SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing stray dog sterilisation drive, surpassing its annual target well ahead of the schedule. The civic body completed 1,280 sterilisations in the first week of current fiscal year, surpassing the initial goal of 1,000 surgeries for 2024-2025. After a gap of eight months from July 2023 to March 2024, the drive commenced on April 16 last year by forming a state-level monitoring committee, and since

BERHAMPUR: After a three-day search, police on Thursday recovered the severed head of a 50-year-old man from a bush on the riverbank opposite Barasahi village under Badimunda panchayat within Tikabali police limits in Kandhamal district. The headless torso of Pabitra Pradhan, a resident of Barasahi, was found on the riverbank near the village on Monday. Police said the severed head of Pradhan was found with the help of sniffer dog. It was sent for forensic examination after identification by fam

ANGUL: Forest officials on Thursday arrested three persons for allegedly hanging a parrot (rose-ringed parakeet) and uploading a video of the inhuman incident at Jamujodi village under Kishorenagar block in Angul. The accused were identified as Bhagna Pethei, Darshania Dehuri and Kaushik Kumura. Bhagna reportedly killed his pet parrot, a species protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, while Darshania and Kaushik filmed the act. In a release, divisional forest officer

ROURKELA: Senior forest officials of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh resolved to work together for protection of elephants and their habitats at an inter-state coordination meeting held at Rourkela on Wednesday. Discussions focused on effective monitoring of elephants in the three states and the ways in which Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh can benefit from emulating successful models of Odisha. Presentations were made on use of AI cameras in Rourkela forest division to prevent elephants from trai

BERHAMPUR: In an unusual operation, a fire fighters team conducted an extensive search after a 10th class student lost his iPhone in a pond at Biju Patnaik park here. On March 24, 16-year-old M Sidhartha Rao accidentally dropped his cell phone - an iPhone 16 Plus - into the water while boating with his friends. Following the incident, he filed a complaint with the cyber police and requested the Berhampur Development Authority (BeDA) to assist in recovering the device. Responding to the request,

TALCHER: The BJP top brass including several union ministers attended the 11th day death ritual of party veteran Debendra Pradhan in Talcher on Thursday. Those who took part in the ritual included Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, state BJP president Manmohan Samal and Odisha BJP in-charge S Tomar. A host of ministers from other BJP-ruled states also attended the ceremony. The

BARIPADA: Parents of at least 20 inmates of the government-run Anwesha girls hostel at Udala in Mayurbhanj district on Thursday took their children home, hours after a 15-year-old allegedly died by suicide at the hostel. Raising questions on the security arrangements put in place at the hostel, the parents expressed concerns over the safety of students before taking their children away with them. Sources said Tanmayee Murmu, a Class IX student of Chapaldihi within Khunta police limits, reportedl

BHUBANESWAR: Alleging collusion between mining officials and leaseholders leading to an artificial scarcity of sand, Balangir MLA Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has demanded a thorough investigation into the crisis. In a letter to the minister for Steel and Mines, he has raised serious concerns about the worsening situation on availability and distribution of construction sand in Balangir town and selective penalisation of small tractor owners while larger operators remain unchecked. This has led to

BHUBANESWAR: The high-level clearance authority (HLCA) of the Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved 10 industrial projects worth Rs 1,65,303 crore on Thursday. Vedanta Ltd led the projects, with an investment of Rs 91,528 crore. The projects, aimed to generate 51,939 jobs, spans across key sectors, including steel, aluminium, power, green hydrogen, engineering goods and green energy equipment, and would come up in Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Keonjhar, Khurda, Mayurb

BHUBANESWAR: A memorial meeting was held in the memory of former Union minister and veteran BJP leader Dr Debendra Pradhan at Bahrain by members of Odia Samaj recently. The meeting was organised at the residence of founder president of Odia Samaj Arun Kumar Prahraj, where members of the Odia diaspora offered prayers and expressed their condolences. Shedding light on the political life and medical services of Pradhan, Prahraj said the late minister played a huge role in establishing the ideology

