Thousands throng Shaivite shrines

New Indian Express reports

ROURKELA: A mammoth gathering was seen at Vedvyas temple complex, located on the banks of confluence of the rivers Sankh and Koel as thousands of devotees thronged to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.

As the day progressed, devotees were seen jostling for space in the temple complex. The ‘Mahadeep’ was raised at the Chandrasekhar temple in the complex at 3.30 am on Tuesday.

Devotees believe that the holy water fetched from the southward flowing Brahmani river, formed of the Sankh and the Koel confluence, pleases Lord Shiva.

The auspicious occasion also marked the beginning of the 14-day Vedvyas Mela which draws crowds from adjacent Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Vedvyas Trust Board (VTB) secretary Anupam Ray said this year the Mela entered the 107th year, and is scheduled to attract over five lakh devotees. Over 650 vendors from across the country have set up kiosks. Given the religious tourism potential of the place, the Tourism Department has invested ` 1.5 crore on infrastructure development.

The police and the district administration had a trying time to manage the milling crowds even as elaborate arrangements were put in place to facilitate communication to devotees and prevent any untoward incident.

NAYAGARH: Lakhs of devotees thronged the Shaivite shrine at Sarankul, 8 km from here, to offer prayers to Lord Ladukeswar.

The 15th century shrine, popularly known as Ladu Baba, is famous for housing both Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva) due to which devotees offer both ‘Tulasi’ and ‘Bael’ leaves to the deity. One of the most frequented shrines in the State, the temple is also considered unique as it does not have any doors.

Devotees broke their day-long fast after the ‘Mahadeep’ was raised at 11 pm. A Bhajan Samaroh was organised and a large number of police personnel deployed to avert any untoward situation.

Maha Shivaratri was also observed in other Shiva temples dotting the district. The prominent being the 8th century Gatiswara temple at Malisahi. The Shiva Linga in Gatiswara remains under water throughout the year except when it is taken out for Shivaratri.

JEYPORE: Notwithstanding Maoist threat, around a lakh devotees from the State, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh thronged the Gupteswar shrine. Tribals of Darua, Kondh, Bhotra, Gadava, Gond and Shaura also visited the shrine to offer prayers.

Security was beefed up following intelligence reports of Maoist presence in the shrine.

DHENKANAL: Lakhs of devotees celebrated Maha Shivaratri at different shrines in the district. Serpentine queues were witnessed outside the Kapilas shrine since early morning. Nine platoons of police force were deployed to avert any untoward situation.

The Chinmaya Mission temple administration conducted ‘Maharudravisekh’ puja in which, as many as 102 couples participated.

RSP to unveil country’s biggest blast furnace

New Indian Express reports
BHUBANESWAR: The country’s biggest blast furnace would be made operational at the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) by end-July, SAIL Chairman Chandra Sekhar Verma said here on Saturday.

Verma met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here and told him that RSP’s massive expansion and modernisation work will be completed much before the schedule. The SAIL has taken up the expansion and modernisation work in the RSP with an investment of 12,000 crore, he said.

The capacity of the RSP would be increased from 2.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 4.5 mtpa and subsequently to 5 mtpa, Verma said.

The country’s biggest blast furnace having 4,060-metre cube would be operational at the RSP in June-July, he added.

Lauding the State Government for its active cooperation, Verma said SAIL’s iron ore mine at Bolani in Sundargarh district would continue operation. “Bolani mine is the lifeline of the RSP. It will continue without any doubt,” he said.

The Bolani iron ore mine’s Forest clearance lapsed recently and, therefore, the mine faced closure. However, Verma said the State Government had already taken up the matter with the Centre for extension of Forest clearance.

Stating that the matter has been delayed due to holidays, Verma hoped that it would be sorted out very soon.

He said public sector undertakings (PSUs) should get priority in the matter of raw material as they have social obligations besides commercial objectives.

Verma was also optimistic about SAIL’s proposed joint venture with the South Korean steel behemoth Posco for setting up a steel plant at Bokaro.

“You will get good news about SAIL’s joint venture with Posco very soon,” Verma said to a question on the fate of the proposed 3 mtpa steel plant. Stating that consensus has been reached with Posco on different issues, Verma said negotiations with the firm have been “very positive”.

No voting rights for slum-dwellers

New indian Express reports
ROURKELA: Caught in ‘no man’s land’, a sizeable population here have no voting rights. For 17 years, the Government has failed to identify them either as rural or as urban dwellers. As a result, they are not registered as residents.

Though they figure in the electoral rolls for the Assembly and the Parliament elections, they are not registered for participating in panchayat and municipal polls!

The ‘unlucky population’ comprises over 30,000 people of unauthorised slums of Sonaparbat, Gopabandhunagar, Britannia Colony, Utkalnagar, Nav Krushna Nagar, Tangarpali and other small pockets on the southern tip of Rourkela city.

Sources said these unauthorised slums have mushroomed in and around Fertilizer Township on Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) lands. It became the responsibility of the RSP to develop the areas after that are listed under ‘Industrial Township’ of RSP in April 1995.

The RSP, however, has been reluctant to develop the areas due to illegal occupations.

Former chairman of Rourkela Municipality and Congress councillor Ramesh Bal said a fresh resolution to this effect was adopted by the civic body and the government has to take a final call.

Bal claimed RSP is willing to forgo land ownership on these areas and the Government must pave way for their inclusion in the municipal limits. However, sources said the civic body is unwilling to do so since these areas have little revenue generation potential.

NIT-R team designs wonder on wheels

Expressbuzz reports
ROURKELA: Innovation is the buzz word at the National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R). A group of budding technocrats of the premier institute has prepared an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) as a research track initiative.

The one-seater compact car with an engine of 10 HP has been designed and fabricated to take part in the prestigious national car designing competition. The third edition of the BAJA Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) India is scheduled from February 14 to 17 at Pitampur, Indore. About 100 teams would be participating. Captain of the 25-member NIT-R team Anshu Behera said several innovative features have been included in the car, including the differential breaking system with independent brakes to four wheels. Proximity sensor, temperature sensor and alcohol sensor are installed to shield the occupant from the hazards of getting hit, rash driving and fire mishaps. Moreover, the car has a special pump for automatic removal of mud from critical areas to ensure uninterrupted running, he said.

NIT-R Director SK Sarangi said the ATV has the potential to bring out the creative best from young technocrats.

Team advisor Prof. S Murugan hoped to find place among the five finalists, adding the petrol-driven car has all strong characters to pass the rigorous benchmarks of static, dynamic and endurance during the track event.

The participants have to design their models in sync with the frameworks of the SAE India.

The NIT-R team members this time are leaving nothing to chance and careful thought has gone into designing the model. Last year their participation ended in a disaster after their car developed technical snag midway to the competition run. In the first edition NIT-R team ranked 15th.