| Bhubaneswar, Nov 22 (LocalWire): Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) through its Socially Smart Project is going to organize a `skill fair’ at Saheed Nagar BMC Kalyan Mandap on 25 November. With skill development becoming the buzzword in the employment sector and with the right skill for the right person becoming the central theme, the objective of the fair is to bring in both the employment-seeking youth and the institutes imparting skill education on a single platform. Till date, 12 leading skill institutes across the city have given their consent to be present at the ‘Skill Mela’ and more may join, said BSCL officials.The fair aims to bring 200 young people from various slums and other areas of Bhubaneswar. Those with Class VIII pass qualification and above can participate in the fair. The institutes who have given their nod to participate at the unique fair are Skill Development Institute, Kampa Bhai Vocational Training Institute, Upasana Educational Trust, Government ITI Bhubaneswar, Urban Micro Business Centre, ICICI Academy of Skills, Central Tool-room Training Centre, CV Raman Institute of Technology, Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, Tech Mahindra Foundation, EduBridge Learning Private Limited and Trident Academy of Technology.Youth and students from the transgender community and people with disabilities (PWDs) will be included in the fair. Sunita Nayak, a Peer Leader from Shanti Palli said ‘Google also fails to link all skill development institutes in and around Bhubaneswar city. Skill Mela will provide a unique experience of bringing different institutes on one platform and the young people can choose programmes of their interest and choice. ’BSCL General Manager (Social Projects) Diptirani Sahoo said, ‘the inclusiveness of the Socially Smart Project has helped many young girls, women and boys of the city through its initiatives. The project has provided self-defence training to 334 girls, skill linkage support to approximately 280 youths besides training 174 young boys and girls as Peer leaders in last three years. The Skill Mela’ will create a platform for youths in enhancing their future employability. LocalWire |
Health
Berhampur Police launches 24X7 blood donation helpline
Berhampur, Nov 14 (LocalWire): To curb middlemen from blood banks and also extend a helping hand to those in need of blood, Berhampur Police today launched Utsarga, a 24X7 blood donation helpline,
DIG, Southern range, Satyabrata Bhoi, inaugurated the public outreach programme of Odisha Police, part of the Mo Sarkar initiative.
The DIG said the initiative will not only help provide blood to the poor and needy patients but also help stop the involvement of middlemen who harass patients. He urged all police personnel to join the intuitive and help the patients.
The blood groups of the 1200 police personnel working in Berhampur Police district will be maintained.
Any patient in need of blood can contact the helpline which will soon be made public. A dedicated volunteer will coordinate with the patients and provide assistance, said SP (Berhampur) Pinak Mishra.
Hailing the initiative of Berhampur Police, J Suresh, founder secretary of Association of Volunteer Blood Donors, Odisha, said it will help patients in need of rare blood groups and during the dry season from March to July, when volunteers do not come forward to donate blood due to scorching summer, he said.
He also expressed confidence that other police districts will follow Berhampur and tide over the blood requirement in the state.
LocalWire
Odisha jail inmates devoid of mental healthcare
Bhubaneswar, Nov 13 (LocalWire): The National Crime Control Bureau (NCRB) report released recently said 787 prisoners in Odisha have been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Of them, 412 inmates have been convicted while 375 of them are under-trials.
Odisha has 91 jails of which five are circle jails.
There are two juvenile reformatory homes and a special jail to house women inmates.
There is an open air jail, nine districts jails and 73 sub-jails housing 15,223 inmates, the report said.
With five percent inmates suffering from mental illness, there is not a single psychologist or psychiatrist to look after their health issues.
Senior prison directorate officials refused to comment on the mental issues of these inmates.
An official of a district jail requesting anonymity, said, ‘three inmates of our jail are diagnosed with mental problems.
A medicine specialist has been shouldering the responsibility of health issues of prisoners. We, however, feel the absence of psychiatric counseling.’
The jail inmates are protected by jail manual that mandates the authorities to take proper care of their health.
Besides the Mental Health Act has also made it mandatory to extend psychiatric treatment to prisoners suffering from depression or mental sickness, said Rights activist, Biswapriya Kanungo.
‘The jails in Odisha are overcrowded. Lack of space, poor ventilation, sanitation and hygiene are adversely impacting both the physical and mental health of inmates.
We have drawn the attention of Orissa Human Rights Commission on the sorry plight of 787 prison inmates, who are not being extended mental health care,’ he added.
LocalWire
When Odias entered the record books with their awe-inspiring feats
Bhubaneswar, Nov 13 (LocalWire): The rare craniopagus surgery conducted successfully by a team led by eminent neurosurgeon Dr (Prof) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra at AIIMS in New Delhi in 2017 has featured in the 2020 edition of the Limca Book of Records.
Like Mahapatra, quite a few Odias and institutions from the state have entered into record books.
Here is a glance into those from Odisha who have figured in the Guinness World Book of Records.
