Phulbani: A man allegedly killed his 92-year-old mother and then set her body on fire after a heated exchange of words in Odisha’s Kandhamal district, police said Monday.

The incident took place Sunday at Khajurisahi near Badimunda village in the district.

The deceased mother was identified as Manjula Nayak and the accused is Samir Kumar Nayak, aged about 45, said Kalyanmoyee Sendha, Inspector-in-charge, Tikabali police station.

According to the police, Samir was released from jail a week ago after undergoing imprisonment of about three years in connection to a crime.

He had a quarrel with Manjula over some domestic issues Saturday night while both were alone at their house. It was suspected that Samir killed his mother in a fit of anger by strangulating her and to eliminate the evidence, he set the body on fire inside the house. The villagers apprehended the accused and handed him over to the police, sources said.

“We have seized the skeleton of the lady and arrested the son who confessed the crime,” Sendha said.

A detailed investigation is on and the accused is being interrogated. He will be produced in court on Monday, the inspector said.

PTI

Keonjhar: Newly inaugurated Dharanidhar Medical College and Hospital (DDMCH) at Kabitra near Keonjhar town has failed to be of any use to the patients as it is yet to become fully operational months after its inauguration. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the newly-built medical college and hospital, February 13. The medical college and the 385-bed hospital were built at a cost of Rs 400 crore on 44.40 acre of land at Kabitra. Residents of Keonjhar town felt relieved after the establishment of DDMCH. However, it has failed to serve the purpose for which it was established, locals alleged.

Patients and their attendants continue to throng the district headquarters hospital (DHH) premises as the newly inaugurated hospital is yet to become fully functional inside the medical college campus. Patients are having a harrowing time as they continue to throng the DHH for treatment. Many of them unaware of the non-functioning of the DDMCH have to take rounds of its campus before finally converging at the DHH. Studies of the medical students are going on inside the campus while the hospital unit continues to function from the DHH premises in Keonjhar town even as over seven months have passed after its inauguration.

Notably, thousands of patients from Keonjhar and neighbouring Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, and Bhadrak districts as well as from neighbouring Jharkhand are dependent on the DHH in Keonjhar town. This has resulted in overcrowding of the DHH and patients have to wait for hours to get treatment. Things have come to such a pass that the main gate of the DHH often gets blocked due to the rush of patients and their kin. Patients wishing to book slots for check-ups with a super-specialist doctor usually have to stand in queue from the previous night in order to get a ticket.

Moreover, they have to jostle with others in the crowd as the ticket counter lies close to the medicine counter. Patients from outside the state are the worst sufferers. Reports said that the DHH is visited by over 2,000 outdoor patients and 250 indoor patients on a daily basis. The hospital has 21 clinical and non-clinical departments where doctors of the DHH and the DDMCH, including super specialist doctors appointed under DMF funds, provide treatment to the patients.

However, owing to lack of space and absence of a reception counter the patients have to wait for long hours for their turn by sitting or sleeping on the floor in unhealthy conditions. Various outfits have demanded more ticket and medicine counters in the hospital to make the DDMCH fully functional. Patients often complain of not getting free medicines and tests under Niramaya scheme.

As a result, they have to buy medicines and get their tests done outside by spending more from their pockets. Patients are subjected to exploitation while the medicine shop owners, private clinics, and nursing home owners rake in moolah fleecing the poor patients, social activist Dillip Sahu said. Moreover, the DHH has no ICU facility for emergency patients.

People said that the buildings in the DDMCH will soon get damaged if they are not put to use for a long time. A senior citizen Alekh Chandra Patra of Gambharia area in Keonjhar town said that he had been to the DHH for check up with a doctor but had to return home after witnessing a huge crowd outside the outdoor ward. An attendant Navin Palai said that he had been to the DHH to get one of his kin treated, Tuesday. He noticed people jostling and shoving each other to meet the doctor and informed the hospital authorities. The district administration and hospital authorities should intervene and shift the hospital unit of DDMCH to the newly built campus, he said. When contacted, hospital superintendent Dr Mahendra Nayak said he is aware of the problems and efforts are being made to shift the hospital unit to the medical college campus by December.

