ODISHA

The Mo Bus service will be available in all panchayats of Odisha, said Transport Secretary Usha Padhee today.

The Mo Bus buses will ply between blocks and panchayats under the Laxmi scheme.

In the first phase, the service will be available in six districts Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Gajapati. It will be expanded to other regions later.

As per the decision, the Mo Bus service will be extended to Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Brajarajnagar-Belpahar cluster and Berhampur-Gopalpur-Chhatrapur-Hinjilicut-Digapahandi cluster.

Mo Bus service, which was introduced in the Capital Region on November in 2018 under the SPV Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), has covered the districts Khurda, Cuttack and Puri with a ridership of 2.3 lakh per day with a fleet of 390 buses.

Harlequin Ichthyosis is a rare genetic pore and skin sickness to a newborn infant. Its a kind of ichthyosis, which refers to a crew of disorders that reason persistently dry, scaly skin all over the body. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

Autosomal Recessive Pattern: Autosomal (that ability inherited) Recessive Pattern is a way, place a genetic trait or situation can be passed down from mum or dad to child. A genetic situation can occur when the infant inherits one copy of a mutated (changed) gene from each parent. If a man or woman receives one normal gene and one ordinary gene for the disease, the character will be a provider for the disease. The danger to have a child who is a carrier, like the parents, is 50% with each pregnancy. The danger for a child to get hold of regular genes from each dad and mom is 25%. The danger is equal for men and females.

Causes: It can be brought on through changes (mutations) in the ABCA12 gene. ABCA12 Gene offers directions for making a protein that is indispensable for skin cells to strengthen normally. It performs a key position in the transport of fats (lipids) to the most superficial layer of the skin (epidermis), developing an positive skin barrier. When this gene is mutated, the skin barrier is disrupted.

Impact: Newborn babies are blanketed with plates of thick pores and skin that crack and split apart and can avert respiratory and eating. The premature beginning is typical, leaving the children at hazard for issues from early delivery.

Affected Population: It influences adult males and ladies in equal numbers. It impacts approximately one in 5,00,000 persons. There are around 250 such cases throughout the world.

Treatment: A new child with Harlequin ichthyosis requires neonatal intensive care, which may additionally consist of spending time in a heated incubator with excessive humidity.

UK-based Odia investorBiswanath Patnaikand entrepreneur ArunKarhave announced setting up the first EV-hydrogen automotive manufacturing plant in the state. They will invest Rs 500 crore for the electric vehicle project and Rs 100 crore for manufacturing bio bags through their company FINNEST.

With potential association with Odisha government we will be investing in energy, Health care, projects and fintech. It will generate huge EMPLOYMENT opportunities and revenue for the state and local businesses, said Patnaik.
Kar said there are plans to bring in sustainable ventures like EV-hydrogen and alternative to plastic bags to the state.

Some way or the other, the Government has been successful in enhancing the child protection mechanism in the State, due to which repeated child offender cases have decreased, said Twin City Police Commissioner Saumendra Kumar Priyadarshi at a State-level consultation organised by theHumara Bachpan Trust (HBT) in PARTNERSHIP with the RAILWAY Children India (RCI) here on Saturday

However, there is a surge in girl children Migration cases post Covid-19, one of the major reasons being eloping due to Social Media Influence, Priyadarshi said. He emphasised on identifying hot spots of migration and conducting sensitisation on responsible use of social media. He also recommended conducting public sensitisation programmes focusing on child marriage and Child Labour issues.

Acknowledging some of the gaps in child protection mechanisms, Labour Commissioner Dr N Thirumala Naik said, Along with enhancing Government mechanisms, we also need for better protection of children.

Notably, there has been an increasing trend observed in the number of children found at risk after the onset of pandemic. The issue of concern here is the rise in this figure is mostly among girls. More number of girl children are being contacted by the HBT and Railway Children India at the Bhubaneswar Railway Station from Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Baleswar, Kendrapada, Sundargarh, Cuttack and Khordha district. The reasons for children running away from Home are the poor family background, post pandemic livelihood loss, family disturbance, peer pressure and social media influence among others.

