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Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has cancelled Diwali celebrations at his residence this year in view of the damage and suffering caused by Cyclone Arnab and subsequent floods in several parts of the state. In a statement, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said Diwali celebrations at Majhi's residence have been cancelled. The CM has also requested people not to bring gifts or bouquets on the occasion. "The Hon'ble Chief Minister has appealed to people to remain sensitive to the public in the affected areas and extend a helping hand to those affected by the disaster," the CMO said in a post on X. Earlier, Majhi had also skipped Durga Puja celebrations as a mark of solidarity with farmers who suffered crop losses due to heavy rainfall in October. He had refrained from visiting puja pandals. The state's southern districts have been severely impacted following heavy rainfall and floods triggered by Cyclone Arnab, displacing thousands and causing extensive damage to property an
The Odisha government has submitted a proposal to the Centre for setting up 290 additional public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 13 cities across the state under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, officials said on Wednesday. The proposal has been submitted under the direction of Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena as part of the state's efforts to strengthen EV infrastructure, they said. In the first phase of the scheme, the Centre has approved the setting up of 170 EV charging stations in seven major cities, and work on the project is currently underway, an official statement said. In the second phase, the state has proposed setting up 290 additional public charging stations in Rourkela, Talcher, Sambalpur, Paradip, Barbil, Balpahad, Berhampur, Brajarajnagar, Chhatrapur, Jharsuguda, Joda, Keonjhar and Rajgangpur, besides locations along various national and state highways. Of the proposed locations, 68 are at Wayside Amenity Centres under the tourism department,
The Odisha government launched a search operation for 12 people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide struck a village bordering Ganjam and Kandhamal districts a day ago, officials said on Saturday. Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said altogether, 170 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Special Operation Group have been engaged in the operation to locate the missing people. "A hilltop village was home to 26 people. Thirteen of them managed to escape from the landslide, while 13 others went missing. One of the missing people has been traced, and others are still untraceable. The search operation has been going on since Friday night," Patil told reporters here on Saturday. The landslide at Gidipabali village under the Baibali panchayat in Ganjam's Bhanjanagar block was among the 10 such incidents that occurred during incessant rain triggered by cyclone Arnab. Heavy rain inundated hundreds of villages in the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released the 24th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme, transferring over Rs 18,690 crore to the bank accounts of more than 9.34 crore farmers across the country, including 35.38 lakh in Odisha. The beneficiaries in Odisha received Rs 3,000 crore as part of the instalment released by the prime minister from Banaskantha in Gujarat, officials said. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi joined the programme virtually from Bhubaneswar and addressed beneficiary farmers at a state-level 'PM-Kisan Utsav'. "The welfare and empowerment of farmers is the core commitment of our government. Today, India's esteemed Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi, launched the release of the 24th instalment of the nationwide 'PM-Kisan' scheme via a virtual event from Banaskantha, Gujarat," Majhi wrote on X. Under the scheme, financial assistance was transferred directly to the bank accounts of over 35.38 lakh farmers in the state through direct benefit transfer (DBT), he ...
The Odisha government on Friday intensified relief and rescue operations and prepared to air-drop food packets in flood-hit Ganjam and Gajapati districts, where thousands of people have been marooned for over 24 hours due to floods triggered by incessant rain during cyclone Arnab, officials said. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, expressed concern over the unexpectedly heavy rainfall in Ganjam and Gajapati districts. "As part of the preparedness for cyclone Arnab, the administration was expecting that the calamity could have a major impact in Malkangiri. However, nobody could imagine that such heavy rainfall could occur in Ganjam district and cause severe floods," Majhi said at a meeting here earlier in the day. He said Patrapur block in Ganjam district received 54 cm of rain in 24 hours, while several other places in Ganjam and Gajapati also recorded unusually heavy rainfall, triggering massive floods. Chief Secretary Anu Garg said, "
Cyclone Arnab remained "practically stationary" along the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday and the landfall process is expected to continue for the next 2-3 hours, the IMD said, as heavy rains lashed a number of districts in the southern state. At some places in the state, police rescued stranded people. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation on Wednesday morning. According to the IMD, the northern spiral band of the cyclone has further entered the land, while the storm's centre remains very close to the coastline. "The cyclone remains practically stationary along the Andhra Pradesh coast, and the landfall process is expected to continue for another 2-3 hours," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in an update at 5.30 am. The very severe cyclonic storm was located over the west central Bay of Bengal close to the Andhra Pradesh coast, near latitude 16.4 degrees north and longitude 82.0 degrees east, about 30 km east of Narsapur, 45 km south-southw
The Odisha government on Sunday stepped up preparations, mobilising personnel and equipment in vulnerable areas, as a severe cyclonic storm is likely to hit the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28, officials said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest bulletin, said a depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained winds of 115-125 kmph and gusts up to 140 kmph. The system is expected to make landfall around the forenoon of October 28, with the predicted landfall area around 300 km from Odisha's Gopalpur, officials said. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that although the system was forecast to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh, the Odisha government would take no chances and remain fully prepared to deal with any eventuality. He directed officials to prioritise public safety, evacuation and emergency response, reiterating the