Kalahandi Sikshya Vikas Parishad's MEMORANDUM FOR ETABLISHMENT OF AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY AT KALAHANDI

To

The Collector  and District magistrate                               Letter No        / 26.01.;15

Kalahandi

                                 Sub: Meeting the Chief Minister to submit a memorandum

Sir

We, the following people of Kalahandi Sikshya Vikas Parishad desire to meet the Hon’able Chief Minister at Dharamgarh on 27.01.15 to submit a memorandum for the aforesaid subject

                       Prof.G.B.Behera

                            Sri Baidyanath Misra

                            Prof. Jatin Mund

                           Prof. R.K.Behera

                       Sri Jagannath Mund   and Sri K.V.Deo

There will be no problem anywhere. We hope to be permitted to try for this meeting

                                                                                           Yours faithfully

                                                                                           (K.V.Deo)

                                                                                           Secretary

To

                       The Hon’able Chief Minister of Odisha

                        Bhubaneshwar                                                             27.01.15

 (Dharmagarh Camp)

                     SUB; AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY AT KALAHANDI

          Honorable Sir,

                  

                              We, the people of Kalahndi are grateful to your honor for sanctioning an Engineering and an aAgricuture college for Kalahandi. We had proposed that these colleges should be named  in honor of Prof. Bhubaneswar Behera, an illustrious son of Odisha and maharaja P.K.Deo, avisionary of Odisha. Till jow no decision has been made.

We also congratulate you and your elder brother for dedicating the birth place of our great leader Late Biju Pattnaik and also your birth place to the Nation. This place should be named as BHUMIPUTRA SMRUTI BHAWAN.

We are now submitting a memorandum for our rightful appeal for an AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY AT KALAHANDI. We hope you will consider our appeal favorably and as usal shall not yield to any pressure group.

                                                                                                         Yours faithfully,

                                                                                                 On behalf of the people of Kalahandi 

 A MEMORANDUM FOR ETABLISHMENT OF AGRICULTURE                                             UNIVERSITY AT KALAHANDI

  SUBMITTED TO THE HON’ABLE CHIEF MINISTER OF ODISHA 

                                                                27.01.15                            _________________________________________________________________________

1. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Hon’ able Chief Minister had argued that Odisha has only one university for agriculture and the workload of this University has gone up substantially in recent years and the state needs one more University.

   2. We were glad that the Hon’ able Chief Minister had taken positive interest in this aspect to establish a Second Agriculture University for the state.

3.     The State government has asked Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) to submit a feasibility report to upgrade the Agriculture College at Kalahandi to Agriculture university in the state as per the suggestion of former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar

   4. In the election manifesto 2014, BJD has promised to establish 2nd Agriculture University for the state in KBK region.

   5. Immediately after the election we congratulated the the Hon’ able Chief Minister for the large mandate and appealed him to establish the University in Kalahandi. The Agriculture Minister of the state announced the establishment of Agri university in Kalahandi and specifically at Bhawanipatna for which we congratulated him in November 2014 and expressed our gratefulness.

6.     It is an established fact that the existing Agriculture College at Bhawanipatna is an initiative of the Hon’ able Chief Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik. During our appeal for a Central University the Hon’ able Chief Minister clearly said that Kalahandi is in his heart.

 7. REASONS FOR OUR CLAIM

a.     Kalahandi is the top most agriculture producer,( mainly paddy, pulses, cotton     etc.) district among the KBK districts

       b. It is among the 25th largest rice producer districts in India.

c.     The agriculture growth of the district is not yet saturated and it is predicted that it can be one of the forefront district in the nation in agriculture growth.

d.     Thuamul Rampur climate is excellent for coffee(in fact good quality coffee was produced but the reasons for mismanagement is not known), floriculture and horticulture. Lanjigarh orange was of excellent quality.

e.     Bhawanipatna is located centrally among all KBK districts and suits the interest for all the KBK districts can be served very nicely.

       f. The proximity of Bhawanipatna to all the existing Regional Research and Transfer Technology Stations and Regional Research and Transfer Technology Sub-Stations of OUAT in KBK and Western Odisha region even demands location of the proposed Agriculture University at Bhawanipatna.

g.     By now, Agriculture College at Bhawanipatna is relatively developed. OUAT has already faculty, staff and students to run an institution at Bhawanipatna, which will help in establishing the new Agriculture University and develop subsequent infrastructure.

      h. Water, electricity and road infrastructure is already available in the existing building. No need to build additional road or electricity and water connection to reach out the new University except that current facilities need to be expanded within in the campus. Agriculture College at Bhawanipatna is located in the township area and neighboring to Bhawanipatna railway station and on\ Khariar-Bhawanipatna , which is being expanded to a 4 lanes through World Bank assistance. It is connected to NH 6 (within 2 km).

    i.   Schooling, marketing and other urban facilities are available from this site. A Central School (KV), three Govt. high schools, two Government colleges and many private schools and colleges are available for the children of faculty and staff within the township

j.        The land available under OUAT campus in Bhawanipatna is in the same range of land area where OUAT main campus is located in Bhubaneswar. If land is the actual concern, there are plenty of lands available adjacent to Agriculture College at Bhawanipatna that Government could easily acquire for the purpose.

k.     There are alternative sites available close to Bhawanipatna town, such as 800 acres of land near by Karlapada, Jaring and other locations.

