Odia Palm Leaf Manuscripts now available online through e-Pothi Project

Here is a great news for all those who love Odia Classical literary works from various fields or who wants to do pre-modern research related to Eastern India, especially of Odisha.The Odisha government, has now, through the state museum's homepage, made available the catalog of all those priceless palm leaf manuscripts in Odia and other languages like Sanskrit. You can order the paper version or soft copy version of the work from the http://www.odishamuseum.nic.in/ homepage. 

The unique and rare palm leaf manuscripts of Odisha will now be accessible at the click of a mouse. As many as 40,000 manuscripts in possession of the Odisha State Museum have been digitised, e-catalogued and hosted on the Web through a dedicated webpage, e-Pothi.

Embedded in the website of Odisha State Museum - odishamuseum.nic.in - some of the categories under which those can be accessed are Illustrate Manuscripts, Sanskrit Purana, Tantra, Veda, Odia Literature, Shilpasastra, Jyotisha, Grammar, Ganita, Dharmasastra, Darshan and Ayurveda.

e-Pothi, a project of the Culture Department and implemented by National Informatics Centre (NIC), will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday.

This works like an online catalogue, where a visitor can search based on author, subject or even category and get access to the manuscripts. A visitor can get access to the first and last page of an individual manuscript and if he wants to read or take copies of the manuscripts for research purpose, there is a facility for online purchase through payment. Charges will be higher for commercial use of the digitised format of manuscripts.

At the State Museum, the manuscripts have been categorised under 27 sections and showcased at the Palm Leaf Manuscripts gallery, all of which would be available online now.

Last year, a dedicated webpage on Jaydev’s Geeta Govinda manuscript was launched by the Culture Department, which was also integrated into the State Museum website. While the first 20 to 25 pages of Geeta Govinda can be downloaded free of cost, the rest would be charged.

Politicization over Odisha IIM continues

The politics over site selection of the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Odisha continues as as many as 12 locations have now come up as the possible sites for this prestigious institute. 

Few days before the government of Odisha had identified six locations as the possible sites for the institute, but even before its establishment, the IIM Odisha has already become a talking point in various circles. Politicians and academicians have been feverishly pitching for locating the elite institute in their respective areas of influence.

The state government has identified 12 locations in six districts for setting up of the proposed campus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) announced for Odisha. The collectors of six districts - Sundargarh, Koraput, Cuttack, Khurda, Sambalpur and Ganjam, have sent two proposals each to the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation(Idco) as ideal locations, for setting up the premier institute.

Initially, Idco, the state's land acquisition agency, had written to collectors of four districts - Cuttack, Khurda, Sambalpur and Ganjam for identifying 200 acres of litigation free land in their districts.Later, industries secretary Vishal Dev had directed the collectors of Sundargarh and Koraput for identification of land for IIM near Rourkela and Jeypore.

After receiving the proposals, the employment and technical education & training department has forwarded it to the state chief secretary G C Pati for taking a final call on identifying three suitable locations.

Though the final call to zero in on a site for IIM Odisha will be taken by the Centre's site selection committee, the state government now faces an uphill task to shortlist 2-3 locations.

In July, the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced establishment of five new IIMs, including one in Odisha in the General Budget.

Following the announcement, the human resource development ministry in a letter to the Odisha government, had asked to provide free land measuring 200 acres for establishment of IIM. The ministry had set riders for selecting the land- it should be free from litigation and situated in a city that offers good rail, road and air connectivity.

IIM Odisha has already been added as a choice for candidates appearing the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) in November this year.

Odisha discusses about Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada Common Corridor Project despite protests

Despite huge resentment from the local people against the mining activities in the Chendipada block of Angul district, the State Government recently decided to take up the proposed Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada Common Corridor Project in partnership with the Railways.

Located in Angul district, home to one of the country’s largest coal deposits, the proposed coal block contains an estimated 12 million tonnes of coal and a life of 48 years. The mineral lies beneath 7,500 acres of a thriving agrarian economy across nine villages. These are home to more than 10,000 people, whose education and relative prosperity put them in the rural middle class, with capabilities and resources to assert their rights.

The tract was marked out as the Machhakata Coal Block by the Ministry of Coal, one of several coal blocks created in this area, and was allotted in 2006 to MahaGuj Collieries Ltd, a public sector power company jointly formed by the Maharashtra and Gujarat state governments.

