___________

Following is an excerpt from an article by Tavleen Singh in Indian Express.

So a junior minister, Jairam Ramesh, was allowed to begin the process of taking the Indian economy down by stopping huge infrastructure projects after investments worth thousands of crore rupees had already been made. Why did the Prime Minister not stop the Ministry of Environment from being turned into a secret instrument for a new licence raj?

Unfortunately, Odisha bore the biggest burnt of Jairam Ramesh’s folly when he stopped Vedanta University.

Following are excerpts from an excellent article by Bibhuti Barik in Telegraph.

The proposed corridor will include nine places linked to Jagannath Dham and the rich tradition of Odia art, craft, architecture and rural lifestyle.

… “We want to touch a part of Odisha’s essence through this heritage corridor. It will start from places in the neighbourhood of the capital, such as Sisupalgarh, Gangotri Nagar, Dhauli, Pipili, Danda Mukundapur, Dasia Bauri Peetha, Sakhigopal, Danda Sahi and Raghurajpur. While the first two places can be tagged together as they are near the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Danda Mukundapur, Dasia Bauri Peetha, Sakhigopal and Danda Sahi need special emphasis so that the travellers can get to know about them and their historical links,” said a senior official of the state tourism and culture department.

The department’s principal secretary Ashok Tripathy said: “… we are going to put an extra emphasis on the rural sector. The heritage corridor will be the first effort towards the initiative. We are going to give the travellers a feel of not only the rural Odisha, but also the essence of our cultural traditions attached to it, in the form of crafts, dance forms, saga of Lord Jagannath and the folklores linked to the holy city and its temples.”

While Sisupalgarh is one of the unique fort settlements in the world and dates back to the Mauryan-era, Gangotri Nagar is fast becoming a small but beautiful settlement of national award winning artists in patta chitra and stone carving.

But after visiting the two places, one can move up to Dhauli where apart from the famous peace pagoda a sculpture garden is already in the pipeline.

While Pipili represents a nice cooperation between Muslims and Hindus with its appliqué work, the state culture and tourism department is also planning a project to attract tourists near the diversion of NH-203 which is under renovation.

… Danda Mukundapur is famous for poet Bhakta Salbeg, a Muslim follower in love with Lord Jagannath. There is a place where Bhakta Dasia, a devotee of Lord Jagannath from the weaver community was born and proved that through love and devotion one can conquer the Lord. It is said that the image of the Trinity once appeared in a sacred pond near Dasia’s house when some priests came calling to realise Dasia’s tale. The lush green surroundings, including the paddy fields, coconut and banana plantations recreate another Kerala inside Odisha.

Sakhigopal also has the sacred Sakhigopinath temple which, according to legend, is a shrine describing the Lord’s love for his follower. Sakhigopal is the major work place of the famous five friends or Panchasakha — Gopabandhu, Acharya Harihara, Nilakantha, Krupasindhu and Godabarish.

The last two places — Danda Sahi and Raghurajpur — are famous for patta chitra. However, while the latter became famous with proper patronage and promotion, Danda Sahi is yet to get prominence that it deserves. Raghurajpur has already become a model village with traditional studios of the artists, Gotipua dance recitals, cultural exchanges between the foreign tourists or artists and local talents.

Following is a list of museums and ASI ticketed monuments in and around Bhubaneswar:

1. Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar. (branch museums at: Puri, Dhenkanal, Salipur, Khiching, Baripada, Balasore, Nuapara, Bhawanipatna, Balangir, Jeypore, Baragarh and Koraput)
2. Museum of Tribal Arts and Artifacts, Bhubaneswar.
3. Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH), Bhubaneswar.
4. Regional Science Center, Bhubaneswar
5. Handloom and Handicrafts museum, Bhubaneswar (being set up)
6. ASI Museum in Konark.
7. ASI Museum in Ratnagiri.
8. ASI Museum in Lalitgiri (being constructed)
9. ASI Ticketed Monuments (Konark, Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves, Rajarani temple, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri)
10. Srikhetra Culture Museum, Puri (being constructed)
11. Dhenkanal Science Center. (Kapilas Science Park.)

Following is a list of live museums in and around Bhubaneswar:

1. Nandan Kanan, Barang
2. State Botanical Garden, Barang
3. Regional Plant Resource Center (Ekamra Kanan), Bhubaneswar (with a cactus garden, arboretum, orchidarium, bamboosetum, wild fruit garden and palmetum)
4. Medicinal plant garden, Patrapada, Bhubaneswar
5. Jayadev Vatika, Kenduvila (30 kms from Bhubaneswar)
6. Jayadev batika at Khandagiri.
7. Ekamra Vana (Medicinal plant garden), around Bindu sagar lake, Bhubaenswar
8. Various parks in Bhubaneswar.
9. Aquarium at Nandan Kanan.
10. Aquarium at CIFA, Bhubaneswar
11. Aquarium, Puri (planned)

Others:

1. Sudarshan Sand art institute, Puri.
2. Raghurajpur artisan village.

Update: Following is from a report in Business Standard.