However, the shifting may get delayed as several employees are yet to be appointed and medical equipment is not yet available at the newly built medical college and hospital, he added.

Keonjhar: A day-long workshop titled ‘Empowerment through Nutrition: Together towards a Healthy Keonjhar’ was organised by the Keonjhar district administration Saturday at the Keonjhar auditorium. Attending the workshop presided over by District Collector Ashish Thakare, retired IAS officer and UNICEF Odisha’s senior advisor Akhila Bihari Ota expressed his high appreciation for maternal and childcare programmes in Keonjhar district and said that Keonjhar has shown the way to others in this direction. Ota said that the care of children and pregnant women among different age groups is very important. “In this context, in Keonjhar district, we have innovative programmes such as Ama Kalika, Maa Gruha, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre, etc. How can a mother and child be taken care of by all these efforts, Keonjhar district has shown the way. Keonjhar has created a model of its own, which others are following. The NITI Aayog also appreciated it,” he said.

Similarly, District Collector Thakare said that many innovative programs have been taken up in Keonjhar district in the field of maternal and child care. In this context, ‘Ama Kalika’ is a unique programme. “Bringing children under the age of three and taking care of them all in one place is quite a challenge. Our officers and workers have made it happen,” he said. “From the NITI Aayog to the top officials of the Central and state governments, it has been highly praised. Motivated by the success of Keonjhar, other districts are also following this model. It is a matter of great pride for us. Similarly, the ‘Maa Gruha’ system for institutional and safe delivery at the government level is a successful programme in our district,” he added.

On the nutrition program, Keonjhar is the first district in the country where eggs are being distributed to children in schools and Anganwadi centres every day. Keonjhar is also a leading district in implementing the Odisha Millet Mission. The state’s first millet cafe was established in Keonjhar. Also, the district is the first to start a ragi laddu distribution system. All these interventions have had a positive impact on childcare and safety in the district. The District Collector expressed hope that such a unique workshop will bring good results in the coming days.

On this occasion, UNICEF Odisha nutrition specialist Sourav Bhattacharya, mentor of Ekjut NGO Dr Prasanta Tripathi, executive board member of CFNS Basant Mohanty, SVPPGIP Cuttack professor Dr Sunil Agarwal, TISS, Mumbai assistant professor Dr Priyanka Dixit, project director (Nutrition) CINI Swapan Vikas Shah, Kalavati Saran Children’s Hospital senior consultant Dr Rajesh Sinha and Keonjhar CDM & PHO Dr Kishore Kumar Prusty were present on the dais. The guests visited the millet exhibition stalls and Ama Kalika Centre (replica) opened in the auditorium premises. Ama Kalika workers, group members, Asha and Anganwadi workers from Joda, Harichandanpur, Jhumpura, Banspal, and Hatadihi shared their experiences of how Ama Kalika Kendra impacts people’s lives in their respective areas. The workshop was attended by more than 200 people including the staff of Ama Kalika Kendra, project coordinators of various blocks, CDPOs, group members, senior officials of the Child Development and Health Department, and officials of the District Mineral Foundation and DPMU.

Sambalpur: The academic landscape of Sambalpur University is set to expand as the institution is planning to launch three new Post Graduate (PG) programmes in the next academic session. The varsity authorities have proposed the government to introduce PG programmes in Education, Commerce and Sanskrit. Vice-Chancellor of the varsity Bidhu Bhusan Mishra said after approval from the varsity syndicate, a proposal was submitted to the government for launching the three programmes in March.

