PROMOTE THEME-BASED TOURISM: UNION MINISTER TO ORISSA

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

Orissa, treasure house of natural and cultural heritage, must have to address herself to theme-based tourism, if she is serious in uplifting her economy, stressed Ms. Renuka Choudhury, Union Minister of State for tourism development.

Concluding her three-day visit to State, she was of profuse praise for the unique eco-systems of Orissa spangled as they are with historical monuments. The Spread of Buddhist sites all over the State, path-specific religious centers, vast coastline, animal sanctuaries, biospheres like Similipal and lakes like Chilika, crocodile projects and project tiger centers, sculptural heritages and artisan villages, wonderful waterfalls and awe inspiring hot-springs, innovative handicrafts and traditional handloom products, folk dances and the classical Odissi matching the peace and tranquility the land is more remarkably enjoying because of mental orientation of the general public, makes Orissa the best place to visit frequently. But Orissa Government is to prepare perfect plans to market this tourism potential, she said.

Like the proposed ‘Buddhist Circuit’, Orissa, known to history as the last State to be annexed by the British, but the first State to have revolted against the foreign rule, would soon be with 10 other States in a ‘Freedom Tourism’ project called ‘National Struggle for Freedom Circuit’, she declared.

She hinted at introduction of cruise shipping in Orissa with an eye on ‘eco-tourism’.

If the State Government submits a special tourism sub-plan, the Central Government will take all steps to ensure that she gets “more resources” to implement all these projects, she underlined.

Admitting that flight connectivity remains an issue to cogitate, she hinted at central government’s resolve to complete the ongoing expansion of the B.P.Airport at Bhubaneswar on which depends introduction of apex fares for Orissa sector.

BUDDHIST CIRCUIT COMPRISING ORISSA ON THE ANVIL

OM Bureau

On the anvil is a central government plan to develop Buddhist Circuit in 16 States including Orissa with financial assistance from the Japan International Bank for Cooperation (JIBC), revealed Union Minister of State for Tourism, Ms.Renuka Chawdhury at Bhubaneswar on June 1, 05.

Orissa is fabulously rich in Buddhist heritage that needs to be known to the world, she stressed.

In the midst of a three-day official visit to the state, the Union Minister interacted with the Governor and the Chief Minister. She took note of the special tourism project proposed in the vicinity of Puri on 1000 acres of land. She stressed that places like Bhitarkanika and Chilika should be developed as centers of eco-tourism.

She emphasized on aggressive marketing of tourism potential of Orissa, which alone can contribute major share to economic development of the State. “The Central Government will assist in marketing Orissa internationally”, she declared.

Many facets of tourism, including ecological, tribal, historical and cultural, formed the crux of discussion with Ms. Choudhury, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik revealed. She advised the state government to examine if cruise liners off the vast Orissa coast could be profitably introduced.

THE STATE SHOULD BEHAVE AS AN IDEAL EMPLOYER

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Government in the Department of Home has withheld earned salary of 71 employees for alleged non-availability of their Permanent Accounts Number (PAN) causing surge of discontentment amongst the staff.

PAN is allotted to each of the income tax payees by the Commissioner of Income Tax of the concerned circle. This helps in proper recording of the tax paid by a person. Normally a card bearing the account number is issued by the income tax authority in favor of the payee. If the concerned authority does not issue the card, the taxed person cannot be held responsible for that.

But the state government has held as many as 71 persons responsible and withheld their earned salary for want of PAN. The affected persons are regular members of the staff of the State Secretariat in the department of Home. They have strongly protested against this oppressive action on June 2, 2005 and threatened to take law to their hands if the blatantly wrong and illegal order is not instantly withdrawn.

One is at a loss to understand as to how government employees are denied their earned salary on such a fictitious ground. It cannot be a fact that they would not pay their income tax. In fact, being government employees and drawing salary from the State Treasury, their income tax is deducted at the source. It is government’s duty to deposit the tax amount deducted from the salary of an employee.

When there is no chance available to an employee to evade payment of tax, the government has certainly erred in withholding earned salary. Whosoever has issued orders for non-payment of salary be better taught that the government cannot act as a tyrant. In a democracy it is to behave as an ideal employer, not as an oppressor. No Law can countenance the Government’s action in this case. So, better, without provoking any further unrest, release of the illegally withheld salary must be a must without loss of time.