     OUR SUGGESTIONS

    a. Most of the Agriculture Universities or Faculties around the world keep their research centers that need substantial farming land in rural campus and undertake teaching and campus housing related activities in the urban campus.

    b.It could be a good idea to keep the teaching campus of the proposed 2nd Agriculture University in the urban location like Bhawanipatna having all the existing facilities for teachers, students and staff and distribute the research centers to various districts in KBK region, which could act as additional campus of the proposed University.
  c. It would be actually a unique idea to start an INTEGRATED UNIVERSITY where students can offer various courses. (Ex. University of California Davis Campus)

                                                      On behalf of the people of Kalahndi

STATE-LEVEL THEATRE FEST ENDS IN KALAHANDI

The Pioneer, Jan 27, 2015

The eighth State-level theater festival concluded on Saturday here with presentation of play Kisha Ek Ajnabi Lash Ka..It was directed by Bijaya Pandya and written by Pius Kant of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The play was based on rise of violence in every sphere of life in the present society. The festival was organised by Kalahandi Kalakar Sangha, a leading theatre organisation of southern Odisha.

The non-competitive popular theater festival held at the Town auditorium in Bhawanipatna proved that good plays can have packed houses. President of the organizing committee Probodh Rath said.“Success of this year’s festival has inspired us to invite more active popular troupes from all over Odisha to participate in the festival.”

Veteran theatre activist Prafula Ratha, who is also part of the organising committee, said it was quite a welcome sign that a large number of sponsors came out to promote the festival.Among others, the local plays included ‘Tini Mankada and “Ka, Kha, Go,” enacted by ‘Kalahandi Kalakar Sangha’, a troupe of veteran theatre activists of the city. They all held audience glued to the seat.

Tight security in Red zone

Times of India, Jan 25, 2015
BERHAMPUR/ BHAWANIPATNA : Security was tightened in southern districts after Maoists announced to observe Republic Day as black day against US president Barack Obama's visit. "We have alerted all security camps. Vehicle checking has started and patrolling intensified," said SP (Kandhamal) K V Singh.

In Phulbani, six platoons of forces would be deployed, he said. Women and child development minister Usha Devi is scheduled to unfurl the flag at Phulbani. Similar security measures were put in place in Gajapati. Higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahy will hoist the Tricolour at Parlakhemundi. Police said adequate security measures will be taken in Ganjam too. A report from Bhawanipatna said Red rebels have put up posters, asking Obama to go back in Lanjigarh block.

The extremists felled trees and blocked the road connecting Bijepur- Trilochanpur village to prevent movement of CRPF personnel to Niyamgiri forest. The CPI (Maoist) claimed responsibility for torching the midday meal vehicle in Lanjigarh's Ijurpa village on January 21. tnn

Train tracks blown up in mine blast

Times of India, Jan 25, 2015
KORAPUT: A railway trackman was injured and train services disrupted after suspected Maoists blew up a portion of the track between Muniguda and Munikhol in Rayagada district late on Friday.

The injured, Hari Mirda, was discharged from Muniguda hospital after treatment.

Police said around 20 to 25 Maoists arrived near the railway tracks t Munikhol, about 2 km from Muniguda station, around 1.30am and triggered a landmine blast. "The spot is 100 metre from a CRPF camp. A portion of the track was badly damaged, hampering movement of trains," an official source said.

The second blast was due to a pressure mine. It took place around 4.30am when a railway team was clearing the tracks. "The Maoists planted the pressure mine beneath a banner. It went off when the trackman was trying to uproot the banner. We defused two pressure mines," said SDPO (Muniguda) A P Mallick.

The Bhubaneswar-Bhawanipatna Link Express, Rourkela-Koraput Express, Raipur-Vishakapatnam Passenger, Dhanbad-Alappuzha and Jagdalpur-Howrah trains were stranded at various stations for few hours. Trains started plying on the track around 3pm.

Why not upgrade Agriculture college in Bhawanipatna to a central agriculture university?

Bihar's Rajendra Agriculture University set to become central varsity
Times of India, Jan 23, 2015

NEW DELHI: The Centre and Bihar government will on January 25 sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to convert the existing Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU) at Pusa in Samastipur district of the state, into a central university.

The conversion will make it possible for the agricultural university to get financial support of Rs 400 crore during the 12th plan period (till March, 2017).

Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday wrote to the Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, appreciating the decision of the state government to finally agree for the MoU after overcoming legal difficulties. The MoU will pave the way for an act of Parliament, necessary for converting it into a central university.

The pact will be signed by the agriculture education and research department of Bihar government and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), department of agricultural research and education of the Union agriculture ministry, in the presence of Singh and Manjhi in Patna.

The proposal to convert the RAU into Rajendra Central Agriculture University (RCAU) had been pending since 2009 when the Planning Commission had given its formal consent to this effect. It could not proceed further due to a number of court cases from employees of the existing university. The legal issues will now be handled by the central government.

Besides, the central government will come up with two new agriculture universities in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and two new horticultural universities in Telangana and Haryana. The government has already allocated Rs 200 crore as initial assistance for setting up these four universities.

There is also a plan to set up new agriculture research institutes on the lines of Indian Agriculture Research Institutes (IARI) in Jharkhand and Assam. Financial provision of Rs 100 crore was earmarked for this purpose during the government's last budget in July, 2014.

In addition, the government is also coming up with an Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology at Ranchi in Jharkhand. The institute is being set up to give thrust to biotechnology in agriculture.

Vehicle carrying MDM for school children torched in Odisha

Business Standard, Jan 22, 2015
A group of men, suspected to be Maoists, torched a vehicle carrying mid-day meal for school children and ate the food before taking away the containers in Odisha's Kalahandi district, a senior police officer said today. 

