Addressing the inaugural ceremony, SSEPD Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said majority of AwDs face considerable challenges, when it comes to identifying and nurturing their creative expressions in current special school education settings due to several infrastructural and attitudinal barriers.

Nurturing creative expressions can lead to the development of hobbies, which, with, sustained effort and dedication, can evolve into specific hobbies. These improved skills may eventually become the foundation for a fulfilling career, said the Minister.

The workshop aimed at developing guidelines of identifying, nurturing and integrating creative expressions in the special schools towards achieving larger objectives of 5T transformation of special schools under the SSEPD Department.

Principal Secretary to Government, SSEPD Department Bishnupada Sethi, Special Secretary Dillip K. Ray and State Head of UNFPA, Odisha Nadeem Noor and other participants deliberated on the issue. Representatives of about 90 NGOs managing the special schools were present in workshop.

The Jharsuguda airport authorities shared the schedule of the new airline being introduced on these routes on its official X handle.

Advance booking of tickets for the flights commenced on Thursday.

IndiGo also made an official announcement about its 84th domestic station.

This comes amid reports that Alliance Air may stop operations to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata from Jharsuguda from October 29 due to a fall in flight occupancy.

The Odisha Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today gave its nod to Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) to boost public transport network from the gram panchayat level to the State capital, said Chief Secretary PK Jena.

The new scheme will ensure sustainable, affordable, assured and safe transportation of passengers and commodities across Odisha, added the Chief Secretary.

Under LAccMI scheme, bus network planning will be undertaken in a hierarchical manner:

• Block Connectivity facilitating bus communication between gram panchayats and their respective block headquarters.
• District Connectivity facilitating bus communication between block headquarters and their respective district headquarters.
• Jagannath Express connecting district headquarters with Bhubaneswar or Puri via the state capital.
• LAccMI Express providing connectivity between district headquarters and major cities in Odisha.

The project cost has been estimated to be Rs.3,178 crore for the first three years of the bus operation (from 2023-24 to 2025-26). The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner, said the Chief Secretary.

“Around 1,000 buses would be deployed under LAccMI scheme. The tenure of the scheme would be for 10 years. It can be extended for two more years,” he added.

The Odisha Cabinet led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today gave its approval to Silicon University, Odisha Bill, 2023 and NIST University, Odisha Bill, 2023, said an official of the Skill Development department.

The two Bills propose upgradation of Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar and NIST in Berhampur into two self-financed, private and non-affiliating unitary universities, said the official.

After upgradation, the two institutes will be known as Silicon University and NIST University, added the official.

The two new private universities will be able to disseminate knowledge by providing academic and research facilities in such branches of learning which include Engineering & Technology and Management as per the norms and standards of courses or programmes prescribed by different regulatory bodies, he said.

“This upgradation will open doors for sharing of experiences and taking up of collaborative ventures for higher learning and research with other universities in the state, country and overseas,” added the official.

“The department is seeking active participation of citizens for enforcement of road safety measures through sentinel application developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC),” said an official of the State Transport Authority (STA) today.

According to the STA, the ‘No Helmet Violation’ in the Citizen Sentinel option can be registered by uploading live video and image.

One needs to capture incidents of helmetless driving (photo as well as video) on their smart phones and upload the same onto the application. The STA will issue e-challans in this regard after thorough verification, said the official.

As per the data, around 34 per cent road accident deaths in Odisha in 2022 were related to two-wheelers. As many as 1,695 people lost their lives and 2,615 others sustained injuries due to helmetless driving in Odisha last year, sources said.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility. To begin with, we are seeking help of citizens to keep check on those who ride without helmet. In future, other traffic violations will be added in the Citizen Sentinel option. Due to continuous enforcement activities, people are using helmets in the urban areas but avoiding the same in rural areas and highways where protection is much more needed,” said Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety and Enforcement) Lalmohan Sethi.

The pillion riders rarely wear helmets even though it is mandatory for them to do so, added Sethi.

“Citizens can upload photos and videos of both rider as well as pillion rider for riding without helmet. While clicking photographs and videos, the citizens should ensure that the violation as well as vehicle number is clearly captured in the photograph and video. Location, date and time of the violation will be automatically captured from live images and videos uploaded. Identity of any person reporting traffic rules violations will not be disclosed,” Sethi said.

Led by Dr Ashutosh Biswas, executive director of the institute, the faculty, medical, nursing, and paramedical students came together to mark this special occasion in a unique manner.

