While dedicating the facility to the public, Patnaik said it will attract youngsters who have a penchant for adventure sports and go a long way in promoting tourism in Gopalpur as well.
The park, developed at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore, is named after legendary leader Biju Patnaik as an honour to his aviation skills and aptitude for adventures.
One of the main attractions of this adventure park is a ‘River Crossing Zip Line’. The 250-metre-long to and fro zip line, which is first of its kind in the State, will give a panoramic view of the serene and scenic Gopalpur beach.
Besides this, adventure sports lovers can have a quality time as they can have variety of options to feel the thrill like a 40-foot giant swing, air gun shooting, bungee trampoline, mechanical bull ride, all terrain vehicle riding and netted cricket.
Those apart, several other sports for the sports lover are in the offing. They include rock climbing, rappelling, dashing cars, zorbing etc. In order to enhance global tourist footprint, these sports will be made operational soon.
On being informed, fire personnel from Berhampur rushed to the spot and rescued the truck driver, who was trapped inside the steering of the vehicle.
Fire officials disposed the acid on ground to avoid any untoward incident.
The driver of the truck who has received serious injuries in the mishap has been admitted to a nearby hospital.
In a written reply, Sahu mentioned that a notification regarding the establishment of 12 non-major ports, including four in Balasore, two each in Ganjam, Bhadrak and Puri and one each in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara, respectively has been issued by the Government.
The Minister also informed that among the 12 proposed non-major ports, construction at Chudamani port in Bhadrak district has run into hurdles after Aditya Birla Group, one of the companies that signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government withdrew from the agreement.
Currently, apart from Paradip port, non-major ports at Dhamra and Gopalpur are operational now.
As per the allegation of some locals, the sarpanch Manjulata Jena, while submitting the affidavit, had mentioned that she has two children though she is the mother of three.
"Being a mother of three children, the woman contested and won the sarpanch post on the basis of a false affidavit during Panchayat elections. We demand an investigation into the matter and want her to be expelled from the post," said Akash Pradhan, a local.
Sources said the team constituted to probe into the cheating has begun investigation.
Mahanga block BDO Subodh Acharya said, "After a complaint was lodged with the Collector, he directed the panchayat officers to look into it. The SDPO is investigating into the incident. Stern action will be taken if she is found guilty."
The accused, identified as Trilochan Nayak alias Budhia of Sarankul area in Nayagarh district sustained bullet injuries on right leg in the shootout. He has been admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for treatment, police said.
A pistol and ten rounds of live bullets were seized from him, police said.
On a tip-off, police conducted raid in Gopalpur area while he was planning to execute a major crime.
"We received a tip off that Nayak was roaming in Gopalpur area suspiciously. Accordingly, a joint team of special squad and Sadar police raided the place and chased him. He tried to escape after opening one round of fire and Police too retaliated in exercise of right of private defence," ACP Pramod Rath said.
“Main accused in Daspalla robbery case that took place in September last year, Nayak had also hurled bomb earlier at Sarankul police station in Nayagarh. He was in the most wanted list of Nayagarh police”.
Around 32 cases are pending against him at different police stations in Odisha. He was also involved in a murder case in Jamshedpur, Rath added.
https://youtu.be/qLbRXJWx5uQ
However, the IMD predicted heavy rainfall for southern and coastal parts of state from December 7.
The depression system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression in the next 48 hours then move west-northwestwards towards north Tamil Nadu- south Andhra Pradesh coasts during the course of next three days. However, there is a probability of slight weakening of the system when it reaches near Andhra Pradesh coast, said a press release of the IMD.
Director of regional Met office Sarat Sahu said Southern parts of the state are likely to witness rainfall between December 7 and December 9 and heavy showers at isolated places on December 8 and 9.
Besides, wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph increasing to 60 kmph is likely to prevail along and off Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts from December 7 evening to 9 and decrease thereafter.
The SRC has warned fishermen not to venture into sea till December 9 morning.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed collectors of several districts to stay alert and ensure measures for the safekeeping of harvested paddy crops stashed on paddy fields and mandis.
The state government has also asked all the district administration to complete the disbursement of input subsidy to beneficiaries who incurred crop loss due to pest attack and unseasonal rain within December 15.
https://youtu.be/8YQosLxNuAk
Nearly a hundred activists gheraoed the office and later sat on a dharna demanding a solution to the issue at the earliest. It is alleged that locals have been a facing a tough time due to frequent and undeclared power cuts in the block.
However, no staff of the NESCO office was present and the office was locked from outside. "We closed our shops and joined the protest in the morning. But the staff have locked the office from outside and left," said an activist.
The Thane Crime Branch team had conducted simultaneous raids on 30 locations and had seized 25 SIM boxes, 438 SIM cards, 40 routers, laptop, mobile, computer and various other materials from the accused.
The accused were identified to be residents of Uttar Pradesh with educational qualification from Class V to Plus II. They used to threaten various national and international businessmen through the SIM cards and extort money from them, informed the Crime Branch.
Meanwhile, police is interrogating the arrested persons to find out how they procured SIM cards in such a large number.
“A total of 25 SIM boxes were recovered with 438 SIM cards of major companies including Reliance, Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, BSNL and Idea. The years of operation, their identities, the mastermind behind the operations will be investigated by us,” said Thane Joint Commissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey.
It is worthwhile to mention that four persons were arrested by Gopalpur police on July 8, 2017 after an extortion call to a Mumbai-based realtor was traced to a SIM box in their possession. Police had seized five SIM boxes, several fake SIMs and fake ID proofs from them.
Odisha Crime Branch had informed they had brought the SIM boxes from Hyderabad whereas the SIM cards were collected from different places in Odisha.
The four accused were running a telephone exchange business in guidance of Delhi and Ahmedabad-based agencies under the name ‘S-World’ while using the five SIM boxes.
https://youtu.be/9YMGnmq4OxI
He further stated a team of Special Task Force (STF) led by an additional SP is interrogating the four arrested persons who are on a four-day remand at present.
The STF is likely to elicit more information from the four accused regarding their alleged link-ups with underworld don Chotta Rajan and how they managed to fetch the SIM box.
Yesterday the Crime Branch Special DG said a team of officials of STF and EOW, including cyber investigators will investigate the case.
The four persons were held by the Gopalpur police after an extortion call to a Mumbai-based realtor was traced to a SIM box in possession of the arrested persons.
In Berhampur, the four accused were running a telephone exchange business in guidance of Delhi and Ahmedabad-based agencies under the name ‘S-World’ while using the five SIM boxes.
The officials from Mumbai visited Gopalpur Police Station and discussed with the officials who had arrested four persons including mastermind of the SIM box crime, Laxmi Narayan Sharoff.
Sharoff along with his associates Pradeep Choudhury, Suresh Kumar Satpathy and Santosh Kumar Sahu was operating the illegal telephone exchange racket in the name of a business house, S. World.
A dreaded gangster of Hong Kong, Suresh Pujari, who is a close associate of Chhota Rajan had demanded Rs 2 crore ransom from a Mumbai-based businessman over phone. The international call was diverted through the SIM box from Berhampur. While tracing the calls, the Mumbai Crime Branch had found the call made from Berhampur.
Talking to OTV, Marine Technology expert Bijay Kumar Sahu said, "The quality of water should be checked for dissolved oxygen (DO). Decrease in the DO value could be the reason of the fish deaths, if not, inadequate discharge of water or fertilisers kept in the area also might have led to this."