Over 35 men waylaid the pick-up van carrying cooked food at Ijurupa under Lanjigarh police station yesterday and asked its driver and three other occupants to leave the place, Superintendent of Police, Kalahandi, Brijesh Kumar Rai said. 

They ate the food, set ablaze the van and left carrying the containers, he said. 

The cooked food was being taken for distribution among school children at Trilochanpur, Kualguda, Khemundipadar, Amguda and Goud Thuaguda villages in the district. 

Though involvement of Maoists in the incident could not be ruled out, investigation into other possible angles was also on, the SP said. 

Rai, who visited the spot, said no leaflet or poster was left behind by the attackers. 

Armed personnel had been sent to the area, he said. 

As per an MOU between Odisha government, Nandi foundation and Sesa Sterlite, which has an alumina refinery at Lanjigarh had provided infrastructure for giving mid-day meal to 187 schools in 18 different routes in the district. Nandi foundation has been supplying cooked food. 

The red rebels are opposed to industrial and mining activities in the tribal-dominated area and had killed a Vedanta employee at Ijurupa in July, 2011.

A year from now Braja Mohan High School, Kalahandi will be entering the list of Centurions

Dear Professor Patra,

Homely wishes from Kalahandi

It's a pleasure to inform you that

a year from now

Braja Mohan High School, Kalahandi

will be entering the list of Centurions.

Through you & through this platform 

I'm trying to inform a good lot of elite Kalahandia

about this upcoming remarkable event.

It's a dream to celebrate this milestone in a way 

that will be talked about in the history of Kalahandi

Hence, In due course, we shall be reaching out to all of you 

for your invaluable kind guidance.

Regards.

"Senapati"

(cap. Senapati)

Polyclinic inaugurated

Business Standard, Jan 20, 2015
A polyclinic under Ex-Servicemen Health Scheme (ECHS), a central government financed programme to provide quality health service to ex-servicemen pensioners and their dependents, was inaugurated here today. 

The centre has sanctioned 426 such facilities to be set up across the country, including seven in Odisha, said Lt Gen J George, general officer commanding Madhya Bharat area, while inaugurating the polyclinic here. 

The polyclinic has been opened in a rented house andOdisha government has been requested to provide land and other infrastructure for smooth running of the clinic, he said.

Stating that Army would do whatever was possible for uplift of the youths of Kalahandi, George said considering the interest of youths of the district, Army recruitment rallies with pre-recruitment training would be organised utilising the service of ex-servicemen to help more youths make career in military service from the area.

APPOINT REGULAR PRINCIPALS IN ALL GOVT AUTO COLLEGES

The Pioneer, Jan 20, 2015

Prof Digambara Patra of the American University of Beirut has urged the Chief Minister to take steps for solving the manpower problem in most Government autonomous colleges in the State. A non-resident Odia (NRO) who hails from Kalahandi district, Prof Patra expressed concern over a decision to strip Rama Devi Women’s College at Bhubaneswar, Gangadhar Meher College at Sambalpur, SCS College in Puri and Government Autonomous College at Bhawanipatna of College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) status for a period of five years.

These four institutions are top higher educational institutions in their respective regions. GM College Sambalpur and Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna were identified as CPE in 2004-05 and extended up to end of 11th Plan period, whereas RD and SCS got the CPE status in 2009-10. The failure of these colleges in implementing UGC norms is not solely due to National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade rather than failure of the State Government to address serious concerns of all the Government autonomous colleges in the State.

Although the Higher Education Task Force has recommended filling up all the vacant lecture posts in Government colleges in priority basis, this has not yet been taken up by the State Government in past five years, except partly meeting the teaching need with contractual instructors. When contractual instructors do 60-90  per cent of the teaching jobs- for example Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna has less than 20 % regular teaching faculties- in such a case, how could a college having CPE status improve research qualities and overall infrastructure development to emerge as a center of excellence in higher education nationally that was the key motivation for CPE status?

Most importantly none of the Government autonomous colleges in Odisha has any regular Principal to run an institution since more than a decade. Presently, temporary Principals in charge head all the Government autonomous colleges. This makes implementation of various schemes slow and daily administration poor. Perhaps, with a recent proposal by the State Government to upgrade RD, Khallikote College at Brahmapur and GM to universities would not affect financially much to these colleges after they lose the CPE tag. However, autonomous colleges like SCS and Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna, etc will suffer most due to lack of these CPE funding.  

The Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna was among the very few colleges, which received national recognition as CPE status in the first phase by the UGC despite being located in one of the most backward and poverty zones in India. Such UGC funding is crucial for overall growth of an institution in a backward pocket. Thus the State Government should give first priority to such institution. As a first step, the Government should appoint regular Principals, professors, readers and lecturers in the manpower deficient colleges soon, said Patra in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Quota for NAC chief's post opposed in Dharamgarh

Reported by Sri Anshuman Patra
Orissa Post, Dec 17, 2014

Dharitri, Dec 17, 2014

Corruption using SHG in Junagarh

Reported by Sri Debendra Bisi

Sambad, Dec 31, 2014

Crack in Brahmaniguda Bridge, Junagarh

Reported by Sri Debendra Bisi
Sambad, Dec 31, 2014

Rs.1221-cr Kalahandi Budget for 2015-16

The New Indian Express, Jan 19, 2015

BHAWANIPATNA: Budget outlay of Rs.1221 crores for 2015-16 financial year was approved by Kalahandi District Planning Board at a meeting here on Saturday and sent to State Government for consideration.

