Following is an excerpt about Paramount Airways plans for Bhubaneswar from a report in Economic Times:

Paramount forayed into eastern India last month, with flights to Kolkata, Guwahati and Agartala. It plans to add Shillong, Silchar, Imphal, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Cooch Behar to its network over the next year.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Ahead of its plans to fly to international locales, Paramount Airways, the Chennai-based premium service carrier, is launching services to various other destinations in the country. The fully business-class airline is to commence services to 35 more cities, increasing its domestic routes to 50 by the end of 2010. It is to launch services to the northern region, including Delhi, and to the western and eastern parts, too.

“We are looking at having a strong domestic network, prior to starting our international operations. We are looking at connecting to every major airport in the country in a phased manner,” Paramount’s managing director, M Thiagarajan, told Business Standard here today.

Delhi is one of the new planned destinations and so are Imphal, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Bhopal, Nagpur, Porbander and other places in Gujarat. This is in addition to the earlier announced plans of launching services to Kolkata, Guwahati and Agartala, connecting these the south Indian cities of Chennai, Coimbatore and Kochi.

Following is from a report in farminguk.com.

The large poultry farm meant for research and promotion of poultry farming in south Orissa had been closed down due to management problems. It was revived and modernised with Central aid. It would serve as a major breeding farm in south Orissa. The chicks produced in this poultry farm would be sold to poultry farmers of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Nayagarh districts.

The Regional Poultry Farm is ready to start its sale of newly-hatched chicks from 29 April. … The farm has decided to specialize in breeding ’Banraj’ breed of poultry. The head of the farm, G.Naresh Kumar informed that at present the animal husbandry department is promoting this breed among rural poultry farmers.

The Banraj breed is being promoted to cash on the market of organic chickens of traditional breeds, which are still grown in large numbers in rural areas in an unorganised manner. The traditional breeds are slow growing yet they have a good market and fetch good price in market. It may be noted that similar poultry farms of the State government at Chiplima, Angul, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Semiliguda and Koraput are also being modernised to meet the increasing need of poultry products in Orissa.

The Government of India has a Department of Animal Husbandry and Diarying under its ministry of Agriculture. That Department has the following sub-ordinating offices, of which three are in Orissa. Orissa should try to get a Fisheries division office.

I. Animal Husbandry Division

1. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, P.O. Dhamrod, District Surat, Gujarat.
2. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Andesh Nagar, District Lakhimpur, (UP).
3. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Similiguda, P.O. Sunabada (Koraput) Orissa.
4. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
5. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Chiplima, P.O. Basantpur, District Samalpur, (Orissa).
6. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Avadi, Alamadhi (Madras).
7. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm,P.O. Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
8. # Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
9. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-15, Jagdish Colony, Rohtak (Haryana).
10. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-34, G.N.M. Colony, Christian Ganj, Ajmer – 305 001.
11. # Central Herd Registration Unit, 10, Gautam Vihar, Cooperative Society Building, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad.
12. # Central Herd Registration Unit, Santhapat, Ongole 523 001, District Prakasam (A.P.)
13. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Netaji Subhash Sanitorium, Kalyani, Distt Nadia (W Bengal).
14. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, 48, Rajbagh (Extension) Srinagar (J&K).
15. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
16. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Textile Mill Hissar (Ha ryana)_.
17. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, GA 128/2, Sector No. 30, Gandhinagar, (Gujarat).
18. # Regional Station For Forage Production & Demonstration, Avadi, Alamadhi, (Madras)-600052.
19. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Mamidipally, Via Keshavagiri, Hyderabad – 500005.
20. # Central Fodder Seed Production Farm, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
21. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Delhi -Gurgaon Road, Kapashera Village, New Delhi.
22. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Velachary Main Road, P.O. Pallikarni Village, Madras – 601 302.
23. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Village Gopalpur, P.O. Gopalpur, Distt Choubis parganas (W Bengal).
24. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Bombay – 400 065.
25. # Central Sheep Breeding Farm, P.O. Box No. 10, Hissar – 125 001 (Haryana).
26. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Southern Region, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
27. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Eastern Region, Bhubaneshwar.
28. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Western Region, Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai.
29. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Northern Region, Industial Area Chandigarh.
30. # Random Sample Poultry Performance Testing Centre, 69/4, Urban Estate, Gurgaon (Haryana).

