Saraswati Namastubhyam

Varade Kamarupini

Vidyarambam Karishyami

Siddhir Bhavatu Me Sada

Saraswatyei Mahamaye Vidye Kamalalochane

Padma Patram Vishalakshi Vidyam Dehi

Namastute.


Thursday, February 28, 2008

Orissa neglected in Railway Budget:Protests Everywhere

Oriya MPs staged Dharna in Parliament:
While the BJP Yuva Morcha vehemently opposed the Railway Budget by organising rail-roko throughout the State for more than eight hours on Wednesday, BJD-BJP MPs staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the premises of Parliament. The MPs alleged that while the Railways earned huge revenue from the State, it could not even spend one fourth of it for the growth of Railways in the State. The State contributes nearly Rs 6,000 crore to the Railways as revenue per annum. The Railway Authority earned the revenue mostly from transportation of coals and minerals.In the Budget, the Railways even neglected the cause of the industrialisation process of Orissa. Most of the industrialised places have not come under the network. The most important rail connectivity from Kirtania to Dhamra has not been taken up. All the ongoing projects have only received a meagre amount for their completion. During the agitation, the MPs raised slogans against the UPA Government and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in particular, for their stepmotherly attitude towards the cause of Orissa.
"We will continue to oppose the Railway Budget," said BJD MP Braja Kishore Tripathy, adding that the agitation against the UPA Government would be further intensified. While the State Government had demanded Rs 1,330 crore, only Rs 972 crore was earmarked for the development of rail network in the State. BJD MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra said Orissa had been neglected by the UPA Government. "While the State requires fund for the growth of rail network in the State, it has only received half of it," Mohapatra said. BJP MP Rudra Naryan Pani said while other States receive nearly Rs 1,900 crore, Orissa has not even got half of it. Among others who were present during the agitation included Arjun Sethi, Brahmananda Panda, Prasanna Acharya, Kharabela Swain, Sangita Singh Deo, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pramila Bohidar, Bhartuhari Mahatab and Prasanna Patsani.

Train Services Disrupted across Orissa:

In protest against the Railway Budget of 2008-09, hundreds of workers of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party and Kalinga Sena on Wednesday disrupted train services at several major locations of the State while blocking the railway tracks.The protesters, carrying placards bearing Lalu Prasad Hai Hai, early in the morning stopped several Orissa-bound trains at city railway station here and threatened for a massive agitation against the Railway Ministry for its injustice towards the State.
The activists rushed to railway stations in Bhubaneswar, Jatni, Balasore, Ganjam, Khurda, Kalahandi and Berhampur and stopped all trains. Several trains were delayed due to the strike."Last year, the Railway Minister had promised to introduce a Garib Rath in Orissa, but it never materialised," BJYM State president Bibhudutta Jena said. The State has been allocated an inadequate Rs 9.72 billion against its demand of Rs 13 billion, he pointed out, adding, "The Railway Minister has not given attention to the genuine demands of backward southern and western parts of the State." BJD and Kalinga Sena activists also staged demonstrations at other railway stations across the State. Meanwhile, official sources in East Coast Railway informed that 20 trains were running behind the schedule and the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Inter City Express had been cancelled for the day. Trains that were delayed included Palasa-Bhubaneswar passenger, Cuttack-Paradeep passenger, Bhubaneswar-Khallikote and Berhampur-Bhadrak, ECoR sources added.

