Balasore District Research Articles

Effect of inappropriate solid waste on microplastic contamination in Balasore district and its aquatic environment

BackgroundMicroplastic infection is now one of the world’s key environmental concerns. The most significant causes of microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems are coastal villages, coastal landfill sites, shipping activities and coastal dumping areas. Microplastic ingestion has been described in an inclusive assortment of aquatic ecosystems from different trophic levels. This paper provides scientific evidence of microplastic contamination in solid waste from various coastal sites in the Balasore district.ResultsThe coastal village environment is composite sand soils and comprises numerous contaminants that have substantial effects on the detection of characterization results. Significant differences in the results of ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy determine many pollutants that are possibly affected by different aspects, including sampling and instrumental settings. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) has been applied for the first time to the detection of microplastic content in solid wastes. In comparison with other techniques like Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, it allows the detection of smaller microparticles. Microplastics in the solid wastes occur at variable size from nm to µm and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy with Fourier transform infrared techniques are suitable for screening. In addition, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) is becoming a valuable component of analytical platforms for monitoring plastic content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging also detects different shapes of microplastics in solid wastes.ConclusionsOur study offers fresh perspectives on critical environmental areas for further research as well as how rural populations worldwide should be involved in the future studies on plastic pollution. The presence of microplastics in solid waste has led to increased scrutiny and calls for regulation. Governments and organizations are exploring policies to reduce plastic waste and mitigate its impacts on the environment and human health.

EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HOUSEHOLD SANITATION AND WOMEN’S MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT IN RURAL ODISHA, INDIA

IntroductionAccess to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities has been globally recognized as a critical need, especially for women and girls to ensure their menstrual hygiene. This study aimed to investigate the association between household sanitation and women’s menstrual management experience in Odisha, India. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Balasore district of Odisha state in India among 694 rural women and girls aged 15-45 years selected using a multi-stage sampling method. The Performance Monitoring and Accountability (PMA) 2020 questionnaire was used for data collection. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out using SPSS version 25. ResultsMore than two-third (68.4%) of rural families used improved sanitary facilities. Around 30% of households have been using an unimproved sanitary facility, which means the practice of open defecation is still prevalent in rural areas. About 40.6% of women and girls reported using clothes as their primary menstrual hygiene material. Further, women and girls with improved sanitation facilities (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.09 - 2.59) were more likely to change menstrual materials at the main household sanitation facility than those with an unimproved sanitation facility. In contrast, households using improved sanitation facility were less likely to use bedroom/sleeping areas to change the menstrual materials (aOR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.42-0.99) than those with an unimproved facility. ConclusionAvailability of improved household sanitation is critical to good menstruation management practices. State-specific policy for menstrual health and hygiene could provide the much-needed impetus to strengthen WASH infrastructure in rural and tribal regions of Odisha.

Impact of Cluster Front Line Demonstration (CFLD) on Yield & Economics of Toria in Rain-fed North Eastern Coastal Plain Zone of Odisha

Toria is one of the most important oilseed crop after harvest of Kharif rice in rainfed areas of Balasore district of Odisha. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Balasore conducted Cluster Front Line Demonstration programme on Toria during Rabi 2019-20 to assess its impact on yield and income gap through scientific cultivation practices. The study was conducted in four villages of the district covering 180nos. farmer to find out the extension gap, technology gap, technology index and economic indexes of the crop before and after the intervention. The study revealed that, average yield of 8.5q/ha was obtained in the CFLD plot which was 44.06 per cent higher than the farmer’s practice. Similarly, the technology gap, extension gap and technology index were found to be 1.5q/ha, 2.6q/ha and 15 per cent, respectively. The average gross income in demonstrated plot was found to be Rs.34840/ ha as compared to Rs.23420/ha in farmers practice. Likewise, average net income of Rs.17040/ha was found in demonstration plot while it was Rs.8420/ha in farmers plot. The Benefit-cost ratio was found to be 1.96 in the demonstration plot which is higher as compared to 1.56 at farmer’s practices. The Study was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Balasore to analyze the yield gap of Toria (Brassica campestris var. toria) through Cluster frontline demonstration in North Eastern Coastal Plain Zone of Odisha.