Situated in between the unit of Indian Rare Earth (IRE) and Gopalpur port, large quantity of imported fertilisers are kept stocked in the area which when exposed to rain produces harmful chemical. The mixture of this chemical in the water bodies may be the reason of the deaths, pointed Sahu.
Earlier on August 6, 2016, similar incident had occurred in the port area and a high-level scientific team from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Puri had visited the spot. The team had collected water samples and inspected the vicinity of the port and the unit of the Indian Rare Earth (IRE) located in Matikhala.
But the probe report of the CMFRI team has still not been disclosed and no step has been taken on the issue. Fishermen in the area have demanded that district administration and State Government should take appropriate steps to check future deaths of fish.
Informed by the neighbours, Dutee's family members, reportedly, found the Nano car, which was parked outside their house, damaged on Monday morning.
Later, Dutee’s father lodged an FIR at Kuakhia police station.
The UP government had awarded the car to Dutee in recognition of her performance in a competition held in the state in 2013.
On November 21, 2015, Odisha’s first DWR was commissioned at Paradip, resulting in manifold upgrading of advance weather forecast mechanism.
Though the Radar is effectively functioning with foolproof weather alert, recurring technical snag has led to temporary breakdown of the weather forecast system.
The DWR worth Rs 29 crore was installed at strategic coastal location of Paradip. The breakdown of the system has been reported from time to time. The system crash however has been for temporary period. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been appraised of recurring technical hitches, said IMD Odisha head, Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu.
It’s pertinent to note here that the Union minister of state for Earth Sciences in response to a question in Rajya Sabha recently had admitted temporary dysfunctional state of four DWRs spread across the country including the one at Paradip.
“The temporary breakdown has not become much of a problem as we are receiving advance weather updates from neighbouring Vishakapatnam DWR. Besides breakdown period hardly lasts for a day”, Sahu added.
The commissioning of Paradip Doppler radar has gone a long way in issuing foolproof weather alert. Since its commission in 2015 year, it continues to generate perfect weather data especially with regard to advance information about cyclones, storms, excessive rainfall, thunderstorms, hailstorm and cloudbursts, IMD officials said.
An IMD official, however, confided that the DWR at Paradip faces technical glitch as it is still running without defence clearance. As the DWR is manufactured by a Chinese farm, the Defence ministry had earlier expressed reservation on the Radar built by the hostile neighbour from security viewpoint, the official sources said.
Defence experts are expected to inspect the Radar at Paradip shortly to accord final clearance to the DWR, sources added.
As Odisha is often exposed to the vagaries of nature’s fury, three more DWRs are almost ready to be commissioned in Gopalpur, Sambalpur and Balasore.
The DWR at Gopalpur is expected to be commissioned very shortly. Construction and Radar installation exercise has already come to an end. The DWR would begin its operation after the lightning arrester is installed at the station at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.
“The construction work of DWR building is almost complete in Sambalpur and Balasore. Once the Radars are dispatched to us by the Union government, the stations would be commissioned. All these DWRs are equipped to monitor weather condition up to 500 km aerial distance. However, these are capable of cyclone forecast in an aerial range of 250 KM distance”, Sahu pointed out.
M N Rajeevan, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and chairman, Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) informed this to OTV on the sidelines of Tropmet-2016 here on Sunday.
“We have no 100% plan about Balasore project and we are not completely sure about it. Since the clearance from DRDO is involved in the project, we have to wait for that”, said Rajeevan.
He said, “We are in talks with DRDO and very soon we will finalise things for the project”.
The official however mentioned that in a year’s time the Sambalpur Doppler radar project will be completed.
“In Sambalpur, we will be doing it (Doppler radar station) very quickly. We are stuck up in some process in procurement...Once that is cleared, I think it will be completed soon”, he noted.
Talking about the timeline he continued: “I hope, within one year, the project should be commissioned....See even if you place order, it takes one year to get the required project machineries. It takes time because the suppliers start on the orders once it is confirmed and placed”.
It may be noted here that in November last year, the IMD had installed first Doppler radar in Odisha at Paradeep. Officials said the infrastructure of State’s second Doppler radar at Gopalpur is ready. It needs clearance from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) before inception. The radar has been indigenously built by ISRO and BHEL.
Doppler radars help in accurate and timely prediction of cyclonic storms, excessive rainfall, thunderstorms, hailstorms earlier than the traditional radars. It can predict about weather condition in an area of 300 km radius.
According to the release, the cyclonic storm, formed over west-south-central Bay of Bengal and lay centred at 685 km to the south of Gopalpur coast, intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm this morning. It is expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm and cross between south Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu coast tomorrow.
Under its influence, light rainfall is most likely in some parts of south and north coastal districts of Odisha in the next 24 hours.
The release further said though there will be least impact of Cyclone Vardha on Odisha, weather condition in the coastal districts will remain cloudy with a rise in the night temperature.
As strong and gusty surface wind speed reaching 35-45 kmph with gusting 55 kmph is likely to prevail along and off the north Odisha coast and wind speed reaching 45-55 kmph with gusting 65 kmph is likely to prevail along and off the south Odisha coast, fishermen are advised not to venture into sea as sea condition would be very rough during the period.
As part of the cyclone alert, distant cautionary signal no-2 has been hoisted at Paradip and Gopalpur ports.
Meanwhile, temperature fell appreciably in some parts of interior north and south Odisha districts. While Phulbani recorded the lowest night temperature at 7.2 degree Celsius, mercury came down to below 8 degree in Bonai area of Sundargarh district.
As informed by Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, head of the Cyclonic Warning Centre, to the media today, the depression will move in northwest direction and intensify into a deep depression in the next 24 hours and thereafter it will turn into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours.
“Under its influence, there has been in Andaman and Nicobar Islands with a wind speed of 40-50 kmph. We are not yet sure as to on which area of the east coast the cyclonic storm will have the land fall. We are constantly monitoring the movement,” he added.
Director, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu said the depression now centred from 1200 km off the Gopalpur coast. The movement of the depression in the last six hours was towards the north with a wind speed of around 10 kmph.
Also read: Cyclonic storm ‘Roanu’ moves closer to Odisha coast
“As per modular indicator, the depression will initially move in west-north-west direction and then is expected to move in the north-west direction. There is a possibility that the depression will turn into a deep depression in the next 24 hours and then a cyclonic storm in the subsequent 24 hours. But if it moves in the north-west direction, it will cross the Andhra Pradesh coast. But nothing can be correctly predicted right now. The exact direction of the deep depression would be known only in the next 24 hours,” Sahu pointed out.
Asked about the possibility of rainfall in Odisha, he said it depends through which area of the Andhra Pradesh coast the cyclonic storm will cross. “If it crosses Machhlipatnam, then there is least possibility of rainfall in Odisha. But if it crosses Vishakhapatnam and its nearby areas, there would be rainfall in south and coastal Odisha,” he informed.
According to sources, some locals created ruckus alleging lack of transparency in the public hearing.
Besides, they also alleged that the people, who will be affected due to the projects, are also not invited to the public hearing.
Following the incident, another group of locals reached the spot and tussled with the protesting group.
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Manoj Panigrahi, a protester, said, “The public hearing was on the development of industrial park. The public hearing was about to discuss the impact of industrial park on environment, what are engagement opportunities for the locals?”
Sushant Mishra, Tata Steel official, said, “We don’t want any discrimination and disturbances.”