… "The Ministry of shipping and highways has more or less agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost of road and rail connectivity for the minor ports proposed in the state. The ministry had asked us to submit cost estimates for the same and accordingly, we had submitted Rs 1200-crore plan for offering road and rail connectivity for the upcoming minor ports", an official source told Business Standard.

According to the proposal, the cost of rail and road connectivity for the minor ports would be shared equally between the Centre and the port developers.

… Among the 14 locations identified by the state government for the development of ports are Dhamara, Jatadhari Muhan, Barunei Muhan, Astaranga, Bichitrapur, Chudamani and Kirtania to name a few.

The state government had already inked concession agreements with the developers for the development of ports at Dhamara, Gopalpur and Kirtania.

The Orissa government has also signed MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Private Ltd and Aditya Birla Group for setting up of ports at Astaranga and Chudamani respectively.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Orissa has witnessed grounding of investment of Rs 4,262.44 crore from non-major ports in the past 10 years.

The investments have made four minor port developers- Dhamara Port Company Ltd (DPCL), Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL), Creative Port Development Ltd and Navayug Engineering Ltd from 2002-03 up to the end of September this year. …

DPCL, a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, is the biggest investor, with its investment till the second quarter of 2011-12 standing at Rs 3,570.35 crore.

The port developer, who has already begun operations, has invested Rs 762.79 crore, Rs 1,088.26 crore and Rs 1,059.40 crore in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively. In 2011-12, DPCL has invested Rs 60.45 crore till the end of September.

Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL), a special purpose vehicle promoted jointly by Orissa Stevedores Ltd and Sara International Limited (SIL) has invested Rs 421.09 crore during 2007-08 to September-end of 2011-12. The port developer which is developing the seasonal port at Gopalpur into an all-weather port, has invested Rs 51.09 crore in 2007-08, Rs 30 crore in 2008-09, Rs 50 crore in 2009-10, Rs 40 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 250 crore in this fiscal (till September-end).

The state government has asked the port promoters to commission second phase of the port operations by March 2013. GPL has already claimed to have achieved financial closure of Rs 1,400 crore for the first stage of Phase-II of the deep sea port with the signing of loan agreement with a consortium of 11 banks.

The port at Subarnarekha river mouth, proposed by Chennai-based Creative Port Development, has seen investment of Rs 221 crore.

Creative Port Development had inked an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the state government on December 18, 2006 for setting up a port with an initial capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) which was to be scaled up to 40 mtpa in 10 years.

The port developer had also entered into a concession agreement with the state government on January 11, 2008. As per this agreement, the port developer would share revenue with the state government at the rate of five per cent from first to fifth year, eight per cent from sixth to 10th year, 10 per cent from 11th to 15th year and 12 per cent for the remaining 15 years.

The port at Astaranga in Puri district has witnessed an investment of Rs 50 crore over the past four years.

The port project is being taken up at a cost of Rs 6,500 crore. The initial capacity of the port will be 25 mtpa which will be eventually scaled up to 70 mtpa. The state government had entered into an MoU with Hyderabad-based Navyug Engineering Ltd on December 22, 2008.

The project proponent had signed a concession agreement with the state government in November 2010.

The above is a good idea.

• A plan over a larger area will avoid congestion and slums that are typical of densly packed areas.
• Another big benefit will be that the term "Capital Area" will make it easier for institutions, companies and other entities to come to the gretaer area rather than coming to "Bhubaneswar". For example, many institutions that are looking for land in Bhubaneswar are hesitant to locate in Kendrapada or Jagatsinghpur; even though the political leadership is very welcoming.  But once the term "Capital Area" encompasses Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, these institutions will be less hesitant to come there.

So while the current Bhubaneswar and Cuttack planned areas will sever as the core urban area, the larger Capital Area development region will morph to a sub-urban area which down the road will touch the metropolitan areas around Angul in the west and Berhampur in the south.

We wrote about this in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3637.

A similar term needs to be coined for the greater Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Rourkela area. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3660 , http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3672 and http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3668.

Perhaps it can be called the "Western Odisha Development Region".

Following is from a report in Telegraph.

The capital will soon have a mega-tourist circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 8.14 crore.