As per the proposal, there will be 40 seats for PG in Education, while both PG in Commerce and PG in Sanskrit will have 32 seats, he said and expressed hope that the institution will get the nod from the government shortly. Official sources said, there is an Education department at Sambalpur University but it does not offer a PG in Education. Instead, the department offers three-year integrated B.Ed and M.Ed programmes. The varsity, established in 1967, offers 35 science and arts courses from 26 departments. “Due to the emergence of new universities, the catchment areas of Sambalpur University have reduced. Nevertheless, the institution continues to remain the most preferred destination for numerous students in the region,” said Sarat Banji, a former student of the varsity

Berhampur: The Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here has been making unique statues and sculptures going by its “Waste to Wealth” mantra. This time, however, its students have built a 23-foot elephant statue inspired by the Prime Minister’s call for “Swachhata Hi Seva” ahead of the Gandhi Jayanti. The statue has been built by using 30,000 used plastic bottles. The statue was inaugurated Sunday in the presence of Berhampur MLA Bikram Kumar Panda, Mayor Sanghamitra Dalei, political secretary to CM Gopabandhu Dash, state planning board member Ramesh Chandra Chyau Pattnaik and OSCDC Ltd chairman Subash Moharana.

Students made this elephant statue after collecting plastic bottles from various place in the city, Principal Rajat Kumar Panigrahi said. First the structure of the elephant was made with scrapped iron rods and later the structure was filled with plastic bottles and covered with plastic net. Plastic bottles should be recycled as they do not decompose in the soil and are precarious for our environment.

Bhawanipatna: A 65-year-old man was allegedly murdered by his nephew who suspected that he was doing black magic, targetting him and his family, police said.

The incident happened in Sikerguda village in Bhawanipatna Sadar police station area of Odisha’s Kalahandi district, they said.

The nephew, 35, was suspecting the man of doing black magic to harm his family. When the man was working in the field, the accused allegedly attacked him with an axe and he died on the spot.

Police said they have detained the accused, his brother and his father for questioning.

An investigation is underway, they said.

PTI 

Bhawanipatna: Three bodies with throats slit were found in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, police said Sunday.

The bodies, which include that of a two-year-old boy, were found in a secluded area beside the Samkarpal-Dunda Road in Junagarh police station area.

The deceased were identified as Raimati Majhi, aged around 35 years, his two-year-old son Sibasakti and an elderly man, 65-year-old Mahendra Kumar, a police officer said.

The murder weapon is yet to be found, Junagarh police station inspector-in-charge Sesadev Behera said.

PTI 

Berhampur/ Bhubaneswar: A government official and his wife were sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Odisha in a 14-year-old corruption case.

The special vigilance court sentenced N Prakash Patra and his wife N Santoshini Patra to two years in jail after convicting them in the corruption case.

It was alleged that the couple amassed assets worth Rs 12.19 lakh when Prakash was posted as a junior clerk at the Patrapur community health center in Ganjam district about 14 years ago. He is at present posted at the Patrapur Sub-Divisional Hospital.

Special vigilance judge Arun Kumar Sahoo also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of the two. Delivering the verdict Saturday, the judge said that they will undergo imprisonment for another three months if they fail to pay the fine amount, according to public prosecutor Surendra Panda.

The court convicted the couple after examining 25 witnesses, and analysing his properties found in raids at his houses, office quarter, and chamber, he said.

The official was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe, following which the raids were conducted, said Panda.

The wife was arrested as she allegedly abetted the offence committed by her husband, he said.

A vigilance court in Bhubaneswar sentenced Ludasini Nayak, an ex-welfare extension officer of Nuagaon block in Nayagarh district, to four years in jail in a different corruption case.

A fine of Rs 5,000 was imposed on her and in case she fails to pay it, she will undergo imprisonment for another two months.

The court also sentenced Nayak to three years in jail in a separate corruption case, besides imposing a fine of Rs 5,000.

Both the sentences will run concurrently, the court said.

A retired village-level worker (VLW) of Angul district, Sarbeswar Pani, was sentenced to three years in jail in another such case.

The special vigilance court in Angul also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him, and if fails to pay it, he will undergo imprisonment for another two months.

The state Vigilance Department said it will take steps for the dismissal of Prakash and Ludasini from service, and stop the pension of the VLW who has retired.

