Bhubaneswar: India Meteorological Department Wednesday said a fresh low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal could trigger heavy rainfall across Odisha till August 17. The weather system is likely to be more marked and move northwestwards during the next 48 hours, the IMD said in a morning bulletin. "Under the influence of yesterday's upper air cyclonic circulation...

Raurkela: Five people were arrested by the Odisha Police as it busted an inter-state cybercrime racket, officials said Wednesday. Acting on a complaint lodged at Udit Nagar police station August 6, police first arrested Raurkela resident Jyotish Prasad Verma (29), alias Tilak Mahato, who was involved in the momo business. Verma was allegedly transferring money received through...

Mumbai: Two persons were killed and six to eight others feared trapped after a landslide in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area early Wednesday following heavy rain, civic officials said. The civic body had earlier said the incident occurred in Kurla, a neighbouring area. The landslide was reported at Gaushiya Chawl (row tenement) in Chirag Nagar at 3.48 am, the...

Kangpokpi/Imphal: At least nine houses were burnt down in an attack on a Naga village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said Wednesday. The incident happened at Tokpa Liangmai Naga village around 9.30 pm Tuesday, they said. Armed men allegedly opened fire and later set fire to nine houses, mostly kutcha structures, they added. Residents of nearby villages...

By Arindam Ganguly, OP Bhubaneswar: Odisha may have managed to keep its wild elephant population broadly stable for decades, but a more difficult conservation question is now staring the state in the face; does Odisha still have enough healthy, connected habitat to accommodate its elephants? The latest state elephant census puts Odisha’s wild elephant population at 2,103,...

Kendujhar: As people prepare to observe World Elephant Day Wednesday, elephants in the Kendujhar forest division are increasingly in need of protection and rehabilitation as their habitat continues to shrink. Kendujhar district once had vast stretches of dense forest where elephants could move safely and fi nd sufficient food. They occasionally ventured into nearby farmland and villages...

By Dr Debabrata Swain The elephant, Earth’s largest terrestrial mammal, is deeply woven into Odisha’s cultural, spiritual, and geopolitical history. Simple and serene with its magnificent proboscis, this gentle giant requires massive, unbroken forested terrains to forage, consuming hundreds of kilograms of foliage and grass from more than a hundred different plant species daily. Today, those very...

Bhubaneswar: A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the process for selecting the new Director General of Police (DGP) in Odisha was filed in the Supreme Court Tuesday, even as the state government Monday hurriedly promoted 1994-batch IPS officers Sanjeeb Panda and Yashwant Kumar Jethwa from Additional Director General (ADG) rank to DGP rank. Senior advocate P Chidambaram...

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), in coordination with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), has carried out a major demolition drive, demolishing a total of 330 transit houses with 45 toilets and bathrooms near Kanyashram under Chandrasekharpur Mouza as part of its ongoing efforts to clear government land of unauthorised occupation and facilitate planned urban development. The squads...

Purushottampur(Ganjam): Farmers have alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Purushottampur Cooperative Society Ltd in Ganjam district, accusing its secretary, G Lokanath Achary, of allegedly favouring his family in the disbursal of agricultural loans while farmers were being denied due consideration. Farmers alleged that Achary had secured loans in the names of his mother, brother, sister and...