State

Baripada: Odisha forest department officers Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly setting fire inside the Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district, officials said. While patrolling the Nedam forest Tuesday evening, staff of Pithabata North wildlife range spotted three persons allegedly setting fire to the forest...

Phulbani: Ten Maoists carrying a combined bounty of Rs 1.15 crore surrendered before Odisha Police in Kandhamal district Wednesday, officials said. Among those who surrendered are CPI(Maoist) State Committee Member (SCM) Sanu Pottam alias Nitu, who carried a bounty of Rs 55 lakh. The red...

Kendrapara: A 48-year-old fisherman was killed in an attack by a saltwater crocodile in a village on the fringes of Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district, a forest officer said Wednesday. The forest and fire brigade personnel later retrieved the maimed body from a...

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government is going to open rice ATMs in Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal districts in the near future, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra told the Assembly Wednesday. The first rice ATM in the state has been opened at the Mancheswar...

Paralakhemundi: Encroachment on a minor irrigation canal connecting Ramsagar and Sitasagar in Gajapati district has disrupted water supply to thousands of acres of farmland, leaving farmers struggling and forcing them to migrate for work. Farmers allege that the canal, built during the rule of the...

Purushottampur: The annual Chaitra Mangalabar Jatra of Maa Tara Tarini, the presiding deity of Ganjam district, began Tuesday with religious fervour at the hilltop shrine. The temple premises witnessed a huge gathering of devotees from midnight, with the air resonating with chants, women’s ululation and...

Lakhanpur/Sambalpur: Members of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal Tuesday inspected the Kelo dam and Kalma barrage in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district as part of field visits ahead of the final decision in the long-running water-sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Tribunal chairperson Justice Bela M Trivedi,...

Bargarh: Police in Bargarh have launched a crackdown on illegal drug trade following a spate of violent crimes in the town. Acting on repeated complaints that the rampant narcotics trade was fuelling incidents of stabbing, robbery and murder, the police administration Tuesday identified several suspected...

Sonepur: Police in Subarnapur district have arrested nine persons and issued notices to 26 others for allegedly operating money mule accounts used in cyber fraud. Subarnapur Superintendent of Police Narayan Nayak said the action was taken under a special drive, Operation Cyber Kavach. The accused...

Balasore: Ahead of the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls, senior BJD leader and former MP Rabindra Kumar Jena Tuesday resigned from the primary membership of the regional outfit. Sources close to Jena said that he may join the saffron party in a day or two ahead...