Informing this to the media after attending the interactive session on the first day of the three-day conclave of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in the city here on Saturday, State IT secretary Pradeep Jena said the state government will seek the technical know-how from well-known IT companies in the country and abroad.
He said it was decided in the conclave that the state government will make efforts for more capital investment in the state’s IT sector and make Bhubaneswar as one of the leading IT hubs in the country.
Jena further said that the state government will also give priority to the suggestions of the established IT companies in the formulation of new IT policy and guidelines.
Around 35 chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading IT companies in the country are attending the conclave which will have different sessions at Gopalpur, Bhubaneswar and Puri.
For the first time, the state has got the opportunity to organise such a prestigious conference of CEOs of top IT companies. The event will show case the IT potentials of the state and opportunities available for investment in the sector.
“The Cyclone Kyant will pose no threat to the life and property in Odisha as it will cause sporadic rainfall in some parts of the coastal districts. The situation today is much better for Odisha as compared to yesterday. As per the information by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) yesterday, the cyclone was expected to hit the south of Vizag in Andhra Pradesh. But as per the IMD release today, the cyclone is moving towards further south. Going by the trend of the cyclone, there will be no threat to Odisha as it is moving away from its coast. There will be cloudy weather in the coastal districts today while some parts of the coastal districts will have sporadic rainfall tomorrow,” Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradipta Mohapatra told media persons here.
As per an IMD release this afternoon, the Cyclone Kyant, which is formed over the east-south-east Bay of Bengal, will move towards west-central Bay of Bengal in the next 72 hours away from Ganjam and Gajapati districts. Under its influence, sporadic rainfall in some parts of coastal districts and at one or two places over the interior district is likely on October 27 and 28 after which the impact of the cyclone will gradually become less.
As per the latest IMD release, the cyclonic storm Kyant over central Bay of Bengal moved further towards west-south-west in the last six hours with speed 18 kmph and lay centred over west-central Bay of Bengal, near Latitude 16.3º N and Longitude 87.0º E, about 400 km southeast of Gopalpur at about 5.30 PM. It is most likely to move towards west-south-west in west-central Bay of Bengal during next 72 hours.
As the cyclone is still in the Bay of Bengal, IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea as surface wind from north-east direction with speed reaching 45-50 kmph with gusting up to 55 kmph would prevail along and off the Odisha coast which will make the sea condition rough to very rough during the period.
The fishermen, who are already in deep sea, have been advised to return to coast immediately.
Besides, IMD has also hoisted Distant Warning (DW) signal number-2 at all ports of Odisha.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today held a review meeting with chief secretary, DGP, Regional Meteorological Department director, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Secretaries of Revenue, Food,Energy, Agriculture and Rural Development departments. The officials of NDRF, Fire and ODRAF also attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister discussed with 14 Collectors of sensitive districts via video conference and directed them to remain alert, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra told reporters after the meeting. He said as per the Meteorological department's prediction the cyclone is moving towards Andhra Pradesh.
The official holidays have been cancelled and the government staffs have been asked to remain in field on October 29 and 30 to keep a watch on the situation, he added. The Collectors have been asked to take measures to keep the harvested crop covered as rain is expected under the influence of the cyclonic storm.
Met officials said the deep depression turned into cyclone, which is lying 715 km away from the Gopalpur coast of Odisha. It is currently moving in north-west direction and is likely to reach west-central Bay of Bengal.
Under the influence of this system, the coastal and southern parts of Odisha are likely to experience less to mild rainfall on October 29 and 30. Similarly, wind speed during the time will be around 55-60 km/hour, Met director Sarat Sahoo said.
Reports said the four Philippines nationals—Nathaniel A. Faza (38), second officer, Librado P. Jemina (37), chief officer, Eduardo S. Gruspe (46), chief cook and Jescel B. Bautista (34), ordinary seaman— had come in a MB Fortune cargo vessel to the Gopalpur Port to take black sands from the Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL).
However, the Marine Police arrested them as they were found talking over Thuraya Satellite phone in gross violation of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Rules.
Police later produced the four Philippines nationals in the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Chhatrapur.
A Dubai-based satellite communications company, Thuraya has global customers which include industry leaders from a variety of sectors including energy, media, marine, government and NGOs.
The superior network of the company enables clear communications and uninterrupted coverage across two thirds of the world via satellite and across the globe through our unique GSM roaming capabilities.
Reports said seven youths from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, during their visit to Odisha, had arrived at Gopalpur this morning. Soon after their arrival, they had gone to the beach for a bath.
While taking bath, one of the youths, Situ Kumar was dragged by the strong sea current. As he could not swim towards the beach, he waived his hands for help.
Fortunately, the OTV team, present at the beach, immediately informed two life guards Titi Babu and Kali Shankar. Following information, three life guards rushed towards the hapless youth and rescued him.
Also read: Two tourists drown in sea
The rescue operation took nearly half-an-hour.
“I had never gone deep into the sea for a bath. I don't know how I was pushed to the deep waters away from the beach. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the life guards and the OTV team for whom my life was saved,” said Situ soon after his rescue.
"The youth was pushed to a distance of about two km from the beach. Following information by the OTV team, three life guards including myself rushed towards with life jackets and rescued him from drowning," said Titi Babu, a life guard.
He also said the life guards had earlier warned the youths not to go deep into the sea. "But they ignored our advice saying there will be no problem as all of them know swimming," he added.
Acting on a tip off, a police team raided the Ganjua-Aruapalli area where Bhikari and his four associates were hatching a plan to commit a crime in the area.
When the police tried to nab them, Das opened fire and hurled bombs at the team. In reply, the police fired two rounds at Das in which he sustained bullet injuries on his left leg, police sources said.
The police also seized two tiffin bombs, one pistol and two live bullets from the spot.
However, the four associates of Das managed to escape from the spot during the encounter. A seriously injured Das was admitted to Berhampur hospital, police sources added. As many as 20 criminal cases are pending against Das at a number of police stations in the district.
Ashok Mohanty, SDPO of Berhampur sadar said, “After the criminals opened fire at the police team, IIC, Gopalpur police station fired two rounds of bullet at Das in which he sustained injuries on his left leg.”
It is worthwhile to mention here that this was the seventh encounter since Ashish Singh took charge as Berhampur SP two months back.
On Monday, notorious criminal Subas Naik alias Andala was injured in a police encounter near Tamada ghat under Golanthara police limits in the town.
The system is likely to move further northeastwards along and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in next 24 hours, the meteorological centre here said.
Thereafter, the system is likely to move east-northeastwards and cross south Bangladesh coast between Khepupara and Cox's Bazar, close to Chittagong tomorrow evening as a cyclonic storm, it said.
Under its impact, rain and thundershower lashed many places in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts in Odisha disrupting normal life, the weatherman said.
A Met release this evening said most parts of coastal Odisha experienced heavy rainfall. The rainfall recorded between 8:30 AM and 5.30 PM was highest in Paradip with 96 mm followed by Puri (85), Chandbali (63), Balasore (52), Cuttack (31.8), Bhubaneswar (29.1) and Gopalpur (16).
Rainfall in these places recorded till 8.30 AM today was 27.2, 32, 32.3, 14, 9.2, 46 and 79 mm respectively.
The Met office predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at one or two places over coastal Odisha and heavy to very heavy at one or two places over interior Odisha during the next 24 hours.
In view of the weather conditions 'local cautionary signal number three' was replaced by 'danger signal number five' at all ports in Odisha.
