Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jul 29 (PTI) In an effort to provide clean and eco-friendly travel, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has successfully completed 100 per cent installation of bio- toilets in trains.

Bio-toilets convert human waste into water and bio- gases with the help of bacteria and the mechanism of bio- toilets is very helpful in sustainable management of solid waste, the ECoR said in a statement on Wednesday.

The inventory of coaches of ECoR is 3,247 and all the coaches are now fitted with eco-friendly bio-toilets.

Balasore (Odisha), Jul 22 (PTI) India has successfully conducted three flight tests of its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile 'Dhruvastra' from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha, defence sources said on Wednesday.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.

Bhubaneswar, Jul 9 (PTI) In a novel way to protest against Nepal's claim of areas along Indian border, an organization on Thursday came out with an envelope with the copy of a postage stamp, purportedly released by the Himalayan nation in 1954 printed on it, showing that the areas under dispute actually belong to India.

Phulbani (Odisha), Jul 7 (PTI) A Maoist was gunned down during an exchange of fire with the security forces in a dense forest in Odisha's Kandhamal district, a day after four of them were shot dead in an encounter in the same area, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

The exchange of fire took place when a team, comprising personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF), launched a combing operation in the forest in Tumudibandha area on Monday night, Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh told reporters.

Bhubaneswar, Jul 4 (PTI) The Odisha government has decided to include members of the transgender community in a social welfare scheme which provides a monthly pension to the needy, a minister said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal to cover the members of the community under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) which aims at providing financial assistance to the destitute elderly, differently-abled persons and widows, he said.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 30 (PTI) Twenty-nine more BSF jawans have tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha's Maoist-hit Malkangiri district, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Earlier, nine BS jawans were diagnosed with the disease in Nabrangpur district.

The 29 who tested positive for the virus in Malkangiri had returned from Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Malkangiri District Collector Manish Agarwal said.

Puri, Jun 23 (PTI) For the first time in living memory, the gigantic chariots of Lord Jagannath and his celestial siblings rolled on the streets of Puri on Tuesday, a pale shadow of the grand spectacle, with the pilgrim town under curfew and the sea of devotees missing.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 4 (PTI) Odisha police fined BJP leader and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Thursday for attending a gathering without a face mask and violating social distancing norms laid down by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Images showing her surrounded by supporters at a party worker's residence in violation of the government norms were widely shared on social media.

The parliamentarian said she acknowledged her duty, respected the sentiments and concerns of people and volunteered to pay the fine according to the rules.

NEW DELHI, May 21 (NNN-PTI) – Three people were killed Wednesday, after super cyclone Amphan battered India’s eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha.

According to local media, two women and a man were killed after gusty winds uprooted trees in Howrah and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.

The super cyclone, triggering winds of up to 190 kph, entered West Bengal accompanied with heavy rains, leaving a trail of destruction.

Officials said, the cyclone entered into human habitations, blowing away makeshift houses, uprooting electric poles and trees.

Bhubaneswar, May 20 (PTI) Cyclone "Amphan" left a trail of destruction in Odisha as it triggered heavy downpour coupled with high-velocity winds while hurtling towards the West Bengal coast on Wednesday, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said.

More than 1.41 lakh people living in low-lying areas and thatched and mud houses in the vulnerable coastal regions were evacuated and shifted to cyclone shelters, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P K Jena said.