Category: State

Balasore Acid Attack Victim Banita Rana Dies, Accused Husband Absconding

admin

Balasore: Banita Rana, a resident of Bhimpur village in Odisha’s Balasore district, lost her battle for survival on Sunday evening as she succumbed to her burn injuries sustained when her husband Chandan Kumar Rana threw acid on her on February 20. Banita Rana was the second wife of Chandan Rana – a small-time vendor of artificial jewellery. According to reports, Chandan and Banita of Sahadebakhunta area in Balasore district had a love marriage a little over a month ago, but, a few days later, Banita came to know that Chandan…

Drone Delivers Pension To Physically Challenged Man In Nuapada

admin

Nuapada: A disabled man residing in a forested village was delivered a Government pension with the help of a drone in the district recently. The beneficiary, Satnami, is a native of Bhuktapada panchayat here. As communication to his village is limited and, taking the disability factor into consideration, the local Sarpanch decided to opt for the innovative method. This is very likely the first in India when a drone was used to deliver pension, the villagers said. Bhuktapada Sarpanch Saroj Agarwal said she bought a drone online after realising the…

Odisha Assembly Budget Session Begins Amid Opposition Protests

admin

Bhubaneswar: The Budget Session of the Odisha Assembly commenced on a stormy note on Tuesday amid protests by the Opposition members. The Session started at 11:00 am with Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal’s address. However, no sooner than the Governor started his address to the House Congress MLAs rushed near the podium and created a ruckus to protest against Health Minister Naba Das’s murder and the alleged deteriorating law and order situation in the state. On the other hand, BJP MLAs boycotted the address of the Governor and staged a dharna…

Puri Jagannath Temple To Remain Out Of Bounds For Devotees For 4 Hours Today

admin

Bhubaneswar: The Jagannath Temple in Puri will remain out of bounds for devotees for four hours on Wednesday due to the ‘Banaka Lagi’ or ‘Srimukha Sringara’ ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra. This secret ritual will be organised in the second Bhoga Mandap. Entry for devotees for darshan of the deities will be prohibited for four hours from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Wednesday. The Jaya Bijay Dwar will remain closed during this period. The Datta Mahapatra will perform the Srimukha Sringara ritual…

Odisha Felicitates Athletes For Impressive Performance At Khelo India Youth Games 2022

admin

Bhubaneswar: In a ceremony held today at the Biju Patnaik Weightlifting Hall at the Kalinga Stadium, Minister of Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera, Chairman Hockey Promotion Council of Odisha, Dilip Tirkey and Joint Secretary to Government, Sailendra Jena, felicitated cash awards to state athletes who won medals at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 and other athletic meets in the past year. Total cash award of Rs 1.85crore, was given away at the felicitation ceremony today. Odisha athletes had a fantastic run at the KIYG 2022, their best performance…

Naba Das Murder: New Photo Shows Accused Gopal Das Taking Aim At Minister From Close Range

admin

Bhubaneswar: A photograph of accused Gopal Das aiming his weapon at the slain Odisha Health Minister Naba Das just moments before the the latter’s murder surfaced on Monday giving an interesting twist to the high-profile crime. The photograph clearly shows, Gopal Das taking aim as Naba Das from a close range soon after the minister alighted from his car at Gandhi Chhak in Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district on January 29 afternoon. Although the weapon (Gopal Das’ service revolver) is not visible owing to the crowd at the venue (crime scene),…

Odisha Assembly Budget Session Commences Today

admin

Bhubaneswar: The Budget Session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly is scheduled to commence on Tuesday with the House meeting at 11:00 am. Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal will address the House on the opening day. Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari will present the Annual Budget for 2023-24 in the House on February 24. It is expected that this Budget Session will to be stormy as the Opposition BJP and Congress have drawn up plans to raise burning issues, including the alleged failure of the Crime Branch in unearthing the motive behind Health…

Jharsuguda Police Withdraw Arms From Constable Who Allegedly Threatened To Kill Convicted MLA Anup Sai

admin

Jharsuguda: Even before the murder of Odisha Health Minister Naba Kisore Das, who was shot by an on-duty police ASI Gopal Das here on January 29, could be erased from the minds of the people, another police officer has put the Odisha Police in discomfort. The police officer concerned is Kolabira police station constable Saroj Das, who, in an inebriated state, allegedly threatened to kill former Brajarajnagar MLA Anup Sai on Monday. While Anup Sai was convicted in a double murder case and is currently out on bail, police have…

NTCA Approves Odisha’s Proposal To Declare Debrigarh A Tiger Reserve

admin

Bhubaneswar: Here’s good news for wildlife lovers. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accepted the Odisha government’s proposal to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Sambalpur district a tiger reserve. In 2018, the Odisha government proposed to the NTCA to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve. The demand became stronger when a group of tourists spotted a young sub-adult Royal Bengal Tiger at the sanctuary on December 1, 2022. Forest department officials had then claimed that tigers from forests in neighbouring Chhattisgarh often stray into Debrigarh and…

Sweta Utkal Death Case: Boyfriend Soumyajeet Sent To Jharpada Jail

admin

Bhubaneswar: Soumyajeet Mohapatra, the reported boyfriend of software engineer Sweta Utkal Kumari who was found dead in her apartment in the Infocity area of Bhubaneswar on August 19, 2022, was sent to Jharpada Jail here on charges of abetting suicide. Chandrasekhar Police had arrested Soumyajeet from his native house in Bansidhar Nagar in Odisha’s Sambalpur district in the wee hours of Thursday and brought him to Bhubaneswar yesterday. Following interrogation, he was produced in a court and subsequently sent to judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected. Police said…