The proposed tourist circuit envisages, among others things, renovation of two major roads in Old Town area, construction of a ‘parikrama’ around Lingaraj temple, soft-lighting for eight protected monuments and two tourism interpretation centres.

While the tourism department is trying to revive Ekamreswar, the miniature temple of Lord Lingaraj near Lingaraj police station, a dedicated road corridor will be constructed to link Puri, the Old Town area and Khandagiri via Dhauli.

Moreover, a 3,000-seater amphitheatre will be constructed opposite Madhusudan Park at Pokhariput.

… Samal spoke to reporters after the heritage walk, which was held today as part of World Tourism Day function.

The circuit will aim at facilitating various cultures as the city is perhaps the only one place in the region where three major religions — Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism — have their presence and the Daya riverbed is linked to the transformation of Emperor Ashok from Chandashok to Dharmashok.

… While the mega circuit will be part of the development of the ambitious Bhubaneswar-Puri-Chilika tourism sector, the Old Town area of the city will have a 40-feet road near the temple connecting Kotitirtheswar Lane and a proposed three-acre parking site.

Later, the same road will be extended up to Kedar Gouri temple. These two roads, in turn, will provide a better corridor so that tourist vehicles can pass through the areas smoothly. Similarly, a ‘parikrama’ or circular road will be planned around the Lingaraj temple.

“Apart from providing better connectivity to the Old Town area, the side walls of various buildings and structures will be decorated with tiles of red laterite stones. The concept has already been adopted in various western cities and states such as Rajasthan. …

The mega circuit will also emphasise on infrastructure development to connect various sites of Buddhist and Jain religious interests. Other than central assistance, there is also a plan to develop a road connecting Gangua nullah (through its right embankment) to the historical Kapileswar village. Another road will link Ganesh Ghat near Dhauli Peace Pagoda with the Jatni Kapilaprasad Road.

According to the pre-feasibility report, the state government will spend more than Rs 30 crore on the two proposed roads.

“These two roads will connect Dhauli with Khandagiri and the travellers and tour operators need not take the longer Cuttack-Puri Road via Rasulgarh to reach the historical Jain sites. Even nature lovers visiting places such as Deras in Chandaka or Nandankanan Zoological Park can take this road in future,’’ said the MLA.

“The state government has also asked the Bhubaneswar Development Authority to construct an amphitheatre opposite Madhusudan Park in Pokhariput. This will resemble the amphitheatre at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya near Rabindra Mandap,’’ he said.

Sources at the public works department said: “There is a plan to construct a flyover over the railway level crossing at Pokhariput for Rs 42 crore. While the state government will share Rs 22 crore, the rest will come from the railways. Once the flyover is commissioned, the road from Dhauli to Khandagiri will become a vital link to various religious centre.’’

Under the mega tourism circuit, temples such as Lingaraj, Rajarani, Mukteswar, Rameswar, Parsurameswar, Lakshmaneswar, Bharateswar and Satrughneswar will be illuminated with light emitting diode based ‘dynamic lighting system’ for which Rs 3.98 crore will be utilised. The project will be executed by the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation.

Hinting at the development of two interpretation centres near the Lingaraj temple, Samal said: “While one will be constructed on the premises of Sibatirtha Mutt, the other one will come up near the employees’ colony.’’

On the proposed tourist interpretation centre near Khandagiri-Udaygiri caves, he said the project would be completed within two or three months time.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to promote heritage tourism at eight locations along the coast line with an investment of Rs 7.41 crore in the next five years.

Based on archeological, architectural, sculptural and historical importance, the selected structures, identified by the state archeology department, would be taken up under the World Bank funded Rs 227.64-crore Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project.

… The structures identified to get a face lift under the scheme included Potagarh (Buried Fort), located on the bank of river Rushikulya in Ganjam town which stands as a mute witness to the vicissitudes of history in Orissa.

Apart from historic Potagarh, the British Cemetery near Ganjam town, Bhaba Kundaleswar temple of Manikapatna, Baliharichandi temple near Puri, Hariharadeva temple, Nairi, Bateswara temple, Kantiagada (Ganjam), Jagannath temple, Pentha and Jamboo Colonial Building, Kendrapara will be refurbished under the scheme.

Preservation of ancient monuments under the project will include their protection, structural conservation, chemical conservation, landscaping and maintainance from time to time.

… The officials of the Gujarat and West Bengal projects along with a World Bank team visited various places including Ganjam and Kendrapada districts in the state recently to review the implementation of the project. Project Director of ICZM (Orissa) AK Pattnaik briefed the team about various steps taken under the project and their progress. The scheme, whose tenure spans from 2010 to 2015, is being implemented in two coastal stretches: Paradeep to Dhamara and Gopalpur to Chilika.