II Dairy Development Division

1. # Delhi Milk Scheme, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi.

III Fisheries Division

1. # Central Institute of Coastal Engineering For Fishery, Bangalore
2. # Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training, Cochin.
3. # Integrated Fisheries Project, Cochin.
4. # Fisheries Survey of India, Mumbai.
5. # Aquaculture Authority, Chennai.

Following is from a report in Hindu Business line.

Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday announced it has commenced flights on five new domestic routes as part of its Summer-2009 schedule that began on March 29.

They are: Mumbai-Vadodara, Mumbai-Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad-Aurangabad and Bangalore-Kozhikode.

Following are excerpts from her article in DNA.

… Years later reading Suketu Mehta’s paean to Bombay, I was drawn back to the moment, for Cuttack is a 1000 years old, truly a millennium city.

The great Barbati fort whose ancient stone ramparts encircle the city in a broken embrace was built around 989 AD by the Keshari dynasty. …

Squeezed on a tongue of land between the two great rivers, Mahanadi and Kathjodi, like any city worth its salt Cuttack soon outgrew its location and acquired a unique ethos.

… Cuttack is its Sahis and Gallis, its babulok and its rickshaws, its lingo with the tangy undercurrent of irony, its Durga Puja and Bali Jatra, kite flying on the sands of Kathjodi, and mouthwatering Dahi Vada Alu Dum. Cuttack is where Subhash Bose was born, where Hari Prasad tuned his flute and Mayadhar Mansingh found his romantic muse. Its moonlight on the Mahanadi, packed houses to Annapurna theatre and 20-20 at Barbati stadium.

… A Mumbai chawl might be an equivalent of the Kataki Sahi but unlike its mammoth big sister, Cuttack knows no riots. Cuttack Chandi, the city’s patron goddess coexists with Qadam-e-Rasool, the seat of political authority of the Moslems of Orissa in centuries of harmony.

… They say that whoever has not gorged on Raghu’s Dahi Vada Aloo Dum has not yet sampled Cuttack . For these urad dal fritters in yogurt sauce with spicy gravy potatoes can tempt the taste buds to distraction. Come evening cars from around a fifty kilometer radius line up for his fare. Raghu is now the stuff of business school curricula like Mumbai’s dabbawallahs! …

Naraj Station lies across Kathjodi river about 1 km away from the bridge. It is about 2 kms from the proposed 2nd campus of Ravenshaw university, 3-4 km from Bidanasi-CDA and within 1 km from the proposed Sri Sri University. 

Several trains in the BBS (Bhubaneswar)-SBP (Sambalpur) line such as 2893 (BBS-BLGR superfast), 8304 (Puri-SBP Intercity), 8405 (Puri-ADI), 8507 (VSK-ASR) skip Cuttack and go via Naraj without stopping there. By developing the Naraj station a bit more, developing the road between the station and the bridge, and introducing stops at Naraj station people in Cuttack will be able to easily access these trains.

Many trains between Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur do go via Cuttack.

However, the reason some trains (especially intercity trains) from Bhubaneswar towards Sambalpur skip Cuttack and go via Naraj is that they save 24 kms if they go via Naraj.

This saving will be very important if an intercity between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela is to be introduced. Currently the fastest connection between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela is 2832/33 HTE Garib Rath. It covers 443 kms and takes 7 hr 50 minutes. By skipping Cuttack and using Naraj as an access point to Cuttack the distance will reduce to 419 kms (See 2893 and 2832 distance between Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal for the difference), which is more comfortable for an intercity train.

