Odisha Pro T20 League To Begin On September 17 In Cuttack
President Shri Pankaj Lochan Mohanty: The inaugural edition of the Odisha Pro T20 League (OPTL) will now be held from September 17 to September 26, 2025, at the iconic Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. The announcement of the revised dates was made today by the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA). The league, featuring six franchises, will culminate with the grand finale on September 26. The six franchises competing for the inaugural title are Cuttack Panthers, Sambalpur Warriors, Puri Titans, Bhubaneshwar Tigers, Keonjhar Miners, and Rourkela Steelers. Earlier this week, the captains and coaches of each franchise were announced through a draw system conducted by the OCA. The player draft for the first edition was held today in the presence of top OCA officials, including President Shri Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, Secretary Mr. Sanjay Behera, Joint Secretary Mr. Prabhat Bhol, and Treasurer Mr. Bikash Pradhan. Franchise owners and OCA members were also present. Smt. Subhashree Behera, owner of the Cuttack Panthers, was among those who attended the event. Shri Asirbad Behera, Secretary of the Football Association of Odisha and Chairman of the Odisha Athletic Association, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. During the draft, 16 players were picked by each franchise, with the option of adding two more before the tournament begins. The categories of player fees were also confirmed: Marquee 1,25,000; Category A 1,00,000; Category B 75,000; Category C 50,000; and Category D 40,000. Speaking at the event, OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera said, The Odisha Pro T20 League marks a transformative step in the journey of cricket in our state. With top-tier talent and professional execution, we are confident this league will become a major force in Indian domestic cricket. We wish all the players and the franchises the best of luck and hope that everyone brings their best sportsman spirit, talent, and showcases the depth of cricketing talent in Odisha. To ensure smooth execution, OCA has partnered with Arivaa Sports as the exclusive management partner. Arivaa Sports has experience in successfully running similar franchise leagues in Bengal, Vidarbha, and Saurashtra. Franchise Squads: Cuttack Panthers Head Coach: Pravanjan Mullick | Assistant Coach: Bibhudat Panda | Captain: Swastik Samal Squad: Swastik Samal (Marquee Player), Biplab Samantray, Abhishek Raut, Harshit Rathod, Subham Satrujit, Tapas Kumar Das, Panakala Sasanka, Dinesh Kumar Majhi, Md Sohail Khan, Prashant Rana, Swayam Routray, Raj Yadav, Anurag Mallick, Sibun Nanda, Vagesh Sharma, Abhishek Champati. Sambalpur Warriors Head Coach: RR Das | Assistant Coach: Sushil Kumar Mishra | Captain: Subhranshu Senapati Squad: Subhranshu Senapati (Marquee Player), Prayash Kumar Singh, Shreyansh Bharadwaj, Tarini Sa, Rakesh Pattnaik, Pravin Luha, Ayush K Barik, Vimal Kumar, Sumit Sharma, Swayam Srivastav, Manas Ranjan Patra, Hemant Kumar Rathi, Priyanshu Mohanty, Sarthak S Prakash, Aditya Rout, Rama Chandra Behera. Puri Titans Head Coach: Saurabh Sehgal | Assistant Coach: Deepak Mangaraj | Captain: Sandeep Pattnaik Squad: Sandeep Pattnaik (Marquee Player), Rajesh Mohanty, Kartik Biswal, Ashutosh Chhuria, Anurag Sarangi, Sawan Paharia, Sushil Kumar Barik, Udaya Jata, Surya Mohapatra, Shantanu Mishra, Aditya K Jaysingh, Rudra Prasad Mallick, Piyush Ranjan Mantri, Ayush Sutar, Saransh Kumar, Md Danish. Bhubaneshwar Tigers Head Coach: Preetamjeet Das | Assistant Coach: KV Prasad | Captain: Suryakant Pradhan Squad: Suryakant Pradhan (Marquee Player), Rajesh Dhupar, Gourav Choudhry, Debabrata Pradhan, Badal Biswal, Aryashree D Bhatta, Satyakam Bharadwaj, Bivash Shaw, Sambit Kumar Beja, Subham Priyadarshi, Ansuman Bej, Prayan Prantik Samal, Abhineet K Pattnaik, Swagat S Mishra, Bikram Samal, Md Azharuddin. Keonjhar Miners Head Coach: Sanjay Satapathy | Assistant Coach: Shovan Deb | Captain: Govinda Poddar Squad: Govinda Poddar (Marquee Player), Abhishek Yadav, Om T Munde, Sarbeswar Mohanty, Anil Parida, Sujal Singh, Sayed Tuffel Ahmed, Debabrata Pradhan Jr, Soubhagya Ojha, Abhishek Singh, Panakala Mokshit, Sreeraj Pattnaik, Biswa Baibhab Muduli, Biswa Bhusan Bihari, Soumya Ranjan Lenka, Papu Roy. Rourkela Steelers Squad: Govinda Poddar (Marquee Player), Abhishek Yadav, Om T Munde, Sarbeswar Mohanty, Anil Parida, Sujal Singh, Sayed Tuffel Ahmed, Debabrata Pradhan Jr, Soubhagya Ojha, Abhishek Singh, Panakala Mokshit, Sreeraj Pattnaik, Biswa Baibhab Muduli, Biswa Bhusan Bihari, Soumya Ranjan Lenka, Papu Roy. Also Read: LIVE Cricket Score Squad: Aashirbad Swain (Marquee Player), Sambit S Barala, Saideep Mohapatra, Pradeep Pradhan, Jamela Mohapatra, Ashutosh Marandi, Binayak Sahoo, Shovandeb Behera, Sambit Kumar Sahoo, Milan Samal, Swoop Samit Bhuyan, Biswajit Pradhan, Priya Ranjan Muduli, Akash Mohapatra, Amin Iqbal Khan, Saswat Mohanty. Article Source: IANS
NIT Rourkela secures 1,274 offers in 2024-25 placement drive
NIT Rourkela achieved impressive placement results for the 2024-25 academic year, with 1,274 job offers and 509 internships amidst a challenging global economic climate. The highest package reached Rs. 62.44 lakh per annum, and B.Tech graduates secured an average CTC of Rs. 14.10 lakh.
