News Analysis India

Tag: Odisha

  • Heavy rainfall likely to lash Bengal, Odisha till October 20

    By PTI

    BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said heavy rainfall is likely to occur in West Bengal and Odisha till October 20 due to a low-pressure area formed over north Telangana and strong southeasterly wind from the Bay of Bengal.

    It advised fishermen of the two states not to venture into the sea till Tuesday.

    Under the influence of the low-pressure area, squally weather with surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kilometres per hour gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to prevail over the deep sea areas of North Bay of Bengal till October 19, the IMD said.

    It warned of a rise in water level in rivers, waterlogging in low-lying areas and landslides in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal due to the downpour.

    In Odisha, which is already passing through a wet spell, the state government alerted the district authorities to keep a close watch on the situation.

    Standing crops in fields, with paddy being almost ready for harvest in several districts of West Bengal, could get damaged, said Sanjib Bandopadhyay, Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.

    Some of the southern districts of the state, including Howrah, Hooghly and East Medinipur, have recently experienced floods owing to downpour and overflowing rivers.

    Bandopadhyay said the southern districts of the state were lashed by rain from Sunday, while North Bengal districts will experience enhanced rainfall from Monday.

    Sources in the weather office of Bhubaneswar said rainfall occurred in parts of Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur since Saturday.

    For Monday, the IMD forecast heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in districts such as Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur.

    The Special Relief Commissioner has directed all district collectors to monitor the situation.

  • Drug smuggling: Coordinate with Odisha to end menace, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel tells cops

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday directed police officials of the state to hold a high level meeting with their counterparts in Odisha to check the smuggling of ganja through inter-state borders, an official said.

    The directive was issued two days after an SUV, allegedly transporting ganja from Odisha to Madhya Pradesh, sped through a religious procession in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, killing one person and injuring 17.

    “The chief minister has directed senior police officials to hold a high level joint meeting with Odisha police to prevent ganja smuggling from the neighbouring state (into Chhattisgarh)”, a statement issued by the state’s public relations department said.

    He has directed that a strong action plan be drafted to prevent ganja smuggling and ensure 24-hour monitoring at checkposts on the state’s borders by installing CCTV cameras, the release added.

    “Collectors and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of those districts which share a border with Odisha have been asked to set up permanent infrastructure and check posts in for the purpose. The Director General of Police and Additional DGP (Anti-Naxal Operations) have been told to take immediate action in this regard by coordinating with the neighbouring state’s police,” the release informed.

  • Voting picks up in Odisha’s Pipili bypoll, 45.32 per cent turnout till 1 pm

    By PTI

    PIPILI: Voting in the Pipili assembly by-poll in Odisha’s Puri district has so far been peaceful with 45.32 per cent turnout till 1 pm on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer S K Lohani said.

    There was no report of any untoward incident from the assembly segment, he said.

    “The polling so far has been completely peaceful. People are casting their votes adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. Security personnel are present in all the polling booths to ensure free and fair voting,” Lohani said.

    The CEO said mock polling was held in the 348 booths before voting began at 7 am.

    Polling in some booths, however, were delayed due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machines, officials said.

    A number of people, mostly women, were seen standing in queues outside most polling centres, where markings have been drawn on the ground to enable voters to maintain social distancing.

    Polling will continue till 6 pm.

    The administration has deployed close to 2,000 security personnel to ensure peaceful voting in Pipili, which has a history of poll violence.

    While webcasting is underway in 175 of the 201 sensitive booths, video recording arrangements have been made in 12 booths.

    Twenty-three micro observers are also appointed to monitor the voting process.

    Nearly 2.30 lakh voters will decide the fate of 10 candidates, including the ruling BJD’s Rudrapratap Maharathy, Ashrit Pattnaik of the BJP and Congress nominee Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra.

    All of them have have cast votes in their respective polling booths.

    The by-election was necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year.

    Votes will be counted on October 3.

  • Ganja seized from saree packets in Odisha, three held

    By Express News Service
    BHAWANIPATNA: The Odisha police seized 1.66 kgs of ganja kept in saree packets while beingtransported in a four-wheeler near Kesinga in Kalahandi district on Sunday.

    The police arrested three persons, including a woman.

    The accused persons – two men from Saran in Chapra district of Bihar and a woman from Balia of Uttar Pradesh, were interrogated. They will be produced in the court on Monday.

    Acting on a tip-off, a team of the police from Kesinga in Kalahandi district intercepted a saree laden Bolero on NH 26 near the police Station. During search, the police stumbled upon 220 pockets of ganja weighing around 166 kg kept inside saree packs.

    Police sources said the contraband was kept in saree packets and was being transported to Jharkhand.

    “The contraband has been seized and the three persons have been arrested. They are being interrogated to track the chain and the source of procurement,” said a police official.

