failure of their conciliation proceedings with India Bank Association (IBA) on the issue of increase in wages and other issues.

Banking transaction over Rs 300 crores have been affected due to the strike, official sources said. Bank officials and employees however held a demonstration here demanding various issues.

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Kanara Bank were among those major banks in total of nine banks, joined the strike and stop work.

"Unless, until firm commitments are given to us, we will not call off the agitation," said a member of UFBU.

He criticised the Indian Bank Association (IBA) for its tough stance and hoped that good sense would prevail on both the Government and IBA after strike.

Meanwhile, security guards had to explain at most of the public sector banks, when a customer approaches the banks in the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack .

The only respite was that ATMs but in many places, it was also closed while other transactions like cheque encashment, demand draft could not possible through out the day.

Woman killed in crocodile attack in Orissa

A 50-year-old woman has been killed and several others injured in crocodile attacks in and around Orissa's Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, official sources said.

Two crocodiles were also killed in retaliatory attack by the locals recently.

A group of adult crocodiles pounced on 50-year-old Chanchala Digal near a creek in Trilochanpur village on Tuesday. The woman from the peripheral village of the sanctuary died on the spot.

Meanwhile, 12 from villages around the sanctuary under Rajnagar tehsil have been injured recently by crocodiles that had strayed into village water bodies.

The man-reptile conflict has so far claimed four lives this year alone, while 24 others were injured since January.

Human retaliation, on the other hand, resulted in the death of at least two giant-size crocodiles.

Pollavaram project bad, Orissa's Patnaik tells PM news

Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik has reiterated his strong protest against the controversial Pollavaram dam and irrigation project being constructed by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Patnaik told journalists in Bhubaneshwar that he had told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to have a re-look at the controversial project, saying it would submerge vast areas in Orissa.

He also expressed surprise at the centre's decision to accord 'national status' to the project, which has been strongly opposed by environmentalists. ''The project will submerge a large number of tribal villages in Orissa,'' he said.

Patnaik, who has steadfastly opposed the project in every possible forum, said he had told the prime minister that the ministry of environment and forests did not conduct any public hearing in Orissa before clearing the project. Nor did the union tribal affairs ministry take the Orissa government into confidence.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Dr Singh, Patnaik also sought a revision of the royalty payable on non-coal minerals, as it was last revised in 2004 and the next revision was already overdue since October 2007.

He drew the prime minister's attention to the recommendations of the 11th and 12th finance commissions that the state should be entitled to compensation in case the revision is not effected when it is due. Patnaik strongly urged that the royalty on non-coal minerals should be changed immediately to at least 20 per cent of the price of those minerals ad valorem.

He said while the mining royalty was not being revised for years together, the centre had been levying export duty on different ores which was not being passed on to the state. Such levies should be passed on to the states of origin of the exported ore, the chief minister urged.

Patnaik also spoke of the need to convert the Bhubaneswar-Chandikhol portion of the national highway into a six-lane highway in view of the heavy increase in traffic. He said that as the 'viability gap funding' was just about 38 per cent, the centre should sanction the "required funds".

Naveen also sought Manmohan's intervention in urgent utilisation of funds deposited by the state government in the CAMPA account with the ministry of environment and forests. He also requested the PM to increase funds for mid-day meals in view of the rise in prices of essential items.

In another meeting in the national capital with union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, Patnaik said he stressed that the right to education bill passed in parliament would put an additional financial burden on the state, and the centre should increase allocations under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) from 50 to 75 per cent.

Elaborating on his meeting with Sibal, the chief minister said he had also requested the minister to expedite work on setting up a world class university at Bhubaneswar and include engineering and medical streams in the proposed central varsity at Koraput.

Patnaik also said he had taken up matters relating to expansion of the National Horticulture Mission and the setting up of a national fishery mission in the state with union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

"Mr Pawar has agreed to extend coverage of the horticulture mission to three more districts as against my request to add six districts," he said.

Why SNAKE follows politicians in Orissa?

After the state Assembly went through scary hours following detection of snakes twice within a span of three days in July end, another hooded guest created flutter on Wednesday. This time the snake gained entry into the Assembly guesthouse, situated a stone’s throw from the Assembly.

Snake catchers caught hold of the 6-ft long rat snake (ptyas mucosus) from the guesthouse campus.

“It is rainy season. Snakes sneak into houses in search of preys,” Subhendu Mallick, member of Snake Helpline said.

