Worker falls from height, dies(Wednesday May 23 2007 12:03 IST )
JHARSUGUDA: A contractual worker of SPS Steel and Power Ltd at Barmal, Ganesh Majhi, died after falling from a height on Monday on the plant premises.Although, he was immediately shifted to Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela, he succumbed at around 10.30 p m on Monday.Following the incident, Congress supporters led by their leaders Tarun Pandey and Girish Panda staged a demonstration in front of the SPS plant and also detained SPS duty buses.However, the agitation was called off on Tuesday after general manager of the plant S P Sanyal announced a compensation of Rs 5.51 lakh besides employment to the kin of the deceased.Earlier, apprehending trouble, two platoons of police forces were deployed at the spot. A case has been registered.


SAIL Rourkela plant to get Rs 9869 cr facelift
BS Reporter / Bhubaneswar May 24, 2007
The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) board has in principle given approval to Rs 9869-crore modernisation and capacity expansion plan of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).
The proposal envisages to more than double the hot metal production capacity of RSP from 2 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes a year (MTPA). The project is expected to be completed by 2010 .
The proposed modernisation programme also includes setting up of a blast furnace with working volume of 4060 cubic metres and productivity of 2.3 tonne a metre cube daily.
Besides, blast furnace- I of the steel plant will be reconstructed and upgraded to 1250 metre cube useful volume with high top pressure and coal dust injection facilities, while in blast furnace-4, coal dust injection system will be incorporated.

Orissa cop's rapist son in UP?
Posted Thursday , May 24, 2007 at 00:53
Updated Thursday , May 24, 2007 at 01:21
Bhubaneswar: Despite Rajasthan government saying they would arrest Orissa to cop BB Mohanty - accused of helping his son escape the law - there was no arrest on Wednesday.
While the police are none the wiser about the whereabouts of Mohanty’s son Biti convicted of rape, CNN-IBN has learnt from sources that rape convict Biti Mohanty is somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
While some police sources say he is still in Orissa, it’s even speculated that Biti might have fled the country.
While father Mohanty is capable of answering these questions, he continues to maintain a syoic silence.
"I do not want to answer about his whereabouts. I do not know where he is otherwise my mother would not have suffered. I am ready to cooperate with the law to catch him," he says.
If Biti - who was convicted for raping a German scholar in Rajasthan last year is in Orissa - he cannot be traced, unless Orissa police cooperates.
But the Orissa police seem to be adopting a passive role.
"We will search him only if we get the court's order to find Biti or Rajasthan police come here and seek our help in the matter," says Orissa Home Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra.
Rajasthan police say Biti can be traced once Mohanty is arrested. But Orissa government claims Rajasthan has not communicated with them.
"I think if the Rajasthan government need any help from us in this regard they should communicate," said Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik.
B B Mohanty has said that his rape convict son Biti Mohanty had seen the appeal made by him to surrender three months back on CNN-IBN. But as he was in the process of doing so he was stopped by his friends. Mohanty says he was never in touch with this son again after that.


CM power plan tribute to papa (DEBABRATA MOHANTY)
Bhubaneswar, May 23: With an eye on the forthcoming Assembly polls, now rumoured to be scheduled in late 2008, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today planned a rural electrification scheme naming it after his father and former chief minister Biju Patnaik, under which 10,000 villages would be electrified in next five years.
Raising the bogey of step-motherly treatment of Orissa at the Centre’s hands, Patnaik on Sunday had indicated that his government would try to electrify all villages across Orissa with the state’s money.
After sitting through a meeting of senior officials and ministers, Patnaik gave a name to the scheme: Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana.
Under the scheme Rs 1,000 crore would be spent during the next five years in electrifying 10,000 villages vis-à-vis 18,000 un-electrified ones.
Energy minister Suryo Patro, who attended the meeting, said the scheme would target villages that can’t be covered by the central scheme.
The Biju Yojana would specifically focus on villages that have a population of less than 300.
BJD insiders believe that the rural electrification drive is a step in enlisting popular support in case early polls are called in 2008 and not March 2009, when state Assembly election is due.
Patro added that the villages electrified under the new programme would sport an emblem showing that they have met the parameters of electrification.
He further added that the newly-formed power transmission utility, Orissa Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), will be given Rs 550 crore bank guarantee to shore up the transmission infrastructure.
Transmission lines such as the Ib-Meramunduli 400 KVA line and the Bargarh-Bolangir 220 KVA line would be built by the OPTCL. Patro further added that the funds for the Biju rural electrification scheme would be made available in the State Budget.
The Budget session of the Orissa Assembly starts next month.
The energy minister said the government is trying to bring down the transmission and distribution loss from a whopping 40-42 per cent.
The department will alsp set up 34 energy police stations to check incidences of power theft. Besides an IG-ranked police officer would be appointed to oversee the functioning of the police stations.

Essar's Orissa plans face heat (TIMES NEWS NETWORK
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2007 02:10:58 AM]
MUMBAI: The Essar group’s plans of entering the aluminium sector is facing hurdles of a different kind, religious and mythological. The Ruia-controlled group, along with Canada’s Balaton Power, has planned to set up a fully-integrated aluminium project in Orissa which will need an investment of over Rs 4,500 crore. The two companies have also planned to team up with Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) to develop the Gandhamardan mines, which contain India’s second-largest bauxite reserves with 230MT. However, the companies have been facing various challenges. One of them being convincing the local population who are sensitive to the “mythical value” of the Gandhamardan mountains. It is believed that in Ramayana, Hanuman got herbs for Lakshman from these mountains. “Because of this, the local population is yet to give its support for the project, for which Balaton had earlier formed a JV with the Kolkata-based VISA Steel,” sources close to the development told ET. The delay in the project seems to have prompted Balaton to search for other partners. Other than Essar, Balaton is believed to have also approached Australian major BHP Billiton. The mining major, however, declined. Unhappy with the latest development, VISA has sent an arbitration notice to the Balaton Power. The Kolkata company has alleged that it had signed a similar agreement with Balaton’s subsidiary Continental Resources (CRL) in April 2005, but was not informed by the Canadian firm’s intention to join hands with Essar. VISA has also sent a notification to the Essar group. VISA Steel’s Chairman Vishambhar Saran confirmed the development. “But Balaton is yet to respond to the arbitration notice. So we have approached the Supreme Court to appoint an independent arbitrator in the case. We have been working on the project, but looks like someone has instigated Balaton,” he said. Incidentally, Balaton Power in a statement said, “Essar is the ideal partner for this venture given its local knowledge, expertise and track record.” An Essar spokesperson, confirming the initiative, added, “This is part of the Group’s exploratory activities and we are talking to various parties. Everything depends on the realisation of various conditions.” Balaton’s subsidiary CRL had signed “an agreement in principle” with Essar Aluminium Orissa earlier this month. One of the conditions, according to sources, could include Balaton sorting out the issues with VISA Steel.

Court rejects police plea seeking NBW against Orissa DGP24 May, 2007 l 1405 hrs ISTlPTI
JAIPUR: A local court on Thursday rejected Rajasthan Police's petition seeking a non-bailable warrant against Orissa DGP B B Mohanty, who has been accused of helping his son Biti, convict of rape, jump parole. Turning down the request after two days of arguments, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajendra Bansal asked the police to make serious efforts to arrest Mohanty as the Supreme Court's stay his favour ended on May 21. "It is quite possible that DGP Mohanty be on duty in Orissa and Rajasthan Police should make attempts to arrest him instead of procuring the non-bailable warrant," said Virendra Jhakhar, a police official associated with the investigation, quoting the order.

Man shot dead in Orissa24 May, 2007 l 1306 hrs ISTlPTI
SAMBALPUR (Orissa): A 32-year-old was killed when he was allegedly fired at by another person in the busy Khetrajpur area of this city on Wednesday night, police said. Charan Das had an altercation with another man who whipped out a country made pistol and chased the former and fired twice. Seriously injured, Das was first taken to the headquarter hospital for treatment and latter shifted to the VSS Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead. Tension gripped the area following the incident as about 50 persons gathered from Charan's basti to look out for the attacker. However, police reached the spot in time to defuse the tension in the locality. But shops and business establishments in the area, the city's biggest business area, remained closed on Thursday. The body was sent for post-mortem on Thursday. The person who fired the shots was yet to be arrested. "We are looking for the man," police said.

