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The following is from http://rc.orissa.gov.in/index3.asp?linkid=30&sublinkid=411.

PRESS RELEASE

DT.20.03.2008

GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi March 20, 2008

Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa met Smt. Ambika Soni, Union Minister, Tourism & Culture today and discussed about various tourism projects of the State. The Chief Minister demanded for an early sanction of Rs.50 crore for development of tourism infrastructure and facilities in the famous tourism circuit of Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri-Chilika under the Mega Circuit Scheme. The Union Minister agreed to include the circuit of Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri-Chilika under the Mega Circuit Scheme and extend all necessary assistance under the scheme for its integrated development. She also agreed to consider release of 50% of the funds immediately.

The Chief Minister asked for a direct flight and a thematic tourist train to connect Varanasi and Bodhigaya with the Buddhist sites of Orissa. This would provide a great boost to employment and tourism in the State. The Union Minister intimated that the Government of India will extend all support for the connectivity of the Buddist sites. She also agreed to take up the matter with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Railways soon. She also intimated that the matter of rail connectivity of Bhubaneswar, Banaras and Gaya will be discussed with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Railways soon.

The Chief Minister urged the Union Minister to take up the project of sound and light show for Konark, which is a world heritage site and also for the historic Barabati Fort at Cuttack. The Union Minister was also requested for expeditious completion of the sound and light show at Khandagiri. The Chief Minister also demanded for better maintenance of the historical monuments, Buddhist sites, temples and other protected monuments by the Archeological Survey of India.

Following is from a report in New Indian Express.

The State Government has decided to revive the Gopalpur-Digha coastal highway proposal. Announcing this on Monday during question hour, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty said the proposal would be submitted to the Centre for approval after completion of the feasibility report.

Mohanty, who was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said that the length of the highway will be 573 km. Of this, the Astaranga-Dhamra patch will be 245 km while the length of Astaranga-Gopalpur will be 180 km. The patch of highway from Dhamra to Subarnarekha will be 148 km.

The State Government had earlier submitted a proposal to the Centre and requested that it should be included in a Central scheme. However, the proposal was rejected as it did not confirm to the guidelines of the Planning Commission.

Following is excerpted from a report in tathya.in. The various projects that were cleared are:

• A 12 MTPA Greenfield steel mill at Astaranga in Puri district by Navayug Steels Limited with an investment of Rs.34,000 crore. Linkage for iron ore has not been covered in the proposed mega project. The Navayug Group is setting up a port in Astaranga with an investment of Rs.6000 crore and a 2640 mw mega thermal power plant with an investment of Rs.11200 crore in Astaranga.
• Bhusan Steels Limited (BSL), which is setting up a 3.10 MTPA steel mill in Meramundali in Dhenkanal was allowed to expand it’s capacity to produce 9 mtpa with an additional investment of Rs.20,804 crore.
• Reliable Sponge’s proposal to set up a 0.25 MTPA steel plant along with a 24 mw captive power plant having a total investment of Rs.227.13 crore was cleared by the Authority.
• Emami Paper Mills Limited (EPML) proposal for a 1.32 lakh ton per annum Newsprint unit along with a co-generation power plant for an investment of Rs.500 crore was cleared.  EPML has established a paper mill at Balasore in 1982 and the new plant will come up in the same area. 
• Purvi Bharat Paper & Power (PBPP) has proposed for a 33,000 TPA writing & printing paper mill at Choudwar in Cuttack district with an investment of Rs.90.50 crore.
• The proposal to set up 5 mw solar park near Bhubaneswar with an investment of Rs.125 crore by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) received clearance of the Authority.
• In total, the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) on 17 March cleared the proposed investment of Rs.55,650 crore in 6 projects.

Following are excerpts from a report in Times of India.

Thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles have begun mass nesting on the coast of eastern Orissa state, home to the world’s largest nesting site for the turtles, officials said on Wednesday.

Over 20,000 turtles came ashore for mass-nesting early on Wednesday, within a two-kilometre stretch from the mouth of the Rushikulya river in Ganjam district, a local forest department official said.

