am posting some of the old news published in the Pioneer.Now, you can read Devi Bhagabata in Oriyaioneer for your perusal

Dear all
I am posting some of the old news published in the Pioneer for your perusal
Yours
SudhirMishra
News of 2009
21-2-2009
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Now, you can read Devi Bhagabata in Oriya
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Sudhir Mishra | Balangir

Now, Devi Bhagabata can be read, recited and heard in Oriya as well, thanks to Swami Shakti Bhusananda Saraswati of Shakti Bhavan Yogashram of Deogan near Balangir whose Herculean efforts in translating the seminal work into Oriya has made it possible. Millions of followers of the Shakti cult in Orissa can now study and understand the work much better in their native language.

The holy Srimad Bhagabata, written by sage Byasa Deva and translated into Oriya by Atibari Jagannath Das is entwined in the lives of millions of Oriya people as it is read, recited and worshipped by people all over Orissa. However, there is another Bhagabata written by Sage Byasa Deva called Devi Bhagabata which is relatively unknown to people. The Devi Bhagabata, another work of great significance describing the cosmic power in Sanskrit remains unnoticed, explains Swami Shakti Bhusananda Saraswati of Shakti Bhavan Yogashram of Deogan near Balangir.

Like the Oriya Srimad Bhagabata of Jagannath Das, my Oriya version of Devi Bhagabata also contains 18,000 slokas in 18 chapters. The epic describes that Shakti is the moving force and without Shakti everything including wisdom and intelligence is meaningless, he explained further.

"I came across the Devi Bhagabata 20 years ago and became so much influenced by its philosophy that I delved into it like fish to water and started studying the epic deeply. After gaining a thorough knowledge and expertise on the subject, I started translating it into Oriya only six years ago in 2003," he said.

Although there are lots of Puranas, nowhere the concept of Shakti has been given so much importance like in the Devi Bhagabata, he juxtaposed citing references. Knowledge, devotion and power are essential ingredients of religious scriptures but both knowledge and devotion are under the control of power and without power nothing moves, he explained further.

Elaborating further, he said that if the syllable "Shi" is removed from the word 'Shiva,' it would be 'Sava' (meaning dead body). This sacred and powerful syllable "Shi" represents the Shakti (Cosmic Power) which is controlling the whole world.

The main difference between Devi Bhagabata and the Srimad Bhagabata is that Devi Bhagabata speaks more about the Shakti. While the recitation of Srimad Bhagabata is done for seven days, the recitation of the Devi Bhagabata is done for nine days, he said. The Srimad Bhagabata written by Byasa Deva was translated by Jagannath Das and popularized by the exponents of the Bhakti cult like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and others who followed Vaishnavism.

As the Devi Bhagabata has been written in Oriya Nnabakshari form, it is hoped that it would be accepted by all and enjoy the same status as that of the Srimad Bhagabata.

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Sat, Jan 31, 2009 at 5:19 AM

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2 Ministers at loggerheads over location of Krishi Vigyan Kendra

Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
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In order to transfer modern technology to the farmers and to carry out research and other activities, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research decided to set up Krishi Vigyan Kendras in all the 30 districts of the State.

Balangir district which has a predominantly agrarian economy and paddy is the staple crop of the people, the decision to set up a Krishi Vigyan Kendra was welcomed by all hoping that paddy production and other activity would get a further boost here.

Not that people of the district were new to this type of activity. According to sources, prior to Independence the Rajendra Experimental (RE) farm was set up by the enlightened ruler of erstwhile Patna State Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, to produce seeds and carry out research and other activity for development of agriculture and other crops. However, later it was handed over to the Government of Orissa.

Even today, in the RE farm, breeder and foundation seeds are produced .The paddy seeds are cultivated in over 36 hectares and a total of 1,000 quintals of breeder and foundation seeds are produced here.

The produced seeds are either sold to farmers or to the Orissa Seeds Corporation, which after purchasing it labels it as certified seeds and releases it in markets for cultivation, pointed out an agriculture official.

