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Mamata Banerjee flags off three new Duronto Express trains

April 1, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 1 (ANI): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off three new non-stop Duronto trains here on Wednesday.

The trains would run from New Delhi to Howrah, Bhubaneshwar and to Jammu Tawi.

The three trains – New Delhi-Bhubaneswar, New Delhi-Howrah, and Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Jammu Tawi – are among the 14 Duronto trains announced in the interim railway budget of 2009-10, of which 10 are in service

Banerjee also unveiled a prototype model of a double-decker air-conditioned coach at the flag off function. This double-decker chair car will have increased seating capacity of about 128 seats with large sized windows.

Banerjee said that the Railways has fulfilled its commitment made in the last budget.
“Last year the budget was presented in the month of June and was approved and passed in July-August. We had seven to eight months, but in the time we had, we have fulfilled the commitments made in the last budget. For this I would like to congratulate the whole railway department,” she added.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was present on the occasion. (ANI)

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Sex racket busted, 24 minor girls rescued in Orissa

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, Sep 13 (ANI): Twenty-five minor girls were rescued from an orphanage by police here on Saturday night during a raid.

The Orissa police, later, claimed to have busted a group involved in sexual exploitation of the rescued girls.

According to police, caretaker of the orphanage and his friends used to sexually exploiting the minor girls.

Police seized a large number of pornographic CDs, magazines, video cameras and other electronic gadgets from the orphanage

The orphanage Biju Pattnaik Destitute Home was run by Basanti Trust, which is also involved in another sex racket run under the guise of a marriage bureau.

Police have arrested Managing Trustee of Basanti Trust, Byomkesh Tripathy.

Tripathy, however, dismissed all the allegations against him by terming them as a conspiracy hatched to humiliate him.

“I am not that type of man. Actually this is the best way of implicating a person. It’s false that I have been sexually assaulting small children. I have never ever done anything like this,” Tripathy said.

Utkal Das, the Inspector in-charge refused to disclose details of the case, and said that he would give his statement at the right time and right place.

Though local residents near the orphanage had been apprehensive about such illegal incidents in their locality and even complained against these to the police several times, but it cane to the police after a runaway girl from orphanage complained of being harassed.

The inmates of the orphanage alleged that the Managing Trustee showed them nude pictures forcefully.

“He was showing us nude photos and obscene movies through TV. When we tried to oppose, he said, we were living under due to his mercy,” said Neeta De, a minor orphaned girl victim.

Meanwhile, the rescued girls have been shifted to another orphanage ‘Child Line’ in the old town of Bhubaneswar while further investigations are in progress. (ANI)

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POSCO-India denies rumours of shifting its 12bn dollars project from Orissa

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, Aug.27 (ANI): The world’s fourth largest steel producer POSCO has denied reports of plans to shift the 12 billion dollars steel project, India’s largest foreign direct investment, from Orissa state.

Chairman of POSCO-India, Dong Hee Lee called on Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday to allay fears that the company had plans to shift its steel project from the State.

Dong-He Lee during his meet with Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar said the company would commence the construction very soon.

“We have very constructive, productive meeting with the Chief Minister on our mega project. I understand there are some rumours Posco has changed the original schedule, but we never changed that one. So we confirmed our original plans and we will start our construction very soon,” Dong-He Lee said.

The project is already running behind its schedule but Dong-He Lee said, the company planned to sort out any legal snags hitting the mega project by the end of 2009 and also had plans to begin ground levelling work from early next year.

“I think, we almost solved the problem already so there are no other barriers to start our construction quite soon. By the end of this year we would like to solve any kind of legal barriers and by early next year we will start the levelling of the land,” said Lee.

The project had run into trouble after local residents protested plans to compulsorily buy their land for the plant, which they say could displace about 20,000 people. (ANI)

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Ganesha Chaturthi festival charms devotees across the country

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar/ Bangalore, Aug.23 (ANI): On the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi (birthday), many devotees in different parts of the country like to pay their special obeisance to Lord Ganesha in distinct ways.

