Jagdev -"the conqueror"

Rourkela: In a major breakthrough, the steel city police have succeeded in nabbing an area commander of CPI (Maoist) Bipin Kumar Sahani (25) alias Lambu from Bhalulata-Digha region in the bordering area of Odisha-Jharkhand last night. “Acting on a tip-off, a team of District Voluntary Force (DVF) led by Sarah Sharma, ASP, along with Inspector K S Nayak and ASI B K Das of special squad raided Tala Ginia areas under Mahulpada police station limits last night and nabbed Lambu”, Rourkela SP Himanshu Lal told reporters here. The accused, during interrogation, confessed his involvement in the Bondamunda Railway Cabin, Bisra Tehsil office and Jhareikela Outpost blasts in 2011, the SP added. The Maoist leader also admitted his presence during the encounter of Muslim, the then area commander of Bhalulata-Digha area in February last year in Jharbeda forests under Bisra police station limits where Muslim and his two associates were neutralized by the Police, Lal said, adding ...

Rourkela: A group of 25 undergraduate students of NIT, Rourkela, collectively christened as ‘Road Runner’, led by Dibyendu Mohanta and Pradeepta Sahoo, has successfully designed and fabricated a formula car for SUPRA-SAE-2012 event. The racing event took place at the Buddha International F1 Racing Circuit, Noida. It was the only car from Odisha that had qualified in this national event. This competitive event saw participation of 117 teams from different engineering institutes in the country. The event comprised Brake Test, Acceleration Test and Autocross event and prior to Endurance event (race day). The results were over-whelming with Road Runner ranked Second Runners Up in skid pad test, 6 th in overall design of the car, 9 th in autocross test and 12 th in Acceleration event. Road Runner stood 18 th in Overall Rankings amongst 117 colleges from all over the country. Teams had to qualify the first round of scrutiny, i.e. Virtual SUPRA SAE, wherein design...

Rourkela: A host of issues including wage settlement, medical facilities, E-payment services, working hours, perks and benefits, profit sharing scheme, house maintenance expenses, energy allowance, fringe benefits, annual increment, up-gradation of pay scale, incentive and reward scheme, leave, live cover scheme, educational loans and employment of the dependent came up for discussion at the 5 th District Conference of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) here today. Activists of Steel Mazdoor Union, Thikadar Mazdoor Union, Kendu Leaf Workers’ Union, Lathikata Mazdoor Union, ASHA group, Pachika Sahayika Sangha, Niramana Shramika Sangha and Anganwadi groups affiliated to AITUC put forth their problems at the conference held at ITDA Hall, Uditnagar. The main focus was on the minimum wages for workers. State Working President of AITUC Prabhat Mishra, inaugurating the Conference, said that the minimum wages recently declared by the State Government will be opposed. ...

Rourkela: When the expelled BJD leader Pyari Mohan Mohapatra was holding the rally of his newly floated outfit, Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM) in Bhubaneswar, leaders and supporters of BJD, Biju Sena and Biju Smruti Committee staged protests in the Steel City today by burning the effigy of the OJM leader in front of the statue of Biju Patnaik at the Sector-2 Chowk. The protesters demanded that Mohapatra should resign from his membership of Rajya Sabha for leveling accusations against BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik. The BJD leaders charged the estranged leader with hatching conspiracy to defame Patnaik, but claimed that the scheming by Mohapatra will would have no impact the latter’s popularity because the people of Odisha know well the gaping difference of popularity for the two leaders. They also urged the BJD leadership to expel Mohapatra from the party. The programme was led by BJD Rourkela District Committee President Ananda Mohanty. Nirakar Sahoo, Sud...

Rourkela: The five-day Durga Puja ended yesterday in the Steel City with the gathering of puja medhas of Maa Durga at Melan ground at Sector-13 for immersion of idols. As per sources, 18 out of 99 medhas gathered at the Melan ground yesterday in the presence of a large number of people who from in and around Rourkela. Elaborate security arrangements were made by Rourkela Police along Ring road and at every chowk to maintain law and order and to ensure that the immersion ceremonies passed off smoothly. Idols were brought from the various pandals by the different puja committees for immersion. “We have made arrangements for the immersion of idols near Balu Ghat on Brahmani River for which volunteers were engaged by the committees at various locations”, informed members of Central Puja Committee (CPC) adding that additional lights arrangements were also made at the ghat for immersion. A series of rituals were observed at pandals before the idols were taken out in proces...

