Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (KM/RD)

Mangalore : "We strongly criticize the recent attacks on churches and Christian institutions in Orissa and express our concern on the flare up of communal violence in the coastal district," said B Madhava, secretary of CPI (M), DK district committee at a press conference here on Wednesday January 9.

Asked about the party's stance on the setting up of the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), the secretary said that the party has always advocated development of the region and welcomed industrialization which it deemed has no adverse impact on the environment of the region. If it feels that developmental works will have adverse consequences on the environment in the long run, then the party would not support such projects.

Briefing media persons on its demand to the ministry of railways, the secretary added that train services should be commenced from the city to Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata via Bangalore. The train services to Bangalore from the city should be scheduled in day time. The party has also demanded train services to Subrahmanya for every two hours on South Western Railway (SWR) route and at least two train services should be commenced between the city and Kundapur, on Konkan Railway (KR) route, he added.

Conducting examinations for outsiders like those who are from Bihar is inappropriate as it may give rise to tensions and conflicts. On the other hand, showing intolerance towards the outsiders is also inhuman, he opined while making clear of his official stand towards the heated situation that prevailed in railway recruitment at Bangalore.

Grant of $7 million for Orissa Medical College from Japan

Japan Thursday announced a grant of $7 million for upgrading a medical college in Orissa.//

"The grant assistance would enable the Sardar Vallavbhai Patel Postgraduate Institute of Paediatrics (in Cuttack) to improve its medical facilities and effectively contribute towards dispensation of healthcare to a wider population," said a statement from the Japanese embassy.

Notes concerning the project were signed and exchanged here Thursday by Japanese ambassador Yasukuni Enoki and Vivek Mehrotra, additional secretary in India's finance ministry.

The grant will help the institute - a pioneer centre in dispensing healthcare to undernourished children - to provide improved diagnostic and medical health services in Orissa and neighbouring states.

India is the largest recipient of Japanese Overseas Development Assistance. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, during his visit to India three months ago, repeated that Tokyo would continue to support New Delhi's efforts at accelerated economic development, particularly in priority areas like infrastructure, including transportation and power, and environment.

Koizumi's visit cemented growing bilateral ties and initiated an "eight-fold initiative" of cooperation in key areas spanning security, economic engagement and science and technology.

Freedom Fighter And Orissa Congress Leader Dies

Gangadhar Mohapatra who was, an active freedom fighter and a veteran Orissa Congress leader died after a brief illness at the age of 91.// His condition has deteriorated after his recent surgery and since then he was not keeping good health. He complained of chest pain Wednesday evening and died before his family doctor could reach his residence, family members said.

He is survived by six sons and four daughters. Mohapatra was elected to the Orissa assembly four times - in 1967, 1974, 1980 and 1985. He served as a cabinet minister in the Nandini Satpathy and J.B. Patnaik governments.

He had held various portfolios under different governments including those of finance, tourism and culture. Born in 1915 in Biswanathpur village in the coastal district of Puri, Mohapatra joined India's freedom movement from his school days and was jailed twice for protesting against British rule.

Orissa’s Correspondence Student Gain Entry in Toppers’ Lit

The Orissa government has included the name of a Class 10 correspondence course student in the state's toppers list, which it had earlier failed to do, an official said Saturday//.

The board of secondary education in the state had named 22 students of various private and government high schools in its list of toppers last Wednesday.

But Pravas Kumar Sahu, who secured 708 out of 750 marks, did not find his name in the list that had three others with the same score. The boy had taken the examination as a correspondence course student, as his school, Rtapalli Vidya Pitha, is not recognised by the government.

Sahu had requested the board to consider his inclusion. After examining his application, it has revised the topper list and he is now placed in the sixth position of the list, a senior board official told IANS.

The Rtapalli Vidya Pitha, located at Kanan Vihar in the state capital, is a free residential, Oriya-medium school run by non-resident Indians (NRIs).