In Bhubaneshwar, an artist has sculpted Lord Ganesha idols from soap for the 10-day annual Ganesha Chaturthi which commenced on Sunday (Aug.23).

Rao sculpted different kinds of idols of Lord Ganesha to exhibit them during the festival. Till date, he has sculpted 36 idols with soap.

“Ganesh festival has arrived and so I am sculpting different models of Lord Ganesha from different soaps. During Ganesha festival people including kids will come to watch these idols. I will teach the art free of cost to kids who are interested to learn,” said L. Eshwara Rao, an artisan.

In Bangalore, a man is running a museum where he has exhibited a wide variety of Ganesha idols for people.

S.Tyagarajan is a collector of Ganesha idols and has put on display 2,000 different idols of the deity in his museum.

He started collecting Ganesha idols after the death of his wife who was a devotee of Lord Ganesha.

Tyagarajan procured some of the idols from his friends living overseas. He says that people feel rejuvenated after visiting the museum.

“I see in everybody’s face who come to see my museum happiness. And they say that there is some sort of positive energy and positive aura when they come inside the museum. And some of them say that here they get a sort of feeling that they felt when they meditated when they come in museum,” said S.Tyagarajan, owner of a museum of Lord Ganesha.

Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the most important festivals of Hindus in India.

On the concluding day of the festival, the idols are carried in grand processions and immersed in rivers or seas.

Lord Ganesha, is one of the most revered Gods of Hindus, and is worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious occasion.

Ganesha, as the God of knowledge is described as “Vinayaka”and as remover of obstacles he is called “Vighanharta”. He is worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious occasion for blessings of luck and success.

The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being.

He is revered as the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles besides being worshipped as the God of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.

Legend has it once Goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Lord Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy’s head in rage.

Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops.

Hence, his name ‘Ganapati’. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture. By Sarda Lahangir / Jaipal Sharma (ANI)

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Heavy rains, flash floods kill 15 people in Orissa

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kalahandi (Orissa), July 15 (ANI) Heavy rains and flash floods have killed 15 people in Orissa state, authorities said on Wednesday.

People were seen wading through submerged roads in villages and towns in knee-deep water in Kalahandi district in the state, which received 260 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours.

“Fifteen deaths have been reported by various Collectors but out of the total fifteen, four dead bodies are yet to be found,” said Surya Narayan Patro, State minister for Revenue and Disaster management.

The Sate Government has sanctioned a compensation of 100,000 rupees to each of the families of those who perished.

Local authorities have also been asked to stock food and put rescue teams on standby with the meteorological department predicting more rains in the next 48 hours.

Heavy rains also breached roads in state capital Bhubaneshwar.

The State of over 36 million people is prone to cyclones and floods that killed hundreds in previous years. (ANI)

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Monsoon reaches Orissa’s southern coast

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, June 26 (ANI): People of Orissa can take a sigh of relief as the much-awaited monsoon touched its southern coast, and will cover entire state in a day or two, say officials.

“Monsoon has delayed, actually because earlier its ONSET was on 25th May. Now monsoon has revived and today it has covered some parts of south Orissa and conditions are also favourable for covering remaining parts of Orissa during next two-three days,” said S. C. Sahoo, director, Bhubaneswar meteorological centre.

Meanwhile, people in Bhubaneshwar enjoyed pre-monsoon showers.

“It’s raining after so many days so I am feeling very nice. It was difficult to move in scorching sun. Now its much better,” said Swagatika, a local resident.

Students and office goers felt respite after a long period of rising mercury and scorching sun.

“Even though its late, its better late than never. So just enjoy the monsoon. And it will bring relief to students and also to office going people and also to farmers out here,” said Sourav, a student.

According to the National Meteorological Department, the total rainfall from the crucial June-September monsoon would be only 93 percent of the long-term average, coming in below normal for the first time in four years.

Four of 36 national zones were still to receive any monsoon rain. Rains were normal in two areas and excess in three during the week, while 27 zones recorded deficit to scanty rains.

