Taxas varsity students in Ganjam’s coastal villages

BRAHMAPUR: Students of Texas University are spending their valuable times with children of fishing villages at Gopalpur-on-sea in Ganjam district, teaching them computer basics and internet skills for external exposure towards digital world and leading a sanitation drive to make the village peoples aware about the benefit of cleanliness of the environment.

The students including Jhon, Reanna, Nessa and Lauren of the US University are here for a period of two months as part of their summer internship project. They are providing training to the village students about access the web to get better study materials and ready information on anything they wish to know. Apart from this, they give training to the teenagers in spoken English and basic communication skills.

During the visit, they have also decided to conduct a training programme for teachers that will help them improve upon their teaching skills and make learning much more interactive and interesting for the students. Besides this, the students will launch a sanitation drive in the village to help the village keep clean.

“The students are amazing and they are fast learners. Many of them are now able to prepare power point slides by themselves,” said Lauren.

“I never knew that computers were so interesting. It’s really fun. In fact we have the capacity to search for anything and everything with just a click,” said Gayatri, a student.

Apart from this, the group is also conducting a village assessment programme that would help the community identify their own resources and problems in education and helping them out with some feasible solutions.

The volunteers of Divya Jyoti Mahila Vikash, VIEWS and FMM Social Service Society are assisting the students in various programmes.

City shares top record temp with Talcher in State

BHUBANESWAR: After breaking 40 years record on Tuesday, the capital city recorded the highest temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius with Talcher on Wednesday in the State. City’s temperature even surpassed State’s traditionally hottest places Sambalpur, Titilagarh, Jharsuguda and Anugul. According to the Bhubaneswar Met office, the city had recorded highest temperature of 46.5 degrees on May 22, 1972.

This unprecedented rise in the mercury level left life in the city literally paralysed between 9 am and 5 pm. It was just unbearable outside as well as inside the houses where fans were of no help due to frequent power cuts. The roads and market places wore a deserted look.

In Cuttack also the mercury level touched 44.2 degrees C, the highest temperature recorded in the millennium city this year. The situation was similar in other districts of the State. Besides the capital city, maximum temperatures at nine places of the State were recorded above 45 degrees.

Sunstroke deaths touched 105 non-officially and 30 officially in the State. The highest numbers of six sunstroke deaths were reported from Baleswar followed by Mayurbhanj 4, Sonepur and Sundargarh three each, Ganjam and Jajpur two each. Khurda, Anugul, Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara reported one death each.

According to the local Met office, severe heat wave condition would prevail over Odisha during next 24 hours. Thundersquall accompanied with hail and gusty surface wind speed reaching 60-70 kmph may occur at one or two places over Odisha during next 24 hrs.

Centre to do impact study on implementation of RGGVY work

--Minister Jena lashes at distribution companies for delay in electrification work

BHUBANESWAR: The Central Government will do an impartial impact study to see the problems in the micro-level in the areas where rural electrification has already been completed, said Minister of State (IC) for Statistics and Programme Implemenatation Srikant Jena during a review meeting of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) with the officials Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and concerned officials of the State Government here on Monday.

Jena said they will work in the micro-level according to the impact study where we can find missing links which delays the work as the deadline of the RGGVY was this March end. The study will be carried out across the country and it will be completed within three months, he added.

He also said that around 1.5 lakh BPL families are to be included in the RGGVY programme. For this purpose adequate fund will be provided in the twelfth five-year plan, he added. Jena directed the State Government to make a detailed project report on the hamlets where electrification could not be completed due to some reasons.

“I’m not satisfied with the distribution companies’ work to implement the RGGVY programme as only 44 per cent work is completed till now. The companies should give emphasis on upgradation of its existing infrastructure to meet the rising demands from the consumers as the companies are charging fee from them and hiking fee from time to time,” Jena said.

Jena also revealed that the rural electrification work was delayed due to lack of coordination between the REC and State Government, but the Department of Energy of the State Government and the REC will work out for the immediate implementation of the work.

Under the RGGVY, a total of 44,184 villages of the State were taken up out of which electrification work has been completed in 21,607 villages only. Three companies NTPC, Powergrid and NHPC were involved in the programme. NTPC and Powergrid each have taken 12 districts and NHPC six districts for rural electrification. The companies like NTPC, Powergrid and NHPC have completed only 34 percent, 35 per cent and 55.4 percent work respectively. All the companies have promised to complete the work by December 31, informed REC Executive Director SK Lohani.    

