Sambalpur University: A premier higher educational institution in the entire region of Kosal

Following is a report from http://www.merinews.com:  (A report by Jayadev Kar)

THE SAMNHALPUR University is the only premier higher educational institution in the entire region of western Orissa, popularly known as Kosal. This University is situated 11km. away from the historical city of Sambalpur. Ten districts namely, Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada and Atthamallick subdivision come under its jurisdiction, which is highest in Orissa so far as geographical area covering is concerned.

 

It has got the entire infrastructure to be elevated to the state of a Central University and students, teachers, civil societies alike are demanding this since decades. Located in the foothills of Barpahar mountain range, the University has 4 boy’s hostels and three ladies hostels. Beside this a guest house is also there.

The educational atmosphere is excellent, next only to SHantiniketan so far as the scenario of Eastern India is concerned. According to reliable sources the teaching of MSW here in Sambalpur University is excellent. Students from nearby states like Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur come here to pursue there master degrees in Social Work.

 

Though MSW course was launched in the year 2007 but due to modern teaching techniques it has touched the hearts of Students, Alok Purohit, a MSW student stated. Further the department of MSW has signed MOU with Ahrus University, Denmark and Free University of Berlin.

 

The department is also the international headquarter for the “International commission on children and youth”. Likewise the department of English is also best in Eastern India. Every year students get JRF and NET.

 

This year the University has started MA in Hindi to cater the need of the students of Western Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Selling of form has already started in the current year and the last date of submission is 10.06.2010. Though the region is lagging behind economically yet this Solitary University of Sambalpur has been showing the path of success to the students of this region.

Link to Remunda village of Bargarh district, Orissa

Remunda village: http://www.remunda.com/

IL&FS keen to open schools in the undivided Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi districts

Following is a report from http://orissadiary.com: (Thanks to Kalahandia for sharing this news)

Bhubaneswar: Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), a leading finance firm has proposed to set up educational complexes in the undivided Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi districts.

In this connection, a high-level delegation of IL&FS met chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here on Wednesday. The schools will be set up in line with Delhi Public School (DPS) on public private partnership (PPP) mode. The firm has proposed to set up at least 200 such schools in the KBK region.  The state government will take a decision on this very soon.

Balangir tribal girl aspires to be IAS officer: Pioneer News Service

Following report is from The Pioneer:

She aims to be an IAS officer. And for that, she has decided to enrol herself in the Delhi University so that from the very beginning she start her journey in a competitive environment.

Meet 18-year-old Surami Soren, a tribal girl with a lot of aspirations. One of the brilliant students of western Odisha, she stood fourth in the top 20 list of the Plus II examination in the Arts stream.

A student from Rajendra College Balangir, Surami is moving decisively.

Surami’s friend Manasi Pradhan is equally upbeat about a career in legal profession. Manasi, the 10th rank-holder among the top 20, wants to be a top lawyer. She was a student in Plus II Arts in the Government Women’s College, Balangir.

Manasi, 17-year-old, is influenced by her father Bikash Pradhan, a leading lawyer in Balangir. She was all along a meritorious student and a rank holder in +10 Classes. She is enrolling her in the National University of Law, Cuttack.

Both rank-holding girls met Minister Planning & Coordination Ananga Udaya Singh Deo here on Thursday to have his blessings. Singh Deo took interest in both the meritorious students who have brought laurels for his native Balangir district. He said that despite backwardness and lack of infrastructure in the colleges of Balangir, both girls were able to achieve distinction.

Prof. Arun Kumar Pujari’s vision on Sambalpur University and Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology (SUIIT)

Following report is from Dharitri: 

Sital Sasthi Jatra of Sambalpur – the divine wedding of lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi

Following write-up is taken from http://www.hindu-blog.com:

he annual Sital Sasthi Yatra festival held at Sambalpur in Orissa celebrates the divine wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. Sambalpur in Orissa is a well known place associated with Shiva and Shakti worship. The five-day long festival begins with the ‘Patra pendi’ ritual. In 2009, the Sital Sasthi Yatra festival begins on May 28.

