Jagdev -"the conqueror"

Rourkela: Life in the Sundargarh district was severely affected due to the two-day strike called by 11 central trade unions against the anti-people policies of the UPA government at the Centre. Passengers were stranded at many places as vehicles, including private ones, remained off roads and train services were slightly affected here. With all banking unions joining the strike, banking services were completely crippled in the district as well as in Rourkela. Business at the few shops which did remain open was dull. Attendance at government offices, schools and colleges was thin. Work in the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) remained unaffected despite the 48-hour Bharat Bandh call by all central trade unions including Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and other workers’ federations of the Steel City here today which passed off peacefully. While all contractual workers of the RSP joined the strike, the work inside the plant was normal due to the presence of regular empl

Rourkela: Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) along with other central trade unions such as INTUC, HMS, AITUC, AIUTUC, BMS, AICCTU and CCUA are fully prepared to observe two-day nation-wide strike from tomorrow in protest against a host of issue including spiraling prices, inflation, petrol and diesel price hike. Leaders of different trade union appealed to other unions to join the strike for its success in the district, state and the country. To make the 48-hours strike a success, eleven national trade unions, employees’ and workers’ federations of Bank, insurance, Dock, Port, Airport and other sector, etc., will join the strike, informed Bishnu Mohanty, State General Secretary, CITU adding, after independence this is the first strike call in our country for long forty eight hours. The trade union leaders charged that Central government has left common people to reel under poverty and hunger shares in profit-making PSUs are being sold. The bandh is meant to prot

Rourkela: The Engineering Shops collective of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has developed a 60 Tonne LD converter vessel of Steel Melting Shop-I (SMS-I) and its associated Trunion ring using in-house expertise. The LD vessel is a fabricated structure of 5 meter diameter and 7.5 meter height with three segments namely Bottom Spherical with shoe, Middle Cylindrical and Top spherical with cone. All the three segments of LD vessel except bottom were fabricated in the Structural Shop separately and assembled together to form the LD vessel. Through effective planning and implementation, the Shops collective succeeded in salvaging a major portion of the new vessel from the old LD vessel. The market cost of procurement of the portion would have been around Rs. 50 lakh. The technology for developing such a critical item was developed in-house and implemented effectively. The welding procedures were chalked out and consumables were selected carefully considering the critical nature

Rourkela: National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, has bagged two awards- National Education Leadership Award and Out-standing Engineering Institute in the Eastern zone Award which made this institute in adding two more coveted awards to its cap in recognition of its leadership, development, marketing and Institute-and-industry interface.  NIT director Prof. Sunil Sarangi was honoured with National Education Leadership Award and NIT Rourkela awarded with the outstanding Engineering Institute in the Eastern zone. The award ceremony was held on February 16 this month at Hotel Taj Lands End, Mumbai.  The awards were chosen by an independent jury and a panel of professionals. Prof. Sarangi was happy for the coveted awards for the institute. T he award constituted by World Education Congress and B-School Affairs were presented by ET-Now. The two awards were received by R K Sinha, Secretary, Public Relation of NIT, Rourkela on behalf of the director and the Institute

Rourkela: “Talent is not limited to any particular section of the society. It needs to be identified and nurtured,” said G S Prasad, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) while addressing the annual day and prize distribution ceremony of Deepika Ispat Sikshya Sadan (DISS) at Civic Centre here yesterday. Prasad added that RSP has set up the school with an aim of providing quality education for free to underprivileged students of the Steel City. “We are adding new classes and facilities to the school on a continuous basis. I am glad to see the students of this school excel in various fields of endeavour and I am confident more students shall carve a niche for themselves in the society,” he observed. The RSP CEO was all praise for members of Deepika Mahila Sanghati for their efforts in improving performance of the school. He said, “The governing body members have actively contributed towards development of the school and their efforts are praiseworthy.”

Rourkela: A team of social activists is going to organize the 6th Annual Free Mega Medical Camp at Pantha Nivas at Sector-5 in the city here from February 23 of this month. The two-day camp would be inaugurated by Dr. S K Mishra, Director in-charge, Ispat General Hospital (IGH) while ADM Rourkela Rabindranath Mishra will be the chief guest on the occasion, social activist Raghu Bal told reporters here today. Super specialist doctors from Kalinga Hospital, Bhubaneswar and eminent doctors of various branches such as Neurosurgery, Neurologist, CTVS, Cardiologist, Nephrologists, Joint Replacement, Oncosurgery, physician and Cosmetic surgery will attend the camp. Last year as many as 1071 patients were recorded. More than 1200 patients are expected to turn up at the camp for check-up this year due to more number of doctors totals to 12. It is better for all patients to come with their old medical check-up reports/records so as to ease for these doctors to look after and in g

