ODISHA

The campaign was bolstered with support from the United States Consulate General Hyderabad with an objective of creating awareness on Covid-19, MGNREGA, violence against Women and also child marriages among vulnerable communities through community radio initiatives.

Village-level Taskforce Committees formed in 47 villages included members like Anganwadi Workers, ASHA, PRI members, teachers, students and community leaders among others. Resolutions were passed and submitted to the respective district administrations to declare their villages as child marriage free villages.

The process of taskforce committee formation is under process in another 37 villages.

To broaden the impact of behavioural changes, narrowcasting sessions and outreach activities were organised by community radio stations in different villages, schools and slums of Odisha to raise awareness on the issue of child marriage. Radio listeners groups were promoted and provided training on child marriage.

The has decided to formulate a new policy to promote safe transportation and trade in inland waterways by replacing the 19-year-oldOdishaBoat Rules of 2004.

Though the government formulated the Odisha Boat Rules, 2004 to ensure registration and proper checking of passenger and cargo boats in the inland waters, the law lacked teeth, resulting in rampant movement of many unlicenced vessels in unsafe conditions in the rivers and in the Chilika lake, sources said. Besides, poor enforcement activities and safety audit of the condition of the transport vessels led to many instances of boats capsizing. While some incidents were fatal, in other cases the passengers escaped by a whisker. According to NCRB data, 79 people died in such accidents in the state in 2021, the highest in the country. In 2020, with 58 deaths, Odisha was at third position afterBihar(65 deaths) and Uttar Pradesh (69 deaths).

The Government of India recently authorised Rs 50 crores to strengthen an all-weather ROPAX in Odisha. The total fee of the venture is estimated to be Rs a hundred and ten crores. The undertaking pursuits to launch Roll-on or Roll-off Passenger Jetty connecting Kaninali in Bhadrak district and Talachua in Kendrapara district.

Highlights:

The assignment will reduce passenger travel time from six hours to one hour. The connecting factors of the jetty are located in the northern and southern banks of river Dhamra.

The launch of the jetty carrier will increase business activities and commercial activities and also will uplift the monetary fame of the region.

The Dhamra river is a joint circulation fashioned by way of the confluence of Baitarani and Brahmani rovers. It empties into the Bay of Bengal. It lies in the Bhadrak district of Odisha. The Dhamra port is located to the north of its mouth.

The Gahirmatha sanctuary is located close to the mouth of Dhamra river. Also, the Bhitarkanika and Fauna sanctuary lie on the Dhamra estuary.

The Wheeler island is additionally located at the mouth of Dhamra. The Wheeler Island is a DRDO launch centre.

Gahirmatha Sanctuary is the most vital nesting web page of Olive Ridley sea turtles. The Gahirmatha seaside separates Bhitarkanika MANGROVES and the nesting web site of the turtles. The Olive Ridley sea turtles have been put under the Vulnerable class in the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Also, they have been put underneath Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Bhitarkanika is a mangrove wetland in Odisha. It is well-known for estuarine crocodiles.

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 scheme will be implemented in Angul, Bolangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jajapur, Ganjam, Keonjhar, Koraput,Malkangiri,Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Subarnpur and Sundargarh districts.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said seva (service) is the cornerstone of Indias model of healthcare, which was never treated as a commercial model. Addressing the fourth convocation of Aiims-Bhubaneswar, Mandaviya said the country that believes in service to mankind is service to God supplied medicines and Vaccines to over 140 countries, including free supplies to around 40 countries, and became the pharmacy of the world during the Covid pandemic.

Mandaviya recalled the contribution of doctors and nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic and said when the medical practitioners in some countries known for their robust healthcare preferred to skip hospital duty in fear of infection, the physicians in India sacrificed their family life and put their health at risk to treat Covid patients.

The minister urged the AIIMS students to wholeheartedly take the opportunity of service and responsibility that medical science brings. He said the sense of responsibility should align with the service to humanity.

The new initiatives of Heal in India and Heal by India will give an impetus to medical value by positioning the country as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism and also fulfil the demand for skilled and qualified medical and para-medical human resource across the globe, he said.