BHUBANESWAR: After a brief lull, heatwave is expected to make a comeback in Odisha from Friday onwards. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heatwave in parts of the state for the next three days. Heatwave may prevail in Sambalpur and Boudh districts on Friday and in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Boudh, Balangir and Kalahandi on Saturday. Similarly, heatwave is likely to occur in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Boudh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Bargarh and Sundargarh districts on S

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Thursday stated that 263 hamlets have been converted to revenue villages within a year, and another 147 cases are under consideration. Replying to a question from Khandapada MLA Dusmanta Kumar Swain, Revenue minister Suresh Pujari said the Board of Revenue has so far approved for conversion of 1,053 hamlets as revenue villages. However, due to slow implementation in the previous government, only 307 villages have been updated in land records, while 746 villag

BHUBANESWAR : President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das on Thursday blamed the police for the violence during the Assembly gherao programme of the party. Das said Congress activists retaliated when provoked. The party workers were marching in a peaceful manner when the security forces stopped them forcefully and attacked them, he alleged and claimed police beat up them up brutally during the demonstration. Congress Odisha Assembly gherao turns violent; 15 cops, many

BHUBANESWAR: Alleging that the sacred temple of democracy had been desecrated as police entered the well of the House to evict Congress members on Tuesday night, members of the Opposition BJD on Thursday sprinkled Ganga Jal in the Assembly before participating in the proceedings. Led by Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, the BJD members sprinkled Ganga Jal from earthen pots with mango leaves in every nook and corner of the House. We sprinkled Ganga Jal to purify the Assembly. It has been poll

CUTTACK: With direct discharge of untreated effluents into Mahanadi river by industries continuing unabated, local residents have accused the IDCO of negligence, alleging its delay in setting up an effluent treatment plant (ETP) has worsened the situation. It is a common sight on a particular 300-metre stretch of the Mahanadi embankment from the bridge to the New Industrial Estate where discharge of untreated industrial effluents by local industries through underground pipes is rampant. Resident

CUTTACK: Following allegations of setting up a compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) station in close vicinity to a residential area at Kanan Vihar in the capital city, the district administration has asked GAIL India Ltd to stop the constructions with immediate effect. Khurda collector Chanchal Rana informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that construction work for the CNG & PNG station was being carried out without obtaining no objection certificate (NOC) from the distric

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the government to take adequate measures to ensure peaceful Hanuman Jayanti procession scheduled to be held in Sambalpur city between April 6 and 14. While disposing of a petition filed by one Enayatullah and six others seeking restrictions on the procession, the division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Arindam Sinha said, The festival of Hanuman Jayanti is to be held between 6th and 14th April, 2025. State says that there sho

BHUBANESWAR: With religious stand-off during festivals increasingly leading to communal riots over the recent years, Odisha Police has begun to gear up to prevent any untoward incidents during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti festivals. Apart from tightening security, police have decided to enhance technical surveillance and deploy drones as well as Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in sensitive districts to maintain law and order situation during the festivals. It has

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha is set to introduce mid-day meals (MDM) for students of Class IX and X of government and government-aided schools from the 2025-26 financial year. Besides, all students will get three eggs and as many nutrient-rich laddoos in their mid-day meals every week. This was notified by the School and Mass Education department on Thursday. The department will provide eggs and laddoos thrice a week from April 1 to students from Sishu Vatikas to Class X who are covered under PM POSHAN s

DEOGARH: A home guard candidate who fell ill during the physical test at the Reserve Police premises in Deogarh died while undergoing treatment on Thursday morning. The deceased was identified as 21-year-old Saheb Dehuri, son of Pradeep Dehuri of Budido village under Riamal police station limits. He succumbed during treatment at the district headquarters hospital. According to sources, Saheb had successfully cleared the running test on Wednesday evening when suddenly fell ill. He was immediately

BHUBANESWAR: Offering a unique insight into the interplay between art and nature, an exhibition I Am with Nature was opened at the Lalit Kala Akademi here on Wednesday. Inaugurating the show, eminent sculptor Adwaita Gadanayak emphasised the importance of nature as an inspiration for artistic endeavors and commended the initiative for creating a space where contemporary art meets indigenous traditions. It is being organised by city-based Ketaki Foundation Trust. The exhibition brings together th