NIT Rourkela (Indian) students staged dharna  in front of college main gate Rourkela: Situation at the campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) is limping back to normalcy after remaining tense for the last two days in the wake of a clash between two groups of Indian and Afghanistan students on February 9. A team from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi today held discussion with the NIT authorities and representatives of both the Afghan and Indian students and took stock of the situation, informed Santosh Upadhyay, Registrar, NIT. He also informed that as on today, things are normal and classes of various courses are being held smoothly. According to the Director of NIT, Sunil Sarangi, the Indian students claimed that they were innocent and requested him to expel the accused Afghan students. Sarangi also said that the Afghan students will not be brought back to the college hostel till normalcy is restored. All the 23 Afghan stud

Rourkela: The Odisha Government today decided to provide financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 each to one lakh women self-help groups (SHGs) during 2013-14 fiscal under Mission Shakti to make them more self-reliant. A decision to this effect was taken at a high level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. The women SHGs working in rural and urban areas will be eligible for the assistance while 10 lakh women in the State will be benefited. As per the eligibility criteria specified by the Government, SHGs functioning for more than three years and with a saving of at least Rs. 5000 in their savings bank account can avail the assistance under the scheme. These SHGs will utilize the assistance by purchasing improved equipment for agriculture work and improved chullah for their household works. The accumulated time saved by the women can be productively used to learn skills that help generate additional income and sa

Ramendra Kumar at the World Book Fair-2013 in New Delhi Rourkela: Ramendra Kumar, Deputy General Manager (PR) & Chief of Communications, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) made a significant mark at the World Book Fair-2013, held in New Delhi from February 4 to 10. One of his books titled “Boond” was released by Vineet Joshi, Chairman, CBSE, during the inaugural function on February 4 while two more books – “The Royal Sweeper” and “We’re Different”- were also launched during the Book Fair. All the three books have been published by National Book Trust (NBT), India. On February 4, Kumar chaired a panel discussion on the theme “Role of Parents in Promotion of Pleasure Reading.” The next day he was invited to lead a participative session of writers and illustrators with NBT Chairman A Sethumadhavan. He participated in the “Meet the Author” programme on February 6. The highlight of this interaction was storytelling and experience sharing by the author peppered with querie

Rourkela:   The just concluded 20th edition of Rourkela Book Fair-2013 at Bhanja Bhawan ground yesterday recorded business turnover to the tune of Rs. 2 crore. “The fair received very good response over the weekend. On Sunday, the fair witnessed over 10,000 footfalls,” said general secretary of Rourkela Book Fair, Gopinath Pattnaik. Thousands of visitors thronged from in and around Rourkela in these 10-days book fair, organized by Adarsha Pathagar, Rourkela. Pattnaik said this time the fair has made turnover of Rs. 2 crore. Business turnover is due to increase of more days and stalls this time in the book fair here. This year we had put 113 numbers of stalls as against 102 last year. Till 19th edition we had eight days duration to exhibit this event. But from this year edition we had 10 days duration and it will continue with same days after this year, informed Pattnaik. As many as 113 publishers and book stores from across the country had participated in the fair. The p

Rourkela: Indira Gandhi Park in the Steel City turned into a veritable paradise with hundreds of varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables on display at the 47th annual Horticulture Show, organized by the Horticulture wing of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) on February 10, 2013. Thousands of visitors thronged the show and devoured the beauty and splendor of nature. Inaugurating the show, G S Prasad, CEO, RSP said, “Rourkela is the greenest and the most beautiful of all steel cities and we should be proud of this fact.” He hoped that the Rourkelites’ love for gardens, greenery and flowers would be further enhanced in the days to come and the show would be one of the largest and the most attractive shows in the eastern region. More than 41.5 lakh trees, planted in the township and steel plant, have not only added to the beauty of the city but also helped in improving the environment of the area, the CEO said while highlighting the “Aamara Bagicha” scheme introduced in RSP f

Rourkela: At least six students, including four from Afghanistan, were injured in a clash between two groups of students at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela during the annual cultural extravaganza on February 9, 2013 late night, police said . According to Superintendent of Police, Rourkela Amitendra Nath Sinha, the untoward incident occurred late in the night over hiring of an auto rickshaw when two groups inside the NIT campus hurled objectionable words against one another. This led to clash leaving four Afghan students and two Indians injured. “On being tipped off, a police team rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The situation is normal now. We have beefed up security for the Afghan students who were injured and for the rest” added Sinha while briefing about the incident to newsmen at Rourkela police headquarters. “The situation is normal now. The Afghanistan students are being provided security by the police as they are minorit

Rourkela:  As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, NTPC-SAIL Power Corporation Limited (NSPCL), Rourkela, organised a training programme on 'Personality Development' for ITI students residing in peripheral areas of city. The month-long programme had started in November, 2012 and was conducted by Anjana Moitra. As many as 115 students of different trades from several Industrial Training Centres such as Indira Memorial ITC, Jhirpani, Ambedkar Memorial ITC, Jagda, Koel ITC, Jagda, Ispat ITC, Dalposh, Chinmaya Technical Academy and Fertiliser Township took part in the training programme. Yogendra Singh, GM & BUH, NSPCL, Rourkela, distributed certificates of merit to students at a function held at Ambedkar Memorial ITC, Jagda yesterday in presence of students, staff of Ambedkar Memorial ITC and senior employees of NSPCL.

