BHUBANESWAR : Amid a worsening diarrhoea outbreak in at least three districts in the state, a Central team of health experts arrived here on Saturday to support the containment efforts. The outbreak that was first reported in Jajpur district five days back has been traced to the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, raising serious concerns over water safety and food hygiene in the region. Sources said, so far at least 15 people, including 11 from Jajpur, three from Keonjhar and one from Bhadrak have died

NUAPADA: Till two decades back, Maharajors identity on Nuapada map was of a village where migration for employment was a norm. Today, villagers are giving up migration to earn livelihood from their traditional craft - pottery. Albeit, by shifting to contemporary terracotta designs. It took a pandemic, a helping hand from the state government and willingness of the villagers to bring about the shift. The village is home to 85 families and a majority of them are now dedicated towards transforming

BHUBANESWAR : Keeping in view the security concerns, the central agencies and Odisha Police have decided to double the security arrangement in Puri for Rath Yatra, the largest religious congregation in the country. The Rath Yatra is to be held on June 27. Usually, there is a two-layer security for the chariot festival, both managed by Odisha Police. However, considering the prevailing sensitive situation, the central and state agencies have decided to ramp up their presence and create four-layer

BHUBANESWAR: People in the state can soon book an ambulance through the ride-hailing mobile app Odisha Yatri. The Odisha government is planning to integrate the ambulance services with its homegrown cab aggregator app. The Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department, in coordination with the State Transport Authority (STA) and Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), is working on modalities to onboard ambulances on the ONDC-based platform to improve access and last-mile healthcare delivery. Odish

BHUBANESWAR : Six students who have been selected for the prestigious Professor Ghanashyam Dash scholarship for higher education were felicitated by the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF) here on Saturday. Instituted in 2005 by IMFA, the scholarship honours the legacy of renowned scholar and historian late Prof Ghanashyam Dash, father of late Ila Panda. The scholarship will support the meritorious students in pursuing professional degrees in engineering, medicine, STEM and liberal arts by c

BERHAMPUR: A 26-year-old tuition teacher was arrested on Friday on charges of abetting the suicide of a minor student who ended her life few days back. The accused has been identified as S Sanatan Reddy of Kandeswar village in Digapahandi area of Ganjam. Another tuition teacher, 26-year-old K Loknath Reddy, who was also allegedly involved in physically assaulting the girl, is on the run. As per police, the minor girl consumed poison on June 8 in a bid to end life. She died the next day. The matt

BHUBANESWAR: UDDIPAAN, a neighbourhood inclusive public space development initiative, kicked off at OUAT farmgate here on Saturday to showcase how small-scale and low-cost interventions can trigger systemic change by centering adolescents voice in urban planning. The programme, organised by city-based Humara Bachpan Trust (HBT) in collaboration with WRI India and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), has transformed a high-footfall, youth-centric location into an inclusive, safe and vibrant p

SAMBALPUR: Suspected food poisoning at a community feast left at least 18 persons sick in Kuapali village under Paikmal block of Bargarh district. The feast was organised as part of a post-cremation ritual on Friday and people from neighbouring villages such as Dunguripali, Bhagatpur and Banamal gathered to partake in the community meal. By evening, several participants began to experience symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea. As the numbers grew, 17 people were immediately referred to Padamp

BARGARH: A domestic conflict between a couple took a tragic turn after the man allegedly assaulted his wife with a sharp weapon and later died by suicide in Bheunria village under Padampur police limits of Bargarh district on Saturday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Shyama Bhoi. The 52-year-old, said to be mentally unstable, often got into argument with his wife Ratni Bhoi (47). On Saturday, Shyama came home in an inebriated state and got into a fight with his wife. As the dispute inte

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Friday announced reduction in conversion fee for land leased out by the General Administration (GA) department in favour of different persons for residential purposes from 10 per cent to three per cent. As per the notification of the GA department, the order has been issued on the basis of the cabinet approval made in this regard on June 3. Conversion fee will now be assessed at three per cent of benchmark value where the building has been constructed as per