1 The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) here entered the Guinness World Book of Records on 8 November 2019 when as many as 26,382 tribal students of the institute promoted oral hygiene by brushing their teeth simultaneously at a single venue.
2 Manoj Kumar Maharana, a native of Berhampur, entered the Guinness World Book of Records in 2018 by stuffing 459 drinking straws in his mouth and holding them for 30 seconds without using his hands.
3 As per Guinness World Book of Records, the largest laughter yoga class consists of 15,991 people, achieved by students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneswar on 29 August 2017.
The participants were tribal students from Odisha and neighbouring region, who study at KISS.
4 The most vertical rotations of a toothpick using the mouth in one minute is 36, achieved by Manoj Kumar Maharana on 5 September 2018.
5 The largest jewellery bindi mosaic (image) is 29.96 m² (322 ft² 84 in²), and was achieved by Alkem Laboratories Limited, at RSSDI 2017, Bhubaneswar on 4 November 2017.
6 Most people performing a high-five simultaneously is 25,250 and was achieved by KISS on 9 December 2015.
7 The largest television remote control is 4.5 m (14 ft 9.1 in) long and was made by Suraj Kumar Meher and Rajesh Kumar Meher as measured in Sambalpur on 21 September 2015.
8 Sudarsan Pattnaik took sand art to a whole new level after building a 48-foot sandcastle with 530 feet circumference at Puri sea beach on 15 February, 2017.
LocalWire
Jaga, Balia operation lands Prof Ashok Mahapatra into Limca book of records
Bhubaneswar, November 13 (LocalWire): The rare craniopagus surgery conducted successfully by a team led by eminent neurosurgeon Prof. Ashok Kumar Mahapatra at AIIMS in New Delhi in 2017 has featured in the 2020 edition of the Limca Book of Records.
The team comprising 125 doctors and paramedical staff had operated on 28-month-old Jaga and Balia, who were joined to each other at the cranium.
The complex surgery was conducted in two stages: first on 28 August 2017 and then on 25 October 2017, and has been recorded as the first craniopagus surgery in India in the record book.
Prof. Mahapatra, who was the head of the neurosurgery department at AIIMS then said, “Though a difficult challenge, it was the first successful craniopagus surgery in India.”
“The facilities and expertise available at AIIMS in New Delhi made it possible,” he said, adding that his colleague Prof. Deepak Kumar Gupta and a large number of doctors and paramedics toiled hard to separate the twins.
One of the features of the surgery was that a vein taken from the vein bank at AIIMS was grafted in Balia’s brain as the children shared only one vein and it was the first such case of vein grafting in the world, he said.
After Jaga and Balia were admitted to AIIMs, a preliminary assessment was made to ascertain whether they could stand the arduous surgical processes.
“We decided to go ahead after the twins were made to undergo all tests under anesthesia conducted on 26 July 2017 over a 12-hour period,” the doctor said.
Prof. Mahapatra said the team constituted to take up the surgical separation took advice from Prof. James T. Goodrich, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, as he had done two such surgeries earlier and was considered the best in the world.
“We spent time gathering as much information about fused brains and conducted three dry runs before the actual surgery was performed,” he said, adding that the team was aware that the probability of success, in this case, was only around 25 percent.
Chances of such cases are one in three million, and barely 12 or 13 such surgeries have been done in the world during the last 33 years, Prof. Mahapatra stated.
Jaga and Balia, who spent over two years in AIIMS, New Delhi before returning to Odisha are doing well though Balia’s development was slow. “We should give them two to three years’ time to see how they improve,” he said.
LocalWire
Community refrigerator installed at Sambalpur
Sambalpur, Nov 12 (LocalWire): The Sambalpur civic body along with the district headquarters hospital installed a community refrigerator at the hospital premises today. One can keep their surplus food in the refrigerator to feed the hungry.
The civic body appealed to the people other than the restaurants to donate surplus food so that it can be served to the people in need.
Before the food is served, its quality will be tested. The initiative has evoked positive response with people volunteering to donate food for the noble cause.
LocalWire
Odisha to set up an award to recognise organ donors
Berhampur, November 11 (LocalWire): The Government of Odisha has decided to institute an annual award in the memory of Suraj Behera to felicitate organ donors from the state and institutions that motivate organ donation.
This was announced by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday after he felicitated to the parents of Behera had donated the organs of their elder son after he was declared brain dead recently.
The state Forest and Environmental minister Bikram Keshari Arukh was also present during the felicitation.
Twenty-two year Behera, a native of Lalsingh, near Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district, had sustained severe injuries in a road mishap on 29 October and was declared brain dead on 2 November by a hospital in Surat.
On the same evening, his heart, liver, kidney, and cornea were harvested and successfully transplanted in six persons in Mumbai, Ahmadabad, and Surat.
A day after the news of his organ donation was flashed the chief minister had tweeted praising the act of the parents.
Since the family of the deceased is poor and does not have a proper house, the chief minister also announced that they will be provided with a house under the Biju Pucca Ghara Yojana.
