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New Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Odisha BJP slams Congress over rally, calls it ‘political theatre'
BHUBANESWAR: The BJP slammed leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his allegations against the central and the state governments at the Samvidhan Banchao Samabesh organised by the Congress here on Friday. Deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo termed the rally led by Rahul and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a political theatre in its most familiar form. In a post on X, the deputy CM said, 'Ironically, the party that now claims to 'save the Constitution' is the very one that amended it more than any other - not always in the spirit of strengthening democracy, but often to serve narrower political ends. There's a difference between evolving institutions and eroding them - and the people of Odisha can tell the difference.' Referring to championing the cause of tribals and dalits by Congress leaders, Singh Deo said the Odisha's poor, dalits, adivasis, farmers and working class have distanced themselves from the Congress years ago because it is no longer in tune with their realities. 'Odisha has embraced a transparent, accountable and inclusive governance, where every policy is a promise honoured. Every rupee reaches its rightful beneficiary. This is not just development, it's dignity delivered,' he said.
New Indian Express
09-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Odisha starts awareness drive for rooftop, home gardening
BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to promote rooftop and home gardening in five major cities of the state, deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo on Tuesday flagged off a rath (campaign vehicle) to create awareness among the citizens on the urgent need to increase the green space in urban areas. Singh Deo said green space is fast reducing with rapid urbanisation across the state. Concrete buildings and roads are eating up green spaces in cities creating urban heat island effect. 'This is a novel attempt by the government to encourage citizens to develop more greenery spaces through rooftop and home gardening, peri-urban and urban horticulture for aesthetics, nutrition and healthy environment in urban areas. City dwellers in residential and institutional buildings will be sensitised and educated on using innovative technologies to develop green spaces in their homes. This initiative will be piloted in five major cities of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Jeypore,' he said. The project is funded under state plan scheme - Innovative Projects for Promotion of Urban Horticulture - and implemented by the Central Horticultural Experiment Station (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar. The campaign vehicle will move across various urban zones of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for over a month-long awareness drive, reaching out to residential communities, educational institutions, resident welfare associations and other city-based organisations along with general public, he added. The vehicle is equipped with audio-visual educational materials in Odia and English for demonstration of innovative and technical exhibits, distribution of technical pamphlets and arrangements for organising interaction points for citizens to discuss and seek expert advice. Singh Deo said the department encourages all citizens, institutions and community groups to participate actively and contribute to greener cities across the state. Director, Agriculture & Food Production Subham Saxena, additional secretary Shubhranshu Mishra and other senior officers were present at the event.
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Odisha govt signs MoU with Skymet for implementation of the Weather Information Network Data System
BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Thursday signed an MoU with Skymet Weather Services Pvt Ltd for implementation of the Weather Information Network Data System (WINDS), an initiative to strengthen weather data infrastructure and provide reliable weather information. The objective of WINDS is to further strengthen the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). 'The initiative is aimed at improving weather data accessibility and enhancing risk management in agriculture, insurance and disaster management sectors,' said deputy chief minister and minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo. He said automatic weather stations (AWS) and automatic rain gauges (ARG) will be installed at strategic locations across the state to ensure timely and accurate weather data. Automatic rain gauges will be set up at the panchayat-level while automatic weather stations will be set up at the block-level. These installations will ensure a comprehensive weather monitoring system across the state. The Agriculture and Revenue & Disaster Management departments will jointly implement the project. The funding will be sourced from the PMFBY budget, managed by the Cooperation department. Director of Agriculture & Food Production Subham Saxena and Skymet CEO Jogesh Patil signed the MoU.
New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Tender for stage-III expansion of Ib Thermal by end of month: Singh Deo
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) is planning to float a notice inviting tender (NIT) for stage-III expansion of the Ib Thermal Power Station (ITPS) at Banharpalli in Jharsuguda district by end of this month. 'Efforts are on to invite tenders for boiler-turbine-generator (BTG) package by end of July while NIT will be floated for the balance of plant (BOP) for the two coal-based supercritical thermal power plants of 660 MW in September,' said deputy chief minister and Energy minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo. He said OPGC is also pursuing its maiden 50 MW solar power plant in its used ash pond for which NIT will also be floated in July. 'If everything goes as per the plan, contracts for the BTG and BOP will be awarded by December and February next year respectively,' Singh Deo added. In November 2024, OPGC had floated NIT for an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract, essentially a turnkey solution, starting from design and engineering to procurement of materials and equipment, and finally, construction and commissioning, of the project. However, the tender was cancelled to split the project contract to two packages. 'The project approval committee of the state government had estimated that the fifth and sixth units will cost about `12,717 crore. The project cost may undergo a change after recovery of price and determination of cost based on the biddings,' said a senior OPGC office in charge of projects. The OPGC proposal for setting up of two more units had received in-principle approval of the state government in May 2023. The expansion plan of the state-run thermal power generator got stage-I clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in October 2023. After obtaining term of reference (ToR) from the Environment Ministry, OPGC had engaged Hyderabad-based VIMTAB Lab for environment impact assessment (EIA). It has almost completed the EIA and socio-economic study for the project. 'The mandatory requirements for public hearings and consultations to gather feedback from stakeholders will be taken up soon. A report of the EIA, socio-economic study and public hearing will be submitted to MoEF&CC for stage-II clearance,' said OPGC sources.
New Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Kotia Rath Yatra sees political unity, development buzz as leaders join forces
KORAPUT/JEYPORE: Amid the rhythmic beats of drums, resonating conch shells, and vibrant chants of Hari Bol, Rath Yatra was celebrated at Adim Srikhetra in Koraput's Kotia panchayat headquarters on Friday. Thousands of devotees, including members of tribal communities from across Koraput and adjoining regions, gathered to pull the beautifully decorated wooden chariot of the holy Trinity. Deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Revenue minister Suresh Pujari, School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond, Steel and Mines and Transport minister Bibhuti Jena, and Fisheries & Animal Husbandry minister Gokulananda Mallick joined villagers in pulling the chariot. The festival witnessed a rare moment of political unity, with Koraput MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka, who is from the Congress, and other opposition leaders also pulling the chariot. Other leaders including Balabhadra Majhi, Jeypore MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, CLP Leader Ramachandra Kadam, and former MP Jayaram Pangi also joined the celebration. The Kotia Jagannath Temple, established 22 years ago with the inspiration of Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, has grown into a potent symbol of Odisha's cultural sovereignty in the disputed Kotia region. This year's celebration, however, stood out as historic.