PARADIP: Tension prevailed after mysterious death of a contractual worker prompted staff and family members to stage a dharna in front of the main gate of Paradip Phosphates Ltd (PPL) on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Ramesh Lenka (40), a resident of Rangiagarh under Paradip Model police limits. He was seriously injured while working in the plant on Friday night. As per sources, Ramesh was engaged as a contractual worker at the Gypsum plot of PPL. He was seriously injured in an acciden

PURI: With the Anasar period of the Trinity underway, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Saturday convened a meeting with the Daitapati Nijog to discuss the timely conduct of rituals with special emphasis on Pahandi. SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee urged Daita servitors to segregate into four groups to perform the Pahandi rituals of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra. Each group will have the required number of Daita and other servitors as mentioned in the R

BHUBANESWAR: Mo Gachha Mo Parivar (My Tree, My Family), a mega plantation drive for environmental sustainability, was launched by the Vedanta Aluminium in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts recently on the occasion of World Environment Day. The campaign of Vedanta Lanjigarh targets plantation of over one lakh fruit-bearing saplings in the two districts which would benefit around 30,000 rural families. Saplings of popular species like mango, guava, jackfruit and moringa have been selected for the p

ROURKELA: Death of a CRPF personnel during an anti-Naxal operation on Saturday morning has brought back memories of the troubled phase of Sundargarhs tryst with Maoist violence Renewed Maoist activities have come back to haunt Rourkela police with the loot of the explosive-laden truck on May 27. Before the incident, Sundargarh side of the border was relatively quiet with no significant Maoist movement. Now, it appears that taking advantage of the security gaps following withdrawal of CRPF from S

BHUBANESWAR: Voicing serious concern over widespread use of single-use plastic items in Koraput, city-based advocate Sankar Prasad Pani has sought immediate intervention of the state government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to launch strict enforcement against the unrestricted use of the banned products in the district, especially at Gupteswar, which has been declared a biodiversity heritage site. Pani in his letter to the Koraput administration, Odisha State Po

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Cuttack bench, to deliver judgment on senior IPS officer Satish Kumar Ishwardas Gajbhiyes petition. The Tribunal had reserved after the final hearing on May 9. The vacation court issued the direction on Friday while disposing of a petition filed by Gajbhiye, presently posted as Inspector General of Police (Communications) in Cuttack, challenging a central deputation order. The bench comprising Justices AK Moha

BHUBANESWAR: The state government is set to roll out the Mahapurush Adarsh Gram Yojana, a new initiative for transforming the native villages of eminent personalities such as freedom fighters, poets, authors and artists into model villages, on June 20 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prime minister, who will grace the state-level celebration of the first anniversary of Mohan Charan Majhi government, is expected to launch several new welfare initiatives including the model vil

BHUBANESWAR: Amid a worsening diarrhoea outbreak in at least three districts in the state, a central team of health experts arrived here on Saturday to support the containment efforts. The outbreak that was first reported in Jajpur district five days back has been traced to the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. So far at least 15 persons, including 11 from Jajpur, three from Keonjhar and one from Bhadrak, have died in separate outbreaks. Three more samples tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, taking th

BHUBANESWAR: Snehasis Das has emerged as the state topper in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test UG (NEET-UG)-2025, results of which were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday. With a percentile of 99.997, Das has secured an all-India rank (AIR) of 60. Rajasthans Mahesh Kumar secured AIR-1 with a percentile of 99.9999547. Kumar was closely followed by Utkarsh Awadhiya of Madhya Pradesh (99.9999095) who bagged the second rank while Krishang Joshi of Maharashtra was rank

ROURKELA: An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Jharkhand-based 134 CRPF battalion was martyred in an IED blast on Saturday early morning along the Odisha-Jharkhand border during a joint combing operation against Maoist operatives. The explosion occurred in the Banko forest under K Balang police station limits of Rourkela Police District (RPD), about 95 km from Rourkela, in Sundargarh district of Odisha. The martyred ASI, Satwan Singh (34), belonged to the 134 CRPF battalion stationed in West

BALASORE: Thumbing its nose at the police, the sand mafia reportedly attacked two junior mining officers in presence of cops at Chalantai near Subarnarekha river bed in Jaleswar here on Thursday night. Junior mining officers of Jaleswar Jitendra Das and his Basta counterpart Satya Chinmaya suffered injuries after being allegedly attacked by a group of 10 miscreants having links with the sand mafia. The incident took place during a crackdown on unauthorised sand mining on Subarnarekha river bed.