Management skill of the farmers in flood and cyclone disaster in Balasore district

Management skill of the farmers in flood and cyclone disaster in Balasore district

What are we saving? The amphibians and reptiles of the rice paddies in the Balasore District, Odisha, India

Agriculture is widely recognized as one of the major conservation threats to herpetofaunal species. Any conservationactions, particularly those aimed at herpetofauna beyond the network of protected areas, require baseline dataon existing species diversity in an area. Unfortunately, most biodiversity studies are focused on producing inventoriesof animals in a small number of protected areas. To accrue truly meaningful benefits, conservation needs to focus onhuman-dominated landscapes beyond protected areas, such as agricultural lands. Scientific documentation of farmlandherpetofauna is entirely lacking, which could lead to a lack of management and effective inclusion of herpetofaunain conservation. I assessed the species of amphibians and reptiles in tropical rice paddies near the Kuldiha WildlifeSanctuary in Balasore District, Odisha, India. Based on ecological sampling and community interviews, combined withliterature reviews and field guides, I report a total of 55 species including 16 species of amphibians in five families and39 species of reptiles in 15 families.

Detection of Wuchereria bancrofti infection in mosquitoes in areas co-endemic with Brugia malayi in Balasore district, Odisha, India

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a crippling and disfiguring parasitic condition. India accounts for 55% of the world’s LF burden. The filarial parasite Wuchereria bancrofti is known to cause 99.4% of the cases while, Brugia malayi accounts for 0.6% of the issue occurring mainly in some pockets of Odisha and Kerala states. The Balasore (Baleswar) district of Odisha has been a known focus of B. malayi transmission. We employed molecular xenomonitoring to detect filarial parasite DNA in vectors. In six selected villages, Gravid traps were used to collect Culex mosquitoes and hand catch method using aspirators was followed for collection of mansonioides. A total of 2903 mosquitoes comprising of Cx. quinquefasciatus (n = 2611; 89.94%), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (n = 100; 3.44%), Mansonia annuliferea (n = 139; 4.78%) and Mansonia uniformis (n = 53; 1.82%) were collected from six endemic villages. The species wise mosquitoes were made into 118 pools, each with a maximum of 25 mosquitoes, dried and transported to the laboratory at VCRC, Puducherry. The mosquito pools were subjected to parasite DNA extraction, followed by Real-time PCR using LDR and HhaI probes to detect W. bancrofti and B. malayi infections, respectively. Seven pools (6.66%) of Cx. quinquefasciatus, showed infection with only W. bancrofti while none of the pools of other mosquito species showed infection with either W. bancrofti or B. malayi. Although the study area is endemic to B. malayi, none of the vectors of B. malayi was found with parasite infection. This study highlights the ongoing transmission of bancroftian filariasis in the study villages of Balasore district of Odisha and its implications for evaluating LF elimination programme.

Effect of Seed Biopriming on Growth, Yield and Economics of Rabi Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.) in Rainfed Condition of Balasore District of Odisha

Effect of Seed Biopriming on Growth, Yield and Economics of Rabi Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.) in Rainfed Condition of Balasore District of Odisha

Tree diversity and ethnomedicinal plants for the benefit of the inhabitants of Remuna Block Balasore District, Odisha

Tree diversity and ethnomedicinal plants for the benefit of the inhabitants of Remuna Block Balasore District, Odisha

A survey of train disasters and safety systems in Indian railways with a focus on signalling and telecommunications