PTI

Paralakhemundi: Students residing in the fringe areas of Gajapati district are relocating to Andhra Pradesh and taking admission in the local schools in the neighbouring state due to lack of proper educational infrastructure and facilities in their own areas, a report said Saturday.

The matter came to the fore after as many as 24 students in villages under Gangabada panchayat of Gajapati district got themselves admitted in the schools of Andhra Pradesh. This has exposed the abject state of affairs in the educational system prevalent in the fringe areas of Gajapati district.

Residents in Gangabada panchayat alleged that the state government is not at all concerned towards improvement of educational system in the fringe areas of the state. On the other hand, headmasters, teachers and other staff of Andhra schools are regularly visiting these areas and luring people to get their wards admitted in their schools saying that the students will be given all the facilities like food and hostel, alleged Haribandhu Karjee, sarpanch of Gangabada panchayat.

Lured by their promises, as many as 94 students in the area have got themselves admitted in various schools of Andhra Pradesh. At least 24 students have relocated to Andhra schools only this year, so far. A few days back, reports surfaced that a wall of the Gangabada High School hostel sheltering 40 students collapsed following low-pressure triggered heavy rainfall in the area.

Lack of timely maintenance of the school established in 1960 led to the hostel wall collapse. After the incident, the hostel inmates were rescued and shifted to the nearby cyclone shelter. Later, the school authorities turned the cyclone shelter into hostel and conducted classes for the students due to absence of alternative infrastructure.

Meanwhile, after coming to know about the development, Collector Smruti Ranjan Pradhan visited the spot and took stock of the situation. He also directed to start the school’s construction which had remained suspended.

Notably, the concerned school is the only upper primary school in Gangabada panchayat where students of Badapachidia, Manikapatna, Champapur, Burusingh, Baraghar and Sagadia villages study. Students from nearby villages have taken admission in various schools under Manjusha Mandal of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh owing to lack of hostel facilities in the Gangabada High School.

Fed up, guardians have admitted their wards in various schools at Budhaamba, Budharsingh, Manjusha and Palasa under Saba panchayat of Manjusha mandal in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Many of them are relocating to Andhra Pradesh as they require a resident certificate in order to shift their wards to Andhra schools.

Notably, the building of Gangabada High School was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, February 7, 2019. The building constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh has now turned into a haunted house after the collapse of the hostel wall and shifting of the whole school to the cyclone centre.

Recently, the 5T Secretary in a video conference had promised to upgrade the Gangabada High School into a smart school and subsequently works to this effect were also started for the school’s transformation into a smart school. However, the work was later stopped midway by the district administration.

PNN

Rourkela: A central team of doctors consisting of medicine and other experts Saturday visited Sundargarh district where scrub typhus has taken an alarming proportion with each day showing an upward trend.

The central team including Dr Tushar Nale, deputy director of public health, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Samir Gulati, professor, LHMC, Dr Dhara B Shah, assistant director of microbiology, NCDC, and Dr Arushi Ghai, EIS officer of the NCDC held a long meeting with all the senior doctors where CDMO Dr Dharani Ranjan Satpathy, district public health officer Dr Kanhu Charan Nayak and others were present.

The team was given a detailed picture of the scrub typhus situation in the district. Besides, they were explained about the measures being taken to counter the spread. The meeting lasted for more than three hours and thirty minutes. After the meeting, the team immediately took stock of the laboratory’s functioning. They also enquired about the available facilities in the laboratory.

Speaking to mediapersons, Dr Nale informed about the aim of the team’s visit to Sundargarh. “We have held a thorough discussion with the medical team here. We have gathered all the necessary information from the doctors here. Besides, we visited the laboratory to take stock of its preparedness. The doctors are doing a good job.” The total count of scrub typhus affected persons in the district reached 292 Saturday. One person afflicted with the disease has died so far in the district.

PNN

Rourkela: The World University Ranking for 2024 has been released by the Times Higher Education. This year NIT Rourkela moved two bands up from the previous year and has been ranked in the band of 601-800 in the list of world’s top universities.

