Guest Column News Updates

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar; In the wake of Biju Janata Dal’s stunning victory in the assembly elections the question uppermost in everyone’s mind is what makes Naveen Patnaik tick? Becoming the chief minister of the state for the firth time in a row is no ordinary feat, specially for a person who had made a […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Maoist insurgency is one of the most intractable problems confronting Odisha government. The problem that began in the eighties when Congress was ruling the state has acquired serious dimensions now. In the last two decades the radicals have stepped up their attacks on police and even targeted mines in a bid […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The Lok Sabha recently was witness to a spectacle that does not augur well for democracy in the country. The House saw a virtual slogan shouting contest between treasury and opposition benches as the newly elected MPs took oath. Quite a few of these MPs signed off with slogans expressing loyalty […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik has been a staunch advocate of women empowerment. In one of his now famous speeches he had described empowerment of women as the real ‘double engine’ for growth, a phrase coined by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi while campaigning for his party in Odisha where he had sought […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik’s decision to support BJP candidate and former IAS officer, Ashwini Vaishnav for the third Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha has taken many by surprise. After all, only about a month and a half ago the Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and BJP were at each other’s throats. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha government’s decision to close down around 1000 schools with student strength of less than 10 has stirred a controversy with the move not going down well with parents and educationists. The government plans to shift these students to nearby schools. Arrangements will be made for escorts and payment of transport […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The bizarre spectacle of a black magician trying to revive a dead woman, a victim of snakebite, near the morgue of Padampur sub-divisional headquarters hospital in Bargarh district on Sunday, once again proves that despite the spread of education superstition continues to rule roost in the rural areas of the state. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The visuals of Biju Janata Dal and BJP candidates filing their nominations for the Rajya Sabha by-poll together in the state assembly have made many political observers conclude that bonhomie is back between the two parties which had parted ways after ruling the state in tandem for more than nine years. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s temple architecture is the most important reminder of its glorious past. Temples with intricate carvings and great miniature works are scattered across the state. Old Bhubaneswar houses some of these architectural marvels located mostly in its narrow lanes and by-lanes. The sad part, however, is that we have utterly failed […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Union environment ministry’s decision to grant a two-year extension for the construction of Polavaram multi-purpose project in Andhra Pradesh comes as an embarrassment for the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government which has been opposing the dam that threatens to submerge several tribal villages in Malkangiri district. The discomfiture of […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The phenomenon of ghost ration cards is in focus in the wake of cyclone Fani with authorities reportedly trying to plug such loopholes in the public distribution system. But this is easier said than done because beneficiaries of the phenomenon are part of the system itself. There are two types of […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The alarming fall in the standards of education in government-run schools has finally made the mass education department sit up and think of corrective measures. As a first step towards this the department recently organised the first-ever interaction between parents and teachers in schools across the state. The purpose was to […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The tribal residents of more than 25 villages in Malkangiri’s Swabhiman area ( earlier known as cut-off area) recently staged a demonstration at Mudulipada demanding that it be declared a panchyat as it was more accessible to them. They also sought infrastructure development and livelihood opportunities in the area which has […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Ecotourism is the buzzword. Odisha government, too, seems keen to make the most of it having set aside Rs 7.7 crore in the current budget for infrastructure development at ecotourism sites. This sector has tremendous potential for revenue generation and the best thing about it is that local communities have a […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: With employment scenario in the state remaining bleak the focus has once again turned to the annual phenomenon of migration of labourers from the hunger zones of what has come to be known as the KBK belt. The argument that people from this region migrate to other states in search of […]