Exclusive News Updates

As COVID19 cases continue to mount, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday decided to reopen COVID19 hospitals to tackle the infection outbreak. As per the decision of the civic authorities, Aditya Ashwini  Covid-19 hospital was reopened to accommodate the growing number of patients. The 150-beded hospital with Intensive Care Units started functioning from Wednesday. On the other hand, capacity at other hospitals in the capital city is also being augmented to handled the increased caseload. The number of beds at the SUM Covid-19 Hospital has been increased from the existing 250 to 500. Moreover, a 60-bed Covid Care Center in Patia and another 45-bed center in Dumduma are being prepared. Meanwhile, the daily Covid-19 cases in the Smart City of Bhubaneswar breached the 300-mark on Wednesday with 307 persons testing positive for the virus in 24 hours. According to the data provided by the BMC, out of the total 307 new cases, a whopping 238 were local contact cases while 69 were detected from quarantine.

A day after recording 2267 Covid-19 cases, Odisha saw a big surge on Thursday with daily positives nearing the 3000-mark. As many as 2989 cases of Covid-19 infection were detected in the State in the last 24 hours. Two persons, one from Kalahandi and one from Keonjhar, have succumbed to coronavirus in the past 24 hours. Huge surge in the Covid-19 cases in Odisha. Daily Covid-19 count inches closer to 3000-mark in Odisha. 2989 Covid-19 positive cases reported in Odisha in last 24 hours. 1 death reported from Kalahandi, 1 death from Keonjhar. 1733 cases in QUARANTINE, 1256 LOCAL CONTACT cases. Number of active cases in Odisha mounts to 14,621. SUNDARGARH reports a whooping 631 positive Covid-19 cases. Sundargarh is followed by KHORDHA with 438 cases. Kalahandi reports 260 cases, followed by Cuttack with 208 cases. Nuapada records 151 cases, Sambalpur 148 cases. Bargarh records 126 cases, Bolangir 110 cases . Total corona positive cases so far in Odisha at 3,58,342. Total recoveries at 3,41,733.

With the second wave of Covid-19 intensifying, the country recorded unprecedented deaths and corona infections in the last 24 hours. India breached the 2 lakh mark on Thursday with a single-day spike of 2,00,739 positive cases in the past 24 hours. During the period, 1038 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 1,73,123. As per the national Covid-19 data provided by the Union Health Ministry, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country currently stand at 1,40,74,564. As many as 1,24,29,564 people have recovered or have been cured of the virus so far in India. After the latest surge of positive cases, the active case count has climbed to 14,71,877. As per information of the Indian Council of Medical Research in New Delhi, as many as 13,84,549 samples were tested on April 14. Till date, India has tested 26,20,03,415 samples. On the other hand, vaccination drive is underway in full swing. More than 11.4 crore people have been vaccinated in the country so far.

The by-election to the Pipili assembly constituency in Odisha scheduled for April 17th has been postponed after the untimely demise of Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj on Wednesday (April 14). Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Puri, Pradip Kumar Sahoo, made an announcement regarding the postponement of the bypoll and said that a copy of the postponement letter has been sent to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha for consideration.

  Issuing a yellow warning, the regional centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bhubaneswar has warned of rain, thunderstorm and lightning in several districts of Odisha in the next few days. As per the prediction of the Meteorological Centre of Bhubaneswar (MeT), thunderstorms and lightning are very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Sonepur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj, from morning of April 15th till morning of April 16th. A yellow warning has been issued in these districts. Similarly, light to moderate rain or thundershowers will be witnessed at some places over the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj during the period. Dry weather is very likely to prevail over the rest districts of Odisha.

Here pebbles are given the shape of a sculpture. Have a look at some of the marvellous carvings we are talking about. Wondering what's so special about these stones? These are not the ordinary pebbles, they are known as Salagrama. Salagrama is a fossilized shell used as an iconic symbol of Lord Vishnu and is worshipped in several temples across the globe.

It was a heart-rending image of despair and destitution after an elderly woman in Odisha’s Malkangiri district was found picking food from road and eating it.

In a major announcement, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik put on hold all board exams in the state amid a surge in COVID19 cases.

Amid seemingly uncontrollable surge in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday (April 15) announced weekend curfew in the national capital. Delhi will go into weekend curfew with the exception of essential activities. Weddings will be allowed with curfew passes on Saturdays and Sundays. Addressing a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured that all essential services will be available through the weekend and said these restrictions are necessary to break the chain of transmission.

Amid the second wave of COVID19 in Odisha, college students in the State launched massive protests demanding online exams. Students of Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Autonomous College (BJB) and Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar staged protests in front of their respective college campuses on Thursday (April 15). The students have been opposing offline exams and demanding online examination in view of the surge of COVID19 in the state. The students of both the varsities protested in front of their college gates by holding placards and raising slogans, demanding online exams.

The byelection to the Pipili Assembly Constituency now stands adjourned following the demise of Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj. Odisha Chief Electoral Officer Sushil Kumar Lohani informed on Thursday that the by-election, which was scheduled to be held on April 17, stands adjourned and the Election Commission will fix the new dates and a notification will be issued for the same.

Popular Television Actress Tina Dutta was recently spotted by the shutterbugs at Mumbai airport. Tina looked casual and comfortable in a chic, blue co-ordinated outfit. She shared a moment of adorable camaraderie with the media when she gave details about her trip to the Maldives. She also clicked photos of the media while they clicked her pictures! Meanwhile, the media also gave Tina the compliment of being Television’s Alia Bhatt to which Tina gave a joyous response!

Tentative dates for the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE)-2021 were announced on Thursday. As per the OJEE notification, the examination will be conducted between June 17 and June 24, 2021. OJEE is conducted for admissions into various B.Pharm/MBA, MCA, M.Tech, M.Arch, Integrated MBA and lateral entry to B.Tech, B.Pharma courses both in government and private universities as well as colleges in Odisha. As per the notification, the entrance examination will be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. Interested candidates have been advised to fill up their respective Application Forms online through OJEE website (www.ojee.nic.in) only. The last date of filling up of online application form is May 15, while students can start downloading their admit cards form the first week of June.

Bollywood actress and model Gauhar Khan was recently spotted outside her office in Mumbai. She was seen chitchatting with the media as they clicked her outside her officer premises. While extending her Ramadan wishes, Gauhar stressed on the importance of wearing masks properly and following Covid- appropriate behavior. She emphasized on the message of spreading love and unity in the country.

With COVID19 cases rising in Odisha, the State government today announced night curfew in all urban areas while extending the curfew timings in the bordering districts.