___________

Update: Also reported in http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200803/market17.shtml.

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

… Asian Heart Institute, India’s most trusted leading Cardiac Care Hospital announced the plans of opening its latest multi specialty hospital in Chandrasekharpur, Orissa. Spread on an area of 1,50,000 square feet, a 300 bed hospital is being built with an investment of Rs 150 crores.

The foundation stone of Asian Hospital and Research Centre (AHRC) has been laid and the hospital will start functioning from 2010. The hospital will provide treatment to various medical specialties such as Cardiology, Cardio Thoracic Surgery, Orthopedic, Urology, Endocrinology, Dental, Dermatology, Diabetology, Gastroenterology, ENT, Geriatrics, Hematology, ,Neonatology, Nephrology ,Neurology, Obstetrics, Gynecology ,Ophthalmology, Urology, Paediatrics, Physiotherapy, Cosmetic surgery, Orthopaedic surgery, Respiratory medicine, Rheumatology , Thoracic surgery, and several others.

… The hospital will offer round-the-clock emergency services to the patients. It will have 12 ultra modern operations theatres, 100 intensive care units, fully equipped modernized Pathology Services, Radiology, Imaging Services, Blood Bank, 24hrs Pharmacy Services and Cardiac Ambulance Services with Mobile Cathlab.

The following is from http://orissa.gov.in/ekamra/utsav.html.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of modern Orissa, is a happy combination of old world charms and new world comforts. The scriptures refer to the ancient Bhubaneswar as the Ekamra Kshetra, literally meaning ‘mango orchards’ which remind us the union of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. The blending of modernity with tradition here is impeccable. While the ancient city is 2600 years old, the modern city came into existence in 1948 as the new capital of Orissa, designed by the German Architect O.H. Koeingsberges. It is said that there were about seven thousand temples here, which earned it the coveted title of the ‘Temple City of India’. Even today from the hundreds of temples that still stand majestically as mute witness of a glorious past, one can study the chronological development of temple architecture from the beginning in the 7th Century AD to its culmination in the 13th Century AD. It is a centre of art and craft, manifest in the dazzling array of products like stone sculptures, pata paintings, palm-leaf etching, silver filigree, papier mache, etc. which is a shoppers’ delight. The classical Odissi Dance and Music have a solid foundation here fondly nourished by illustrious Gurus. The city has also distinguished itself as an important IT Centre and Software Technology Park as well as an ideal Venue for Conference and Conventions to do business with pleasure.

Around Bhubaneswar lies Dhauli in the South which witnessed the great battle of Kalinga in 261 BC after which Emperor Ashok embraced Buddhism and spread the message of peace to the world. Closeby are the remains of Sisupalgarh believed to be the earlier capital of Kalinga. On the west are the twin hills of Khandagiri-Udayagiri honeycombed with rock-cut caves built for the Jain ascetics during the illustrious emperor Kharavela in the 2nd century BC.

Bhubaneswar has, however, been mostly popular as the city of temples among the tourists. But the cultural efflorescence of the city goes beyond the temples. To familiarize the tourists with the larger canvas of the place covering Art & Crafts, Dance & Music, Handicrafts & Handlooms, etc., a Mega Festival titled Ekamra- The Temple City festival has been conceived. This 14-day event will also feature a Food Festival and a Mini Marathon will add spice to this year’s Utsav. The festival of promises to be an experience of a lifetime.

The highlights, as listed in http://orissa.gov.in/ekamra/highlights.html, are:

Additional Details:

Toshali National Crafts Mela

The Toshali National Crafts Mela has been setup in a rural ambience and is having over 150 National & State award winning handicraft and handloom artisans from all over India. Rural Tourism, Live Demonstration and Workshops will feature the main theme of the Mela.

Cuisines, representing the flavours of India combined with a strong component of day performance and evening cultural programmes have become a major draw in the Mela. The highlight of the cultural evenings will be the scintillating programmes to be presented by exponents of Indian Classical and Folk Dance & Music, Gahzal, etc.

