Following is the news report on the discussion (almost a confrontation) with the Railway Board Chair, as reported in India Abroad.

The basic premise behind our grievances against Indian Railways and our demands is simple.

• Indian railways is scheduled to make 2500-3000 crores/year from Orissa, but spends only 1000 crores/year on Orissa in terms of new lines, doubling and gauge conversion.
• Its current plan for major spending includes freight corridors, metro rails, and high speed rails, none of which touch Orissa. It plans to do gauge conversion of 12000 kms, most of which is unprofitable (this proves that Indian Railway lies when it says it only does profitable lines), very little (less than 100 km) of which is in Orissa.
• Orissa is already behind the national average in terms of rail density and way behind its neighbors such as West Bengal and Bihar. If no changes are made to the 11th plan IR allocations Orissa will further fall behind.
• Indian Railways must not take money from its profit in Orissa, and spend it else where, until it takes care of proper connectivity to Orissa’s tribal, backward and maoist infested areas. The 2500-3000 times 5 = 12,500 -15,000 crore that Indian Railways will profit from Orissa during the 11th plan must be spend in new lines in Orissa until the (i)-(v) lines below and other port and mine connectivity lines are completed during the 11th plan.
• To Mr. Jena’s retort that Mumbai earns so much in taxes and not all of it is spent in Mumbai; we reply that it is often acceptable to take from rich and give to poor; But when did it become acceptable to take from poor (Orissa) and give to rich (freight corridors etc. in other states)?

The lines in Orissa connecting to the tribal and backward areas that we demand to be finished during the 11th plan are:

• (i) Khurda Rd - Nayagarh - Balangir: Lack of connectivity was one of the reasons a recent Maoist mayhem happened in Nayagarh. It seems after recent events, including the confrontation with the Railway Board Chair and various dharanas in Bhubaneswar, IR has started responding to this demand, but not to the extent to promise its completion during the 11th plan. Note that Balangir is the B in the KBK districts that are the most backward in India.
• (ii) Lanjigarh Rd - Junagarh - Nabarangpur - Jeypore - Malkangiri - Bhadrachalam Rd in Andhra Pradesh: Only small part of this is approved. Most of it is not even surveyed. In the long run this will really bring those parts of Orissa closer to the rest of Orissa. This is the most important connection and has to be take care of at the earliest. Like the approved Vijaywada-Ranchi highway, this line will create an alternative Hyderabad - Ranchi path passing through backward and tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand. This line will connect the Kalahandi and Koraput districts, the two K’s in KBK. The recent Maoist attack and killing of the Greyhound forces in Malkangiri might have been prevented if this line existed as then the forces would have used the train rather than being seating ducks taking a boat across a lake in Malkangiri.
• (iii a) Rayagada - Gopalpur: This has been surveyed and but work on it has not started. Note that Rayagada is part of the undivided Koraput district, one of the K’s of KBK. This line could come under port connectivity and will be a viable line connecting the industries near Rayagada with the upcoming port in Gopalpur.
• (iii b) Gunupur - Theruvali: This will add to the Naupada-Gunupur line and make it an economically viable line. (IR and Mr. Jena agree about its importance.) This line will be completely inside the Raygada district, part of the undivided Koraput district, one of the K’s of KBK.
• (iv) Talcher - Bimlagarh (connectivity to the tribal district of Sundergarh): This line has been approved but is only being given a few crores each year, which is less than the inflation. This line will reduce the distance between Sundergarh district and teh coastal areas significantly. For example, it will make Rourkela only 4-5 hrs from Bhubaneswar.
• (v) Baripada/Buramara - Chakulia: This line will connect the tribal district of Mayurbhanj to tribal areas of Jharkhand. It will add to the Rupsa-Baripada-Bangiriposi line and make it an economically viable line. (IR and Mr. Jena agree about its importance.)

All these lines can be completed if Indian railways just suspends its practice of taking from poor (Orissa) and giving to the rich for only a few years (may be just 3-4 years). The following maps show the above mentioned lines.

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

Till recently, most families migrated to other areas to make a living. This went on till the villagers learnt how to conserve rainwater through watershed development.