Train is considered as one of the primary means of transport for the people across various regions in India. With a route length of around 68000 km, the Indian rail network is the fourth longest in the world and millions use its services daily. Despite having an extensive network and infrastructure, train accidents are not uncommon in India. The recent incident in Balasore district, Odisha, is the deadliest train disaster in over two decades. Nearly 295 people lost their lives and several hundred got injured in the triple train crash. This incident has brought attention to the safety measures and infrastructure of the country’s railway system. Although the Indian railway systems have seen significant development, the lack of a robust signalling system remains a major issue for such massive mishaps. This study discusses major train accidents with their causes and effects. Then, it discusses train disaster categories and the railway disaster management plan. It also provides a brief review of State-of-the-Art safety systems to prevent train accidents. Further, this study highlights the role of signalling and telecommunication systems in the safe and speedy movement of trains.

Study on Dropout Rate of Tribal Female Secondary School Students

Education is a highly fundamental prerequisite for human progress. Education is essential for both individual and national growth. India has the largest tribal population. However, many underprivileged Indian tribes are still unable to complete their education. Dropout is a major problem in the globalised educational system. The present study has a significant role to study the dropout rate of female tribal students linked with the casuses. The simple random sample technique was adopted for the selection of the sample from five secondary schools of Nilgiri Block of Balasore District odisha. The present study had made a questionnaire, interview schedule and focus group discussion to collect data by descriptive survey method. The result highlighted that the total ST Girls dropout rate is 36.8%. The highest rate of dropout appeared in class-ix and lowest in class x. The causes of dropouts were categorized under socio-economic, academic and personal causes.

Scientific Research on socio-economic characteristics of farmers and their problems: A Study in Regulated Market of Balasore District.

The two main avenues via which agricultural produce is gathered, distributed, and resold in rural India are the regulated markets set up by the State Governments and the sporadic marketplaces that have developed naturally and are unregulated. Under the auspices of extensive regulations that have been formulated and amended periodically by the corresponding state Agricultural Produce Marketing Regulation Act, agricultural produce market committees have been established to promote equitable trade. Since their inception, regulated markets have assisted in reducing market disadvantages; yet, the competitive market structure was not well-foreseen by their legal framework. In an environment of liberalized trade, this paves the way for the market committee to become more manageable and sustainable. Given the dependence of other sectors on agriculture, India has viewed it as a valuable tool for economic progress.The regulated markets are regarded as accountable establishments that carry out all the tasks associated with the selling of products while considering the interests of all final consumers as a whole. The current paper highlights Indian agriculture, with a particular emphasis on the regulated agricultural marketing system and its development, status, and prospects. The report also emphasizes the difficulties and impact of a regulated market on farmers' socioeconomic standing. At the study's conclusion, a number of restrictions that either directly or indirectly impacted the farmers' socioeconomic standing were mentioned. To comprehend the link between the dependent and independent variables, a variety of statistical methods were employed. To arrive at the ultimate outcome, an ex post facto research design was mostly employed.

Influence of Socio-economic Attributes of Groundnut Growers on Adoption of Various Farm Practices in Balasore District of Odisha, India

In the coastal state of Odisha (India), Groundnut covers a larger part of oilseed cultivation giving a sustainable source of income for the farmers. It provides nutritional as well as economic benefits for the consumers. Nevertheless, the groundnut growers faced many constraints across the stages of production and harvesting across Odisha. Thus, it is an essential move to promote the adoption of suitable technologies to maximize groundnut cultivation. The research design selected for the study was ex post facto design. One hundred twenty (120) respondents were selected from three blocks of the Balasore district of Odisha following the random sampling method. The correlation coefficients found that farmers having higher social participation were actively adopting cultivation practices in groundnut. The results from multiple regression found that the nine independent variables together have contributed 61.10 percent of the variance in the consequent variable, adoption of groundnut cultivation practices and revealed that socio-economic attributes such as extension contact, social participation, holding size and education found to be positively and significantly influence the adoption rate in groundnut cultivation.