The Rushikulya river mouth is around 175 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

For more than a decade, the beach at the Rushikulya river mouth has been witnessing mass arrival of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. But the turtles did not land here last year, the official said.

… There are three mass nesting sites of turtles in Orissa: Nasi Islands in Gahirmatha, Devi river mouth and Rushikulya river mouth.

… The Rushikulya river mouth is the only place along the coast where turtles are safe from marauding trawlers, said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the NGO Wildlife Society of Orissa.

www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/wp-content/uploads/image/20080229a_001101010.jpg

See http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/27video.htm.

Some land acquisition numbers:

• Total: 61,769.527 acres
• Coastal: 15,536.153 acres
  • Ganjam: 3229.815 acres (top)
  • Baleswar: 347.643 acres (bottom)
• Naupada: 11,816.27 acres since 2000 (top)
• Kalahandi: 6,163.77 acres (2nd)
• Mayurbhanj: 6113.78 acres (3rd)
• Malkangiri: 3.65 acres (bottom)
• IDCO indsutrial land acquistion in last 3 years for 58 industries
  • 4778 acres govt. land
  • 6532 acres private land

Following is from http://www.byofilmfestival.com/index.htm:

Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF) is an annual event held during February every year on Puri beach. To call it just a film festival is to limit its unique magical quality. It’s a festival without hierarchy, competition, juries and awards where not only filmmakers but also artists from other fields like music, theatre, painting, sculpture, dance, literature and photography are encouraged to participate and show their work.

In short, BYOFF can be best described as an informal and intimate gathering of artists with films in the backdrop where screenings go on early into the morning hours- first, inside makeshift tents and then in the open air after sun down.

For filmmakers, it has been an alternative platform ever since its first edition in the year 2004. The idea is to have a festival away from the oppressive atmosphere of bureaucratic control of big cities and where just about anybody – with or without films – could participate. The participants of BYOFF themselves are the volunteers and the organizers of its future editions. And the mood of the festival is that of a no holds barred carnival where the sea and its sand provide the right ambience to lift the spirits of every one present. Yeah, for five days and five nights.

Ecotourism plan for Balianta and Balipatna near Bhubaneswar:

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer on this.

The Puri railway station would be expanded and the platforms would be laid afresh to facilitate easy access to passengers to board the train. This apart the Puri Railway Station washing lines would also be developed and the station would be given a new look with an estimated cost of over Rs 100 15 crore and the station would be designed in the lines of the Jagannath Temple, he said.

The incomplete Puri-Khurdha road double tracking would be completed soon, he said. The Ministry was ready to allocate 50 per cent of the total cost of the new tracks to Konark if the State agrees to bear the rest, the Minister informed.

Following are excerpts from a report in New Indian Express.

The State Tourism Department has prepared a comprehensive plan for boosting the 480 km-long vast coastline of Orissa to increase tourist flow.

Talking to this website’s newspaper, Tourism Minister, Debi Prasad Mishra said, “Nearly Rs 100 crore will be spent on tourism sector in 2008 and the main focus will be on beach tourism. Besides the budgetary support, we would also develop some pristine beaches in the State with the help of aid agencies. Infrastructure development will also be made through public-private-partnership.”

In the preliminary stage, nearly 3,000 acres patch named as “Samuka peninsula” between Puri and Satapada will be developed as a tourist resort of international standards.
“With a six-km-long sea frontage, the Samuka peninsula would be designed on the lines of different peninsulas in the world. It would be dotted with the waterfront restaurants and cafes which will be set in beautifully landscaped gardens,” Mishra said.

He added that deals with the aid agency has reached final stage and the work would probably start from April. Initially, 1,000 acres with a two-km-long frontage will be developed.

This apart, plans for erection of tourist resorts on 200 acres between Chandipur and Balaramgadi fishing harbour in Balasore, 40-km-long beach in south Orissa along with Tampara lake complex near Rushikulya mouth, 80-km-long beach between Dhamra to Paradip and beaches in Balasore and Bhadrak districts have been put forth.

…
Announcing a clear-cut plan for Balasore district, Mishra said Rs 12 crore will be spent for Balasore. “Around Rs 3 crore would be spent for beautifying Chandipur sea beach and developing accommodation facilities for the tourists. The rest would be for eight other major tourist spots in the district including Talasari- Udaypur beach, Panchalingeswar and Khirachora Gopinath at Remuna,” he added.

