Miscreants attack company officials, two injured

By Samiksha Ray
Bhubaneswar, April 27: The ground breaking ceremony of the Rs 5,000-crore KVK Nilachal Power Project Limited could not be held on Monday at Kandarei village in Orissa’s Cuttack district as anti-socials attacked the company officials and project site.
The anti-socials, apparently instigated by some local politicians, attacked the convoy of vehicles carrying the company officials in the morning when they passing through Rahangul village, one km away from the project site.

They hurled large stones at the vehicles and beat the officials in wooden sticks.

Two officials were seriously injured while several vehicles were damaged. However, timely intervention by the local police saved the situation before it assumed serious proportions.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, Mr K. Vijay Kumar, managing director of KVK Energy Limited, the promoter of 1200 MW KVK Nilachal Power Project, - said the Monday’s incident would no way affect the commissioning of the project.

“We are serious about the project. The company has outrightly purchased around 400 acres of land from private individuals and deposited money with the state administration for around 96 acres of government land. We will certainly carry forward this project,” Mr Kumar said.

He added that the state government should immediately demarcate the land agreed to be given to the KVK Nilachal Power Project Limited.

KVK Nilachal first signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government on September 26, 2006 for 600 MW plant, which was enhanced to 1200 MW through the supplementary MoU signed on October 17, 2008.

Man sacrifices grand daughter for good harvest

By Our Correspondent

Bhubaneswar, Apr 27 : In a reported case of child sacrifice, a tribal in an Orissa village beheaded his 10-year-old granddaughter believing that sowing seeds mixed with her blood would give a bumper crop, police said on Monday.

The horrific incident took place on Sunday at the tribal-dominated Athapadar village in Sambalpur district in western Orissa, nearly 300 km from here.

Rajesh Hembram (54) killed his granddaughter Bernaka Kandulana with an axe when no other members of his family were present at home.

After killing Bernaka, Hembram collected blood in a pan and was caught by his neighbours when he was mixing the blood with paddy seeds. The villagers handed him over to the police, inspector-in-charge of Jamankira police station Jayaram Hota told this newspaper on Monday.

“It appears to be a case of child sacrifice. Driven by superstition, the accused planned to sow paddy seeds mixed with his granddaughter’s blood on the Akshaya Tritiya day on Monday for a good crop,” Mr Hota said, adding, a steel pot containing blood stained seeds was seized from Rajesh’ house.

Bernaka’s head and the remaining part of the body was also recovered from a room in the house.

“The tribal has been arrested and confessed to the crime,” Mr Hota said.

The victim was the daughter of Rajesh’s daughter. She was given shelter in his home by the tribal after his son-in-law’s death.

Akshaya Tritiya is celebrated as an agriculture festival in Orissa when the farmers sow paddy seeds in their fields marking the beginning of kharif season.

Political leaders turn poll pundits after elections

By Pradip Udgata

Bhubaneswar, April 26: With the two-phase Lok Sabha and assembly elections over and candidates nursing their swollen heels, leaders of different political parties have found a new job in their hands to do till May 16 when counting will take place. They are now busy prediction of poll results.

Interestingly, leaders of each political party, including the nascent ones, see good harvests and claim to get the magic number of 74 to form the government in the state.

The BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who claimed before the elections that his party would get at least 100 seats, has reduced the figure 90 in the 147-seat Assembly and 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"The BJD will be comfortably placed to form the government,” says chief minister Mr Patnaik.

The BJD relied heavily on the Rs 2 per kg rice scheme and Mr Patnaik’s image to sail through the polls. In fact, many feel that Mr Patnaik has outgrown his legendary father Biju Patnaik, at least in terms of electoral politics is concerned.

The Congress which was in complete disarray till February, 2009 tried its best to recoup by first distancing veteran J.B. Patnaik from the electoral scene and then imposing a five member team headed by former Union minister K.P. Singh Deo to try and put up a fight. The party, like the BJD, is equally hopeful of forming the government. The Congress poll astrologers contend that the party will gain from the split in the BJD-BJP alliance a month before the polls.

“The Congress will secure around 68 to 70 Assembly seats and 11 Lok Sabha seats,” said Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee working president Bhakta Charan Das.

The Bharatiya Janata Party feels that there will be a hung Assembly in Orissa.