According to sources a team of representatives from OUAT visited the RE farm and they found it suitable in view of large infrastructure available, location near the district headquarter besides being within three km range of deputy director of agriculture and horticulture office for better contacts, exchanges and communication, said an official under the condition of anonymity. Accordingly, the land was transferred to OUAT three years ago. As other political representatives come to know about the setting up of this organisation here, they wanted to shift it to other places.

Besides RE farm, there are other seed producing farms at Mudghat, in Patnagarh, Desil in Titilagarh block. While in Mudghat farm, a total of 350 quintals of paddy seed are produced, the Desil farm is virtually at defunct stage. Besides this, there are two seed producing farms at Birmahajrpur and Rampur in Sonepur district which is also under the jurisdiction of Deputy Director of Agriculture Balangir. In Birmajahpur and in Rampur, Sonepur district, small amount of paddy seeds are produced. Moreover not only the paddy seeds, other experimentation in agricultural were carried out in the Rajendra Experimental farm.

Accordingly, it is best suited for establishment of Krishi Vigyan Kendra. However, the expectation of people were short lived .The move to set up Kendra was thwarted by the moves of politicians of the district. The difference of opinion between two Ministers of the district has affected the setting Krishi Vigyan Kendra here, said Agriculture Minister Surendra Nath Nayak during his recent visit here. According to sources, while AU Singh Deo favours setting up the Centre at Balangir, KV Singh Deo wants its to be set up at Mudghat in Patnagarh.

Fed up with the project hanging in balance since last three years, Saintal MLA Kalikesh Naryan Singh Deo has demanded setting it up at Titilagarh. "I have written a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar drawing his attention to this matter," said Kalikesh. While two powerful politicians have locked horns it is the people of the district who are deprived up getting the benefits.
Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 10:14 PM

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Balangir medical college: A decade-long dream still distant
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Sudhir Mishra | Balangir


A decade is perhaps too long a time to commence and complete a project in the backward region of western Orissa to spur development process which however, appears to be a totally short time for the much-awaited and much-hyped medical college in Balangir.

Started in 1999 with the noble initiative of the then Chairman of the Western Orissa Development Council Narasingha Mishra, the proposed medical college to have a 1000-bed hospital apart from the college building and the construction activity had also kicked off with much pomp and fanfare.

However, after the change of State Government in 2000, the construction of the much-awaited medical college in Balangir came to a grinding halt.

In February 2004, on the eve of election, the foundation-stone for the medical college was laid by Chief Minster Naveen Patanik, rekindling hopes that it would be completed soon. The Jasar Foundation signed an MOU with the WODC to complete the work but unfortunately it never began. After Jasar Foundation, another charitable trust, the Balaji Trust of Pondicherry agreed to undertake the construction of the medical college.

We had worked on a war-footing basis to transfer the land to Balaji Education Trust for construction of the medical college. However, difference cropped up between the Balaji Education Trust and the Government over the terms and conditions of the lease deeds, says a tehsil official.

From 1999 to 2009, already ten years have passed and three interested parties for constructing the medical college came and went away without progressing further.

This has fuelled the feeling among the people that the Government is treating people of this region in a step-motherly manner. The non-completion of medical college at Balangir shows the step-motherly attitude of the Government towards this region and the Kosal Kranti Dal is opposing this since the beginning, pointed out President of Kosal Kranti Dal, Pramod Mishra while speaking to The Pioneer. The opposition is strangely remaining silent on this issue and is not actively taking up the matter, he alleged further.

The Government lacks political will to complete the medical college otherwise it is not a big task for the Government, says DCC general secretary Hemanta Panda. This reflects the step-motherly attitude of the Government towards the people of Balangir and western Orissa at large, he said further.

Fed up with the dilly-dallying of Government, several people of the region have started approaching private parties to set up a medical college here without Government assistance.