There was a detailed discussion on implementation of Biju KBK Yojana while Focus Kalahandi- 2020 was presented in the meeting. Simultaneous thrust to agriculture including integrated canal management with agro-based industries, mineral and mechanical industries and development of tribal areas by harnessing non-timber forest and minor agriculture produce and introduction of a large number of cottage industries were proposed at the meeting.

Infrastructure development like communication, godown facilities and improvement in power sector was also stressed. It was suggested to create education and health service hubs in Kalahandi.

Panchayatiraj Minister and district in-charge Arun Sahu proposed capacity building of officers at grassroots level through intensive training.

He said Rs.2 crore has been sanctioned by Panchayatiraj Department for establishment of district resource centre.

Curtains Come Down on Ghumura Utsav-2015

The New Indian Express, Jan 19, 2015

BHAWANIPATNA: The Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura-2015, a platform to showcase cultural and developmental activities of the district, concluded at Lalbahdur Sastri Stadium here on Saturday. This year, the four-day festival received around one lakh footfall each day. Pallishree Mela and KBK Craft Mela made a daily business of `one crore.

Addressing the valedictory function at Rindo Majhi Manch, Minister for Panchayati Raj and Law Arun Kumar Sahu hailed the rich cultural heritage of Kalahandi and its contribution to enrich folk culture of Odisha.

Mahari dance troupe from Puri and Prince dance group from Kalahandi performed on the valedictory night. Several prominent persons of Kalahandi were felicitated for their contribution in the fields of literature, agriculture and social work. Last Maharaja of Kalahandi was awarded Kalahandi Ratna posthumously. A souvenir Kalajharan was also released on the occasion.

Kalahandi Utsav was also simultaneously organised at Lalbahadur stadium of Bhawanipatna and in the Panchayat field of Dharmagarh. Competitions in archery, boating, mini marathon, volleyball, badminton, kabaddi, kho kho and tennis were organised. An exhibition of folk art was main attraction of the Utsav.

Around 180 poets recited poems in the Kabi Sammilani organised on the occasion. A photo feature exhibition ‘Namaste Kalahandi’ was another attraction of the Utsav at Dharamgarh.

Letter to CM: No regular principal in any of the Government Autonomous Colleges in Odisha for more than a decade

Dear Honorable Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik,

It is very disappointing to learn that four important Govt. Autonomous Colleges in Odisha - Rama Devi Women’s College at Bhubaneswar, Gangadhar Meher College at Sambalpur, SCS College in Puri and Government Autonomous College at Bhawanipatna- will not enjoy the College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) status benefits for a period of five years now from UGC.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Four-Colleges-Lose-CPE-Funds-of-UGC/2015/01/17/article2622999.ece

These four institutions are top higher educational institutions in their respective regions in Odisha. G M College Sambalpur and Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna were identified as CPE in 2004-05 and extended upto end of 11th Plan period, whereas R D Women’s College Bhubaneswar and SCS College Puri got the CPE status in 2009-10.

The failure of these colleges in implementing UGC norms is not solely due to National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade rather than failure of Odisha state Government to address serious concerns of all the Government Autonomous Colleges in the state.

Although state Government’s Higher Education Task force has recommended filling up all the vacant lecture posts in Government colleges in priority basis, this has not yet been met by the state Government in past five years, except partly meeting the teaching need with contractual instructors. When contractual instructors do 60-90 % of the teaching jobs- for example Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna has less than 20 % regular teaching faculties- in such case how could a college having CPE status improve research qualities and overall infrastructure development to provide center of excellence in higher education nationally that was the key motivation for CPE status? 

Most importantly none of the Government Autonomous Colleges in Odisha has any regular Principal to run an institution since more than a decade. Presently, temporary Principal in charge heads all the Government Autonomous Colleges in the state. This makes implementation of various schemes slow and daily administration poorer. Could we imagine a chief minister in charge to run the state for a decade? All these colleges deserve regular Principals to look after and take responsibility for the growth of such institutions.

Perhaps, with recent proposal by state Government to upgrade R. D. Women’s College at Bhubaneswar, Khallikote College at Berhampur and G. M. College at Sambalpur to Universities would not affect financially much to these colleges, however, Autonomous Colleges likeSCS College Puri, Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna, etc. will suffer most due to lack of these CPE funding.

Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna was among the very few college, which received national recognition as CPE status in the first phase by UGC despite being located in one of the most backward and poverty zone in India. Such UGC funding are crucial for overall growth of such an institution in a backward pocket where there is no state Universities (unlike Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Balasore and Barapada where there are alternative state Universities), thus, state Government should give first priority to such institution.

I urge the state Government to address key weakness of all the Government Autonomous Colleges by appointing regular Principals, professors, readers and lecturers urgently.

Thank you and best regards

Four Colleges Lose CPE Funds of UGC

The New Indian Express, Jan 17, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: The delay on the part of autonomous colleges in upgrading their National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade and accreditation has cost them dearly including losing the College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

These institutions - Rama Devi Women’s College at Bhubaneswar, Gangadhar Meher College at Sambalpur, SCS College in Puri and Government College at Kalahandi - will not enjoy the CPE status benefits for a period of five years now.

Though they had received funds to the extent of `75 lakh to `1.5 crore in the first phase, the UGC has now refused to grant them second phase funds under the scheme which is aimed at promoting one per cent of India’s autonomous and affiliated colleges as world-class centres of excellence. The UGC had introduced the scheme in its 10th Plan period and awarded a financial grant ranging from `35 lakh to `two crore to the selected institutions for undertaking specialised research, academic improvement and developing infrastructure.