Earlier on July 23, a reptile had stalled the house proceedings by slithering into the assembly. Two days later, another snake was caught from the august house. The entry of the slippery trespasser had forced the state government to take a decision of giving facelift to the House complex.

Kiss costs Shilpa dear again

Controversy continued to dog the Shilpa Shetty as the actor found herself in yet another ‘kiss’ row. A photograph, carried by certain new agencies showed a temple priest in Orissa planting a kiss on Shilpa’s cheek.

The media report claimed that the intimate scene was captured at a shrine in Sakhigopal in Puri district. But the sevayats of Sakhigopal temple did not buy the ‘spicy’ story. They claimed that the priest in the kissing scene was not from Sakhigopal shrine.

It may be noted that Shilpa had recently created flutter by reportedly flouting the Sakhigopal temple norm following which a police complaint was registered by the irate priests. But the actor later rubbished the charges. She had visited the temple for a shooting purpose.

Meanwhile, investigation revealed that the photograph relating to the old man with long grey beards kissing Shilpa was taken a temple in Mumbai when she had gone there to attend Naga Panchami Maha Puja on July 26.

Source :O tv

First suspected swine flu case in Orissa

Panic gripped the state as the killer H1N1 virus reportedly sneaked into Orissa territory with the detection of a suspected case of swine flu in Cuttack on Thursday. The maiden case cropped up a day after the state government issued guidelines to schools to adopt precautionary measures to keep swine flu at bay.

The patient, Birendra Patra, a resident of Pithapur area in Cuttack, has been kept in the newly constituted isolation ward meant for Swine Flu patients at the SCB Medical College and Hospital. A team of doctors are constantly monitoring his health condition.

Patra, who is employed in Singapore, had arrived at his hometown a few days ago. Doctors attending on him said that Patra showed the symptoms of swine flu and his blood samples have been sent to Pune for test. Earlier Patra underwent diagnosis after he complained of fever, cough, body aches and headache.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, meanwhile called an urgent meeting with officials concerned to chalk out measures to counter the menace.

On Wednesday, the state health department had issued circulars to schools asking them to remain vigilant to tackle the outbreak of swine flu. The state took up the decision in the wake of the death of a girl in Pune.

Source:O tv

Orissa demand revision of Non Coal Royality

The Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik today demanded the revision of royalty on non-coal minerals as it was last revised in 2004 and the next revision becoming due in October 2007.
This issue was raised by Patnaik during his meeting with the Prime Minister Naveen Patnaik in New Delhi today. He also drew the attention of the Prime Minister to the recommendations of the 11th and 12th Finance Commission that the state should be entitled to compensation in case the revision is not effected when it is due. Patnaik strongly urged for the revision of royalty on the non- coal minerals immediately and it should be at least 20 percent of the price of those minerals advalorem.
While the mining royalty is not revised for years together, the Centre has been levying export duty on different ores which is not being passed on to the state. Such levies should be passed on to the states of origin of the exported ore, the chief minister urged. The issue pertaining to the matter concerning the refund of assistance for floods of 2008 as demanded by the Government of India (GOI) also figured in the discussion between the two leaders. Urging the Prime Minister not to insist on the refund, Patnaik requested him to provide Rs 2687 crore to the state from the NCCF for meeting the loss caused by the flood.

Education Bill will Put More Burden on State Finance

The Right to Education Bill passed in Parliament will entail additional financial burden and the Centre needs to increase allocations by way of enhancing its share under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) from 50 to 75 per cent, said chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik today. Back from New Delhi, Mr Patnaik said he had raised the issue at his meeting with Union human resource development minister Mr Kapil Sibal.
Elaborating on his meeting with Mr Sibal, the chief minister told reporters here that he had also requested the minister to expedite work on setting up a world class varsity at Bhubaneswar and include engineering and medical streams in the proposed central varsity at Koraput.
Mr Patnaik said he had taken up matters relating to expansion of the National Horticulture Mission and the setting up of a National Fishery Mission in the state with Union minister Mr Sharad Pawar.
"Mr Pawar has agreed to extend coverage of the horticulture mission to three more districts as against my request to add six districts," said the chief minister.
With regards to the proposal for setting up a National Fishery Mission in Orissa, Mr Pawar said he would examine it, added the CM.
Mr Patnaik went on to iterate the discussions he had had with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. "I appraised him of the Polavaram project conceived by Andhra Pradesh and how it will cause submergence in bordering villages of Orissa," said Mr Patnaik. "The Prime Minister said he will examine it thoroughly," added Mr Patnaik.
He was hopeful that the royalty on minerals, another point made forcefully at his meeting with the PM, would be increased. Something substantial would be done on the revision of royalty, he observed.