Update: The complete list of the 351 villages is given below.

The villages mentioned in the three articles below are:

North: Bada Tulsipur, Barabati, Bhagda, Chakradharpur, Paikasahi, Paikirapur, Ramdaspur, Sanatulsipur, Talbast

East: Aampada, Aradiapada, Danahara, Dorabhanga, Kulatira gaon, Mahidharapada, Majhihaar, Mukund, Saheb nagar, Taraboi.

South: Aanlajodi, Basantpur, Bijipur, Chhatrama, Mahatapalla, Mukundpur hata, Sonapada

West: Baudatangi, Baulapatna, Dadhimachhagadia, Kapileshwarpur, Pangarsingha, Somanathpur, Swapneswarpur, Talagada

NACs: Jatani, Khurda, Pipli.

Following are excerpts from a report in Telegraph.

Bhubaneswar Development Authority’s jurisdiction has increased from 419sqkm to almost 1,000sqkm with 351 more villages being brought under its fold.

At a decision taken on Saturday, places such as Pipili and Delanga will come under the jurisdiction of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). With this, the total number of villages under the authority’s fold has gone up from 205 to 556.

… Therefore, they were struck off the list. The new additions will have 263 villages from Khurda and 88 from Puri district.

… Sources said earlier the developmental drive had been largely restricted to the Phulanakhara-Khurda stretch. However, with the expansion of the surrounding areas, the development zone would form a circle like structure.

While in north, it would include villages such as, Bhagda, Paikirapur, Barbati and Talabast, in south, it would have Chhatrama, Bijipur and Mukundpur.

Likewise in the east it would have Dorabanga, Danahara and Saheb Nagar while Dadhimachh Gadia, Somanathpur and Talagada in the west.

Planning member of the BDA Prashant Kumar Patnaik said: “Immediately we will go for a comprehensive development plan of the newly included area.

Following are from Sambada and Samaja:

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco) has handed over 972 acres of land to the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) for the Rs 3,500-crore Shamuka tourism project.

This was the land acquisition for the big-ticket project, to be set up over 3,000 acres near Sipasarubali, about 10 km south of Puri district.

… Till now, 11 professional consultancies have applied for the job. After the study report is prepared, the mode of implementation of the project will be decided. The options to implement the project are either through PPP (public-private participation) or joint venture, or forming a special purpose vehicle, sources said.

… The model plan for the project is ready. It has been prepared by the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology.

The state government had lined up an investment of Rs 120 crore for developing external infrastructure facilities like water supply, electricity and roads for the project.

Following are excerpts from a report in Orissadiary.com.

… the Government of Orissa planned to renovate and conserve eight heritage properties currently in different stages of ruin, along the coast. This special initiative is a part of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project, which is being implemented in Orissa along with Gujrat and West Bengal with support from the World Bank. 

… A special consultancy with funding support from with help from “Italian Trust Fund for Culture and Sustainable Development”, was undertaken to identify opportunities to promote local economic development connected to conservation of the built heritage and to promote linkages with conservation of traditional stone craft and enhancement of the State Museum at Bhubaneswar by LASA – INTACH consortium being facilitated by The World Bank.

… The eight significant heritage sites earmarked for restoration and tourism promotion are Bhaba Kundaleswar Temple of Manikpatna and Baliharchandi Temple in Puri district, Harihardeva Temple of Nairi in Khurda district, Potagada Fort, British Cemetry of Ganjam and Bateswar Temple of Kantiagada in Ganjam district, Jagannath Temple of Pentha and Jamboo Colonial Building in Kedrapara district.

… The preservation and restoration work would be implemented in next five years and Rs.7.41cr will be spent on this component as per the ICZMP plan. Preservation of cultural heritage and monuments along coastal stretch will be undertaken through the involvement of experts like LASA-INTACH. The work will undertake the structural conservation, chemical conservation, environmental up-gradation and illumination of the monuments. Primarily, the aesthetic and grand classic look of the monuments and the cultural sites will be maintained. Any contemporary work and intervention will be avoided to preserve the historical and physical integrity of the cultural property. The monuments are selected on the basis of their architectural, sculptural, historical and religious importance among the 160km coastal zone of the ICZMP pilot project area. …

BHABA KUNDELASHWAR TEMPLE at Manikpatna, Puri

The Shaivite temple is situated in Manikpatna village close to the new sea mouth of the Chilika Lake. The temple is a State protected monument and covered under Orissa Monuments Preservation Act, 1956. The temple is a part of a larger piligrimage route linked with the Jagannath temple at Puri. The temple marks the site of the blessing to the Gajpati Purushottamadeva on his famous Kanchi-Kaberi expedition. The legendary Manika, a milkmaid from the village, believed to offer curds to Lord Jagannatha and Balabhadra at the temple sites. The folk-lore suggests Lords are part of the royal army to bless the Gajpati.  