Established on Aug 15, 1997, the school has a good academic record with a majority of students securing first division.

The state government also declared that from now on all deserving students of the correspondence course would also figure in the toppers list.

Orissa To Get New Medical Colleges Soon

It is uncertain if a second medical college will ever come up in the Western Orissa region, but there is no dearth of expression of intentions on the part of the State government. Western Orissa Development Council (WODC), after // its failed negotiation with an Andhra Pradesh based entrepreneur, struck another deal on August 17th with a Delhi based businessman to set up private medical colleges in Bolangir and Rourkela. The Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jassar Dental and Medical Education and Health Care for these two proposed medical colleges.

As per the agreement, the two medical colleges in Bolangir and Rourkela would be completed by 2007, the budget of which is tentatively fixed at Rs 200 crore. One would be a hundred-seated college while the other would have strength of 150 and private management would control both. The Council has acquiesced to supply 25-acre land to both these institutions and Rs 10 crore funds to each of the projects.

In 2004, the Council had signed an agreement with a Rajamandri based entrepreneur to set up two medical colleges, post Naveen election rhetoric on the issue. The MoU never materialized as the party backed out midway through.

Railways gives in to Japanese demand for electrified routes

New Delhi: In a desperate bid to revive its ambitious freight corridor project, which, though conceived two years ago, is yet to take off, the railway ministry effected a climbdown on Monday and accepted the terms proposed by Japan, which it has lined up as a financier.

The turnaround comes after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, or CCEA, declined three times to give a final clearance for the dedicated freight corridor, or DFC, after it found that the ministry had not put down a credible funding plan for the project, estimated to cost Rs28,000 crore.

Following its compromise with Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the railways will have to approach CCEA for a final go-ahead.

Briefing reporters here on Monday, Railway Board chairman K.C. Jena said that he had written to JICA, the development arm of the Japanese government, stating that it was ready to electrify the western arm of the proposed route.

The railways had earlier opposed this, saying that if the route was electrified, it would not be able to move “double-stack” container trains to maximize traffic movement.

The height of the electric lines was the cause for concern as railway experts feared it would not be possible to transport stacked-up containers on an electrified line.

Jica, however, argued that this was not true. Now the railways has reversed its stand and is proposing a pilot project in Orissa.

“We will be conducting a trial run for running double-stack container train on an electrified route between Jakhapura and Daitari in Orissa,” said Jena.

DFC envisages the construction of around 2,700km of railway line between New Delhi and Mumbai on the west as well as an eastern corridor, which will begin at Ludhiana in Punjab and terminate at Sonenagar in Bihar, with a proposed extension to Kolkata.

Due to differences of opinion between Jica—which had conducted a study on the project—and the railways, the funding for the project is still to be finalized, two years after it was announced by railway minister Lalu Prasad.

The Railway Board chairman said that the ministry had placed an order to import specially designed pantographs that would make it possible to run double-stack container trains on electrified routes. A pantograph is a device that transfers power to electric locomotives from the overhead electric lines.

The challenge before the ministry is to ensure that the stacked containers can pass under the electric line. Some of the members of the Railway Board had recently travelled to China to see how they run double-stack trains on electrified routes.

However, a fundamental difference between the Chinese railway and the Indian Railways is that China uses standard gauge while trains in India run on broad gauge, which is broader.

“It is definitely an experiment,” said Jena, who also said that the Japanese loan would not come through unless the railways agreed to electrify both corridors.

According to the Railway Board chairman, Jica has also accepted the estimate put forth by the railways to fund the project. Jica officials declined comment. Earlier, the total cost of the project was also a point of contention. While Jica claimed that it would cost Rs48,000 crore, the railways argued that it would cost Rs28,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the chairman also said that the Railway Board has received proposals from several states saying that they wished to start high-speed trains.

The board has asked RITES—the survey organization under it—to appoint a consultant who would carry out studies in collaboration with the state governments concerned. But this would be premised on the state governments agreeing to bear part of the cost.