Orissa Police to visit New Delhi

Is CBI director Aswini Kumar mounting pressure on Orissa Home Secretary AP Padhi and DGP MM Praharaj to cover up the mysterious murder of IAS officer Jagadananda Panda and his family members?
The million dollar question has cropped in everybody’s mind after the Orissa cops delayed the investigation processes.
Orissa Police would a send a high level team to New Delhi to track down few more information in connection with the murder of IAS officer.
Panda, 54, was Friday found dead along with his wife, father and two sisters. Days before the incident, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team raided his office and houses to ascertain if he was involved and to what extent in the illegal immigration racket
The team would visit the residence of Panda, a 1983-batch Orissa cadre IAS officer and Protector General of Immigrants in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in its bid to find clues to ascertain the reason behind the extreme step taken by him
If necessary, the team could record statements of certain people in Delhi and also conduct inquiry at the office of Panda, sources said.
They said the ballistic experts from Bhubaneswar, who conducted thorough investigation at Panda's house in his native village Deogaon in Bargarh district, indicated that the slain family members of the 54-year-old officer had been shot when they were asleep.
There are indications that Panda's wife Surekha had been killed first, probably when she was sitting on a sofa, while his father and two sisters were shot subsequently before the bureaucrat pointed the gun at himself, they said.
The lone survivor is Panda's 22-year-old son Swapneswar, who is in a state of coma and undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, police said.The IAS officer was apparently depressed due to CBI raids on his office and residential premises, they said.
Meanwhile, Panda's cousin Muralidhar, who is a special public prosecutor, refuses to buy police theory that the IAS Officer was stressed out by allegations of his involvement in a human trafficking scam, and therefore shot his family members and himself.
The circumstances at the spot are not compatible with the suicide theory,' he said.'I visited the spot, attended the funeral and saw their bodies in the hospital. Six bullets were fired one after other which can be done only by a sharp shooter,' he said.'Police should examine if there was any threat to the life of Jagadananda and his family. His son was posted in a private company at Noida New Delhi. Why was he asked to come home?'
Jagadananda was asked by authorities to go on leave. If he was guilty in the scam, he could have been suspended but that was not done,' Muralidhar said. Muralidhar said there may have been threat to Panda and his son's lives and that is why 'he released his service revolver from armory which he had deposited four years ago.'

Students 'strip' Class VI girl in Orissa school

A Class VI girl at a Central school was allegedly disrobed by fellow students and later made to sing and dance for a hostel prefect. The girl was so traumatized by the severe bullying that her parents were forced to seek her transfer certificate and enroll her in a village school.

The victim, Rupali Mohapatra (name changed), alleged that some of her classmates at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Mundulihas near Cuttack stripped her because she was not wearing the school uniform. She pleaded with her tormentors that it was her first day at school and she was also running a high temperature, but to no avail.

After returning to the hostel, a prefect asked her to sing and dance. The prefect, along with some other senior students, forced her to do their bidding, threatening her that she would be subjected to more harassment if she disobeyed them. Unable to bear the bullying, the girl called up her father the following day and pleaded with him to take her home.

"The incident happened on July 12, the very day my daughter joined the residential school. On July 13, I brought her back. I first thought she was depressed because she had fever. It was only later that she narrated her harrowing experience," Rupali's father, Sukanta Mohapatra, said. "My innocent child was traumatized and refused to go back to the school. So I sought a transfer certificate," he added.

The aggrieved father has asked the school authorities to probe the case and also written to the chief minister, the higher education minister and the collector.

He, however, has not filed a police complaint. "I don't want the students to be punished because they are kids. I just want that such incidents must not be repeated. No other child should suffer the mental agony my daughter went through," Mohapatra, a teacher by profession, said.

School authorities have, however, denied the charges. "The allegations of harassment are baseless. No such incident occurred in the school. Many students are unable to cope with hostel life and cook up such stories to go back home. Every year we come across such cases, but no one ever made such nasty allegations," principal S B Rao said. He even denied receiving any letter from the student's father.

