CM declares hike in honorarium, sitting fee for PRI members

--Emergency ambulance service flagged off

BHUBANESWAR: On the occasion of Panchayati Raj Divas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday while addressing the PRI members here declared hike in honorarium and sitting fee for the Panchayati Raj representatives. The State Government would spend Rs 50 crore for the purpose, said Patnaik in the function.

Patnaik in his speech said the Government has received 87 lakh proposals through Pallisabha and Gramsabha for the first time and they would give work order in April and May this year to speed up the works of the villages. Similarly, the Panchayati Raj department has started the process to fill up the vacancy of 1361 Gram Sevaks and other posts of the department, he added.

The Chief Minister said the State Government would provide Rs 5 lakh each for 854 Zilla Parishad zone during the year 2013-14 and for which Rs 46 crore has been allotted in the budget. He appealed the PRI members to help in executing the Government welfare schemes and programmes in the villages to fulfill the dream of Biju Patnaik to make Odisha a developed State.

For the best performances, the PRI bodies were awarded on the Panchayati Raj Divas. Ganjam and Nabarangpur got award as best Zilla Parishads in the State and they were awarded Rs 5 lakh each. Similarly, five Panchayat Samities were selected for securing best place in the State among which Hinjilicut and Nabarangpur got Rs 3 lakh cash award. The other selected panchayats of the State were also rewarded with Rs 1 lakh each for their best performance.       

On the sidelines of the Panchayati Raj Divas Samaroh, the much awaited 24X7 Emergency Medical Ambulance Service (OEMAS) was launched by the Chief Minister in the presence of Health and Family Welfare Minister Damodar Rout here at the same venue. Now it would be easy to get ambulance service after dialing 108. The average response time of 20 minutes for urban locations, 25 minutes for semi-urban and 35 minutes for rural locations has been kept as performance parameters.

There would be a total number of 420 ambulances for the entire State but in phases. In the first phase, 280 ambulances would be operationalised in above 15 identified districts- Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Rayagada and Koraput. Ziqitza Health Care, a private service provider, would extend the support in providing the services.

Among others, Panchayati Raj Minister Kalpataru Das, ST and SC Development Minister Lal Bihari Himirika, Women and Child Development Minister Usha Devi, Rural Development Minster Bikram Keshari Arukh, Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya, MLAs and MP of Bhubaneswar, Principal Secretaries of Health and Family Welfare, Panchayati Raj Department, officials of Panchayati Raj Department and more than 14000 PRI members were present in the Samaroh.

24 betel vines demolished in Posco area amid tension

--Dist Admin imposes section 144 at Patna area

PARADIP: Taking the opportunity of troubled water of Saturday evening’s incident, the district administration has started land acquisition process in the presence of police forces at Govindpur near the proposed Posco area, while simmering tension is getting its form at the trouble torn Dhinkia area as the anti-Posco agitators are preparing to hold a meeting regarding their future plan at Patna area where the district administration issued section 144 keeping eye on any untoward situation.

On the second day of the resumed land acquisition drive for the proposed Posco steel plant, the Jagatsinghpur district administration dismantled 24 betel vines amid brimming tension at Govindapur. On the other hand, the district administration issued section 144 at the Patna Haat where the anti-Posco agitators would conduct their Samabesh on Tuesday protesting land acquisition for the company.

According to district Collector Satya Kumar Mallick, betel vines were demolished peacefully at Govindapur and compensation of Rs 34.68 lakh was distributed to the land losers on Monday. “We would start the land acquisition process on Wednesday also,” said the Colector.

The district administration has deployed police forces to maintain peace in the area.

Summer specials towards Shirdi from Puri

BHUBANESWAR: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) authorities decided to run summer specials towards Sai Nagar Shirdi from Puri to avoid rush in regular trains and to provide comfortable journey to the passengers, said here in a release to the Media on Monday.

Puri-Sai Nagar Shirdi Special train would leave Puri at 11.35 pm on every Friday in between April 5 to June 28 and would arrive at Sai Nagar Shirdi at 8.25 am on every Sunday. In the return direction, Sai Nagar Shirdi-Puri Special would leave Sai Nagar Shirdi at 1 pm on every Sunday in between April 7 to June 30 and would arrive at Puri at 10.55 pm on the following days.

The train has one AC-2 tier, two AC-3 tier, nine Sleeper Class, six General Second class, two Guard cum Luggage Vans and a Pantry Car in its composition having stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Sambalpur, Bargarh Road, Balangir, Titlagarh, Kantabanji, Raipur, Durg, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Manmad, Kopargaon and Puntamba between Puri and Sai Nagar Shirdi.

Reorganise GPs to activate PRI in State: GSS

BHUBANESWAR: “To make the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) function effectively, the State Government need to urgently reorganise the Gram Panchayats (GPs) and make smaller GPs throughout the State,” demanded Gram Swaraj Sammukhya (GSS) convener Jagdish Pradhan at a Press meet here on Monday.