Click on this link for details about the protests reported on 11 September 2014 at the Chendipada block.

The proposed project discussed at a meeting at the Secretariat was presided over by Chief Secretary GC Pati and attended by officials of the railways and State Government.

The financial feasibility report of the 162 km  common corridor project was also discussed. “It has been decided that the project will be taken up in partnership between the State Government and the Indian Railways,” Pati said and directed the officials to prepare a definite proposal for approval of the State Government.

The Rs 1,240 crore project which will be implemented by IDCO will require 6,200 acres of land. The corridor will cater to the transport requirement of 32 coal blocks in the area besides saving substantial amount as transportation expenditure. Official sources said the corridor will handle coal traffic in excess of 100 million tonnes a year. The corridor will be connected with the rail heads at Jharpada, Angul and Budhapanka. As many as 55 industries, including steel plants and power projects, would be benefited by the project.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of different railway projects in the State keeping in view Nabakalebar festival next year.

Pati asked the Collectors and SPs of districts concerned to provide required assistance in distribution of compensation and ground-level operations.

The projects included doubling of Delang-Puri, Khurda-Barang (3rd line), Cuttack-Barang, Raja Athagarh-Barang, Titilagarh-Raipur, Sambalpur-Titilagarh, Sambalpur-Talcher and Bansapani-Tomka-Jakhapura rail lines. Budget allocations have been made against all these projects during  2014-15.  As per the decision taken at the meeting, the antisocial elements creating bottlenecks in implementation of the projects would be  strongly dealt with.

IIM Odisha - Politics of Land Selection

Which part of Odisha will host Odisha IIM as proposed by MHRD, Govt. of India? It seems there is lot of politics going on for the last selections. 

Is the Biju Janata Dal Government playing politics over selection of land for the proposed Indian Institute of Management in Odisha to keep the people of different regions in good humour and throwing the ball to Centre’s court? The answer seems to be in the affirmative.

Even though the Centre had asked the State to suggest “two to three” suitable locations for the purpose, it has so far asked as many as six District Collectors to identify land for the proposed educational institution to keep the people of different regions happy for the time being.

While the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) on Tuesday asked the District Collectors of Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam and Sambalpur to identify suitable locations by September 10, the organisation on Wednesday wrote to the District Collectors of Sundergarh and Koraput asking them to identify land suitable for the establishment of the IIM.

According to political analysts, the State government has asked six Collectors to identify 200 acres of land for the IIM in view of the growing demand by the people living in Rourkela, Sambalpur, Jeypore and Berhampur who were opposed to the establishment of the proposed IIM near Bhubaneswar.

It is clear that by suggesting land in as many as six districts the BJD government was trying to save itself from criticism because it was the Union Human Resource Development Department that would take a final view on the issue and select one location for the B-School.

A politically smart move has been adopted by the State government as people from different regions, led by their elected representatives, had approached Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to highlight their demand that the proposed IIM be established in their region.

Union Human Resource Development Department secretary Ashok Thakur had asked Odisha Chief Secretary in July last week to suggest suitable locations free of cost and free from all encumbrances. The location identified should have necessary physical and social infrastructure which includes good roads, rail and air connectivity, Mr. Thakur had said.

Interestingly, the BJD government in its previous term had written to the Centre to consider two regions — Western and Southern — for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the Orissa High Court after demand in this regard was made by lawyers in several areas across the State.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders too were indulging in similar political gimmicks by extending support to the people’s demand for the new IIM near different towns.

Model Schools in all 314 Blocks in Odisha

The Odisha government is making constructive efforts towards augmenting the education quality at the school level. In its bid to upgrade standard of Odisha students, the state government today decided to open model schools in all the 314 blocks on the pattern of central schools, official sources said.

Under the centrally sponsored model school scheme, these schools will be set up under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode in all 314 blocks of the state on the pattern of central schools that aims at up-gradation of standard of Odisha students.

Besides English and Odia, the students would be imparted education in Hindi and Sanskrit languages, the minister said adding that the model schools will be run through a special society similar to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) that runs central schools, he added.

This was decided at a high level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here. "The state government will spend Rs 190 crore this fiscal for the purpose of construction of 162 model schools," school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra told reporters today.