HARIHARADEVA  TEMPLE at Sanannairi, Khorda

This twin temple of Shiva and Vishnu is a State protected monument and covered under Orissa Monuments Preservation Act 1956. As the legend goes during the campaign of Kalapahar, the invader, when the Jagannatha temple at Puri was desecrated, the images are believed to have been brought here and hidden on an island, which is about 10minute boat ride away. They were also kept in the Harihar temple for some time.

POTAGADA FORT AND CEMETRY at Potagada, Ganjam

The construction of the unique star shaped fort was commenced in 1768 by Cotsword. The adjoining Cemetery contains interesting monuments in form of tomb stones. The French were the earlier settlers in this place who were later driven away by the British. The local folklore is that the site was under a curse and therefore an epidemic broke. The fort was surrounded by a moat.

The cemetery is one of the earliest one of British Administrators and comprise tombstones with spire like monuments in masonry.

HARCHANDI TEMPLE AT BALIHARICHANDI, Puri

The Shakti temple, 800meter away from the sea coast is under the State Preservation Act of 1956. The Bakiharichandi temple is 27km from Puri and linked through ritual and patronage, to the Jagannatha Temple complex at Puri. There are multiple stories about inception of this temple. The Goddess is believed to have killed Kalapahar at the temple spot. The temple also marks the spot where Indra’s Vajra, Shiva’s Trishul and his anger, in the form of the fire (Agni), as well as the wind and the sea come together. 

OLD BUILDING at Jamboo, Kendrapara

The structure is a nineteenth century building that had been used for administrative purposes and cyclone shelter by the British.

STATE MUSEUM, Bhubaneswar

LASA –INTACH consortium; have developed the master plan of the State Museum with the inputs from the experts including the Italian experts. The inputs from Italy would certainly help to make our State museum world class.  

Following is from a report in Economic Times by Nageshwar Patnaik.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Wednesday proposed setting up of 16 new clusters on public-private partnership [PPP] in Orissa each accommodating about 1000 units and providing direct and indirect employment close to 4 lakh people.

Releasing the ASSOCHAM study on "Cluster Development for Inclusive Growth in Orissa" National Secretary General, D. S. Rawat said, "The total funds required for basic and essential infrastructure to these clusters will be about Rs. 480 crores. Once functional, it will contribute additional 10% revenues per annum to the exchequer, help in inclusive growth and simultaneously lead to upgradation of existing clusters.

…  In the state, there are only 26 clusters in the state recognized by the Central government as against 6500 clusters in the country out of which 450 are assisted by the government. The 16 new clusters suggested by ASSOCHAM are: Palasa (Cashew), Buditi (Brass & Bell Metal), Baripada (Sabai Grass), Dhenkanal (Powerloom), Puri (Rice Mills), Bhadrak (Rice Mill Cluster), Dhamara (Ice Plant), Basudevpur (Ice Plant), Chandbali (Chuda Cluster), Tihdi (Chuda Cluster), Basudevpur (Chuda Cluster), Bhandaripokhari (Honey), Dhamara (Honey), Betaligaon (Wood Carving), Olaga (Wood Carving) and Dhusuri (Wood Carving).

The MSME sector contributes around 40% to GDP with an estimated value of goods and services around Rs. 20 lakh crore in 2009-10. The sector is estimated to employ about 5.9 crore people in over 2.6 crore units in the country and has consistently registered a higher growth rate than the rest of the industrial sector. There are over 6000 products ranging from traditional to high-tech items, which are being manufactured by the MSMEs in India.

The six new ports are Kirtania (Balasore district), Chudamani (Bhadrak district), Dhamara (Bhadrak district), Astaranga (Puri district), Baliharchandi (Puri district) and Gopalpur (Ganjam district).

Following is a report from Sambada.

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

… The first preparatory meet for Nabakalebara was chaired by Chief Minister, was attended by P K Mohapatra, RDC, U N Behera Principal Secretary Home, Aditya Prasad Padhi Principal Secretary to CM.

… A Four Lane National Highway is progressing from Bhubaneswar (Rasulgarh) to Puri (Sipasarubali) with almost half the road will be new alignment. 

Meeting decided to approach National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) to develop Four Lanning of Puri-Konark and Puri-Satapada Road. 