Hottest day in city at 45.9 degree C in seven years

--City witnessed 46.3 degree C in June 12, 2005

BHUBANESWAR: The capital city recorded the highest temperature of 45.9 degree Celsius on Monday within seven years period. City’s temperature even surpassed State’s hottest place Titlagarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Anugul on the day. According to the Bhubaneswar Met Department, the city had recorded highest temperature of 46.3 on June 12, 2005.   

This unprecedented rise in the mercury level left life in the city literally paralysed between 11 am and 4 pm. It was just unbearable outside as well as inside the house where fans were of no help due to frequent power cuts. The roads and market places wore a deserted look in the noon time.  

In Cuttack also the mercury level touched 43 degree C one of the highest temperatures recorded this year. The situation was similar other districts of the State. Besides the capital city, maximum temperatures at fifteen places of the State were recorded at 4o degrees plus while Baripada and Talcher recorded the highest temperature of 46 degree C each after the capital city.

Sunstroke deaths touched 105 non-officially and 30 officially in the State. The highest numbers of six sun stroke deaths were reported from Balasore followed by Mayurbhanj 4, Sonepur and Sundergarh three each, Ganjam and Jajpur two each. Khurda, Anugul, Baragarha, Bolangir, Boudh,Cuttack,Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara reported one death each.

According to the local Met office, heat wave conditions may prevail over some parts of interior Odisha during next 24 hours. Thunder squall accompanied with hailstorm and gusty surface wind with speed reaching 60-70 km per hour may occur at one or two places during next 24 hours, said centre director Sarat Mishra.

Amidst all the tension and tyranny of heat, the people are impatiently waiting for monsoon predicted to touch Kerala coast by June first week and enter Odisha by the end of second week.

Suspicious death of woman in city

BHUBANESWAR: A woman died under suspicious circumstances in her Jameswarpatna house in the city on Monday. Father of the woman alleged that his daughter was given torture by the people of her father-in-law’s house.

She was identified as Purnima Rani Jena wife of Dillip Jena of Jemeswarpatna in the city. Six years ago, Purnima got married to Dillip. They have twin daughters. After the birth of the twin, family disturbance had started and the relation between the couple was not good.

A complaint was lodged in the Mahila police station regarding the suspicious death of the woman. Police are detaining deceased Purnima’s husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law in the police station. After the investigation, the actual reason will be revealed, police said. 

   

Autodriver attacks woman in city

BHUBANESWAR: An autorickshaw driver attacked a woman following an argument took place between him and the woman here on Monday. The autodriver was arrested by the police after few hours of the incident. The auto driver was identified as Patia Pradhan, a resident of nearby slum under Badagada police station in the city.

On Monday afternoon a woman of BJB Nagar in the city with her daughter while crossing the road, an autorickshaw speedily came to their front and slightly crashed with the daughter which was the reason behind the argument. Following the argument, the raged autodriver attacked the woman with a knife and left the place.

The woman was rushed to the Capital Hospital. The Badagada police reached the spot and arrested the culprit. “It was a road rage and the autodriver was an addicted person,” police said.         

Land dispute in Gajapati: one kidnapped owner returns

PARLAKHEMUNDI: The kidnappers of land owner RS Murali and R Swamirajulu released Murali after three days on Sunday due to illness of the kidnapped, but they did not release Swamirajulu. Even they did not given any information about his whereabouts.

On Thursday afternoon, some unidentified miscreants abducted two land owners while they were returning to their village after demarcating their land. The miscreants had demanded Rs 10 lakh from the land owners to free them.

RS Murali and R Swamirajulu, the land owners, had gone to their land near Pedamadi village under Kasinagar block in the district for demarcation. While returning home, they were kidnapped by the miscreants. After getting information about the incident, a police team led by SDPO Brahmananda Gagarin Mohanty, has started investigation into the case, but the police yet to trace out the miscreants.

As RS Murali is a lawyer, the members of the Gajapati Bar Association had staged a road blockade by torching tyres demanding strong action against the abductors. The association also demanded the rescue of R Swamirajulu immediately from the clutches of the kidnappers.