Naraj is really very close to Cuttack; much close to Cuttack than Barang or the proposed station between Barang and Patia. Also, Naraj station is much closer to the newer parts of Cuttack (such as CDA and Bidanasi) than the Cuttack station. Also, a lot of development is planned near Naraj that includes the Sri Sri University, National Law University and 2nd campus of Ravenshaw University. The following map from wikimapia shows where Naraj station lies vis-a-vis Cuttack. In the map below Naraj station is in the left bottom corner.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… Aimed at coaching and training boys from 11 to 19 years, the Orissa Cricket Academy envisions acting as “an educational institution and a nursery” to “effectively tap and groom young talent for the future”.

It has already enrolled the first batch of 40 trainees selected on the basis of performance and record during the under-15, under-17 and under-19 inter-district matches. They are being provided free accommodation and food within the Barabati Stadium complex. …

The youngsters would be imparted training and coaching on modern techniques and physical fitness by qualified and experienced coach, physio trainer and video analyst. …

As part of a major infrastructure development project underway at the stadium, OCA has set up the academy at a cost of Rs 6 crore, 50 per cent of which was provided by the BCCI. National Cricket Academy director Dav Whatmore, … said: “It will act as a state-of-the-art workshop and nursery to enhance performance levels by producing well-talented cricketers with well-rounded personalities to meet the current challenges of international cricket.”

Sprawling over a 2-acre area on the southwest corner of the stadium complex the academy has 10 pitches — six natural turfs, two synthetic (one designed to help pacers and other for spinners) and two concrete. The academy, supported with hi-tech multi-gym facility. R. Srikant has been appointed chief coach with Sourajit Mohapatra, Manas Ray and Daniel Rout to assist him in bowling, batting and fielding, respectively.

The state cricket association had undertaken a major infrastructure development work is in progress at the stadium.

The Rs 56-crore project with 50 per cent funding from BCCI envisaged extension of pavilion, galleries, an indoor hall for practice sessions during inclement weather, swimming pools for players, a permanent academy and hi-tech dressing room of international standard.

The NDTV site of the 13 Orissa sites is at http://7wondersofindia.ndtv.com/vote.aspx?id=9. The youtube videos below are from http://www.youtube.com/user/7wondersofindia. The descriptions below and the pictures are from the NDTV sites and the youtube sites.

EIGHT Sites near Bhubaneswar:

A 64 Yogini Tantrik Site

Located in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
The Sixty Four Yoginis temple at Hirapur is a circular enclosure with a narrow doorway to the eastern side. The diameter of the enclosure is 7.62 meters or 25 feet and height of the wall on the paved floor inside is 1.87 metres or 6 feet 2 inches. Yogini was considered sacred, hence this temple was created. Inside the temple there are 60 niches and in every niche there is a figure of a Yogini. All the Yogini images stand and are carved on black chlorite stone.

Nandan Kanan National Park

Located in Chandaka Forests, 20km from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.
The park is spread in about 4 sq.km. of area, while the wildlife
sanctuary is spread in around 5 sq. km. The park is home to more than 75 species of mammals and reptiles.The Nandan Kanan National park houses the very first captive gharial breeding centre of the country. Nandan Kanan justifies its literal meaning i.e. "Garden of Pleasure".

Lingaraja Bhubaneshwar Temple

Located in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
The Lingaraja temple is located in a spacious courtyard covering
over 250000 sq feet and is bounded by fortified walls. Its tower rises up to 180 feet and is elaborately carved. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the Lingam here is unique which is a harihara lingam -half Shiva and half Vishnu.
Built by Yayati Kesari in the 7th century. This temple is dedicated to Tribhubaneshwar or the Lord of Three Worlds. The Lingaraja temple is about 1000 years old.

Udaygiri and Khandagiri Caves

The caves are located atop the twin hills known as Udayagiri
(meaning the hill of the sunrise) and Khandagiri (meaning the
broken hill) which rise abruptly from the coastal plain, about 6km
West of Bhubaneswar, separated by a highway. Udaygiri caves are approximately 135 ft high and Khandagiri caves are 118 ft high.
The main attraction of these caves consists of its stupendous carvings. Of all the caves in Udaygiri, the largest one is the Rani Gumpha or the Queens Cave. The origin of the rock cut caves of Udaygiri and Khandagiri dates back to the 2nd century BC.
The caves are reminiscent of influence of Buddhism and Jainism in Orissa. The inscription and carvings on the walls show that they once served as Jain Monasteries.

