A senior officer of the mass education department has been accused of molesting girls of 7th standard during his inspection to a school in Jharsuguda district. The incident took place in Gandghora Upgraded ME School in Brajarajnagar police station area on Wednesday. According to the victims, the accused officer, Srikanta Paikrai, deputy director of the mass

Three days after Cuttack Police arrested two gun runners, three inmates of Biju Patnaik Open Air Ashram were transferred to Special Jail, Jharpada for creating trouble and instigating the fellow prisoners. According to official version, the three Susant Das, Bimbadhar Mallick and Budheswar Mahakud were protesting arrest of Hara Prasad Sahu, one of the two

BHUBANESWAR/ BALANGIR: Even as a dawn-to-dusk bandh was observed in Sonepur district in protest against the proposed Sindol hydroelectric facility, the state government on Wednesday said it would organize public hearing in the project area. “Public hearing would be held in the project area to take the views of the local people,” said energy minister

The Centre has asked the state government to update the existing database of six towns in Orissa, which was earlier developed by the Survey of India under the Central-sponsored National Urban Information System (NUIS) scheme. Though the database for Cuttack, Balasore, Baripada, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Berhampur was created a few years ago, the towns have

Sambalpur University has dropped its plan to outsource its examination process to a private company. The move was being considered as a major step to bring in transparency and reforms in the examinations using technology. “We will not involve any private party in the examinations. As of now the proposal is shelved,” varsity registrar S

A 26-year-old woman and her one-and-half-year-old daughter were allegedly burnt alive at Melchhamunda in Bargarh district on Thursday evening. The woman’s father alleged that she was murdered by her in-laws, who rubbished the charges and claimed it to be a case of suicide. Police said the woman, Babitarani Debta, died while being taken to VSS

SAMBALPUR: Hepatitis E virus has claimed 10 lives in the last one week triggering panic in Sambalpur town. The deceased include two pregnant women. Medicine Specialist Kabir Das Purohit said it develops into a severe liver disease in some cases. He said while 90 per cent of the patients recover, it may lead to complications

A zoo will be set up at Laxmi Dunguri, a place in between Burla and Sambalpur town in Western Orissa, Minister for Forest Debi Prasad Mishra said. This would be the second zoo in the state after Nandankanan, Mr Mishra said, adding the proposal for setting up of the zoo at Laxmi Dunguri was passed

Sambalpur: The double railway line between Sason and Rengali was on Saturday commissioned for goods and passenger trains after its completion. Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle, Kolkata, Sudarson Nayak inspected the new line accompanied by other senior railway officers, including VK Bahamani (Chief Administrative Officer), AV Siva Prasad (DRM), DP Lal (Chief Engineer

An applicant for post of a lecturer in history Department of Sambalpur University here on Saturday alleged that all norms were thrown to wind in selection of candidate. Ratnakar Mohapatra, who was alleged to have been ignored for the post despite possessing all qualifications, urged Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare to institute an inquiry into the

Five psychiatric patients will be shifted from the district jail here to Sambalpur jail as there is a change in their behaviour, according to jail Superintendent Bramhananda Sahoo. As 24 such patients are staying among 641 other inmates in the jail, it becomes difficult to attend them for the lack of any psychiatrist neither in

Doordarshan Kendra, Sambalpur has won laurels by bagging two annual national awards at the just concluded annual award presentation ceremony of the national broadcaster – Doordarshan – in New Delhi. According to the Kendra’s executive producer P.L.Das, two documentaries produced by the Kendra – Paschimataal and Pakshira Nida claimed the awards. “ Paschimataal is a

SAMBALPUR: A murder convict, Dinabandhu Jena, was critically injured here on Thursday night when he was shot at by one Rajesh Sahu in what police claimed as gang rivalry. Dinabandhu has been admitted to VSS Medical College Hospital with a bullet still stuck in his leg. This is the second firing incident in just a