Lord Shiva after the death of Goddess Sati was practicing intense austerity and was no longer interested in family life. Taking this as an opportunity, demon Tarakasura prayed to Lord Brahma and obtained the boon that he will only be killed by a son of Lord Shiva. After obtaining the boon Tarakasura created havoc on earth, heaven and hell and he drove out the ‘devas’ from heaven.

Devas approached Vishnu but he told them about the boon and asked to approach Mother Shakti to find a way out. Shakti agreed to take rebirth as Parvathi and marry Shiva.

But Shiva continued with his intense austerities. Pravathi who was born as the daughter of Himalaya only had Shiva in her mind and wanted to marry him. But Shiva was not willing to take her as his wife. Devas tried several methods but could not change the mind of Shiva.

Finally, Parvati started intense meditation and Shiva had to finally oblige. (This intense fast undertaken by Parvati is annually observed as Hartalika Teej Vrat in North India and Swarn Gouri Vratam in South India by women to get good husbands.)

On Jyeshta Shukla Panchami, the divine couple got married and Kartikeya was born who annihilated demon Tarakasura.

Sital Sasthi Yatra festival celebrates this divine wedding. During the festival, a family in the region adorns the role of the father and mother of Parvati and offers her in marriage to Shiva.

On Patra Pendi day, the first day of the festival, the family adopts Parvati as their daughter. Two days later Goddess Parvati (idol from the temple) arrives at the home of her adopted parents. From her adopted home, the bride is taken in a grand procession for the marriage ceremony, which takes place during the night.

Similarly, Lord Shiva, the bridegroom, arrives for the marriage ceremony along with other gods and goddesses in Hindu pantheon. Lord Hanuman and Narasimha lead the divine procession. All the rituals that are part of normal marriage ceremony in Orissa are followed for the divine wedding.

Next evening the divine couple undertakes a journey to the town known as Nagar Parikrama and this journey is known as ‘Shital Sasthi Yatra.’

Another feature of the festival is the arrival of large number of Eunuchs or Hijadas for the wedding. They claim that they are her to celebrate the wedding of Shiva who is ardhanarishwara – half man half woman.

The festival is also referred as monsoon wedding of Shiva and Parvathi as the wedding takes place at the beginning of monsoon season. The intense austerity performed by Shiva is symbolically represented as the intense heat during summer season. Parvathi is the monsoon showers which calm Shiva. Farmers thus celebrate the arrival of monsoon with this divine wedding.

State Govt wants SAIL to set up medical college at Rourkela; Ignores citizens demand for a ESIC medical college

Following is a report from The Pioneer:

It seems finally Chief Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra has come to the rescue of thousands of citizens demand for a medical college at Rourkela. He has taken up the issue with the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Steel.

Residents of the steel town have been demanding an ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) Medical College for more than two years. However, the ESIC has decided to set up its medical college in Bhubaneswar as the State Government offered land on the outskirts of the capital city.

The people of Rourkela in general and intelligentsia in particular took up the issue at various forums. Political personalities cutting across party lines also demanded an ESIC medical college at Rourkela. But the demand was overlooked and, as usual, the e-mail petitions in this regard were coolly ignored.

While the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has proposed to upgrade the Bokaro Steel Plants’ hospital to a medical college, a similar move is needed for Odisha, feels Chief Secretary Mishra. He discussed the matter with the Union Secretary of Steel in order to set up a medical college at Rourkela under the aegis of the Ispat General Hospital (IGH).

Preparations for Sital Sasthi Jatra begin in Shivalayas of Sambalpur town

Following report is from expressbuzz.com:

SAMBALPUR: Preparation for the Sital Sasthi yatra began on the auspicious Akshaya Trutiya today with the completion of ‘Thala Utha’ ritual in Shivalayas of Sambalpur town. The Sital Sasthi yatra is celebrated to mark the celestial wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati slated to be held on June 16 this year. 

The ritual was performed with much fanfare in three Shivalayas _ Loknath Baba of Jharuapada, Balunkeshwar Baba of Nandapada and Jageswar Baba of Mudipada.  

During the ‘Thala Utha’ ceremony, puja was performed in the temples amid presence of senior members of the respective localities. The ceremony also marked beginning of fund raising for the forthcoming festival with senior members of the three localities going from door to door in their respective areas for collection of funds.  