Raghurajpur Craftsman Village

Located 14 kms from Puri in Orissa. The village is inhabited by artisans producing sheer poetry on pieces of treated cloth, dried palm leaf or paper. The Villages runs from east to west with houses arranged in two neat rows facing each other. In the centre runs a line of small temples. The village has a community of artisans who produce different verities of handicraft items like pata paintings, palm leaf
engravings, stone carvings, wooden toys and mask, wood carving, wooden toys, cow-dung toys, tusser paintings, etc. 

Puri Beach

Located on Shores of Bay of Bengal, at a mere distance of 35 kms from the Sun Temple and 65 kms from Bhubaneshwar. Pilgrims from all over India visit Puri to take a dip in the holy water of the rolling waves which is considered religious. It is renowned for the sand sculptures created particularly by the internationally famed Sudarshan Patnaik. Puri is the abode of Lord Jagannath and considered one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage destinations. The beach is a festive place where people come to relax and be entertained. It serves as the venue of the Puri Beach Festival.

Sun Temple, Konark

Situated at a distance from the famous religious and tourist centre of Puri (35 Km.) and the capital city of Bhubaneswar (65 Km). The entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with seven horses and twenty four wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate carvings. The Sun Temple of Konark marks the highest point of achievement of Kalinga architecture depicting the grace, the joy and the rhythm of
life all it`s wondrous variety. It was built by King Raja Narasinghs Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty in the thirteenth century. It is a temple to Surya, the sun God.

Chilika Lake

Chilika Lake (also called Chilka lake) is a brackish water coastal lake in India`s Orissa state, south of the mouth of the Mantei River.
The area of the lake varies from 1165 km sq. in the monsoon season to 906 km sq. in the dry season, and is studded with numerous small islands. The lake is an important habitat and breeding ground for both
resident and migratory and aquatic birds, most notably flamingoes.
The lake was formed due to the silting action of the Mantei River
which drains into the northern end of the lake, and the northerly
currents in the Bay of Bengal, which have formed a sandbar along the eastern shore leading to the formation of a shallow lagoon.
The main attractions inside the lake are Kalijai Island, Honeymoon Island, Breakfast Island, Birds Island, Nalabana (Island of Reeds) and Parikud Island.

The Other Five sites in Orissa:

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

Found in the Indian Ocean along the Bay of Bengal is Orissa. Average weight of the turtles is just over 100 lb (up to 50 kgs). They have a high-domed shell, with a carapace length of only 30 inches (70 cms). Olive Ridleys are omnivorous, feeding on crabs, shrimp, rock lobsters, sea grasses, snails, fish, sessile, pelagic tunocates and small invertebrates. The Orissa coast is one of the three sites worldwide where mass nesting of the olive ridley turtle occurs. This sea turtle is especially known for its mass nesting when several thousand turtles migrate to the breeding ground to mate and nest simultaneously. Hindu mythology worships sea turtles as an incarnation of one their gods. Over the past five years, sea turtles have suffered mass mortality along the Orissa coast due to death by drowning as incidental catch in trawl- fishing nets. About 5000 to 10,000 dead turtles have been washed ashore each year, a total of over 100,000 in the last ten years.

Sitabinji Caves

Situated on River Sita, 30 km from Keonjhar.  The structure is like a half opened umbrella. It depicts a royal procession.
It has gained prominence for the ancient fresco painting on a rock shelter called “Ravan Chhaya”.

Khandadhar Waterfalls (youtube videos)

Khandadhar Waterfall is located amidst the forest of Sundergarh  (specific location is Nandapani). The Khandadhar Falls is categorized as a horsetail waterfall. The falls appear to be located on a smaller watercourse, though are said to be perennial.
During the monsoon months the water from the Koprani Nala, a rivulet, overflows and it drops down as a fall from a height of 800 feet.
This waterfall because of its height is visible from a distance of about 5 kilometres.