Western Orissa disappointed :

Although Lalu Prasad's Railway Budget does not envisage any hike in both passenger and freight fares and extends concessions for different categories of people, it is quite a disappointing one for the people of western Orissa, especially for those of Balangir district.
The much-talked-about and long-awaited Khurda-Balangir rail line project, which could ensure economic progress of this region, has been allocated a meagre sum of Rs 33 crore, which is very small amount in comparison to its total cost of more than Rs 900 crore.
"The allocation for the Khurda-Balangir railway line is inadequate and it should have been hiked further, pointed out DCC general secretary Hemant Panda, while welcoming the others features of the Budget.
The Budget is also disappointing as not a single demand, presented to Railway by the Divisional Railway Users' Consultant Committee recently, has been fulfiled.
According to sources, the Consultant Committee, which met on January 30, 2008, had submitted demands keeping in view the requirements of the people. The demands include trains from Puri to Allahabad via Vizianagarm and Titilagarh and Sambalpur to Hyderabad via Titilagarh, attachment of bogie in Sarnarth Express from Sambalpur, halting of all trains for five minutes at Kesinga and new railway line from Bargarh to Nuapada via Padampur."It is unfortunate that not a single demand has been fulfiled although raised much earlier through proper channel, lamented a member of Consultant Committee member.

Number of Dolphins increases in Chilika Lake

The Pioneer,BBSR(28th):
The number of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake has increased to 138 against last year figure of 135, Forest Department officials said on Wednesday after a two-day-long census at the world's largest lagoon. The census was carried out with help from scientists from Japan University, Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, Natural History Society, Mumbai, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and a few other organisations.
The census was carried out with head count as well as by using a system that records the sound of the dolphins, officials said, adding that 18 teams participated in the exercise. Irrawaddy dolphins were first recorded in this lake in 1915.
Although dolphins in Chilika are not hunted for their meat, mechanised fishing trawlers and tourist boats with large propellers often affect the mammals. The Irrawaddy dolphins are estimated to be less than 1,000 in the world.
Apart from Chilika, Irrawaddy dolphins are also found in the Songkhla Lake in Thailand. While it is difficult to spot them in Thailand, the dolphins can be easily sighted in Orissa. Adult Irrawaddy dolphins range in length from two metres to 2.75 metres and are thought to reach sexual maturity at the age of three or four years.
Adult females probably have only one calf every two to three years, officials said. The Chilika Lake, about 100 km from the State Capital, is spread over Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of the State and is home to the largest congregation of migratory birds in the country.

GlobalOriya lends Interview Skill support to Oriya students

The Pioneer, BBSR(28th):
Hesitancy while talking the interviews is really a major weakness among Oriya boys and girls. The lacuna is coming their way while they aspire for top jobs. So, GlobalOriya Bangalore is organising free coaching classes for the IT job aspirants from Orissa. These classes are intended to clarify technical doubts and teach a particular technology and language in a systematic way. The programme has been going on since 2006. More than 300 Oriya boys and girls have already got jobs in the Bangalore IT industry.
GlobalOriya plans to take this activity a step ahead by making some improvements in the existing processes and devising some special mentoring programmes. Various areas like technical skill evaluation, soft skill evaluation and training and feedback on resume have been identified for the purpose, said the coordinator of the programme.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Orissa again cheated in Railway Budget-2008-09