Secondly at least seven roads will be taken up for Four Lanning, which include Pipili-Konark, Charichhak-Niali-Phulanakhara, Balighai-Gop, Pipili-Jatnai, Chandanpur-Rameswar, Bira Harekrishnapur-Talabania and Bira Harekrishnapur-Rahangiria Roads.

… There is a need for creating more hotel and lodging rooms, for which appropriate Government land has to be provided to the promoters adopting transparent procedure.

The following maps show the location of some of the names mentioned above.

One interesting point to note is that Puri district’s area is 3,479 sq. km, which is comparable to Goa’s 3,702 sq km. Population wise they are also comparable. Goa’s population is 1.4 million while Puri district’s population is about 1.5 million.

Past the Nabakalebar in 2015, the Odisha government may think of building up on the infrastructure and try to benchmark Puri district with respect to Goa. It may also consider to make it a special district with some special laws that will allow it the flexibility to become as big a tourist hub (or bigger) than Goa, minus the negatives.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The work on five major National Highway (NH) projects in the state- Bhubaneswar-Puri, Bhubaneswar-Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar-Chandikhole, Sambalpur-Bargarh and Remudi-Rajamunda (NH-215) will begin in February 2011. While work on four-laning of the Bhubaneswar-Puri NH is expected to be completed soon, the remaining projects will be commissioned within three years."The work on these NH projects will commence in February 2011 and the projects are expected to be commissioned within three years. The work is being taken up on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and the cost assessment will be made by NHAI. …

While work will be taken up for four-laning of Bhubaneswar-Puri (60 km) and Sambalpur-Bargarh (88-km) NHs, the Bhubaneswar-Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar-Chandikhole (62 km) highways will be six laned. As per the thumb rule Rs 4 crore will be spent per km on building these highways.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

…, the state government has decided to expand the development area of the capital from 419sqkm to over 1,000sqkm.

According to a notification issued by the housing and urban development department, the expanded area would include 367 revenue villages.

With the two-fold increase in its development zone, the capital’s area will now come to be known as the Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA), comprising the districts of Cuttack, Khurda and Puri. The new expansion plan would perhaps be the biggest in the history of the city.

The expanded area will have 263 villages from the district of Khurda, 88 from Puri and 16 from Cuttack. With this new proposal, there will be 572 revenue villages under the development zone.

When the capital city area was planned under BDA in 1983, it had only 93 villages from the undivided Puri district. After two decades, the number of revenue villages went up to 205, and now, with the latest move, it would finally be touching a figure of 572.

Sources in the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) said the development of the capital, instead of remaining restricted along the Phulanakhara-Khurda line, would now be spread in all directions stretching from villages in Cuttack district to Delang in Puri.

…“Earlier, the urban expansion focus was restricted. But now with state secretariat as the central point, the entire region will be developed under the BDPA within a 20 to 25km radius so that there is enough scope for land development, effective road connectivity and special housing zones,” said a senior BDA official.

Just to get an idea of how big 1000 sq km is, the area of the NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi is 1483 sq km. The National Capital Region is much larger at 33,578 sq km.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hospitality Biz India.

… All the resorts are expected to be operational within the next 30 months. Swosti Group currently operates Hotel Swosti and Swosti Premium in Bhubaneswar and Swosti Palm Resort in Gopalpur-on–sea (Ganjam district).

Speaking with Hospitality Biz, J K Mohanty, Chairman, Swosti Group said, “Rural Tourism is a big source of employment for the rural youth. Looking at the potential of Rural Tourism, Swosti Group plans to open resorts in rural areas around Chilka Lake, Satapada and Puri in Orissa. Targeted to corporates as well as high-end Indian and foreign tourists, these projects will have villas, spas, entertainment activities, cruising service along with convention facilities. Eminent consultants and architects are involved in planning and designing of these projects, which are likely to come up in next two years.”

Swosti Chandan Spa Retreat, which is likely to come up in Puri, will have 106-rooms (including eight suites). “However, we are awaiting an approval from the Coastal Regulatory Zone authorities for the Puri property,” informed Mohanty. The resort near Chilka Lake, which is Asia’s largest brackish water lake famous for migratory birds and dolphins, will have 72 cottages. The resort will have spa, health club, gymnasium, restaurants, conference facilities and a landscape spread across nine acres of land. The luxury resort in Satapada will have 43 rooms. …

Following is an excerpt from a report in bizodisha.com.

Rushab Ship International Consultant is in talks with the Odisha government to introduce a passenger-cum-cargo cruise from Puri to Kolkatta in next three to six months with an investment of Rs 100 crore.

