Odisha Wildlife - Satkosia Gorge and Tiger Reserve

The Satkosia Gorge along the river Mahanadi, passes through Angul, Boudh, Cuttack and Nayagarh districts in central Orissa and is the natural habitat for the two endangered fresh water crocodilian species, the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and Mugger (Crocodylus palustris). In order to protect the dwindling crocodile population, the Forest Department of the Government of Orissa with technical support from the UNDP and FAO decided to start a breeding programme of crocodiles during March 1974.

As a part of this joint conservation initiative, the Gharial Research and Conservation Unit (GRACU) was started during March 1975. The GRACU had done pioneering work in crocodile conservation in India. The activities include Conservation Breeding; releasing of reared crocodiles into the wild and its rehabilitation had been some of the challenging activities carried out by the centre.

Thereafter in 1976 due to the immense biodiversity values, the dense forest lands on both sides of the river Mahanadi along the gorge was declared as the Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. Subsequently the two adjoining sanctuaries namely the Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and Baisipalli sanctuary were combinly and declared as Satkosia Tiger Reserve during December, 2007.

Core area of the Tiger Reserve lies within Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. The reserve is spread over 4 districts; Angul, Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh. The tiger reserve has an area of 964 sq km with 524 sq km as core area.

Tikarpada: Enclosing the mighty Satkosia gorge where the Mahanadi plunges into the Eastern Ghats, the Tikarpada Sanctuary is a very popular sanctuary visited by tourists. The Mahanadi cuts through 22 km of the multi-hued collage of sal trees in Tikarpada, and a visit to the sanctuary is an awesome experience.

Boating, white water rafting, fish angling and treks through the lush forest are activities one can indulge in at the sanctuary. The Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is actively conserving and breeding the endangered species of the crocodiles in the Mahanadi eco system in Tikarpada. Though tigers are rarely sighted now, the wildlife within the sanctuary includes the Indian adjutant stroke, red jungle fowl and Indian pitta.

Located at a convenient distance of 120 kms from Dhenkanal and 58 kms from Angul, tourists can proceed to Saptasajya, a scenic picnic spot. The Saptarshi and Raghunath temples in the vicinity are also frequented by tourists visiting the sanctuary.

While the forest lodge is located within the forest, you can choose to camp out in the open with the special permission of the forest office.

Access:

The main entry gate of the Tiger reserve at Pampasar, is 30 Kms from Angul. One can approach, the southern portion of the reserve from Nayagarh, which is 80 Kms from the State Capital. From Nayagarh, the Tiger reserve can be approached through the entry gate at Chhamundia, which is 60 Kms from Nayagarh. One can also approach from Angul side via Village Ogi and reach directly to Tikarpada via land route. The nearest Railway station is Angul and the nearest Airport is at Bhubaneswar.

Accommodations

1. Nature Camps

Camping facilities are available at Tikarpada and Purnakote. At Tikarpada, the camp is pitched on the middle of the breathtaking gorge along the pristine sand banks of river Mahanadi. An overnight stay is fascinating and unforgettable.

Camps have double bedded tents with toilets and water supply. Camps are run by local community groups. Visitors are advised to book the facilities in advance.

2. Reservation:

For reservations contact Ecotourism Cell, Satkosia Wildlife Division, Hakimpada, Angul, Orissa 759143, India. Phone: 08763102681 Email:dfosatkosiawl@yahoo.co.in

For reservations at the Nature camp, Tikarpada, Chhotkei, Purunakote, the Guests can sent the reservation charges in the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour of Ecotourism Cell, payable at Angul, Orissa.

Reservations at Nature Camp, Purnakote can be made directly at the Ecotourism Cell, Satkosia Wildlife Division, Hakimpada, Angul.

Note: Guests need to produce photo identify cards (PAN card, voter ID card etc) of any of the team members during reservation. 

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a hit in Odisha

Business Standard reported yesterday that more than 500,000 bank accounts have been opened in Odisha under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a pet project of Prime Minister Modi. This program has been projected as the first step for a comprehensive scheme for financial inclusion. On the day of launch of the scheme, over 62,000 accounts were opened.

Jual Oram, Union minister for tribal affairs along with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who inaugurated the program said that “more than 62,720 bank accounts have been opened on the launching day and about 50 launching events are organised throughout the state,”.

The banks having operations in Odisha have overshot the target of 400,000 bank accounts allotted by the Union government to the state. More than 500,000 accounts have been opened in Odisha under the scheme, said Arun Kaul, chairman and managing director of UCO Bank. Data compiled by State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Odisha shows that 497,623 accounts have been opened in the state till August 27 through 3,010 camps.

UCO Bank, the SLBC convenor, has opened the most number of accounts (89,720) followed by State Bank of India (SBI) with 81,276 new accounts.

Among others, Bank of India has opened 32,179 new accounts under the scheme while Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank  have opened 28,744 and 24,704 accounts respectively. In toto, PSU banks have opened 431,734 accounts while private sector banks and regional rural banks under the mission mode project, have opened 4,495 accounts and 61,394 accounts respectively.

Besides bank accounts, the other benefits under the scheme includes  RuPay debit card, Rs 1 lakh accidental insurance cover and an additional Rs 30,000 life insurance cover for those opening bank accounts before January 26, 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik assured of all support from the state government for the gigantic task of covering unbanked households.

“I wish all success in their endeavour and assure them of all help and support from the state government in achieving the goal of universal financial inclusion in the state,” he said.

The chief minister also called upon the banks for opening of brick and mortar branches in all unbanked gram panchayats of the state within the specified time frame (March 31, 2019).

The SLBC has allotted 4,597 gram panchayats to the banks with operations in the state for opening of branches by March 31. For accommodating the branches, banks will be provided Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras free of cost for five years.

Launching the progarmme in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that though the initial target of PMJDY was to open bank accounts for 75 million families in one year, he had exhorted that the concerned officials to complete the task before January 26, 2015.  About 15 million bank accounts was opened on the day of launch of the scheme.

Supreme Court order on Coal Mines going to affect Odisha

On 25th Aug 2014 (Monday), India's Supreme Court ruled that all coal mining licences awarded between 1993 and 2010 are illegal and will now examine whether some or all 218 permits should be revoked. In the ruling, the high court said that successive governments gave rights to mine coal to state and private companies in a style that was “not fair and transparent” and without competitive bidding.

The court is also expected to rule on possible fines on firms currently holding those permits, most of which have not been developed, as mines in remote rural areas proved too costly to bring into operation.

But in the process of allocating those licences, India has become tangled in accusations of corruption and mishandling.In the past twenty years India has granted coal blocks to a range of companies in sectors such as power and steelmaking, partly to overcome fuel shortages stemming from its inefficient and state-dominated mining sector.

Coal dependent Odisha

India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world and more than half of its commercial energy needs are met by the fossil fuel. The coal-rich regions include huge swathes of eastern states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, and pockets in the central and southern parts of the country. 

Coal mines in Odisha are already reeling under regular protests by the local populations who are demanding compensations against the damages caused to their lifestyles due to mining activities. In Talcher area of Angul, there was a 3 days protest by locals that was brought under control after assurance by the management from the coal mining companies to compensate the people suitably. However, sources reports that still people are not happy and may go for protests soon.

Under such circumstances, state like Odisha that very much depends on the revenue for mining activities will go down for sure that will affect developmental activities in the state. This opinion by SC is definitely a headache for the naveen Patnaik government in Odisha.