The Pioneer,BBSR(27thFeb):
The Union Ministry of Railway has allocated Rs 972.34 crore for the development of Railways in Orissa in its Budget though the State Government had demanded Rs 1,330 crore.
The funds will be used for construction of new lines, gauge conversion, doubling and electrification during 2008-09. Though Railway Minister Lalu Prasad proposed introduce 10 Garib Raths, no Garib Rath was introduced for Orissa. "Where is the Garib Rath," asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in his reaction.
However, the Railway Ministry has introduced new four trains for the State. The new trains are Bhubaneshwar-Mumbai Express (bi-weekly) via Sambalpur, Puri-Darbhanga Weekly Express, Paradip-Bhubaneswar Express (daily) and Keonjhar -Puri Express (daily).
Though the State Government demanded an increase in frequency of six trains, the Railway Ministry has agreed to increase the frequency of only two trains. The two trains are Rajdhani Express (2421/2422) from two days to three days and Baripada-Bhubaneswar (three days to six days). Railway Authority will take up survey works for Junagarha- Ambuguda, Khurda road- Raj Athgarh, Kanatabanjhi-Rajkhariar, Ambapani- Nawarangpur- Jeypore and Banspani- Barbil.
In the Railway Budget, Rs 242.43 crore has been allocated for the completion of the ongoing projects. But this amount is not enough to complete the projects. No emphasis has been given to expedite the rail projects in the industrial belt. Rs 20 crore has been allotted for Daitari-Bansapni, Rs 35 crore for Lanjigarh Road- Junagarh, Rs 32.43 crore for Khurda Road- Balangir, Rs 80 crore for Haridaspur-Paradip, Rs 60 crore for Angul- Duburi- Sukinda Road, Rs 10 crore for Talcher- Bimlagarh and Rs 5 crore for the Koraput- Rayagada project. Rs 40 crore has been allotted for Rupsa- Bnagriposi rail gauge conversion and Rs 10.41 crore for Nuapada -Gunpur.
In the Railway Budget, more funds have been allotted for doubling of line. While the Orissa Government demanded Rs 500 crore for these works, Rs 641.10 crore has been allotted for doubling of line. State Commerce and Transport Minister Jaynaryan Mishra said the Union Rail Ministry had enhanced the allocation in order to meet its own interest and not Orissa's interest.
Rs 641.10 crore has been allotted for 18 doubling projects for 2008-09 as against Rs 449.51 crore for 2007-08. Rs 38.30 crore has been allocated to take up electrification works.
For the year 2008-09, two new doublings namely Banspani- Joruli, Jharsuguda- Champa 3rd line have been sanctioned. Earlier, the State Government had requested Ministry of Railways to sanction nine new rail links, doubling of three new rail links and electrification of four new rail links.

Bar Council approves KIIT School of Law at Bhubaneswar

The Pioneer,BBSR(27thFeb)
KIIT University has fast emerged as a diversified educational conglomerate offering academic programmes from kindergarten to post-doctorate level. The KIIT School of Law (KSL), which was established in 2007 on the pattern of the National Law Schools to meet the surging demand for legal professionals in the wake of globalisation and rapid expansion of corporate sector and influx of multinationals in the country, has now been recognised by the Bar Council of India (BCI) for its academic programmes.
As KSL is a national-level law school, it was inspected last year by a high-level BCI team, headed by its chairman S Gopakumaran Nair and former chairman Jagannath Patnaik. The team observed with great satisfaction the curricula and infrastructure of the school, leading to its approval.
As per the letter of approval, 80 seats each were sanctioned for the five-year integrated programmes leading to BA LLB, BBA LLB and BSc LLB degrees from the 2007 academic year onwards. In addition, KSL also offers LLM, PG Diploma and PhD. Its first batch attracted students from as many as 20 States.
KSL is guided by the vision of Prof NL Mitra, former director, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, and Founder Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Jodhpur. He is the chairman of the Advisory Committee of KSL.
The school is headed by distinguished academician Prof Faizan Mustafa, former Dean and Registrar, Aligarh Muslim University. KSL is in the process of establishing collaborations with leading international law schools for joint programmes and research, Prof Mustafa informed. Expressing his gratitude to the BCI, A Samanta, Founder Secretary of KIIT, said a third generation five-year integrated law curriculum, eagerly awaited by the students of the State, is now available at their doorsteps.

New VCs for Utkal,Fakir Mohan and North Orissa University

The Hindu,BBSR,(27th Feb):
Dr. Binayak Rath, professor of economics in IIT Kanpur, has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University.
Mr. Rath would replace L. N. Mishra who was continuing as acting VC after his tenure was over. Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare appointed two other new VCs .
Retired professor of Personnel Management and Industrial Relation of Utkal University, Sukanti Priya Patnaik would head Fakir Mohan University and Siba Prasad Rath, professor of Botany in Utkal University, would take over as new VC of North Orissa University.