In Odisha, 12 colleges under two universities had secured the CPE status in the 10th Plan and it held for five years.

While the GM College and Kalahandi Government College were identified as CPE in 2004-05 and the status had been extended upto end of 11th Plan period, RD Women’s College and SCS College got the status in 2009-10.

The ambitious multi-crore project is currently in its second phase of implementation and the UGC expects to complete the project with one more phase.

In August last year, UGC had called for proposals from the four colleges for second phase funding. In December, a standing committee on CPE processed the proposals and rejected them on the basis of lack of quality certification by NAAC.

Apparently, one of the main eligibility criteria for the status is a score of more than 3.5 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in its NAAC grade along with innovative programmes, improved university examination results and student support services. However, all the four colleges do not have valid NAAC grades as of now.

Sources in the UGC said colleges as CPE were expected to innovate in the fields of governance, framing of the curriculum, teaching methodologies and assessment system. However, during evaluation of their proposals, the colleges were found lacking in ‘innovation’ and ‘academic relevance’.

Principal, Kalahandi Government College, Loknath Sahu and his Rama Devi College counterpart, Chitrangada Samanta Singhar admitted to the NAAC shortcoming.

Samanta Singhar informed that the NAAC team will be visiting the campus on January 21 for reviewing re-accreditation proposal.

Ghumura Utsav-2015 Takes off on A Colourful Note

The New Indian Express, Jan 16, 2015

BHAWANIPATNA: The mega annual cultural event of Kalahandi district - Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura-2015 - began on a colourful note on Wednesday. Organised by Zilla Sanskruti Parishad at the Lal Bahadur stadium here, it will continue till January 17. The Utsav is being simultaneously organised at Bhawanipatna and Dharamgarh.

The Utsav offers a platform to showcase the art, culture, music, drama, literature and handicrafts of the district. Folk dances of different districts of Odisha  and neighbouring States like Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh will be staged during  the event.

Artistes perform a folk dance during the Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura-2015 in Bhawanipatna on Thursday | EXPRESS PHOTO

As a part of the inaugural ceremony, ‘mashals’ were brought from Manikeswari temples at Thuamul Rampur and Bhawanipatna, Shiva temples at Sapsilet and Mohangiri, Budharaja temple at Ampani, Dukri temples at Talgud and Urladani to the stadium by artistes. The festival was then inaugurated by Urban Development Minister Puspendra Singhdeo. The inaugural event was marked by folk dances of Kalahandi like ‘Ghumura’, ‘Banabadi’, ‘Dandari’ and ‘Madal’.

Besides, a Pallishree Mela, KBK Craft Mela, Krushak Mela and Handloom and Handicraft Mela are being organised.    At Bhawanipatna, it has been planned to organise a ‘Kabi Sammelani’ and seminar on ‘Indravati - The Lifeline of Kalahandi’ and KBK-level volleyball tournament during the festival. Earlier, archery and boating competitions were organised for tribals at Mahulpatna.

At Dharamgarh, the main attraction of the festival is the stage that has been prepared depicting the heritage of Shiva Peetha Belkhandi and other tourist attractions of the district.

Among others, Collector Bijaya Ketan Upadhyaya, MLAs Dibya Shankar Mishra and Anama Nayak, Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh Binit Bharadwaj, his Bhawanipatna counterpart Sukanta Tripathy and Chairman of Bhawanipatna Municipality Aditya Nanda spoke.

Kalahandi Utsav was initiated by former Collector of Kalahandi PK Jena in 1996. It was organised at sub-division level at Dharamgarh by former Sub-Collector V Karthikeya Pandian in 2003.

UPGRADE B’PATNA COLLEGE TO VARSITY, CM URGED

The Pioneer, Jan 9, 2015

Non-resident Odia (NRO) Prof Digambara Patra of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon,  who is also local of Kalahandi district, has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for step to upgrade the Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna to a cluster university.

He has made this demand after steps are afoot to upgrade the Khallikote Autonomous College, Brahmapur to a cluster university under RUSHA scheme and RD Women’s Autonomous College in Bhubaneswar was made a Women’s University. Also steps are on for according the status of university to the GM Autonomous College at Sambalpur. Besides, there is budget proposal to set up an open university in Sambalpur.

Patra said that as per earlier recommendation by the Higher Education Task Force, other colleges especially those which are far away from traditional universities, should have been seriously considered. As per task force’s recommendation, the Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna falls in this category and should have been also upgraded to a State University in the same line as the three colleges at Brahmapur, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar, he said.

A university at Bhawanipatna holds a lot of significance for the KBK region because for practical purpose. The local students and people of KBK suffer while travelling to universities at Burla or  Brahmapur due to long distance and poor communication. Besides as a location, Bhawanipatna has several advantages. It is a central town among the KBK districts. Most importantly, the performance of the Government Autonomous College Bhawanipatna has been outstanding over the years.

It is one of the first three colleges in Odisha which received Potential Centre of Excellence from the UGC, along with GM Autonomous College at Sambalpur and Ravenshaw College at Cuttack in Odisha, he said.

The Ravenshaw College has been already made a university. The GM College is likely to be upgraded to a university soon. Except these three colleges, the colleges which have received PEC status in Odisha from UGC are Khallikote Autonomous College and Fakir Mohan Autonomous College Baleswar. The Fakir Mohan University was established and the Khallikote Autonomous College is being made a cluster university. The only college having PEC status in Odisha and left over to be upgraded is the Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna. This is when the Higher Education Task Force has recommended for its upgradation, he added.

