Tag: Columnist Ashutosh Mishra

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The good news is that Odisha’s forest cover has increased. The latest India State of Forest Report, as quoted in a section of the media, says that the state has added 274 sq km of forest in the last two years. Currently, our forested area extends up to 51,619 sq km […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Koraput administration recently organised a mega awareness camp at one of the villages under the disputed Kotia panchayat bordering Andhra Pradesh to inform people about the various social security schemes of the state government. Old age pension was distributed among the eligible beneficiaries and health check-ups were also carried out. The […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Among the major tourist attractions of the state the beaches at Puri and Gopalpur have been rated as the second and fourth most clean in the country respectively in a survey conducted by the National Centre for Coastal Research ( NCCR), an institute functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Finally the residents of Dhuliput and Maliguda, the two remote villages under the Chitrakonda block of Malkangiri’s once infamous “cut-off” area, rechristened as Swabhiman Anchal following the inauguration of Gurupriya bridge in 2018, have a metalled road. Cut off from development these villages have for decades been part of a benighted […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The TV visuals of an Odisha MLA shaking and convulsing eerily during a religious celebration organised recently in Angul district must have caused a lot of mirth among viewers. The incident has, however, raised some awkward questions with reports in a section of the media suggesting that the legislator’s behaviour convinced […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Bird census in Bhitarkanika national park and Athgarh forest division has shown a jump in the number of winged guests. This is great news primarily because it confirms that feathered beauties have now begun to favour many more water bodies in the state in addition to Chilika, Asia’s largest brackish water […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Newspapers have reported about tourism minister, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi standing in a queue with other patients at the Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital, Bolangir, recently to consult doctors for an orthopaedic problem. The minister, who was on a visit to the hospital to review the facilities as part of state […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Not so long ago parent-teacher meetings (PTMs) were seen as an exercise typical of English medium schools. In a way, they distinguished the elite from the hoi polloi. Such distinctions are now getting blurred with governments willing to invest more in education and adopt healthier practices such as PTMs that make […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Recently a portion of the geo-synthetic tube wall erected at Kendrapara’s Pentha village to combat sea erosion was damaged in a fire. Media reports suggest that 30 gabion boxes of the wall that is made up of water-permeable geo-textile tubes filled with sand slurry were gutted in the mishap. This is […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha government’s move to construct in-stream storage structures (ISS) in major river basins, if successful, will ensure that the state’s future water requirement is met without much difficulty. There is no denying the importance of such a project as the bulk of water from the major rivers of the state is […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The meeting between Rayagada’s independent MLA, Makaranda Muduli and chief minister, Naveen Patnaik in the state capital has triggered speculation about the possibility of the first time legislator joining the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). This despite Muduli’s statement that clarified that while he was with the chief minister as far […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: A man was recently fined Rs.26000 after traffic police personnel and RTO officials caught his minor son driving a two-wheeler without a helmet. The father of the boy, who was intercepted at the Barang Police station square on the outskirts of the capital city, was punished as he allowed a minor […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The newly anointed Odisha BJP president, Samir Mohanty is an amiable and articulate leader with many friends in the media. Practical and down to earth he has the reputation of being a good organiser while his commitment to the party has never been in doubt. All these are important attributes that […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik recently laid the foundation for seven projects worth over Rs 500 crore in Puri as part of his government’s ambitious plan to turn the pilgrim town into a world-class heritage destination. The projects include the construction of a trumpet bridge, a huge meditation and pilgrim help centre, […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Notwithstanding steps to contain human-animal conflict in the state clashes continue to occur, often resulting in casualties and massive destruction of property. Recently two persons in Khurda district were killed in an elephant attack, triggering protests in the area with local residents blocking the nearby road and demanding compensation. These pachyderms […]