“Orissa will witness a hung assembly. However, the BJP is poised to improve its position - it will perform better than 2004,” BJP state unit president Suresh Pujari said.

Samrudha Odisha, a nascent outfit which fielded candidates in all the assembly and Lok Sabha seats, does not see any reason of not obtaining the absolute majority.

“Let’s wait till the elections results are out. We will have a major role to play in the government formation,” Samrudha Odisha president Jatish Mohanty said.

Paradip port records 9.36 per cent growth in cargo handling

By Debasmita Biswal

Bhubaneswar, April 26: Despite global economic slowdown and recession in the world market, Paradip port has registered a growth of 9.36 per cent cargo handling in 2008-09 fiscal. The port handled an all time record traffic of 46.41 million tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 42.44 million tonnes handled during 2007-08.

Speaking to reporters here, Paradip port chairman Chairman K. Raghuramaiah on Friday evening said the port had achieved third place amongst all the major ports in the traffic growth rate during the year 2008-09. In comparison to 9.36 per cent traffic growth achieved by Paradip port, all major ports in the country registered only a 2.13 per cent during the same period, he added.

“An all time record quantity of 34.35 million tonnes of rail borne traffic was handled by the port railway during the year, surpassing the previous record of 30.80 million tonnees handled during 2007-08. Similarly, a record quantity of 5.13 million tonnes of cargo was handled in March 2009, surpassing the previous record of 4.70 million tonnes handled during February 2009,” informed Mr Raghuramaiah.

On financial performance, the port chairman said there was a substantial improvement during 2008-09 when the port made an operating income of Rs 700.21 crore as against Rs 639.98 crore in 2007-08.

Similarly, the operating expenditure of the port during the current fiscal comes to Rs 337.72 crore against Rs 315.79 crore last year; he said, adding, the port is undertaking the work of deepening of channel at a cost of Rs 253.36 crore.

Orissa reels under intense heat wave, death toll rises to 39

By Our Correspondent

Bhubaneswar, April 24: The heat wave death toll Orissa reportedly rose to 39 on Saturday, even as the state government put all the concerned departments and agencies on alert in view of the prevailing heat wave across the state.

The state is continuing to be in the grip of scorching heat with the mercury reaching as high as 45 degree Celsius in many parts. The temperarature even soared to 47 degree Celsious at Talcher in Angul district on Friday.

While reported heat wave death tolls stand at more than 35, official sources have confirmed only one so far. “Of the 39 reported death cases, we have investigated into 12. Investigation revealed that only one person died of the heatstroke while others died due to other reasons. Investigations are going on with regard to rest of the reported cases,” a revenue control room official said.
The office of the special relief commissioner has directed all the district collectors and chief medical officers to take necessary steps for treatment of sun stroke related cases. District headquarters hospital, primary health centres and community health centres have been asked to be kept ready to deal with any such case.

“Drinking water and other provisions like ice should be amply stored and labourers should not be engaged between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.,” the SRC office has directed. It has also asked the public transporters like buses to carry sufficient drinking water.

While Sundergarh recorded the maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, the mercury level ranged between 42 degree and 44 degree Celsius at many places of the state.

Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 39.4 and 40.1 degree Celsius temperature respectively, met office sources said.

The heat wave condition is likely to prevail over some parts of the state during next 24 hours, met office warned.

Naveen using muscle power to get votes:Bijoy Mohapatra

By Manoj Kar

Kendrapara, April 24: The BJP on Friday alleged that Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his influential political advisor were attempting to turn Kendrapara as their laboratory of experiment for “muscle power” and money-bag politics.”

“The BJD is trying to turn Kendrapara, especially Patkura assembly constituency, its laboratory for muscle power and money-bag politics. This was evident from the party’s activity on Thursday during the polling. Their hired goons led by Rourkela MLA Sarada Nayak trespassed into polling booth and threatened the voters,” senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra alleged.

Mr Mohapatra, who has been the “main target” of the chief minister and his advisor since 2000 assembly polls, told reporters that the BJD had meticulously hatched its agenda to hijack the popular mandate in Patkura and to implement it, the party unleashed terror to fracture the mandate with overt support from government machineries.

“Everybody has seen the brazen display of muscle power in the polling booth in my native Talakusuma village. The entire thing was meticulously preplanned from the house of CM’ coterie in Bhubaneswar,” he remarked.