BHUBANESWAR: India on Wednesday successfully flight-tested vertically launched short range surface-to-air missile (VL-SRSAM) from a defence test facility off Odisha coast. Indigenously developed by DRDO, the missile was test fired from a land-based vertical launcher positioned at Integrated Test Range (ITR) against a high-speed aerial target at very close range and low altitude. Defence sources said the canisterised missile neutralised the aerial target at a very low altitude. The missile valida

ROURKELA: Unidentified miscreants allegedly pelted stones at Rourkela-Puri Vande Bharat Express train in Sundargarh district, damaging windowpanes of berths 53 and 54 of coach C5 on Wednesday. The incident took place at around 1.07 pm between Kansbahal and Kalunga railway stations near Rourkela under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER). Sources said panic gripped passengers after stones started to rain from both sides of the train all of a sudden. However, none was injured in t

SAMBALPUR: The authorities of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) at Burla have suspended associate professor Jayaprakash Parmguru of the department of Humanities on charges of reporting to work in an intoxicated state and poor attendance. According to the suspension letter issued by the registrar of VSSUT on Tuesday, Parmguru was frequently coming to the office under the influence of alcohol, neglecting his teaching duties, and even sleeping in the classroom in an inebriated stat

JEYPORE: Taking a cue from the bulldozer justice of Uttar Pradesh government, officials in Jeypore demolished a portion of the house of a criminal in Christianpeta on Tuesday. As per sources, 28-year-old Jit Mohuria is allegedly involved in a number of crimes including extortion and kidnapping in different places in Jeypore. At least eight criminal cases are pending against him. The latest incident that raised the hackles of the administration was abduction of businessman A Raju from Gateguda ar

ROURKELA: The Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL) has approved three new projects including construction of another storm water drain, redevelopment of the existing bus terminal and development of the TISCO site. Chairing the 29th meeting of the Board of Directors of RSCL in presence of Housing and Urban Development department secretary Usha Padhee at Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, development commissioner Anu Garg reviewed the progress of ongoing development projects in Rourkela and approved the new ones.

BERHAMPUR: A young couple was killed after a three-wheeler cargo vehicle hit their scooter near Budhamba within Kodala police limits in Ganjam district on Wednesday. Police identified the deceased as Kanhu Dakua (29) and his wife Swapna (24) of Salabana village. Miraculously, the couples four-year-old daughter escaped unhurt in the mishap. Sources said Kanhu, his wife and daughter were travelling to Kakarapani village on a scooter. On way, the cargo van rammed into their two-wheeler near Budhamb

BERHAMPUR: Berhampur police busted an inter-state all-women gang of chain snatchers by arresting six of its members and their driver from Cuttack on Wednesday. Police seized several stolen gold chains, Rs 25,000 cash, cutter and an SUV from the accused - Nagu Behera (46), S Puspa (50), Basanti Rao (62), Mina Rao (43), H Puspa (50), Sabita Sahu (32) and their driver Bijay Jena (26). The gang was reportedly involved in robbing several elderly women in crowded temples. Sources said a gold chain was

BHUBANESWAR: Day after Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 Congress MLAs from the Assembly, the party legislators and workers clashed with police on Wednesday as they were denied entry to the premises. The scuffle took place at the entrance gate when the Congress MLAs and their followers tried to barge into the Assembly. However, the security personnel managed to stop them and all the 12 suspended MLAs along with Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka were taken into custody. A peculiar situation also develop

BHUBANESWAR: Speaker Surama Padhy accused the suspended Congress MLAs of assaulting and injuring the marshals and security personnel which led to their eviction from the well of the House. Making a statement in the Assembly, Padhy said that she had asked the Assembly secretariat to take steps for the security of the Congress MLAs after she came to know about their intention to spend the night in the House. All arrangements had been made accordingly. She said along with the Congress MLAs, their p