Orissa man gunned down by assailants
Bhubaneswar, May 24: Unidentified assailants shot dead a 32-year-old man in Orissa's Sambalpur district over alleged enmity, police said Thursday.The deceased has been identified as Charan Das alias Mundu of Khetrajpur area on the outskirts of Sambalpur town. The miscreants fired two rounds of bullets at him at Khetrajpur vegetable market, a senior police officer of Sambalpur police station said."Though he was rushed to the VSS Medical College Hospital doctors declared him brought dead," the police officer said. Charan had an altercation with a man whose associates whipped out a locally made pistol and chased him, he added.The incident occurred at the town's biggest business area and tension prevailed as hundreds of local villagers congregated at the hospital demanding action against the attackers.The police have registered a case and investigations are on to nab the criminals.


Jaipur court rejects plea seeking NBW against Orissa DGP (Friday, May 25, 2007 )
Jaipur, May 24: A local court on Thursday refused to issue a non-bailable warrant against a defiant Orissa DGP B B Mohanty accused of helping his son convicted of rape jump parole but said the Rajasthan police was free to arrest the top cop. Rejecting the Rajasthan police`s petition for a NBW after two days of arguments, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajendra Bansal said the police can arrest Mohanty as the Supreme Court`s six-week deadline for the top cop to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate`s court had ended on May 21. The Apex court had also ordered that Mohanty be not arrested till that date. "It is quite possible that DGP Mohanty is on duty in Orissa and Rajasthan Police should make attempts to arrest him instead of procuring the non-bailable warrant," said Virendra Jhakhar, a police official associated with the investigation, quoting the order. Reacting to the court order, Mohanty said he did not want to comment on the plan of action of Rajasthan police but said any move to arrest him would be beyond its legitimate powers. The court had yesterday postponed the proceedings till today after the police sought a fresh warrant saying it was studying all documents including the proceedings in the Orissa High Court and Supreme Court proceedings related to the case. A team of Rajasthan police is ready to proceed to Orissa to arrest the DGP and bring him here in connection with a case registered at Lal Kothi police station on January 10 for allegedly sheltering and helping his son Biti, who is convicted for raping a German tourist, an official said. On March 20 last year, a German woman had alleged that she was raped in a hotel in Alwar by Biti Mohanty, an MBA student. On March 21, he was arrested and a fast track court convicted Mohanty on April 11. However, since December 4 he has jumped the parole, granted to meet his ailing mother, and went missing. Early this year, Rajasthan police filed a case against the Orissa DGP on the charge of sheltering his son and help him jump the parole. The senior Mohanty was, however, granted bail by Orissa High Court. On April 9, the Supreme Court, however, quashed senior Mohanty`s bail and gave him six weeks to surrender before the chief judicial magistrate`s court in Jaipur and ordered that he be not arrested till then. Court verdict has re-established my faith in judiciary: MohantyOrissa`s DGP (Home Guards)today said the verdict of a Jaipur court which rejected the Rajasthan police petition seeking NBW against him has re-established his faith on the judiciary.The judgment has been fair and judicious, Mohanty told reporters after he came to know that the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Jaipur had turned down the plea of the Rajasthan police for issuing a non-bailable warrant against his name.Mohanty, who has moved the Rajasthan High Court seeking quashing of charges against him made by the police, hoped that Rajastahn police would also uphold the court`s verdict. They should now understand that the allegations against me were not accepted by the court of law, Mohanty said. Bureau Report

Heat wave warning in parts of Orissa
Bhubaneswar, May 24 (PTI): With day temperatures rising in most places, the Meteorological office here today issued a heat wave warning for several parts of Orissa.
"Heat wave conditions are likely to prevail in some parts of Orissa during the next 48 hours," the Met office bulletin said.
This is the second such warning from the weather office during this summer.
Sizzling heat has prevailed in the western and southern districts with maximum temperatures soaring beyond 40 degree Celsius.
While Malkangiri recorded the highest temperature of 44.5 degrees C yesterday, it was 42.6 in Balangir, 41.2 in Titilagarh, 41.8 in Sambalpur, 41.1 in Sundargarh, 41 in Bhawanipatna and 40 degree C in Jharsuguda.
Hirakud, which is located next to the massive Hirakud reservoir, recorded 42.1 degrees C.
The capital city registered 40 degrees Celsius during the day while neighbouring Cuttack recorded 40.5 degrees C, the weather office said.