BERHAMPUR: Mohana police in Gajapati district on Friday arrested a 60-year-old man on charges of sexually assaulting a minor girl at Raiguda village. The accused is Laxman Nayak of Naringa village. Police sources said Laxman had gone to Raiguda to attend a feast on Thursday. After the feast, he decided to visit a relatives house in the village. On reaching his relatives place, he found that all family members had gone outside leaving the 13-year-old victim alone in the house. As the accused was

ROURKELA: Water level of Pitamahal, Kansbahal and Rukura medium irrigation reservoirs in the rain-fed Sundargarh district has gone down sharply due to inadequate rainfall in June so far. During kharif crop season, life-saving irrigation support is required during July and beyond in the event of monsoon playing truant. The current situation is worrying as despite early arrival of monsoon, the district has not yet received adequate rainfall in the last 13 days. Reliable sources said the live stora

MALKANGIRI : Malkangiri police arrested two hardcore Maoists after an exchange of fire in the forest adjoining Sodiguda and Tentuliguda villages in Mathili on Friday. The duo was identified as Kesa Kawasi and Rakesh alias Sanu Kunjam, both of Chhattisgarh. They were carrying cash reward of Rs 3 lakh each on their head. Police seized a pistol, six rounds of ammunition, 10 electronic detonators, codex wire, walkie-talkies, Maoist literature and other items from them. Malkangiri SP Vinod Patil said

BERHAMPUR: The CBI has arrested a public relations officer (PRO) of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) office in Berhampur for allegedly accepting a bribe of 10,000 from a private company representative. Basing on a complaint by Suraj Kumar Dash of Chaityanya Nagar in Berhampur, CBI sleuths laid a trap in which Anil Ratha, the PRO at the regional office of EPFO, was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting bribe to approve the authorised digital signature in unified portal of EP

JAJPUR: On high alert over the diarrhoea spread in Jajpur, the district administration on Friday cancelled leaves of all government officials during the three-day Raja festival. Leaves of all officers have been cancelled from June 14 to 16 in view of the diarrhoea outbreak in different parts of the district in the last four days. In a letter, Jajpur collector P Anvesha Reddy said all offices in the district will remain open as usual and services of employees will be utilised in case of exigency.

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the death toll surged to 11, the Odisha government on Friday confirmed the presence of cholera-causing bacteria in samples collected from the affected areas of Jajpur district. Adding to the governments headache, two more districts also reported the outbreak on the day. Official sources said, of the 41 faecal samples sent to the laboratory for testing, eight tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera. So far, over 700 others have been taken il

BHUBANESWAR: The state government is planning to open Jan Poshan Kendras in every panchayat to provide subsidised food items like atta, sugar, salt and pulses. Speaking to the mediapersons on Friday, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra announced that a pilot project with five centres will be rolled out initially to identify operational challenges and gather feedback before its full implementation in the entire state. The minister said that the initiative will also f

BHUBANESWAR: The state-level single window clearance authority (SLSWCA) of the Odisha government on Friday approved 17 investment proposals worth Rs 3,878.86 crore. The proposed projects are expected to generate 10,584 employment opportunities across 11 districts. The SLSWCA headed by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja cleared the projects that span a wide-range of sectors including plastics, textiles and apparel, technical textiles, electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM), food processing,

