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Environment

Talcher fertilizer plant to commence production by 2023

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Bhubaneswar, Jan 20 (LocalWire) The state-run fertiliser unit at Talcher will commence urea production by 2023, Union fertilisers secretary Chhabilendra Roul said on Monday.

Talcher Fertilizers Ltd (TFL), a joint venture of five public sector undertakings is reviving the factory that was closed in 1999 after suffering huge losses.

The revived plant which will be country’s first coal gasification-based urea production unit, will have an an output of 1.27 million tonne of Neem coated urea using a blend of indigenious coal and petcoke as feedstock.

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Endangered dolphin population in Chilika jumps

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Bhubaneswar, Jan 20 (LocalWire) The population of Irrawaddy dolphin, one of the world’s most endangered species has jumped by 15 per cent in Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in Odisha, an official said on Monday.

Chief executive officer of Chilika Development Authority Susanta Nanda tweeted that the dolphin headcounts in Chilika is more than 150, the highest single lagoon population of the aquatic mammal in the world.

The enumeration exercise was carried out on Sunday with the help of wildlife staffs.

The officials for the first time used the Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite-based radio navigation system to count the mammals.

A total of 130 Irrawaddy dolphins were sighted last year.

The total population of these endangered aquatic mammals in the world is less than 7000.

Of these, more than 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins have been sighted in Bangladesh, while Chilika has the highest single lagoon population, officials said.

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Annual dolphin count begins

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Bhubaneswar, Jan 19 (LocalWire) Odisha started the annual census of dolphins in different water bodies on Sunday.

The counting is being carried out at Chilika Lake, the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, Rushukulya river mouth and other water bodies.

Chilika Lake is India’s largest brackish water lagoon located in the districts of Puri , Khurda and Ganjam along the eastern coast.

Gahirmatha marine sanctuary is located within the Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district and the Rushukulya river mouth is in Ganjam district.

Authorities have deployed a large number of persons including the wildlife staffs and enumerators to undertake the exercise with GPS tracking for the first time.

Last dolphin census carried out on Jan 19, 2019, had reported the presence of 130 Irrawaddy dolphins in the state.

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Man on a walking mission against EVM reaches Odisha

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Bhubaneswar, Jan 19 (LocalWire) A man who is on a walking mission to campaign against electronic voting machines reached Odisha on Saturday after travelling around 4,500 km from Uttrakhand.

41-year-old Onkar Singh Dhillon, a businessman of Rudrapur said he started his padayatra from Rudrapur on August 18, last year and aimed to conclude it at Rajghat, New Delhi in April.

“EVMs should be banned. The parties in power might have manipulated the EVMs to come to power, which is not good for the country and its people,” said Dhillon at Bhubaneswar.

He has already covered some main towns of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The states he is going to cover in the coming days include West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh after covering Odisha.

The father of two children said he walks around 35-40 KM every day by putting his belongings in a cart.

He has been travelling on foot for the last 110 days.


The cart has two national flags and posters which read ‘bring back ballot’. The flags and posters draw the attention of the passerby.

One can track his journey by visiting his social media walls where he posts detail without fail.

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Awareness drive on no single-use of plastic

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Bhubaneswar, Jan 18 (LocalWire): Navodaya Alumni Assosiation of Odisha on Saturday organised a public awareness programme against single-use plastic on Saturday.

The mega Awareness Rally was conducted from Saheed Nagar Puja Mandap, Bhubaneswar to Master Canteen Square.

Navodaya alumni along with students and local residents holding placards participated in this drive. A pledge was administered to mass for not using plastic bags.

Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra, chief security officer of East Coast Railway, senior journalist Dillip Bisoi and social worker Linkan Subudhi were chief guests at the function.

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Visit Bhitarkanika, the mini Amazon of Odisha

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Bhitarkanika (Kendrapada) Jan 15 (LocalWire) : Get ready to visit the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Kendrapada district, considered as a mini Amazon.

This mangrove wetland forest in the state covers a huge area of 659 km and spread across the delta of the Baitarani and Brahmani rivers.

The presence of numerous crocodiles has earned it the nickname of ‘Mini Amazon Forest’.

With its lush green mangroves, Bhitarkanika is also home to turtles and migratory birds.

The beautiful tranquil environment, the sounds of sweet chirping birds and serene nature – all of these are truly enjoyable.

You will come across the “Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary”, “Bhitarkanika National Park” and “Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary” around this total reserved forest in the area.

