Aishwarya Mohanty

Though activists had been concerned over the erosion and shifting course of the Rushikulya river, it has caused the water body to pierce through the beach, dividing it into two halves, one of which has turned into a nesting zone for over one lakh endangered turtles.

The previous session, held in December, had to be adjourned early as the Opposition had refused to go along with it in the CM's absence, among other issues.

Known for being “short-tempered” and “volatile”, Jagdev, who is said to be “popular in his constituency”, has had 10 criminal cases registered against him until 2019

The capital, which has the largest urban civic body in the state with 67 wards, will also see two firsts in the mayoral election—the first woman elected to the post as it has been reserved for women, and a direct election. 

With elections to 109 ULBs in Odisha scheduled to be held on March 24, the party has suspended around 50 of its members so far.

The letter came days after ASI director general V Vidyavathi visited the temple in the last week of February to monitor the ongoing project work. The ASI is the custodian of the Puri Jagannath Temple.

Pandaspadar primary school was one of more than 4,800 shut down by November 2020 and merged with nearby ones under a 2017 NITI Aayog project to "rationalise" schools with low enrollment.

The Odisha government has distributed smart health cards to beneficiaries under its flagship Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. What is this scheme, and how does it compare to the Centre's Ayushman Bharat?

The BJP, which had formed eight ZPs after winning 297 seats in 2017, came a distant second with only 42 seats. Congress came third with 37 seats, down from the 60 it had secured last time for forming 2 ZPs

Till last reports came in, the BJD had won 759 of 845 zilla parishad seats. The BJP was a distant second with 42 seats and the Congress had secured 37 seats.

These results and trends reflected, yet again, the lack of any anti-incumbency against the Patnaik government in the state even after 22 years of the BJD's continuous rule. In the 2017 panchayat polls, the BJD had won 473 ZPZ seats, the BJP 297 and the Congress 60.

By registering a win in 585 ZPZs, the BJD has already surpassed its own performance of 2017. The trends prove the lack of any anti-incumbency in the state even after 22 years of the BJD rule.

Counting for another 307 seats will be held on February 27 and for the remaining 229 on February 28.

The education department says it is important that the students who will be sitting in classrooms for six-seven hours again feel at ease. It will assess the children for their skills in English, maths and Odia to address issues of learning loss.

The Simlipal reserve sprawls over 2,750 sq km in Mayurbhanj district, and is home to three out of every four tigers in Odisha and 20 per cent of the state's elephant population. There are 68 villages within the reserve — mostly in the buffer zone — and about 1,200 on the periphery.

The images and videos of teachers allegedly campaigning have emerged from Asanpur Panchayat in Jajpur district, Krushnaparsad block of Puri and Maithili block of Malkangiri district. Officials in the State Election Commission said most of such complaints are dealt with at the district level.

A reporter with Odia daily Dharitri, Rohit was killed on Saturday when an improvised explosive device (IED), planted near a bridge by suspected Maoists, went off in Madanpur Rampur block, barely 10 km from his home.

The PIL stated that illegal motor boats are operating for fishing purposes on the Mangaljodi wetland part of Chilika lagoon which was declared an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the major causes of cervical cancer among women.

In Nabarangpur’s Patri panchayat, sarpanch nominee Bhagavati Bhotra carries a freshly-caught fish, her election symbol, while going door-to-door seeking votes.

Among those in the fray for the elections, scheduled between February 16 and 24, are a former Cabinet minister and two former MLAs of the BJD.

Prime witness in the 2014 Ganesh Panda murder case, had approached the police station Monday evening as he was reportedly receiving death threats.

The decision to field consensus candidates for the ruling BJD, the BJP and the Congress was taken on January 21 at an all-party meeting.

Following a police crackdown on January 14, violence had broken out between the two sides, leaving over 20 villagers and five policemen injured.