CUTTACK: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said the state government has provided business opportunities worth Rs 3,695 crore to self-help groups (SHGs) this year, setting a record in the states history. Addressing the state-level Nari Shakti Samabesh to mark the completion of one year of BJP government here, the chief minister said additionally `300 crore interest has been returned to over 3.07 lakh SHGs to help them realise their dreams. Stating that the event was aimed to empower wo

CUTTACK/BHUBANESWAR : Crime Branch (CB) of Odisha Police has arrested six cyber criminals in separate cases of investment and digital arrest frauds amounting to Rs 3.34 crore. In the first case, the agency nabbed a woman from West Bengal for her alleged involvement in a Rs 74.10 lakh investment fraud case. The accused Anushka Mitra (24) of Bardhaman district was brought to Odisha on transit remand and produced before SDJM court in Bhubaneswar. According to CB sources, Mitra along with her associ

BHUBANESWAR: A special Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) will be conducted for filling up vacant seats in BTech and other professional courses on July 15 and 16, informed the OJEE committee. Committee chairman DP Satpathy said the process of registration and online application for the Special OJEE-2025 commenced from Friday and will continue till June 23. Satpathy said the entrance test will be conducted for BTech, LE Tech (diploma), LE Tech (BSc), MBA, MCA and BPharm courses. Candidates

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has piloted multiple projects to measure the efficiency of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other advanced computer technologies for optimising use of water resources to help farmers and strengthen disaster preparedness. Addressing a workshop on Introduction of Best Practices in Data Management and Digitisation for Water Resources Monitoring using AI, jointly organised by the State Water Informatics Centre (SWIC) and IIT Bhubaneswar, development commissioner and ad

BHUBANESWAR: Admission to post-graduate (PG) courses in the new academic session of 2025 -26 will be entirely based on marks secured by a student in the common post-graduate entrance test (CPET), the department of Higher Education has notified. The department has done away with the previous practice of giving PG seats to students on the ground of 80 pc CPET marks and 20 pc career marks. In the PG phase-1 admission guidelines issued by the department, principals of colleges and PG council chairme

BHUBANESWAR: Going ahead with its plan of promoting green and sustainable public transport in urban areas, the state government will launch electric buses (e-buses) under Ama Bus service in five more cities and further expand the service in Berhampur city. It has initiated the procurement of 200 more e-buses for the purpose. Officials in Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), that manages the Ama Bus service, said the e-buses will be introduced in Keonjhar, Baripada, Angul, Jharsuguda and Sambal

BHUBANESWAR: In the aftermath of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash at Ahmedabad claiming 260 lives, authorities of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar have decided to conduct an aircraft emergency handling mock drill on June 30. The airports operational facilities and preparedness to handle any emergency situation was checked on Friday by the BPIAs safety review committee consisting of heads of various stakeholder departments. This mock drill has been planned to en

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the death toll surged to 11, the Odisha government on Friday confirmed the presence of cholera-causing bacteria in samples collected from the affected areas of Jajpur district. Adding to the governments headache, two more districts also reported the outbreak on the day. Official sources said, of the 41 faecal samples sent to the laboratory for testing, eight tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera. So far, over 700 others have been taken il

As the BJP govt completes one year in office, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi talks about his accomplishments and challenges along with the roadmap for Odishas growth and development in the coming years, in an interview with Siba Mohanty & SN Agragami . Your government has completed one year in office with a slogan, Barsa Ek, Uplapdhi Anek. What is the biggest upalabdhi (achievement) of your government in the last 12 months ? June 12 was a historic day in the political history of Odisha. Peopl

Indias aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance check on Boeing Dreamliner aircraft in the aftermath of the fatal Ahmedabad crash , which killed 241 of the 242 onboard on Thursday. In a letter to Air India, regulator listed out the checks the airliner will have to carry out on all of its Boeing 787-8/9 fleet, starting June 15, 2025. As a preventive measure, DGCA hereby directs M/s Air India to carry out t

ROURKELA: Mystery shrouds the death of an unidentified man whose partially-decomposed body was found inside a plantation area along the ring road within Sector 15 police limits here on Thursday. Locals suspect that the man was murdered. But it was not immediately clear if the crime took place on the spot or the body was dumped there after being brought from elsewhere. The mans charred belongings were found nearby. Locals informed police about a foul smell emanating from the plantation near the b