Centre’s power snub

Ranchi, Jan. 4: The New Year could not have started on a worse note. In a bid to stop the erratic supply of power from hydel plants in the central pool, Jharkhand had asked the Centre to restore supply from thermal plants. But the Centre, it has been learnt now, has rejected the plea. Jharkhand, along with representatives of electricity boards of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, met the Union power minister on December 27 demanding restoration of its power supply from the central quota through thermal power stations. But Jharkhand State Electricty Board engineer-in-chief C.D. Kumar, who attended the meeting, disclosed the bad news only now. Since November 2007, the ministry had stopped supply from thermal power plants at Khalgoan (Bihar) and Talcher (Orissa) and started providing power from Tala hydel power plant in Bhutan. But supply from Tala has been erratic due to fluctuations in water levels. Jharkhand’s quota from Tala is about 230 MW a day. But it is getting around 60MW on an average. The situation is likely to remain unchanged till the monsoons. The new arrangement has hit Bihar and Jharkhand the hardest as these two states are dependent on the central allocation of power. During the meeting, state representatives expressed their annoyance that coal-bearing states were being deprived of assured power supply from the Centre. “Power from Khalgoan and Talcher are now being linked with northern and western grids to strengthen supply. The ministry wants to boost the power supply in Delhi ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games,” these officials alleged. The only silver lining for Jharkhand is the ministry’s assurance — it has now sent a letter to this effect — of providing 40MW of additional power to the state shortly. “We have received the ministry’s communiqué a few days back. We will start getting the additional power soon,” a board official said. Chief minister Madhu Koda and several Congress leaders had met Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde sometime back and pleaded for more power from the central pool to tide over the gloomy power scenario in the state. Year of water, land, religious wars A man rummages through the rubble in a Phulbani village. Telegraph file picture Bhubaneswar, Jan 02.: For Orissa the year was marked by a series of clashes. The year ended with communal clashes in tribal-dominated Khandhamal, beginning from Christmas. The carnage that followed claimed three lives (two died in the clashes and one in police firing). The district remains tense despite the presence of central paramilitary forces. The year also witnessed sustained agitation over land and water issues. During the early part of 2007, heavy police in the proposed Posco plant area in Jagatsinghpur, apparently to mount pressure on the anti-displacement brigade, was deployed. But, the state was forced to pull out forces due to adverse opinion. Towards the end of the year, the same area witnessed strife between anti-plant protestors and supporters in November, in which more than 15 persons were injured. However, after two years, the police and officials got the opportunity to enter the proposed plant area, which was out of bounds for them. The project still remains on shaky grounds due to resistance by the locals. In the southern district of Kalahandi, tribals carried on agitation against the alumina refinery and bauxite mining project of Vedanta Group. Their struggle received a shot in the arm with Supreme Court denying permission to the Vedanta Alumina to go ahead with the plant and project in the Niyamgiri hills. Like land, water, too, was an issue. Farmers in western Orissa raised their voice in protest against the allocation of Hirakud water to the industries. Much to the discomfiture of the government, the police forces used lathi charge on a peasant rally at Burla in Sambalpur. The agitation intensified with the backing of the Opposition parties, who stalled Assembly for nine days and held rallies supporting the cause. The government had to abruptly end the winter session, 18 days ahead of schedule, triggering a yet another controversy. In July, Orissa woke up to a shocking news of discovery of female foetuses from a private nursing home in the sleepy town of Nayagarh. Subsequent raids revealed that the illegal practice of pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide was prevalent all over the state. Smaller scandals rocked the state, too. State’s school and mass education minister Bishnu Das was embroiled with a scandal in which his son’s marksheet was found to have been fudged. Das resigned, while several senior officials of the Orissa Board of Secondary Education, were put behind bars. That wasn’t the only resignation of the state as recently, steel and mines minister Padmanabha Behera tendered his resignation in the wake of the clashes between Pano, a Dalit community and Kondh, a tribe in his home district.