Even as the paddy crop was hit by late arrival of monsoon and floods, the State Government has procured over nine lakh tonnes of paddy in 2011-12 marketing season as against five lakh tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Maximum paddy procurement has been recorded from Bargarh district, considered the rice bowl of the

The prestigious Gangadhar national award for poetry-2010 was conferred on Odia poet and retired IAS officer Rajendra Kishore Panda at the 45th foundation day function of Sambalpur University on Monday. Panda is the 20th recipient of the award that carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000, a shawl and a citation. But the poet was

New Year revelry turned tragic with nine persons, including six students, being killed in separate road accidents in the state. The most fatal accident occurred in Balangir district in which six technical students died. Another injured student was battling for his life in a hospital. The accident took place near Kareldhua village in Saintala police

The joint combing operation by the security forces may have forced the Maoists to retreat to neighbouring Chhattisgarh but not forever. They are bound to return once the operation slows down. Their presence is now being reported in new areas close to Hirakud Dam and Gandhamardan hill range. It has, in fact, come as a

The highlight of day two on Saturday was the much-awaited birth of Lord Krishna. With this, the Dhanu Yatra has livened up and begun to draw crowds. Enactment of ‘Krishna Leela and Mathura Vijay’, began with demon King Kansa forcibly taking over the reigns from? his father King Ugrasen and imprisoning his sister Devaki and

“Dhanuyatra” happens to be a great mass festival of Odisha which is based on the exploits of Lord Krishna. Whenever the virtuous and the righteousness are demoralized and the sinners are at the top of the Supreme. Being, the Almighty God, manifess himself on Earth to protect the saints and innocents as well as to

The tip coronet of a district military disclosed this to a mediapersons during Bargarh on Sunday. Kavita Jalan, Superintendent of Police, pronounced a fifth insurgent managed to shun while a 4 others were hold on a highway in Amarpali. “Acting on a tip off, we were told that a china colour automobile in Paikmal area

Propelled by Parveen’s hat-trick, Jamia Millia Islamia made it to the semifinals of the all-India inter-university hockey championship with a 3-1 win over Banaras Hindu University on Friday. The results: Jamia 3 (Parveen 3) beat BHU N1 (Dharamveer); Panjab 1 (Gagandeep) beat Barkatullah 0; Sambalpur 0 drew with Madras 0; Annamalai 2 (Manoj Kumar, Vinod

Lok Mahotsav, the annual cultural festival of the area, has been deferred this year in view of the forthcoming panchayat polls. It is usually organized from January 4 to 6 every year. Collector (Sambalpur) Mrinalini Darswal said the festival cannot be organized on its scheduled date due to the enforcement of the election code of

The year 2011 was not a great one for Sambalpur district. Two starvation deaths, Maoist-related cases, nature’s fury, student unrest and political turmoil among other things kept the district administration on its toes. A Dalit labourer Kapil Hans of Gobindpur village under Tribanpur gram panchayat of Rairakhol block reportedly died of starvation in July. Sources

The State Government has demanded 12 new trains in the 2012-13 Railway Budget. The new trains are, Bhubaneswar-Mumbai/Pune, Puri-Jeypore/Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar-Bangalore, Puri/Bhubaneswar-Surat (all Duronto express), Rourkela-New Delhi, Keonjhar-Howrah, Barbil-Visakhapatnam via Keonjhar and Bhubaneswar, Titlagarh-Bhubaneswar via Rayagada, Bhubaneswar-Shiridi daily express, passenger train service between Barbil-Puri and passenger service between Bhawanipatna-Bhubaneswar via Sambalpur. In a letter to Railway

In a Vigilance raid assets of nearly around 57 lakhs from the Sargipali Branch Manager of Sundargarh District Central Co-operative Bank (S.D.C.C) unbar by Sambalpur Vigilance. Basing on the allegation of acquisition and possession of disproportionate assets by Rajendra Narayan Mohapatra presently working as Branch Manager, at Sargipali Branch, a residential three storied building located

Despite the prohibition of the district administration, more than 30,000 animals and birds were sacrificed during Sulia Yatra at Nuakhala in Kumuria village under Balangir’s Tusura police station limits on Tuesday. Devotees and supporters of the tribal community sacrificed the animals, citing the practice to be part of their long-standing tradition. Large number of police

When police whisked away Upendra Mirdha and his cousin from his Banjarikitira village in the wee hours of on Nov 14, his diabetic son Sushanta (16) hoped his father would be back soon. Policemen too assured them Upendra would be ‘back in five minutes.’ It took more than 12 hours to ascertain where they were