Mini Marathon

Orissa Mining Corporation ltd. is going to organise the 2nd Mini Marathon in Bhubaneswar on 17th February 2008 on the occasion of Ekamra – The Temple City Festival. The Marathon shall be flagged off from Kalinga Stadium by Hon’ble Chief Minister, Orissa and it shall traverse through the important inter sections of Bhubaneswar City covering about 15 km and shall terminate in Kalinga Stadium. The Marathon, besides being a run for fun, aims at propagating the message Run for a Green Orissa. The registration of participation shall be enrolled from 12th to 15th February 2008 in the Office of PRO, OMC Head Office, Bhubaneswar from 3.00 PM to 5.00 PM and on 16th February registration will be made at Kalinga Stadium from 11.00 AM to 5.00 PM.

Mukteswar Dance Festival

The small and elegant Mukteswar Temple with its famous stone arch at the entrance is the gem of Orissan Architecture. The temple is also important as a transition point between the early and later phases of Kalinga School of Architecture for which this dance festival is named after the said temple. The sprawling green lawn in between Mukteswar-Parsurameswar Temple Complexes will host the event.

Kalinga Mahotsav

When people celebrate their heritage and ways of life, the spirit of revelry crosses languages, continents and cultures. And the Kalinga Mahotsav at Dhauli, a festival of Martial Dances, is celebrated very much in that spirit.

For the people of Orissa Dhauli hill at the outskirts of Bhubaneswar is more a living experience than a memory. Twenty three hundred years ago, their fore-fathers fought one of the fiercest battles in human history against Emperor Ashok. They suffered loss of a hundred thousand men, lost the war, but gained immortality, because they metamorphosed a warring monarch into an apostle of non-violence and peace. The festival is a fitting tribute to the victory of Peace over War where renowned dancers of India perform harmonising the vigour of martial art with sublime dance forms.

The calm and solemn statue of Buddha overlooking the entire stage from the top of the stupa and the tranquil expanse of the countryside populated by paddy fields and cashew plantations provides the peaceful background to the outburst of movements and sounds which accompany the performance of the martial artists. The aim of the organisers is to harmonise the vigour of martial tradition with the sublimity of peace through the art of dance.

Rajarani Music Festival

Celestial music, sublime surroundings and soothing climes of late winter—soul traverses to an elevated sphere leaving you utterly relaxed. Holidays are made with this kind of experience that creates a lasting mark in your mind.

Rajarani Music Festival held against the backdrop of the 11th century Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar is such an evening of concerts: it’s relaxing, entertaining and uplifting. The city has a large assemblage of celebrated temples of which the Rajarani Temple is one of the most conspicuous. It’s remarkable for the absence any presiding deity in it. The temple is famous for its ornate deul or compass and the statues of eight Dikpals guarding the eight cardinal directions of the temple.

To show case the glorious tradition of Indian classical music, the Rajarani Music Festival was conceived to be organized by the Department of Tourism in association with Bhubaneswar Music Circle.

The musical evenings are resplendent with excellent performances by the great maestros of Indian classical music creating an allegory of darbari gayans (musical performances in an Indian king’s court) of age old histories.

Eminent instrumentalists and vocalists of India have rendered scintillating performance in this festival over the years.

Following are some excerpts from it.

Gopalpur, with its grand views of sunrise over the Bay of Bengal, is the final destination of the week my wife Clare and I are spending in Orissa, one of India’s least-visited states. It rises to densely forested hills from coastal paddy fields fringed with palm trees and ponds of hyacinths. It feels remote, but has good transport connections with Calcutta and Madras and would suit visitors ready to move on from the Indian “starter pack” of Kerala and the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur Golden Triangle.

Its fame rests on its temples. As our train from Calcutta pulls in at Bhubaneswar, the state capital, I read that the city has about 500 of them. This is not necessarily good news. Over 15 Indian trips, many long afternoons of padding across warm temple floors have left me “templed out”. So what a pleasant surprise Bhubaneswar’s temples will turn out to be.

The city, with its broad avenues and plush hotels – notably the elegant Trident Hilton – has little of the hustle and bustle of a state capital. Its parks, gardens and languid cyclists give it the easygoing charm of small-town India.

This is next to the Kalinga Stadium on the Airport-Infocity Road. With this the major malls and department stores in Bhubaneswar are:

• Forum Mall with Big Bazaar near Ram Mandir
• Big Bazaar near KIIT and Patia Chhack
• Pantaloons near Utkal University and Rama Devi College
• Bazaar of Kolkata
• Couple of Vishal Megamarts  (one in Market Building, one to the right of NH5 South of Jayadev Vihar exits)
• World Shopping Mall near Kalinga Stadium  (this is by a local entrepreneur)

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 is an excerpt from a report in itvarnews.net.

