ORISSA

Each and every year, Odisha celebrates Utkal Divas on April 1. The tradition of this celebration has a history of 84 years. The Statehood Day of Odisha is celebrated as Utkal Divas. Odisha:

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As the ninth-largest state, the state has rich mineral Resources. It is a major supplier of raw materials such as coal and iron Ore, and its raw materials are distributed all over the country. On April 1, 193 Odisha state was established. It was established as a British Indian Province on April 1, 1936. It was named Orissa. The English name was changed to Odisha on 4th November 2011.

In the 3rd century BC, the state was ruled by Emperor Ashoka. Later it was ruled by Harsha’s and other monarchs. In the 8th century, the state was called the kingdom of Kosala and Utkala. Even today, the anniversary of the founding of the nation is celebrated as “Utkal Divas”. In the late 16th century, Odisha was ruled by the Sultanate of Bengal. In the mid-18th century, Odisha was under the rule of Marathas. After the Carthage War, it was ruled by the Madras Presidency of the British.

Odisha govt plans to verify certificates of doctors

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The on Thursday came out with a plan to verify certificates of doctors by May 31 following anOrissahigh court order to identify fake medical practitioners.

According to the notice, the allopathic doctors will submit their certificates to the authorities concerned by March 10. The CDMPHOs will submit a consolidated report along with the list of non-respondents to director of Health Services (DHS), Odisha and list of doubtful cases to registrar, Odisha Council of Medical Registration (OCMR) for verification by March 31.

Naveen unveils 30 new police stations in Odisha

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday inaugurated 30 Police stations across the state including one in Bhubaneswar. The new police stations, created by upgrading beat houses and outposts, are meant to ensure better policing and effective handling of law and order situations. With this, the number of police stations in the state have gone up to 642. The new police station in the capital city has come up at Maitri Vihar by upgrading the Salia Sahi outpost.

Three of the new police stations have been created in Cuttack while two each are in Angul, Ganjam, Jajpur and Kendrapara districts. In Cuttack district, Maniabandh, Judum and Bhadreswar outposts were upgraded to police stations. Beguniapada, Kotinada outposts in Ganjam, Bagedia and Gopalprasad outposts in Angul, Olakunda and Bramhabarada outposts in Jajpur, Chaudakulat and Kudanagiri outposts in Kendrapara districts were upgraded to police stations. Talapatia beat house in Jharsuguda district was upgraded to airport police station.

Odisha: Rs 7,600 crore outlay plea to boost rail connectivity

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The has sought Rs 7,600 crore in theUnion Budgetfor the development of rail Infrastructure with emphasis on strengthening rail connectivity to various Ports, mining belts and tribal-dominated districts.

Official sources said the demand include fund for various on-going projects, sanctioning of new lines, station modernisation, introduction of new trains, extension of existing trains, improved passenger amenities at stations, on-board Services, establishment of rail-based industries and multi-modal Logistics parks.

Major port connectivity projects for which fund has been sought in the annual budget include Rs 100 crore forJajpur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra Portvia Jajpur and Aradi (95 km), Rs 300 crore forTalcher-Gopalpurrail link, Rs 50 crore for Paradip-Dhamra rail link and Rs 200 crore for Gopalpur-Sambalpur link.

As creation of rail infrastructure is the responsibility of the Centre, the official said the government has already partnered with Indian Railways to fill the viability gap wherever it has been asked for.

From just 87 in 2009 to 1,648 in 2019, cases of child sexual abuse inOdishahave seen a staggering 1,794% rise in the last one decade, according to the nationwide data shared by the Union minister of women and child developmentSmriti Iraniin theLok Sabha.

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Experts attributed the rise in the sexual assaults on children to the sick mindset of perpetrators, inadequate vigilance by parents and lack of Police action in many cases.

Human-elephant conflicts rise by 26% in nine yrs, says survey

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Incidents of human-elephant encounters during April, May and June this year have seen an increase of 26 per cent compared to the data of the past nine years during the same period, a survey done by theWildlife Society of Odishahas found.

According to the survey, these three months witness most encounters as humans and elephants vie for the same fruits such as mango, stoneappleand jackfruit.

There were as many as 93 human-elephant encounters in the three months this year compared to 69 incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2022.

As many as 57 people have died this year compared to 38 last year.

The sharp rise suggests that this year the number of human deaths could go up significantly compared to 146 last year.

Incidentally, this quarter also happens to have recorded the highest ever human deaths in elephant attack compared to the past nine years, the survey stated.

Odishas 26 out of 30 districts in Covid red zone

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Covidinfection continues to rise inOdishawith 26 of the 30 districts reporting over 1,000 active positive cases, categorized as red zone, after the state registered 11,732 cases from 56,842 samples tested in the past 24 hours, a test positivity rate (TPR) of 20.63%. Only Deogarh, Malkangiri, Gajapati andKandhamaldistricts have now less than 1,000 active cases.

The Average positivity rate continues to hover between 20% and 24% for the past one week, though in some western Odisha districts, where the TPR had soared to 50%-70%, witnessed a decline.

Ganjam declared child marriage-free dist

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Ganjam Collector Vijaya Amruta Kulange has declared the district as completely child marriage-free.

After duly verified by the respective Block Development Officers, Tehsildars, Executive Officers, NACs and Child Marriage Officers of the district which have been recommended by the respective GPs, Wards, and village-level Task Force committees, the administration has declared the district as child marriage free.

The order said that the district comprises of 3,309 child marriage free villages; 280 child marriage free wards under ULBs and 503 child marriage free gram panchayats.

It may be mentioned that Kulange took personal interest and initiatives for successful implementation of Nirbhaya Kadhee scheme of the State Government in Ganjam district to prevent child marriage and took several initiatives in this direction under the direct supervision of Sarpanches, Anganwadi workers and ASHAs at grass root level forsuccessful implementation of the scheme.