In the year 2023, NIT-R was ranked in the band of 1000-1200. NIT-R shares the rank with IIT Guwahati, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Banaras Hindu University, Alagappa University and many other reputed institutes/universities of the country.

The list includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions. Congratulating the entire NIT-R academic community, NIT-R Director K Umamaheshwar Rao said, “NIT Rourkela is two bands up from last year’s rankings and this depicts that we are continuously putting in our efforts. This is a collaborative outcome of our students, faculties, staff and alumni. I want to thank all of them and would like to extend my gratitude to our invaluable industry partners, supporters, and stakeholders, who have played an indispensable role in our journey. Your belief in our mission and your support have played an instrumental role in this achievement. I look forward to even greater achievements in the future as we continue to make a positive impact on the world through education and research.”

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings judges researchintensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

PNN

Berhampur: Miscreants hurled bombs at the vehicle of former Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) Mayor Shiv Shankar Dash at Sanamatha near Badasahi under Gosaninuagaon police limits here Friday night.

The reason of the bomb attack has not yet been ascertained. Gosaninuagaon police launched an investigation into the incident and collected remains of the bomb from the spot. Police also scanned the footage of CCTVs in the nearby areas and identified two suspects.

Very soon the accused will be nabbed, Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M said. The incident occurred around 11pm near Badasahi when Das was returning home. The bomb hit the front glass and went off.

However, no one was injured in the attack. As per the statement of Shiv Shankar, he along with his younger son was returning home in a car from a private clinic last night. However, two miscreants who were standing near an auto hurled a bomb at his car near Badasahi and fled from the spot.

Notably, Shiv Shankar was arrested many times earlier and he was booked under NSA. Police is investigating from various angles to find out the reason behind the attack.

PNN

Bhadrak: An under-trial prisoner (UTP) lodged in Bhadrak Special Sub-Jail slit his left hand and private parts at the jail toilet, Saturday.

The critically injured UTP was identified as Sushant Majhi of Kolha area under Tihidi police limits in Bhadrak district.

Sources said, he has been arrested in connection with a case of domestic violence. After screaming out of pain, he was rescued by the prison officials and hospitalised at the district headquarters hospital in Bhadrak.

Majhi reportedly slit his genitals using the mosquito coil stand inside the jail. Later, he was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in critical condition where his health condition improved after treatment, jailor Rushinath Nayak said.

Sources said that Majhi has been arrested and put inside the jail for allegedly torturing his wife and it is suspected that he might have done this under mental stress.

PNN

Balasore: Special Judge of POCSO court here Saturday convicted a 50-year-old man for outraging the modesty of a minor girl and sentenced him to three years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) along with a fine of Rs 1,000.

The court ruled that in default of paying the fine amount, the convict has to undergo one-year jail term more, special public prosecutor Pranab Panda said.

Panda said the convict Bidya Singh of Dingabali village under Remuna police station of Balasore district was arrested in February 2021 after the mother of the victim alleged that her daughter was molested by the accused.

The accused was tried under several sections of IPC and 8 of POCSO Act. The court after examining 13 witnesses and 10 exhibits awarded the punishment, special public prosecutor Panda said.

PNN

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Saturday forecast very heavy rainfall for Odisha over the next three days as the low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a well-marked system.

Weather scientist Umashankar Dash of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said that the well-marked low-pressure area is likely to move towards the northern Odisha and adjoining West Bengal coasts over the next 24 hours.

In the last 24 hours till 8.30am Saturday, Odisha received an average rainfall of 10mm, with Soro in Balasore district recording the highest of 113mm, followed by 95.1mm at Ghasipura in Keonjhar district and 95 mm at Banpur in Khurda district.

In its mid-day bulletin for farmers, the IMD forecast light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers in northern Odisha, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada and several other districts.

The weather office said isolated very heavy rainfall is likely during the day. Squally weather conditions will prevail along the coast, with wind speeds reaching 65kmph.