Sweet Victories of a Dance Missionary

The New Indian Express, Jan 10, 2015

Odissi dancer Madhulita Mohapatra believes in democratising art. In the land of Bharatnatyam, she has been sowing the seeds of Odissi with great care. In her mission to propagate Odissi in Karnataka, underprivileged children have been her focus area and she teaches them free of cost.

Starting with just five students five years ago, her dance school Nrityantar today has 500 Odissi learners. In recent years, Madhulita has opened four branches of Nrityantar in Bengaluru. Some of her best students come from families of tailors, plumbers and sweepers.

Five years back when Kalahandi-born Madhulita moved from Odisha to Karnataka after her marriage, Odissi was limited to Nrityagram, the famed dance gurukul set up by Odissi exponent, the late Protima Bedi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru in Hasserghatta.

“Having learnt Odissi from great gurus such as Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, Guru Aruna Mohanty and Guru Pabitra Kumar Pradhan, I wanted to share my art form with the people of Bengaluru,” says Madhulita. “Within the Silicon city though, classical dance strictly meant Bharatnatyam. Hence, I decided to focus on children to propagate Odissi as they would never hesitate to learn something new,” says Madhulita, who is counted among the finest Odissi dancers in national and international fora.

In 2009, when she set up her dance school Nrityantar in Kasturi Nagar, Madhulita found eager students from among the girls in the neighbourhood. But it was quite a task to convince their parents who thought Odissi was a waste of time, recalls the dancer.

The initial hiccups were no deterrent for Madhulita, who subsequently went to government primary schools where students showed interest in learning the dance which provided a break from their monotonous school routine.

“Besides, these schools cannot afford to hire dance teachers to train students unlike their rich private counterparts,” she says.

“When I first visited government schools to teach Odissi, students asked me if it was Bharatnatyam because that was the only classical dance form they knew. But once the training started, they picked up the nuances of Odissi quickly,” says Madhulita, who learnt Kannada to be able to teach the students the vocabulary and repertoire of Odissi.

Madhulita trains students from Class III to Class VII and if she finds talented students interested in learning Odissi further, she brings them to Nrityantar for specialised training.

At present, she teaches Odissi to 200 students at six government schools twice a week. The rest of the days, she juggles public performances and dance workshops at Nrityantar.

Madhulita and senior dancers trained by her at Nrityantar have now started working with a handful of private schools in the city with the idea of including classical dance as an integral part of the school curriculum.

Nrityantar’s annual festival Naman, which Madhulita conceptualised in 2010, is yet another endeavour to popularise Odissi.

“It is a humble initiative to bring together and showcase varied styles and schools of Odissi dance. Naman, meaning salutation, is a tribute to all the Odissi Gurus for their invaluable contribution to the growth and popularisation of this elegant art form,” she says.

From a modest beginning, Naman has become a part of Bengaluru’s cultural calendar today. Besides, Nrityantar’s Odissi troupe is the most sought after classical dance ensemble in Karnataka.

“As the name suggests, Nrityantar, was formed with an objective of bringing positive change through dance and the change, with respect to Odissi, is visible now,” she beams.

Her constant efforts in popularising Odissi has also given birth to an audience for the dance form in Bengaluru.

“I am only fulfilling my Gurus’ wishes of spreading the beauty of Odissi everywhere,” says Madhulita, who is also adept at Sambalpuri folk dance.

Central Nod to UPA’s Six New KV Proposal in State

The New Indian Express, Jan 12, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has given its stamp of approval to the UPA Government's decision to open 54 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) including six in Odisha and a model school in each of the block.

The new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) will be opened in Angul, Balasore, Kalahandi (Dharmagarh), Jajpur (Vyasanagar), Ganjam (Hinjilicut) and Sambalpur districts. Kalahandi district will get the first  (second) KV while the other five districts have already had Central schools.

At present, the State has 35 KVs with the State Capital having six such schools.

The 12th Plan document envisages opening of 500 new KVs. However, opening of new KV depends on viable proposals, availability of funds and approval of the competent authority, official sources said.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has sanctioned 54 new KVs at an estimated cost of `927.40 crore and this has been conveyed to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, New Delhi.

MHRD has also approved the previous Government's proposal for establishing 6,000 model schools in each block during 12th Plan period including 3,500 model schools with three-fourth funding by Centre and rest by the States.

Meanwhile, the Centre has sanctioned `3,725.60 crore funds for 2,329 model schools in 23 States.

Though the Centre had planned to set up 2,500 model schools in educational advanced districts in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, the Ministry will take a final call on the plan after a review on the matter.

Earlier, the State Government had announced to set up model schools in every block of the State. In the first phase, the Government has planned to set up such schools in seven educationally backward districts but no budgetary support has been given for this purpose.

However, the Government has made budgetary provision of `190 crore for infrastructure development of 162 schools during 2014-15. The model schools will have Classes from VI to XII and 50 per cent of the seats will be reserved for girls. Besides, there will be a girls' hostel near every school.