The met office said there would be gusty cyclonic surface wind with 90 kmph to 100 kmph speed and gusting up to 110 kmph in south Odisha coast and 60kmph to 70 kmph, even 80 kmph in north Odisha.
The sea condition is very likely to be high to very high along and off Odisha coast, it said adding fishermen have advised not to venture into sea off the Odisha Coast.
As a precautionary measure, the state government has already issued an alert in at least 12 districts in coastal, southern and northern regions asking authorities to prepare for any eventuality, Chief Secretary A P Padhi said.
The system, however, brought respite from the scorching heat in the state as maximum temperature dropped to 37.1 degree C at Hirakud and 26.2 degree C in Bhubaneswar during the day, the Met office said. .
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed all the departments to remain alert to face any eventuality due to cyclone 'Roanu'. He held a video conference meeting with the collectors of coastal and southern districts yesterday.
Meanwhile, the state government has cancelled the leaves of government employees today and tomorrow which may be extended depending on the situation.
Padhi said 10 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire service personnel have been kept ready and the government will arrange more personnel if required.
Steps have been taken for arranging food, medicine and other essentials at the cyclone shelters where people from vulnerable areas can be shifted when necessary, a senior official said.
The arrested congress leader was taken to Gopalpur police station for interrogation soon after the court granted remand. The family and relatives of Jena can meet him at the police station, a court statement said.
The ex-legislator and four others including his father Arakhita Jena were sent to judicial custody as a court had rejected their bail pleas.
While Jena (38) and his three associates Rama Krushna Padhy (30), Prem Chandra Panda (28) and Jagata Behera (23) were booked for bombing the house of Ranjit Nayak, a Congress corporator of Berhampur Municipal Corporation on February 28 night, the ex-MLA's father Arakhita Jena (67) was arrested for illegal possession of firearms in his house.
Ramesh, who was MLA from Sanakhemundi in Ganjam district from 2009 to 2014, was also accused of illegal possession of firearms.
During his arrest from a flat in Bhubaneswar, the police seized a 9-mm pistol and five live ammunition from Jena's car.
The vehicle was used for the escape of the accused persons implicated in the bombing case, ASP (Berhampur) Trinath Patel had said.
The police had also seized over Rs 10.70 lakh in cash and a gun from the house of Arakhita during the raids, he said.
The Industrial Park will primarily attract investments in steel and allied downstream industries, engineering, chemicals and other emerging sectors.
The Tata Steel SEZ pavilion at the ‘Make in India’ programme stood out of the rest for its commitment in Nation building and hope for generating investment and jobs in the region.
The prime objective of the pavilion is to attract potential investments from various companies. The pavilion showcases how the state-of-the-art SEZ Park will help in attracting investment in tunes of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for more than 15,000 people.
Speaking on TSSEZ, TV Narendran, MD Tata Steel India and SEA said, “It’s a momentous occasion for Tata Steel to be a part of the journey called ‘Make in India’. Through the Tata Steel SEZ at Gopalpur, we at Tata Steel will initiate further industrial development and social inclusion of the region. It’s a huge responsibility bestowed on us tohelp drive the economic growth of the region through the SEZ park and as the chief tenant Tata Steel would ensure the smooth transition of the business.”
Vice President of Gopalpur Project and MD of Tata Steel SEZ, Arun Mishra said the Tata Steel SEZ at Gopalpur is all set to change the business dynamics of the region. The SEZ Park will attract investments and generate employment for more than 15,000 people involving them in steel and allied downstream industries along with engineering and various other sectors.
The pavilion also exhibits a model of the SEZ and Industrial Park spanning over 2,970 acres of land and the facilities it offers for the industries to foster. The industrial park includes a multi-product SEZ and Industrial Park over 2,570 acres and the Gopalpur Ferro Chrome Plant project by Tata Steel over 400 acres.
A dedicated TSSEZ website (http://www.tatasteelsez.com/) was also launched today.
Gopalpur: An Australian woman kayaker, Sandy Robson, on Monday reached Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district after making countless paddle strokes through the ebb and tide of the seas and oceans.
The 48-year old kayaker started his epic sea journey from Germany in 2011. She targets to reach Australia via Bangladesh in 2016.
“I am spending five years paddling across the world from Germany back to Australia… Purpose of this is to retrace the historic journey of Oscar Speck. Yes, I am retracing his journey across the world,” said Robson with a big smile on her face.
The cyclonic storm "DAYE" over northwest Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestward with a speed of about 23 kmph and crossed south Odisha and adjoining Andhra Pradesh coast close to Gopalpur in the early hours of Friday, Director, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, H R Biswas said.
The cyclonic system then lay centred over south Odisha, about 40 km west-northwest of Gopalpur and about 150 km east-southeast of Bhawanipatna, he said.
Biswas said it would continue to move west-northwestward and weaken gradually into a deep depression.
As the cyclonic storm made a landfall, it brought heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places in Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts of the state, officials said.
Under its impact, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to lash several places in Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts till Saturday, the Met department said.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely to occur at some places in Balangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts till the morning of Saturday, it said.
The Met department also warned of gale wind with speed reaching 60-70 kmph and gusting up to 80 kmph along and off south Odisha coast for a few hours.
The impact of the cyclonic storm was felt more in Gajapati, Ganjam, Khordha, Nayagarh and Puri districts.
The state government has instructed officials in coastal districts and various departments to be alert to tackle any emergency situation, official sources said.
Danger signs with signal number 3, which warns of surface winds clocking 40-50 kmph, have been hoisted at all ports of Odisha, officials said.
Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting and directed the officials to keep a close watch on the situation and take steps to ensure no loss of life. He also asked them to arrange adequate relief materials.
The cyclone warning division's (CWD) advisory said the sea will be very rough over central and north Bay of Bengal and off Odisha, West Bengal and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
There will also be a storm surge of about 0.5 m above astronomical tides and it is likely to inundate low-lying areas of Vizianagaram, Srikakulam districts in Andhra Pradesh and Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda and Puri districts in Odisha at the time of landfall, it said.
The chief minister asked officials of the coastal districts to be alert and prepared.
Patnaik issued direction for cancelling holiday in government offices in Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Nayagarh and Khurda districts, which are likely to be hit by fierce winds.
The IMD has also predicted damage to thatched hut, roads, crops and minor damage to power and communication lines in Gajapati, Ganjam, Khordha, Nayagarh and Puri districts at the time of landfall. Local cautionary Signal Number LC-III to be kept hoisted at all ports of Odisha, it said.
Reports about damage, if any, were being ascertained, said officials.
As roads and power supply are likely to be affected due to the cyclone, Patnaik asked the departments concerned to take steps in advance to ensure quick restoration works.
He directed that special attention be given to water, electricity supply and hospitals, an official in the CMO said.
Taking the situation into account, the NDRF and the ODRAF have been deployed in different districts. One NDRF team each has been deployed in Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati, Puri, Nayagarh and Kandhamal districts with 17 boats and other emergency equipment.
"The feasibility report, which will have among other things a geo-technical scientific study, will be ready by April end. It will be followed by a technical study," Regional Officer, National Highway Authority of India, Odisha, D Sarangi said.
"On completion of technical study, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be worked out. The findings will be shared with the local people and people s representatives of the areas besides senior officials in respective areas so that the road alignment process is meticulously carried out," he said.
