Category: News

Scant health infra stares at face in J’guda

the pioneer | 20 April 2021 | RAJ KUMAR SHARMA | JHARSUGUDA

As the second wave of Corona rocks Jharsuguda district, many raise questions on the administration’s Covid preparedness in the district.

Despite many big industrial houses like Vedanta, OPGC and MCL extending helping hands, the district is still far behind others when it comes to health infrastructure. On Sunday, the number of Corona patients breached the three-digit mark.

With the rising trend of Corona patients day after day, the district cannot cope with patients’ requirements due to the shortage of ICUs and beds with ventilators in hospitals. The members of civil society blamed the administration’s negligence and lack of political will for the situation.

A year ago, the old hospital at Mangal bazaar was renovated to function as a Covid hospital. The hospital was said to have contained about 100 beds for isolation ward, ten beds for ICU, and seven beds for backup.

The administration had assured to enhance ICU beds in future. The administration had also said that ten ventilators, sufficient oxygen cylinders, and compressors were also available in the hospital. The management of the hospital, set up by the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Vedanta’s assistance, was given to Hitech Medical College.

A memorandum of understanding was signed to provide required doctors and support staff by Hitech Medical College to the Jharsuguda Covid hospital.

While more than Rs 10 crore was sanctioned from the DMF funds, more than Rs 2 crore was given to the hospital by Vedanta Company’s CSR fund to procure the required machinery. As the Covid cases are spiking, the expenditure towards the hospital management and treatment of patients has increased substantially. Demands are being made from different civil society groups to provide 200 hospital beds and 50 beds with ventilators in the hospital. Otherwise, many patients in critical conditions will lose their lives.

On the other hand, the quality of treatment available in the hospital is also not up to the mark.Former Municipality Chairman Tapas Ray Choudhury said that the hospital’s infrastructure could only be improved with the support of big industrial houses in Jharsuguda. The district administration should immediately take steps to provide 50 ICU beds with ventilator support in the hospital.

Senior BJD leaders like Manoranjan Mohapatra admitted that the present scenario of the hospital is very precarious. Patients in critical conditions cannot be treated in the hospital due to a shortage of ICU beds with ventilators.

Likewise, the Jharsuguda District Bar Association president Trinath Gual proposed to increase ICU beds and ventilators, given the seriousness of the Covid infections in the second wave.

Development through mining a major poll issue in Rajsamand

The Hindu | April 16, 2021

Congress’ Tansukh Bohra pitted against BJP’s Deepti Maheshwari for the seat in upcoming Rajasthan Assembly by-election

A robust development of infrastructure, matching with the nearby temple town of Nathdwara, through the mining sector and an effective utilisation of the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) connect the local populace with employment generation in Rajsamand. These are also the key factors during the campaign for the upcoming Assembly by-election here.

The southern Rajasthan district has about 1,500 quarries of marble, granite and minerals and their owners contribute ₹150 crore annually to the DMFT for the benefit of areas affected by mining-related operations. People’s resentment over under-utilisation of DMFT funds and diversion to other towns has prompted the ruling Congress to field mining industrialist Tansukh Bohra as its candidate.

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Deepti Maheshwari expects to carry forward the legacy of her mother, the late Kiran Maheshwari, who was elected from the constituency thrice between 2008 and 2018 and was a Minister in the Vasundhara Raje government. The BJP also hopes to get “sympathy votes” with the Maheshwari family member being in the fray.

‘People will select BJP’

BJP MP from Rajsamand Diya Kumari, camping in the town to address Ms. Maheshwari’s election rallies, told The Hindu that the Union government had been “responsive” to the demands raised in the constituency and had been doing its bit in different sectors. “The people here will once again repose faith in BJP. They are fed up with the Congress government, which has no clear policies or intentions,” she said.

The Congress has made an attempt to influence the local mine owners and workers with the credentials of Mr. Bohra. The mining baron, who enjoys a clean image, has been involved in philanthropic activities. Nitish Surana, managing Mr. Bohra’s election office, said the Congress candidate had made large contributions to the government hospitals and built several school buildings, besides developing the amenities at cremation grounds.