Rail Budget for Orissa is Disappointing :Orissa CM

The Hindu,BBSR,(27th Feb)
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday termed the railway budget proposals for Orissa `disappointing’ saying several demands of the State had not been paid attention to.Mr. Patnaik pointed out that no new rail link had been sanctioned for the State. He expressed dissatisfaction over non-allotment of a Garib Rath train for the State. “Where has the Garib Rath gone?”.A sum of Rs. 972 crore had been earmarked for Orissa in the railway budget as against the State’s demand for Rs. 1,330 crores, Mr. Patnaik said. The Chief Minister pointed out that the backward Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput region had again been neglected in the railway budget. Several naxal-affected districts were also ignored, he added.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Special Development Package for Kandhamal announced by Mr Naveen Patnaik

Orissa Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik announced a package for the trouble torn Kandhamal district. The package includes setting up of a B Ed College at Phulbani ,the district head quarter of Kandhamal,a Vocational Training Institute, a Horticulture Development Training Center and a Nursery to provide saplings to people. Decisions to this effect were taken at a high level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister.With the help of the State Employment Mission, training programmes would be implemented for enhancing the skills of the unemployed youths of the district.. The aim is to develop Education, Agriculture, Horticulture and to provide Self Employment opportunities to the youths of Kandhamal district.
Inputs from-The Statesman,The Pioneer (26th Feb)

Advanced Scientific Research Centre in Bhubaneswar soon

The Pioneer(26th Feb):
The State Government has decided to set up an Advanced Scientific Research Centre in Bhubaneswar. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday at the State Secretariat. The centre will be developed with the collaboration of Noval Research Centre of Washington and the State Government's Science and Technology Department. Dr.Bhaktabandhu Rath of Noval Research Centre will provide the necessary help. The State Government will provide one acre of land for the upcoming Research Centre. Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bijay Patnaik attended the meeting.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Use latest technology to improve Higher Education:Orissa Governor

Pioneer News Service Balasore
Education has become an instrument for liberating the mind and facilitating generation of scientific temperament and rational national culture as also the mindset and ultimately lead to positive changes," said Governor MC Bhandare addressing the fourth convocation of the Fakir Mohan University as its Chancellor on Saturday.
Stressing on the challenge in the task to improve higher education with advanced technological skills, he spoke on the need of using satellite communication, internet, teleconferencing and audiovisual aids, which can further add in setting of preferential goals of education. He further added that teachers, besides playing a vital role in shaping the career of students, should ensure that their students are well received by employers at the national as well as international level, for which they should review the course curriculum from time to time.
Chairman of UGC Prof Sukhadeo Thorat informed that the 11th Commission is focusing on strengthening higher education and has outlined grants for colleges and universities situated in tribal and remote rural villages. He also informed that eight out of 10 universities and 251 out of 700 colleges were eligible for the UGC grant. He further added that the State Government should provide adequate funds to the colleges, which along with the funds provided by the UGC, would be sufficient for all their needs. The vice-chancellor of the university Prof Sukadev Nanda gave the welcome speech.
Supreme Court Justice Arijit Pasayat was conferred with LLD and UGC chairman Prof Sukhdeo Thorat and eminent economist and vice-chairman of planning board Kerala Prof Prabhat Patnaik were conferred with D Litt on the occasion. Eminent DRDO scientist W Selvamurthy was conferred with the Doctor of S0cience (D Sc) degree for his outstanding contribution in field of science.
The Governor inaugurated the newly constructed building of population studies, staff quarters and the main gate to the university at Nuapadhi.