Orissa Man Gunned Down By Assailants
Thursday 24th of May 2007:- Unidentified assailants shot dead a 32-year-old man in Orissa's Sambalpur district over alleged enmity, police said Thursday.The deceased has been identified as Charan Das alias Mundu of Khetrajpur area on the outskirts of Sambalpur town. The miscreants fired two rounds of bullets at him at Khetrajpur vegetable market, a senior police officer of Sambalpur police station said.'Though he was rushed to the VSS Medical College Hospital doctors declared him brought dead,' the police officer said. Charan had an altercation with a man whose associates whipped out a locally made pistol and chased him, he added.The incident occurred at the town's biggest business area and tension prevailed as hundreds of local villagers congregated at the hospital demanding action against the attackers.The police have registered a case and investigations are on to nab the criminals.

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Court refuses arrest warrant against Orissa DGP
Jaipur, PTI: Police can arrest Mohanty as the Supreme Court's six-week deadline for the top cop to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court had ended on May 21, says Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajendra Bansal.
A local court today refused to issue a non-bailable warrant against a defiant Orissa DGP B B Mohanty accused of helping his son convicted of rape jump parole but said the Rajasthan police was free to arrest the top cop.Rejecting the Rajasthan police's petition for a NBW after two days of arguments, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajendra Bansal said the police can arrest Mohanty as the Supreme Court's six-week deadline for the top cop to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court had ended on May 21. The Apex court had also ordered that Mohanty be not arrested till that date."It is quite possible that DGP Mohanty is on duty in Orissa and Rajasthan Police should make attempts to arrest him instead of procuring the non-bailable warrant," said Virendra Jhakhar, a police official associated with the investigation, quoting the order.
Reacting to the court order, Mohanty said he did not want to comment on the plan of action of Rajasthan police but said any move to arrest him would be beyond its legitimate powers.The court had yesterday postponed the proceedings till today after the police sought a fresh warrant saying it was studying all documents including the proceedings in the Orissa High Court and Supreme Court proceedings related to the case.A team of Rajasthan police is ready to proceed to Orissa to arrest the DGP and bring him here in connection with a case registered at Lal Kothi police station on January 10 for allegedly sheltering and helping his son Biti, who is convicted for raping a German tourist, an official said. On March 20 last year, a German woman had alleged that she was raped in a hotel in Alwar by Biti Mohanty, an MBA student. On March 21, he was arrested and a fast track court convicted Mohanty on April 11. However, since December 4 he has jumped the parole, granted to meet his ailing mother, and went missing.Early this year, Rajasthan police filed a case against the Orissa DGP on the charge of sheltering his son and help him jump the parole. The senior Mohanty was, however, granted bail by Orissa High Court.On April 9, the Supreme Court, however, quashed senior Mohanty's bail and gave him six weeks to surrender before the chief judicial magistrate's court in Jaipur and ordered that he be not arrested till then.

Orissa employee suspended for polygamy
Bhubaneswar, May 24: An Orissa government employee has been suspended for polygamy, an official said Thursday, adding he could even be sacked.Manas Rout, 32, of Gayasapur village in Kendrapada district, about 100 km from here, was employed as a surveyor in 1999.He married the first time in 2000 and fathered two children. In 2003, he married another girl of Jajpur district and stayed in a rented house, police said.His first wife filed a case in the family court in Cuttack. While the case was being heard, he again married on May 5 by claiming himself as a bachelor, Patita Paban Choudhury of Dharmasala police station told IANS Thursday.Rout was suspended following an official enquiry.Tehsildar Harischandra Nayak conducted an inquiry and pressed for Manas under suspension. "After an inquiry I found the allegations to be true. I have produced my inquiry report before the district collector besides urging him to terminate Manas from his service," Nayak said.Police said Manas is absconding and efforts are on to nab him.

Child dies after consuming prasad in Orissa
Indo-Asian News Service
Bhubaneswar, May 24, 2007
A child died while over 50 people, mostly women and children, fell sick in an Orissa village after consuming prasad, a health official said on Thursday.
As many as 30 people were admitted to the Dharmasala hospital and one of them, Chandan Mallick, 8, died in the afternoon.
Residents of Sarei village in Jajpur district, about 130 kms from Bhubaneswar, had taken Sirini - a religious offering made of rice, milk, coconut, and sugar - during a village festival on Tuesday.
After 48 hours many of them complained of giddiness and acute stomachache. Many vomited and complained of diarrhoea, a medical officer of the hospital said.