Utkal Alumina International Limited providing Healthcare facility to villagers in Odisha

Orissadiary, Jan 9, 2015
Report by Odisha Diary bureau, Rayagada: For people living in inaccessible pockets of Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts, most of them belong to the scheduled tribes access to modern healthcare facilities was a distant dream. But now the situation is different.  More so after Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL), a unit of Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries Limited, began operations in the Kashipur block of Rayagada district and Thuamula Rampur block of Kalahandi district. Healthcare received a priority under Utkal Alumina’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme. The company has set up a health centre at Nuapada where four experienced doctors, three in allopathic and one in homoeopathy, are posted for rendering healthcare services to patients. Besides, specialists in gynaecology, medicine, pediatrics and surgery visit the health centre regularly and are available for consultation.  Furthermore, Utkal has been providing healthcare services to people at their doorstep in 33 villages of 3 gram panchayats at the Rampur block and 27 villages of 6 gram panchayats under the Kashipur block through two Mobile Health Units (MHUs). These MHUs conduct diagnosis, supply free medicines and raise awareness through Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities on sanitation and cleanliness, family planning, mother and child care, immunization, nutrition and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). During 2013-14, the MHUs conducted 360 camps at Thuamula Rampur block in which 12,694 patients from the peripheral villages were treated free of cost. Similarly, 15578 patients received treatment in 524 health camps conducted in Kashipur block.  During 2012-13, UAL chlorinated 112 tube wells, cleaned and disinfected 32 drains in 27 villages. It also organized 12 awareness camps on diarrhea, 17 on RSBY, 24 on sanitation, 36 on mother and child care, five on school health, one on family planning, 8 on malaria, 8 on role of Gaon Kalyan Samiti, 10 on role of health workers, 2 on anemia & IFA, and 3 on construction and use of temporary latrines.   “Branded medicine and healthcare facilities have reduced occurrence of diseases and dependence on quacks,” said Narayan Naik of Gopinathpur village in Kalahandi district.  Somanath Naik of Brahmanichanchara in Kalahandi district remarks that the programmes organized by Utkal Alumina have raised people’s awareness. “The continuous efforts of the Mobile Health Units  to provide healthcare facility to people have not only helped Utkal Alumina gain peoples’ confidence but also saved precious lives besides saving people’s  time and money in visiting hospitals at faraway places, thus contributing to their socio-economic development,” said Mr. Vijay Sapra, the President and Unit Head of UAIL. “We hope, in future the people living in the periphery of the plant and mines will get more and more specialized healthcare facilities. Utkal Alumina is committed to extending all possible health care services to people in these remote pockets of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts,” added Mr. Sapra.

Naveen seeks cow breeding centre in state

Times of India, Jan 13, 2015
BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday wrote a letter to Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, requesting him to set up a National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre in Odisha. 

Naveen said, "Establishment of the centre of excellence will boost milk production and provide livelihood support to a large number of dairy farmers." 

He also pointed out that Odisha has around 1.3 crore indigenous bovine population. Of which, four indigenous cattle breeds, binjharpuri, ghumusari, khariar and motu, and two buffalo breeds, chilika and kalahandi, are registered breeds by the government of India, considering their unique traits. 

"My government is willing to provide required support to the Government of India," he added.

Govt Schools Are 'Outclassed' by Private Ones in KBK Region

The New Indian Express, Jan 15, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: Private schools are drawing more and more students in the KBK districts than the government institutions. This despite tall claims by the Odisha Government of all-round development, including broad-basing education in the backward region.

According to Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2014, student enrolment in private schools has doubled in the last five years in the KBK zone.

In 2014, at least 6.92 per cent children (in the age group of 6 to 14 years) were enrolled in private schools in Kandhamal, Boudh, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Ganjam and Gajapati districts. In 2010, enrolment rate in these districts was just 3.49 per cent.

Much of the jump has taken place in the last few years. In 2013, the enrolment rate was just 3.85 per cent, which shot up to 6.92 per cent last year indicating the rate at which private schools in KBK districts are eating into government space and even catching up with the economically sound coastal and central districts, which reported a 9.47 per cent enrolment rate. The enrolment in private school in the State stands at 8.53 per cent.

Thanks to the rising enrolment, the overall share of children in private schools is rising in these districts which are dubbed “educationally backward.” If Khurda boasts of 17.2 per cent children in the age-group of 6 to 14 years in private schools, in Nuapada, the figure is 10.7 per cent. Ganjam, Gajapati and Kalahandi have more than 9 per cent children enrolled in private schools although Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur have just over 2 per cent children in such schools.

The ASER 2014, which maps academic efficiency of the students, shows that reading levels of students in  private schools is markedly higher than their government counterparts. If 82.4 per cent students in Standard-II in government schools can at least read letters, in private schools, the figure is much higher at 96.2 per cent. The same holds for students in Standard IV level.

The arithmetic ability of students in government schools too falls short of their private counterparts. If 83.5 per cent students in Standard II can recognise numbers from 1 to 9 in government schools, over 95 per cent students of private schools can do the same.

When government school students go to higher classes, this ability drops sharply and the gap between them and their private counterparts rises by almost 100 per cent. The ASER report found that just about 35.7 per cent Standard IV students in government schools can do subtraction. In private schools, the figure is 70.5 per cent.

Though private school enrolment has shown a rise in Odisha, the State remains in the bottom pool in the entire country. West Bengal and Tripura are the other two States where the overall enrolment in private schools in rural areas is below 9 per cent.

Rs 750 crore project to provide safe water in Nuapada, Kalahandi

Pragativadi, Jan 3, 2015

Bhubaneswar: The State Government has decided to launch a mega drinking water project for Nuapada and Kalahandi. These two districts are most affected by fluoride contamination. The proposed project, targeted to be completed in two years, would cost Rs 750 crore.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has agreed in principle to provide financial assistance for the mega project under its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) scheme. Rural Development secretary Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra told the media that in the first phase of the project, filters would be installed in tube wells in the affected districts in which the fluoride content in the water is found to be in excess. The installation of filters in these tube wells would be completed by March this year, he added.