Education may be a Fundamental Right:Secy,Ministry of HRD

The Pioneer,BBSR,(25th,Feb).
The Union Human Resource Development Ministry is contemplating an amendment to the Constitution to make right to education as a fundamental right. "The aim is to make the right to education legally enforceable in addition to other provisions in the Constitution," Secretary in HRD Ministry Arun Kumar Rath informed during his visit to the State to address the fourth convocation of the North Orissa University at Baripada.
Highest priority is being given to quality education at elementary, secondary and university levels in the 11th Five-year Plan, Rath said, adding that Rs 2.69 lakh crore has been earmarked in the plan for the purpose. "This plan outlay comes close to six per cent of the country's gross domestic product," he said. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, aimed at providing free and universal elementary education to all children, has enrolled 96 per cent children within the age group of six to 14 in schools all over the country, he said. "The Government has taken policy initiative for achievement of universal elementary education," Rath said.
Stressing on construction of new schools and appointment of teachers on a massive scale to bring the school dropouts back, he said efforts are on in this regard by providing cooked food under the mid-day meal scheme to about 10 crore schoolchildren daily in the country.

Orissa eyes Rs1,000-crore investment in IT sector.

BHUBANESWAR: Riding the boom in information technology, Orissa is eyeing at an investment, which will be about four times larger than the existing investment level in the State’s IT sector.
Replying to questions raised by different members in the State Assembly on Saturday, State IT Minister said the Government had obtained investment assurance of Rs.1,000 crore from at least four companies.
The companies, which were going to pump in their money in the State, included Genpact Ltd (Rs. 200 crore), ICICI Easter Regional Hub (Rs. 500 crore), MindTree Consulting Ltd (Rs. 200 crore) and Wipro Ltd (Rs. 100 crore), Mr. Patro informed.
Investment to the tune of Rs. 264.82 crore from 87 companies had so far been grounded in the sector. Of this, Infosys Technologies Limited and Satyam Computer Services Ltd made bulk of the investment with Rs. 200 crore and Rs. 30 crore respectively.Exports
IT exports made by as many as 33 companies in the State from 2004-05 to 2006-07 was estimated to be Rs. 1,578.36 crore, the IT Minister told the Assembly.
Mr. Patro said Infosys and Satyam outperformed rest of the companies in IT exports by touching the figure of Rs. 596 crore and Rs. 80 crore respectively while total export was estimated to be Rs. 731.94 crore during 2006-07.
The growth in IT export, which hovered around 20 per cent between 2004 and 2006, touched 58 per cent in 2006-07, he said.Growth
Admitting that the State Government was not collecting any direct revenues from IT companies, Mr. Patro said the State Government derived benefits such as direct and indirect employment, premium towards land cost, increase of business opportunities in service sector and economic development due to presence of IT companies.
Moreover, the State Government would set up Infopark with 4.2 million square feet built up space near Infocity and the Infopark would provide ready-to-occupy space to the new IT companies keen to start their ventures with least gestation, the IT Minister said.
Report by-The Hindu,25th Feb.08

Bhaba Atomic Research Center(BARC) to join hands with Berhampur University

BARC to join hands with Berhampur varsity
Staff Reporter ,The Hindu
A two member team from BARC visited the varsity
The research may help in growing pest resistant and environment-friendly crops
BERHAMPUR: The Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) of Mumbai and Botany department of Berhampur University would join hands to take up a research project on possible positive impacts of radiation on plants.
A two member expert team from BARC visited the Berhampur University on Saturday to speed up this collaborative effort as the research work would be taken up in the laboratories of botany department of the university. They also held a detailed discussion with the Vice-Chancellor Bijay Kumar Sahu. Later the scientists from BARC attended a seminar on impact of radiation on vegetation organised by the botany department. According to Mr. Sahu this project would put the university in the midst of advanced research works being taken up in the field of bio-sciences in the country. A MoU would be signed between the university and the BARC in near future.
According to Brahma Bihari Panda, professor in Botany, through this research they may be able to bring in genetic mutant changes in breeds of major crops to make them pest resistant, more productive and environment-friendly.,

PG courses in Marine Microbiology & Marine Geophysics in Berhampur University.

