Nalco Nagar- A Paradise For Drug Peddlers?

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

The Aluminium city, Nalco Nagar, has of late become a paradise for drug peddlers. Most of the brown surgar peddlers were nabbed by police from Girang, Kandasar, Kaniabeda, Balaramprasad , Talcher and Angul which are located in close proximity to Nalco Nagar.

Latest reports said that the drug mafia from Balasore clandestinely operate their network through Dhenkanal to supply the banned drug to potential customers who are largely youngsters and belived to the wards of highly rich businessmen and high salaried employees of industrial concerns in Nalco Nagar,  Talcher and in the coal belt.

Angul, Nalco Nagar and Dhenkanal police have successfully nabbed the drug peddlers in raids and operations conducted since January this year with the seizure of nearly 300 grams of brown sugar worth over Rs 30 lakh. Police sources said the operation to nab drug peddlers will continue till the industrial regions of Angul district are flushed out of the drug mafia dealing in brown sugar. They emphasized that it has also become the moral responsibility of public at large to inform the police if they come across such suspicious elements operating in the region.

Sources said it is very difficult to determine the number of drug peddlers operating in Nalco Nagar region, Talcher and Angul as most of them engage teenagers to supply the contraband to the customers clandestinely. They said these teenagers successfully evade the watchful eyes of police and successfully carry out the operation. The seizure of brown sugar might be the tip of the iceberg if one has to go by the vast network the drug mafia have successfully spread out in Angul-Talcher industrial region, the sources reasoned.           

Rising Temperature In Winter To Accelerate Forest Fire In Angul District?

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

Rapid industrialization,denudation of natural forest,forest fire and above all climate change have become responsible for excessive rise in temperature in Angul district during winter. There is a remarkable increase in day temperature since January with the mercury hovering between 31 degree celcius to 33 throwing the day to day life of people of this industrial district out of gear.

While a number of Sal forests in Talcher and Pallahara are in the grip of massive fire, forest officials and nature lovers working for various wildlife organizations did not rule out bush fire which might be dangerous for village forests protected by people. Reports said increase in temperature due to scorching sun might be damaging for flora and fauna in Angul district which houses Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary and other natural reserved forests.

Forest officials in Bantala, Purunakote and Pampasara said they have been keeping a close watch on the forest pockets which are vulnerable to forest fire but added that villagers living near these areas must not shy away from their responsibility of dousing the conflagration when spotted. They said they must immediately inform the corncerned Watchers and forest staff on fire incidents which are very common in dry season. We have been undertaking regular patrolling and this practice will continue till excessive heat and dry season is prevalent, the officials added.

Social activists working in community based forest organizations alleged that the concerned department seemed to be taking no concrete step to put an end to elephant-man conflict nor worried about the forest fire which may destroy the ecosystem.      

         

More Deaths Likely As Angul Wildlife Wing Fails To Tackle Jumbo Attack

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

Forest officials in Angul Division have been blamed for mishandling the Elephant-Man conflict issue that resulted in the death of four persons recently at Garh Santry, Chheliapada, Angarabandha and Barasinga.

The officials incurred the wrath of people in the above mentioned villages in Angul district who squarely blamed the forest staff of wildlife wing that lacked expertise to handle the situation. The forest staff relies heavily on bursting crackers to drive away the pachyderms to their habitat, the villagers said and alleged that they do not know how to drive away the marauding jumbos to forest nor managing the vast crowd that gather and irritate the wild animals during the operation.

Wildlife activist P K Behera alleged that subordinate staff who are not trained to drive away the elephants to the habitat are engaged 24X7, but this exercise has not become fruitful. Behera said the forest department should use the services of experts who can guide the staff engaged in the operation. He said driving away the elephants to the habitat is a technical issue and added that it is a branch of study which deals with the behaviourial trends of the wild animals.

The killer jumbo has been roaming different regions of Angul and Dhenkanal districts and nobody knows when it will trample people on the way at night and in the wee hours. As there is no advisory from the local forest or wildlife wings, people are living in a state of panic. They are not sure when the disaster will befall on them.     