Hirakud River Dam (youtube videos)

Located 15 km from Sambalpur, Orissa. The Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. The dam regulates the flow of the Mahanadi River and produces hydroelectricity through several hydroelectric plants. Hirakund dam is about 4.8 km long, bordered by earthen dykes on its left as well as right. Built in 1956, the dam is the world`s largest earthen dam. The dam helps control floods in the Mahanadi delta and irrigates 7,500,000 hectares of land. Hirakud dam was the first post- independence river valley project in India.

Sleeping Vishnu Temple

The sleeping statue of Lord Vishnu is situated in Bhimkund, at a distance of about 28 kilometres from Talcher. The sleeping image of Vishnu at Bhimkund is second only to Gomateswar (Karnataka) in size. It has the honour of being the largest sleeping image in India.
In spite of its magnanimity, image contains a natural softness. The period of its creation is believed to be 8th-9th century AD.

The following is from http://www.vipulgroup.in/bhubanerwar.html.

Vipul Gardens Bhubaneswar a luxury Group Housing offers all the luxuries and amenities of contemporary living. Every home in Vipul Gardens will be seamlessly connected to futuristic facilities and services that are at par with the best in the world. From leisure to entertainment to daily activities it will bring you a splendid array of services. Be it the convenience of ample surface and basement parking power back-up or the professional management of the entire property at Vipul Gardens Bhubaneswar every moment will become extraordinary.

Total Built Up Area – 10 acre (approx).

Choice of living – 4 BR,3BR & 2BR+study.

Update2: Following is from a Pioneer report about Medicinal Plant’s garden in Patrapada.

At the Patrapada Medicinal Plants’ Garden, presently consisting of 50 species of bamboo trees, another 100 species of bamboos from across the globe will be planted.

CM Naveen Patnaik planted a Budha Belly bamboo sapling at the garden on Tuesday. He advised the high authorities of the Forest Department to develop the garden so that it can attract even international visitors.

It may be mentioned here that the garden is constructed over a land of 150 acres.

Update: Following is about Jayadev Batika on the back side of Khandagiri.

Following descriptions and pictures are from http://www.bdabbsr.in/bdaservlets/more4.jsp.

INDIRA GANDHI PARK (The old parade ground in front of the Secretariat and assembly)

Indira Gandhi Park was developed over an area of 10.60 acres of land. It is centrally located infront of Orissa Secretariat and State Assembly. Indira Gandhi Park was previously the parade ground of Bhubaneswar city, and is the place where Late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi delivered her last public speech on 30th October, 1984. The park was dedicated to the public with a statue of Smt. Indira Gandhi designed and sculptured by Russian sculptor Mr. Dimitry Ryebachev and Alexander Ryebachev.

BIJU PATTNAIK PARK (Earlier called Forest Park)

Biju Pattnaik park is located in front of Capital Hospital , Unit – 6. Biju Pattnaik park has a lot of forest species, ornamental trees, flowering and foliage shrubs with a view to provide a forest in the centre of the city. A statue of one of the greatest leaders of Orissa and former Chief Minister Late Biju Pattnaik was unveiled in the park on 5th March, 2002 by Sri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Orissa and the then Union Minister Steel & Mines Sj. Ram Vilas Paswan on theauspicious occasion of Biju Pattnaik Jayanti. The park covers an area of 22.00 Ac. Of land. Multiple jogging track, colourful fountain, children play corners, rosarium, rockeries etc are the main attractions of the park.

MAHATMA GANDHI PARK (Just north of Swosti Plaza hotel)

Mahatma Gandhi park has been developed by Bhubaneswar Development Authority on a part of 27.00 Ac of Janta Maidan. The park has landscape lawn, rockeries, fountain & stream jogging track, lighting system etc. The statue of Mahatma Gandhi  sitting in the prayer position is very attractive and a number of visitors coming to Bhubaneswar pay their homage to the Father of the Nation.