The people of Orissa know the public utterance made by the CM’s influential political advisor during electioneering. My party is of firm belief that goons were let loose in Patkura area at his behest to terrorise the conscious voters here,” Mr Mohaptra observed.

Although he did not mention the name of the chief minister’s advisor, he made indirect reference to Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra.

“The sitting BJD MLA Sarada Nayak arrested near the Talakusuma booth has been bailed out because of partisan police. He was not booked under penal provisions of IPC despite the grave nature of his offence. We have lodged separate complaints with the police and chief electoral officer. But it has elicited mute response till now. Police are yet to act upon the FIR lodged by BJP agent,” he alleged.

Demanding the repoll in at least three polling booths, he said there are reports of attempted booth capture in nearly 40 places in Patkura by BJD’s hired goons.

BJD MLA Sarada Nayak beaten up for 'booth rigging'
By Our Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, April 24: In the first ever incident of a sitting MLA indulging in poll malpractice and being caught by the people, Biju Janata Dal legislator from Rourkela Sharada Nayak was on Thursday taken into custody arrested for allegedly rigging at a booth in Talakusuma village under Patkura Assembly constituency in coastal Orissa.
Mr Nayak along with his supporters and hired goons barged into the booth No 222 in the village and allegedly indulged in rigging. The trouble makers reportedly included son the BJD candidate Bedprakash Agarwal a hardened criminal, the locals said.
The incident sparked protests from the local villagers who chased away Mr Nayak’s supporters. The MLA was, however, held hostage by them for nearly three hours. He was also beaten up and garlanded with shoes.
The policemen present on the spot tried to rescue the legislator from the mob, but in vain. The police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the mob. At least seven people were injured in the police action.
Later, Kendrapara district superintendent of police Kumaramani Meher rushed to the spot along with forces to take the situation under control. He pacified the people assuring them of action against the legislator.
Mr Nayak was later taken into police custody. His vehicle was also seized.
“We have arrested the MLA under the provisions of Representation of People’s Act. The incident is being investigated”, Mr Meher told this newspaper.
Incidentally, Talakusuma village is native place of BJP’s Assembly candidate from Patkura Bijoy Mahapatra who is known as an arch rival of Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Mr Mahapatra recently quit the Nationalist Congress Party to join the BJP, after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar decided to have poll tie up with the BJD.
“The MLA, however, denied having any intention to rig the votes. “I had come here to see if the polling was going on perfectly. When I entered the booth premises, the mob caught me and manhandled,” he said.

Second phase polls records 61.46 per cent votes

By Akshaya Rout
Bhubaneswar, April 24: The second and final phase of elections in Orissa on Thursday recorded a turnout of 61.46 per cent voters. The election was held amidst intense summer heat which caused death of two poll officials.
Eleven Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly constituencies went to polls in the second phase to decide fates of 85 LS and 688 Assembly candidates. They include seven state ministers, eight editors of Oriya weeklies and dailies, 43 sitting MLAs, three former Union ministers and 53 women candidates.

“Barring stray incidents of group clashes involving workers of rival Biju Janata Dal and Congress at a few booths, the polling remained by and large peaceful,” state chief electoral officer Alaka Panda told reporters here on Thursday evening.

While Nayagarh district witnessed highest polling of 66 per cent, Kendrapara district recorded lowest turnout of 50 per cent.

Official sources said two poll officials - Pabitra Mohan Muduli and Somnath Mahant died reportedly due to sunstroke at Udala in Mayurbhanj district and Ghasipura in Keonjhar district respectively.

Two others- Rahim Khilar and Damburudhar Mahant- were taken ill due to heat stroke at Udala.

According to official reports, a group of around 50 miscreants tried to scare away voters at a booth under Pipili Assembly constituency by hurling bombs at them. At least ten people were injured in the incident.

The BJD supporters clashed with Congress workers at five booths under Mahanga Assembly constituency leading to injuries to eight people. There was an attempt to capture booth at Auli in Cuttack district. But police acted promptly nabbing the miscreants.

Several BJD polling agents were injured at Rajnagar when they were attacked allegedly by the rival Congress workers. Similarly, at least five BJD workers sustained injuries after they were assaulted allegedly by the local Congressmen at Basudevpur in Bhadrak district.