The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is located in the east of the Bhitarkanika National Park, separated by swampy region.

• What to see in Bhitarkanika National Park

Bhitarkanika National Park is an excellent place to see the saltwater crocodiles, which grow up to a height of 23 feet in length.

One can also enjoy seeing many other reptiles like the monitor lizard, snakes like king cobra, etc.
Similarly, at every primary location across the park, one can find the spotted deer and wild boars.

The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, located nearby the Bhitarkanika National Park, is the nesting place of olive ridley turtles.

Between December and March, these turtles can be seen laying their eggs on the sea beach, providing awesome views.

Every year, nearly 120,000 birds visit this place in the winter, especially during November and December.

 

• When to visit 

It is open for tourists from August to May. It can be visited between 9 am to 5 pm.

The park is however closed from May to July due to the monsoon and census of the crocodiles.

• Where to stay

One can find a good night staying facility at the park.

Sand pebbles jungle resort is a luxury resort located within the park. Other alternatives options for stay include forest bungalows and camps.

The tariff of the room in the park ranges from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 per night.

• How to reach

The best time to visit Bhitarkanika is between November and January so that one can enjoy the ultimate beauty of nature.

It is situated in Kendrapara district and is approximately 170 km from Bhubaneswar.

It takes around 4 hours from Bhubaneswar to reach there.

The nearest railway station is Bhadrak, which is nearly 100 km away from the national park.

One can also reach the national park by taking a boat from Chandbali, which takes around 2 hours.

The national park is also connected to other parts of the state by road network.

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Gahiramatha ready for one day long dolphin census on January 19

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Kendrapara, Jan 13(LocalWire): The forest department will conduct dolphin census on January 19 in the water bodies of Gahiramatha marine sanctuary within Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district and its nearby areas.

“In 2015 the dolphin census in Gahiramatha was conducted for the first time by the forest department. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the forest department had cancelled the census of dolphins due to bad weather.

In 2015, we had counted 270 dolphins in the water bodies of Bhitarkanika National Park and its adjoining Gahiramath marine sanctuary during the first ever dolphin census.

We had sighted 58 Irrawaddy dolphins, 23 Bottlenose dolphins, 123 Sousa Chinensis, 50 Sousa Plumbera dolphins, 15 pan tropical spotted dolphins and one Finless porpoise.

We have formed nine teams to conduct dolphin census on the 19th January,” said Bikash Ranjan Dash the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Bhitarkanika National Park.

The 2015 dolphin census report revealed that Bhitarkanika was the home of state’s largest population of dolphin. The census report also pointed out that the Chilika Lake was the abode of only 144 Irrawaddy dolphins. More dolphins were found in Gahiramatha due to its bigger areas, added the forest officer.

In 2019, we counted 126 dolphins in the water bodies of the Gahiramatha marine sanctuary. The sighting of dolphins depended on the weather condition of the day on which the census was carried out. The reduction of the number of dolphins in 2019 compared in 2015 due to bad weather and deep fog on the census day, added the forest officer.

The Gahiramatha was declared a marine sanctuary in 1997 by the state government to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles, which are mostly found on Gaharamatha Beach, the world’s largest rookery of sea turtles.

“The state government imposes a ban order on fishing activities inside the Gahirmatha from 1st November to 31st May to protect turtles every year.

The annual seven-month-long fishing ban also greatly helps in the increase of the population of dolphin in Gahiramatha.

The dolphins are commonly sighted marine creatures in the water bodies in Khola, Nalitapata, Dhamara of Bhitarkanika, and in the sea near Satabhaya, Pentha, Agaranashi, Eakakula, Hukitola and other areas within the Gahiramatha marine sanctuary,” said the forest officer.

It may be noted that dolphin has been included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and categorized as Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

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Mugger population on the rise in Odisha

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Berhampur, January 13 (Localwire): Wildlife activists and officials are delighted that the population of mugger or Crocodylus palustris, an endangered crocodile species, has increased in Ghodahada irrigation reservoir and its adjoining water bodies near Digapahandi in Ganjam district.

According to Berhampur divisional forest officer (DFO) Amlan Nayak the number of muggers in and around the reservoir was found to be 65, up from 58 in 2019.

The wildlife officials concluded the three-day census on Saturday.

“While 44 muggers were found in the five-sq-km reservoir, another 21 were detected in the nearby water bodies,” DFO Nayak said.