Rourkela steel plant set to enter new era
Statesman News Service ROURKELA, May 24: Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is all set to enter a new era of productivity, profitability and quality as the Board of Steel Authority of India Limited (Sail) has formally given approval in principle to a proposal for its modernisation and capacity expansion at an indicative cost of Rs 9,869 crore. The objectives of expansion include increase in production of crude steel through state-of-the-art technology in order to meet the productivity level of international standards, improvement in quality of products, production of more value-added products, reduction in energy consumption, improvement of environment, cut in cost of production and thereby increase in net sales realisation. As per the approval, the hot metal production capacity of the steel plant will soar to 4.5 million tons per annum (MTPA). The massive modernisation programme of RSP includes setting up of a fifth blast furnace with working volume of 4,060 cubic meters and productivity of 2.3 tons per meter cube per day. This apart, blast furnace-1 will be reconstructed and upgraded to 1,250 meter cube useful volume with high top pressure and coal dust injection facilities, while in blast furnace-4, coal dust injection system will be incorporated, thereby more than doubling the present hot metal capacity of the plant. The package also envisages the setting up of a new seven m tall coke oven battery and a new sinter plant with 3.69 MTPA capacities. In order to augment the steel producing capacity, RSP is going to install a new 150 ton converter and a new caster in its SMS-II. New RH-OB unit will be introduced in SMS-II to produce clean steel such as ultra low carbon steels. Two new matching ladle heating furnaces (LHF) are also on the cards, which will take the number of LHFs to three. One of the existing casters will also be upgraded. These augmentation measures will take the total crude steel capacity of RSP to the level of 4.2 MTPA. In view of the increasing demand for high end products, the RSP will be going in for a new plate mill with a capacity of 1.8 MTPA that will roll out different grades of plates up to the width of 4,200 MM meeting the stringent specific customer requirements. In order to further improve the quality of hot rolled strips, the finishing mill train of HSM will be modernised to meet the customers’ requirement and to improve the operation and quality of downstream units. An entirely new mill to produce 1,80,000 tons of CRNO steel will be coming up under this modernisation package, taking the total capacity of this superior grade steel to 2.55 lakh tons per annum.

A case dusted off after 30 yrs
Statesman News Service BHADRAK, May 24: Believe it or not. A poor man had left home two months back leaving his family members behind when he came to know that the Chandabali police would arrest him for an alleged crime he had committed 30 years ago. He is Rabindra Nayak (46) of Pratappur village under Chandabali police station jurisdiction. The Bhadrak SDJM had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Rabindra on 21 March. To execute the NBW, Chandabali police had conducted raid on Rabindra’s house. At first, the illiterate Rabindra could not know why the police conducted raid on his house. Fearing police, he had left the village. Then, he came to know that he had been victimised in a theft that had taken place 30 years back. Rabindra met with some media persons here and said: “I was eking a livelihood on tending cows when I was 16. One Bidyadhar Bal of my village had given a hen while I was herding cows near my village. But after Bal’s departure, some villagers came in and took me to police station alleging that the hen I had was stolen by Bidyadhar from Gayadhar Rout’s house. Police released me after enquiry, seized the stolen hen and also arrested Bidyadhar Bal, the real culprit. A case was registered by police on 16 April 1977. After that, I had forgotten the incident.”When contacted, Mr Sriballav Sahoo, OIC, Chandabali police station, said that as per criminal proceedings, a man would be treated as a criminal if he possessed stolen articles. However, It s not a non-bailable case. But as he had not appeared in the court after repeated summons, the judge directed cops to execute the NBW and ordered to produce him. On the other hand, the complaint of the case, Gayadhar Rout, had died two years back. The son of the complaint, Mr Natabar, said that the case should be dropped and the police should not arrest Rabindra.

