M’nadi water share: No sync between C’garh, Odisha
The Kalma barrage continues to be a bone of contention with neighbouring Chhattisgarh opening 46 gates in a bid to prevent flooding in the upstream of the reservoir. Both the States were locked in a battle recently over non-release of water from the barrage by the Chhattisgarh Government. Water Resources Secretary PK Jena said the Chhattisgarh Government has not shared information with Odisha on releasing water from the Kalma barrage although a decision on sharing information on release of water was taken at a meeting in May. Under the circumstances, if flow of water into the Hirakud Dam depends on the whims of the Chhattisgarh Government, then the action calls for reworking of the rule curves. The unilateral action not only makes the Hirakud Dam vulnerable but also threatens flooding of areas downstream at a later stage. The Hirakud Dam has enough space to accommodate the rain water before achieving the Full Storage level (FSl) of 630 feet. Water level of the dam stands at 598.37 feet now. The Odisha Government has moved the Supreme Court over the decision of Chhattisgarh to construct the barrage and refusing to release water during non-monsoon period affecting livelihood and agriculture. With the onset of the monsoon in full swing, the water sharing row is likely to continue for long. There is an urgent need for setting up a real time data sharing mechanism, improving and restructuring the flow reading stations and synchronizing rule curves of all the dams that are potential threats to Hirakud’s flood control measures, convener of Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) Ranjan Panda says, adding that the Water Commission should intervene in the matter.
let State Govt learn from Jagannath culture
lord Jagannath is the embodiment of a sublime culture and PhD scholars have immensely benefited from the lord of the universe who is believed to behave as human being on earth and the servitors carrying out His rituals in a routine manner from dawn to dusk in the sanctum sanctorum of the Jagannath Temple. The Car Festival of the lord on the Grand Road of Puri where His elder brother Balaram and sister Subhadra accompany Him to their aunt’s house known as ‘Gundicha’, is all about a family fete, and symblises a culture of hard work and self reliance and bonhomie. The temple affairs point to a joint family culture which gets very wide focus during the festival. They also remind us of the daily grinding of the teeming millions represented by the employees of the temple with superb managerial efficiency and governance. According to foreign tourists, the Shreemandir has the world’s largest kitchen and nobody goes hungry in the temple town on any given day of the year. Starting from early morning, the employees of the temple remain busy and visitors flock in right till late night. The lord has a specific message: “Be industrious, never crave for doles”. The Government of Odisha should learn from the unique culture of self-sufficiency and industry and refrain from approaching the Centre with a begging bowl.
Quality compromised in RSP phase-II modernisation
Restoration of production in the RSP’s Blast Furnace-V might have brought a sigh of relief for the management, but two major breakdowns in a month has shaken the confidence of the workers, the stakeholders and the well wishers of the plant. The BE-V was part of RSP’s second phase modernisation and expansion projects at a total cost of Rs 12,000 crore. The furnace has a daily production capacity of 8,000 tonnes hot metal. An explosion in the inlet pipe of stove-I on Tuesday night created large scale disruption and the furnace came to a halt. The New Plate Mill (NPM) which caters to the nitch market segment of high-end plates with daily production of 3,000 tonnes continues to face production loss from June 22 following failure of the third imported de-scaling pump. According to RSP authorities, an inquiry has been ordered into the breakdown of the both. The financial implication in terms of production loss would be a hopping Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore. Depreciation and interest serving would account for about Rs 318 crore. A consortium of global firms, including Danieli Corus and Tata Projects ltd, had built the BF-V while Danieli, Tata and Simplex were involved in construction of the NPM. The old blast furnace-IV was set up in the 1950s and there was no major breakdown till the first modernisation in 1990s. It continues to work till date and naturally a comparison is made between the two with questions whether the major breakdowns are due to use of low quality materials. It is certainly a matter of inquiry. But over and above, there is a need to set up a high level inquiry about corruption involved in Rs 12,000 crore modernisation and expansion of projects.
Balangir paddy farmers deprived of MSP
Fingers have again been pointed out to a nexus between millers and officials as reports of irregularities have come to the fore in paddy procurement in the drought prone Balangir district. A nexus in the past had created a hue and cry leading to a Crime Branch investigation in 2008. The Crime Branch submitted its report in 2013, five years after, and now the case is under trial in the court of SDJM. According to RTI activists, officers of the Crime Branch have diluted the case by forging the documents and intervention of Orissa High Court will be sought as the verdict of the local court is likely to go in favour of the administration. Be that as it may, the distress sale of rice by farmers of Balangir continues with their produce sold at Rs 1,000- Rs 1,100 per quintal against the minimum support price of Rs 1,470. There are reports that farmers are forced to go for distress sale of paddy as mandis set up by the administration were not functioning properly. Out of 158 procurement centres, around 50 procurement centers are functioning in the district while private millers are purchasing paddy from the farmers’ field directly at low price. There is a demand for immediate intervention of the State Government officials to ensure that farmers get the MSP for their produce. The CSO in turn blamed the farmers for not bringing their paddy to PACs for unknown reasons. That is the reason for paltry procurement of only 32,833 quintals so far against the target of 2,37,529 quintals through 158 PACs.