During the previous year census, officials had counted 43 muggers in Ghodahada reservoir and 15 outside the ponds, sources said, adding that the population of the mugger stood constant at 55 during 2017 and 2016, and 49 in 2015.

Improvement of the habitat in the water bodies has led to an increase in the population of the crocodile species, the DFO stated.

The annual census of the crocodile species was carried out by 20 teams, including ten teams in the Ghodahada reservoir and around 50 persons were involved in the enumeration of the endangered species, sources said.

Ghodahada reservoir is considered as one of the potential habitats for the muggers in the state after Satakosia and Similipal.

The mugger is one of the three crocodile species found in the state. The other crocodile species are gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), and saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) or estuarine crocodile.

Forest officials said that they did not come across any death of mugger in the area during the last three years.

“The muggers in Ghodahada swim safely as the local fishermen did not harm them, even though they use the water body for the fishing purpose. This despite frequent reports of destruction of the fishing nets by the animal,” Digapahandi forest range officer PK Khadagray said.

He further pointed out that locals considered the sight of the mugger in the pond as a harbinger and hence do not harm them.

“The forest officials in the area are also creating awareness among the local people for co-existence of humans and animals,” he said.

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Forest officials fail to drive away rampaging Jumbo herd from village

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Berhampur, Jan 12 (LocalWire): The herd of migrating elephants that is ravaging crops and devouring harvested paddy in Krushna Nagar area in Digapahandi forest range have not moved an inch despite the all-out efforts of forest personnel since the last week.

Around 20 forest personnel, including elephant tracking squads have tried hard to drive the herd of elephants from Krushna Nagar area to the forest area of Ghumusara North.

Local people are in panic as the herd comprising 12 elephants, including a tusker and three calves, destroyed banana plantations, vegetable crops and are feasting on several quintals of harvested paddy stored in fields.

‘As the herd is refusing to leave, we are spending sleepless nights since the last week.

Though no human casualty has been reported, the elephants have destroyed several quintals of harvested paddy and several acres of horticulture crops,’ said a villager of Krushna Nagar.

Besides Krushna Nagar, nearby villages including Arendra, Surala junction, Tamana areas bore the brunt of elephant menace.

Divisional forest officer (Berhampur) Amlan Nayak said the forest officials were keeping a check on the movement of the herd.

Elephant tracking squads and other staff, comprising around 20 to 30 personnel, are also guarding their movements.

‘The herd is camping in the area due to the availability of food and is likely to migrate to Badagarh jungle under Ghumusara North division in search of food later,’ he said.

Nayak said the railway authorities in Khurda Road have already been alerted to make slow run of trains passing through Surala, at 30 km speed per hour.

Forest officials have also alerted Southco, the power distribution company about the movement of the herd.

Forest and energy departments have decided to switch off power to the areas through which the herd will pass, sources said.

‘At the same time, we have also asked villagers not to disturb the movement of the jumbos.’ Nayak reiterated.

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Residents resist decision to raze century-old Rajkanika tehasil building

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Kendrapara, Jan 12 (LocalWire): Hundreds of rare and valuable documents, land records, journals, books, palm leaf manuscripts that have become brittle with age will soon be lost with the 120-year-old tehasil office at Rajkanika in Kendrapara district facing demolition.

The century-old tehasil office was built in 1900 by the king of Kanika, Rajendra Narayan Bhanjadeo to keep the land records and other documents.

During the Raj period, Bhanjdeo owned large tracts of land in Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Balasore and other districts of the state and this building was used as his tehasil office.

After Independence, the government abolished the estates of the king of Kanika and acquired the tehasil office as per the Odisha Estate Abolition Act, 1952.

‘The tehasil building is a symbol of the history of Kendrapara district and the structure is the identity of a bygone era.

The government should renovate it. We will oppose any move by the authorities to demolish the building, Lawyers of Rajkanika use a portion of the building as their office,’ said Mrutunjaya Samal, a lawyer of Rajkanika.

‘The building, which is a treasure-house of Rajkanika history with its unique style of architecture, should not be demolished.

The administration should restore it to its former glory rather than demolishing it,’ said Subharansu Sutar of Rajkanika.

‘Cattle graze in its grounds and the building is crumbling.

Due to the district administration’s neglect, the structure is facing the threat of extinction,’ said Kaliprasad Nayak a retired teacher of Rajkanika.

The tehasildar of Rajkanika, DSS Joshi said, ‘This century-old building will be demolished as it is crumbling and the district administration has decided to build a new tehasil building at Rajkanika.’

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