News
13 killed as train hits vehicle in Sambalpur
Thirteen people were killed and six others critically injured when a train rammed into a vehicle at an unmanned railway crossing in Sambalpur district on Friday. The mishap took place at Khairpali between Sambalpur City and Maneswar railway stations when the vehicle was hit by Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Inter-City Express while it was trying to cross the
Pollution Control Board didn’t act against Hindalco in time: NGO
Water Initiative Odisha (WIO) has accused the state pollution control board (PCB) of not taking proper action against Hindalco in spite of being well aware about the company’s faulty ash management. “The PCB was aware of it since 2010, but instead of initiating any action against the company, the board washed its hands of the
Firing at roadside dhaba creates flutter in Sambalpur
The firing incident that took place in Sambalpur’s Sarlakani area on Tuesday afternoon has created panic in the town. This was second such case here in five days and the sixth in last two months. Police sources said the victim, identified as Md Sonnu, was at a road side dhaba along with his two friends
OSPCB team to probe Shyam Metaliks ash pond leak
The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has sent a team to inspect ash pond leak of the power unit of Shyam Metaliks and Energy in Sambalpur district, after receiving allegations to this effect. “We have sent a team to inspect the matter there. We will take action against the company after receiving the report,”
Integrated Action Plan
The Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and backward Districts was approved on 25.11.2010 for 60 districts with 15 districts in Odisha including Kendujhar/Keonjhar. Subsequently, IAP was expanded and now includes 18 districts of Odisha, namely, Balangir, Debagarh, Gajapati, Jaipur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sonapur and Sundargarh. An amount of Rs. 915 crore has
Downpour improves rainfall deficit in state
The last few days’ downpour has drastically improved the state’s rain deficit. As of now, the state has received 816.5 mm rainfall which is one per cent above the average normal rain of 809.4 mm. This is the first time that the state has received excess rainfall this season, meteorology department officials said on Tuesday.
Odisha water resource dept files FIR against Hindalco unit
The state water resource department has filed a FIR against the Hirakud smelter unit of Hindalco for its failure to check leakage of ash slurry from the captive power plant of the company into the nearby farm fields and canal. The canal division junior engineer P K Patel of Sambalpur distributary has filed a case
Hindus join Muslims to celebrate the festival “Eid-ul-Fitr”
It was a day of peace and brotherhood on Monday as Hindus in many parts of Odisha joined in Eid celebrations across the state. Hindu families visited the houses of their Muslim friends and greeted them on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. Large congregations of Muslims were seen at Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Sambalpur towns with
State Pollution Control Board orders closure of Hindalco’s Hirakud plant
The State Pollution Control Board on Saturday ordered closure of the captive power plant (CPP) of Hindalco Industries Limited’s aluminium unit at Hirakud in Sambalpur district in the wake of a breach in the company’s ash pond that damaged standing crops in the locality. “We served a closure notice on the CPP of Hindalco after
Govt to take steps for non-closure of Burla FRC
The Central Institute of Fishery Technology (CIFT), Cochin, had recently issued a notification to close the research centre at Burla in Sambalpur district and had ordered transfer of all its six employees to its headquarters at Cochin. Reacting to the decision of the CIFT, Mishra told newsmen that he would take up the matter with the
Vigilance conducts raids for illegal hoarding and black-marketing
Odisha Vigilance conducts raids to prevent illegal hoarding and black-marketing of fertilizers. The state vigilance conducted raids in various palce of Bhubaneswar, Jaleswar, Baleswar, Boudh, Ganjam, Brahmapur, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Angul, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Sambalpur, Koraput and other areas. The state-wide verification was conducted by Vigilance to prevent illegal hoarding and black-marketing of fertilisers by wholesalers
Mahanadi Coalfields blames Nalco for coal shortage
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd – a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India Ltd – today accused Nalco of not lifting coal allotted to the company. The Sambalpur-based miner felt that Nalco was solely responsible for the coal shortage at its captive generation facilities. The Bhubaneswar-headquartered aluminium major allegedly held MCL responsible for not supplying adequate coal,
Business honcho mum on ash pond breach
On a day when hundreds of farmers staged protest in Sambalpur seeking action against Hindalco, a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group, for its alleged negligence resulting in breaking away of its ash pond at Hirakud damaging around 100 acres of standing paddy crop, group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla avoided the media in Bhubaneswar on
Heavy showers throw life out of gear in Odisha
Life continued to be affected in several parts of western and southern Odisha on Friday following incessant rainfall. The situation will only get worse with the weatherman predicting heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours across the state due to a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal. Many pockets in Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts