BJD on an anti-Centre padyatra again

Seething from the Centres green blows on Posco and Vedanta projects,the Biju Janata Dal BJD would now go for a second padayatra.

Seething from the Centres green blows on Posco and Vedanta projects,the Biju Janata Dal BJD would now go for a second padayatra between November 9 and December 26. The party,which got a tepid response from its anti-Centre padyatras and rallies in past two months,is undeterred. The padayatra would culminate at a mahasamavesh,to be held on December 26,the BJDs foundation day. The partys Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra said the BJD would go to the people in every nook and corner of the state and would apprise them about the Congress-led UPA governments apathy towards Orissa. While a massive rally would be held at Bhubaneswar on December 26,it would further its anti-Centre campaign next year as well. Mohapatra said two campaigns would be held between November 9 to June 26,2011 and July 1,2011 to December 20.

The sari state of affairs

The school and Mass Education Department these days is busy finalising the colour of sari that the women teachers need to wear. School and Mass Education Department Secretary Aparajita Sarangi in August this year issued a diktat that male teachers would wear black pants and sky blue shirts while the women teachers would wear pink saris and black blouses. Sarangi reasoned that uniforms for schoolteachers would reduce teacher absenteeism as well as bring in uniformity in schools. But no sooner did the schoolteachers started obeying the Secretarys order,School and Mass Education Minister Pratap Jena sent a separate proposal to the state government to replace the existing pink saris with beige ones sporting navy blue border.

Cyclone Communication

It was the communication lines that failed the state in the critical hours of 1999 super cyclone. The then chief minister Giridhar Gamangs phone lines went dead leaving Orissa incommunicado for several hours. Though 10 years late,the government has launched a pilot project for communication hubs in cyclone shelters for disaster management in the state. The project,Sambhab,launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the 11th anniversary of the 1999 super cyclone,would be a two-way communication system. The project would ensure that each cyclone shelter is provided with a communication system which would be linked to emergency operation centres. The state has 200 cyclone shelters.

First in fashion

Orissa may be infamous for its abject poverty,but a few like Pritam Panda are ensuring that the state is known for better things. The young fashion designer from coastal district of Balasore has been nominated for the prestigious World Chopard Young Entrepreneur Award WCYEA 2010. The award would be announced today in Dubai. Panda is the first from the state and the youngest from the country to be nominated for the WCYEA. Other nominees include Deso Imac of the United Kingdom,Adrinia Phillus of China,Jack Posn of Finland. The creations of Panda are now part of shows in Paris,the Mecca of fashion designers.