ODISHA

About 2,000 large ponds and water bodies in 115 ULBs would be renovated and transformed into a hub for spending leisure time and amusement. The Women of the Mission Shakti and youths who have passed out from colleges would be roped into the work. The projects would be undertaken with minimal expenditure and by adopting a natural process.

The ponds have a crucial role in the social and cultural life and are also related to our Health and economy, said Patnaik. He hoped that after renovation of the ponds they would bring a qualitative change in the life of the residents of the towns and cities.

He also lauded the pilot project of Ama Pokhari in Municipal Corporations of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Brahmapur and advised the authorities to expedite and complete the work within stipulated time.

TheOrissa has claimed 2021 to be a year of transformation “in more ways than one” for the judicial administration in the state when innovations and technological strides were made to make things more transparent and accessible to the people.

The claim was made in theannual reportof the high court which was published after a gap of six years.

The annual report said the year saw functioning of 60 new courts in various districts with 22 more set to becoming functional with Infrastructure to accommodate courts and officers’ residence. The year also saw the completion in construction of 14 court complexes with provision for 102 courts. Out of them, 6 were district court complexes at Bhawanipatna, Nabarangpur, Jeypore, Sonepur, Malkangiri and Bhadrak.

The grant to the state during the current financial year is a four-fold increase as Odisha had received Rs 812 crore in the previous 2020-21 financial year.

In Odisha, only 3.10 lakh households of total 85.66 lakh rural households had tap water connections, accounting to 3.63%. In the past three years, over 22.84 lakh households in the state have been provided with tap water connections under JJM while total 30.3% rural households with tab water connection.

While the and drinking water department has been the implementing agency for JJM in the state, it has targeted to provide tap water connections to 21.31 lakh rural households during the current financial year. Similarly, additional 22.53lakh tapwater connections are planned in the year 2022-23 and another 18.87 lakh tap water connections in 2023-24.

As the scheme is being implemented with 50:50 fund sharing pattern between the Centre and the State Government, total fund available for ensuring piped dinking water to all rural households for 2021-22 financial year will be over Rs 6,500 crore (with states matching share).
Apart from allocation under the JJM, the 15th Finance Commission has also sanctioned Rs 1,002 crore to the panchayati raj institutions of the state to manage water supply in villages and to ensure improved sanitation in villages.

Besides tap water connection to rural households, the Centre has also been emphasizing on providing tap water to children in schools and anganwadi centres. In Odisha, as many as 25,820 schools (47%) and 11,913 anganwadi centres (22%) have been provided tap water connections.

The has decided that a KALIA Centre would be made functional in every district of the State for the welfare of farmers.

The centre would encourage agri innovation and serve as a one stop resource centre. The centre would be equipped with adequate technical man power to resolve different issues of farmers related to different agricultural programme/activities like MKUY, SAFAL, GO SUGAM, Krushak Odisha and KALIA, said Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain here on Saturday.

A nodal officer from the office of Chief District Agriculture Officer would monitor the day-to-day functioning of the Kalia Centre at district level, he said.

In this context, a letter has been issued by Agriculture Principal Secretary, Arabinda Kumar Padhee to all Collectors to arrange a suitable building for functioning of Kalia Centre in and around the district headquarters.

The Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme has been introduced in 2018 to provide support to cultivators for cultivation for small and marginal farmers and livelihood support for landless agricultural households for taking non-farm activities.

The scheme of the State Government is perhaps the first Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme of the country.

The scheme has been universally acclaimed not only for its conceptualisation but also with respect to its implementation. A unique aspect of the scheme has been the inclusion of landless agricultural households and sharecroppers.

Since the launch of the scheme, 43,04,876 small marginal farmers/actual cultivators(Sharecroppers) and 17,71,756 landless Agricultural Households (LAH) have been disbursed financial assistance. Financial assistance of more than Rs 11,600 crore has been extended for the purpose.

TheBoard of the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a public sector undertaking, has approved the setting up of a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) each at Basundhara inSundargarhdistrict and Talcher Coalfields inAngul.

In a letter toUnionpetroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, state coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi, confirmed this information. Pradhan had requestedJoshiin September last year to set upKVsin these areas for the benefit of the children of these districts.

Four Mission Shakti cafes were opened in Jagatsinghpur district in different locations to be run by Women Self-Help Groups [SHG]. Collector Parul Patwari inaugurated the cafes on the occasion of Utkal Divas.

It is the first of its kind all women run caf opened in Jagatsinghpur district on the premises of Zilla Parishad, Raghunathpur, and Naugaon blocks including another one at Singharapur near Nuapola connecting Cuttack- Machhagaon road NH 55.

The important aspect of the Mission Shakti caf is it offers all traditional and contemporary foods and snack items as per the visitors’ taste, which makes it different from the public-run restaurants, informed members of Jyoti Mahasangha, Erasama block.

It was built by King Narashimadeva I, the great ruler of the Ganges Dynasty.

This temple was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984 and is famous for its outstanding architectural design and rich and abundant sculptures. This temple is a perfect blend of Kalinga architecture, tradition, exotic beaches and natural beauty. It is protected by the Indian National Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Relics (AMASR) Act (1958) and its regulations (1959). Konark is the 3rd link in the Golden Triangle of Odisha.

The first link is Jagannath Puri, and the second link is Bhubaneswar (the capital of Orissa). The temple was called the “Black Pagoda” because of its dark color and was used by ancient sailors as a nautical landmark in Orissa. Similarly, the Jagannath Temple in Puri is called the “White Pagoda”. It is still the main pilgrimage site for Hindus.

Experts have observed a significant change in peoples Attitude towardsbariatricsurgery with an increase in such procedures over the last few years, according to a report released to mark World Obesity Day on Friday. The theme of the report is Everybody needs to act.

Amidst demands from lawyers across the country for setting up benches in different parts of all the states, theOrissaHC has taken the pioneering step of opening virtual HCs in 10 districts and plans to provide this facility in the remaining 20 districts by the middle of this year.

The demands for high court benches at places other than its principal seat from bar associations in different states and resultant strikes had often paralysed judicial work. Recently, ugly incidents were seen at Sambalpur in western Odisha, leading to The Supreme Court directing strict action against erring advocates.

Of the present pending caseload of around 1.7 lakh cases in the HC, around 72,760 have been filed from these 10 districts.

Ganjam district of Odisha has declared itself a child marriage free district, first in the State.

In last two years, 2020 & 2021, Ganjam District Administration has been able to stop around 450 child marriages and video-record 48,383 marriages.

Administration has also made Aadhaar card mandatory to produce for any marriages to take place.

Nirbhaya Kadhi (Fearless Bud)

Nirbhaya Kadhi programme was started in Ganjam. The campaign was started with the objective of preventing adolescent girls from dropping out of school, and counselling them. Under the programme, all the heads of educational institutes were directed to inform administration if girl aged 12 to 18 years remained absent from school for five days. Around one lakh teenagers have undergone counselling under the programme, in past two years.

Award on producing information

Administration had also announced Rs 5,000 for those informing about any child marriage. This amount has now been increased to Rs 50,000.

Prevalence of Child Marriage in India

According to United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) estimates, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India each year. This makes India a Home to largest number of child brides worldwide.