The IMD had Friday issued an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20cm) for three days for the districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

Also read: Illegal gutkha manufacturing unit busted in Odisha’s Ganjam district

Similarly, it issued a yellow warning of heavy rainfall (7 to 11cm) for Sundergarh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Angul, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda districts.

For Sunday, an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20cm) was issued for the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Angul, Sundergarh, Deogarh Sambalpur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur and Balangir.

It issued a yellow warning of heavy rainfall (7 to 11cm) for Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts Sunday.

The IMD has warned of the possibility of water-logging in low-lying areas, occasional reduction of visibility on roads, causing traffic congestion in urban areas and damage to kuccha houses and roads during intense spells of rain.

Farmers were advised to defer the process of administering fertilisers on crops and to keep livestock in safe places.

PTI

Bhubaneswar/ Bolangir: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police’s crime branch has arrested a wildlife smuggler and rescued a live pangolin from him, an official said Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, an STF team with the help of Bolangir forest division officials Friday conducted a raid near Bidighat Chhaka under Deogaon police station in Bolangir district and rescued the pangolin, the STF official said.

The accused has been identified as Sebak Dharua, a native of Kalijharan village in Bolangir.

Also read: Illegal gutkha manufacturing unit busted in Odisha’s Ganjam district

The STF has registered a case under different sections of IPC and Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The pangolin was handed over to DFO, Bolangir for safe custody, he said.

The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), also called thick-tailed pangolin, is a Schedule-I protected animal under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

PTI

Berhampur: Odisha police unearthed an illegal gutkha manufacturing unit at Tulasi Bihar-Ralab Road under Golanthara police limits in Ganjam district, police said Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, Golanthara police Friday raided a house where the gutkha was manufactured illegally. Besides stocked gutkha, they also seized a huge quantity of raw materials. Three persons have been arrested in this connection, police said.

The accused were identified as Niranjan Pradhan (27), Ram Chandra Dash (40) and K Sriramulu Reddy (43). Other persons involved in the illegal activities would be arrested soon, police said.

Finished products, raw materials, machinery to prepare gutkha, packing machines, empty pouches and other incriminating articles worth around Rs 10 lakh were seized from the spot, Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said.

He said the unit was operating in the area from a rented house for the last three months.

Also read: Sushmita death case: George threatens ‘gherao’ as kin prepare to move HC

The accused were booked under sections of Food Safety and Standard Act-2006, Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA)-2003 and different sections of IPC.

Odisha government had banned the manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine as one of the ingredients by whatever name available in the market since January 3, 2013.

PTI

Keonjhar: A special Vigilance court sentenced a retired police official to four years of imprisonment after convicting him for accepting bribe here, Friday. The convicted police official was identified as former IIC of Baria police station Kalu Charan Swain, a native of Balipadar village under Bhanjanagar police limits in Ganjam district. He retired from service while working as a sub-inspector of Nandipada police station, March 31, 2017.

Apart from the punishment, Judge Rashmita Dalei also slapped a penalty of Rs 3,000 on him. In default, he has been asked to undergo an additional two-month prison term. He was remanded to jail custody after the judge pronounced the verdict. The judge passed the order after examining the statements recorded by 15 witnesses and the probe report in the case, special public prosecutor Debadutta Biswal said. According to the case diary, Manoranjan Nayak, a resident under Baria police limits, had a fight with his wife Saraswati over some issues.

Police registered a case of torture after his wife lodged a complaint at Baria police station. The then Baria PS IIC Swain summoned Manoranjan to the police station following the complaint, October 20, 2014. There Swain demanded Rs 15,000 from Manoranjan to loosen up and strike the name of his parents off the case. The next day he produced Manoranjan in court and took Rs 5,000 as bribe in exchange for the case diary.

Later, when Manoranjan was released from jail on bail Swain again demanded Rs 6,000 as bribe to lighten up the case. Left with no other option, Manoranjan met the Vigilance officials and lodged a complaint. The Vigilance unit in Balasore registered a case and nabbed Swain when he was accepting bribe of  Rs 6,000 from Manoranjan on the police station premises, December 1, 2014. Swain was produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody

Rourkela: Local political leader George Tirky Friday threatened to gherao the SP office at Rourkela October 3 in support of the family of Sushmita Minz, the assistant collector whose body was found floating in a pond in the Sensory Park September 19.

