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Amid the prevailing border dispute, Odisha government has filed a fresh suit against Andhra Pradesh for issuing a notification to conduct Mandal and Zilla Parishad polls across the state, including in the disputed Kotia region under Koraput district of Odisha. Odisha government has moved the Apex Court to stop the neighbouring state from holding elections and has requested to treat Andhra’s move as contempt of court, if it goes ahead with the elections. This law suit from Odisha comes after Andhra Pradesh announced to hold election to the posts of ‘Samiti Members’ and ‘Zilla Parishad’ today (April 8). Earlier, a single-bench judge of Andhra High Court had stayed the poll notification issued by the State Election Commission, which was later squashed by a three-member judge bench on Wednesday (April 7), clearing the path for Andhra to hold the polls. As per the order, Andhra can hold the elections today but the counting of the same which was scheduled to take place on April 10th, have been postponed till further orders. On the other hand, leaders of BJD, BJP and Congress have camped at Kotia to register a joint protest against Andhra’s move. The Government of Andhra Pradesh is scheduled to conduct the polls at Tala Ganjeipadar, Phatusineri and Phagunasineri villages under Kotia Panchayat in Odisha.

Bollywood Actress Kubra Sait was recently clicked by the shutterbugs in Mumbai. She was seen interacting with the media and asking them about their health. Healthy camaraderie was evident in the interaction between the actress and the paparazzi, while she graciously posed for the cameras.  

Former Bigg Boss 14 contestants and star couple, Aly Goni and Jasmin Bhasin were spotted together at Mumbai Airport on Wednesday. The shutterbugs captured the couple travelling together for an outstation shoot. The couple looked casual and relaxed in their chic outfits as they moved through the security at the airport. The celebrity couple took off their masks for a brief moment to pose for the shutterbugs.

Amid the sudden spurt in the Covid-19 cases in the state, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Thursday (April 8) advised all college students who have finished their examinations to vacate the hostel premises as soon as possible. As per BMC Commissioner, Prem Chandra Chaudhari the directive is applicable for both government and private colleges.  Similarly, stringent steps are being taken by the civic body to ensure strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines. The BMC is also taking action to prevent crowding in various areas of the capital city.

Six days after being taken hostage following the deadly encounter between security forces and Naxals in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh; CRPF Jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was released by the Maoists on Thursday.

With COVID19 cases rising sharply, Odisha Health Minister Naba Das said that people coming from states experiencing sharp rise in infections will have to undergo RTPCR testing.

Soon after CRPF Jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was released by Naxals, pictures of events prior to his release, surfaced showing how the jawan was produced before a praja court by the Maoists.

The main branch of State Bank of India (SBI) in Bhubaneswar has been sealed for four-days starting today after detection of more Covid-19 cases.

It was a moment of big relief after CRPF Jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was released by the Maoists, who had taken him hostage after a deadly encounter on April 3rd.  

Amid the second wave of Covid19 in the state, a coaching centre located at Arunodaya Nagar in Cuttack was sealed on Thursday (April 8). Sources said that the Enforcement Squad of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) conducted a raid at Mahendra Coaching Centre. During the raid, the centre was found violating the Covid-19 guidelines. Following this, the civic body sealed the premises.

With COVID19 cases rising sharply, concerns are being raised over shortage of vaccines. Odisha Health Minister Naba Das said that if vaccine doses do not reach the state immediately, then the government has to stop vaccination. Responding to such reports, Odisha BJP’s Lekhashree Samantsinghar said that the State government does not want the vaccination drive to be successful.

The daily cases of Covid-19 are showing no signs of decline in the state as Odisha witnessed yet another massive spike by recording 1,282 new positive cases in the last 24 hours. This is notably the highest single-day rise this year in the state. The Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Department informed that one person from Ganjam district has succumbed to the virus on Thursday (April 8) taking the death toll in the state to 1924. According to the data released by Information and Public Relations Department (I&PR), Sundargarh is top in the list with a whooping 224 Covid-19 positive cases during the period, followed by Khordha with 192 positive cases, Kalahandi with 108 cases and Bargarh with 84 cases. Similarly, Sambalpur and Nuapada recorded 82 positive cases each. This was followed by Cuttack with 63 cases, Mayurbhanj with 52 cases, Angul with 49 cases and Bolangir with 45 cases. Out of the new cases detected from 28 districts, 755 were reported from quarantine while the rest 527 were local transmission cases. With the detection of 1282 new cases, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Odisha rose to 5941 while 3,38,890 patients have recovered from the disease.

  This is Madkami Puja, a Class X student in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur region. And this is the bicycle on which she used go to her school. On this cycle, she travels 12 kms to reach her school. But she won’t be able to take it to school now. The bicycle, her only means to get to school, is now broken. This is the place where the deadly encounter between the Naxals and security forces broke out recently in which as many as 22 jawans were martyred. These bullets are remnants of the tragedy, which has also found some unlikely victims. Madkami lives here with her family. This damaged bicycle is just a proof of how dangerous the ambush was. The bullet that hit the cycle passed straight through the rear tyre, tearing it apart. Fortunately, the family of Puja is safe. Puja and her family live in this forest and school is at quite some distance. Now that her only means of transport is gone, Puja has decided to walk to her school daily.

  With Odisha witnessing a second wave of Covid-19, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) on Thursday (April 8) released new guidelines focusing on mandatory RT-PCR testing of people coming from other states along with a slew of other measures to curb the spread of the virus in the state. The notification stated that people coming to Odisha by any public transport like train, bus, airplanes, or water ways etc. or by any private vehicles have to produce RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours of entry /final vaccination certificate (after two doses of vaccination). People coming without such report will have to undergo 7 days mandatory Home/Institutional quarantine. The state government has suspended all public transport from Odisha to Chhattisgarh and vice versa from April 10th till April 30. SRC’s notification requested the transport department to set up Border Check Points (BCPs) at strategic locations. People coming through the check points shall have to produce Final Vaccination certificate/ RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours prior to their entry to Odisha or else they will be put in Home/ Institutional quarantine for 7 days. Moreover, the incoming persons shall have to give an undertaking to this effect and submit a filled in form containing all relevant personal details. The government has further directed all Industries/ Educational Institutions/ Commercial Establishments to ensure implementation of all COVID appropriate behaviour/ protocols and to set up their own isolation facilities that is, Covid Care Centres (CCCs)/ Covid Care Homes (CCHs) for Covid positive persons found in their establishments with their own expenses. In view of the situation deteriorating across the state, the Collectors of 16 districts namely, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nawrangpur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Balasore have been asked to set up Temporary Medical Centres (TMCs) to provide quarantine facilities to people coming from other states.

  As many as 1,25,880 candidates appeared for the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) 2021 on Friday (April 9) conducted by the Board Of Secondary Education (BSE). OTET was held in 491 exam centres across Odisha. The State and Mass education Department made arrangements to ensure that the examination is conducted in a fair manner with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines such as social distancing and wearing masks. The OTET exam was divided into two parts namely, Paper-I and Paper-II, and was conducted in two shifts. The first shift was held between 8 AM to 10.30 AM while the second sitting was from 12 PM to 2.30 PM. As per the syllabus, all questions were Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ). Each question carried one mark each with four alternatives out of which only one answer is correct. The question papers in non-language subjects were conducted bilingually in both Odia and English. OTET is a state-level examination that is conducted to determine the eligibility of candidates for teacher’s post. After qualifying the OTET exam, candidates will be appointed as teachers for Class I to VIII in government, private aided and private unaided schools across Odisha.