Acer, one of the world’s top 3 branded PC vendors, has opened its exclusive brand store, the Acer Mall, in Bhubaneswar. Targous Technology, Acer’s retail partner, showcases the entire range of Acer Desktops, Notebooks and Display products, which would include the Aspire series of consumer PCs, the Travel Mate and Aspire notebook series and also the Acer range of Monitors and Projectors.

… The Acer Mall is located before Ravi Talkies Square near Indian Oil petrol pump has a catchment area of 450 sq feet. The mall has an “Acer Lifestyle Products Experience Zone”, which helps customers in choosing the right product for their requirements by having a hands-on experience with the product.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard. (Thanks to Deba Nayak for the tip.)

MindTree Consulting is planning to set up a centre in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, that will house 5,000 staff, a senior company official told NewsWire18 today.

“We have already acquired the land for the Bhubaneswar centre and I expect it to be operational by the end of 2008,” he said.

He said the company will keep adding to its manpower at the rate it has been doing so far, provided there is no slowdown in the business.

Bangalore-based MindTree currently has a staff count of over 5,000, mostly at its Bangalore centre.

Update on March 25 2009: Pioneer reports:

The Sarovar Hotels and Resorts announced the signing of a hotel in the 4-5-star category at the Sarovar Premiere here. The hotel with 150 guest rooms and all modern services and facilities will be located at Nayapalli. Commenting on the signing, hotel’s managing director Anil Madhok said, “With the increase in the number of business and leisure travellers in the city, we are pleased to offer accommodation of international quality for them.” The hotel will have five star services, multiple dining options, extensive meeting and banquet areas as well as a health club and spa.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in dnaindia.com.

Gurgaon-based Vipul Infrastructure Group is set to board the hospitality train. The company’s hotels division, Vipul Hospitality, has signed a memorandum of understanding with leading operator Sarovar Hotels and Resorts to open five new hotels, to start with.

Vipul Hospitality will invest and own the hotels, while Sarovar will provide technical assistance right from inception to completion besides managing and marketing the hotel operations.

The overall investment in the initial five projects is estimated at over Rs 500 crore.

Ajay K Bakaya, executive director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts told DNA Money that a number of these hotel projects will also have retailing component.

“Out of the five sites being identified jointly, at least four will be mall-o-tels. Going forward, we will be working together with the realty partners in identifying more locations. All the current and future projects will be operated and managed under Sarovar’s bouquet of brands,” said Bakaya.

The upcoming hotels in Amritsar, Bhubaneswar and Raipur will be branded under Sarovar Premiere, the Mohali property will be a Sarovar Portico and the one in Siliguri will be branded as Park Inn.

Each hotel will have a room inventory of 100-150 rooms in addition to food and beverage, banqueting and conferencing facilities.

One of the pioneers in the Indian mid-market hospitality segment, Sarovar Hotels has grown rapidly since its first hotel opened in 1994.

The hospitality company currently manages 35 hotels across the country under the brands Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel, besides Park Plaza and Park Inn, which are operated under master franchise pact with Carlson Hospitality for India.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

First an IT park, followed by a bio-tech one and now Orissa is set for a bio-diesel space.

Chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy in the capital city today flagged of the park project, which would boast of a research laboratory, as well as a plantation area with jatropha, karanja and castor plants — all of which produce oil.

… the chief secretary added that the construction work has been given to the Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Group, which has already started jatropha curcas plantation on 50,000 hectare in 10 Orissa districts.

“The group, in association with the government and banks, would set up the park. A minimum 100 acre is required and we have identified the land near Deras agricultural farm on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar,” said Balkrishna Panda, the chairman of the group.

He added that 10-odd acre would be required for the plantation alone. Besides, the park will be used for research, publicity and training of farmers on bio-diesel. In addition to it, the park would have one-stop solutions for fertiliser, spice and tissue culture issues, besides units of bio-diesel production plants

“It will be on public-private partnership (PPP) mode and will provide employment to 10 million in the state directly or indirectly,” said Panda.