Construction of the state's longest bridge over the Chilka is one of the major highlights of the project. The 2.9 km long bridge will be built at Satapada-Chilka, he said.
The proposed 450-km highway to be stretched from Gopalpur in Ganjam district to Digha of West Bengal is to be built with an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore, he said.
The coastal circuit comprised Gopalpur, Tampara, Barakul and Satapada, they said adding about Rs 15.3 crore has been released as the first installment for the purpose.
Infrastructure growth and beach development will be the priority on circuit tourism in the state, Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said.
He said that although Odisha was included in the scheme, till date no project was approved but demand of the state government had been considered recently for tourism development in the above mentioned places which would be a major boost for the state tourism.
Roads, water sports, jetty, water park, solar street lighting, floating restaurants will be included in the development activities. Besides, tourist reception centres would be opened at all these places, Panda said.
Sand art and maritime museum would come up at Gopalpur while implementation of solid waste management and sewage treatment plant has been mooted there.
Tourism Department secretary G K Dhal would work as the nodal officer while Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has been entrusted with the implementation of the projects, he said.
Ranjit Pradhan, a resident of Gopalpur village under Rajnagar police jurisdiction, was found talking on his mobile phone in the chief judicial magistrate's court room yesterday.
The CJM, Rabi Narayan Panda, expressed strong displeasure as a trial was on at that time.
Pradhan was let off after he paid Rs 200 penalty as per an order of the court, secretary, Kendrapara Bar Association, Nruingha Charan Rout, said.
The incident occurred yesterday when a chamber gauging exercise was being carried out on a Bofors L-70 gun that was to be used for firing practice today.
Army sources said a captain and an hawaldar was seriously injured. While the right wrist of the Captain was blown away, the hawaldar received injuries in his eye and thighs.
"They are in the ICU but in stable condition. Six others received minor injuries," a source said.
They said the inquiry will investigate whether the incident was a result of faulty ammunition or were procedures not followed.
Sources said the reason could be faulty ammunition as the gun was not fired.
Though the incident had taken place on July 28, the matter came to fore after the family members of the rape survivor filed a complaint at the Khandapada police station today.
Based on the complaint filed, police registered a case and later sent the girl for medical examination.
Meanwhile, sources claimed that both the survivor and the rape accused were known to each other as residents of the girl’s village treated Jena as their son-in-law after he married a girl of the same village.
The family members of the girl, in the complaint, alleged that Jena took their daughter to his village while she was going to her college. Later, he drugged her and raped her several times, the family alleged.
On gaining consciousness, the girl somehow managed to escape and rush back to her house. After she narrated the ordeal to her parents, they informed the matter to the village head following which a meeting was also organised yesterday. However, as the meeting remained inconclusive, the parents were forced to lodge a complaint with the police today.
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Khandapada police station Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Sriballav Sahoo who rushed to the spot for investigation, said, “A manhunt has been launched by the police to nab the culprit. Further investigation is on.”
Berhampur: While the Berhampur University continues to remain tense due to intermittent students’ unrest and violence, lack of prompt action by the police has cast serious doubts on the safety of the students within the campus and the efficiency of the varsity administration.
It is alleged that while the varsity authorities have filed complaints against some unruly students including the Student’s Union president for creating violence in the campus, the police are yet to take any action in this regard.
[caption id="attachment_204886" align="aligncenter" width="691"] Students carrying out protest march against sponsored unrest in campus..[/caption]
According to inside sources, the Registrar of the varsity had filed a complaint against the University president Ratan Sethi and some unruly students at the Gopalpur Police Station on March 25 for creating vandalism inside the campus premises and assaulting some security guards. They had also ransacked the chamber of the PG Council Chairman Jayaram Pradhan and abused him.
Asked about the incident, Pradhan said the CCTV footage of the incident has been given to the police who are yet to take any action.
[caption id="attachment_204883" align="alignright" width="284"] Girl students staging protest demanding arrest of Union President..[/caption]
"The University president had also entered into the ladies hostel a few days back and abused them with filthy language. Protesting this, the girl students had staged a dharna demanding immediate arrest of the Union president. However, the police, instead of arresting the accused, have been arresting persons not involved in the vandalism for the reasons best known to them," said a student requesting anonymity.
[caption id="attachment_204875" align="alignleft" width="184"] Damaged foundation stone plaque of Students' Union building..[/caption]
“Sethi and his supporters have ransacked university properties and also assaulted hostel students several times. The Athletic secretary had also filed an FIR against Sethi for attacking him in November last year. The police should take stern action against them.” said Union secretary Sashikant Nayak.
Despite indulging in such anti-social activities, Sethi and his supporters had staged a dharna on March 30 demanding withdrawal of the cases filed against them in a bid to escape from a possible arrest, he added.
Considering the sequence of events, questions are being raised on the hidden agenda of the Police and the University authorities. Why the police are yet to take any action? Why the University authorities are tight-lipped on such incidents? Will the Police investigate the matter seriously and take necessary action against the culprits? Is the administration indifferent to keep the goodwill that they have recently acquired? Will they be able to maintain the Grade-A status deemed on the University and provide a developmental environment for the students to grow?
While the situation in the campus remains tense due to the gross apathy of the police and the varsity authorities, the fact remains that the students are in a state of panic apprehending further violence.
According to reports, Khantapada police seized 100 litres of alcohol and a bike from the possesion of the student.
The student named Minaketan Giri hailing from Makalpur village was reportedly riding a bike while carrying the country made liquor stored in jars. The accused was on his way to Dhamra from Balasore when a team of police nabbed the student near Paikasta area after receiving a tipoff.
Earlier, multiple cases of similar trade via national highway-16 in Balasore have been reported. Last year, around 1000 litres of country liquor was seized in Matiapalli under Soro block of the district.
The high temperature in landmass of Andhra Pradesh resulted in low atmospheric pressure. Cyclonic systems are low pressure areas, and they move to high pressure zones. For this, Cyclone Fani, instead of moving north west, is taking a re-curve towards north and north east.
The JTWC (Joint Typhoon Warning Centre) has also confirmed that Cyclone Fani will make landfall in northern India (means northern Odisha and West Bengal). Its latest tropical cyclone analysis reads as post the formation of the cyclonic system, Fani will make landfall at TAU 120 hours in northern India, which means around May 3 or 4.
It needs mentioning that the cyclonic storm Fani will take a re-curve at around evening of coming Wednesday (May 1). The system will acquire the tag of extremely severe cyclonic storm on the night of May 1. It is observed that the system will then drift towards Odisha coast, and during day hours of Friday (May 3) will make landfall in between Puri and Paradip.
Though the cone of Cyclone Fani's effect will see very heavy rainfall in south Odisha coastal districts, the brunt of the extremely severe cyclonic storm would be borne by northern coastal districts like Puri, Jagatsingpur and Kendrapara. The observed track of the cyclonic system Fani shows that it will be drifting all along the Odisha coast, post landfall to enter West Bengal. As the system will drift along the coastal region of the State, Odisha coastal districts are going to receive very heavy rainfall and gale wind till Saturday (May 4) evening.
The INCOIS model had yesterday revealed of the Cyclone would probably making landfall between Kalingapatnam and Puri on the evening of May 3, which now stands revised.
As per JTWC, the wind speed of Fani on May 3, the day of landfall, will be a high of around 176 KM/hour with the gusting speed reaching to 216 KM/hr. If the JTWC predictions prove true, the intensity of Fani then will be more severe than Titli - whose wind speed was 150 KM/hr during landfall. Now, it seems Fani will not only bring pounding rain but wrecking large-scale devastation for the State.