People of 927 villages in the State are presently using drinking water having excess fluoride content. Of these 927 affected villages, 118 are in Nuapada district while the remaining 739 villages are spread over 15 districts. People of 118 villages in Khariar, Boden and Sinapali blocks in Nuapada district are becoming victims of fluorosis due to excess fluoride content in the water.

Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura 2015 Inaugurated At Habaspur

Orissadiary, Dec 25, 2014

Report by Debadatta Panda, Kalahandi: Since last 1997 Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura is organising in Kalahandi and it is the second time that the said programme is inaugurated in a rural area by the initiation of the Collector and the chairman of kalahandi Utsav committee Dr.ijaya Ketan Upadhyaya I.A.S.At first Goddess Ma Lankeswari worshipped then  lighten the flame and received by MLA, 

Collector and Sarpanch and then came to the stage with a colourful procession of Ghumura,Dandari and other folk dances and established those flamebues at the sand art done by the young artist Mr.Subodh ku Mund near Ma mauli pitha.As such Ghumura- 2015 is inagurated at Habaspur under

Junagarh Block by junagarh MLA capt.D.S.Mishra and Collector Kalahandi Dr.B.K.Upadhyaya I.A.S in presence of  Sub-collector Dharamgarh Mr.Vineet Bharadwaj I.A.S,Junagarh Tahasildar JK Prusty, BDO T.Mohanty, District culture Officer KC Mohanty, MSA President Jayanta Behera,Dist. Culture association member Harjinder Singh,Habaspur Sarpanch Mrs.Manisha Sahu and other dignitaries were also present. 

Then a inauguration meeting was held after lightening the lamp before ma Lankeswari at the stage by the guests where MLA, Collector, Subcollector Culture officer and  others on the stage. Junagarh BDO cum-Convenor Block culture committee Mr. Mohanty co-ordinated the programme.The local intellectuals demanded to give chance to the local artists and genius personalities in the said utsav and lastly BDO bound to  give chance to the Ex-Sarpanch Abhay Kumar,capt JJ kumar and ex-Sarpanch and wooden craft artisan Mr.Raghunath Panda only. 

To bring out the grass route level artists, genius and kin intellectuals in the district as well as to interact with others are the main objects of Kalahandi Utsav said Collector Kalahandi.MLA told the gethering that he is always with the people and work as per the demand of the locality and try to solve all the problems of the locality. opening song by the students of Saraswati Sishu Mandir of Habaspur .The wooden craft artist Mr.Raghunath Pand gihted the wooden craft to the guests. The guests provided special prizes to the wooden craft artist Mr.Raghunath Panda and young sand artist Subodh ku Mund and the prizes to the winners of the various competition held in this occasion. Retd teacher Simanchal Nag managed the stage and Educationist and social activist Mr.Dushmanta Ku Panda delivered Vote of thanks. 

The people of the locality and nearby area became glade that after 18 years of Kalahandi Utasv  a rural pocket is selected for the inauguration of Kalahandi utsav on the other hand the people dissatisfied regarding neglecting to the intellectuals, rural artists, genius and leading personality in the said programme by the convener cum Junagarh BDO and convey their dissatisfaction to the Collector Kalahandi and Junagarh MLA.

- See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/Kalahandi/ShowDistrictNews.asp?id=55978#sthash.mnNWHgDh.dpuf

Poor quality of road construction in Odisha's Kalahandi

Orissadiary, Jan 5, 2015
Report by Rajeev Lochan Rathan; Bhubaneswar: Keeping in view of the communication development in southern Odisha the government has expedited work of road construction in rural area. But it has ignored quality control over them, resulting in poor construction of roads with potholes appearing within few days of construction. The aggressive mass grilled the construction work in charge personals in Chilipa, Dharmagarh today. After getting directives from political bosses for completing construction of roads, so that the ruling party could acquire votes in the name of development in Kalahandi for next elections. Accordingly, the AEO R & B dept. Kalahandi has directed the contractors to speed up work, so that roads could be completed before ruling party visit. Sources revealed that after receiving orders from the officers, the contractors have put in their full efforts to complete the work on time. But in this process, the quality of road construction has been fully ignored. An evident instance of this negligence is the road built from Chilipa road to Chatishagarh border. Even though the road has been built a few days ago, allegedly due to poor construction, pits have appeared on the road at many places. Not only these, joint of the two portions of roads have not been leveled properly and complete discrepancy in level of the road can be easily witnessed. At some places even the premix laid down on the road is already withering. The building of allegedly such poor quality of road has raised serious concerns from the residents in the village. According to Smt.Sukanti Sa, Zilla Parishad member Dharmagarh zone who had earlier raised the issue of poor construction of roads alleged that owing to corrupt nexus between the contractors and officers, poor roads were being built. She alleged that the corrupt nexus was playing with the taxpayers. Money which is all going in unproductive. She said an independent inquiry in this regard should be initiated.  Meanwhile, Ashish Kumar Agrawal Director of Arati Infratech Private Limited who is the incharge of the road construction refuted the allegations claiming that the roads were being built with sensor paver according to the prescribed measurement. He also asserted that they are keeping a full check over the newly built roads for ensuring judicious use of allocated money. - See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=56212#sthash.KdHEVLms.dpuf