Angul Forest Staff Lack Expertise To Confine Jumbos To Habitat

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

Lack of a foolproof measures by Angul forest division to tackle the Elephant-Man conflict has acquired serious proportions as herds of pachyderms have wreaked havoc in Bantala forest range and other semi-urban and urban localities in the district.

The forest staff, who seemed to have little expertise in driving away the wild animals to their habitat, largely rely on bursting of crackers to frighten them. However, such an effort has failed to bear result as the panicky jumbos go on a rampage to devastating agriculture fields, vegetation and human habitation in the region.

The wild elephants have now targeted most parts of Bantala forest range and mostly semi-urban areas where people never witnessed marauding jumbos threatening human life. In the past several days, tuskers are found roaming the streets, vegetable and paddy fields in Bantala areas. People were alarmed to see that herds of pachyderms seen roaming the busy streets and lanes of different regions of Bantala region creating a fear psychosis among the people.

Frequent power outages in most parts of Bantala forest range areas at night have further worsened the situation as children and elderly persons live in a state of panic fearing disaster.

The forest officials and local people of Bantala, Shaharagoda, Sabalabhanga, Balasingha and other parts of the region have been trying to drive away the jumbos to their habitat, but they have not been successful in their endeavour.

They have been bursting crackers throughout the day and night to frighten the pachyderms and force them to head for their habitat, but the endeavour has so far not been successful.

Local farmers alleged that their paddy and vegetable fields were devastated by the elephant herd. They said nearly 30 elephants headed by tuskers go on a rampage in the night till the day breaks. The wild animals stay in herds inside village forest and near big ponds in the day and descend on vegetation fields as night falls, the farmers in Shaharagoda said and added that only God can save them from the disaster.

Former President, Angul District Krushak Morcha, Saroj Sahu has criticized the way the elephant menace is being handled and said it is high time that the forest officials of Angul Forest Division and Wildlife Wing must work in unison to chalk out a solid measure to keep the elephants inside their habitat. Sahu said famers of Angul district particularly in Bantala, Banarpal, Garh Santry and other regions have bore the brunt of elephant menace and added that the reserved forest areas must be protected with solar fencing to discourage exodus of jumbos to urban localities.

Environmental activists and nature lovers of Angul district opined that the Elephant-Man conflict is on the rise in Angul Forest Division and the frequency increases during harvesting period in the district. Therefore, the forest department must take concrete measures to put a halt to this practice. It is the responsibility the forest officials of Angul wildlife division to provide relief to the agrarian sector of the district by confining the jumbos to the jungle and discourage the wild animals from roaming the urban areas and streets jeopardizing the lives of people, they reasoned.   

Duped For 18 Years: Sahara Staff, Agents Harass Ex-serviceman in Angul

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

The staff of local branch of Sahara India and its agents at Angul in Odisha have been allegedly harassing an ex-serviceman for over 18 years.

Durga Charan Dehury, s/o late Paramananda Dehury, who belongs to Bantala, has alleged that he had deposited Rs 10000 in a policy with Sahara in 2004, but yet to get back the sum with interest from the local branch even after 18 years of maturity.

Dehury said he had deposited a sum of Rs 10000 with Sahara through Shankarshan Dwivedy in 2004 who was then working as an agent of Sahara India in the local branch of Angul. After the maturity of the said deposit, when he approached Dwivedy to get the refund of the deposited sum with interest, Dwivedy instead advised him to reinvest the sum in a fresh policy saying that Sahara was passing through a bad time and he might get back the sum immediately.

The ex-serviceman further alleged that: 'Shankarshan Dwivedy had promised him that he will take necessary steps to get the deposited money with interest after the expiry of the fresh policy and assured him not be worried over the matter. When he again approached Dwivedy after the maturity of the policy, the latter said he was no longer working with Sahara company as an agent and advised him to consult another agent on the matter who will be able to guide him better in this connection.'

The ex-serviceman said after being duped by him, he approached another agent of Sahara who advised him to reinvest the sum in another policy and assured him that he will get the refund with interest after the maturity.