UNION MINISTER FAVORS TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

Union Minister of State for Tourism Development, Ms. Renuka Chowdhury, has assured Government of Orissa that there shall be no dearth of money for development of tourism infrastructure in the State. The Union Government shall offer major share of the fund, she has reportedly told to Orissa’s tourism Minister S.N.Patro.

According to Patro, Ms. Chowdhury air-surveyed 480 KM coastline from Balasore of Orissa to Vishakhapatnam of Andhra on 31st May taking a note of the biosphere properties and religious antiquities that should be transformed into major tourist attractions.

Development of the vast coastline as a joint venture, Andhra being a partner, would be taken up in right earnest and the Union shall contribute liberally to the venture, she reportedly said.

SENIOR MINISTER HACKLED IN HIS OFFICE

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

His own party men from Tirtol constituency heckled minister for Pachayatiraj and Secretary general of Biju Janata Dal, Dr. Damodar Raut in his Secretariat chamber on May 31. The local Press had earlier reported that the same Minister had faced the same sort of humiliation the day before in his official residence.

The party members went berserk as the Minister refused to intervene in transfer of a Junior Engineer of the Block and a District Inspector of Schools. About twenty active members of BJD led by Deputy Chairman of the District Board Mr. N.C.Nayak and local party unit president Ashok Raut shouted at the Minister in most objectionable manners.

But no action against them was sought for by the Minister. The Secretariat security staff also remained silent. How could they come into the Secretariat, who gave them permission, is not determined.

This is a sample of how in the hands of the ruling party members the Secretariat has lost its sanctity and security.

Editor's Picks

Oriya Language created Orissa and therefore Orissa must be ruled by Oriya Language

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to have developed a wrong notion that governance of Orissa in Oriya depends upon his mercy. His press-note of December 17 and full page display advertisement in major broadsheets of today force us to arrive at this apprehension.

In his December 17 press note it was declared that he had held a meeting with the five members of the ministerial committee on that day for the purpose of “strictly implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 in official and non-official level” to facilitate which a website has been floated by the government. In the full page multi-color advertisement in broadsheet dailies today, this is intriguingly missing.

The advertisement is designed to tell the people that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken historical steps to save and develop Oriya language, and has enumerated the steps he has taken. This is blatant lie. Neither he nor his government has executed any single item claimed to be “historical” in the official advertisement. The entire advertisement is nothing but false propaganda. What a shame it is, that, the people of Orissa are taken for granted by their Chief Minister! Read more →

Navakalevara: Legends and reality

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Legends are the most misguiding mischief aimed at superimposing lies on reality so that indigenous people of an occupied land are kept too dazzled to see the dark face of the rulers and the class of exploiters can keep its victims subjugated to its authority, while forcing them to forget the heroic history of evolution of their own philosophy of life, their own splendid spiritual realizations, their own socio-economic uniqueness, their own ancient culture, their own valorous past, their own way of social integration and their own civilization.

We see this mischief galore in the context of Navakalevara of SriJagannatha.

So, here, we are to rip apart the legends and bring the reality of the Navakalevara to light, as thereby alone we can reach the lost uniqueness of the people of Orissa.

We will use Puri Sankaracharya’s self-proclaimed authority over Navakalevara to proceed with our purpose.

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Samaja in Maze of Forgery: Two former Ministers of Orissa – Lingaraj Mishra & Radhanath Rath forged the WILL of Gopabandhu; Both benefitted till their death; SoPS continues to Loot

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Oriya daily SAMAJA founded by late Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, to which, out of their love and reverence for the great humanitarian leader, the people of Orissa had and have been giving their financial and moral support, is in a menacing maze of forgery and loot.

Sadly, two of Gopabandhu’s trusted men – Lingaraj Mishra and Radhanath Rath – who, because of being known so, had the opportunity of becoming cabinet ministers in Orissa, were the masterminds and/or makers of the forgery from which the paper is yet to be salvaged.

Both of them – Lingaraj and Radhanath – had partnered with each other in forging the last WILL of Gopabandhu to grab the Samaja, which being Gopabandhu’s paper was of superb credibility and the greatest political instrument of the day. They had performed this crime behind the screen of and in nexus with Servants of the People Society (SoPS), of which, while breathing his last, Gopabandhu was the Vice-President. Read more →