Several banks, including Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, UCO bank and the Orissa State Cooperative Bank, have shown interest in the project. Indian Oil has also agreed to a marketing tie-up.

Jatropa is not a new concept for Orissa farmers. It often is planted on boundaries to protect the crop from stray cattle. But, its plantation on commercial basis in unproductive land is a new one.

Update: Economic Times says:  While it takes close to 275 days to obtain a license for any venture in Mumbai, it takes only 159 days to get a license in Bhubaneshwar,…

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

The private sector lending arm of the World Bank, International Finance Corp. (IFC), on Thursday said India can greatly improve its business environment if the best practices, currently followed only in some cities, can be replicated across the country.

“India can jump 55 places if best regional practices (in 10 business areas) are adopted nation-wide,” IFC’s chief economist Michael Klein said at a panel discussion on the ‘Doing Business 2008 Report’ of the World Bank.

India is currently ranked 120 in the Doing Business Index.

The report pointed out that best domestic practices in the area of launching a business exists in Jaipur, dealing with licences in Bhubaneswar, registering property in Hyderabad, paying taxes in Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh, trading across borders in Chennai, enforcing contracts in Bhubaneswar and closing a business in Bangalore. These practices, if adopted by the entire nation, would significantly improve the business environment in India, he said, adding that the country’s ranking in 2008 survey went up by 12 places to 120.

This appears in various news media. Following are excerpts from a report in Kalinga Times.

… IBM India on Wednesday announced the launch of its SMB operations in Bhubaneswar .

This expansion will enable IBM to provide better support to SME clients in and around Bhubaneswar and help IBM’s customers leverage IT for business growth.

In addition, mid-market businesses will also benefit from the new IBM Express Advantage initiative that provides SMEs with a unified end-to-end approach to help them innovate and expand.

…Earlier this year, IBM had announced a plan to extend its presence to 14 cities outside of the key metros, and has successfully launched operations in Bhopal , Chandigarh , Coimbatore , Cochin , Goa, Jaipur, Jamshedpur , Lucknow , Nagpur , Nashik, Surat , and Vizag. It will look to expand into Ludhiana and Madurai as well.

… IBM’s SME offerings have already been accepted in various industries and organisations. Some existing customers in Bhubaneswar include, Government of Orissa IT Department – OCAC, Dept of Treasury Orissa, Paradeep Phosphates Ltd, Vedanta Alumina Ltd, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Biju Patnaik University of Technology, and Utkal University to name a few.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Under the PPT mode, the State Government has decided to build a Capital Region Ring Road. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) chaired by the Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy on Tuesday.

The proposed ring road will constructed with an aim to lessen pressure on the vehicular traffic movement on Bhubaneswar-Cuttack road. The road will start from Khurda and pass through Bhubaneswar via bypass and touch Nirgundi near Cuttack. The survey work for the project will commence soon.

Keeping the growing industrialisation in view, another road under PPT will be built connecting directly Bhubaneswar to Paradip. It will also help the smooth movement of traffic from Capital to Port City. ILFS will do the necessary survey work.

In order to strengthen the PPT mode, Government has constituted seven cells in different departments like Fisheries and Animal Development, Energy, Panchayat Raj and Information and Technology.

The committee approved five proposals under PPT. In a bid to develop the infrastructure of Berhampur city, Government has decided to build an integrated commercial and residential complex under the banner Gajapati Plaza. Rs 10 crore will be spent to build this project. Government will provide five acre of land for this purpose. All the modern amenities including swimming poll facilities will also be available in the complex. The project work would be entrusted to Forum Project Private Limited. Work on the project would commence in the next 15 days. The ECI also gave its nod to set up a bio-tech farm in an area of 64.86 acres of land near Andharua on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar city. A bio-tech incubation centre will be set up in another 10 acres of land in Andharua also. Five major state-of-the-art infrastructure in the form of modular laboratories, loaded wet laboratories, common equipment facilities and amenities, pilot plant facilities and training centre would be provided in the park.

These facilities in the Biotechnology Research Platform will help to multiply the number of users on free-for -use basis. Selected private developers will be allowed to operate, manage, maintain and market the park in Bio-Tech Pharma and Bio-Informatics -IT related issues.

