Bhubaneswar News:Wilderness Still Eludes Wild Tiger

After staying for almost eight months in captivity at Nandankanan Zoological Park, the wild tiger that had strayed from Satkosia seems fated to lead more confined life, thanks to the bureaucratic muddle.
Since the return of the feline to the Zoo in June last year, the Forest and Environment Department has been forming panels and seeking opinions about its release.

After the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) played its part in delaying the whole process by making a recommendation for the feline’s release in Satkosia which it overturned later, the Department formed a six-member panel earlier this month to identify the site in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) where the Royal Bengal Tiger is proposed to be released.

Sources in the Department said the panel, which met last week, has chosen two probable sites in STR which will be visited by the members for taking a final decision. One site is located in northern parts of the tiger habitat’s core which has less movement of tigers while the other is in southern side where the big cat concentration is higher.

During the meeting, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which has been roped in by the State as a member in the panel, presented the details of the radio collaring of the tiger as per the protocol of the release.
As per the estimates made by WTI, it will require `55 lakh for procurement of the satellite radio collar and carrying out post-release monitoring for a year. The panel has already been mandated with requisitioning of funds directly from NTCA for the purpose.

However, the procurement takes time because the customised radio collar will have to be ordered from outside and tested before it is affixed to the tiger. This may take a few more months. And if the matter is not resolved before June, the whole release process will have to wait till the rainy season is over because most parts of Similipal become inaccessible during the monsoon and require road communication to be repaired.
In such a situation, the wild tiger would have to spend more than a year in the confines of the zoo. It had first walked into Nandanakanan in April last year.

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Source: Indian Express

Special Interest Tourism Contemporary Practices in Eastern India

The IITTM, Bhubaneswar, organized a national seminar on ‘Special Interest Tourism, contemporary practices in Eastern India’ at its campus here on Saturday.

The meet was aimed at showcasing the potentials and prospects of Special Interest Tourism (SIT) in eastern India. Inaugurating the seminar, Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University of Culture Dr Debendra Nath Jena spoke about India’s position in Human Happiness Index and revealed that the country has a vast potential to deliver quality service and optimise satisfaction and happiness of tourists who visit India. Academicians, research scholars and industry experts also presented insights.
Speaking on the occasion, Nodal Officer of IITTM, Bhubaneswar and S K Lenka said the institute has played a major role in leading quality research and capacity building programmes to equip professionals with industry requirements.

The first technical session of seminar on ‘Traditional practices in Special Interest Tourism’ was chaired by Md Sabir Hussain and S N Biswas. The second session explored new arenas and challenges in SIT and was chaired by T K Pany, Associate Professor of Ravenshaw University.

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Source: Indian Express

Odisha: 10th Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav Jointly Organized by Department of Tourism

The 10th Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav jointly organised by Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha and Orissa Dance Akademy got off to a colourful start with Madhu Murchhana a flute recital set to Rag-Vairagi with a set of Talas presented by a very young and talented flautist Shri Srinivas Satapathy and group.

The main objective to have this festival is to preserve, promote and popularize our heritage at the national and international level. It is a humble endeavour to bring together artists of diverse disciplines in the spirit of cultural solidarity against an enchanting ambience. It is a true presentation of artistic excellence. The Director of Ruchi Masala Shri Arabinda Sahoo presented Ruchi Buddha Samman to Guru Maguni Kuanr, Eminent Puppeteer for his outstanding contribution to the Indian Rod Puppetry.

The second item of the evening was Odissi dance by the students of Utkal Sanget Mahavidyalya, Bhubaneswar. They started with an invocatory piece Bisheswar Bandana an offering to Lord Shiva set to Rag-Madhyamadi and Tal-Ektali followed by a Pallavi on same tal and rag. There concluding item was Dikshya an Odissi Ballet depicting the episode of Chandashoka being converted to Dharmashoka at the foothill of Dhauli Shanti Stupa.

The last presentation of the evening was Thanga-Ta, the martial art of Manipur by the students of Anjika, Kolkata led by Priti Patel which was exciting and ruminating.

The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Dr. Arvinda Kumar Padhee, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism & Culture; Dr. Minati Mishra, Eminent Danseuse and former Principal, Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya; Manoranjan Patnaik, Director, Tourism; Shri Arabinda Sahoo, Director, Ruchi Masala and Guru Aruna Mohanty, Eminent Odissi Dancer. The programme was compered by Smt. Sangita Gosain and En. Srinivas Ghatuari.

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Source :Orissa Diary

Surprise visit to Tourism counter of Bhubaneswar Airport

Commissioner, Tourism Mr. Padhy has made a surprise visit to the Odisha Tourism counter of Biju Pattnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar and found that no one was present there. There are a good number of flights landing and taking off in the morning hours. He has requested the Tourism Director to call for explanation from the concerned negligent personnel on duty and hold up the salary until his further orders.

The Information Counters in the Airport, Railway Stations and other places have been opened by government to inform tourists about the tourism products and appraise matters to them in a very polite manner.

Hence the Tourism Director has advised to organize a soft skills training programme for the officials posted to such places and in other information counters.Padhy has instructed that strict discipline must be maintained by all of them and regular supervision may be made on their activities.

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Tourism Plan for Nasik

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Limited (MTDCL) has asked for a tourism plan from the Nashik district collectorate, following a report submitted by the Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) that Nashik was a 'filthy', unfriendly and ill-equipped city for tourists'.

The TFCI had carried out a survey in November 2012 and later submitted its report to the Maharashtra govrernment. The state-level tourism committee has asked the Nashik administration to plan for tourism development, keeping in mind infrastructure required for tourists.