BUDDHA JAYANTI PARK (Near Niladri vihar and Shailashree vihar)

Horticulture Wing in Bhubaneswar Development Authority has started functioning from April, 1987. The Wing has developed and maintaining 51 nos. of parks & open spaces in and around Bhubaneswar City , Khurda & Jatni. The major parks are:

• Indira Gandhi park
• Bijupattnaik park
• Dr. Shyamprasad Mukharjee park
• Jawaharlal Neheru park
• Jayaprakash Narayan park
• Mahatma Gandhi park
• Buddha Jayanti park
• Kharvela park
• Netaji Subash Bose park and
• Panchasakha parks at M.L.A Colony

      In addition to these there are colony parks like:

• N-1 park, Nayapalli
• N-2 park (Raju Bhaya park), Nayapalli,
• N-3 park, Nayapalli
• Pallashpalli park
• Kapilprasad park
• BJB Nagara parks
• Sahid Nagar parks
• Bhoinagar park and
• Baramunda H.B Colony park are also developed by BDA

      The parks provided with garden lighting system are open to public in the evening, they are:

• Dr. Shyamprasad Mukharjee park,
• Buddha Jayanti park
• Bijupattnaik park
• Panchasakha Park
• Indira Gandhi park
• N-1 park, Nayapalli
• N-2 park(Raju Bhaya park), Nayapalli
• N-3 park,Nayapalli
• Indradhanu Market park
• Netaji park and
• Mahatma Gandhi park

        All these parks are opened to public from 4.00 PM to 8.00 PM & 5.00 AM to 8.00 AM. These parks are provided with pathways, jogging track, benches etc. to facilitate morning & evening visitors, Bijupattnaik park, N-2 park, Nayapalli and Kudiary park at Jatni are also provided with children play equipiments. All these parks are beautifully created parks with landscape lawn, shrubbery, flower beds, trees, rosarium, hedges, water bodies, sprinkler system and two parks have Sulabha Souchalaya & public convenience. At Indira Gandhi park & Bijupattnaik park visitors can park their vehicle by paying usual parking fee.

        Horticulture Wing also give permission for commercial shooting at different parks @ Rs. 2000/- per day. BDA has also developed a large public meeting place at Janta Maidan in front of NALCO Head Office at Chandrasekharpur over an area of about 22.00 Ac. The ground rent for booking of Janta Maidan to hold any public meetings/ conference, exhibition is Rs. 15,000/- (Rupees fifteen thousand) only per day for the entire field. Organisations can also book Maidan big patch @ Rs10,000/- per day & small patch @ Rs. 5,000/- per day.

        BDA Horticulture Wing has also developed a nursery at Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar where a number of seasonal plants, sapplings are propagated. The annual production capacity of nursery is about 50,000 sapplings of different trees, shrubs, forest species etc. Seasonal saplings are produced more than two lakhs per annunm. Sapplings are sold to the public at very reasonable price. During monsoon, sapplings are also provided to NGOs, Residential Welfare Associations, Municipalities, public and private institutions, Schools and Colleges etc. at free of cost with prior approval of authority.

The Pal Heights mall is next to the Pal Heights hotel. This mall also has a small Oxford book store. Following is from a report in Pioneer.

Spencer’s Retail Limited launched its first store in the State, in the capital city on Friday. Company’s vice-president (Operation) and business head (East) Mohit Kampani opened the store at Pal Heights.

The outlet would offer a wide range of merchandise in food and grocery, fruits, vegetables, electrical and electronics, home and office essentials, garments and fashion accessories, toys and personal care items, imported food products and a speciality section and international cuisine like Thai, Chinese and Italian organic foods counter and fish and meat counter.

Spencer’s Retail Limited also plans to open another store in Bhubaneswar by the end of March.

As per this page in the document prepared by IIT Kharagpur the population of the above complex in 2008 is 1.9 million.