BHUBANESWAR: Following the suspension of 12 Congress MLAs from the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday, two more legislators were debarred on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, protesting legislators were engaged in a scuffle against security forces who did not allow them to enter the Assembly premises. The two MLAs, Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Chandra Jena, were suspended by Speaker Surama Padhy for seven days for creating disturbances in the House during the question hour. Both Bahinipati and Jena be

DHENKANAL : An 11-month-old baby girl was burnt alive after her drunk father reportedly set their thatched house on fire at Barsingha village within Balimi police limits here on Tuesday. The accused, 24-year-old Babuli Sahu, committed the shocking act in an inebriated state after being refused money by his wife to buy more liquor. Sources said the accused, a daily wager, lived with his parents, wife Subhadra Sahu, a 3-year-old son and the infant. He was addicted to alcohol. On the day, Babuli ca

BERHAMPUR/PHULBANI: Normal life was affected at Tikabali in Kandhamal district as various local outfits observed dawn to dusk bandh protesting the alleged gang-rape and murder of a minor college girl. Business establishments and educational institutions remained closed during the bandh which passed off peacefully. The bandh was spearheaded by Tikabali traders association. The 16-year-old deceased, a Plus Two first year student, had gone missing on February 27. Her skeletal remains were found at

ROURKELA: Protesting the lack of adequate railway rakes at sidings, thousands of workers under the banner of CITU paralysed rail transportation of iron ores in Koida Mining Circle (KMC) of Sundargarh district on Tuesday. Led by Bonai MLA of CPM Laxman Munda, the agitators closed all the six railway sidings in Koida demanding availability of adequate rakes. While Munda and senior Left trade union leaders staged protest at Bimlagarh railway siding, other CITU activists took charge of the sidings a

SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur unit of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday took out a massive protest rally accusing the BJP-led state government of deliberately neglecting Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) at Burla to benefit private nursing homes and hospitals. BJD workers led by former minister and the partys district president Rohit Pujari marched from PG chowk to the newly-built super speciality building on VIMSAR premises and burnt the effigy of Health Minister M

JEYPORE: Police on Tuesday arrested eight persons in connection with ganja smuggling and seized 340 kg of the contraband from them in Boipariguda area of Koraput district. The accused include notorious gang leader Ranjit Bagh (45) of Badakudi within Jeypore Sadar police limits and Rahul Kumar (32) of Bihars Bhojpur. Apart from the ganja, four luxury cars, 10 cell phones, two country-made pistols and five live bullets were also seized from them. Koraput SP Rohit Verma said a police patrolling tea

ROURKELA: In a tragic incident, a 12-year-old boy was charred to death after a fire broke out in the enclosure of a Durga puja mandap at Telephone Bhawan within Sector 7 police limits here on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Badal Maharana of the nearby Bangali Basti of Sector 6. Sources said bamboos, clothes and other decorative items were stored at the Durga puja mandap which has an enclosure made of 12 feet height iron grills from all sides with a tin roof. Badal along with three of hi

BHUBANESWAR: Expressing dissatisfaction over the slow progress of generation of Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) IDs for Plus II students, the state government has warned principals of all higher secondary schools of withholding their salaries if the registration in their respective schools does not cross 80 per cent by March-end. The initiative has been launched by the Centre to establish One Nation, One Student ID in the country. Officials in the directorate of higher seco

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has endorsed the state governments policy decision making it mandatory for farmers to apply online for registration under the Farmers Identity Card scheme to sell their paddy under minimum support price (MSP). The approval was given while considering a petition filed by two farmers of Kuchinda in Sambalpur district seeking intervention against refusal to accept applications offline. Since the paddy procurement process operates through an online registration system,

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on a 52-year-old woman for filing a petition for getting back her pet dog named Beauty from her daughter-in-law. According to the case records, the three-year-old dog was taken away by the petitioners daughter-in-law during a seizure from their house on January 20, 2025 that followed a dowry torture case at the Mahila police station in Cuttack. The marriage was solemnised on July 14, 2020. The daughter-in-law had left her marit