He also provided a cash reward of Rs five lakh to Behera’s family from the Chief Minster’S Relief Fund for their inspiring humane act, which would motivate people in the state.
LocalWire
Babies born in the midst of cyclone named Bulbul
Kendrapara, Nov 11 (LocalWire): What’s in a name questioned the Bard but names are very important for the cyclone-affected villagers of the coastal district of Kendrapara.
They are naming their newborns after Cyclone Bulbul (meaning songbird) that hit them on 9 November to remember the nature’s fury and the struggle they went through to bring the baby to the world.
In remote villages, unlike in urban areas, birthdays are not a big draw. Villagers at times do not remember the birthdays of their children. But, the mothers who gave birth to babies on 9 November will remember it till their last breath as it’s a feeling of stoic acceptance and courage named the newborns Bulbul.
Dr Urmila Mishra, the CDMO, Kendrapada, said, ‘145 pregnant women were shifted to different hospitals in the district three to four days before Cyclone Bulbul. 20 women delivered babies on Friday night and Saturday and quickly named their child Bulbul. All the newborns and mothers are doing fine.’
Aliva Rout, wife of Amar Rout of village Basant under Rajnagar block gave birth to a daughter on Saturday. ‘We named our daughter after Bulbul,’ said Amar.
Damayanti Das, wife of Sarbeswar Das of village Gokhani under Rajnagar block had her labour pain the day the cyclone struck the coastal district. Their thatched house was damaged by the strong winds. The villagers managed to admit her in the Community Health Center at Rajnagar where she gave birth to a son and the new born was appropriately named Bulbul.
‘Though Bulbul is a common name for girls, I decided to name my son Bulbul as he was born during the cyclone,’ said Damayanti.
Ranjan Mandal’s wife Gita Mandal of Jamboo village gave birth to a daughter on Saturday in the Community Health Center of Mahakalapada and was also named Bulbul.
LocalWire
This young doctor is winning hearts in Balasore (Special)
Balasore, November 11 (LocalWire): Locals in the tribal-dominated areas, here, frequently talk of a young doctor and wait for him. He has also drawn attention and earned accolades in the nearby areas, for the service beyond duty hours.
Meet Dr. Suraj Jena, the 29-year old MBBS who is currently serving at Raj Berhampur CHC since January 2019, his first posting after passing out from Burla.
The only son of a retired bank manager Brajakishore and Suprava of Santragadia from Oupada block, Dr. Jena is often seen going around the villages after his duty hours, and on holidays conducting free medical checkups.
He also distributes free medicines and advises patients that they can get them from the nearest government hospitals and healthcare centres.
According to locals, he regularly visits the villages on his motorbike with a bag containing medicines, stethoscope and BP measuring machine, along with his father with prior information to the village heads.
Dr. Jena says that he was motivated by his parents to serve people.
“Whenever I go for a camp my father accompanies me. In fact, I was encouraged by my parents,” he said, adding that the local population is mostly tribal and they are majorly dependent on farming for living or are daily wage earners.
“They least care for the health and most of the time don’t even know that they are inflicted with diseases. Most of them lack knowledge of basic health requirements and do not visit doctors due to paucity of money,” Dr. Jena stated.
“They even neglect common ailments that aggravate to become serious ailments. I came across a TB patient who was not aware that he had the diseases. Similarly, women neglect their health even though they suffer,” he said.
Dr. Jena also has a plan for holding a major health camp sometime in February next year along with batch mates. “Since all are busy with the duties and preparing for PG entrance, we plan to hold it after our exams,” he said.
Oupada and Nilgiri often hog the headlines for wrong reasons, with cases of malaria and diarrhea being reported quite often from here, but Dr. Jena has, with his selfless approach and service has brought a piece of good news that the locals are now proudly talking about.
LocalWire
Two depts of MKCG Hospital should have more beds: Ganjam DC
Berhampur, Nov 10 (LocalWire): Ganjam district Collector, Vijay Amruta Kulange stressed on the increase in the number of beds in the medicine and gynaecology departments of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, here, after interacting with patients during a surprise visit to the hospital today.
Terming it as a routine visit, he said he found several patients lying on the floor due to beds being occupied to the maximum.
‘I have asked the authorities to increase the number of beds,’ he said.
There are 240 beds in the medicine wards and 150 beds in the gynecology ward at present.
Since the flow of patients to these two departments is more, they failed to secure beds.
The Collector also interacted with patients about their problems, the quality of food and whether they got their supply of medicines.
Kulange said he inspected the infrastructure including drinking water, cleanliness and supply of medicines.
He asked the authorities to undertake a mass cleanliness drive in the campus and also directed the engineers of works department to cover the drains.
Entry of outsiders should also be restricted inside the hospital, he added.
At the same time, Kulange also asked the doctors to wear aprons and identity cards and use biometric machines when they were inside the Medical College and Hospital.
LocalWire