Following is an excerpt from a report in domain-b.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest exporter of information technology and IT-backed products, has opened a 1,000-seat software development centre at Bhubaneswar – TCS Kalinga Park – as the company extends its presence to Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

…  Spread over 45 acres of land, TCS Kalinga Park will have a capacity of 7,000 seats at full capacity, he added.

With over 70 per cent of campus hiring at TCS taking place at Tier II and Tier III cities, these centres will drive growth for the company,  he said.

TCS Kalinga Park, an approved special export zone (SEZ), also boasts of the country’s first Energy and Environmental Design (Leed)-rated IT campus.

Planning Commission secretary S Pani, who was instrumental in providing a boost to the IT sector in Orissa, said Bhubaneswar has the potential to become a major IT hub with at least 50,000 software developers.

The Tata Group, which has so far invested in a Ginger hotel and the TCS software development centre in Orissa, will also be investing in a mega-steel plant in the state.

”Orissa, regarded as a late starter in the nineties had emerged as a favored IT destination due to the congenial work environment and effective policy initiatives, ” said chief minister Naveen Patnaik while inaugurating the TSC Kalinga Park.

The chief minister also said the state government will soon get into the e-governance mode for all procurement and tendering processeses.

Following is an excerpt from a report in expressbuzz.

The State Government today decided to develop Puri as a mega tourism circuit with an investment of Rs 50 crore.

An outlay of Rs 30 crore will be made in the next budget for the project that includes improvement of Badadanda (grand road), beautification of Puri town and sea beach, dynamic lighting system of Jagannath temple and Gundicha temple, development of parks and parking lots and construction of a tourist complex.

The high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also decided to give a facelift to the peripheral areas of Puri, a major tourist attraction.

At Satapada, a sunset viewpoint and a park will be developed. There will be tourist jetty at Sipaguda and Rajahansa, official sources said. Plans are afoot to paint the buildings lined up on both sides of the Badadanda with a unique colour to give an added attraction to the Puri town. This will be done in consultation with various stakeholders.

While additional parking places for vehicles will be created in various parts of the city, arrangements will be made to ease out traffic during festivals like Rath Yatra. There will be three interchanging nodes within the town to evacuate traffic. It has been proposed to set up a multi-media museum called Srikhetra Sankrutika Sangrahalay. Vending zones will be set up on the sea beach to keep it clean and free from pollution.

Special board and lodging arrangements will be made for tourists. A few tourist complexes will be developed in various locations.

It has been estimated that about 34 lakh out of 52 lakh tourists coming to the State every year visit Puri.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… the proposed software development centre of IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will be inaugurated on January 5 next year. The first tower of TCS which will be inaugurated in the city’s Infocity campus will have a capacity to accommodate around 1,500 employees.

“… Wipro’s second campus in the city is also scheduled to be inaugurated within a month”, said Vishal Dev, director, IT department of the Orissa government at an International Conference on IT, held at the Xavier Institute of Management.

TCS is developing its software centre in the city on a 54-acre plot in the Infocity campus. While the first tower of TCS is scheduled to be inaugurated early next month, the company is expected to add two to three towers within three months.

I hope the boat house looks better once it is constructed and its capacity is scientifically calculated and enforced.

Following is from a report in CargonewsAsia.

The Kolkata-based Shyam Group has joined hands with another local company Century Plyboards India Ltd and floated Puri Ports Ltd to launch a port at Baliharchandi, about 40 km from Puri (Orissa), the Business Line reported.

About 3,500 acres of land has been identified for the proposed port project and a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa Government is to be signed shortly.

The Ministry of Tourism’s clearance would be required because, as it was pointed out, a cruise terminal would be an important component of the proposed port.

The first phase of the proposed port, to be complete with four berths including the cruise terminal and an industrial park.

Hindu also writes about it. Following is from that report.

The Kolkata-based Shyam Group is planning to set up an integrated minor port in Orissa for which IIT Chennai has been engaged to prepare the detailed project report, Deepakk Goyal, Executive Director of Shyam Steel, said.

The diversified Shyam Group which has interests in cement, power and steel is hopeful of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa Government by January 2009, according to company sources. After signing the MoU, the company will approach the Coastal Regulatory Zone for its approval.