'But, one year has passed by since maturity of the policy. Neither the agent nor the staff of Sahara in Angul come forward to cooperate with him to get back the money with interest', Dehury alleged and said he has been running from pillar to post for over 18 years to get back money, but none cares. 

PTC To Maintain Healthy Relationship Between Parents, Teachers: JNV Principal

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

The Parents Teachers Committee (PTC) is an interactive forum with the motto to build a healthy relationship between parents, teachers and students as well, Angul Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Principal  Arati Pattanayak said.

Addressing the first ever PTC meeting after the Covid pandemic at JNV campus in Champatimunda in Angul district, Ms Pattanayak said this' forum is not meant for blaming each other and go on a  complaining spree but giving valuable suggestions for the wellbeing of inmates for boosting their intellectual growth.

Worthwhile to mention here that parents have been demanding the formation of such a PTC meet since a year and the authorities were delaying it for reasons best known to them. The latest PTC meet has brought cheers among the parents and they have become thankful to the management that the two-way communicative forum would be helpful for their wards in JNV.

Pattanayak said she will do her utmost for academic excellence at Angul JNV, but feared that ' there might be a shortage of teaching staff in the coming days and more and more teachers will be recruited on contractual basis '. She, however, allayed the apprehension that the study atmosphere will not suffer due such a problem and the science faculty is being expanded.

Librarian  Bibhuti Ranjan Mishra dwelt upon the motto and the spirit behind the formation of PTC and said misconceptions still exist in the minds of parents as well as their wards in the relatively interior regions of Angul district about JNV admission, eligibility and selection test. The PTC members must come forward to address these issues and educate and aware parents, wards on this score, Mishra said and added that they have equally important role to play on maintaining socio-economic data of parents, counselling of students, healthcare and other activities of JNV.

While Sudiptarani Biswal introduced the guests to the audience, P K Das (Maths) brought home the basic tenets of parents-teachers interaction that augurs well for its success . S K Behera(Odia TGT) proposed the vote of thanks. The PTC meet also selected new members for the session. A large number of parents and guardians had attended the meet.

Angul Senior Citizens Urge District Administration To Provide Amenities Under Act

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

Angul Anchalika Baristha Nagarika Manch has urged the State, Centre and the district administration to provide senior citizens of the district with all the amenities as per the Senior Citizens' Act.

In a memorandum submitted to the District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and the Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena recently, the office bearers of the Manch have further demanded that in view of growing number of senior citizens in Angul district, the administration must take immediate steps to allot suitable land for construction of office and shelters for senior citizens in accordance with the Act. The administration should come forward to implement the Act in its letter and spirit, they added.

The memorandum also demanded issuance of identity cards by the police as done earlier and urged the district administration to carry on the process regularly to identify senior citizens of the district and mitigate their grievances in accordance with the Senior Citizens' Act. District health wing and the district administration should work in cohesion to issue Unique Health Cards to the senior citizens, the memorandum said.  

President of the Baristha Nagarika Manch Subas Chandra Sahu came down heavily on district administration which has failed to implement the Senior Citizens' Act in the district in its true spirit. He criticized the manner in which the district administration was dealing with the issues relating to the senior citizens of the industrial district of Odisha.

Sahu said:' The Manch has been demanding a suitable plot for construction of office and other infrastructure for the senior citizens of the district, but the district administration has paid a deaf ear to their demand. The motive behind district administration's silence suggest that it has a different agenda altogether.'

The Angul district administration has been constantly relegating the issues confronted by the senior citizens to the background, Sahu alleged and added that the administration did not even care to observe the Senior Citizens' Day.

The Naveen and Modi dispensations at State and Centre are adept in playing different cards during election to stay in power, he said and added that this might be another strategy to woo senior citizens by doling out false promises. Sahu, however, added that the senior citizens have the acumen to understand that only by promising them the moon and not showing sincerity to implement the Senior Citizens' Act in its letter and spirit would not be helpful either for the State or the Centre to get political mileage.

Secretary of Manch Krushna Nanda, Sushil Kumar Patnaik, Madan Mohan Patnaik, Prashant Das, Kumara Muduli and Ramesh Sahu were present during submission of memorandum to District Collector and SP.