Orissa Govt

• Italian tourists abducted: Maoists talk tough; Odisha govt open to negotiations

  There is no word yet on the kidnapped Italians who are being held hostage by the Maoists in Odisha's Kandhamal district. One of the two abducted men, Boscusco Paolo, has been visiting Odisha since 1999 and runs a travel agency in Puri that takes foreign tourists on tribal tours. The other, Clandio Colangilo, is a tourist. The two were kidnapped fro...

• Orissa govt turns home of 'corrupt' IAS official into dispensary

  Following the footsteps of the Nitish govt in Bihar, the Orissa government has converted the confiscated house of a retired IAS officer convicted in a disproportionate assets case into a homeopathic dispensary in Bhubaneswar.

• Orissa launches 'Mamata' scheme for expecting mothers

  'Mamata Scheme' - under which Rs 5000 will be paid to six lakh pregnant and lactating women in rural areas every year - was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday.

• Orissa govt slams new Port Bill, urges coastal states to oppose it

  Objecting to the Centre's new proposal that gives it jurisdiction over state-developed ports, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged nine coastal states and a Union Territory to jointly oppose the move.

• POSCO project: Orissa govt ready to hear villagers' voice

  After fresh trouble at the proposed POSCO plant in Orissa, the ruling BJD has told NDTV it is ready for a referendum in villages around the site to find out what the people want. Speaking on the NDTV show The Buck Stops Here, BJD MP Jay Panda said that "Orissa government has learnt its lessons from West Bengal." India's largest Foreign Direc...

• Forest clearance no license for acquisition: Jairam Ramesh to Orissa govt

  Amid protests by locals against land acquisition for POSCO's steel plant in Orissa's Govindpur village, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday asked the state government not to use environmental clearance for the project as a "licence for forcible acquisition of land".A statement issued by the minister on Sunday read: 'I have often said that ...

• Orissa govt backs Vedanta, moves court against ban on mining

  The Orissa government has thrown its weight behind mining group Vedanta Aluminium Limited and has moved the Supreme Court against the Centre's ban on bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri Hills for the group's Rs 5,000-crore alumina refinery project at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district of the state.The state government's move came after the Jairam Ramesh-l...

• Maoists, Orissa Govt close to striking a deal?

  Top Maoist leader Shriramulu Shrinivas was produced in a fast track court at Malkangiri for his bail plea. The release of this man, jailed for dacoity, is an important condition set by Maoists as they negotiate with the Orissa government for the release of Malkangiri Collector RV Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi. The police who were e...

• Collector's kidnap: Talks between mediators, Orissa govt begin

  The much-awaited talks between the Orissa government and the mediators chosen by the Maoists began in Bhubaneswar today to negotiate the release of abducted Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi.The crucial meeting began amid tight security soon after the arrival of the two Hyderabad-based mediators - Professor Har...

• Orissa govt may free prisoners in return for abducted Collector: Sources

  The Orissa government may be considering the release of some prisoners - one of the demands made by the Maoists to free Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi - sources have told NDTV.Sources say the Orissa government may consider dropping serious charges against some Maoist leaders to help them get bail.Maoists wan...

• Kidnapped Malkangiri Collector, engineer safe: Orissa govt

  Orissa government today said the abducted Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi were safe and in good health."As per the information available with us, the two abducted persons are safe and in good health in the captivity of the Maoists", Chief Secretary B K Patnaik told reporters after a high-level meeting att...

• Malkangiri Collector kidnapping: Orissa govt halts anti-Maoist operations

  A day after Maoists kidnapped the District Collector of Malkangiri, along with a junior engineer, the state government has halted anti-Maoist operations throughout Orissa. They also say that they are ready to talk to the Maoists.Sources have told NDTV that the Maoists may soon announce names of mediators and talks on the release of the Collector an...

• Govt identifies over 10,000 villages as drought-hit in Orissa

  As many as 10,440 villages, spread over 15 of Orissa's 30 districts, were identified as drought-hit as more than 50 per cent of paddy crop were lost due to inadequate rainfall in this monsoon.Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro said on Tuesday, "The affected farmers in 10,440 villages and urban pockets will get compensation as announ...

• Vedanta seeks alternative bauxite mines from Orissa govt

  Denied permission to start mining activities atop Niyamgiri hills in Orissa's Kalahandi district, Vedanta Group has proposed to the state government to allocate it an alternative source of bauxite for running its 1 MTPA alumina refinery plant.This was stated by Vedanta's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mukesh Kumar who yesterday met officials of the ...

• British woman molested in Orissa govt hotel

  A young British woman was on Tuesday allegedly molested by an employee of a state-run hotel at Konark near Sun Temple in Orissa."The 20-year-old woman from the UK has complained that one of the staff, Subhas Sahu, molested her when she was alone in her room at Jatri Niwas this afternoon," Puri SP Sanjay Kumar said.Hotels under the brand name Jatri ...