Addressing on the second day of the Invest Bhubaneswar, Rashmikant Kamdar, president, Rushab Ship International Consultant said, “We are having one or two vessels for this purpose. We are in talks with the state government and expect to finalise the deal soon.”

The  cruise can be used for multi purpose for ferrying passengers and cargo. There will be entertainment facility also for the passenger, he said.

Kamdar said that we are also planning  to have ship breaking place in Odisha. Odia labourers are working as ship breakers in Alang in Gujarat. “They can be employed in the ship breaking place in Odisha”, he said.

The web page of this company is http://www.rushabship.com/index.php. Its current address is given as Edison, NJ.

Address
Rushab Ship Consultant, Inc.
43 Jonathan Drive
Edison, New Jersey 08820
USA

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to undertake 14 projects on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode involving an expenditure of Rs 6,218.02 crore.

A total of 46 projects, to be taken up on the PPP mode, are under the consideration of the state government, A U Singhdeo, minister for Planning & Coordination said in the state assembly.

… The Infocity-II project, one of the major PPP projects, being planned over 600 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city, has gathered some steam after being marred by inordinate delay.

As part of its commitment to expedite this project, the state government has set in motion the process to prepare Request for Qualification (RFQ) for this project.

"An empowered committee of the state industries department has been asked to oversee the bidding process of the Infocity-II project. The RFQ is currently being prepared. The land acquisition for the project has been already completed and environment clearance has been obtained. The state government has also submitted an application to the Government of India for Special Economic zone (SEZ) notification for the project,” the minister said.

The other notable projects in the information technology sector taken up on the PPP mode are Mindspace IT Park involving a cost of Rs 480 crore, the DLF Infopark project entailing an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore and an IT & Corporate Tower being taken up at Chandrasekharpur at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

In the tourism sector, the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) has approved the revised Request for Proposal (RFP) for selecting the master developer for the Shmauka beach tourism project being taken up at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore on around 3,000 acres of land at Sipasarubali near Puri.

In the road transport sector, the High Level Clearance Authority of the state government has approved a proposal to seek Viability Gap Fund (VGF) assistance for the four-laning of the Sambalpur-Rourkela road involving a cost of Rs 1,483 crore.

For the Koira-Tensa-Lahunipara road in Keonjhar district, involving an implementation cost of Rs 392.2 crore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has submitted a draft preliminary report. This project needs 38 per cent VGF as per the toll rates of National Highways Authority of India Ltd (NHAI).

Meanwhile, feasibility study is underway for three other road projects- Shaukati-Dubuna road in Keonjhar district, Tensa-Barsuan-Lahunipara road in Sundergarh district and Chorada-Duburi road in Dhenkanal  Jajpur.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The traffic woes of the people commuting between Rasulgarh and Samantarapur are likely to come to an end with the construction of the proposed 11km bypass road from Bhuasuni temple to Daya bridge.

Part of the 67.25km NH-203 project, the bypass road will not only provide better and faster communication facilities to the people of 11 villages from Pandra to the Daya bridge near Lingipur, but also help commuters between Cuttack and Puri avoid the congested capital. The project will be undertaken by the Bhubaneswar Expressway Pvt. Ltd, for which tenders have been finalised.

Project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Aditya Kumar Ray said the bypass road has been proposed specifically to address the traffic problem on the stretch from Rasulgarh and Samntarapur. …

… Ray said though the work is supposed to start from January 30, land acquisition problems were likely to cause some delay and ultimately the project may kick off in the first week of February.

… The project is likely to be over in two and a half years. To be executed in the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) mode, the road would be handed over to the NHAI by the operators after 29 years.

Following is from http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=4742.

… The Managing Director of the Construction Major, Navayuga Engineering Company Limited (NECL) after signing the Concession Agreement said that “the dynamics of the areas in the vicinity of 80 Kilometres of Astaranga in Puri will be energized”.

… “A Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared by NECL within a year”, said he.

Mr.Sridhar signed the CA on behalf of NECL with the Government of Odisha to set up a port with a capacity of 25 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) at an investment of Rs 6,500 crore in Puri district.

Gagan Kumar Dhal, Principal Secretary of the Department of commerce & Transport (DOCT) singed CA on behalf of Government of Odisha.

… Mr.Dhal said “All out support will be extended to the promoter of the deep water port being developed with ultimate capacity of 60 MTPA, which will be operational within four years of land acquisition”.

Astaranga Port would be full-fledged all weather multi-user port on BOOST (build, own, operate, share and transfer) basis, Mr.Dhal added.

The port would carter to ultimate vessel size of 1.75 lakh DWT Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT), he said.