Usually, the rainwater would drain off or simply dry up. Now, the community along with the Orissa government and NGOs has started watershed programmes to conserve water in wells, man-made ponds and bunds. The state government has set up a Watershed Development Mission — the first of its kind in India — to take up livelihood and community development programmes.

At the village level, watershed committees implement the programmes. The good thing is, women too have come to the forefront as agents of change. They have formed self-help groups (SHG) to supplement their income.

Malati Sabar’s is one such family in Suklimundi village, Nuapada. They used to migrate to brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh every year. Now, Malati collects mahua flowers to supplement her income while her husband, a small farmer, grows an annual paddy crop on their two-acre plot. Malati has also become a member of an SHG that retails kerosene. Recently, she took a loan from the SHG to buy a goat. "My life has changed ever since the watershed programme was introduced here," says Malati.

In western Orissa, the watershed programme is being jointly implemented by the government and Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK government under the Western Orissa Rural Livelihood Project (WORLP). "We are following a ‘watershed plus’ approach. The aim is to give people more livelihood options besides agriculture," says Sarat Behra, project director, Watershed Commission, Nuapada.Villagers say they are earning more from the same field and it’s regular income too. Moreover, they now have the option of both farm and non-farm activities in their villages. This has curtailed the seasonal distress migration.

Tunu Sabar of Larki village was one such migrant who would go to Andhra Pradesh during the lean season. "Hardly any work was available here. We couldn’t irrigate our fields or grow crops. Most of us went to Hyderabad, Bhuban-eshwar, even Surat to work in brick kilns or as labourers," he says. Life at the brick kilns was tough. Each family got Rs 5,000 as advance from the sardar along with a weekly food allowance. In the end, the sardar took his cut and the migrant was left with almost nothing. But now life’s looking up. Tunu now grows paddy, onions, vegetables, sunflowers etc, on his two-acre patch. He has built a low-cost onion storage area and his kaccha house has been replaced by a pucca one. He has a motorbike and even a telephone.

Similarly, Jamuna Sabar, a widow from Malpada village, used to work as a coolie during the lean months while her son went to Surat as a labourer. Now, they have dug a pond that helps them grow paddy and vegetables. "We plan to diversify our crops and start pisciculture too," says Jamuna.

Common cause

Watershed development is not just about livelihood but also capacity building. Awareness levels among villagers have gone up and community mobilisation is more easy. Ambahal village in Baragarh is a good example. Here, the watershed development community got together to shut the liquor shop so that the village could get aid from NGOs. "We realised we couldn’t get money unless everyone got together. So we shut the liquor shop. Now we are working to spread education, build roads, control malaria etc," says Kamilini Patnaik, chairperson, watershed development committee. Moreover, the community makes sure the development work touches the poorest first and then trickles up. The central government is now planning to replicate this success story in other states as well.

Besides the new trains, extensions and increase in frequency, Orissa comes up in the Railway budget in the following places: (Note: The 2007-2008 budget with its pink book is also available.)

