Kendrapara

Kendrapara, April 1 (LocalWire): The place where Mahatma Gandhi took bath in 1934 during his historic Padayatra in Kendrapara district is to be turned into a museum by the government.

The Mahatma took a bath while sitting on a stone on 30th May 1934 at Dhumat village during his famous Padayatra.

“We decided to convert the riverside place at Dhumat village near the river Brahmani into a museum 87 years after Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Kendrapada to organize people against untouchability.

It would remind people of the significance of the 1934 Padayatra and highlight the Mahatma’s role in the freedom struggle.

The stone on Gandhiji’s bath will be preserved in the museum,” said Sashibhusan Behera, the former minister and MLA of Kendrapara.

A khadi cloth selling center, a photo gallery, a library and a conference hall will be opened in the proposed Gandhi museum.

Gandhi used tables, chairs and other furniture during his visit to Dhumat.

The authorities will preserve all the items in the museum, said Behera.

“The Padayatra by Gandhiji was one of the important events in the country’s freedom struggle.

Gandhi allowed Dalits to enter temples in some villages during his long walk in Odisha in 1934. Gandhi also addressed a public meeting at Dhumat on 30th May 1934,” said Nanda Kishor Parida the former principal of Kendrapara college.

Kendrapara, March 24 (LocalWire): The theileriosis disease of buffaloes recently struck riverside villages under Aul block in Kendrapara district, killing 25 buffaloes within a week.

This has triggered panic among people of Ranipokhari, Balakati, Nagapada and other villages, as the buffaloes live in close contact with humans.

“People have been instructed not to handle the dead buffaloes without gloves, and dig deep holes to bury the dead bodies to contain further spread of the disease.

The disease is as of yet confined to some villages under Aul block, said Dr. Ashis Satapathy, the Sub-Divisional Veterinary Officer of Kendrapara.

“Authorities did not move in time to check the disease when it first surfaced in the first week of March. Only after it spread to other villages did they devise a plan of action,” alleged Brajasundar Barik of Ranipokhari village, who lost five buffaloes to the disease in 4 days.

Locals who used to earn a livelihood by selling milk, cheese and curd sourced from buffaloes are in a state of panic after the sudden death of large numbers of buffaloes.

“We have formed rapid response teams comprising livestock inspectors, village gomitras and veterinary officers in the district to check the spread of the disease,” said Satapathy.

“The disease is primarily transmitted by ticks as it is caused by a blood-borne parasite. All people have been requested to inform the administration on the death of any buffalo,” he added.

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Kendrapara, March 4 (LocalWire): Large numbers of people of Kendrapara district sat on Dharana in front of the Collector’s office on Thursday, questioning the delay in setting up a medical college in the district.

During the last election, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other ruling party leaders had promised to establish a government medical college in the coastal district. However, they have failed at keeping their promises, for which we organized a Dharana on Thursday, said Ajaya Samal the former principal of Tulasi Womens’ college of Kendrapara and the convenor of Kendrapara Medical College Establishment Committee.

More than half the number of sanctioned doctors’ posts have been lying vacant in the district. There has also been large scale corruption in the purchase of medical equipment and consumables when the people are battling with Covid-19, alleged the protestors.

“Due to non-availability of doctors in government hospitals, many villagers in rural areas are dependent on quacks. Helpless residents have learned to live with the situation.

Babies are born before their mothers can reach the hospital and the critically ill or the injured die on the way to hospitals in the remote villages in the state. It is high time on the part of the government to establish a medical college in Kendrapara district to provide better health services to the people,” said Paresh Das, a social worker of the district.

The protestors vowed to continue their stir till the government announces the establishment of a medical college in the district and allots funds for the purpose.

Senior Congress leader and former MLA of Aul, Debendra Sharma, has cautioned the state government against testing the patience of the people of Kendrapara.

Prominent among those who staged the dharna include former Rajnagar MLA Ansuman Mohanty, CPI leader Ramani Ranjan Routray, Muktar Khan, Fakir Khatua, Chinmaya Beura, Babaji Dhal, Gayadhar Dhal, Umesh Chandra Singh, former chairman of Kendrapada municipality Akbar Ali and others.

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Kendrapara, March 4 (LocalWire): Noted writer, historian, and freedom fighter – Prafulla Das from Rajkanika in Kendrapara district was remembered on the occasion of his 3rd death anniversary in a meeting at Kendrapara on Wednesday evening.

Das died at the age of 92 years on 3rd March 2018 at Rajkanika after a prolonged illness. Das got the prestigious Sarala award-2014 for his biography “Bahniman” featuring noted freedom fighter Malati Chaudhury.

Das, a bachelor, wrote many books on the history of the freedom struggle of India and Odisha. One of his famous books is Kalapani Angisikha (The flame of black water) based on the lives and struggle of the freedom fighters and revolutionaries in the Cellular jail in Port Blair.

