Guest Column News Updates

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Op-Ed: High Time Govt Came Clean on Demolition Around Puri Temple

By Sandeep Sahu A fortnight after the demolition drive inside a 75-meter radius around the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri began, no one knows what the government proposes to do with the land thus cleared. Will it be a No Man’s Land with only a passage left for devotees to enter the temple? Will part […]

Afforestation
Op-Ed: The Development Versus Environment Debate

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: If newspaper reports are to be believed Odisha government had diverted more than 14,475 hectares of forest land for mining purposes in the last one decade. The mineral-rich Keonjhar and Sunergarh districts accounted for the bulk of this land. Though compensatory afforestation is taken up through Campa fund it can never […]

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Op-Ed: Good Move To Empower Women

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: In its latest move to empower women state government plans to engage women from economically deficient background in services like running of Aahar kendras, managing community toilets and collecting water bills. These women will be part of the self-help groups (SHGs) formed by the state urban development agency (SUDA) under the […]

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Op-Ed: We Will Rise Again And Touch The Moon

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The last minute glitch in India’s moon mission broke the hearts of ISRO scientists. It was also a heart breaking moment for the rest of the country with lakhs of people glued to their TV sets to hear the news of lander Vikram’s touchdown on the surface of the moon. But as […]

Naveen
Op-Ed: What Has Changed in Odisha?

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Has Odisha changed for the better in the last 20 years? With chief minister, Naveen Patnaik setting a record of sorts by winning five back to back elections any discussion on the state is bound to revolve around this question. While ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders can be biased about […]

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Op-Ed: Let’s End This Menace

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha has reported 70 cases of acid attack between 2011 and 2019, according to an NGO engaged in helping acid attack survivors. Both government and the civil society need to take these statistics seriously because victims invariably are women, especially young women who are left with permanent scars on their bodies […]

Shinde Dattatraya Bhausaheb
Op-Ed: Walking The Extra Mile

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: It is not often that one sees an IAS officer in Odisha trekking through a hilly terrain and fording a river to reach out to people living life dangerously in virtually inaccessible areas. On Sunday the sub-collector of Ganjam, Shinde Dattatraya Bhausaheb undertook such a journey to interact with the residents […]

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Op-Ed: Put The Fear of God Into Rapists

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Within a span of less than two months POCSO courts in different parts of the state have awarded death penalty to three persons in cases of rape and murder of minor girls. The punishment will hopefully serve as a deterrent and curb the worrisome trend of rise in such cases. The […]

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Column: Sal Leaf Can Be An Effective Substitute For Plastic

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: A section of the media has reported that Keonjhar district administration has decided to use sal leaf plates and disposable paper cups in a bid to reduce the consumption of plastic. Sal leaf plates, popular known as “ khali”, have been part of socio-cultural life of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts. They […]

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Column: Keen On Good Governance

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik seems keen to ensure that his 5T formula of governance is followed both by civil as well as the police administration. Ahead of the launch of his government’s Mo Sarkar initiative, which is one of the steps towards making 5T effective, he has urged police officials to […]

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Column: Water Conservation Need Of The Hour

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: It is often said that the next world war would be fought over water which, considering its fast depletion, has become a resource more valuable than oil. Yet water conservation is yet to become a priority area for the government. While huge quantity of water is wasted daily in both rural […]

Past-Present-Future
Aren't We A Little Too Obsessed With The Past?

I am circumambulation around history but have not titled this with the same. Because history as a subject is not my problem, but it to be treated as a tool…

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Column: State Government’s KALIA Woes

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Fake beneficiaries have pocketed more than Rs.170 crore disbursed under the KALIA ( Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation ) scheme, an initiative being widely hailed as the panacea for the problems afflicting the state’s farming community. This revelation has thickened the controversy surrounding this financial assistance programme that covers […]

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Column: Chilika In The Grip Of Prawn Mafia

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The famous Chilika lake continues to be in the grip of the prawn mafia. Cash rich prawn traders , who export the boneless fish to international destinations, pay the local culturists who build prawn dykes by encroaching parts of the lake which is choking. Commercialisation of Chilika began long ago with […]

London
Column: Learning From London

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The difference hits you in the eye once you arrive in the city of London. In fact, it was visible to us soon after landing at the Gatwick airport. Cleanliness and discipline were remarkable. Everything was orderly with the staff ready to help newcomers at every point. The long queues at […]

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