The monsoon hit the southern coast on May 23, ahead of the normal date of June 1, but has since progressed weakly. (ANI)

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Chidambaram cancels Nalco visit due to some “technical” error

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar June, 26 (ANI): Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who is on a two-day visit to Orissa, today canceled his visit to the bauxite mine of NALCo due to some “technical” problem.

Chidambaram was scheduled to visit the mining area of the state owned National Aluminum Company (NALCo) in Panchpatmali hills in Korapat District, which was attacked by the Maoist ultras in April this year killing 10 personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The Union Home Minister who is reviewing the law and order situation in Orissa, visited the training base of the newly raised elite Commando Battalion for Retaliate Action (COBRA) and district armory in the Naxal affected Korapat.

According to Deputy Inspector General Of Police Sanjeeb Panda, though the Union Home Minister canceled the Nalco visit due to some “technical” problem, he will continue his visit to the government relief camp in Kandhamal, which was gripped by communal conflict last year.

Chidambaram is expected to meet Chief Minister Navin Patnaik before returning to New Delhi this evening (ANI)

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Orissa Government to strengthen tribals land rights

June 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar June 24(ANI): The Orissa government has decided to bring amendments to Orissa Scheduled Tribe and Traditional Dwellers Act, 2006, to pave way for tribals to continue in the land occupied by them.

The Government has so far identified about 20,000 tribals who are traditional forest dwellers but hold no land rights.

This announcement came after the Chief Minister Navin Patnaik’s visit to the areas of the trouble hit Narayanpatna in Korapat district.

Today’s decision of the Orissa government is significant as, thousands of activists of Maoists backed tribal outfit Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) led by Nachika Linga, forcibly occupied nearly 800acres of agricultural land belonging to non-tribals across Narayanpatna block, earlier this month.

To counter the Maoist from taking an advantage of the situation Chief Minister Patanaik instructed the Revenue, the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development Departments to ensure that not an inch of tribal land should not be remained in possession of non-tribals.

The Orissa Government has also decided to strictly enforce laws under the land reforms act and tribal laws to give justice to the tribal population of the sate and to launch awareness drive to educate tribals about their rights.

Revenue Minister S N Patro said the Governemnt has decided to rovide legal assistance to the tribals who are not in a position o fight out their cases and if necessary it will bear all the legal expenses. (ANI)

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Naveen Patnaik sworn in as Orissa Chief Minister

May 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, May 21 (ANI): Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as Chief Minister of Orissa on Thursday for the third consecutive term.

State Governor M C Bhandare administered the oath of office and secrecy to Patnaik at Raj Bhavan.

In the recently held State and Lok Sabha elections, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD registered a thumping victory. In the State Assembly elections, it won 103 of the 147 seats.

However, in the Lok Sabha elections, which the BJD contested without its former alliance partner BJP for over a decade, the party won 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state. (ANI)

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BJD government to take charge tomorrow in Orissa

May 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, May 20 (ANI): The Biju Janata Dal leader and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will take the oath of office at 11.30 a.m on Thursday marking his third inning as CM.

“I have been invited to form the government by Governor M C Bhandare,” Patnaik, who called on the governor at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.

Patnaik held discussion with the Governor Bhandare for about 25 minutes.

In the recently held State and Lok Sabha elections, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD registered a thumping victory. In the State Assembly elections, it won 103 of the 147 seats.

However, in the Lok Sabha elections which the BJD contested without its former alliance partner BJP for over a decade, the party won 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state. (ANI)

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Navin Patnaik to be re-elected as Orissa CM on Tuesday

May 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, May 18 (ANI): Having registered a thumping victory in State and Lok Sabha elections, the Navin Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal is all set to form the new Governemt in the Orissa on Tuesday.

Naveen Patnaik will head the State for the third time in a row as the Chief Minister. However, there are speculations about who will get which portfolio as the State minister in the new State Cabinet.

On Sunday, senior leader of BJD Pyari Mohan Mohapatra met Naveen Patnaik to prepare a blue print on the new cabinet.

According to Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, though new faces will be given prominence, the role of senior and experience members cannot be ignored.

