Man hurls bomb at CBI court in Odisha, held

By Bhagyashree Sahoo

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: A sixty-year-old man on Monday afternoon hurled three bombs into the chamber of CBI judge, Bhubaneswar.

There was no damage to human life as neither the judge or any other officials were present when the incident took place. However, the podium of the judge was seriously damaged.

The lawyers present in the court immediately caught hold of the accused Upendra Mohanty and handed him to the police.

Appeared to be mentally unsound, the accused Upendra, has been living in the court premises for past few months. The local shopkeepers said he had been threatening for the past few days to bomb the court room.

However, no one took it seriously.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, commissioner of police Rajendra Prasad Sharma said the accused was arrested and interrogation was on to ascertain the motive behind the attack.

“We have arrested the accused Upendra Mohanty, a resident of Sarangapur village under Bari police limit in Jajpur district. He is being interrogated,” the commissioner said.

He added that no one injured in this incident was the crude bombs were of less intensity.

In 2009, the accused had carried out a similar attack in the Supreme Court premises for not being granted permission to meet a judge. He was immediately arrested and released on bail a few months ago.

Unconfirmed sources said Upendra has spent nearly 30 years in jail for different crimes.

In 1990, he was arrested for beating a police officer in Capital Police Station, Bhubaneswar. At the age of 15, Upendra was held for attempting to murder his grandmother.

www.odishanewsonline.com

www.indusvalleytimes.com

DYNASTISM IN INDIAN POLITICS

Sahadev Meher    

Ours is a democratic form of government which is meant for the people, of the people and by the people. All the power of govt. originates from the public and ends with the public. Here the people are all in all – they can throne and dethrone any govt. they like. So in this form of govt. if the sovereign power runs down from a ruler to his offspring like monarchy, it may not be so successful, because all the sons and daughters of a same family are different in their mind, action, capability and thinking.

If we go into the history of India we can see that congress is the only political party  who has ruled over for more than fifty years after independence. After the first prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Lalbahadur Sastri and Indira Gandhi, the administration  is under the control of Gandhi family till now. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the toy Prime minister is ruling in the direction of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and even if Rahul Gandhi, who was only a MP beforehand.  Some of the most senior and efficient leaders also want to see Rahul Gandhi as the future Prime minister of India. What more can be seen as an example of flattery and undignified activity? Rahul Gandhi, who is quite inefficient and inexperience to face the varieties of problems of a vast country like India having various   diversities, cannot solve these problems. As he has no field knowledge about poverty and problems of the majority of people, which engulfs nearly sixty percent of people in remote areas. He has come from a well to do family where there is no poverty, no problems and no superstitions and no struggling for bread and butter. If he will be made the Prime minister of India he cannot really feel the pain and sufferings, problems and difficulties of common people.

Of course in a democratic from of govt. dynastism can be seen everywhere, not only in India but also in Asia and Europe. The famous journalist mark Tully has mentioned in his writing “ political dynastism ”that the system is also prevailing in some dignified families of some   developed  countries like – lee family of Singapore, Aungsan family of Mianmar, Ziaur rahaman and Sheikh Muzibur family of Bangladesh, Bhutto family of Pakistan and even if Kennedy and Bush family of USA. In dynastism the unity and integrity of the party is maintained intact though the leader is not so capable and experienced. For instance- in 1996 just after the demolition of Babri Masjid in the last part of Narasingh Rao govt. there was created a disruption in the congress party in which this party was on the verge of a division which would have led the fall of congress govt. At that time if the daughter -in-law   of Gandhi family, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi would not have taken the initiative to lead the congress party it was sure to face a division.

According to mark Tully, now in Indian parliament there are nearly 28% MPs belong to political parties run by their father and grandfathers. These MPs though not so efficient and capable are able to keep their political parties united and strong formed by their ancestors. For example –in  U.P- Mayabati after Kansiram of Samajbadi party, in Jammu Kashmir- Omar Abdula after his father Sheikh Abdula of National conference party, in Bihar- Rabdi Devi the most simple and innocent lady who took over the rein of RJD after Lalu yadav have  been able to keep their parties strong & united. Here although the parties are surviving but it is not fare & good for the democracy & for people. In those parties the old thinking & action prevails where as the changing times and  society requires new thinking and  new procedure to cope up with the changing world.