‘Enough iron ore for Posco’
NEW DELHI, May 23: With foreign steel giants making a beeline for the mineral-rich states of the country, steel minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan today said there was no dearth of iron ore for Pohang Steel Company (Posco) to set up its 12 million ton steel plant in Orissa. Mr Paswan pointed out that these steel companies could also explore the possibility of setting up their projects outside the iron ore rich states. n PTI

WB fund for road works
Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR, May 24: Orissa is all set for massive investment in the road sector and the World Bank has agreed to assist by providing Rs 1,406 crore for various road projects. It has also agreed to help establish a Construction Academy on lines of the one existing in Hyderabad, said works minister Mr AU Singhdeo. Mr Singhdeo, who had detailed discussions with a World Bank delegation comprising Mr B Raja and Mr AK Swaminathan , said the state was looking forward to invest Rs 2,121 crore on state roads over the next five years and the World Bank would provide Rs 1,406 crore. This year, 204 KM of road length with an investment of Rs 415 crore will be taken up. The Bhawanipatna-Kharia, Chandbali-Bhadrak-Anandpur, Berhampur-Taptapani stretch will be taken up. Of the total project cost in this first phase, at least 80 per cent will be by way of WB assistance, said Mr Singhdeo. The minister pointed out that Orissa was witness to a massive development spree on different fronts and the road sector was the most visible of the development process that was taking place. Mr Raja appreciated the minister’s stress on this crucial infrastructure and also concurred with the idea of establishing a Construction Academy where contractors as well as unskilled workers could be trained and exposed to latest technology. The PPP mode is also making headway as far as the road section between Sambalpur-Rourkela, Joda, Koira-Rajamunda widening was concerned, observed those present during the discussions. Mr Singhdeo impressed upon the WB team that repair and maintainance of roads were critical aspects of the sector and some special arrangement needed to be done for this purpose. Mr Swaminathan suggested developing a core road network with special systemic arrangements to undertake repair of busy roads.

Coal mining digs Talcher into a hot spot
Statesman News ServiceTALCHER, May 24: With northwesterly winds blowing since Monday the temperature in Talcher industrial belt touched 46 degree Celsius today, the highest so far this summer, bringing fears of a heat wave similar to 2005. After midday the excessive heat and humidity forced most people to stay indoors giving streets a deserted look. Temperatures hit 45 degrees on Tuesday and 44 degrees on Wednesday according to the local sub-collector’s office. As the temperature is always measured in the shade, it can be expected to be two to three degrees above 46 degrees in the sun. According to mining officials the heat inside the coal mines has remained more than 50 degrees. Northwesterly winds are always a matter of concern for local residents as all the operating open cast coal mines are situated either to the west or north of residential areas. The heat, dust and smoke from the mines begin to blow towards the inhabited areas causing temperatures to rise. The exposed coal bed of the mines, spread over several kilometres, absorbs the heat in the daytime and emits heat during the night. There are other contributing factors for the abnormal temperature in Talcher. Angul, nearby, for example, always remains two to three degrees lower. For one thing, forest cover has almost been depleted in Talcher due to coal mining and no effort has been made to reforest the area. Although hundreds of crores of rupees have been deposited with state forest department for compulsory afforestation they have yet to do anything. Mounds of earth resembling hills, created by coal mining excavation in the area, are barren. There are about 20 of these earth dumps. In addition, around 80,000 tons of coal are burnt everyday for the boilers of the power plants and sponge units about 30 km away from the town, also increasing the overall temperature. The 2000 coal transporting heavy vehicles also add to the problem. In the past, apart from Talcher achieving the status of being one of the 14 most polluted spots in the country, it has also had the distinction of being the one of the hottest spots.

Halt to mining
Statesman News Service TALCHER, May 24: Coal production and dispatch in three mega mines here came to a grinding halt today following the indefinite agitation by some land oustees of Danara village which is affected by Balaram mine. At least 30 agitating people of the village blocked the coal output and transportation of Balaram, Bharatapur and Hingula mines since Thursday morning demanding job in MCL in lieu of their land acquired for first two mines in 1990. They demand 26 jobs before they withdraw their stir. The three mines together produce about 80000 tons per day. Coal transportation in and outside the mines were also paralysed due to the stir. Local administrative and police officers have rushed to the spot to persuade the striking villagers to call off their agitation.

