Communally sensitive Kandhamal district of Orissa is all set to carry another vague record. The district, dominated by the tribals has registered country’s highest infant mortality rate (IMR).   

In its latest publication of “Infant and Child Mortality in India : District Level Estimates'', a New Delhi-based Population Foundation of India (PFI) estimates that IMR in Kandhamal was 121 per 1000 live births, while the national infant mortality rate per 1000 live births stands at 54.

Kondh (Orissa, India), Jan. 7 : A blockade mounted by more than 50 protestors stopped British mining company Vedanta entering the land of the Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribes under cover of darkness last night.

According to a press release issued by Survival International, the FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.

Tuesday night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine.

After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.

On Monday the authorities in Orissa were ordered by the Supreme Court to offer security to thousands of Christians who fled their homes after some of the worst religious violence in decades last year, said the officials.

The order came to light as a measure to support Christian leaders who criticized the state government since it failed to provide enough security for scared Christians still living in camps and forests.

The top court also banned the State government which is run by a coalition of a regional party with Hindu nationalists, from withdrawing troops from riot-infested zones without permission of the central government.

TATA group owned Tata Consultancy Services started its new IT development center in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. The development came when entire IT sector is facing the heat of global financial crisis. The new center was inaugurated by Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik in a function held in state's capital. 

The function was also attended by Surjya Narayan Patro, Minister of Energy, Culture & Information Technology, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, IT, Orissa and TCS leadership team of S Ramadorai besides Managing director of Tata Steel, B Muthuraman.

Bhitarkanika (Bhubaneshwar), Dec 29 : As hundreds of migratory birds have started flocking the Bhitarkanika National Park in Bhubaneshwar, authorities have sounded high alert following the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal.

Several migratory birds and residential avian species like sand piper, plover, duck, goose, heron, spoon bill and egret flock the park every winter.

Many shore bird species like sand piper, plover, duck, goose, heron, spoon bill and egret were seen around the park.

Avocet, which comes from cold places like Siberia and Bar-headed Geese from Ladakh, were also sighted near Raitapatia and Chataka.

Kandhamal (Orissa), Dec 26 : Somber celebrations marked Christmas for Christians living in the shadow of communal violence that rocked their lives earlier this year in Kandhamal district of Orissa.

Leading a life of discomfort in refugee camps, they, unlike in the past, observed the festival in a low key.

Instead of decorations and fanfare, high police presence in and around their camps deployed for ensuring security was manifest in the area this year.

Unlike previous years Christmases, it was a normal day for the victims as they went about their routine in the area.