Jharkhand governor

Bhubaneswar: The Centre on Tuesday appointed Droupadi Murmu, 57, a former Odisha minister during the BJP-BJD coalition government, as the governor of Jharkhand. The two-time MLA from the Rairangpur constituency in Mayrubhanj district was first elected in 2000. After the official announcement, she said: “It’s a huge responsibility. I will try to fulfil all my responsibility with all sincerity and dedication.” The state BJP leaders here congratulated Droupadi on her new assignment.

Naveen’s no

Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said there was no deal between the BJD government in the state and the BJP-led government at the Centre. “Certainly, there is no deal with the BJP. But, we expect all support from the central government for the development of the state,” said Naveen on his return to the state after a weeklong visit to Delhi. Earlier, the Congress had accused the two governments of secret pact.

Lord’s daru

Bhubaneswar: The  sacred neem wood to be used for the making of Lord Jagannath’s idol would leave Khariparia in Jagatsinghpur district for Puri tomorrow. Besides, the temple administration has turned down the servitors’ request to allow the wood to go to Puri via Bhubaneswar. “We have already intimated our decision to the servitors. We hope they will abide by it,” said a senior official of the temple administration.

Acid attack 

Cuttack: A 20-year-old girl was injured in an acid attack at Salipur on Tuesday. The incident occurred when the girl was on her way to attend her computer classes near Kazihat around 5.30pm. Two criminals came on a motorcycle and threw acid on her. Though the exact reason is still unclear, police have begun probe into the incident. The victim has suffered burn injuries on face neck and hands and is admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital.

Awards

Bhubaneswar: The state government on Tuesday announced the Dharmapada awards. Around seven eminent artists will be conferred with the awards from 2009 to 2015. The awardees are Gokul Bihari Pattnaik, Asim Basu, Durga Prasad Das, Sudarsan Sahoo, Jatin Das, Dinanath Pathy and Raghunath Mohapatra.

Bail 

Cuttack: Orissa High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Bhubaneswar-based builder Sagar Kumar Ray, who has been accused by the CBI of having links with the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, which has duped investors in the state. The single-judge bench of Justice Raghubir Das granted bail to Ray for Rs 5 crore cash security, nearly six months after the CBI had arrested him.