Das also penned Angujugar Aahwan, Bharatara Sasastra Mukti Sangram (Armed struggle of Indian freedom fighters), Sahid Basu Bisnini (Martyr Basu Bisuni), Kanika Prajaandolan Itihas (History of the Peasants’ struggle in Kanika) Netaji Aao feri Nahanti (Netaji has not returned) Fashi Manchare Biplabi (Revolutionary in the gallows) and other books, said Abanti Behera, a noted writer, in the meeting.

“Prafulla Das was the only historian of the state who penned many books on the freedom struggle and the struggles of peasants against Rajas and Zamindars in Odisha. All his books are based on the lives of freedom fighters and revolutionaries. He was also a revolutionary,” said Randheer Jena, a social worker Kendrapada.

After independence, Das worked with Vinoba Bhave in the Bhoodan movement in the state. Later, he also joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the 1970s. Later, he left the party in the 1990s, said Zaid Khan, a writer.

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Kendrapara, March 3 (LocalWire): The fate of a large number of tomato growers of Kendrapara district and its nearby areas are hanging in the balance due to the fall in the prices of their produce.

For the past three weeks, tomato growers have been resorting to distress sale of tomatoes at Rs. 7 to 10 per kilogram.

The prices started dwindling after new tomatoes arrived in the market last month.

“The tomato growers may find it difficult to recover the cost of inputs if there is no let-up in the prevailing situation.

Tomato was sown by around 50,000 farmers over 40,000 acres in the district giving a yield of about 50 to 60 quintals per acre as the produce fetched Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 per kg in the months of last October to January.

The farmers too grew the tomato expecting decent returns.

The market was thus flooded with the produce. The collapse in the price of the tomato is a matter of concern.

There are apprehensions of the price nose-diving further,” said Padamalav Das, the secretary of the district unit of the All India Krusaka Sabha.

Large numbers of farmers of Derabisi, Mahakalapada, Garadapur, Pattamundai, Aul and Rajkanika and Rajnagar blocks of the district had grown tomatoes.

“I raised tomatoes over my two acres of land by spending Rs. 30,000 on fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and irrigation.

But the crashing of the price of tomatoes has ruined me,” said Murali Sahoo (62) of Marsaghai.

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Kendrapara, Feb 16 (LocalWire): Sugarcane cultivation is on a rapid decline in the coastal district of Kendrapara.

Closure of sugar mills and limited access to markets are the main reasons behind the shrinking sugarcane cultivation in the district.

“The closure of a sugar mill in Krushnadaspur village three decades ago served a death blow to the sugarcane growers.

Sugarcane cultivation has been falling continuously over the years and if the trend continues, within a decade the crop will vanish from the agriculture map of the district. Many sugarcane farmers have already switched to other crops,” said Akshya Behera, a sugarcane farmer of Pattamundai.

Sugarcane is grown mainly in Garadapur, Marsaghai, Derabishi, Pattamundai, Aul, Rajkanika and Mahakalapada blocks of Kendrapara district.

Sugarcane cultivation area in the district has shrunk to around 5000 hectares this year from 15,000 hectares a decade back.

The Chief Minister and other leaders had promised to establish a sugar mill in the district. However, they failed to keep their promises after the poll, said Umesh Chandra Singh, a farmers’ leader and the president of the district unit of Krushak Sabha.

Odisha requires 2.21 lakh metric tonnes of sugar annually but only two of the eight sugar mills in the state are operational, stated Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Ranendra Pratap Swain in the Assembly two years back.

Due to closure of the sugar mills, the sorry plight of the sugarcane farmers is yet to be abated. It is high time on the part of the government to reopen all the defunct sugar mills and establish more mills in the state, added Singh.

Ashok Mahasuar, the Chief District Agriculture Officer (CDAO) of Kendrapara said, “Due to lack of proper marketing of sugarcane and closure of sugar mills, the extent of sugarcane cultivation is coming down drastically in the district.”

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Kendrapara, Dec 2 (LocalWire): Samarth Verma, Kendrapara’s new district collector who was recently transferred on Friday, has raised the issue of unstable tenures of the district magistrates of this coastal district.

As many as 45 collectors have been transferred in the last 27 years of the formation of the district.

The district has had 13 different collectors within the last six years.

Many locals have alleged that political motives are behind the frequent transfer of collectors.

“Kendrapara got its 45th Collector on Friday after the state government appointed Amrit Ruturaj, replacing Samarth Verma.

Frequent change of collectors affects ongoing developmental projects in the district, said Bijay Krushna Sahoo, the former chairman of Kendrapara municipality.

Samarth Verma remained the collector of Kendrapara from 21st June 2019 to 31st December 2020.

His predecessor, Prem Chandra Chaudhury, worked as the collector from 6th May 2019 to 21st June 2019, the shortest tenure of any district magistrate. Dasarathi Satapathy worked as the collector from 4th August 2018 to 5th May 2019.