The Orissa government has already involved itself in preparing the master plan for greater Bhubaneswar area. Now there is news regarding its intention to make master plans for 8 more areas. These areas are: Puri-Konark, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Kalinganagar, Paradeep, Jharsuguda, and Talcher-Angul. The govt. is missing a few other areas which it should take up soon. Those are: Baripada, Balasore, Dahamara, Rayagada-Therubali and Koraput-Jeypore. Following are excerpts from a report in Statesman on Orissa govt.’s recent thoughts on this.

In a bid to give major facelift to the upcoming urban areas of the state and for their integrated development, the government will prepare a master plan, within one and half years. The localities include Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Puri-Konark, Talcher-Angul, Paradip, Kalinga Nagar and Jharsuguda. … Mr Patnaik underscored the need of adequately trained personnel to successfully handle the technical problems of under-ground sewerage and solid waste management,…. He also stressed on better sanitation, drinking water, housing and slum development. It may be mentioned here that while Rs 950 crore from the funds of JBIC has been sanctioned for sewerage of Cuttack; the capital city has been allotted Rs 499 crore for the same under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Rs 88 crore has been sanctioned for drinking water in Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur. Rs 3.65 crore has also been allotted for slum development in Bhubaneswar.

Telegraph also writes about this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Zee News.

… the Nandankanan Zoo authorities are all set to launch a novel scheme that will ensure a tax rebate on adoption of an animal by the income tax department.

The scheme is being made possible in collaboration with the State�s income tax department to bring individuals closer to birds and animals apart from bringing transparency in the administrative activities.

"The basic objective is to bring people closer to the captive animals and birds��one is that of course it generates some earnings which give you an option and space for better management. At the same time, it gives a kind of insight on how the animals are reared," said Ajit Kumar Patnaik, Director, Nandankanan Zoo.

Though the novel scheme is a first of its kind in Orissa, the credit for initiating the novel scheme goes to the authorities at Mysore and Lucknow zoos where even schoolchildren are encouraged to adopt animals.

The scheme, which has motivated many individuals, will commence with the new financial year starting April 1, 2008.

… The interested individuals are required to fill up an application form and pay for an annual maintenance on which one can claim the tax rebates.

Names of the people adopting the animals would be displayed on enclosures of the adopted animals.

Nandankanan Zoo authorities are the waiting State government�s approval for starting the scheme.

Currently, the State government spends nine million rupees (0.22 million dollars) on feeding the animals while around Rs. 3 million (0.57 million dollars) are spent on the maintenance of the Nandankanan Zoo.

Nandankanan Zoo, 25 kilometres from Bhubaneshwar, lies in the splendid environs of the Chandaka forest, along the rippling waters of the Kanjia Lake. It also contains a Botanical Garden and part of it has been declared a sanctuary.

Famed for its white tiger population, Nandankanan, or the ‘Garden of Gods’, has become a hot family favourite, with visitors getting an excellent opportunity to enjoy seeing these regal animals in their natural glory.

Over 67 kinds of mammals, 18 varieties of reptiles and 81 species of birds co-exist in the deeply forested boundaries.

The zoo enjoys an excellent reputation internationally, for successfully breeding black panthers, Gharial, crocodiles and white tigers in captivity.

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 news report in New Indian Express.

Giving safety and passenger comfort the utmost priority, the regional office of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has rolled out well-knit packages for pilgrims and holiday-makers for the first time to major tourist places in the country.

… The new packages, however, do not include ghat sections. Nonetheless IRCTC has left no room for complaints. ‘‘We have even posted a manager who would look into the wellbeing of the people round the clock,’’ he said.

The packages include a week-long tour to North covering New Delhi, Jammu, Haridwar and Risikesh. The cost per adult has been fixed at Rs 11,800. Similarly, the ‘explore Rajasthan’ tour package, taking travellers to all known places, has been priced at Rs 17,050. They include expenses like on and off board catering, board and travelling.

Optimum return of the money spent would be the USP of the plans. The third package called ‘ Southern Splendours I and II — covering places like Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Hassan among others — would cost between Rs 10,250 and Rs 10,650.

In the ensuing months, IRCTC would also offer travel plans to Madurai , Rameswaram and Kanyakumari. Likewise, tour packages to Darjelling , Gangtok and Peling are also on the cards. It is also contemplating to offer customised packages.