According to sources, the Sushree Group of Institutes, which is running a diploma engineering, BSc Nursing, Science College and an ITI, has stepped up its efforts to set up a medical college and hospital with foreign assistance.

The simmering discontentment among people could well go against the otherwise popular and clean image of Naveen Patnaik Government in this region.

Ironically, it was none-other-than the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who had laid the foundation stone for the medical college raising hopes of the people of Balangir for an early completion of the project, but their hopes are yet to be accomplished even after a decade-long time lag.
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Mar 3, 2009 at 1:00 AM
Kasturba school students seek extension of hostel facilities
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Pioneer News Service | Balangir

Students of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGVB), a model school meant for providing education to dropout girls in rural areas, have expressed their desire to continue studies by staying in the hostel further.

“I do not want to go home as my parents are away and working in a brick kiln. So, once I go home, I have to accompany them disrupting my studies,” lamented Tarini Nag, a student of Class VIII of the school at Kanut near Belpada, before the Saintala MLA Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, who was on a visit to the school recently.

“As there is no provision for hostel after Class VIII, I shall be forced to go home and bound to work along with my parents. So the school authorities should understand our plight and do the needful to let us continue studies,” Tarini said.

“After completing my education, I would like to be a teacher and would be delighted to teach the migrating children so that they don’t suffer like us in future,” she added.

Another student, Parbati Majhi, reading in the same school after completing her primary education in Bhutung Primary School, also expressed her desire to continue studies by staying in the hostel further.

Speaking to the newspersons, MLA Kalikesh Singh Deo said, “I have taken up the issue with the higher authority regarding extension of hostel facility to these students so that they can pursue their studies for a better future.”

“For all-round development, tribal students should be enrolled in reputed institutes like the KITS tribal school in Bhubaneswar. I would like to see that the tribal students of this backward region get enrolled there for a bright future. I am also trying to provide financial assistance to the girl students through RN Singh Deo Memorial Scholarship,” he assured further.

According to sources, a proposal for extension of hostel facility to girl students of KGVB till Class X of all the 11 KGVB in the district, including the KGVB School at Kanut, Belpada, has already been submitted to the Government.
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Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 6:48 AM

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Rice at Rs 1; dal, onion, salt at subsidised rates, promises Cong

Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
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The politics over rice seems to be taking centre-stage in the campaigning by the major parties for the coming elections in the State. The Congress has now announced that the people below the poverty line (BPL) would be supplied rice at Rs 1 per kg if it comes to power.

Almost eight months ago, the ruling BJD-BJP alliance Government launched the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme to the BPL families in the State and all families in the KBK region including both BPL and APL (above poverty line) to ensure their food security and enhance their nutrition status. Now, the Congress has gone a step ahead by promising a Rs 1-a-kg rice scheme.

At a conference of party workers of Balangir and Subarnapur districts here on Thursday, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Narasingha Mishra assured the people that in the event of the Congress forming the Government after the polls it would provide rice at Rs 1 per kg. Besides dal, onion and salt would also be supplied to people at subsidised and affordable prices, he promised.

Mishra said that during his recent visit to New Delhi he held discussions with Sonia Gandhi in this regard and this promise is going to find a place in the manifesto of the Congress. He claimed that the Rs 2-per kg-rice scheme was in fact a programme sponsored by the UPA Government at the Centre. The Centre is purchasing the rice at Rs 16 a kg and providing it to the State Government at Rs 5. Ironically, the State Government is taking credit only by providing Rs 3 only, he said further.

PCC working president Bhakta Charan Das, who was given a warm welcome, called upon the party cadre to forget any differences among them and work hard during the elections to dislodge the royal family of Balangir from the present political power.

Later, addressing the media Das hoped that the UPA would return to power at the Centre once again and the Congress would fare well in both Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the State.

Das criticised the "stepmotherly attitude" of the BJP-BJD Government towards this region, for which the area has been languishing in backwardness in the infrastructural sector like roads as well as in irrigation.