This year, Prahallad Agrawal and his wife Suman of Marwaripada, Sisir Kumar Nanda and his wife Pushpanjali of Nandapada and Akshay Kumar Dora and his wife Laxmipriya will perform the role of in-laws for Loknath Baba, Balunkeswar Baba and Jageswar Baba respectively.

Indian Institute of Production Management (IIPM) Kansbahal, Sundergarh offers an MTech programme in Production Engineering

Following report is from The Pioneer:

The State-based Indian Institute of Production Management (IIPM) located in Kansbahal, Sundergarh, has scored a first in the State by starting an MTech programme in Production Engineering. Classes are expected to start from July 10, 2010. The course will be conducted by the Wellteach University of Chennai and 25 students will be taken in through a Joint Entrance Examination to be conducted by the university in June. The course fee for the 2-year course has been pegged at Rs 2 lakh.

Announcing this to the media in a meeting organised here on Sunday, Director Prof MR Nayak emphasised that even though the institute does not have any BTech course on offer it has ventured to conduct the MTech course because of its close to three decades of experience in training and consulting activity in the field of production engineering which has seen over 30,000 trainees pass through its portals including 1,400 persons from abroad. Because of its uniqueness of expertise and experience it has been included as an approved training institute under the Colombo Plan and the international trainees are sent here for training after selection by the Ministry of External affairs of the Government of India.

This institute has not yet acquired the reputation of its far better known namesake but it also has a successful MBA program approved by All India Council of Technical Education and affiliated to Biju Patnaik Institute of Technology. At Rs 40,000 per year it’s fees are one of the lowest for the MBA course in the State but the institute has established a good track record of campus placement in just 2 years that the course has started.

Started by ICICI in 1983 with active support from L&T, Usha Martin Industries and Government of Odisha it has received substantial contribution from many others that include Steel Authority of India Ltd, TATA Steel, TATA Motors, University of Manchester and British Council. With India poised to be a Global Manufacturing hub and Odisha being in the thick of activity where tens of thousands of crores are planned to be invested in manufacturing sector the Institute intends to add teeth to the manufacturing prowess of the country with well trained manpower in all levels of the production activity.

Every block to have ITI by 2012:Orissa Government

Following is a report from expressbuzz.com:

BHUBANESWAR: Anticipating huge demand for skilled manpower in view of the rapid industrialisation underway, the Government today decided to open industrial training institutes (ITIs) in all the blocks of the State by 2012.

A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also decided to introduce a special stipendiary scheme to encourage Bonda youths to join industrial training programmes. The decision was taken after the meeting was informed that tribal students of Malkangiri district are showing interest in such training and their enrolment in the Government ITI, opened in the district last year, is increasing.

It was also decided to increase the monthly stipend of poor and meritorious students from Rs 50 to Rs 500 and fill up all the vacant teacher posts on contractual basis.  

A technician entrance test (TET) will be introduced for selection of students for the Government ITIs. Two newly opened Government ITIs at Rayagada and Sonepur have started functioning from the current academic year while the Plumber Training Institute operating at Cuttack will be shifted to its new campus at Pattamundai, the meeting was told.  

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has sanctioned 91 new ITIs under public private partnership (PPP) mode, the State Government has sought Rs 828 crore from the Centre for establishment of 186 new ITIs in the extremist-affected areas.  

While private promoters will take the lead role for establishing the training institutes under the PPP mode, the State Government will provide land free of cost. Other infrastructure facilities like road connectivity, supply of water and electricity will be the responsibility of the Centre.  

However, the Central support will be through viability gap funding. So far, 27 industries had shown interest to set up ITIs in the State and memoranda of understanding (MoU) will be signed with 10 industries, including the State-owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).  

Global steel major Arcellor Mittal has also proposed to set up a centre of excellence in Keonjhar district where the company planned to establish a 12-million t o n n e g r e e n f i e l d s t e e l project.  

The Chief Minister directed to conduct credit rating of all the ITIs by an independent agency to ensure quality training. He also emphasised on introduction of new trades having demand in the market.  

Chief Secretary TK Mishra, Agriculture Production Commissioner RN Senapati, Industries Secretary Sourav Garg and other senior officers of the Industries Department were present.