By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: In the last one week Maoist rebels have gunned down two alleged police informers in Kalahandi district where they have begun making inroads recently. Both the victims were contractors and seen by the radicals to be collaborating with the men in khaki. The so-called police informers have been at risk for […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The latest incident of farmer suicide from a village in Balasore district has raised a question mark over state government’s claim that factors like loan burden or crop loss have nothing to do with such cases. If media reports are to be believed the family members of the deceased, Sumant Kumar […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The victory of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate in Patkura has re-affirmed the party’s political supremacy in the state. Though the margin of win should have been higher going by the claims BJD leaders had made during the course of campaigning it was satisfying nonetheless. While BJD’s tally in the state […]
By Sandeep Sahu After his loss to BJD candidate Sabitri Agrawala in Patkura, most political observers are busy writing the political obituary of Bijoy Mohapatra. On the face of it, such a view is unexceptionable. At 68, the erstwhile Janata Parivar stalwart is not exactly a spring chicken. “He would be 73 by the time […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has once again come to the rescue of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre. Its support proved crucial to the passage of the controversial Right to Information (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, two other regional parties–Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Recently we saw on our TV sets disturbing visuals of a uniformed police officer in Balasore district being chased and manhandled by a mob. People vented their ire on the officer concerned as he had arrived late to investigate the alleged death of a boy whose body had been found hanging […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The spectre of a drought has begun to haunt the state with a large number of districts experiencing less than normal rainfall. As many as 21 out the total 30 districts have witnessed deficient rainfall, triggering all round concern. Even in ‘normal’ districts there are pockets of deficiency because of uneven […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Tribal inhabitants of Laxmipur block in Koraput district have launched an agitation against the mining of bauxite from the Kodingamali hill in the area. Organised under the banner of Kodingamali Suraksha Manch (KSM) they blocked the road leading to the mines the other day and submitted a memorandum to the district […]
By Sandeep Sahu Suddenly, ‘Bol Bom’ bashing has become fashionable among a section of the people in our state. As in most other cases, the opposition is voiced by those who never had the experience of being part of it. Do they even know what it takes to complete a ‘Bol Bom’ trip, the toll […]
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: There now seems to be a pattern to it that is beginning to look familiar. The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) support for the Inter-State River Water Disputes Bill, 2019 that was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday comes as no surprise to political observers who have been watching […]
In 1992, that’s about 30 years ago, as Agriculture Secretary of Odisha Government, I had visited Nasik, Dhule and Jalgaon region of Maharashtra and looked at the agricultural development. This…
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Effective major irrigation schemes being few and far between in Odisha it is important to support initiatives like tank irrigation. They can come in handy in times of distress for farmers. But sustaining such initiatives is not easy. When funds are not a problem lack of awareness and motivation among people […]
My good friend Chitta Ranjan recently landed in hospital and had a steel rod inserted into his left leg. Doctors treating him say he may never be able to drive…
By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The killing of seven Maoists in an encounter in Rajnandgaon district of neighbouring Chhatisgarh is certain to boost the morale of security forces on both sides of the border as they have been working in close cooperation to end the menace of left wing extremism. Both Chhatisgarh and Odisha have been […]
By Sandeep Sahu Weeks before the 2004 elections, I happened to be Kalahandi. After completing the day’s work, I happened to meet a few people who had just returned from the Gram Sabha earlier in the day where consent was wrested for setting up of the 1 million ton per annum (MTPA) capacity bauxite refinery […]
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