Mohapatra said, "My daughter is a talented student and cherished the dream to study in Navodaya Vidyalaya because it is the best school in our area. Why should she cook stories?"

Source:Times of India

E-admission process kicks off in Orissa colleges

E-admission has become a reality in Orissa as the irst selection list of the students was published on Monday. Around 28261 students have been selected in the first phase to make entry under the e-admission policy for 60 Junior colleges in the state this year. The selection list of the students was published on Monday.

For the first time in the country, the Orissa government introduced e-admission process for entry to 60 junior colleges across the state for the 2009-10 academic session. The new system would reduce the cost of admission and feeling of uncertainty among the aspiring students.

Sources said that 49172 applications were received for 30804 seats (of all streams) in the 60 colleges. The first phase admission would be held on August 9 and 10. Final admission would be held between August 10 and 14. The second phase selection list would come out on August 16. Admission would take place on August 21. Classes would start on August 31.

It may be mentioned that the 60 colleges, included all the 50 government junior colleges, Basic Science Junior College under Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology and nine aided junior colleges in the district headquarters of Rayagada, Nowarangpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara.

I am not a fool: Shilpa

The authorities of Orissa's revered Gopinath Deb temple at Sakhigopal filed a complaint recently against Shilpa Shetty accusing her of having walked into the temple with footwear on and hurting religious sentiments. The authorities filed the FIR at Satyabadi police station.

However, Shilpa insists that they were being biased against her. "I know one should enter a temple with taking your shoes off. In fact, we were supposed to be shooting inside the temple, but the punditjis raised an objection, so we shot on the steps outside. I had kept my footwear in my car, as I didn't want to wear them even in the vicinity of the temple! I had no footwear on when we shot the whole scene," says Shilpa. "Later, I decided to enter the temple without the footwear of course to take God's darshan. How could I not go and visit the temple when I was there? But I don't know what happened, when I came out, one of the guys started screaming,
'How could she be allowed inside?' I didn't know why he was making such a fuss. Thankfully, my bodyguard took me to safety quickly. And the next thing I know was that a case was filed against me that I entered the temple with footwear on!"

She adds, "This is preposterous! I am a spiritually inclined person and I know the temple laws very well. I am not a fool to enter a temple with my footwear on. This is rubbish. They are just looking for attention."

Then on a lighter note, Shilpa says, "It's all right, I am getting used to controversies now. Wherever I go, one is created."

IAS officer suicide: Orissa Police team to visit Delhi

A police team from Orissa is likely to visit Delhi shortly to find clues to ascertain the reason behind alleged killing of four family members by a senior IAS officer and his suicide two days ago, police said on Sunday.

The team would visit the residence of Jagdanand Panda, a 1983-batch Orissa cadre IAS officer in its bid to find clues to ascertain the reason behind the extreme step taken by him, Bargarh Superintendent of Police Ashok Biswal said.

If necessary, the team could record statements of certain people in Delhi and also conduct inquiry at the office of Panda, who was Protector General of Emigrants, sources said.

They said the ballistic experts from Bhubaneswar, who conducted thorough investigation at Panda's house in his native village Deogaon near here on Friday, indicated that the slain family members of the 54-year-old officer had been shot when they were asleep.

There are indications that Panda's wife Surekha had been killed first, probably when she was sitting on a sofa, while his father and two sisters were shot subsequently before the bureaucrat pointed the gun at himself, they said.

The lone survivor is Panda's 22-year-old son Swapneswar, who is in a state of coma and undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, police said.

The IAS officer was apparently depressed due to CBI raids on his office and residential premises, they said.

Orissa temple authorities file case against Shilpa Shetty

Actress Shilpa Shetty is in trouble. Authorities of the Sakhigopal temple in Orissa on Friday lodged a police complaint against the actress.

The temple authorities have raised objections to Shetty entering the shrine with armed guards and lensmen who had their shoes on.

According to temple authorities, Shetty was told that entering the shrine with shoes and that use of camera was prohibited but the actress reportedly paid no heed to the priests.

A complaint has been lodged at Satyabadi police station in Orissa's Puri district.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation. Yesterday, in the evening, a group of people, filmstars came for a shooting of a serial. Cameras, arms, guns, caps are prohibited in the premises of the temple,” said MLA of Satyawadi constituency, Prasad Harichandan.