A group of unidentified miscreants pelted stones at senior BJD leader and former minister Damadar Rout at Gobardhanpur in Jagatsinghpur district when he was returning home.

He, however, escaped unhurt. But his vehicle was completely damaged.

Another BJD leader and former minister Bishnu Das was also attacked at Salijanaga area under Jagatsinghpur district allegedly by Congress supporters. While his vehicle was damaged, Mr Das remained unscathed.

Raman Singh defends Salwa Judum, stresses on coordinated effort to tackle Maoist problem

By Our Correspondent

Bhubaneswar, April 21: Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Tuesday called for an integrated action plan by the Centre to end Maoist menace in the country.

“If an integrated action plan envisaging coordinated efforts by the Maoist-affected states is not taken up, then it will be difficult to fight the Maoists. Peace meal approach by individual states will not help in eradicating the Maoist problem,” Mr Singh told reporters here.

Mr Singh was on a day’s visit to Orissa to campaign for his party-BJP.

There should be coordinated efforts by these states to keep a vigil on the inter-state boundaries in order to effectively counter the Maoists. Besides sharing intelligence, there should be joint operations along the borders. These should be the main features of the proposed integrated action plan, he said.

“The main reason behind our failure to tackle the menace is due to lack of seriousness in executing the plans made to counter them at the ground level”, he added.

He, however, strongly defended Salwa Judum , a tribal force raised in Chhattisgarh to take on the Maoists. The ultras are on the defensive today only because of the Salwa Judum, he said, adding, it was created to curb Naxal violence, not to target a particular force.

Mr Singh said his government had taken up several welfare measures for the development of tribals in the Maoist-infested areas, which wooed them away from the ultras.

“The tribals have now started realising that the Maoists are not their messiahs but bandits. The change in attitude of the tribals towards the red rebels has helped the security personnel in Chhattisgarh to get success in operations against the extremists”, he said.

While four districts in Chhattisgarh are worst hit by the problem, five others are partially affected. “We are confident that we will be able to totally eliminate Maoists in coming four to five years”, he added.

Advani is deliberating targeting PM: Anand Sharma

By Ratikant Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, April 20: Union minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma on Monday said no secular government could be formed at the Centre without the Congress.

“The Congress has always given a stable government. People of India have seen how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is an acclaimed economist, has been successfully leading the country on the path of progress and prosperity. But the BJP, particularly its Prime Ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, is deliberately targeting Mr Singh for electoral gains,” Mr Sharma said while addressing a press conference here.

To query on Mr Advani’s allegation that Rs 75 lakh crore had been stashed away in Swiss Banks, Mr Sharma said, “Mr Advani was the home minister of the country for long period. He should tell people what steps he had taken to get back the money.”

“Mr Advani should tell people where did he get the figure of Rs 75 lakh crore and what steps he took to unearth the money during the NDA rule,” he said, adding, the BJP leader was raising a ‘non-issue.”

Replying to yet another query, the minister said LTTE was a terrorist outfit and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was a proclaimed offender.

“Prabhakaran is a proclaimed offender and the LTTE is a terrorist outfit and it should be treated on par with such other organisations,” Mr Sharma, who also the Congress spokesperson, told reporters here.

Mr Sharma’s remark comes a day after DMK's chief M Karunanidhi said he did not see the LTTE supremo as a terrorist.

Expressing concern over the situation in Sri Lanka, the minister said the Tamil people in that country should get their constitutional rights.

“We have a firm policy on the Sri Lanka issue. The people of Tamil origin should get their constitutional rights. It would be a mistake to equate people of Tamil origin with members of the LTTE,” he observed

Mr Sharma said strong diplomatic exercises by India had forced Pakistan to admit involvement of its citizens in Mumbai carnage and resulted in international community asking Pakistan to stop sponsoring terrorism against India.

Poverty-alleviation programmes enriching the rich

Srikant Panda

Cuttack: Welfare schemes of the State seems to be going on a bumpy ride as the government has failed to provide essential commodities to the beneficiaries. As a result, many economically well-off people possessing fake BPL cards are getting these benefits where as vulnerable sections of the society, for whom these schemes are aimed at, look through veiled eyes. The Supply Department’s modus operandi comes under scanner time and again due to complaints from the poor and deprived people. These irregularities make a mockery of the public distribution system in the district of Cuttack. Whether these schemes, launched by the government with much pomp and fanfare, are reaching people properly or get diverted by middlemen illegally is a big question which ordinary people sarcastically ask whenever such a situation arises.