To address the issue of Malnutrition among adolescent girls, pregnant and ailing Women, the Odisha government has implemented the Strategy for Odishas Pathway to Accelerated Nutrition (SOPAN) in 125 blocks of 22 districts across the state.

Under the scheme, girls and women will be provided weekly nutrition supplements. Besides, programmes likeKishori Mela, additional spot feeding for pregnant and mothers of newborns will be organised.

Director of ICDS project Arvind Agrawal instructed district collectors to carry out various activities, such as distribution of eggs thrice a week to 15 to 19-year-old girls, under the scheme.

The state is all set to host the 15th edition of the Mens Hockey World Cup from January 13-29, at the brand new Birsa Munda stadium named after the legendary freedom fighter. The tournament will be split between this stadium in the Sundergarh district, the cradle of Indian hockey, and the famed Kalinga stadium in the state capital, Bhubaneswar.

Konark forms one tip of Odishas golden triangle together with Puri and Bhubaneswar, and no first visit to the state is complete without paying homage to these places; they lead the way for a reason, with Konark, quite literally, taking the wheel.

Sitting on the foundation of a 13th-century stone chariot adorned with 24 intricate wheels that are the monuments showstopper, the Sun Temple of Konark is undoubtedly the plume in Odishas crown. A walkabout begins with an imposing pair of monolithic lions on elephant backs at the entrance of this complex and circumnavigates fragments of the temple and the natyashala that dominates the other remains with its intricate carvings.

The Kalinga-style architectural marvel is covered in unmatched artwork that spans nearly 1,700 figurines depicting dancing gods and goddesses, and scenes from daily living that were meant to be both devotional and educational. Our ancestors were ingenious; if you know how to use these sundials, you dont need a watch to tell the time even today, says Pradipta Malla, who has been conducting guided tours here for the last 30 years, and who, within moments, looks at the shadow cast by the sun, counts the finer carved spokes, does a couple of quick mental calculations and announces the exact time with a flourish as his guests break into applause.

In a religious nation like India, while Puris laurels rest on Sri Jagannath, few know that the town is also Home to Golden Beach, among the worlds prestigious blue flag beaches. After Puri, the other faith Odisha worships is hockey; cricket takes the backseat here and the countrys national sport basks in the glory it deserves. Odisha lives and breathes hockey; it houses the iconic Kalinga stadium in the capital, and now, world-class at the Birsa Munda stadium, making Odisha the only destination to host it for a second time.

For every traditional exploration that exists in the state, Odisha has a surprising alternative. For every Chilika lake, there is a Mangalajodi teeming with migratory birds. For every piece of pattachitra on sale at Bhubaneswars Ekamra Haat, there are houses with walls covered in it in the village of Raghurajpur.

Odisha also fiercely guards its most famous guest, the Olive Ridley turtle, which comes for its annual Migration, an experience sought after by enthusiasts who barely know that the state is also home to the second-largest mangrove eco-system in the country called Bhitarkanika. The relatively small state is packed with sizeable wonders, the biggest hint for which lies in its taglineIndias best-kept secret.

To assess the future scenario of different power consuming sectors, the state energy department has decided to prepare a long-term action plan for the next two decades.
Officials said German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft far Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), which has been implementing the Indo-German energy programme in the country, has signed an agreement with the state energy department for the development of the action plan for Odisha.

The GIZ will provide technical assistance for the same, while state utility Gridco will coordinate with the German agency on behalf of the Odisha government. The plan is expected to be ready by 2024.

Some of the key objectives of the plan are optimisation of generation, transmission and distribution of assets, revenue maximisation and optimisation of power procurement, efficiency improvement and long-term planning, disaster-resilient transmission and distribution , overall Energy Security, improved access to finances and scaling up of distributed RENEWABLE ENERGY models.