Coal blocks

Bhubaneswar: National Aluminium Company Limited has been allocated Utkal D and E coal blocks in Angul district, where the company’s 4.6 lakh tonne aluminium smelter and 1,200MW captive power plant are located. “The company's smooth operation and expansion plans hinged on the allocation of these blocks,” said Nalco CMD T.K. Chand. “With this, Nalco's captive resources add 200 million tonnes of coal,” Chand said.

Man held

Kendrapara: Police have arrested a person and recovered a stolen bike from his possession from near the Brahmani bridge in the Aul police station jurisdiction. The accused had lifted the bike from Kasananta village on September 7.

Drown

Kendrapara: A 71-year-old man drowned in a pond at Indalo village on Tuesday. The deceased, has been identified as Dasrath Das.

Murder cuffs

Baripada: Badampahad police on Tuesday arrested a 44-year-old man for allegedly murdering a 60-year-old witch doctor. The accused, Bada Mahali, murdered Arjun Satar after finding out that the latter was having an illicit relationship with his wife, the police said.

Lens on Red zones

Bhubaneswar: The meeting of the Unified Command chaired by chief secretary G.C. Pati on Tuesday discussed the various aspects of Maoist activities and how to expedite the construction of Gurupriya bridge that would provide connectivity to the cut-off areas of Malkangiri district. Sources said a blueprint was being prepared to tackle the Naxalite problem and develop the affected areas. 

Power cuts

Bhubaneswar: Energy minister Pranab Prakash Das on Tuesday altered his earlier statement that there would be power cuts till June next year owing to a fall in hydropower generation following a deficit monsoon this year. “The power situation has improved and is expected to improve further by Dussehra,” he said.

Suspension

Bhubaneswar: Ravenshaw University has revoked the suspension order of 22 students for staging demonstration on the campus. According to the fresh directive issued by the executive council, students who were earlier slapped with a two -year suspension would now have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 and students with a one-year ban would have to pay Rs 5,000.

Road show

Sambalpur: The state government will organise a road show on the occasion of World Egg Day on October 9 to popularise poultry farming. Poultry farmers will also be awarded on the occasion. Competitions will be organised among school and college students to raise awareness.

Burla school

Sambalpur: The second Kendriya Vidyalaya, which is coming up at Burla, is likely to start functioning from the first week of October. The authorities started issuing application forms for admission from Monday.