Even, IMD has updated the predicted wind speed on May 3 at around 160 -180KM/hr and gusting up to 190Km/hour, informed Mrutyuanjay Mahpatra, ADG, IMD. He, however, added that IMD will declare the time and place of landfall at a later date.
Earlier, a JTWC analysis has hinted at 'Fani' getting dissipated in the Bay of Bengal. But its latest tropical cyclone analysis said there is little chance of the system getting dissipated in BoB. Because, the favourable conditions in BoB are working for its intensification to a very severe cyclonic storm. An analysis reveals the sea surface temperature of Bay of Bengal (BoB) on May 1, when Fani is to take a recurve, would be around 31 - 33 degree Celsius. The SST along the south Odisha coast on May 1 will be hovering at around 31 degree Celsius.
Moreover, the direction of winds in the BoB around May 1 is predicted at around 90 degrees from north, which means they are almost vertical. The vertical wind shear is aiding intensification of Fani. Only horizontal wind flow pattern could take steam out of the fledgling cyclonic storm Fani.
In view of the looming cyclone threat on Odisha, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi held a review meeting at State Secretariat today. The meeting was attended by SRC Bhishupada Sethi, DGP Rajendra Kumar, NDMA, OSDMA, Navy, Air Force and Fire department officials.
Briefing media persons, Padhi said 20 ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Redcution Action Force) teams are functional in the State now. Last year only 10 ODRAF teams were functional. Besides, 12 units of NDRAF are positioned in the State. Other additional measures to deal with the exigency owing to cyclone Fani were discussed, he added.
"Though fishermen were not venturing into the sea with fishing ban in force till June 14, yet the Government will enforce more measures to see that no traditional fishermen would venture into the sea," he informed.
However, CS maintained that as per the information government has, the cyclone may skirt the Odisha coast. IMD hasn't predicted its landfall now, said SRC Sethi. He added that on May 2, the wind speed on and along Odisha coast will be 40 -50Km/hr. District Collectors in south Odisha and coastal districts were alerted to keep the 800 cyclone shelters ready for use in any exigency. Around 335 fire station units were put on alert mode. Also, the State administration will activate communication modes like SMS or VMR sets to alert people in likely affected districts.
Prior to SDMA meet, Union Cabinet Secretary has held a review meeting with all Chief Secretaries of concerned States that are to be affected by cyclone Fani.
Later in the day, the state government cancelled the leaves of its employees in four coastal districts.The leaves of government employees in Ganjam, Puri, Khurda and Kendrapara have been cancelled as a precautionary measure ahead of the the cyclonic storm. CM Naveen Patnaik took stock of preparedness by the state administration to deal with cyclone Fani at the state secretariat.
As per the latest Special Bulletin from IMD, Cyclonic storm FANI has intensified into severe cyclonic storm over southeast & adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal & laid centred 770 km east of east-southeast of Chennai. It is likely to intensify into very severe cyclonic storm in next 24 hours and very likely to move northwestwards till May 1 & thereafter recurve north-northeastwards towards Odisha coast, the Special Bulletin predicted.
While the latest Indian National Centre of Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) model predict the land fall to the south of Puri after passing at a kissing distance from Gopalpur and Chilika (see the pictures), the office of SRC has pinpointed the place of landfall as Balukhanda, which is to the north of Puri .
Fani also keeps guessing on the time of arrival to the Puri landmass. Though IMD has predicted it by afternoon of Friday (May 3), the drop in the pace of 'Fani' to around 6 Km/hr at 9 AM today from 22 Km/hr yesterday, indicates the time of landfall to the south of Puri will be in the evening hours (5:30 -7 PM) of Friday (May 3). The caveat, however, is the time of landfall will get delayed if pace of 'Fani' slows down further.
As per the latest INCOIS model, the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani on Friday morning (5:30AM) will skirt Gopalpur at a kissing distance (see the picture below).
And will give a miss to Chilika at around 11:30 AM to move on to make landfall at around the evening hours of 5:30 PM on Friday (May 3) (see the picture below).
Moreover, the snail's pace movement aids intensification of 'Fani'. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) has upgraded intensity of 'Fani' to T 5.0 - 6.0 today from T4.7 - 5.0 last night. The wind speed during land fall has been upgraded to 160 - 210 Km/hr by JTWC.
Significantly, last evening JTWC had predicted 'Fani' to skirt east coast of India (Odisha) and make landfall near Sagar Islands (West Bengal).
But since last night JTWC has revised its landfall place. It has now predicted the landfall at Puri in Odisha. The JTWC analysis explains why 'Fani' didn't move towards West Bengal.
As per JTWC, the subtropical ridge over Bangladesh which was actually guiding the track of 'Fani' has started eroding owing to an approaching shortwave 'Trough'.
Troughs are an air flow pattern that moves from west to east and has a bulge towards southern end. The troughs are a cool air aloft. In contrast, the sub tropical ridges have a bulge towards northern end having high atmospheric pressure. The high pressure is due to the air flowing from equator towards poles get build up at a certain location, When the air starts sinking, it develops high pressure and is termed as sub tropical ridge.
Following the erosion of this high atmospheric pressure ridge, 'Fani' didn't track the West Bengal and Bangladesh way, explained JTWC.
As the fury of 'Fani' will be on Odisha, the maximum brunt will be borne by districts like Puri (place of landfall). Puri district will witness rainfall in excess of over 204 mm.
However, the maximum sea wave height is predicted for Gopalpur. As per INCOIS - IMD joint bulletin, sea along Ganjam will see a significant wave height of 3.0 - 8.7 meter over 10 Km area. And the swell height is predicted the highest of 2.5 - 6.5 metre in Ganjam. This analysis by INCOIS shows there is high possibility of sea water ingress in low lying areas in Ganjam.
Puri district will witness large-scale sea water inundation on Friday as the district is forecast to see second highest wave height surge and swell height on land fall day.
The INCOIS forecast also reveals that squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to commence along & off Odisha Coasts from Thursday (2nd May) and very likely to become gale wind speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 85 kmph from Friday (3rd May) morning and become 175-185 kmph gusting to 205 kmph over Odisha Coast during landfall.
While the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in its latest model predict landfall of 'Fani' in between Chilika and Puri (see the picture above) at early morning (5:30PM) tomorrow (Friday), the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) has also pointed out the same range of places as point of landfall (see the picture below) and hinted the landfall time as before 8 AM on Friday.
Though the wind speed may gust to 243km/hour during landfall, the significant fact is what would be the wind speed in big cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur in the next 12 hours prior to the landfall?
As per JTWC model prediction, the maximum wind speed in cities like Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Cuttack could be around 100 - 115 Km/hr in the next 12 hours (means staring from around midnight today). The model further hinted at a wind speed of around 50km/hr in far off places like Nayagarh, Aska, Gunpur, Gajapati and parts of Dhenkanal from midnight to landfall time.
Post landfall and when 'Fani' will be moving over the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur and Balasore, before entering West Bengal, the wind speed in parts of Cuttack and Jajpur districts will see equally squally winds reaching up to 100 km/hour.
The impact of Fani in Odisha will remain for nearly 12 hours after landfall, when it will be moving north coastal districts enroute to West Bengal.
