Koraputonline.org

From Painting walls of Koraput Bus stand in Rainy season

The white washing work is in progress on the walls of Koraput Bus stand even though spells of rain was affecting normal life from time to time . Great innovation ! Perhaps there was no need to clean the fungus or moss on the wall before painting.While I was posting this photo , my wife who is a simple housewife expressed her doubts over its longevity . But I dont know if the engineers in the office have ! I may be wrong !

Koraput and Jeypore tracts in the State were considered to be the birthplace of paddy. Out of the total cultivable land in Koraput District, paddy is grown by farmers in 37.5 per cent of land). Thus rice is the primary crop grown by farmers and also the staple food for the population. The farmers are dependent on small land holdings for their livelihood. The need to get increased productivity has made the farmers dependent on external inputs and chemical fertilizers and pesticides, according to Pravakar Adhikari, secretary of Pragati, an organisation working with farmers.

In such a context, System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has offered a viable alternative for increasing productivity by changing the management of the plants, soil, water and nutrients utilised in rice production. In addition, farmers’ report and empirical research established that SRI crops are more resistant to most pests and diseases and are able to tolerate adverse climatic influences in a better way.

The practice, which began in Koraput district in 2006 with only eleven farmers, reached a distinction of spreading the benefit to at least 4205 farmers with area coverage of 1,635 acres in 200 villages of all the 14 blocks in the district. However, it is a challenging task to adopt the new practice, both socially and from technological perspective, says Dhanurjaya Gadba, a farmer from Bandiguda in Borigumma block. While he began shifting from a practice that had been accepted for generations to SRI last year, shortage of rainwater has affected the experimentation with SRI in his one acre land. He got only 12 quintal of paddy last year against a regular yield of 14 quintals. However, he was encouraged to continue with the experiment this year too and got the yield with lesser investment. At least seven farmers have come forward to adopt the new way of cultivation, says Padlam Khinbudi, another farmer from the village.

Here is a shocking incidence . Questions for us : Social welfare schemes for whom? Does inquiry lead to better situation ? Please read this news in The Hindu which is copied here and introspect !
Here is the NEWS :

A five-day-old baby girl died at the government-run Civil Hospital at Jalandhar as the staff stopped treatment when her father could not pay Rs. 200 charged for use of an incubator.
The incident came to light when Sanjeev Kumar, a daily wage painter, and his wife Anita accused the staff of “killing” the baby born prematurely in the hospital on July 20. The child required extra medical assistance as it developed complications, including jaundice, immediately after birth.

On Wednesday, the staff asked Sanjeev to deposit Rs. 200 for running the incubator. But he was not able to arrange for the money.

Apparently, the staff withdrew all treatment and handed over the baby to the mother, who pleaded for some more time. Within hours, the condition of the baby deteriorated and it died in the arms of its hapless mother. When the shocking incident came under media spotlight, local health authorities went into overdrive to shift blame. Witnesses said some hospital officials tried to argue that a written request was necessary from the child’s parents to allow use of the incubator. Sanjeev, who is not a literate, was not aware of such regulations.

Finally, the Chief Minister took “cognisance” of the situation and ordered a fast track inquiry into the incident.

From Farewell to DIG- Soumendra priyadarshi by Children at Koraput on 24th July-2012

Here is a Vollyball ground being made by cutting the slopes of a mountain near Koraput by the scores of families who were  displaced from Narayanpatna folowing the comflict among different communities . They find their passtime by themselves with no sign of going back to own village being visible in the near future .