Budhia mom challenges govt ban
Press Trust of India BHUBANESWAR, May 24: Wonder kid Budhia Singh’s mother Miss Sukanti Singh today challenged the Khurda District Child Welfare Committee’s (CWC) decision to restrict the little boy’s proposed walkathon from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata. Miss Sukanti’s statement came amidst the controversy as to whether the kid should be allowed to undertake a marathon walk covering 500 km during the peak summer or not. She questioned the CWC’s authority to put such a restriction on the event planned by the Budhia Singh Trust (BST). “Who is the CWC to ban Budhia’s marathon walk? The Orissa government had never come to our rescue when Budhia and two of my daughters were starving,” she told reporters here. She said she had put ten questions to the government through RTI (Right to Information) Act. She submitted her questionnaire with the women and child development department asking how much money the CWC or the government had spent on the welfare of her son. “If they have not spent a single pie for the child, how can the government or the CWC put restriction without consulting me,” she asked. “Budhia is my only son and I hope that the boy would bring laurel for the nation by sticking to long distance running. As a mother, I have no objection to his running or walking long distances. I do not understand why the government puts so many hurdles to the child’s growth,” she said. Ms Sukanti Singh, presently working in a private educational institution, said she was contemplating moving court if the government did not stop “meddling” in the activities of Budhia and his mentor Ms Biranchi Das. “I will take a decision after getting reply to my ten questions,” she said. Replying to a query, Ms Sukanti said she did not feel that her son was either being “used” or “exploited” by the BST members. Budhia would undertake walk only during the early morning and evening hours when the atmosphere was cool, she said. Biranchi Das, managing trustee of the BST, said there would be no change in the boy’s schedule in the face of the CWC ban. It would commence from here on 6 June and culminate in Kolkata on 16 June covering 22 towns en route. Mr Das, however, said that of the total 500 KM walk programme, Budhia would walk only in urban areas which would be nearly 100 km in all. Most of the roads would be covered by cars and other vehicles. BST’s lawyer Mr BP Tripathy, who was present at the news conference, argued that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act did not apply in the Budhia case. “Budhia does not come under the purview of the Act because none of his conditions suits to the provisions therein.” Meanwhile, the CWC, Khurda, has asked the BST to appear before its sitting tomorrow to explain why the interim restriction on the child’s walking would not be absolute.

Rourkela steel plant set to enter new era
Statesman News Service ROURKELA, May 24: Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is all set to enter a new era of productivity, profitability and quality as the Board of Steel Authority of India Limited (Sail) has formally given approval in principle to a proposal for its modernisation and capacity expansion at an indicative cost of Rs 9,869 crore. The objectives of expansion include increase in production of crude steel through state-of-the-art technology in order to meet the productivity level of international standards, improvement in quality of products, production of more value-added products, reduction in energy consumption, improvement of environment, cut in cost of production and thereby increase in net sales realisation. As per the approval, the hot metal production capacity of the steel plant will soar to 4.5 million tons per annum (MTPA). The massive modernisation programme of RSP includes setting up of a fifth blast furnace with working volume of 4,060 cubic meters and productivity of 2.3 tons per meter cube per day. This apart, blast furnace-1 will be reconstructed and upgraded to 1,250 meter cube useful volume with high top pressure and coal dust injection facilities, while in blast furnace-4, coal dust injection system will be incorporated, thereby more than doubling the present hot metal capacity of the plant. The package also envisages the setting up of a new seven m tall coke oven battery and a new sinter plant with 3.69 MTPA capacities. In order to augment the steel producing capacity, RSP is going to install a new 150 ton converter and a new caster in its SMS-II. New RH-OB unit will be introduced in SMS-II to produce clean steel such as ultra low carbon steels. Two new matching ladle heating furnaces (LHF) are also on the cards, which will take the number of LHFs to three. One of the existing casters will also be upgraded. These augmentation measures will take the total crude steel capacity of RSP to the level of 4.2 MTPA. In view of the increasing demand for high end products, the RSP will be going in for a new plate mill with a capacity of 1.8 MTPA that will roll out different grades of plates up to the width of 4,200 MM meeting the stringent specific customer requirements. In order to further improve the quality of hot rolled strips, the finishing mill train of HSM will be modernised to meet the customers’ requirement and to improve the operation and quality of downstream units. An entirely new mill to produce 1,80,000 tons of CRNO steel will be coming up under this modernisation package, taking the total capacity of this superior grade steel to 2.55 lakh tons per annum.