Stating that 50 per cent of seats in such model schools will be reserved for the girl students, Mishra said arrangements were being made to construct ladies hostels close to the schools.

Apart from this, each school in Odisha will have green fencing and kitchen garden at their school premises, the Minister said. He suggested that the School Health programme should be integrated with Red Cross for conduct of blood grouping tests at school level.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary of School and Mass Education Department Smt Usha Padhee proposed that JRC counsellors of each school should ensure proper hand wash before mid-day meal. Besides, she also stressed on creattion of Eco-Club in the schools.

Chief Minister Patnaik has also directed the school and mass education department to create a separate cadre for the faculty members. Besides usual courses, the model schools would have provision for vocational training.

The model schools would have classes from standard VI to XII, the minister said. Hopefully, these model schools will set a trend among other government schools already in a pathetic conditions to model themselves in the line of these model schools.

Child labour problem in Odisha - 21 Minors Rescued from Mumbai

The problem of human trafficking in various forms is not new in Odisha, a state that is considered one of the poorest in India. Many poor from several parts of the state leave Odisha every year searching for jobs. While many of them get low paying jobs at various parts of India, but many other falls in the hands of human traffickers who cheat these helpless poor to do various  activities in violation of labor laws. 

While poor women from Odisha have been reported to forcibly brought into prostitution trade, but the most often reported issues are one related to labor rights  violations involving child laborer. In the recent past, there are several cases invloving children from Odisha who are are forced to work as bonded laborer in many factories of South and Western Indian states. 

Despite this, Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha is yet to come up with a plan about how to solve this acute problem involving the lives of many kids.

Following is another such problem involving child labor reported by The Hindu.

Twenty one minor labourers from Odisha, facing physical and mental torture, have been rescued in Mumbai this past week. Twenty of them are girls.

A team from Odisha, consisting of police officers and child right activists, has reached Mumbai to take them back home. Speaking to The Hindu from Mumbai, a member of Gajapati district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and member of the team, Bhagyalaxmi Nayak, said all the rescued have been kept in a child care home.

“We have met and interacted with them. All of them want to return to their homes. They will be produced before the Mumbai CWC on Monday and we will take their custody,” said Ms Nayak.
Of the rescued, 11 are from Gajapati district, five from Kandhamal, two from Dhenkanal and one each from Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts.

All of them are from poor families. They were lured by promises of good wage and better life by some middlemen.

They were working in a packaging unit in Mumbai on monthly wages ranging from Rs. 3000 to 5000. They alleged physical and mental torture at the work place. They were working and living without any basic amenities and health care facilities.

About a month back, one of them had escaped and reached his home in Kandhamal district. The latest rescue operation was based on the information provided by him.

The racket of luring minors from remote areas of Odisha to outside the State by dubious middlemen continues. Twenty six girls, including nine minors, were rescued by Childline activists from Berhampur railway station on August 23 while they were being sent to Tamil Nadu.

On August 1, Childline activists had rescued 16 girls from the same railway station while they were being taken to outside the State.

New tourists attractions in Odisha

As many as six new tourist attractions are officially added by the High Power Selection Committee of the Odisha Tourism department today in the state tourism map. Most of these places are religious places attracting large number of tourists from within the state.

The six tourist places are Amco-Simko in Sundargarh district, Andhabara and Gotheswar Peeth in Kendrapara and Bindhyabasini, Giri Gobardhan and Baseikelagarh in Bargarh district.

The approval of the Committee came after reviewing the recommendation of the collectors of these three districts.

With this, the number of tourist places approved by the state Tourism department has gone up to 346.

Nearly 5 lakh tourists throng the Andhabara Peeth in Kendrapara district while the Gotheswar Peeth witnesses a footfall of nearly 4 lakh tourists every year. Amco-Simco in Sundargarh district is a historical site that draws a large number of tourists every year. The local residents pay homage to the 29 tribal peasants, who had sacrificed their lives during the struggle against British rule.

Bindhyabasini in Bargarh district is a religious and historical site while the Giri Gobardhan Peeth situated atop the Giri Gobardhan hill is a religious place where people worship Lord Gobardhan.

Besides, the Baseikelagarh in the district is a historical site where freedom fighter Vir Surendra Sai had waged a guerrilla war against the British along with his associates.

A large number of tourists from Chhattisgarh and other neighbouring states visit this place every year.