It we look in to the history we can  able to see that in Monarchy  system of administration also dynastism is not  so successful. For example in Moghul dynasty the thinking  capacity of Aurangzeb, and Shahajahan was not so same and powerful  as Akbar which resulted the decline of a so powerful Moghul Kingdom .So whatever form the government. maybe -democratic or monarchy if will not  changing with the time and  capacity it will not be fruitful.   If the new comers, new ideas and new procedures are not accepted, it cannot be everlasting because the administration completely rest on the capacity and ability of a ruler. The ideas and capacity of a person of a family may be strong, admirable and suitable but all his successors cannot be expected likewise as every individual is different in their ability, thinking and every other activity which is a natural law.

– The author is reputed State-level Columnist based at Patnagarh, Bolangir, Odisha.

AADHAR CARDS LIE UNDELIVERED,NHRC DIRECTS POSTAL SECY TO ACT

By Our Correspondent

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: The  National Human Rights Commission has directed the Secretary of Department of Posts to take appropriate steps to deliver the Aadhaar Cards lying in different posts offices of the country.

The Commission’s order came on a complaint of human rights activist Akhand about undelivered Aadhaar cards in the various post offices throughout the state.

He complained before the NHRC that due to undelivered Aadhaar Cards, many people in India are deprived of getting Direct Cash Transfer under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.

Now 13 Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) have been identified under DBT, which are subjected to cash transfers through Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts. However, there are millions undelivered Aadhaar cards lying in almost all post offices in the country.

These important cards are lying there as postal department do not have sufficient postmen to deliver all of them. Aadhar card lies in the post-offices for long time. They are not sent at the postal addresses of the people.

One postman  have to handle thousands of such cards which are lying in the post office. Postal department has failed to employ more staff at post offices at least for the time till Aadhaar cards are being issued, alleged Akhand.

As Aadhaar card is now very important and is linked with livelihood of a citizen of India as Direct Cash Transferred subsidy benefits are now in functional mode in various districts of the country. It is the duty of postal department to hand over Aadhaar Cards to the concerned people. But they are taking it very lightly, said Akhand.

Considering the allegation, NHRC has issued direction to Postal Secretary to take appropriate action within eight weeks and inform the complainant about the action taken in the matter.

MISL shows strong Q3 profit, sales jump by 22 per cent

BY NALINI SAHU

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 25: The Mideast Integrated Steels Limited (MISL), the flagship company of Mesco Steel Group, has achieved a total sales of Rs 590.46 crore in the first nine months of the current financial year, a record for nine-month period in a year.

In the third quarter (October-December) of 2013, the company achieved total sales of Rs 200.38 crore, 22 per cent higher than the sales made in the same quarter in the last year.

“In the third quarter the profit before tax (PBT) is estimated to be around Rs 55 crore,” Rita Singh managing director of MISL, said here on Sunday.

Ms Singh informed that the current performance is on top of the outstanding performance made y the company in the last four years.

It may be mentioned here that the MILS has declared 7.5 per cent dividend for the financial year 2012-13.

Stating that the company has started the process for raising working capital and it was not being rated by the credit rating agency for this, the MD said MISL planned to rase about $400 million for funding the expansion projects.

“The company is on track for brown-field expansion of the steel plant for raising its capacity from 1.20 MTPA to 3.50 MTPA in two phases. The construction will start the moment environmental clearance for the expansion is granted,” she informed.

Sources said the state government has already granted recommended for the environment clearance after completion of public hearing at Kalinga Nagar.

Ms Singh stated that MISL had identified some steel companies in Odisha as acquisition targets. “Some steel companies are in distress due to mismatch of facilities, raw material supply constraints and management issues together with high debts,” she said.

Lanjigarh reports zero malaria death in last two years

Cases of pediatric malaria fall by 50%

By C.B.Singh

Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha): What was once considered as an uphill task has become a reality now. Continuous efforts and dedication has made it come true. Not a single case of death due to malaria has been reported in the Lanjigarh block of Kalahandi district in the past two years.