Baazar Kolkata has already opened and is in the process of opening stores in various Orissa locations: 2 in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur. Following is a news item on this in Samaja. (Note: Baazar Kolkata is different from the Big Bazar Chain.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… The tsunami travel time atlas, published by IIT, Kharagpur, has identified Orissa coast to be prone to tsunami, said state disaster management minister Manmohan Samal.

… 328 villages situated within 1.5km of the coastline in six coastal districts have been identified as tsunami-prone, said the minister.

While 63 villages of Balasore district have been identified as tsunami-prone, 41 villages in neighbouring Bhadrak district have been enlisted as vulnerable.

Similarly, 64 sea-side villages of Kendrapara district, 28 coastal villages of Jagatsinghpur district, 88 villages of Puri and 44 villages of Ganjam district have been identified as prone to tsunami.

…Giving details of National Tsunami Early Warning System, the expert said Orissa was covered under the network.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik  …  We have identified tsunami-prone villages and habitations and are taking steps to increase awareness of the general public on tsunami safety tips,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) had organised a workshop on October 30-31 to train the trainers on tsunami. Around 30 high school teachers teaching and science were sensitised.

Following is an excerpt on this from a report in Pioneer.

The Vedanta group has been entrusted by the Beach Development Committee to illuminate the city beach. In wake of failure of Government and NGOs to provide weather sustainable lights in the five kilometre stretch of beach along the city’s coast even after spending about Rs 1 crore, the committee had requested the Vedanta University project officials to take up the work. At the Saturday meeting of the committee, the officials of Vedanta had agreed to the proposal.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

“We have received a proposal from Navayuga group for a 12 MTPA capacity unit,” state secretary, steel and mines, U P Singh told TOI on Monday, confirming the development. Official sources disclosed that the Navayuga group is interested to set up a port-based steel facility, preferably at Astaranga in Puri district.

Chairman of Navayuga Engineering Company Limited ((NECL) C V Rao had earlier this year made a presentation before chief minister Naveen Patnaik about the groups plans to develop a port at Astaranga on a build-own-operate-share-transfer (BOOST) basis with an investment of Rs 6000 crore. But the company’s sudden keenness to make a foray into the booming steel sector, that too in a big way, has come as a surprise to many.

The group’s proposal for developing a port is in the final stages of getting approval, but the state government is yet to examine its application for setting up a mega steel plant, pointed out an official.

The land and water requirements as well as raw material linkage have to be studied. The proposal will be placed before the Single Window Clearance Authority headed by the chief secretary before a decision is taken, the official added.

The company had earlier requested the state government for 5000 acres of land for its port complex and other projects, including a 1320 (2 x 660) mega watt captive power plant, fly ash brick unit and desalinization facility.

The group had also suggested the government for construction of a 50-km railway link between Khurda Road to Astaranga via Sakhigopal at an investment of Rs 400 crore through the public-private-partnership mode, sources said.

Following is an excerpt on this from the Pioneer.

The Jagannath Temple administration would develop a new state-of-the-art passenger bus terminal at an estimated cost of over Rs 100 crore on 42 acre of its own land located near the Samagara village on the outskirts of the town, said SC Mahapatra, the temple’s chief administrator at a Press meet on Thursday. Within six months the temporary bus stand operating at Talabania would be shifted to the new place. Primary infrastructure like fencing, provisions of basic amenities and security arrangements would be put on place before the scheduled shifting, Mahapatra said. A pilgrim shelter for 500 pilgrims would be constructed in the complex equipped with eateries and shopping centres. Two crore would be spent now for the purpose, said Mahapatra. Besides Rs 35 crore would be spent for the development of the existing parking place functioning at Jagannath Ballav alongside the Badadanda (Grand Road). NTPC would bear the cost of the development, he said. Among other things the temple plans to include resumption of temple kitchen and Ananda Bazaar (Mahaprasad selling and dinning place in the temple complex) reconstruction work after the Kartik Brata and installation of a donation collection box at the premises of Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.