Children’s Day observed at DAV Vedanta International School

District legal Service Authority, Kalahandi observed Children’s Day at the DAV Vedanta International School (DAV VIS) at Lanjigarh on November 14, 2012. Mr. Girish Kumar Mishra – District Judge Cum Chairman, District legal Service Authority, Kalahandi attended the function as the Chief Guest along with other guests such as Mr. Himanshu Brahma – Additional District Judge; Mr. K C Behera – Judge, Permanent & Continuous Lok Adalat Cum Secretary, District Legal Service Authority, Kalahandi.

Dist Judge Mr. Girish Kumar Mishra addressed the children on “Children’s Right” in presence of Dr. Mukesh Kumar – Chairman, DAV Management Committee; Dr. S K Tripathy – Lecturer in Physics, Govt. College of Engineering, Kalahandi and Principal of the School Smt. Shukla Chakrobarty.

Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chairman, DAV VIS Management Committee, said the school is doing a commendable work by providing quality education to nearly 500 children in the Lanjigarh area which is mostly populated by tribal inhabitants.

After the inaugural function what followed was a day-long ‘Science Exhibition’ organised by the students of the school which marked the Children’s Day. The exhibition mesmerized the guests and visitors.

In a thankful note, Principal of the school Smt. Chakrobarty praised Dr. Mukesh Kumar for taking all necessary steps to make the school world class in terms of facility and infrastructure.

The school children, nearly 500 in numbers from the nearby vicinity of Lanjigarh, were captivated on the speech of the Dist. Judge along with the parents of the children who were also present on the occasion.

Children’s Day was also observed at the Niyamgir Vedanta Nagar where Block Development Officer of Lanjigarh Block Mr. Prabeer Kumar Nayak attended as the Chief Guest with others guests – B S Mund, Ms. Adarsh Gupta, Dr. Chinki Gupta–Dentist, Vedanta Hospital, Ms.Niharika Sahoo and Balakrushna Rath.

Govt. Must Provide Bauxite in Odisha to Vedanta: Demand Locals

A never-seen-before agitation supporting industrialization in Odisha brought life to a standstill. Thousands of people in Kalahandi district’s Lanjigarh area and adjacent places like Biswanathpur, Daikhal, Ambodala etc. protested and shouted slogans demanding allocation of bauxite to the alumina refinery of Vedanta Aluminum Limited (VAL) in Lanjigarh.
The people in these regions came to the streets on August 29, 2012 and observed a one day bandh. Due to scarcity of bauxite, VAL had to run its refinery at 40-50 percent of its capacity. If this situation continues, then it is anticipated that there will be a stoppage of production at Lanjigarh. The locals fear that this would lead to loss of jobs and affect livelihood.
The protest was prominent in Lanjigarh and was spearheaded by Lanjigarh Anchalika Vikash Parishad. Sridhara Pesnia, president of the Anchalika Vikas Parishad said that the people in Lanjigarh were disappointed as their future appears to be in the dark since no bauxite mine has been allotted to Vedanta.
“The alumina refinery should be provided bauxite from Odisha. The state and central govt. must ensure this, else the local people will be affected. Thousands of localities depend on the refinery for their livelihood. We will go to the Chief Minister and if required to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister in future if bauxite mine is not provided to Vedanta”, added Pesnia.
Few days ago, nearly two thousand localities of Lanjigarh area staged a demonstration demanding bauxite mines for the Company.

Tribals, officials take to streets on shutdown talk

 As the news spread that London-based Vedanta Aluminium Limited is planning to shut down its Lanjigarh alumina refinery unit in Orissa’s Kalahandi district, over 5,000 people gathered at Lanjigarh and urged the state and Union governments to ensure that the VAL authorities reconsider their decision and stay on at the place.

According to sources in the VAL, the company has virtually stopped operations of its one-million-tonne refinery because of non-availability of bauxite, the principal raw material of the facility.

The people who gathered under the leadership of Sridhar Pensia said at least 4,000 people who are directly and indirectly involved in the project work will be on the streets if the plant was closed down for good.

Hundreds of women of Lanjigarh, a tribal-dominated village, said the local people will be deprived of quality education, healthcare facilities and good connectivity they availed after the company established its 4,500-crore project.

In the afternoon, over 600 employees of the VAL and its associatee partners also held a demonstration in front of the plant protesting the Union and state government’s dilatory approach to ensure bauxite linkage to the project.

Also Read:

Tribals, officials take to streets on shutdown talk (Deccan Chronicle)

Vedanta to Close lanjigarh Plant  (Financial Express)

Vedanta may temporarily shut down Odisha refinery  (Business Standard)

The fate of the one-million-tonne refinery project has been pushed into uncertainty because of unavailability of bauxite. The company is incurring losses of 3 to 4 crores a day. Although the Vedanta was pledged Niyamgiri bauxite reserve close to its plant facility, it has failed to get the same because of opposition from green activists and a number of litigations which are pending for disposal.

Courtesy: Asian Age

Putting Kalahandi on Global Map – Jogabyas

“All is in the mind” says Jogabyas Bhoi. This is a story of tenacity and grit displayed by an ordinary Kalahandian who desired to scale new heights since childhood. At first, having scaled Niyamgiri, he realized that it is important for him to go beyond.

“We found a spark in him” remarks Dr. Mukesh Kumar, President & COO-Vedanta Aluminium, Lanjigarh. Perhaps afterwards Jogabyas never looked back. Backed by support from Vedanta Aluminium and District Administration, Jogabyas scaled Mt Everest on April 16, 2012.

Jogabyasa with his students at VAL refinery

Now the bar has been raised. “I wish to groom young talent of Kalahandi in the field of mountaineering. We have formed “Odisha Mountaineering Trust” which aims to provide platform for such talent”, says Jogabyas. Perhaps the never-say-die attitude led to the first expedition with a batch of five students led by Jogabyas to move up to the base camp of Mt Annapurna in Nepal. All the students hail from Kalahandi district.

Back home, Jogabyas along with his students also visited Vedanta Aluminium, Lanjigarh Refinery. He agrees that corporate like TATA, Vedanta and others share the determination to bring change in lives of people and make India proud. He believes to add a new vibrant identity to Kalahandi both nationally and globally as a powerhouse which churns several maintainers of repute. Recently several maintainers from other parts of the country expressed their desire to visit Kalahandi, adds Jogabyas.

Also Read: Vedanta Aluminium helps Jogabyasa Bhoi to conquer Mt. Everest

Also Read: Everest glory for Oriya

 Manas Ranjan, student of Jogabyas from Rupra , Kalahandi aims to climb Mt. Pandim in Sikkim Himalaya range. “Nobody has scaled to the summit and I want to make history” says Manas. This 14-yr old youngster is yet to complete his 10th standard.

It is a fact that there are many youngsters who are indeed good maintainers. But lack of proper systems and platform is a hurdle. However it does not deter Jogabyas. “I have been blessed by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam who said I will definitely go places in life,” remarks Jogabyas.

Life is a journey and these five mountaineers led by Jogabyas have big plans to put Kalahandi on the global map of Mountaineering.