Three-year-old tigress Zeenat, that kept forest personnel of three states on the toes for almost three weeks after unleashing terror in forest-side human habitations, was bought back to the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Wednesday in a joint endeavour of authorities of the three states, an official said.
Forest officials arrested 17 marine fishermen on Wednesday and seized their fishing trawler on Sunday from the seawater of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Odisha’s Kendrapara district on the charges of illegally fishing within the turtle congregation zone, an official said.
This funding aims to strengthen the infrastructure and enhance human resource development, research and skill-building initiatives in universities and colleges across Odisha. It also seeks to promote employable education for students, said the Minister.
The anti-corruption vigilance wing of the state police has logged an impressive 50% conviction rate in corruption cases in 2024, while the rate of conviction in Disproportionate Asset (DA) cases stood at 80%, officials said on Tuesday.
One of the cyber fraudsters, Satish Kumar K, was nabbed from Chennai, while his accomplice Harish C M was apprehended from Kozhikode. They have a history of such cyber fraud and were on bail following their arrest. The duo was later remanded in judicial custody on the direction of a court in Bhubaneswar, the Crime Branch officer said.
Despite threat posed to their lives due to possible strike of cyclone Dana, a section of residents in a vulnerable pocket of Odisha’s Kendrapara district refused to be evacuated from their houses on the ground that the government has ignored their forest right act claim in conferring them the land record of rights.
As the weather goes from bad to worse, those unwilling to shift to the safety of shelter houses are not taking any chances, cooperating with the officials in the evacuation process.
The cyclonic storm Dana, which is anticipated to make landfall close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara in the neighbouring state of Odisha is expected to bring squally winds to Kolkata with speed reaching 60-70 Kmph, gusting to 80 kmph as it crosses Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
“When calamity looms, our job is to keep the people alert to the danger and advise them as to what they should or shouldn’t do,” Ms. Honey Pattnaik, In-charge of the Community Radio Centre, said.
The evacuation process has got underway to relocate 10 to 12 lakh people to the safety of cyclone shelters and temporary relief camps.