As per the INCOIS forecast system, the sea along Odisha coast from Gopalpur to Chandbali will remain very rough as high tidal waves ranging from 16 - 34 feet are forecasted till midnight of Friday (May 3). The INOIS data reveals that storm surge during landfall will be observed along the coast of Gopalpur to Chandabali.
High level of sea water ingress into human habitations is feared along the coast of Gopalpur to Chandbali as tidal storm surge is predicted at 1.5 metre over the astronomical tide, which means the storm surge prior, during and after the land fall along the Odisha coast will be around 6.5 feet.
Fearing high sea ingress, the State Government has set a target to evacuate over 7.5 lakh people from the coastal districts to safer places. Till morning of May 2, nearly 25,000 have been evacuated, informed SRC officials. However, as of now, maximum population evacuated is from Gajapati.
Significantly, when the brunt of 'Fani' will be borne by districts like Ganjam, Khurda , Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara, as per the SRC list, this high density populated districts have seen little evacuation, when 'Fani' impact will be discernible from tonight in coastal districts of Odisha.
As per the latest rainfall data with IMD, when Gopalpur in Odisha recorded 102.1 mm today, the temple town Puri recorded around 72 mm and the rainfall amount at Chandbali was around 50 mm. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have recorded precipitation totalling around 20-22 mm.
But the State as a whole has recorded 14.5 mm rainfall on Thursday, which, however, is 164 per cent more than the average normal rainfall recorded in the State over the years on this date.
The cumulative rainfall the State has received this Monsoon till date (June 1 - September 26) has been 1,184.1 mm that is 4 per cent in excess over the average normal rainfall the State had received over the years.
The big fallout of September rains have been, as many as 27 districts except Balasore, in the State have recorded normal rainfall till date this monsoon. Gajapati, which has witnessed severe dry spell till August, has recorded normal rainfall, and Puri district has received excess precipitation. Koraput is the other district in Odisha that has recorded excess rainfall since August first week.
As per IMD, Odisha will not be experiencing any significant rainfall in the next 3-days (Sept 27-30).
However, an analysis of the inferences of models of IMD and US-based Climate Prediction Centre reveals that places in the districts adjoining Chhattisgarh and districts in southern Odisha will be experiencing thunderstorms accompanied by lightning on Friday (September 27) and Saturday (Sept 28). The predictions, however, show Odisha not going to experience any significant rainfall till October 3.
The deceased was identified as R Krishna of Ranganathapuram in Tamil Nadu, said Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Berhampur Sadar, Jayant Kumar Mohapatra.
His body was recovered after breaking the door of the room. The reason behind the suicide was yet to be ascertained, the SDPO said adding investigation is in progress.
According to sources, Gopalur NAC officials demolished the solar fish-drying project claiming that a new project would be launched at the spot under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Protesting the demolition, local fisherwomen have been demanding to functionalise the project once again. “We were so happy when the project was launched here. Initially we were told that Rs 7.5 lakh would be given to each SHG but we did not get a single penny. Now they have demolished the infrastructure to shut down the project. We are not going to allow them to begin a new project here. We want re-launch of the solar fish-drying project,” said Gapama, a fisherwoman, while speaking to OTV.
B. Parbati Ama, another local woman, said, “We gave our land after an official of the fishery department persuaded our SHG group to begin the solar fish-drying project to produce dry fish. Now they are planning another project after demolishing it. The local administration says that the land belongs to them. However, we have all the documents with us. We will submit the documents to them only if they give us the loss which we have incurred till now. They should provide us a source of income for our survival.”
The BJP also protested the demolition drive alleging mismanagement of central funds. “Rs 3.5 crore was spent for the project which did not work even for a single day. But was there any investigation to find out why the project remained neglected and why no one took up the responsibility to look after it?” questioned Kanhu Charan Pati, president of Ganjam district unit of BJP.
“Now the aim of the local administration to begin a new project on the spot under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Project is nothing but to siphon central money which we condemn,” Pati added.
Berhampur Sub-Collector Shinde Dattatreya Bhausaheb, on the other hand, claimed that the project is not useful anymore. Besides, the SHG which began the project also does not exist now. “We demolished the infrastructure as some local anti-socials have taken over it,” Bhausaheb said.
As per reports, Bimala lives at Ishaneswar slum in Niladri Vihar area of Bhubaneswar. A look at her shack which she calls her home would immediately call state government’s bluff. She has been living there for 25 years but didn’t get anything nearly related to land rights, except for a token which mentions her ward number and shack number. Ironically, Bimala was mentioned as ‘Extremely Happy’ in a press release after Odisha won the coveted ‘World Habitat Awards.’
A rueing Bimala said, “I am living in a shanty with tin and polythene sheets. No government official has ever met me and I have not been assured of any land rights.”
Not only Bimala but there were many others in Ishaneswar slum who reportedly have not received any land rights.
In Chatrapur of Ganjam, CM Naveen Patnaik had inaugurated the Jaga Mission in a grand ceremony and reportedly distributed land rights to 2000 beneficiaries. One such beneficiary was Laxmi Charan Nayak of Gopalpur who despite attending the CM’s programme has been left dejected as he never got any land records.
Nayak said, “I sat in the CM’s programme all day without any food, but nobody gave me land papers. Later, when I approached the officials, they informed me that I have to deposit money in order to get land records.”
Sources said, not only Nayak, but there are 58 more beneficiaries from a total of 479 in Gopalpur slum alone who are yet to get land rights.
When asked about Jaga Mission, the Executive Engineer of Gopalpur NAC said, “Some beneficiaries didn’t get land rights because of their personal problems.”
Notably, Odisha government secured 3rd position in World Habitat Award for providing land rights to more than 50,000 landless people. However, Urban Development minister Pratap Jena claimed that Odisha is top in the world for providing land rights to slum dwellers.
Bhubaneswar: Among the major tourist attractions of the state the beaches at Puri and Gopalpur have been rated as the second and fourth most clean in the country respectively in a survey conducted by the National Centre for Coastal Research ( NCCR), an institute functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The findings should warm the cockles of tourism department mandarins.
But the credit for proper maintenance of these beaches goes to the local administrations, especially the municipal authorities tasked with the cleanliness of areas falling under their jurisdiction. Tourism department only benefits from their efforts. While there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of good situation officials in charge of tourism promotion should try to focus on promoting several other destinations that could be of interest to people visiting Odisha to explore its natural beauty.
Chandrabhaga and Ramchandi are two other better-known beaches of Odisha, both located along the Konark-Puri marine drive. They are unique in their own ways and thronged daily by droves of fun-loving tourists. But the tourism department’s efforts should be directed at bringing into limelight the many smaller beaches which are yet to be explored fully. One of these is the Baliharichandi beach between Puri and Satpada. It’s an enchanting stretch of sand across stands of casuarina trees.
Beaches are only one of the many attractions of Odisha. The state has beautiful forests and captivating wildlife sanctuaries apart from dozens of waterfalls that need to be promoted as tourist destinations much more aggressively. Unfortunately, we have even failed to showcase our major water bodies like Chilika properly. The lake has hardly anything new to offer to the visitors except boat rides which are more rewarding during the winter when both birds and dolphins can be seen in large numbers.
The truth is eco-tourism remained neglected in Odisha even when states like Kerala were cashing in on it in a big way. Our government started taking it seriously only a few years ago with the result that we have been lagging behind many others in this field. In the last few years, the only major effort in this direction has been the drive to develop eco-tourism destinations at 30 places across 22 districts in the state. The government set aside a sum of Rs.7.7 crore for infrastructure development at the eco-tourism sites.