EVALUATION OF PROTEASE ACTIVITY IN THE SOIL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE DUMPING SITES IN BALASORE DISTRICT OF ODISHA, INDIA

The dumping of waste poses various detrimental effects on the soil quality i.e., mostly soil microbial and biochemical properties. In the present study the soil protease activity was evaluated in various sites of Balasore District such as Balasore Sadar, Soro NAC, Nilagiri NAC and Jaleswar NAC. For each dumping site there was a control site. The maximum protease activity found in Balasore Sadar was 6.78±0.05 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1 and minimum was 3.62±0.14 µg tyrosine g1 of soil hr-1. In Soro NAC the highest protease activity was 6.62±0.74 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1 whereas lowest was 2.98±0.14 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1. Similarly in case of Nilagiri NAC the major protease activity was recorded to be 6.71±0.15 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1 however lower protease activity was found 4.02±0.013 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1. It was found in that Jaleswar NAC that the protease activity was maximum in dumping site (6.75±0.034 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1) and minimum in control site (3.68±0.019 µg tyrosine g-1 of soil hr-1). The present experiment showed that dumping of waste on open land field increases the soil protease activity as compared to their control site soil.

Diversity, distribution and economic perspective of wild edible fruit plants of Soro block in Balasore district of Odisha, India

Diversity, distribution and economic perspective of wild edible fruit plants of Soro block in Balasore district of Odisha, India

A Study on Marketing of Betel Leaves through Different Marketing Channels in Bhograi Block, Balasore District of Odisha

The present study was conducted in the year 2022-23, to identify the different marketing channels in the study area and to analyse total marketing cost, producer’s share in consumer rupee, marketing margins, marketing efficiency and price spread in different marketing channels. Stratified multistage random sampling procedure was adopted to take a sample of 120 respondents from Bhograi block, Balasore, Odisha. The data was collected by personally interviewing the selected respondents with the help of a questionnaire. Four marketing channels were identified for marketing of betel leaves, channel I(Producer-Consumer), Channel II (Producer-Village Trader-Retailer-Consumer), channel III (Producer-Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer) and channel IV (Producer–Village Trader–Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer). The price spread was highest in case of channel-IV that was 2850 and lowest in case of channel I that was 400 as there are more middle men in channel IV than channel I. The marketing channel I was more efficient than the other channels but it was not used by the farmers more efficiently as they lack market information so channel II was mostly used by them. Marketing cost was highest in case of Channel IV (Rs.1550) and lowest in case of Channel I (Rs. 400).

Understanding the Role of E-Governance Challenges in Evacuation Response for Building a Safe and Secure Community

Abstract: This study aims to understand the role of e-governance services for evacuation response using advanced technologies. Disasters are an inseparable part of human life and have always afflicted civilizations. In a cyclone prone area like Balasore district of Odisha, people are facing a lot of problems in their livelihoods before and aftermath of the disastrous situations. Even with the advent of new technologies, natural hazards are still causing environmental destruction, human suffering, and social and economic disruption. There is necessity of utilizing technologies to facilitate vital information integration and sharing among disaster responders and organizations. While geographic information systems (GIS) can provide information on the static locations of critical infrastructure and evacuation routes, they do not provide the dynamically changing locations of things and people on the move. In contrast, radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless network technology can automatically identify and track the movement of assets (i.e., fire engines, ambulances, and rescue workers) and vulnerable citizens on the move (i.e., the elderly and the disabled), and hence providing local governments and communities with real-time information and enhanced decision-making capabilities, during chaotic disaster response operations (i.e., evacuation). So, we need to understand the egovernment services needed to build regional disaster preparedness, as an integral part of e-government development policy.