During the last eight years no major or medium irrigation projects have been undertaken in this district, which has irrigation facility only for 3 per cent of its land. Worse, the traditional irrigation projects are in the doldrums, he said further.

Das, however, virtually parried the question on the absence of former MP Sarat Pattanaik at the workers' conference, saying Pattnaik has gone to Bangalore on personal work and he is not going to contest elections from Balangir district. Asked to comment on who would be the Congress' Lok Sabha candidate from here, he said the candidates having best winnable prospects would be given tickets.


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Biju birth anniversary observed in Balangir

Balangir: At a function to mark the 93rd birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik here on Thursday, BJD president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo recalled the valiant courage displayed by Patnaik in rescuing the Indonesian leaders and his contribution towards the development of the State. He called upon the party workers to work for uplift of poor and downtrodden. Statue of Patnaik was garlanded and fruits were distributed among the hospital inmates. Among others, Balangir Municipality chairperson Damayanti Bag and other BJD leaders spoke at the function.
Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 7:38 AM
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hide details 3/10/09
BJP-BJD-Congress contest in Balangir LS seat on the cards

Sudhir Mishra | Balangir

Anything can happen in politics. There is no permanent friend or enemy. This has been aptly proved after the collapse of the 11-year-long BJP-BJD alliance. The stage is now open for all political parties to try their luck at the hustings.

Till Saturday, the BJP-BJD coalition appeared determined to fight elections jointly to keep the Congress out of power. However, the snapping of the alliance has thrown up a new political equation, much to the surprise of many. This was despite the fact that the BJD circles were in an upbeat mood after their victory in the elections to urban local bodies and there were theories doing the rounds that BJD might go alone in the General elections.

Now, with the breaking up of the BJP-BJD alliance, it is going to be a triangular contest in Balangir Parliamentary constituency as was the case in the 1991 and 1996 elections.

In the 2004 polls, Sangeeta Singh Deo of the BJP won the Balangir Lok Sabha seat by defeating her Congress rival Sarat Pattanaik by a huge margin. This time, she will once again be in the race as the BJP candidate but will have to face two major rivals from the Congress and the BJD.

The Balangir Lok Sabha constituency earlier comprised all the six Assembly segments of Balangir district — Balangir, Loisingha, Saintala, Patnagarh, Titilagarh and Kantabanji — and the Nuapada Assembly constituency in the neighbouring Nuapada district.

After the delimitations of constituencies, the Saintala Assembly segment has been abolished and the Sonepur and Birmaharajpur Assembly segments in the contiguous Subarnapur district have been included in the Balangir parliamentary constituency, besides excluding the Nuapada Assembly seat.

Moreover, the Titilagarh Assembly constituency has been redrawn and made a general seat. It was earlier reserved for SCs. The earlier Loisingha general seat has been reserved for SCs and Sonepur has been made a general seat. Birmaharajpur has been redrawn and reserved for SCs.

After the breaking up of the BJP-BJD alliance, a totally new political chapter is going to open for the BJD in the Balangir Parliamentary constituency, with Works Minister AU Singh Deo and his MLA-son Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo being reportedly interested for the BJD ticket for the Lok Sabha seat. Although there is no official confirmation yet about who will be the BJD nominee, political observers feel Kalikesh Singh Deo has a better chance in view of his organisational skills and dynamism to infuse new sprit into the party, for which the BJD fared significantly well in the recent elections to the urban local bodies in Balangir district.

From the Congress, there are many in the race for the party ticket for the Lok Sabha seat. They include Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narasingha Mishra, senior leader Radhakanta Panda, State Mahila Congress chief Asima Mahananda and secretary of the Sushree group of institutes Srikara Mishra.

In a surprise turn of events, another BJP leader, Lalit Nayak, has also applied for the BJP ticket for the Parliamentary seat, which he announced to the media on March 6.

The recently-launched Kosal Kranti Dal has projected Baidyanath Mishra as its candidate for the seat. Other political parties like the Sammruddha Odisha are also planning to field their candidates this time.
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