A Jagannath temple replica,half a km away BJD Rajya Sabha MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra once suggested that non-Hindus too be allowed inside Jagannath temple,the 11th century shrine in the coastal town of Puri. That triggered a controversy but now the state-run Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) is planning to construct a miniature Jagannath temple for the non-Hindus among the tourists who visit the coastal town round the year. The miniature temple is expected to be built about half a kilometre from Jagannath temple. OTDC officials said they would seek the opinion of the priests of Jagannath temple many priests have opposed the idea strongly and the shrine body before finalising the plan. The original temple,located in the heart of Puri,attracts hordes of visitors,mostly tourists. Water dues unpaid At a time when farmers are in dire need of water,11 industrial units including Nalco,Vedanta Alumina and Bhushan Steel are yet to pay a whopping Rs 150 crore in water bills. In response to a PIL on a proposed power tariff hike by Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission,the government in an affidavit before the Orissa High Court said outstanding water dues are mounting due to a contradiction between the quantum of allotment and actual lifting of water from the reservoirs,leading to a dispute amid which the 11 units have defaulted on Rs 149.65 crore. Bhushan Steel Ltd owes Rs 15.79 crore,Nalco Rs 22.72 crore,SMC Power Generation Rs 27.54 crore,Shyam DRI Power Ltd Rs 13.37 crore and Vedanta Aluminium Rs 10.43 crore. HC pre-empts fee hike An order by the Orissa High Court has kept parents hopeful that they need not pay higher fees for children in private schools. A division bench last week rejected four petitions filed by the states DAV schools challenging an earlier decision by a single-judge bench that there should not be any fee hike by any private school arbitrarily. The bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra termed the petitions devoid of any merit and upheld the June 23,2011,decision by Justice M M Das. The court had ruled that all private schools come under the Orissa Education Act and must abide by the Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009. The court had directed the state government to form a monitoring committee. Bend it like Sasmita The captain of the Indian womens football team is once again from Orissa. Sasmita Mallick,who has just been elevated to the hot seat,follows in the footsteps of Shraddhanjali Samantray who was the first Oriya player to lead the national team. Mallick,who started playing football at age 11,is a key striker in the Indian team. In the December 2010 South Asian Football Federation womens championships in Bangladesh,Mallick alone had scored seven goals as India drubbed Bhutan 18-0. Like most women footballers from Orissa,Mallick too hails from the coastal district of Kendrapara. Football has always been my first love and I used to play a lot of local tournaments in Bhubaneswar, she says.