Rourkela: People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) area commander Surya Don Alias Subar Singh and his bodyguard Churu were arrested from the Odisha-Jharkhand border area today. Acting on a tip-off, the Rourkela police headed by SP Himanshu Lal and the Jharkhand police headed by SP of Simdega Prabhat Kumar conducted a joint operation near Jaldega in the Simdega area and arrested the ultras. Additional SP of Rourkela Sudarsan Sethi informed that 12 rifles, 230 rounds of live cartridges, two grenades and camp articles like uniforms, mattresses, posters and food were recovered from the place near Jaldega in Jharkhand.  The raid by the joint team was conducted when members of PLFI, who allegedly indulge in extortion, loot and other criminal activities, had assembled for a training camp atop a hill near Jaldega village. As the police team surrounded the area, the ultras opened fire. After a gun-battle, the gang head and area commander Surya Don and his bodyguard ...

Rourkela:   Upset over absence of basic civic amenities, Basti Surakhya Mancha (BSM) is planning to put up a fight for the cause of slum dwellers in the Steel City. According to BSM, several political leaders have used the slum dwellers to fulfill their political ambitions in the pretext of slum development. According to the organization, slum dwellers are still living in unhygienic conditions. They have been deprived of education, safe drinking water and basic health facilities. A handful of people gain from the schemes meant for slum dwellers. An example of this is the irregularities in distribution of PLO cards. Unfortunately, no individual, organization or political party is fighting against this type of corruption earnestly. So, it is high time that BSM takes up all the cases for the greater interest of the slum dwellers, said BSM leaders at a press briefing. To take up issues related to development of slums and its inhabitants directly, a 31 member co...

Rourkela: Several politicians, social workers, businessmen, industrialists, educationists, legal experts, intellectuals and scribes gathered to pay homage to late Tilokchand Kadamwala, eminent industrialist and social worker at his residence at Power House Road. At the condolence meet arranged by the family of Late Kadamwala, Commerce and Transport Minister Subrat Tarai, former Speaker and veteran Congress leader of the district Kishore Patel, BJP Leader Kisun Sahoo, Industrialists D R Pattanaik, Rajesh Gadodia, Omprakash Gupta, Ramvilas Agarwal, Sitaram Berlia, Rourkela Bar Association Secretary Sadananda Sahoo and CPI leader Pravat Mishra and several industrialists and businessmen were present. The speakers said that the death of Kadamwala is an immense loss to the city as well as the business community. According to sources, Kadamwala breathed his last at a Mumbai hospital after a prolonged illness on October 11. His body was brought to the city in a special aircraft...

Rourkela: Hundreds of members belonging to various Central trade unions in Rourkela today staged demonstrations in protest against the Congress-led UPA government’s decision of disinvestment in the State-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO). Agitators, raising a banner of protest, staged dharna at Bisra Chowk. The trade union leaders chanted anti-UPA slogans and clamoured for immediate rollback of the decision. They lambasted the Manmohan Singh government for adopting ‘faulty and anti-people policy’. Launching a diatribe against the UPA, Bishnu Mohanty, General Secretary, CITU, stated that the central government holds 87.15 per cent stake in the Central PSU. He added that the recent decision of the union cabinet to bring down its stake in Nalco to 75 per cent by selling 12.15 per cent of its share to private players is ‘anti-workers’. The trade union leaders raised a pitch for immediate withdrawal of the decision, stating that the state-owned company has been...

Rourkela: Susmita Mahapatra, an assistant teacher of Government High School, Uditnagar here attended the 10 th AIPC International Congress, Srilanka, held at Colombo from Oct 9 to Oct 13, 2012 where she received the ‘Sanghamitra of the Age’ award and was crowned as ‘Miss Colombo’ by A Natrajan, the Indian High Commissioner. She was selected from Odisha along with 26 other poets from other states of India at the All India Poetess Conference, which was founded by Dr Lari Azad in 2000. She had presented her research paper on upliftment of women.  

Rourkela: The fragrance of Durga Puja has begun engulfing the air with the start of revelry and celebration here to welcome Goddess Durga. This is evident from the preparations for pandals of different shapes, sizes and designs which are being given final touches by the workers. The extravaganza of classical and oriental-based designs has provided financial support to people from varied walks of life, including painters, artists, electricians, tailors, potters and even idol jewellery makers. Bapi Bindhani, a noted artist of Rourkela said, “We are charging Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000, depending upon the sizes and structures of Idols”. He added that this year he and his teammates have made idols for Sector-2, Sector-5, Gajapati Market, Shaktinagar, Jagda and Telephone Bhawan. This year the city has as many as 99 pandals, which have been put up by different Puja Committees, said Bhabani Shankar Kabi, Secretary of Central Puja Committee (CPC). Though the rituals and festivi...