• On new lines the allocations to Orissa (all in ECOR) are (Total 164.43 crores) - from the Pink Book
  • Koraput-Rayagada - 5 crores
  • Talcher - Sambalpur - 2 crores
  • Lanjigarh Rd - Junagarh - 35 crores (57 crore more needed to finish)
  • Khurda Rd - Balangir - 32.43 crores (580 crores more to finish)
  • Haridaspur-Paradip - 80 crores via RVN (401 crores more to finish)
  • Talcher - Bimlagarh - 10 crores (847 crores more to finish)
• New Lines (Total 80 crores) - from the orange book
  • Daitari-Bansapani - 20 crores (69.2 crores more to finish) - ECOR
  • Angul - Sukinda Rd - 60 crores (251.12 crores more to finish) - ECOR
• On gauge conversion (Total 50.41) - from the Pink Book
  • Naupada- Gunupur - 10.41 crores (14.7 crores more to finish) - ECOR
  • Rupsa - Bangiriposi - 40 crores (11.1 crores more to finish) - SER
• Doubling (Total 288.25 crores) - from the Pink Book
  • Talcher-Cuttack-Paradeep (2nd bridge on Birupa and Mahanadi) - 3.25 crores (1.75 crores more to finish) - ECOR
  • Cuttack-Barang (12km) - 35 crores (51 crores more needed to finish) - ECOR
  • Khurda Barang 3rd line (35 km) - 125 crores (14.43 crores more  to finish) - ECOR
  • Rajathagarh-Barang (20 km) -  125 crores (18.33 crores more to finish) - ECOR
• Doubling (total  350 crores ) - from the orange book
  • Titlagarh-Lanjigarh Rd - 7 crores (29 lakhs more to finish) - ECOR
  • Khurda Rd - Puri Phase 1 - 2 crores (2.79 crores more to finish)-ECOR
  • Sambalpur - Rengali - 2 crores (8.76 crores more needed)-ECOR
  • Jharsugurha - Rengali - 45 crores (26.41 crores more needed)-ECOR
  • Sambalpur - Titlagarh - 65 crores (399.25 crores needed)-ECOR
  • Raipur - Titlagarh - 65 crores (548.35 crores needed)-ECOR
  • Padapahar-Bansapani - 70 crores (26.58 crores needed) - SER
  • Barbil - Barjamada - 40 crores (5 crores needed) - SER
  • Bimlagarh - Dumitra - 50 crores (23.52 crores needed) - SER
  • Bansapani - Jaruli - 4 crores (72.22 crores needed) - SER

(Below, a slightly edited version of  a posting in IRFCA gives the difference between the Pink book, the Orange book and the green book used in earlier years.)

• Green book lists the works sanctioned under SRSF(special railway safety fund). All these works are to be completed by 31.3.2008 .Therefore this year a green book was not published. Green book was prepared as a 5 yr plan in 2003 to renew overaged assets chargeable to the SRSF of Rs 17000 cr.
• Orange book contains those works which are justified for enhancing the carrying capacity of Route (i.e., throughput enhancement work in railway terminology). It contains those gauge conversion, doubling & traffic facility works which are sanctioned for the enhancement of throughput. Railway gives higher priority to complete them.
• Pink book is the main book of budget & contains all sanctioned (new as well as work in progress) works except those which are in the green or orange book.

The Statesman reported the following.

The new industrial policy of the state is laying primary importance on agro-food processing, IT, bio-technology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, garments and textile, said state energy, IT and culture minister Mr Surya Narayan Patro.

Contradicting earlier speculation of slow progress between the state Government and ADGC on IT center in the state capital area, today “The Pioneer” reported that

“The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has evinced interest to set up an information technology centre in the city or its outskirts. The process to acquire the required 40 acres of land for the Dhirubhai Ambani IT Centre is on. After the ADAG submitted the proposal, the Orissa Computer Application Centre has forwarded it to the State-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).”

It also added

“the representatives of ADAG have inspected three places in Jatni and two places in Khurda for identifying the land, according to IDCO sources.”

Earlier we mentioned the Shipyard proposal by Bharti shipyards and the Apeejay Surendra group. Following are some more details, excerpted from a Kalinga Times report.

Orissa is all set to have a shipbuilding factory at Charidiha near Dhamra mouth in Bhadrak district of the State. It will be the first such private sector venture in eastern India.

The Apeejay Surrendra Group and Bharati Shipyard Limited would set up the ultra-modern ship-manufacturing factory jointly with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore.

The factory will have both ship-manufacturing as well as repairing facilities. The project would create job opportunity for 41000 people directly and indirectly. …

Work on the project will commence in middle of 2008 and the same would be implemented in three phases to be completed by the end of 2013.

The growth taking place in the steel sector in Orissa would be of great helping for the shipbuilding factory.

In the first phase, 75000 tonnes of steel will be used for establishing the ship making factory. In the second phase, the project will require 2,30,000 tonnes of steel, and 4,50,000 tonnes in the third phase.

The government said that the company would also set up an industrial training centre at Dhamra area to train its prospective employees.

Dhamra has already been news as the Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL), a joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel, has already started groundwork for setting up of a deep port at the Dhamra mouth.

…

The Apeejay Surrendra Group has also expressed its willingness to set up a research and design centre and a Knowledge Park at Bhubaneswar, the government said.