“There is no anti-incumbency wave in Rajsamand, even though the BJP has been traditionally winning this seat. Much will depend on how the Congress projects itself and influences the voters,” Ajay Singh, a youth from the nearby Kelwa village, said. Interestingly, the Congress has asked Mines & Petroleum Minister Pramod Jain to camp in the region till the polling day on April 17.

The Congress has also assured the voters that it would formulate a plan to develop the Chittorgarh-Rajsamand-Kumbhalgarh triangle as a new tourism circuit and widen the Khara feeder to bring more water to the historic Rajsamand lake, built by erstwhile Mewar ruler Rana Raj Singh in 1660.

Controversial remarks

Some controversial remarks made by senior BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, about legendary warrior king Maharana Pratap during the poll campaign earlier this week led to an embarrassment for the party.

As the Rajput outfits expressed an outrage, Mr. Kataria tendered an apology twice to the electorate.

Among the total of 10 candidates contesting in the constituency, the BJP faces a challenge from its rebel leader Suresh Joshi, who has entered the fray as an Independent in the name of protecting the honour of the region.

47 advanced ambulances dedicated in Odisha

Update Odisha | April 14, 2021

Bhubaneswar: On the auspicious occasion of Maha Bishuba Sankranti and Odia New Year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dedicated 47 new Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances to the people of Odisha on virtual mode.

Dedicating the new ambulances, the Chief Minister has expressed hope that these ambulances will meet the increasing demand for transportation of patients with the advanced life support system.

He expressed confidence that with the cooperation of people, we can beat the second wave as we have done last year.

Out of 47 new advanced life support ambulances, 28 ALS ambulances will serve under 108 service, whereas 19 ALS ambulances will serve at different medical colleges and hospitals.

All these ambulances are funded by different sources e.g. MPLAD, District Mineral Foundation (DMF), Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation(OMBADC) and Corporate CSR.

The latest addition to the 108 ambulance service is likely to increase the capacity of the service provider to reach out to more people in distress in different parts of the state.

These additional 108 ambulances will be attached to the respective District Headquarter Hospitals (DHH).

Ziqitza Health Services Pvt Ltd which is managing the 108 ambulance service in the state said that the capacity building of the service was possible due to the hand holding support of the MPs of Odisha, funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Odisha mining funds.

The service provider said that the additional capacity is likely to increase the working capacity of the ambulance service.

“The latest addition of 28 more ambulances under 108 ambulance service is likely to help us to reach out to more number of people to cater to their needs. We have now completed eight years of our uninterrupted services and regularly widening our services,” said Sabyasachi Biswal, State Head of Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd.

After this new addition, the 108 ambulances fleet number has reached to 624, whereas there will be 500 number of 102 ambulance and 6 boat ambulances. There were two kind of ambulances i.e. Advanced Life Support and basic life support ambulances there in Odisha.

The advanced life support ambulances have all the latest features including Defibrillator Monitors, Syringe Pump, and Ventilator Machine. Earlier, 108 ambulance service has 56 ALS featured ambulances, this addition will increase its number to 84 in the state.

Towards Self-Reliance

Business World | April 13, 2021

Coal India as a whole produced 602.14 MT of coal during 2019-20 accomplishing 91 per cent of the targeted production.

Notwithstanding the projections over renewables displacing coal, the fact of the matter is that coal will continue to be the dominant fuel driving India’s electricity generation for the next few decades and Coal India is the single largest coal producer in the world.

Coal India (CIL), the state-owned coal mining corporate, came into being in November 1975, producing a modest 79 million tonne (MT) at the time. CIL today is the single largest coal producer in the world and one of the largest corporate employers with a workforce of 2,72,445 (as on 1st April 2020). CIL functions through its subsidiaries in 84 mining areas spread over eight states. It has 352 mines (as on 1st April 2020) of which 158 are underground, 174 are opencast and 20 mixed mines. CIL further operates 12 coal washeries, (10 coking coal and 2 non-coking coal) and also manages other establishments like workshops, hospitals, and so on.

The PSU has 26 training institutes and 84 vocational training centres. The Indian Institute of Coal Management (IICM), a state-of-the-art management training ‘centre of excellence’ – the largest corporate training institute in India — operates under CIL and conducts multi-disciplinary programmes.