Environmental, social and health impacts of stone quarrying in Mitrapur panchayat of Balasore district, Odisha

Excessive demand for stones due to rapid infrastructure development led to uncontrolled stone quarrying in Mitrapur panchayat of Balasore district causing serious environmental degradation and socio-economic conflict. A large numbers of tribal people of this area are dependent on stone quarrying activities for carrying their livelihood. Methodology include field observation, photo documentation and interview of local people through a predesigned structured questionnaire to know the local people perception about the impacts of quarrying. This current study was conducted through collection of data from local people of five villages namely, Chatrikhunta, Chandipur, Patana, Kathagochhi and Jamudiha of Mitrapur panchayat of Balasore. Majority tribal people of study area (53%) depends upon quarrying activity for their livelihood. Many local people complained about various negative effects of stone quarrying activities. A vast majority of respondent stated that they suffered severely from the noise pollution caused from the stone quarry related activities (83%). Major source of noise pollution were stone crushers (54%), transport of material by truck/dumper/ tractor (24%) and use of dynamite in blasting operation in quarry (22%). About 40% respondent complained about the impact of dust pollution on agriculture. The availability of water resources in the study area varied from site to site. Many health impacts like bodily pain, eye infection, sleepless nights, headache, cough and chest pain have been reported due to engagement in stone quarrying. In spite of its contribution towards development, quarrying is also responsible for several negative environmental and socio-economic impacts, particularly when quarrying activity is carried out haphazardly.

Menstrual health and status of tribal adolescent girls of Balasore, Odisha

Lack of awareness, illiteracy, malnutrition, absence of personal hygiene and sanitation make menstrual situation worse for tribal girls. The aim of the current study to determine menstrual health, awareness among tribal adolescent girls, their source of information about menstruation before menarche, their menstrual hygiene practice, various cultural practices and restriction associated with it. Tribal community based cross sectional study was carried out on 450 tribal adolescent girls in various tribal areas of Balasore district of Odisha. Random sampling technique was used for selecting girls of the age group of 10-19 years. Data were collected by using interview guide. Only 39.5% of tribal girls aware about menstruation before menarche. Menstrual cycle was regular for 74.8% and 25.2% irregular for of girls. Around 61.7% girls used sanitary pads and rest used old clothes. All most all girls (100%) are restricted to attend religious function during their menstruation. To get rid from menstrual pain tribal adolescent girls drink a special herb juice, local name Ghushi or Gayasha (Atriplex hortensis) in Mitrapur panchayat of Balasore district. Use of sanitary pads for menstruation is more in late adolescent girls than early adolescent girls (X2=120.002, p=.00001), girls who have literate mother than illiterate mother (X2=7.49, p= 0.01), girls having housewife mother than mothers engaged in stone quarrying activities (X2=26.76, p=.00001) and girls belong to higher economic classes (I,II, III) than lower economic classes ( class IV, V) ( X2=7.18, p=0.01). Current study showed menstrual awareness and mother’s education play a crucial role in maintaining menstrual hygiene.

Floral diversity of Panchalingeshwar: A sacred hill of Odisha, India

Sacred hills are the repository of important plant germplasm resources, which need special attention from the conservation point of view. The Panchalingeshwar hill at Balasore district of Odisha is enriched with various plant species that are economically, medicinally and commercially important. The aim of the present study is to document the plant species diversity of Panchalingeshwar hill and classify them into different life forms for studying the biological spectrum of the hill. A total of 204 plant species belonging to 174 genera and 60 families were documented, among which Fabaceae (27 species) was the most specious family followed by Poaceae (15 species), Apocynaceae (12 species), Malvaceae (12 species), Asteraceae (11 species) etc. Biological spectrum study revealed that Phanerophytes was the dominant life form accounting for 42.15% (86 species) of all species in the area, followed by Therophytes 36.27% (74 species), Chamaephytes 12.25% (25 species), Hemicryptophytes 5.39% (11 species), and Cryptophytes 3.92% (8 species). Biotic interference and invasion of alien weed species played a negative role on the native species of the area. Therefore, it is suggested to conserve and protect this sacred hill prior to local extinction of the important species.

Implementational Status of Multilingual Education Program in Balasore District of Odisha

Implementational Status of Multilingual Education Program in Balasore District of Odisha