Meanwhile, IRCTC’s budget hotel project in Bhubaneswar would start soon, having received nod from the State Government. It will come up in front of the Railway station. IRCTC has also acquired about five acres at Bhabakundaleswar near Satapada at Chilika Lake for a similar project.

Mohanty said, plans for the budget hotels in Cuttack, Puri and Visakhapatnam are awaiting the Railway Board’s clearance.

Following is an excerpt from a news item in rediff.com.

Keeping to long-standing demands from the Information Technology companies in the small and medium enterprise sector, the inter-ministerial committee of the Centre has approved the first private software technology park of Orissa.

The Bhubaneswar-based JSS Group, operating as a BPO / KPO company in the banking and financial back-end services, has received the distinction. The new private STP has been christened as JSS Software Technology Park.

The private STP is being set up by the JSS Group at Infocity in Chandaka, Bhubaneswar.

… When contacted, chairman of JSS group, Bijoy K Sahoo said, "For long we have been urging for setting up a private STP in the state. Finally it has been awarded to us. We thank the Orissa government for helping us achieve our aim. This would open the flood gates for more private STPs".

Neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh already have more than 100 private STPs, for the ITSME sector, followed by other states like West Bengal. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Almost 98 per cent of Orissa IT companies registered with the Software Technology Parks of India belong to the SME sector. The state has set to itself a software export target of achieving Rs 1,000 crore in the next couple of years.

Update: As per Dharitri, the current largest aquarium in the country is in Paradeep which is built in an area of 1.5 acres.

Following is an excerpt from a news item on this in the Statesman.

The holy city of Puri will soon have a modern sea-aquarium, with an approximate investment of Rs 2 crore.

Complying with the request of the Speaker Mr Maheswar Mohanty, who happens to be the local MLA, chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik has asked the tourism department to take necessary steps. It is said that the sea-aquarium is going to be the largest in the country.

Presiding over in a high-level meeting, which was attended by tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra, tourism secretary Asit Tripathy, culture secretary Gopinath Mohanty, Paradip Port Trust (PPT) vice-chairman Subrat Tripathy and Puri collector Rashmi Ranjan Patnaik, Speaker Mr. Mohanty informed that the technical support for the project will be provided by PPT. This will be a major tourist attraction, he hoped.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in the Statesman.

The Film Society of Bhubaneswar (FSB) is organising Airtel Bhubaneswar Film Festival’07 (BFF’07), which will begin from tomorrow. The five-day event will bring together a selection of contemporary and critically acclaimed films, which would offer meaningful and entertaining exposure to social issues, cultural conventions and artistic excellence from all over the world. In total, 16 highly acclaimed feature films and six documentary  films will be screened.

The most important feature of this film festival is the showcasing of contemporary African and Asian films, whose style and aesthetics have been critically appreciated in various echelons. In the African category, movies from South Africa, West Africa, Angola, Senegal and Morocco would be exhibited. They include films of award winning film-makers like Maria Joa Ganga, Ousmane Sembene, Nabil Ayouch, Abderrahmane Sissako, and Gavin Wood.

In the Asian category, films of Hirokazu Koreeda, Tsai Ming-liang, Bahman Farmanara and Nir Bergman would be screened. Apart from these, path-breaking classics of four great directors-Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman), Mouchette (Robert Bresson) and Titas-Ekti Nadir Naam (Ritwik Ghatak) would be shown. Himanshu Khatua’s Sunya Swarupa, in Oriya would also be screened at the event.

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

Announcing the formal operationalisation of this 120-bedded multi-specialty care hospital, one of its promoters Dr Ashok Acharya said, the centre would set new benchmarks in health care facilities in the State.

The hospital has earmarked 39 beds for critical care, in keeping with the prescribed national ratio. The hospital will have full time consultants in all super specialty branches along with two tier of senior and junior residents.

Besides, there will also be floor free operating theatres and ICUs. Dr Kamal Lochan Mohapatra, the other promoter of the hospital, informed that Ayush Hospital will have advanced radio diagnostics for 0.35 Telsa MRI units, multi detector CT scan, mammography, all kinds of video scopies besides a critical cardiac care ambulance.

While the hospital project took 18 months to be complete, the promoters are busy adding to its infrastructure.