BHUBANESWAR: Ravenshaw University has for the third consecutive year, posted the highest cut-off percentage in all the four streams of Arts, Physical Science, Biological Science and Commerce for admissions to undergraduate (UG) courses in 2025-26 academic session. The first merit list for UG admissions to 1,054 higher education institutions was released by the department of Higher Education on Thursday. In the Arts stream, the highest cut-off is for political science in Ravenshaw University at 9

BHUBANESWAR: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has warned two state government-run institutions of regulatory action for failing to submit the mandatory anti-ragging compliance reports and undertakings from students not to indulge in ragging, for the year 2024. The two institutions are Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) at Burla and Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS) in Bhubaneswar. The UGC on Thursday asked 89 universities and institutions across

BHUBANESWAR: With dengue infection slowly making its presence felt in the state capital in the current monsoon season, the state government has activated the Urban Metropolitan Surveillance Unit to monitor the situation and initiate necessary preventive measures. Sources said out of 24 dengue cases reported in Bhubaneswar area since January 1, nine have been reported in June so far. While Salia Sahi, the citys biggest slum, has recorded five dengue cases, two each have been detected from Sailash

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has upheld a Family Court judgment granting divorce in a case in which the wife had repeatedly made disparaging comments to her husband regarding his physical infirmity, which in the lower courts view, constituted mental cruelty. In the case, the marriage was solemnised on June 1, 2016, but the wife is staying separately in her parents house since March 25, 2018 after her constant remarks on her husbands infirmity resulted in serious disputes between them. Subseque

BHUBANESWAR: With the BJP government completing its first year in the state on Thursday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the state-level Vikas Vahan Yatra, a public outreach programme to convey its achievements and connect the people with various government programmes. Flagging off several vehicles which will criss-cross the state, the chief minister emphasised the importance of public participation in ensuring the success of various schemes launched during the last one year. The g

BHUBANESWAR: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch has arrested the promoter of 18football.com, a betting/gaming application, for allegedly cheating investors of crores on the promise of providing them higher returns on their deposited amounts. A native of Kabisuryanagar in Ganjam district, accused Jitendra Mallick was nabbed from Bengaluru on June 4, and brought to Odisha on June 9, EOW officials said. He has been taken on a four-day police remand for questioning. The agency had regi

CUTTACK: Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Thursday said the double-engine government is making all-out efforts to strengthen the foundation of Viksit Odisha by 2036 and Viksit Bharat by 2047. Addressing mediapersons at the Circuit House here on the occasion of the first anniversary of the BJP government in the state, Harichandan said, a new era has begun both in the state and the country due to good governance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The good governance of 11 years of BJP rule at

BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move to enhance workplace discipline and promote punctuality among state government employees, the Odisha government has decided to introduce artificial intelligence (AI)-based cameras and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled identity cards to record attendance data. Sources said the system will be piloted at Lok Seva Bhawan and Kharvel Bhavan before being extended to all government offices across the state. The General Administration (GA) department on Thu

MALKANGIRI : Senior IAS officer Manish Agarwal on Thursday surrendered before the Malkangiri SDJM court and was released on interim bail in connection with the case on abetment of suicide of his personal assistant (PA) when he was the district collector five years back. Agarwal, who is currently the additional secretary in Planning and Convergence department, had moved the Supreme Court after the Orissa High Court rejected his anticipatory bail petition on April 25. While issuing notice returnab

BERHAMPUR: A 34-year-old man was brutally murdered by unidentified miscreants within Phiringia police limits in Kandhamal district on Thursday. Police identified the deceased as Prabhat Mallik, a driver by profession and resident of Jargipada village. Sources said on Wednesday, Prabhat left home on his bicycle for some work. When he did not return in the night, his family members started a search but failed to trace him. His cell phone was also switched off. On Thursday morning, locals found a m