In the first phase, the project will entail an investment of between Rs. 1,800 crore and Rs. 2,000 crore and a capacity of 12 million tonnes annually which includes a four-berth port, two dedicated cruise terminals and a wood-based industrial park. The ultimate capacity will be between 30 million tonnes and 40 million tonnes and the implementation may have to be done in three phases.

The site that has been identified for the project is Baliharchandi, which is south of Puri and north of Chilika Lake. Around 3,500 acres has been set apart for the project. The land is proposed to be acquired through the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Company and the project is to be completed within 24 months of land acquisition.

Shyam Steel, which is the third-largest stakeholder in Century Plywood, has already formed an equal joint venture with Century. The company is called Puri Port Ltd. The cargo will be clean cargo like wood and export-cargo of steel and import-cargo of raw materials.

From their descriptions these outlets sound similar to the Home Depot, Lowes kind of stores in the US. Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Eyeing the fast growing construction market, leading cement company Ultratech is planning to open 400 new unique retail outlets across the country, including many more in Orissa soon.

…  Ultratech Cement Ltd (UCL), a part of India’s global conglomerate Aditya Birla group, has opened five UBS retail outlets in Orissa’s Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack.

This was the first ever entry of UBS retail outlets in the growing construction markets of Orissa and the company plans to open many more such outlets in the state.

Its 89 existing outlets are currently operational in states like Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and plans are afoot to add six more states due to the success obtained in the existing ones, according to UCL’s chief marketing officer O P Puranmalka.

As many as 400 such outlets are planned to be opened across the country in 2009 offering a wide spectrum of end-to-end home-building solutions, high quality construction materials and allied value-added services, he said.

Describing UBS as a unique concept, he said in a release it was being launched in a big way in Orissa, a fast growing construction market in the eastern region.

Advocating our ‘plan, build and support’ philosophy, it seeks to enhance the shopping experience of the customers as well as to strengthen existing trade partnership by upgrading the service proposition, he said.

At UBS outlets, visitors can get reputed brands of all construction materials including cement, aggregates, bricks, tiles, sanitary fittings, paints, water-proofing compounds and white cement, the release said.

The outlets also provide value added services including mobile concrete testing vans for conducting quality tests as well as architects, contractors, vaastu consultants and other construction personne.

They have technical teams which train masons and contractors besides offering advice on legal formalities and plan approval procedures.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Ayush Hospital and Trauma Care Limited has drawn up a plan to set up its second multi-speciality hospital in the city at an investment of about Rs 200 crore. The proposed hospital would be equipped with over 500 beds and it is expected to be operational by 2012.

… “We will shortly approach the Orissa government for allotting us 8-10 acres of land in or around the city for our proposed multi-speciality hospital. The construction work for this hospital is expected to resume next year.”

The new hospital will offer treatment across wide range of specialities like trauma care, oncology, neurosciences, gastroenterology, gastro intestinal surgery, spine and knee replacement surgery and cardiac care to name a few. The hospital would have separate and dedicated units for each of these specialities.

Acharya said that expansion of beds and other facilities could not be taken up at the existing Ayush Hospital in the city due to space constraints and the new multi-speciality hospital will be run by a pool of 1,000-1,500 professionals, including doctors and the paramedical staff.

He said, Ayush Hospital is prepared to reserve 15 per cent of the beds in the proposed multi-speciality hospital for BPL (below poverty line) families and extend free treatment to them if the state government provided support in the form of allotment of land. Ayush Hospital was also keen on imparting training to the government doctors at the sub-divisional level.

… Acharya pointed out that Ayush Hospital plans to set up a telemedicine facility in the hospital so that people staying in remote villages can have access to its doctors for consultation.

The existing 120-bed Ayush Hospital in the city offers treatment to patients like neurology, cardiology, nephrology, plastic surgery, urology, gastroenterology and spine surgery. The hospital’s objective is to reverse the exodus of patients from the state by offering the latest healthcare facilities to the people at an affordable cost.