Maoists blow up track near Jharkhand-Odisha border, trains get additional security
RANCHI: Freight movement was disrupted for several hours on Saturday night after Maoists triggered an explosion on the railway track between Karampada and Rengda sidings under Chakradharpur Rail Division. The Jharkhand Police confirmed the explosion and subsequent damage. There has been information about the blowing up of railway tracks in Rourkela, Odisha. Jharkhand Police is on high alert due to the bandh. A special campaign is being carried out against Maoists across Jharkhand, said Jharkhand Police spokesperson and IG (Operations), Dr Michael Raj. Notably, the CPI (Maoist) is observing Shahid Diwas (Martyr Week) from July 28 to August 3 and has called for a bandh in five states, including Jharkhand, on August 3. The Maoists had also put up a banner on the railway line in this regard. Maoist pamphlets and posters were spotted at several locations, appealing to the people for 'public resistance against police repression. In the wake of the bandh called by Maoists, a large number of security forces have been deployed on the borders of Jharkhand and Odisha. The Jharkhand government has already issued an alert in this regard, and additional forces have been provided to the trains. The explosion took place shortly after midnight on Saturday, when Maoists targeted the railway track. The blast was of low intensity and resulted in partial damage, affecting only a concrete sleeper. The railway department and local administration responded swiftly to the incident. Meanwhile, in another incident early Sunday morning, a railway gangman was killed and another injured in an IED blast while inspecting the track near Bimalgarh railway station at the OdishaJharkhand border under the Chakradharpur Division. According to railway officials, gangmen Atua Oram and Budhua Munda were injured in the blast and rushed to Bimalgarh Hospital in Odisha. While Atua succumbed to his injuries on the way, Budhua is undergoing treatment and is in stable condition. Currently, Maoist activity in Jharkhand is largely confined to the Saranda forest, as they have been pushed out of other strongholds. According to an estimate, around 8590 Maoists are supposed to be hiding in the Saranda jungles, where they have planted thousands of IEDs, which have become a challenge for the security forces. A joint operation was launched in the Saranda and Kolhan forest regions in November 2022, based on intelligence inputs suggesting that senior Maoist leaders like Misir Besra and Patiram Majhi alias Anal Da were present in the area, which is considered strategically crucial. The incidents, which took place under the Chakradhapur Railway Division, once again suggest that Maoist organisations are still not eliminated in the bordering areas and they know how to make their presence on some select occasions.
Centre to set up high-level panel to examine displacement concerns in Rourkela rail project
Committee to address rehabilitation, employment for locals affected by steel plant railway line doubling
Government scheme helps boy from Virudhunagar get admission to NIT Rourkela
The boy was selected under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme, implemented by Virudhunagar district administration, and was provided with coaching and reading materials to clear JEE Mains
CRPF official killed in IED blast during anti-Naxal operation in Odishas Sundergarh
Bhubaneswar: A CRPF official was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast during an anti-Naxal operation in Odishas Sundergarh district on Saturday, officials said. ASI Satyaban Kumar Singh (34) of 134th CRPF battalion sustained injuries on his left leg in the blast, they said. He was evacuated to a hospital in Rourkela, where he Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .
CRPF official killed in IED blast in Odisha's Sundergarh
ASI Satyaban Kumar Singh (34) of 134th CRPF battalion, who sustained injuries on his left leg, sucumbed to his injuries at the hospital in Rourkela
ROURKELA: In a major breakthrough, the ongoing joint search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border on Monday led to the further detection and recovery of a fresh tranche of around 2.5 tonnes of explosives looted by members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit. Most of the industrial explosive packets, in the form of gelatin sticks, were found stacked in and around the paths used by Maoist operatives in the hilly and treacherous terrain of the dense Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Police sources informed that a few explosive packs were found lying in the forest on the Sundargarh side of the border in Odisha, under the jurisdiction of the Rourkela Police District (RPD), while the majority of the other packets were kept hidden in the Saranda forest close to the Odisha border. It appeared that due to the immediate launch of the search operation after the loot, the Maoists did not get enough time and room to carry away the explosive packets to faraway locations inside the Saranda forest and hide them safely. Since the hijacking and loot of the explosive truck carrying about four tonnes of explosives on May 27 morning from the Banko forest of K Balang police station under the RPD limits, the joint search operation has been ongoing. The Special Operation Group and District Voluntary Force (DVF), CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and CoBRA from Jharkhand, are participating in the combing operation. Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani, without specifying the spots of recovery, said a fresh tranche of 2.5 tonnes of explosives was recovered during the ongoing search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. He said these explosives were looted by the Maoists on May 27. Earlier, following an exchange of fire with the Maoist ultras at Sarandas Tirilposi under Jareikela police limits in Jharkhand, the joint forces had recovered a substantial quantity of the looted explosives on May 30, but details were not revealed, claiming that assessment was underway. Meanwhile, two other mini-trucks laden with similar explosive packets originating from the same explosive warehouse in Bargaon block of Sundargarh were seized by police from near Balughat at Rourkela on Sunday. Police claimed that on May 27, three trucks had come out from the Bargaon explosive storage point, and after the loot of one truck, the warehouse owner, Shraban Agarwal, lied to the police about the delivery of the other two trucks. Police said it seems the other two trucks were kept hidden with the intention to sell the explosives later for higher monetary gain. DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said a detailed inquiry is being carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) about the release and delivery of explosives from the now-sealed warehouse. He said the concerned authorities have been asked to conduct a safety audit of all explosive storage centers or magazines in Sundargarh, adding that a necessary SOP is also getting implemented for the issue and transport of explosives.
Looted Explosives Recovered After Gunfight With Maoists
Rourkela Superintendent of Police (SP) Nitesh Wadhwani confirmed the formation of the SIT, stating that the teams immediate priority would be to trace the supply network of the explosives and identify local sympathisers aiding the Maoists.
NIA team to probe loot of explosives by suspected Maoists in Rourkela
BHUBANESWAR: Two days after suspected Maoists hijacked and looted a truck laden with a huge cache of blasting explosives, the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) officers visited Rourkela on Thursday to probe the incident along with Odisha Police. An NIA team has visited Rourkela to investigate the incident. Preliminary probe suggests the left-wing extremists from Maoist hotbed of Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand were involved in the loot of the blasting explosives, western range DIG, Brijesh Rai told the mediapersons. DGP YB Khurania who visited Rourkela on Wednesday to take stock of the investigation, has directed the police to beef up the security at vulnerable stone quarries. Sources said he has also instructed the senior officers to conduct a security audit of the stone quarries in such locations. Besides this, Khurania has asked the police to verify the security arrangements at the forested stone quarry in Banko within K Balang police limits, from where at least eight armed persons hijacked the explosives-laden truck on Tuesday. The quarry is more than 90 km from Rourkela. After hijacking the explosives-laden truck at around 9.30 am on Tuesday, the armed persons drove the vehicle to a nearby forest. Another 10-15 persons waiting inside the forest looted at least 150 packets of explosives each weighing 15 to 25 kg. The empty vehicle was later found abandoned inside the forest and its driver was unhurt. Meanwhile, Rourkela police intensified combing operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. Senior officers IG (operations) Deepak Kumar, DIG (western range) Brijesh Kumar Rai and Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwakar, also in charge of Rourkela are camping in the steel city.
Suspected Maoists loot 4 tonnes explosives-laden truck in Odisha
The Western Range DIG of Odisha and the Rourkela SP, along with police reinforcements, rushed to the Langalkata area under K. Balang police limits near the Saranda forest in Sundargarh district on Wednesday, following reports that suspected Maoists ...
Burglars mock Rourkela police, steal from officers house on police station campus
ROURKELA: In a daytime burglary, unidentified thieves broke into the official quarters of a police officer located within the Plant Site Police Station campus, escaping with gold and silver ornaments worth over Rs 15 lakh on Saturday. The incident came to light after Havildar Subrata Hota of the Reserve Office (RO) lodged a complaint on Saturday night. The audacity of the theft has made a mockery of the police, particularly in light of the ongoing Operation Suraksha , which aims to curb property offences and keep habitual offenders under surveillance. Hotas wife stated that the family including her husband and their two children, had been away at the nearby Lathikata block from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday when the burglary took place. Upon their return at around 6:00 p.m., they were shocked to find the main doors lock broken. On rushing inside, they discovered that several gold and silver ornaments had been stolen.
ABB India, SAIL Sign MoU To Optimise Steel-Making Processes
SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant will exchange data with ABB India to prepare data-based models to create digital twins of blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces of steel melt shop areas.