    The Bolero has also been seized. As per investigation, the contraband was brought from Malkangiri district. Further investigation was on.

  • Bengal, Odisha, six other eastern states highly vulnerable to climate change: Report

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The majority of the states in the ecologically fragile Eastern Himalayan Region are the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the National Climate Vulnerability Assessment Report.

    The report by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) identifies the most vulnerable states and districts in India with respect to current climate risk and the main drivers of vulnerability. The assessment is based on a set of common indicators and common methodology.

    The relatively high vulnerable states are Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal. These states require prioritisation of adaptation interventions.

    District-level vulnerability indices show that Assam, Bihar, and Jharkhand have over 60% of districts in the category of highly vulnerable districts.

    A total of 29 provinces were considered for the analysis and a set of 14 indicators of vulnerability was used in the assessment capturing both ‘sensitivity’ and ‘adaptive capacity’ of states.

    ALSO READ | Google Earth adds time-lapse video to depict climate change

    “Geographically, most states with a relatively high vulnerability form a cluster in the eastern part of India. They are Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal. Among these states, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and the hill districts of West Bengal are situated in the ecologically fragile Eastern Himalayan Region,” said the report.

    The location of most of these states overlaps with disaster-prone areas according to multi-hazard maps prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA, 2016). This puts those states in a doubly disadvantageous position.

    States with relatively high vulnerability are mostly poor states with a low per capita income and low Human Development Index, indicating a low overall adaptive capacity.

    “A lack of forest cover, high sensitivity of the health sector (disease prevalence) coupled with a low adaptive capacity due to a lack of health care workers are the major drivers of vulnerability in these states,” the report prepared by experts from several national academic and research institutions.

    The high percentage of the BPL population, the prevalence of rainfed agriculture, and a lack of crop insurance, compounding agricultural vulnerability and in many cases, vulnerability is multidimensional, and many indicators appear to be drivers of vulnerability for some states.

    “The multidimensionality of vulnerability is evident in, for example, the most vulnerable states of Jharkhand, Mizoram, and Bihar. They have multiple drivers of vulnerability (6-7 for each state) encompassing biophysical, socio-economic, livelihood, and institutional and infrastructure-based indicators. They perform relatively poorly with respect to many indicators, especially those capturing institutional development and infrastructure, which play important roles in building adaptive capacity,” it added.

  • Odisha reports 879 new Covid cases, test positivity rate shoots up to 2.83%

    By Express News Service
    BHUBANESWAR: Odisha on Thursday reported 879 new COVID-19 cases from 28 of its 30 districts taking the total confirmed infections to 3,45,526. The active cases, however, stand at 4,888 after the recovery of 3,38,662 patients.

    Of the fresh cases, 518 were in quarantine and 361 local infections. The new cases rose by 11% over the previous day’s caseload of 791. The number of local infections went up to 361 from 24 on March 7.

    Khurda recorded the maximum of 144 cases, followed by Sundargarh (131), Nuapada (61), Bargarh (53), Cuttack (50), Sambalpur (48), Puri (45), Kalahandi (43), Ganjam (31), Mayurbhanj (29), Balangir (26) and Keonjhar (25).

    Along with the eight districts bordering Chhattisgarh, Khurda, Cuttack, and Puri districts are turning out as major hotspots during the second wave. The eight districts registered 361 cases contributing over 41% of the daily caseload.

    The virus infection is also spreading fast in Ganjam, Balasore, Angul, Bhadrak, and Jajpur as the districts reported 31, 22, 20, 17, and 15 cases respectively.

    ALSO READ | Odisha could see peak of 5,000 coronavirus cases a day by month-end

    Sundargarh has the highest number of active cases as 757 patients are undergoing treatment. There are 756 active cases in Khurda, 420 in Kalahandi, 326 in Nuapada, 308 in Bargarh, 284 in Cuttack, 226 in Sambalpur, 186 in Jharsuguda, and 184 in Puri.

    The test positivity rate shot up to 2.83%. The state conducted 31,057 tests in the last 24 hours.

    Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) sealed the main branch of SBI at Unit I for four days after more employees tested positive. The ground floor and first floor of the building have been sealed till April 11 to contain the further spread of the virus.

    “The entry and exit of people including staff and customers into or from outside the premises of the branch, except authorised personnel of the BMC, are banned. The staff, who have tested positive, have been directed to remain in isolation at their residence,” said a BMC official.

    The Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services has issued an SOP to prevent the outbreak of virus inside jails. All jail superintendents have been asked to strictly follow the guidelines.

    As per the SOP, anybody found positive needs to be sent to the ‘Dedicated Covid Care Centre/Dedicated Covid Health Centre/Dedicated Covid Hospital’ for treatment with the permission of courts.