Demand for a separate Dalit state too!
BALASORE, May 24: In an apparent gimmick to woo the voters of particular sections of the society, the former Union minister and president of Mukti Morcha, Mr Bhajaman Behera, has demanded a separate state for Dalits in order to implement the justice delivery system effectively as enshrined in the Constitution. Talking to reporters here yesterday, Mr Behera said that exploitations in various forms were occurring across the state, despite provisions in the Constitution and law to prevent them. He also quoted some of the instances of atrocities on and harassment of the underprivileged, admitting that some Dalit leaders were exploiting their own community and some were working for vested interest. The former MLA, Mr Sura Sethi and former MP Mr Anchala Das were among others present with him.

Briefs
Man shot SAMBALPUR, May 24: A 32-year-old man was killed when he was allegedly fired at by another person in the busy Khetrajpur area of this city last night, police said. Charan Das had an altercation with another man who whipped out a country-made pistol and chased the former and fired twice. Seriously injured, Das was first taken to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment and later shifted to the VSS Medical College and Hospital where he was declared dead. Tension gripped the area following the incident as about 50 persons gathered from Charan’s basti to look out for the attacker. However, police reached the spot on time to defuse the tension in the locality. But shops and business establishments in the area, the city’s biggest business area, remained closed today. The body of Das was sent for postmortem today. The person who fired the shots was yet to be arrested. “We are looking for the man,”’ police said. PTI Coal stirANGUL, May 24: Protesting against their “illegal” transfer from the closed Deulbera colliery to Ib Valley Coalfields, 18 employees under the banner of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) have been on an indefinite hunger-strike in front of the Talcher area general manager’s office for the past three days.SNS

Balasore Cong charts out agitations
Statesman News Service BALASORE, May 24: Buoyed by the success of the centenary celebration of Satyagraha, which was attended by AICC leaders such as Mr Digvijay Singh and Mr V Narayanswami, the district Congress here is now gearing up for a series of agitations against the ruling BJD-BJP combine. Demonstrations are planned across all blocks and district headquarters from next month on various issues. This was disclosed by the DCC president, Mr Jaynarayan Mohanty, here. The law-and-order has deteriorated alarmingly, police have failed to arrest criminals, especially robbers who strike frequently. Government officers have become the agents of ruling party. There are irregularities in the allotment of IAY and flaws in public distribution system for BPL families, Mr Mohanty alleged. Alleging that local industries, mainly of medium and large scale, are not offering employment to the local people, Mr Mohanty said that there would be agitations in front of some industries in near future. Alleging that local representatives of ruling coalition were toothless, he asked why they were not raising the demand for the establishment of a government medical college before the chief minister when agitations were held by various groups for that cause. Expressing concern over the failure of police to arrest the crime, Mr Mohanty alleged that hike in the umber of robberies was mainly due to patrolling police personnel whose main duty was to collect bribes.

DGP: Plea for NBW rejected
Press Trust of India JAIPUR, May 24: A local court today refused to issue a non-bailable warrant against a defiant Orissa DGP Mr BB Mohanty accused of helping his son convicted of rape jump parole but said the Rajasthan police was free to arrest the top cop. Rejecting the Rajasthan police’s petition for a NBW after two days of arguments, additional chief judicial magistrate Mr Rajendra Bansal said the police could arrest Mr Mohanty as the Supreme Court’s six-week deadline for the top cop to surrender before the chief judicial magistrate’s court had ended on 21 May. The Supreme Court had also ordered that Mr Mohanty be not arrested till that date. “It is quite possible that DGP Mr Mohanty is on duty in Orissa and Rajasthan police should make attempts to arrest him instead of procuring the non-bailable warrant,” said Mr Virendra Jhakhar, a police officer associated with the investigation, quoting the order. Reacting to the court order, Mr Mohanty said he did not want to comment on the plan of action of Rajasthan police but said any move to arrest him would be beyond its legitimate powers. The court had yesterday postponed the proceedings till today after the police sought a fresh warrant saying it was studying all documents, including the proceedings in the Orissa High Court and Supreme Court proceedings related to the case. A team of Rajasthan police is ready to proceed to Orissa to arrest the DGP and bring him here in connection with a case registered at Lal Kothi police station on 10 January for allegedly sheltering and helping his son Biti, who is convicted for raping a German tourist, an official said. On 20 March last year, a German woman had alleged that she was raped in a hotel in Alwar by Biti Mohanty, an MBA student. On 21 March, he was arrested and a fast track court convicted Mohanty on 11 April. However, since December 4 he has jumped the parole, granted to meet his ailing mother, and went missing.