Government-initiated various welfare schemes and its successful implementation has always been an unsolved riddle owing to corruption which is deep-rooted and rampant in the society. The Government has been supplying essential commodities like rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene to the most vulnerable sections of society at a reasonable price to maintain a equitable justice between the haves and have-nots.

Here perpetrators act differently sabotaging the already empty cupboard of the poorest among the poor. They force people to sleep in empty stomachs by siphoning off the quotas in their favour. A strong sense of resentment has been expressed by the weaker sections of the society as their quotas are being distributed to fake BPL card holders owing to some corrupt officials having nexus with dishonest dealers. The enforcement squad of Supply Department remains inactive and hardly bothers to have a cursory glance of the plight of the poor people. Allegation is rife that most of the fake BPL card holders having huge presence in the city have diverted the quotas meant for poor and underprivileged people.

According to the district’s supply department officials, 1,71,492 BPL beneficiaries, 3,11,966 APL card holders and 49,087 Antyodaya Anna Yojana card holders are being provided rice, sugar, kerosene and wheat at reasonable prices. Senior citizens above 65 years of age and living below the poverty line are provided with 10 kg of rice free of cost by the supply dept. in the district.

When questioned by this IVT correspondent about the existing loopholes in the system due to which poor people’s quotas are being siphoned off, the C.S.O of Cuttack, Santosh Kumar Nanda emphatically said, “There are sporadic cases which we detected during the raid and many irregularities have been brought to the notice of our department. The enforcement squad has always been vigilant, and in the process, we detected about 15 fake BPL card holders in Buxibazar through raid. But we ruled out any possibility of fake cards in huge numbers.” He alleged that some dealers have come under the scanner of the enforcement squad for diverting quotas. Their dealership has been cancelled with immediate effect, he added.

Going down memory lane, underprivileged sections of the society allege that sometimes they get essential commodities but very often they are deprived of getting their quotas by the corrupt dealers. It is also alleged that a well-planned nexus exists between the supply department officials, CMC officials and dealers working relentlessly to divert quotas illegally. As a result, the public distribution system in the district is in disarray. The government always tries to woo poor people by launching various welfare schemes and implementing them successfully but it never pursues the programmes which eventually fail to benefit poor people.

Verbal calisthenics of our leaders cutting across party lines land weaker sections of the society in a state of confusion as people are raising lot of skepticism about the continuation of such welfare schemes after the elections because it is the inherent nature of political parties to indulge in cheap publicity in order to garner votes in their favour. It is quite possible that the government might withdraw such schemes once the election is over, which would lead to the future of the have-nots perpetually spinning in a vicious circle of penury.

Sonia slams at NDA, says country is safe in Congress’ hands

By Our Correspondent

Bhadrak (Orissa), April 18: The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday asserted that her party alone can effectively fight terror, if it retained power at the Centre after the coming Lok Sabha polls.

“We have the political will to tackle terror. Our rivals have the record of succumbing to terror,” the Congress star campaigner said while addressing an election rally here.

Ms Gandhi fired salvos at the former NDA government for its alleged soft stand on terror.

“It was during the Atal Behari Vajpayee government that the Parliament was attacked and an aircraft hijacked by terrorists to Kandhahar in Afghanistan. The then Union home minister had a rushed one of his colleagues to Kandhahar and one notorious terrorist was released from Indian jail to end the drama,” she said.

“We will never do such a thing. We will never bow down to terrorists,” she asserted.

She made a scathing attack on the Third and Fourth Fronts, saying, several political parties had come together to form fronts only to grab power and chair.

“These fronts have no ideology or principle. Their main objective is to grab power at any cost. They are prone to disintegration,” she said.

She slammed the Naveen Patnaik government saying the state was pushed to backwardness under its rule. Huge Central funds coming to the state for the development of the poor, were either siphoned off or remained unutilised, she pointed out.

“Thousands of acres of land are taken away from the poor tribals and backward class people of the state in the name of industrialisation, but they are not paid compensation for years. The tribals have been forcibly displaced from their homes and lands, uprooting their livelihood.

She said the Congress-led UPA government has implemented several welfare measures for the uplift of the poor and downtrodden.