In a letter issued on January 8, 2014, the state tourism body has asked the Nashik administration to prepare a tourism plan that could be implemented over the next five years.

"The MTDC has asked us to prepare a tourism plan worth five times the funds that the district has received in the recent past. The district had received nearly Rs 60 crore in the past four years. The tourism plan to be furnished will be of Rs 350 core," district planning officer (DPO) Pradeep Potdar told TOI on Wednesday.

The TFCI in its report to the Maharashtra government had remarked that Nashik needed lot of improvement on several fronts to 'invite and retain' tourists.

Lamenting lack of cleanliness of the Godavari river, which has been so severely polluted that its water was 'unfit for bathing', the TFCI report pointed out the lack of washrooms at tourism spots, their cleanliness, unavailability of quality food and other amenities.
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Source: Times Of India

Tourism Needs Robust Plan

Experts have said the city needs extensive planning to allow tourists to move around popular sites with ease. They said bus stations, the railway station and airport need to have tourist vehicles, and guides apart from special police to take care of the security of the visitors.

At present, although the railway station here has a tourist facilitation counter, it has a few takers. The bus terminal at Barmunda doesn't have any facility for tourists, said sources.

"Different types of tourists land in the city via different modes. The city, which boasts of several famous tourist hotspots, should have short and long-duration packages for sightseeing," said urban planner Piyush Rout.

He said some tourists might be interested to spend a few hours in the city and utilize them for sightseeing. "The tourism department should display packages at the tourists' arrival stations. A dedicated police officer should note down their itinerary so that in the event of untoward incidents, their movements can be tracked," said Rout.

Many tourists, who come to the city, come across some tourist spots accidentally. "The saddest part of our tourism promotion in the city is that tourists come and go without understanding the city's tourism potential. To develop an understanding of the city and for locals to bond with the visitors, it is important for the department concerned to provide the tourists with smaller modes such as cycles and bikes to move around apart from offering them dedicated public transport," said chairman of the Indian Institute of Architects Sanjib Guru.

Bhubaneswar boasts of a legacy that includes diverse flora and fauna as well as temples, caves, rock edicts, lakes, wall paintings and ancient buildings. It has Khandigiri and Udayagiri, Dhauli and Lingaraj temple aside from the Nandankanan zoo.

Historically, Bhubaneswar has been the seat of growth of Buddhism, Jainism and the Saivasim movement in India. "Apart from sightseeing, many researchers come to the city for gathering inputs. The tourist packages should be designed to suit everybody's needs," said Guru.

Under the five-year plan, the tourism department has projected that 1.22 crore tourists will visit the state by the end of the year. Managing director of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) M R Patnaik said packages for tourists have been customized.
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Source: Times of India

Signature Bridge Sun to light

The Delhi government is looking into the possibility of installing solar lighting on Signature Bridge. The project is already a decade in the making and likely to be completed by the year-end and now the effort is to make it energy-efficient.

"I have requested Delhi Tourism to examine if we can use solar energy to light the bridge up and the ramps leading up to the structure," tourism minister Somnath Bharti, who has been monitoring construction work, said.

Under the bridge an impressive tourist destination is being planned, complete with water sports facilities. "The idea is to use solar energy in these areas as well," Bharti said. But these facilities will be developed under the project's second phase. Running late by three years largely because of delays in getting environment clearance, the minister said, he hoped it would meet the year-end completion deadline. "The western approach is open to traffic and the eastern approach will be inaugurated next month," an official said.

Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) is building the bridge and looking into the feasibility of the proposal. A senior tourism official said: "CPWD has done two projects like this, Paryavaran Bhavan and Rashtrapati Bhavan. The idea is to produce electricity in the day and supply it to the grid. When we need power at night, we draw from the grid. We will pay for only what we consume minus what we supply to the grid." 
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Source: Times of India

Officials Visit South Beach to Review Tourism Project

A team of officials led by the director of Ports will visit the proposed tourism site for the South Beach Tourism Project. The visit is in the backdrop of the objections raised by the port officials, here, against the handing over of Port land for tourism project.

The officials are expected to visit South Beach in the first week of the February to review whether the tourism project would affect the developmental activities of the Port. As per the objections raised by the Port officials, handing over of the land for tourism project would hinder the proposed developmental activities of the Ports.

Abraham V Kuriakose, Port officer, Kozhikode said that they were not against the tourism project. We have raised some objections as the handing over of Port's land for other purposes would affect the developmental activities of the department of ports, he added.

Though the tourism department officials had twice fixed the date for the work inauguration of the project, the unexpected opposition from the port authorities has created a hurdle. "Even now we are not sure whether we will get nod for the project," said P G Rajeev, secretary of District Tourism Promotion Council, the implementing agency of the project.

The expected cost of the tourism project covering a 3km stretch of South Beach is Rs 8.85 crore. The state government in February 2013 had sanctioned Rs 3.85 crore for the completion of the first phase work - a 700 metre stretch - starting from the portion that has already been beautified. The second phase project, including the rehabilitation of nearly 25 families residing in the puramboke land, has also been submitted for government sanction.

Earlier, a meeting of minister M K Muneer, who is also the MLA of Kozhikode South constituency, ports minister K Babu, tourism minister A P Anil Kumar and officials of the departments was held at Thiruvananthapuram weeks ago to settle the issue. However, the meeting failed to achieve its objective as officials with the ports department demanded the godown of the Calicut Development Authority at Beypore in return for the land at South Beach.

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Source: Times Of India

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