OAST proposes PG courses in Marine Microbiology and Marine Geophysics in Berhampur University.
Staff Reporter,The Hindu
BERHAMPUR: The management board of the Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology (OAST) of the Central Ministry of Earth sciences has proposed to open up post graduate courses in marine microbiology and marine geophysics in the Berhampur University.
The authorities of the OAST have also held discussions with the Vice-Chancellor of the University, B.K.Sahu over it.
According to R.C.Panigrahy, Head of the Department of Marine Science of the university, post graduate course in marine microbiology is available only in Annamalai University and marine geophysics course is only available in Andhra Pradesh. So, these two departments would be of great help for students and researchers in the field of marine sciences of eastern India.
The OAST is also taking up two long term research projects with the Marine Science Department of the Berhampur University. One of them is related to the study of population dynamics of marine turtles on Orissa coast.
This research is expected to put some light on the behaviour of endangered marine turtles that come to nest near rookeries on Orissa coast and the reason why they do not nest during some years. Senior scientists of the OAST like V.Sampad and T.J.Pandian would be actively attached with this project. There would also be a study of changes in water quality, benthic fauna, sediments and micro fauna of Rushikulya estuary.Nine centres
The OAST has nine centres in different universities of the country and Berhampur University is one of them. It has also decided to take up projects through other institutions.

Scientific Watch on Naxals in Orissa Forests needed

Geologists for use of GPS to track naxals
Staff Reporter ,The Hindu.
BERHAMPUR: The geologists feel it is high time for security forces in Orissa to monitor the remote naxal-infested areas of the State through Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).
The GPS and the GIS are used extensively for different purposes ranging from exploration of minerals, town planning as well as defence purposes throughout the world including India. Geologist Sunil Ratha said GPS system which uses signals from medium orbit satellites can pinpoint location, speed and direction of movement of any object anywhere.
The Orissa police can use GPS extensively to aid mapping and target tracking naxals throughout the year.
The naxals could be easily tracked down as they use electronic equipments like mobile phones as well as they have ample amount of metal in the forms of weapons with them. “Geologists are able to track mineral deposits through satellite imaging and the same satellite imaging through GPS would be able to track potential naxal targets making movements in forests before they turn hostile,” he said.Powerful tool
Orissa is yet to have a proper mapping of its forests through Geographical Information System (GIS). The GIS is fast emerging a powerful tool.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

CM Naveen Patnaik reacts angrily to MHRD special secretary’s statement; writes to PM again

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer. (Also reported in Statesman.)
… Coming down heavily on the Centre, Patnaik said, "I am surprised to see that decisions are being taken on a political consideration. I have repeatedly taken up the matter of establishing of an IIT in Orissa with the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Human Resources Development (HRD). I have told them that Orissa’s case is a genuine one."
Raising his voice against the Centre, Patnaik said a question should be asked why the Centre shifted the National Institute of Science (NIS), which was sanctioned by the then NDA Government from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata.
Reacting sharply over the remarks of the Union Secretary of HRD that Orissa does not deserve an IIT as it has already got the NISER (National Institute of Science and Educational Research), Patnaik said how could the NIS be shifted to Kolkata when IIT, Kharagpur is already there.
"How West Bengal has taken two such premier institutes? All these decisions have been taken on a political consideration," Patnaik said.
In his letter Patnaik mentioned that as Orissa was witnessing a rapid growth in industrialisation, these technical institutes are required for creating the requisite manpower.

Friday, February 1, 2008

BASANTA PANCHAMI Celebration on 11th February, Monday

Delhi Oriya Students' Association is going to celebrate Basanta Panchami on 11th February, 2008, Monday at University of Delhi (North Campus). Celebration will be packed with a evening full of cultural programmes . You are invited to join the evening and make it a success.

Puja at 3.30 P.M.
Cultural programme 6.30 P.M.

Reach us at:

Tejeswar:9999974473
Gyana:9868368363
Netrananda: 9871164964
N.Agasti:9999691964

mail us at: contactdosa@gmail.com

No IIT for Orissa as it has NISER