The Knowledge Park would have a school as well as higher education on subjects such as business management, hotel management, fashion designing, food technology, and nutrition science and nautical science.

The Orissa government official portal has a new design and look. It seems to have a lot of new and updated information. However, many links are broken. I guess fixing all the bugs will take some time. Readers may comment on the bugs they find in the comment section below and we will aggregate them and send them to the appropriate people.

The Pioneer reported that

Tata Steel has converted a wasteland into an attractive park and dedicated it to the citizens of Joda valley in Keonjhar district on the occasion of its centenary year.

A couple of years back this barren wasteland by the side of the main road in Joda was just a parking place for trucks or grazing field for the animals.

Kalinga Times has a more elaborate article on this.

Following it an extract from a report from Ecomic Times.

The $7-billion metals-to-power group , Vedanta Resources, on Friday invited companies to build cement plants in Orissa near its thermal power facilities by using fly ash, a by-product of burning coal and a key ingredient for making cement. Vedanta said it will keep open the option to partner prospective companies in the venture.

Vedanta has asked interested companies to submit plans by the first week of September. The fly ash will come from the coal-based power plants owned by Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.

According to Vedanta’s statement, the power plants will generate about 8MT of fly ash. Industry experts said that a tonne of fly ash produces an equal amount of cement. But the by-product from Sterlite’s plants may also be used to feed brick manufacturing units and other ash utilising units in and around Jharsguda, said executives.

Sterlite had recently floated an energy subsidiary - Sterlite Energy - to build thermal power plants in Orissa’s Jharsguda district, with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW.

The power plants, to be built at an investment of $2 billion, will come up by 2009, Sterlite had announced earlier. Sterlite had earlier this year raised about $2 billion in the US market, to be mainly used for funding the power projects.

Following is Dharitri’s report on this.

Telegraph has a nice short traveogue on it contributed by Kalyan Mukherjee. Following are some excerpts.

Digha is by far the most popular beach in the area. Finding even a modest accommodation there, especially on a weekend, can be difficult. While just a hop away, in the neighbouring state, Talsari is relatively tourist-free, and consequently, pollution-free.

The road from New Digha, which is south of Digha, towards Orissa meanders through casuarinas standing on both sides like sentries. The trees make a hissing sound as the sea breeze blows through them.

Generally, only men on bicycles can be seen on the 15-km drive along a very, very bad road. Most parts of it are devoid of a surface.

After crossing the state border, we reached a village where the newly painted and repaired Chandaneswar temple is located. …

The first impression of Talsari is unlikely to blow you away. You may wonder what’s there to see except a few country boats, roving fishermen and casuarina coves. But the serene villages and tall palm trees will grow on you.

The cashew trees sway in the breeze welcoming the visitors. In February, red and orange flowers appear on the plants. The cashew kernel hangs outside the fruit, which is also edible.

You will find only sand dunes on the beach — no heckling hotelier, no screaming hawker, no bargaining tourist. There are a handful of small hotels and a Panthasala run by the Orissa government.

The beach is quite flat and the waves are small and playful. The estuary of the river Subarnarekha can be seen in the distance. The crests of the waves glow as darkness descends. The full moon rose gradually the night we were there and the beach turned a dreamscape.

In a news item on the Singapore business summit znetasia mentions that there will be one India business summit which showcases emerging states of India. Orissa is mentioned as an emerging state in that list.

“GES 2007 will also host the Global Indian Business Summit 2007, which will focus on the country’s emerging states such as Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Rajastan and Gujarat.”

Samaja reports on this is as follows. Central government should, if they don’t have one yet, have a similar scheme for tribal districts.

Hindustan Times reported that,

the Orissa government is examining a proposal from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to set up a 4,000 to 6,000-megawatt capacity nuclear power plant, which could be the largest in the country, which today has a total nuclear power generation capacity of only 4,120 MW.

The project is being proposed in the wake of the US government’s offer of technology under the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

“The NPCIL made their initial selection of the site based on satellite images,” Orissa Energy Minister Suryanarayan Patro told Hindustan Times on Monday.