Besides, Susmita’s family is filing a case in the High Court of Orissa demanding a CBI inquiry and George has assured all help in this regard. Addressing mediapersons Friday at the Panthanivas here, the tribal leader labelled charges against the top officials of the district and also produced photographs of the deceased officer’s body.

“These have been clicked by the family members of Sushmita at the morgue, where the body was kept for postmortem. They have been threatened time and again by the police not to follow the case and to drop all the charges against them,” George alleged.

The photographs produced by George were reportedly captured by the family members and clearly showed injury marks on certain parts of her body. There were burn marks on her back and hands and marks on her wrist suggested as if a string like thing was tightly tied there. There were also marks of injury on her ankle and throat.

“She has been killed using a pillow. She was made to suffocate and at that time she was trying to save herself. There were signs of resistance and injuries on her neck,” said George. George has raised 22 questions, which he described as the most vital but remained unanswered.

“These questions need to be answered by the police and the investigating agencies and then automatically the case would get solved,” said George. Meanwhile, Rourkela SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra speaking to media said, “We are looking into all the angles. I would like to assure you that we will definitely get to the root from all the angles. Anyone found guilty would not be spared and would be brought to book.”

PNN

Mahakalapara: The vast expanse of sandy beach at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary under this block in Kendrapara district is the largest rookery or mass nesting ground in the world for the rare Olive Ridley turtles followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.

However, rising tidal waves and rapid sea erosion have pushed the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary to the verge of extinction. Gahirmatha marine sanctuary is located in close vicinity of Bhitarkanika National Park in the coastal district. The sanctuary is spread on over 1,420 sq km area from Brahmani river mouth in the south to Dhamra sea mouth in the north and 20 nautical miles into the sea. The marine sanctuary blessed with nature’s bounty is now under threat from the rising sea waves. The rising sea waves have eaten into major portions of the marine sanctuary.

Among them, the three-km-long sand bar in Agarnasi island and the casuarina forests, which act as a buffer zone for the sanctuary, are the worst affected. As a result the sea waves are now directly hitting the mangrove forests at Jambu, Tanda, and Kandarapatia eating away large chunks of land day by day. The large sand bar and casuarina forests in Madali, Lunchghola islands are no exception as those are also bearing the brunt of sea erosion. It is apprehended that the day is not far when islands like Madali and Lunchghola, popular among the tourists and adventure enthusiasts, will lose their existence. Environmentalists fear that the rate at which the sea waves are rising, they will soon erode the sea beach completely. Environmentalists Subhash Chandra Swain and Samarendra Mahali said a new sea mouth has formed near Madali island (the place where a large cargo ship had capsized) after the Super Cyclone-1999 due to which large tidal waves are striking straight against the crucial beach. This has been washing away the coast for long and large portions of the beach have been lost to the sea. The large sand beds of Tanda, Lunchghola, Madali, Agarnasi, Hukitola and Sholamuhan islands on Gahirmatha provide space for safe mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles. A few years back, large number of turtles used to mate and lay eggs on these nesting sites of Gahirmatha. However, with the beach getting washed away, the turtles have changed their nesting sites. Now, fewer turtles lay eggs at these locations.

On the other hand, large casuarinas and saline mangrove forests provide a safe haven for various indigenous and migratory varieties of birds and marine creatures like dolphin, horseshoe crabs, red crabs, harley crabs and others. These forests are home to animals like deer, wild boar, barking deer, hyena, water monitor lizard, wild cat, wild buffalo and wild dog while fishermen too use this place in order to fish in the sea. When contacted, Rajnagar DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said the water level has increased in the sea while resultant high tidal waves are eroding the coast proving to be a cause of concern. However, the Forest department is keeping close watch on the development.