Scheme for girls 

Bhubaneswar: The government will launch the Biju Kanya Ratna scheme on Saturday. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will introduce the scheme, aimed to ensure the development of girls. Initially, the scheme will be launched in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul on a pilot basis, where the child sex ratio has declined to an alarming level.  

Plastic ban

Berhmapur: The authorities have banned the use of polythene bags at Gopalpur-on Sea, a tourist resort town in Ganjam district. While the district administration had directed the notified area council to enforce the restriction on the environmentally-hazardous material, the civic body recently resolved to ban polythene, which came into force on Thursday, officials said. The authorities have selected Gopalpur on a pilot project basis. “We will take similar steps in other towns and tourist places depending on the success in Gopalpur,” said district collector P.C. Chaudhary.

Advice to CM

Bhubaneswar: The Centre’s chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian on Friday suggested that the state government should develop tourism and textile sectors. Subramanian, who met chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the secretariat on Thursday, said though the state had suffered calamities such as cyclones in the past because of its geographical location, it should utilise its situation in terms of improving tourism potential.

Vigilance raid 

Bhubaneswar/Balasore: The vigilance department on Friday raided the premises of India 24X7, an online news portal, in Bhubaneswar and Balasore. A team led by vigilance SP raided the premises and seized hard disks, CDs, pen drives and documents in Bhubaneswar, said sources. Another team also raided the house of a video journalist at Dudapal within limits in Balasore district. He was not present during the raid.   

Graft cuffs

Balangir: The vigilance department on Friday held an executive engineer of the rural department at Titilagarh in Balangir district on graft charges. According to sources, Debendranath Patnaik was returning home with the money he had taken as commission when the vigilance sleuths nabbed him. The sleuths also seized Rs 4.58 lakh he had with him.

No trust vote

Dhenkanal:  Four BJD councillors who voted in favour of the “no confidence” motion against Dhenkanal Municipality chairperson Indramani Behera on Friday presented deposed before the State Election Commission. They were asked by the commissioner to present their case after the BJD had appealed to quash their membership. The next hearing on 
the issue has been set for September 8, said sources.

Insurance app

Bhubaneswar: The state government has decided to introduce an Agri Insurance App to help farmers to get complete details about the available insurance cover in the area and calculate the insurance premium for notified crops, coverage amount and loan amount. The facility will also ensure easier mode of crop insurance 
payment, said sources.