The new Cabinet, thus, be expected to comprise the new and experienced members.

“No doubt the new cabinet will be balanced one and there will be both new and old faces,” Pyari Mohan Mohapatra said.

Meanwhile, all aspiring individuals have started lobbying hard to secure a place in the Cabinet of ministers.

However, about the role of BJD at the Centre, Mohapatra said that they (BJD) would play the role of a decisive opposition.

The decision seems to have been on the line of party’s stance of not supporting the Congress or BJP-led government at the Centre.

Mohapatra said since BJD had earlier declared that it would not support any Congress or NDA led government at the Centre, the party would play the role of an opposition and fight for the state’s cause. (ANI)

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BJD not to support Congress, BJP govt. at Centre

May 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, May 16 (ANI): Biju Janata Dal (BJD) head and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after his party’s tremendous position at the polls here on Saturday said he would not support either a Congress or a BJP-led government at the Centre.

“The BJD will not be supporting a Congress-led or a BJP-led government at the Centre. We are a regional party. We would like a government that fulfills the demands of the people of Orissa,” said Patnaik.

Earlier, Patnaik ruled out supporting the Congress or the BJP-led government at the Centre after the general elections.

He said the ties with the BJP ended because of the communal violence in the state, especially the Kandhamal district, and the “unreasonable demands” made by it during seat-sharing talks. (ANI)

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Advani wants politicians to be idealistic

May 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi/Bhubaneshwar, May 16 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani has said politics had to rise above personal agenda.

“Anyone who comes to politics must have a motivation, which goes far beyond any personnel agenda. It has to be idealistic,” said Advani, who was here to thank his campaign team.

Meanwhile, Congress hopefully got a shot in the arm when the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said that it would support a secular coalition at the Central level.

“Another thing we will consider that we must be secular. We are secular. If at all there will be time to support any coalition, they should have secular nature,” Damodar Raut, BJD spokesperson said in Bhubaneshwar.

The Congress Party is the main opposition in Orissa. The BJP was part of the BJD Government in Orissa before the latter withdrew from the National Democratic Alliance just before the polls. (ANI)

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Talent hunt on for ‘Miss Nanhipari’ in Bhubaneshwar

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, May 4 (ANI): A talent hunt, for young girls ‘Miss Nanhipari’, was organised in Bhubaneshwar.

The event has been held annually for the past nine years. Every year, it attracts contestants from all over the country.

This year more than 200 applications were received. Out of these, on the basis of their talents, capabilities and other achievements, 30 semi-finalists were short-listed and invited to participate in the contest in Bhubaneshwar.

The semi-finalists went through another set of competitive rounds in order to portray their talents.

“We had a lot of rounds like group discussions, talent round, general knowledge, written test, sports, singing, dancing and all sorts of competitions and after that the all rounder is judged ‘Miss Nanhipari’,” said Malay Mohapatra, an organiser of the show.

Shreya Fule, from Maharashtra was declared winner after her performance in various rounds of the competition. She was overjoyed that the competition was not cakewalk, but required a lot of hard work.

“I had worked really hard. I used to do yoga, running, dance and singing practice. Apart from academics,I was studying General Knowledge books. I had prepared a lot,” she said.

It is a contest for girls in the age group of 10-13. The organisers claim that they are aiming at providing young girls with a platform to showcase their talents and face the competitive world. (ANI)

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Polling ends in naxal-affected areas of AP, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar/Raipur/Hyderabad, Apr 16 (ANI): Polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections ended in the naxal-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa at 3 pm.

Chhattisgarh recorded only 25 percent voting till 1:00 pm, while around 28.5 percent of voters exercised their franchise in Jharkhand till noon.

Orissa witnessed around 40 percent of voting till 1.30 pm as compared to the 25.67 percent of voting in Andhra Pradesh in the first four hours.

Earlier, four Naxal-related attacks have surfaced in five states – Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, adding to the ten already reported earlier in the day.