A nine-member committee of NPCIL had visited Bhadrak and Ganjam districts for site selection and had finally selected Pati Sonapur in Chikiti Block of Ganjam,he said “They have asked the Orissa Hydro Power Corporation to drill six deep borewells as part of their investigations,” he said.     

The daily pioneer reports that some more road projects have been finalised.
They are as follows.

• Sambalpur-Rourkela - 165 km
• Joda-Bamebari - 18 km
• Koira-Rajamunda - 46 km
• Nirgundi-Kurundamal (Kaipadar) - 98 km - This is expected to act as a decongestor for the regular Cuttack Bhubaneswar line. I find this as a sign of good planning.
• It has been conceptualised to link Paradip Port directly from Bhubaneswar with a 93.5-km road at an estimated cost of Rs 562 crore
• Suakati to Dubuna in Keonjhar district comprising 56 km is to be upgraded using PPP.
• Palaspanga -Bamebari SH road - 28 km under the Keonjhar Infrastructure Development Company for 48 crores
• Nayagarh- Khandapara road
• Nayagarh-Odagaon-Nalubhal
• Circular road in Angul town
• Gania- Kantilo road
• Saintala- Tikarapada - Kantabanjhi road
• The Centre has approved the improvement of Naranpur-Pandapara-Harichandanpur-Brahmanipal-Duburi road under EIS at a cost of Rs 302 crore during 2007-08.
• Jagatpur-Kendrapara-Chandbali-Bhadrak-Anandpur-Karanjia- ashipur
• Berhmapur-JK Pur
• Kerada-Rayagada-Muniguda- Bhawanipata-Khariar
• Aska-Bhanjanagar-Daspalla
• Daspalla-Banarpal

New Indian express reports that the CM wants assistance from the Rural development ministry for this project. It maybe noted the Mr. Subhas Pani who was the chief secretary in Orissa earlier has joined the rural development ministry as a secretary now.

Tathya had reported this news some time back.

Excerpts :

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought financial assistance from the Rural Development Ministry for construction of the proposed Vijayawada-Ranchi road.

Naveen met Union Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday before returning here. According to a release issued here, the Union Minister promised all support for the project.

The Chief Minister also requested the Minister that selection of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) beneficiaries should be done on the basis of the 1997 below poverty line (BPL) list as the new list is yet to be finalised.

The news item mentions that one can now file RTI in the US. The exact steps are given in the site http://rti.aidindia.org/content/view/263/78/ which we reproduce below.

1. Make the application:

All you need is one plain sheet of paper. You can type or hand-write your application with all the questions you want to ask, Address it to the PIO and sign underneath [yeah, that is all]. You can ask multiple question in same application. Please look at some sample applications

Few things to note:

Mention that you are exercising your right under RTI 2005
Frame the questions to best of your understanding as “precise” answers depend on precise questions.

2. Attach personal check for 24 Cents [equivalent to Rs. 10] and mention in your application that you have attached it. Checks should be made in favor of ” Embassy of India, Washington DC”.

3. Attach your passport first page copy(this is proof that you’re an Indian Citizen)

4. In the application give your return address where they can respond (including email)

5. Send the application and the check attached to:

The Public Information Officer,
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
USA - 20008
Contact: Mr. George Kutty - georgek@indiagov.org

There are plans to connect the Pravat cinema area to Samrat Cinema area in Cuttack by a flyover. For people who are new in Cuttack ‘Pravat Cinema’ is close to two big landmarks. Rajatarangini Cinema Hall and Buxi Bazaar. Buxi Bazaar is the central point in Cuttack. Following are excerpts from a Pioneer report.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday held a review meeting on the progress of the upcoming over-bridge that would connect Pravat Cinema to Samrat Cinema. The projected cost of the bridge is estimated at Rs 144 crore.Later speaking to reporters, Cuttack MLA and Minister Sameer Dey said Finance department would release Rs 1.50 crore to the RITES organisation to prepare the detailed project report of the project.

It has not yet been decided whether the bridge that starts from Pravat cinema will touch the Malgodam area or not. The DPR of the project will be completed within five months.

As a byline I might add that there is a huge drain which runs from Pravat cinema till Samrat cinema. It would be a good idea to have a flyover over that. This will eliminate the need for land acquisition and improve sanitation in CMC.