Moreover, the cases of pediatric malaria have gone down by around 50 per cent over the past few years.

Joint efforts by the district medical unit and London-based Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) have been able to script this success story.

According to Dr Sabita Swain, chief medical officer, Vedanta Aluminium Limited, the company’s medical unit and the district medical team have been working relentlessly on spreading awareness about the ill-effects of mosquito biting and the benefits of keeping their surroundings clean. This has resulted in a sharp drop in cases of malaria amidst children and pregnant women.

According to experts, the block is a part of the malaria endemic zone and most adults here carry traces of malaria parasite in their blood. Thus, reduction in pediatric malaria cases is a critical indicator of a better future as it confirms that the future generation will not have to live with the parasite being a permanent feature in their blood stream.

“Zero malaria death in the block is a great achievement. The awareness programmes taken up jointly by the health department and Vedanta Aluminium have been able to deliver good results,” says Dr Swapna Sarit, Block Medical Officer, Lanjigarh.

The malaria awareness campaign launched by VAL has played a vital role in achieving the feat in the block, and it is well supported by the Vedanta Hospital at Lanjigarh. The hospital has an outreach of 50 kms across Kalahandi and Rayagada districts and provides state-of-art facilities to tribal and local communities of the region.

Each family from the core villages has been provided health cards to maintain health history. Over 5000 such cards have been distributed so far in 34 villages.

With a vision to change the ground realities related to health issues in Kalahandi district, which is infamous for malnourishment, poverty, malaria deaths and poor medical infrastructure, the hospital aims at providing quality healthcare facility to all and educate people about the necessity of maintaining hygiene and sanitation.

The hospital also conducts regular health surveys to obtain health history of every family in and around Lanjigarh which has been quite helpful in better treatment of people of the area. More than 129,000 patients have been treated at the hospital since December 2010.

Jhilik dazzles in Ollywood

By Alisha Akankshya Sahoo

Bengali beauty Jhilik Bhattacharya is now making waves in Odia film industry. After learning Bharatnatyam in her childhood, she continued her dance activities in Bollywood as a choreographer.

She first acted as a assistant choreographer in Mani Ratnam’s Ravan. After that, she shifted to Bengali film industry and worked as dance director.

Having been discovered by director Muralidharan, Jhilik got her first break in Ollywood in ‘Target’ opposite Amlan Das, son of the mega Star Mihir Das.

Her latest film ‘Akhire Akhire’ released on the New Year is now playing across the state, earning wide acclaim from the audience. Paired with Babushan Mohanty, ‘Akhire Akhire’ is a romantic flick that appeals to young hearts.

Sources said Jhilik has got offer of new a film tilled ‘Nikhi Nini pua Bhgia.’ Besides, she has bagged two more films titles of which are yet to be disclosed. 

Source: indusvalleytimes.com

www.odishanewsonline.com

Girl, 16, commits ends life after molestation attempt

BY AKSHAYA ROUT

Jajpur, Jan. 6: A 16-year-old tribal girl committed suicide by hanging herself at her home after being allegedly molested by a 17-year-old boy, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on Sunday at Uppargada village under Korei police station in Jajpur district.

The police said the accused, who used to torment the girl for the past few years, waylaid the girl while she was going to take bath in a canal near her house. He then tried to molest her. As the girl raised an alarm, a 70-year-old man named Kalandi Bhoi rushed to the spot and tried to save the girl. However, he was attacked by the accused.

After inflicting body blows to Kalandi, the culprit again tried to outrage the modesty of the girl. However, the accused could not succeed in his attempt as more people arrived on the spot. Humiliated, the girl went home, closed the door from inside and hanged herself from the ceiling.

After the news of the girl’s suicide broke, the villagers, who had already caught the boy and confined him in room to hand over to the police, tied him to a tree and severely beat him up. Later, they handed him to the local Korei police.

“The police has arrested the accused under sections 354 (outraging modesty of a girl), 354 (a), 306 (abatement to suicide) and various other sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 ,” inspector Prasanta Kumar Majhi said.