Earlier, Reghu G worked as the collector from 26th April 2017 to 3rd August 2018. Muralidhar Mallick worked as the collector from 27th November 2016 to 21st April 2017. Debraj Senapati worked as the collector from April 2015 to September 2016.

“It is unjust on the part of the government to transfer collectors frequently in Kendrapara. The frequent changes in the top echelons of the district administration affect developmental works in the district.

While officers keep moving in and moving out, the problems of the people remain unattended.

Ruling party MLAs and leaders are forcing the senior officials to dance to their tunes by changing officials,” said Saroj Kanta Singh, a senior lawyer and the president of the district lawyers’ association.

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Kendrapara, Dec 29 (LocalWire): 10 years ago, a 38-year-old man from Puri set out on a mission to plant trees across India.

Satyanarayan Dash, 48, belonging to the holy town of Puri has already planted 50,000 trees in 23 states and 4 union territories.

An architect and a Vastu expert, Dash launched his movement from Puri in 2010. He has named the campaign ‘Swarna Bharat Abhiyan’.

“My dream is to plant 5,00,000 trees during my lifetime. Many villagers thought that it was a ruse on my part to illegally acquire government land.

However, they are happy now as I have managed to introduce green cover on barren land,” he beamed.

Dash says that his work will contribute to the welfare, unity and economic growth of the country.

“Air pollution is a persistent issue and we can check it by increasing the green cover,” he said.

“I usually plant trees at offices, hospitals and religious places. It is high time for us to create awareness among the youth about the benefits of planting trees, as mankind has already destroyed a large chunk of this natural wealth in the name of development,” said Dash.

Dash has visited Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and other states and union territories.

He plans to cover Jammu and Kashmir and other north-east states in the next couple of years.

Notably, he spends money out of his own pocket to fund his travels and saplings.

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Kendrapara, Dec 22 (LocalWire): National-award winning director Nila Madhab Panda’s first Odia film ‘Kalira Atita’, based on climate change, has been selected for screening in the Panorama section of the IFFI awards, 2020.

The International Film Festival of India 2020 has been postponed due to the COVID pandemic and will be held from January 16 and 24 in 2021.

The movie has been inspired by the prophecies of Achyutananda Kar, widely regarded as the Nostradamus of Odisha.

It revolves around a man from the Satabhaya village of Kendrapara district, Gunu, who returns to his village hoping to reunite with his family.

He finds that his village is submerged underwater due to a cyclone.

Gunu’s struggle to survive the fury of nature is a portrayal of emotional trauma and human triumph. Many villagers, including women and children of Satabhaya, have acted in the film.

Nila Madhab Panda said, “Kalira Atita is my first Odia film and I am really happy that it will begin its journey at the prestigious IFFI.

This is definitely good news for me and I hope the year ahead will bring more cheer.”

Panda says that the reason he wanted to make the film is that, for many people, climate change is still a future shock.

“This film emphasizes it as the harsh reality that it is, and that people are losing their lives and livelihood because of it.

A sea erosion hit tubewell of Satabhaya symbolizes the marching of the sea towards the village,” the director asserts.

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Kendrapara, Dec 7 (LocalWire): A century-old colonial-era building at Ranapada locality within Kendrapara town, near river Gobari, is on the verge of collapse.

When the Kendrapara canal was dug in 1868 for the purposes of navigation and irrigation after the infamous drought ‘Naanka’ had devastated the state, the one-storied building having 12 rooms had been constructed to serve as a residence for the officials of the irrigation department, said Dr. Basudev Das, a researcher on Kendrapara.

The building, which covers an acre of land, was functioning as the official residence of the Sub-Divisional Officer of the irrigation department.

However, 5 years ago the irrigation department declared the building unsafe and moved the residence of the officer to another building.

Since then, local miscreants have ransacked the building on multiple occasions and taken away the Burmese teak made doors, windows and other accessories.

“The officials are not paying any heed to our pleas to renovate the building. We do not want the building to be demolished as many villagers saved their lives during 1967, 1971, and 1999 cyclones by staying here,” said Amir Ali, a local villager from Ranapada.

“Kendrapara has many significant heritage sites, including the 155-year-old Kendrapara high school, 122-year-old Diamond Jubilee Public library, 110-year-old palace in Rajkanika, 142-year-old Hukitola building, 145-year-old Jamboo building, a 186-year-old lighthouse in Batighar Gram Panchayat, 130-year-old Sun-Clock at Kendrapara town and others.

However, these structures need renovation and maintenance and it will not be long before they become irreparable.

The apathy of the government has left these structures languishing in neglect and facing the threat of being lost into oblivion,” said Biswanath Behera, a retired engineer from Kendrapara.

When contacted, Prabodha Kumar Rout, the Executive Engineer of the irrigation department of Kendrapara said, “The building will be demolished to give way to the new spacious quarters for the employees of the irrigation department.”

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