Phailin pat for Berhampur

‘Berhampur model’ would be adopted in Philippines and other places: UN representative Margareta Wahlstrom

A special representative of the UN secretary general for disaster risk reduction, Margareta Wahlstrom, declared the municipal corporation here as a role model for effective co-ordination and preparedness to face a disaster. She handed over a certificate of recognition to Mayor K. Madhaviin Berhampur.

The UN representative congratulated all councillors of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation for restoring normality in the city soon after Phailin. “Disaster is a global problem, and here, the restoration process was very good,” she said. While interacting with the councillors, Wahlstrom particularly wanted to know how the number of casualties was so low as compared to the 1999 super cyclone.

Wahlstrom said the Berhampur model would be adopted in Philippines and other places. The mayor, who received the UN certificate of recognition, said: “The credit for the success of Phailin management goes to all the councillors, commissioner and staff members. It was a team effort.”

Municipal commissioner Ajit Kumar Mishra said: “We requested all the 40 councilors to help evacuate the people from the 254 slum pockets immediately after the meteorological department forecast about the cyclone. The accurate prediction helped us prepare for the cyclone well in advance and the councillors played a key role in disaster management during and after the cyclone,” he said.

Mishra added that 30,000 people had been evacuated in just around 30 hours at that time. Councillor Ashok Shukla, P. Asharani and others apprised Wahlstrom of the steps taken by them during evacuation and restoration.

The UN representative, accompanied by assistant secretary of the Union home ministry Aparna Ganeshan and K.C. Bishoyi of the Odisha Disaster Mitigation Authority, visited a multipurpose cyclone shelter at Matikhal near Chatrapur, Save the Child organisation in Gopalpur, a fishermen’s village called Nua Golabandha and the Berhampur University campus. Source: The Telegraph

Curbs on foreign tourists to tribal villages

Rayagada district admin recommended to State govt. to impose strict restrictions on entry of foreign tourists

The Rayagada district administration has recommended to the State government to impose strict restrictions on entry of foreign tourists to around 29 remote tribal villages in the district.

The district administration has sent a list of these tribal villages to the State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Department, which would consequently send it to the State Tourism Department for necessary action.

The Stat government, following a controversy over human safari in the tribal areas, decided that no foreign tourist or researcher intending to visit the areas inhabited by tribal people can do so without a valid permission from the district Collector and Magistrate concerned. Besides, no photography and videography of the tribal people would be allowed.

In case of any violation, criminal cases would be registered against the tourist, sponsor, and tour operator under appropriate sections of the law. But, during the past few weeks, foreign tourists were reported to have visited tribal villages in remote Naxalite-hit zones of Rayagada district without proper permission.

The district administration had already recommended to the government to cancel the visa of some foreign tourists who had violated government restrictions to reach tribal villages in Maoist-prone areas. It also recommended to the government to blacklist the tour operator, which had taken these foreign tourists to that area.

To make the restrictions clear to the tour operators, the district administration listed the names of tribal villages where entry of foreigners would not be allowed. Speaking to The Hindu, district Collector Sashi Bhusan Padhi said these were villages which were under the Lanjia Saura Development Project and Kutia Kondh Development Project. Source: The Hindu 

Tourist flow to the ‘Kashmir of Odisha' gains momentum

Night temperature is hovering around four degrees Celsius in Daringbadi 

The flow of tourists to Daringbadi described as the ‘Kashmir of Odisha’, the hill town in Kandhamal district which is around 170 km from the nerve center of South Odisha Berhampur city has gained momentum with experiencing a cold wave.

The night temperature at the picturesque tourist destination is hovering around 4 degrees Celsius. “Several visitors are coming to Daringbadi every day. The flow of visitors has increased with mercury going down steadily,” said Tourist Officer (Kandhamal) Manoranjan Das.

Besides the cold climate, vast extents of coffee plantations, scenic hills, pine jungles and ‘lovers’ waterfall attract tourists to Daringbadi. The Tourism Department has developed the site keeping tourists’ priorities in mind.

Daringbadi, situated at an altitude of 280 metres above sea level, is the only place in the State which witnesses snowfall during peak winter. Around 400 domestic and foreign tourists visited the hill town last month, Tourism Department sources said. “Tourists are not staying in the night due to the fear of Maoists,” said an officer. Last year, two Italian tourists were kidnapped by red rebels near Daringbadi.

No curbs on foreigners

“There is no restriction on foreigners to Daringbadi. Tourists, who want to visit Belaghara, need to take permission of the district administration as people belonging to the Kutia Kondha tribe reside there. There was a restriction on visiting places inhabited by Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups after the ‘human safari’ controversy,” he said.

The district administration has decided to develop infrastructure at Daringbadi to increase tourist footfall. “We propose to construct a coffee house, a children’s park and a 3D theatre at Daringbadi,” said BDO (Daringbadi) S. N. Jena. There are also plans to develop infrastructure facilities at Dasingbadi, another picturesque place with a pine jungle and a waterfall. Dasingbadi is about 17 km from Daringbadi, he said. Similarly, the administration has also decided to develop the scenic spots at Hatimunda and Kirikutisaid the BDO. – PTI