The project has resulted in places like Mangaljodi on the banks of the famous Chilika lake witnessing significant tourist infrastructure development. The place thronged by bird lovers during the winter now boasts of a state-of-the-art bird interpretation centre which promises to be a big draw. Nature trails are also being developed in some important places.
The project also envisages the development of other eco-tourism sites like Barakhandia and Dhodrokusum under the Hirakud wildlife division, Kumari and Jamuani under Baripada wildlife division, Deras and Godibari under the Chandaka wildlife division and Tarava and Chhotkei under the Satkosia wildlife division. Work is at an advanced at most of these places which should be able to attract more tourists in future. For tourism in Odisha to grow we need more such initiatives.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
Meanwhile, normal life in several parts of Odisha was also adversely affected due to dense fog today. Visibility dropped to less than 20 to 30 mts at some places including in the outskirts of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The dense fog cover created problems for the commuters particularly on the National Highways.
Met officials informed that moderate to shallow fog will prevail in isolated parts of the State for the next three to five days.
Meteorologist Sudhakar Barik informed that dense to very dense fog conditions will prevail at isolated parts of Bolangir, Kalahandi, Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal and Koraput districts tomorrow.
Earlier, the Regional Meteorological Centre had issued ‘yellow warning’ for nine districts- Khurda, Puri, Bhadrak, Nayagarh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Sundergarh and Keonjhar.
Besides housing Asia's largest brackish water lagoon Chilika lake, the state boasts of a 482-kilometer coastline and eight major reservoirs, apart from several other pristine water bodies where surveys have ascertained the feasibility of setting up water sports and other tourism ventures, officials said.
The tourism department had in July last year organised familiarisation trips for houseboat and water sports operators, and investors from across the country at prominent destinations such as Chilika and Tampara lakes, Bhitarkanika and Gopalpur sea beaches.
Since then, the state received several proposals, and five water sports projects have been operationalised at Tampara, Gopalpur, Barkul, Chandrabhaga and Naraj (Cuttack).
The department has also floated tenders for the operation and management of floating restaurants at select locations in Chilika lake, said Tourism Minister JP Panigrahi.
"Odisha has always accorded priority to collaboration over competition, and our partnership with Kerala will help boost water tourism in the state," he said.
The state government has decided to introduce Houseboats in Chilika lake, Bhitarkanika backwaters and Hirakud reservoir, said tourism secretary Vishal Dev.
"Kerala having achieved a position of leadership in this segment, was an obvious potential partner in our quest," he said.
(PTI)
Can be rightly called the village of valour, Gopalpur under Bhadrak’s Chandbali block has earned the distinction of ‘home of the soldiers’ thanks to the 70 odd men from the total strength of 50 households who are currently serving the Indian Army in various positions.
Every household in the village has a military connect. Some have as many as 3 to 4 members serving in the Army or para-military forces.
Bhimasen Das, an ex-Serviceman from the village who retired from active services some eight years back said, “We are four from our family to serve the nation. Almost 99% of youths in our village are in the defence forces.”
“By God’s grace the youth’s are both physically and mentally fit and I am proud of them,” added Das.
Similarly, Subasini Barik, a war veteran’s wife from the same village rues the fact that her younger son could not get into the Army owing to a disqualification in the last phase of the entrance test. “We encourage our lads to get a job in the Indian Army, as this is what we are meant to do,” said Barik.
Thanks to the army jobs, the village boasts of a healthy economy with almost all households having a concrete roof over their heads.
Taking pride on the feat, an elderly man from the same village said, “Our people believe that defence services are the best services one can offer to the nation. By joining army the lads are not only serving the nation in the best way possible, they are also supporting their family quite well.”
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The party informed the development through a press release which stated “Dr Pradeep Panigrahi, MLA.. Gopalpur is expelled from primary membership of the party with immediate effect for his anti-people activities.”
Panigrahi was embroiled in controversy ever since he came in touch with the tainted IFS officer Abhay Pathak who was arrested by the vigilance on the charges of amassing assets worth crores disproportionate to their known sources of income.
According to reports, Panigrahi was going to marry off her daughter with the son of Abhay Pathak. All arrangements for the grand event had also reached the final stage.
Welcoming party action against Panigrahi, BJD president of Ganjam and former MLA Ramesh Chandra Chau Patnaik justified the expulsion.
Chau Patnaik said “Panigrahi's to-be son-in-law Akash Pathak who is the son of taintetd IFS officer Abhay, has duped many youths on the false promise of giving them job in his Pune-based company. Such fraud can't be executed without political patronage. So, the MLA's role in the entire episode is well envisaged. The people in his own constituency were also not happy on him for his anti-people activities."
Panigrahi, on the other hand, refuted the allegations of anti-people activities. "I am not involved in anti-people works. The party should come out with a clarification on my involvement in anti-people activities," he said urging the journalists to investigate the allegations levelled against him.
The legislator further added that his 20 years of political carrier is completely clean. "During the last general elections, I was given the task of 15 Assembly seats out of which party emerged victorious in 12. I was also accused of siphoning off the party’s election funds. But, I challenge those who have made such allegations should provide concrete evidence", Panigrahi added.
Raising the illegal sand and stone quarry operations in Ganjam, he clarified that he has not received a single penny from any mafia. Panigrahi maintained that he has no links with any of the liquor shop owner even though 80 shops are operating in the districts.
Meanwhile, Opposition BJP termed the development as a ploy of BJD to divert public attention from the ‘Pari’ murder Issue. Deputy Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Bishnu Sethi said “" It is a ploy of BJD to divert the attention of public from Pari' murder case. The BJD is trying to protect the accused in the sensational murder of a five-year-old girl.”
The BJD has flayed the Centre’s new decision saying that it would go against the interest of Odisha. While quoting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s clarification on the new alignment of the highway, party leader and Deputy Chairman of State Planning Board- Sanjay Das Burma claimed that the length of the proposed highway has been reduced from 430km to 382km.
“What I suspected earlier has proved true now when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari replied to an unstarred question on February 8 in Rajya Sabha that the length of coastal highway connecting Gopalpur to Digha has been reduced from 430km to 382km. The minister informed the House that the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment approved the new alignment which indicates that the proposed coastal highway will now start from Tangi in Khurda instead of Satpada,” Dasburma said.
He demanded that the highway should be built as per the original alignment.
"I appeal to the leaders cutting across party lines to come forward collectively without making it a political issue. Coastal highway will herald a new era in the field of tourism, business and communication in Odisha. So, it should be constructed as per the original alignment," he added.
Earlier, the Union Minister had also discussed the matter with the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “I wonder how the Centre can change the alignment even after a thorough discussion with CM. If the construction is made as per the fresh decision, it would go against the interest of the State," he added.
On the other hand, State BJP general secretary Lekhashree Smantsinghar rubbished BJD’s claim, saying that the regional party is habituated in blaming the Centre without substantiating with appropriate facts and figures.
"Initially, it was proposed that the coastal highway connecting Digha- Goapalpur would cover a distance of 430 km. However, the length of the highway was fixed at 370 km in the later phase following detailed environmental assessment and discussion with the State government and other stakeholders. But, the Centre reviewed the decision and again changed the alignment increasing the length to 382 km which means the total length of the proposed highway increased by 12 km more," she said.
The Central government is always in favour of the interests of Odisha in every aspect. The BJD should refrain from doing politics in every matter, she added.