Pradhan said the size of the GPs in the State are so large that include seven to eight villages and in some places even up to 30 to 35 villages as a result the people are not getting their space to air their voice properly. The Gram Sabha also constitutes all the voters of each GP and hence it has been found that nowhere in the State, the Gram Sabha meetings have been held properly, he added.

GSS proposed to the Government that any village which has more than 1000 population should have a GP and in case of smaller villages two or three villages could be clubbed together to form a GP. In this way, Odisha should have about 30,000 GPs and about 750 Panchayat Samity, it said.

“It has been seen that in the States wherever there are smaller GPs functioning, implementation of the rural development schemes have been more effective and the incidence of poverty in those States is also less,” said Pradhan, adding, “The provisions of the PESA Act and Forest Rights Act 2006 are yet to be implemented in the proper spirit in the State.”

GSS member Sudarshan Chotray said that the Government should form Ward Sabhas for the big villages which consist of wards to address the problems of all the village people. They have met all the party leaders and submitted the memorandum to impose pressure on the Government to materialise the proposal. “We have informed some State leaders about the proposal. They would give their opinions very soon,” said Chotray, adding, “We would organise a State-level convention to hold dialogues with media on the matter.”

...Enjoying life with 'Books'

-- Rekindle the love for reading --

City lad opens Odisha’s first online bookstore

BHUBANESWAR: ‘Enjoying life with books’, the tagline of a bookshop, Carry On, exhibited at the Bhubaneswar Book Fair, tells a different tale about the increasing interest among the new generation readers in books. Soumya Prateek Sahu, proprietor of Carry On, who has started his book business online, claimed that it is the first of its kind in the State.

Only 22-year-old, Sahu, a Commerce graduate and presently doing a professional course in a reputed university, had started the online bookshop six months back through social networking website Facebook. Later, he used other social networking websites to ask the readers for book orders from them.

For the first time, his bookshop has taken part in the fair with a stall having more than two lakh books. The stall has varieties of latest books catering to the needs of different sections of readers.

“I choose the latest books which can woo the new generation readers as well as the passionate old readers. I think books are not for showcasing or beautifying the library but a source of inspiration and enjoyment which can generate new ideas as well as refresh the mind,” said Sahu.

Sahu while showing the varieties of fiction and nonfiction books by nationally and internationally-reputed authors said he turned his passion into a career by setting up of an online bookstore. He was a booklover and a voracious reader from his childhood, always purchasing books to satiate his hunger for knowledge. At this age, youth normally continue with their studies or run after jobs, but he wanted to be an entrepreneur by starting book business, which he loves very much.

Sahu ruled out the concept that readers in the capital city don’t have interest in books. He was pleasantly surprised when around 30,000 books were sold in the book fair on last Sunday. Everyday, they bring more than 30,000 books to meet the demands of readers. Most of the buyers are young and give order through phone and e-mail, Sahu said.

Besides the books in English, Bengali and Hindi, Sahu provides Odia books online as most of the online bookshops do not do so. He is going to launch his professional website very soon with several features which, he hopes, would help booklovers.

Sahu’s father LN Sahu, a former senior civil judge, is helping his son in shaping of his dream. “I wished him to be an entrepreneur,” said the father, adding, “I respect my son’s wish as I always advise him to follow his own heart.”

Sahu, who is in the process of penning a fiction, said he would set up a bookshop in the capital city where the readers and writers could meet each other and share their feelings. “We will start a new trend to rekindle the love for reading and promote the reading habit among the new generations to create a healthy and knowledgeable society,” he ended. 

    

Explosives recovered from Kandhamal, Koraput

PHULBANI/JEYPORE: During an operation conducted by the joint forces of CRPF, DVF and district police in Srirampur forest in Kandhamal district on Wednesday, the security forces busted a Maoist camp of Bansadhara division and recovered a DVD player, three steel containers and a bundle of electric wire from the camp.

On the very next day, the joint forces of SOG and local police conducted raid on an old camp of Odisha Maovadi Party during an operation at Kalingbadi jungle under Daringbadi police station limit. The forces recovered 36 high explosive granites, two pair of Maoist uniform, an electric switch board, magazine pouch, a polythene sheet and a bundle of electric wire, said Kandhamal SP JN Pankaj.

Similarly, explosives were seized during a joint operation by SOG jawans and local police at a jungle near Naranga village of Tentulipadar GP under Narayanpatna police limits in Koraput district on Friday. The joint forces recovered 10kg clamour mine along with other Maoist articles from a Maoist dump area in the forest, the police said.   

Cong demands CB probe into Bhograi sexual assault case

BHUBANESWAR: Pradesh Congress Committee members on Friday demanded Crime Branch probe into the sexual assault of a minor girl of Sultanpur area under Bhograi police station limit in Baleswar district.

PCC general secretary Sabitri Sahu and former president of Women Congress Umarani Patra said that the State Government failed to control the crime against women as a result sexual assault on girls is increasing day by day. They demanded stringent action against the culprits for assaulting the girl.

The women leaders alleged the police are delaying to arrest the culprits and not taking appropriate steps to nab the culprits.