A highlight of the event was the captivating Rangoli artwork featuring the iconic Rover and Pragyan, intricately crafted by the students of AIIMS. A meticulously designed model of the moon mission, placed strategically at two locations within AIIMS, captured the attention of both students and the general public.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Biswas emphasised the significance of technology and its potential to position the youth as global leaders. “With the help of technology, the youth of the country can lead India to be the prime driving force in the world. The Prime Minister has always inspired us to harness technology for comprehensive development,” he said.

He also encouraged AIIMS students to come forward with fresh ideas and innovations for betterment of society.

As he shared from leaves of his inspirational autobiography – Ajira Dina Mora, Kulange narrated his story of triumph to pass the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.

Stories of people overcoming adversity resonate with something deep within us. The parts of us that hope our future is not determined by destiny but by our hard work. One such incredible story of resilience and inspiration belongs to Kulange.

Born in the tiny village of Ralegan in Maharashtra’s Ahmadnagar district to a father who worked as a tailor and a mother who worked as a daily wage worker on farms, Kulange grew up seeing his parents toil all day long to make both ends meet. Earning just about Rs 200 a day, his parents were constantly worried about providing their children with two square meals a day. Money was always scarce, and even bare necessities were unimaginable. He could not take admission in medical college for financial reasons. He started out as a primary school teacher but persevered and got through the IAS in the first attempt.

The Odia autobiography book is the translated version of ‘Ajcha Diwas Maza’ written in Marathi. An inspirational journey from a school teacher to IAS officer, the book depicts Kulange’s struggles and successes in his life. He has mentioned how he turned the difficulties and challenges into opportunities.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that apart from fulfilling the communication needs, these new bridges will help in the socio-economic development in the district, a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Wednesday.

It may be noted here that on the instruction of the Chief Minister, 5T Secretary V K Pandian visited Bargarh district in June and reviewed various development programmes and met common people and heard their grievances.

He informed Naveen about the requests made by the people at various places. The Chief Minister then sanctioned Rs 39 crore for the construction of three large bridges in Bargarh district for the benefit of the people.

Among the three sanctioned bridges, there is a major bridge at Barpali. It will be constructed over the Zealot canal of Barpali. An expenditure of Rs 15 crore will be incurred on this 120-meter-long bridge. It will connect Bargarh and Barpali block headquarters and provide communication facility to the district headquarters. This will benefit about 2.25 lakh people.

Similarly, Rs 12 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of a 60 meter long bridge over the Aagan canal Bargarh municipal area. It will connect Parpali and Bheden block headquarters with Bargarh district headquarters. This will benefit 2.50 lakh people.

Another bridge will be built on a Sarala canal. Rs 12 crore has been sanctioned for this 150-meter-long bridge. It will connect Bhatli with Bargarh and Attabira block headquarters. This will benefit 2.50 lakh

The facility will be available at 50-plus locations across the country. The economy meals will be provided only near GS coaches at platforms of selected stations for the benefit of General class passengers, informed the Indian Railways.

By paying Rs 20, a passenger will get seven Puris, dry curry and pickle. Similarly, one can get snack meals like Chole-rice, Khichdi, Pav Bhaji or Masala Dosa at Rs 50.

A 200 ml drinking water bottle will cost only Rs 3 for the passengers, who have expressed satisfaction over the new arrangement.

At present, economy meals are available at several stations including Jaipur, Mathura, Kharagpur, Katihar, Dhanbad, Rewari, Bilaspur, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Rajkot, Mumbai Central, and Rourkela among others.

In the third phase of 2022 crop year, a 25 per cent bonus will be given to 7.75 lakh kendu leaf pluckers and a 5 per cent incentive to 40,000 kendu leaf binders and temporary workers. Thus, a total amount of Rs 56.23 crore will be given to the kendu leaf workers.

For the 2022 crop year, in the first phase, Rs 1,000 was given to each kendu leaf plucker, and Rs 1500 was given to each kendu leaf binder and temporary workers, thus Rs 83.34 crore of financial assistance was provided.

Similarly, in the second phase, Rs 1000 was given to 7.75 lakh kendu leaf pluckers. This apart, Rs 2000 for water bottles and Rs 160 for chappals were given to each kendu leaf plucker. During this phase, 40,000 kendu leaf binders and temporary workers were given Rs 15,000 each, totaling Rs 111.21 crore.

The total amount of assistance given to the kendu leaf pluckers and binders for the year 2022 including bonus, incentive amount, and financial assistance will be Rs 250.78 crore. That is an all-time record in a single crop year.

It is worth noting that for the years 2021 and 2022, kendu leaf pluckers were given a bonus and assistance of Rs 118.83 crore.

For the crop year 2022, 11 per cent additional assistance amount is being given to the beneficiaries of kendu leaf pluckers compared to the amount in 2021.

The beneficiaries mainly belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. This financial assistance will be very helpful in improving their standard of living.