CUTTACK: The Cuttack Municipal Corporations failure to clear encroachments from the drainage channels has posed the biggest hindrance to effective cleaning and desiltation, which results in widespread waterlogging in the city during the rains. Rampant unauthorised constructions and structures mainly street shops and stalls over the drains across the city have made drain cleaning impossible at many places. Such is the situation that many of the illegal structures have been given on rent to street

CUTTACK: The Commissionerate Police will take sextortion accused Nigerian national Djedje Raymond alias Chijioke John Okoye on a five-day remand beginning Wednesday for interrogation. The 31-year-old has been accused of blackmailing and extorting money from a woman in Cuttack, who, unable to bear the humiliation ended her life on March 1. He is currently lodged in Choudwar jail. DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said the Commissionerate Police had prayed the court for a seven-day remand. However, t

BHUBANESWAR: The suspension of 12 party MLAs from the House spilled onto the streets on Tuesday evening when Congress leaders and activists reached the entrance of the State Assembly where they had a scuffle with the cops. Senior Congress leaders including OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das, former ministers Niranjan Patnaik, Narasingha Mishra, Jayadev Jena and Sarat Rout who wanted to meet the suspended legislators were later picked up by the police and removed from the restricted zone. The pity is t

BHUBANESWAR : While the suspension of 12 Congress MLAs drew strong condemnation from the Opposition, the ruling BJP justified the Speakers action saying she was left with no other choice to protect parliamentary democracy. Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra told mediapersons that the Congress legislators had crossed all limits of unruly behaviour. The Opposition members have every right to protest in the Assembly but it should be in a democratic manner. They have been stallin

BHUBANESWAR: A Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Protection Cell and several targeted interventions notwithstanding, Odisha continues to struggle with rising atrocities against the vulnerable tribal communities including caste-based violence. The Crime in India-2024 report of NCRB points out that atrocities against STs increased from 624 in 2020 to 773 in 2022. The cases are related to murder, attempt to murder, outraging womens modesty, rape and criminal intimidation. The conviction rate in

BHUBANESWAR : Odishas quintessential pakhala and temple food will soon be the highlight of popular TV show Celebrity Master Chef India where chefs would make an attempt to reinvent the two iconic food traditions in an Odisha Cuisine Challenge. An initiative by the Tourism department, the show will be aired on Sony Television from March 26 to 28 and the challenge would be judged by celebrity chefs Ranveer Brar, Vikas Khanna and filmmaker Farah Khan. The initiative aims to position Odisha as a lea

BHUBANESWAR: Concerned over the rampant practice of administering injections to patients at medicine stores, the state government on Tuesday issued a directive warning the chemists and druggists of stringent action against such activities. The Health and Family Welfare department has asked all chief district medical officers (CDMOs) and the directorate of Drugs Control to monitor the activities of the medicine stores in this regard and report on the unethical practice. The directive came followi

BHUBANESWAR: In an unprecedented move, Speaker of the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday suspended 12 Congress MLAs from the House for seven days on charges of repeatedly creating indiscipline and unruly scene in the House, disrupting proceeding for the past 12 days. Congress MLAs have been protesting in the House for the last 12 days demanding a House Committee to probe growing incidents of crime in the State. Meanwhile, members of the opposition party BJD shouted slogans demanding 27 per cent reservat

DHENKANAL: Three persons were killed and one other injured in a road mishap while road repair works were underway at Rekula village under Kamakshyanagar police limits in Dhenkanal district on Tuesday, police said. The mishap occurred when a speeding truck hit a stationary road roller, which crushed four persons, including three labourers, working nearby on Dhenkanal-Kamakshyanagar road at about 1 am. One of the deceased has been identified as Khirod Sahu, who was a PWD contractual worker, and th

BHUBANESWAR : In a move to curb illegal lifting of minor minerals, the state government has made installation of CCTVs at the quarry sites and GPS surveillance of the excavation and transportation mandatory. As per the new modalities, the lessees will have to maintain single entry and exit points, install internet protocol-based CCTVs and signboards at quarry site and ensure that the vehicles engaged in transportation of materials must have vehicle location tracking device (VLTD). The lessees sh