The company would share with the State Government its gross income with 5 per cent share in the first five years, 8 per cent in 6th-10th year and 10 per cent in 10th-15th year.

It would share 12 per cent of share from income on 16th year when lease period ended, Dhal said.

Astaranga Port project, which would generate a large number of direct and indirect employment.

As per the stipulated policy of the Government of Odisha,90 per cent of the total requirement of unskilled and semi skilled manpower would come from locals.

The Developer would take 60 per cent of local people in skilled category, said Mr.Dhal

Similarly, a minimum of 30 per cent of supervisory and managerial level would be drawn from locals and it was allowed to hire senior executives from open market, Mr. Dhal added.

The port will have a Service Corridor of 90-km long rail and road connectivity.

While for road connectivity, it will be connected to the nearest National Highway and connectivity for rail will be taking off from Barang Railway Station, revealed P A Venkateswaran, Resident Director NECL.

In order to promote private ports the State Government has already signed Concession Agreements with three other companies to develop port facilities at Gopalpur in Ganjam district, Dhamra in Bhadrakh district and Chaumukh in Balasore district.

Following is an excerpt from http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=9394&sid=1.

Bhubaneswar-based BRM Group plans to open more boutique hotels in Orissa including Bhubaneswar and Puri. The Group will spend Rs 100 crore for both the properties, which are scheduled to open by the end of this year. The hotel in Bhubaneswar will have 35 rooms, while the Puri hotel will have 40 rooms. Recently, the Group has launched their first hotel in Cuttack named as Hotel Triple C.

According to Dr Biswajit Mohanty, Chairman, BRM Group, the Group will become a 120-key hotel chain by the end of 2011. … The Group also plans to go out of Orissa to destinations like Darjeeling, Goa, in future.

Following is an excerpt from an article in Deccan Herald.

“My mother-in-law and social worker Sushilavati Swain asked me to start some cultural activity in Konark, so we acquired a piece of land in 1978. Two years later, we built a mud hut and called it the Konark Nata Mandap. Every Sunday we had a meeting and artistes from the nearby areas would come and spend the entire day singing, dancing and playing various musical instruments,” Gangadhar Pradhan says. This created an ambience of culture. The mandap’s activity started in 1980 as a small get-together but soon there was no looking back as it paved the way for the five-day international Konark Dance and Music Festival, that is held every year in this small town of Orissa.

Besides, the Konark Nata Mandap was re-christened Konark Natya Mandap (KNM). It has undergone several changes over the years. And, it has finally taken the shape of the replica of the world famous Sun Temple.

“The festival started in 1986 on the day of Shivaratri. But the seeds of the festival were sown in my mind when I had gone to the Swedish embassy and saw posters of the Khajuraho Festival there. That’s how the idea of the Konark Dance and Music Festival took shape in my mind,” remarks Pradhan.

In the true sense, it was the harbinger of the contemporary festivals of Odisha. “The main objective of the festival is not merely to provide entertainment but to educate and refine. It aims to harmoniously blend the classical, spiritual, tribal and folk aspects of the glorious cultural traditions.”

Built through the painstaking efforts of Gangadhar Pradhan, KNM now is a performer’s delight. A replica of the natyashala of the scintillating and stupendous Sun Temple of Konark, it provides the right kind of ambience for artistes, connoisseurs and art lovers from India and abroad.

The KNM serves as a temple of learning. Following the glorious traditions of Guru Kula Parampara, it provides teaching and training in dance, music, yoga and theatre. Classes on Odissi dance, Gotipua dance, mardal, tabla and Odissi music are being conducted on its premises. Experienced gurus and teachers share their experience with students who get the privilege of presenting their skill on the three stages erected on the premises.

That apart, KNM is functioning as an institution of cultural consultancy in the state for the growth and propagation of Odissi, tradition and classical art forms both at national and international levels. The mandap has shouldered a big responsibility of popularising Odissi dance and the sculptural epic Konark has metamorphosed into a living Konark.

Talking about his dream, Gangadhar Pradhan says that something should be happening in KNM throughout the year. “Now there is a festival happening 220 days in a year.” He is confident of achieving his goal by the middle of this decade.

Explaining about Living Konark, he said that people had seen Konark in stone, now they would see the living Konark and the dancing Konark. Once, this dream materialised, there would be a computerised film on Konark that would be screened.

“When I had given wings to my imagination, I had dreamt of the future 1000 years’ history which takes into account the cultural, spiritual and ritualistic aspects. The triangle of Konark-Puri-Bhubaneswar-Chilka will develop tourism as well as culture. What the tourist sees in one place will not be repeated in other places, so he or she will get to see something new each time,” he added.