News reports said Naxals had exploded a landmine in Jamui District, attacked polling booths in Rajanandgaon District in Maharashtra in which five persons have died, attacked a polling party in Bast and were engaged in an encounter with paramilitaries in the Koriari Forests of Bihar. All of these attacks disrupted the first phase of the five-phased general elections on Thursday.

At least 16 people were killed, including nine security personnel and two civilians in Jharkhand and Bihar.

According to M L Kumawat, Director General, Border Security Force (BSF) Thursday’s was the most violent series of attacks by the rebels.

The first attack took place in Jharkhand’s Latehar District, in which nine people including seven BSF personnel were killed.

According to police, the Maoists detonated a landmine under a bus that was ferrying BSF personnel to a polling station near Aara village, about 140 km from Ranch. Later, the Maoists ambushed the BSF bus.

The driver of the vehicle and the attendant, too, were killed in the attack and seven others including polling staff and security personnel are reportedly injured.

According to reports, four poll officers have been kidnapped in Latehar.

In another strike, two home guards were killed when Naxals attacked a police patrol party in Bihar’s Gaya district. Six people, including two women were injured in the attack.

The attackers also looted four police rifles and Electronic Voting Machines.

In Chhattisgarh, the Naxals attacked polling booths in Bijapur and Dantewada districts. Two polling parties were forced to return from Jagampal village in Bijapur District.

In South Bastar, the Naxals targeted Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) personnel deployed in Dantewada.

According to reports, blasts also took place at polling booths in Gotabanur and Narayanpur.n Orissa, Maoists attacked three polling booths in Andrahill village and set fire to voting machines and a vehicle in Malkangiri district.

In Maharashtra, a police base camp was attacked at Binagundha in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli District.

The Maoists have called for a complete boycott of the polls in the state. (ANI)

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Naxals strike at 13 places, death toll goes up to 16

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar/Patna/ Raipur/Mumbai, Apr 16 (ANI): A further three Naxal-related attacks have surfaced in five states – Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, adding to the ten already reported earlier in the day.

News reports said Naxals had exploded a landmine in Jamui District, attacked polling booths in Rajanandgaon District in Maharashtra in which five persons have died and were engaged in an encounter with paramilitaries in the Koriari Forests of Bihar. All of these attacks disrupted the first phase of the five-phased general elections on Thursday.

At least 16 people were killed, including nine security personnel and two civilians in Jharkhand and Bihar.

According to M L Kumawat, Director General, Border Security Force (BSF) Thursday”s was the most violent series of attacks by the rebels.

The first attack took place in Jharkhand”s Latehar District, in which nine people including seven BSF personnel were killed.

The driver of the vehicle and the attendant, too, were killed in the attack and seven others including polling staff and security personnel are reportedly injured.

According to reports, four poll officers have been kidnapped in Latehar.

In another strike, two home guards were killed when Naxals attacked a police patrol party in Bihar”s Gaya district. Six people, including two women were injured in the attack.

The attackers also looted four police rifles and Electronic Voting Machines.

In Chhattisgarh, the Naxals attacked polling booths in Bijapur and Dantewada districts. Two polling parties were forced to return from Jagampal village in Bijapur District.

In South Bastar, the Naxals targeted Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) personnel deployed in Dantewada.

According to reports, blasts also took place at polling booths in Gotabanur and Narayanpur.

Voting will end in Bastar and Kanker seats by 3:00 p.m., while polling stations in the other nine seats will close at 4:00 p.m.

In Orissa, Maoists attacked three polling booths in Andrahill village and set fire to voting machines and a vehicle in Malkangiri district.

In Maharashtra, a police base camp was attacked at Binagundha in Maharashtra”s Gadchiroli District.

The Maoists have called for a complete boycott of the polls in the state. (ANI)

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Ten Naxal strikes in five states on polling day, at least 11 killed

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar/Patna/ Raipur/Mumbai, Apr 16 (ANI): A series of Naxal-related attacks rocked five states – Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, disrupting the first phase of the five-phased general elections on Thursday.

At least 11 people were killed, including nine security personnel and two civilians in Jharkhand and Bihar.