Rourkela: An online filter machine for the 33 KV transformers at the R2 stand of Hot Strip Mill (HSM) was inaugurated by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) G S Prasad today. D Basu, ED (P&A), R K Nehru, ED (MM) and V Sankaranarayanan, GM Incharge (Services), Acting ED (Works) and many senior officers and employees of the concerned departments were present during the inauguration. VS-06, which is an online filter machine employing latest technology, is expected to enhance the life of the transformers by reducing moisture content even from solid insulations inside transformers. The online filter machine can be installed and operated without the transformer taking a shutdown. Besides, it has facilities to measure moisture level inside the transformer. The mechanism works in such a manner that the oil being used as the coolant does not lose its chemical properties during filtration. The online filter machine, installed for the first time in

Rourkela: People living in the scheduled areas of the State have some reason to cheer as the Odisha Government has decided to introduce Rural Transport Minibus scheme in the hilly terrain areas of the undivided KBK districts and other scheduled areas of the State. The Commerce and Transport Department has decided to launch the scheme in the next fiscal while the Council of Ministers’ meeting on finalization of budget has approved the scheme that would be announced by the Finance Minister in the budget session of the State Assembly beginning from February 14. The Government has targeted to run 1000 mini buses in 108 scheduled blocks of the State. “While the mini buses will be purchased by individual or corporate houses, the government will reimburse five per cent interest for availing loan to purchase the buses. While the banks are getting 12 per cent interest for providing mini buses in loan, the bus owner will have to pay seven per cent interest,” said a senior officia

Rourkela:   The 5th Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committees (RPDAC) meeting of Sundargarh district was held today at Rourkela Development Authority (RDA) conference hall here under the chairmanship of Dr. Alekh Chandra Padhiary, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC- Northern Division) in the presence of officials of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and Sundargarh district. The meeting had a major discussion on RSP and Mandira Dam projects having eight-charted points such as periphery development by RSP including policy for utilization of periphery development fund, Issues pertaining to rehabilitation of displaced persons (employment, relaxation of probation period, forged cases of employment in RSP, rehabilitation of displaced persons other than employment), issues relating to Mandira Dam Project (MDP) and land affected due to sand cast in water logged area, left-out acquired khatas related to MDP and RSP, enhancement of scholarship, regularization of reclamat

Rourkela: A history-sheeter belonging to Pahari Chita, a dreaded criminal gang of neighbouring Jharkhand, was shot dead and another member of the gang was arrested during an encounter with the police inside Ambapani forest near Badagaon in Sundargarh district today. According to Sanjiv Arora, Superitendent of Police, Sundargarh, acting on a tip-off about the presence of the gang members inside the forest, a police team led by IIC Badagaon and IIC Kutra along with District Voluntary Force (DVF) members today raided the forest at around 10.30 am today. “On seeing the police team, the gang members fired at our personnel who immediately retaliated. In the exchange of fire one of the gang members was shot dead. The deceased has been identified as Deepak Sahu alias Dipu Tiger who carried a reward on his head. Besides, another member of the gang identified as Bandan Nayak was also arrested”, informed Arora. Police seized one automated carbine, a pistol, and 12 rounds of live c

Rourkela: In protest against several anti-people policies of both State and Central government, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has called for a two-day, all India strike beginning from February 20. A number of other various trade unions of the country will participate in the nation-wide strike. Addressing a meeting here today, State General Secretary of CITU, Bishnu Mohanty lambasted the Congress led UPA-II government for price rise of different commodities, FDI in retail, hike in railway fare, and the anti-people labour Act. During the strike, CITU will press for raising minimum wages for workers to Rs. 10,000, equal wages, social security for worker in the unauthorized sector, pension for all, ESI, gratuity and other benefits for workers, said Mohanty. Mohanty announced the agitation plan at a meeting held at Bisra Chowk, where he flagged off ‘Jatha’, a vehicle, to highlight issues affecting the common man. The vehicle is wrapped with slogans, banners and m

Rourkela: Even as the government is emphasizing urban governance, Centre for Environment and Development (CED), Eastern Regional Centre, Cuttack, organized a two-day workshop on capacity building for councilors and staff of Rourkela Municipality (RM) at Pantha Nivas here today. CED in collaboration with state’s Housing and Urban Development Department, and Union Ministry of Urban Development has taken up comprehensive capacity development programme for the elected representatives, senior officers, and implementing officers of municipal corporations and municipalities in Class-I cities of Odisha and other states. Similar programmes in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Kerela by CED are at different stages of progress. Besides training, members of CED also included few innovative modules such as urban governance and management, urban reforms framework, JNNURM, resource mobilization/budgeting/finance management, gender equity and role of women in urban governance, protecti