  • Naveen dedicates projects worth Rs 2,337 crore in Odisha’s Nuapada district

    By Express News Service
    BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dedicated a slew of projects worth Rs 2337.15 crore in Nuapada district including the Lower Indra mega irrigation project.

    Addressing a public meeting, the Chief Minister said 1.80 lakh people of 200 villages under the Komna and Khariar blocks of Nuapada district and Bangomunda, Muribahal, and Titlagarh blocks of Balangir district will be benefited from the irrigation project.

    Inaugurating the Rs 220 crore mega lift irrigation project, he said, it will be completed by the end of this year. The project will help irrigate around 18,000 hectares of agricultural land under Komna, Sinapali and Boden blocks of Nuapada district.

    Besides, another 7,500 acres of land will be irrigated from Lower Indra through the underground pipeline, he added.

    Describing it as an important irrigation project, the Chief Minister said it will not just meet the water need of the farmers but will bring a green revolution in the drought-prone Nuapada district.

    Claiming that the irrigation potential of the district has been enhanced to 54% in the last 10 years, the Chief Minister said that 1.5 lakh acre of agricultural land has now received irrigation benefits promoting multi-crops and increasing yield of paddy, cotton, and maize. There is a significant increase in coverage under cotton and maize cultivation, he added.

    The Chief Minister announced that a science park and a museum will be set up at the Lower Indra dam site at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

  • PM Narendra Modi stresses on innovation to turn local products into global brands

    By Express News Service
    SAMBALPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed on innovation for value addition of natural resources, promotion of tourism and turning local products into global brands.

    Laying the foundation stone for the permanent campus of IIM-Sambalpur through video conferencing from New Delhi, Modi said with institutions of national repute, Odisha is emerging as an education hub in eastern India.

    “The IIM-Sambalpur will be the bridge between local products and the global market. It is the responsibility of the students of the institution to promote the local products in the international market. ‘Work from anywhere’ concept has transformed the world from a global village to global workplace. New ideas powered by technology and long term policies will take India to a new height,” he said.

    To turn local into global, Modi said students of the IIM need to come up with new ways. The country has 20 IIMs and this huge talent pool will help the vision for a self-reliant India. Today’s startups are MNCs of tomorrow. These startups need able managers and those passing out of the IIMs will lead the way, he maintained.

    Highlighting the significance of western Odisha region, the Prime Minister said Sambalpuri pata is well known for its unique. The tourist destinations in the region have vast potential to attract visitors from far-off places. The natural resources, minerals and traditional art will prove to be a practical laboratory for the IIM-S students, he said.

    “The region is rich in valuable natural resources like coal, iron ore and bauxite. For better management of the resources, the students will have to use new and innovative ways which will help in making the lives of people better,” the PM added.

    Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal and Pratap Sarangi also spoke.

  • Odisha 1-2 Bengaluru – Cleiton Silva’s winner keeps unbeaten run intact

    Bengaluru have climbed to the third spot with a good win against Odisha. It also means they have not lost a single game so far this season. Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring with his 50th goal contribution in the ISL – a header into the net from a terrific cross into the box from Khabra. Taylor equalised after the restart with a goal from a free-kick into the box. But the Blues weren’t done. Substitute Deshorn Brown found Silva inside the box who slotted past Arshdeep to secure the three points. 

  • Central Government released financial assistance of 4381 crores to 6 states suffering natural calamities.

    The High Level Committee, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved financial assistance for 6 states of the country affected by hurricanes, floods and landslides. These states include the names of West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim which have been given a fund of Rs 4,381.88 crore. This year there was an outbreak of floods and landslides in these states in addition to cyclonic storms enfen and nature.

    The High Level Commission headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved additional central assistance to 6 states under the National Disaster Management Fund. After this approval, 6 states of the country will be given Rs 4,381.88 crore. Rs 2,707.77 crore has been given to West Bengal affected by cyclonic storm Enfen and Rs 128.23 crore to Odisha. At the same time, Maharashtra will be given assistance of Rs 268.59 crore for the storm.

    Karnataka, which has suffered floods and landslides during the south-west monsoon, will get Rs 577.84 crore, Madhya Pradesh will get Rs 611.61 crore and Sikkim will get Rs 87.84 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the affected states of West Bengal and Odisha on 22 May 2020 after the devastation of cyclonic storm Anfan, during which he announced financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to West Bengal and Rs 500 crore to Odisha. Soon after, this financial assistance was provided on 23 May.

    Apart from this, the Prime Minister had announced a sum of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and a compensation of Rs 50 thousand for the injured. Immediately after these disasters, inter-ministerial central teams were formed by the central government in all 6 states for relief. Apart from this, during the financial year 2020-21, till date, the central government has been given Rs 15,524.43 crore to 28 states.