MAHARATNA MANDATE: CIL is a Maharatna company, a Government of India classification of the most important and the biggest state-owned enterprises with the mandate to expand their operations and emerge as global giants.

Despite the many challenges that emerged including the extended and heavy monsoon, inundation of Dipka mine, subdued demand for power, Covid-19 in the last fortnight of March 2020, CIL managed to come back strongly in the second half of fiscal 2019-20, making up most of the lost ground in the first half. Coal India as a whole produced 602.14 MT of coal during 2019-20 accomplishing 91 per cent of the targeted production.

Coal India achieved a net profit of Rs 16,700.34 crore and gross sales of Rs 1,34,979.13 crore. All subsidiaries of Coal India earned profit before tax during the year. Coal India and its subsidiaries paid/adjusted Rs 43,058.72 crore towards royalty, GST, cess, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) and other levies. CIL subsidiaries also distributed 15,42,982 masks and 63,256 litres of hand sanitiser to its employees and people living in and around its operational areas to fight Covid-19. In addition, they also procured N95 masks, ventilators, PPE suits, thermal scanners and oxygen cylinders to fight the Covid pandemic.

Coal India is one of the highest CSR spenders among the PSUs touching the lives of the countrymen. Its CSR activities largely encompass education, rural development, healthcare, women empowerment, skill development and sports. CIL and its subsidiaries spent a total of Rs 587.84 crore on CSR activities during 2019-20.

Based on the demand projection for the coal sector in the country in the coming years and subsequently, a roadmap has been prepared for the medium term wherein CIL envisages 1 billion tonne coal production by 2023-24. To achieve this target, CIL has identified major projects and assessed other related issues.

The capital expenditure for 2020-21 has been pegged at Rs 10,000 crore. CIL plans to invest substantial amount in diversification projects like solar power, revival of fertiliser plants, coal gasification and rail wagon procurement during 2020-21.

The company’s vision is to ensure that there is no shortage of coal in the country and achieve self-reliance in coal. Coal India envisions to be a commercially viable company and endeavours to move ahead as a contemporary, professional, consumer friendly and successful corporate entity committed to national developmental goals.

Polavaram will render people from 192 villages homeless

Deccan Chronicle | April 11, 2021

KAKINADA: All those who have been displaced from 192 villages because of Polavaram Project are living in fear amid insecurity. They are all worried that the villages would be submerged in June or July because of cyclones and floods. They appealed to the Union and state governments to provide a relief and resettlement package to them, before the completion of Polavaram Project.

According to them, nearly 3.5 lakh people, from Schedule Tribe and Scheduled Caste, are facing a threat of their livelihood. According to sources, the government completed 70 per cent of Polavaram project works by the end of December but only four percent of the R & R package was implemented. The Chief Minister aimed at completing the project by the year-end.

As per the 2017 statistics, 5,08,874 persons have been displaced and the number may increase.

The state government had announced that 371 villages will be submerged due to the project and CCLA has given permission for providing R&R package to 164 villages. However, only 15 villages have been given partial R&R packages.

Indian Association of Lawyers state executive member Inapurapu Suryanaryana said that the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) found fault with the project as there is no MoU between Centre and the state government on construction of Polavaram project and advised the state government to reach a truce with the Union Government for the sake of the project.

To avoid submergence problems, the Centre advised state governments of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to construct protection walls at eight and four places, respectively. But, either has obliged. He said that the Union Government has also not taken any steps to have cases filed in the Supreme Court to be withdrawn by Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

SC, ST vigilance and monitoring committee district member Ayithabathula Rameswara Rao demanded the government to halt Polavaram project works till the completion of R&R package works to 371 villages. He said that the ST Commission recommendations have not been implemented by the governments so far. Adivasi maha sabha district secretary Karam Venkateswara Rao said that tribal people should be given fertile lands as compensation. The government should provide livelihood to people who will lose their forest products. He demanded the government should make a fresh integrated survey on the number of displaced persons and families under the project under New Land Acquisition Amendment Act, as the socio economic survey was last done in 2005 and there were no environmental clearance for the project till 2009.

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