Pension announced for artistes

Bhubaneswar: As a part of celebrations of the Utkal Divas, chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced pension for 3,000 artistes of performing arts from all over the state. And a bid to revive and promote dying folk arts of the state, Naveen announced a scheme that would help provide livelihood support to artistes by utilising the funds earmarked by various departments for creating public awareness. tarting this year, a festival of folk arts would be held annually on the occasion of Utkal Divas, he said. The current pension for artistes is Rs 1,000 per month.

Website

Bhubaneswar: A portal www.avbd.org was launched on Sunday to promote blood donation and interlink voluntary blood donors of the state. This website has been launched by the Association of Voluntary Blood Donors (AVBD) and was formally inaugurated at Berhampur. It is expected to help uniting the regular blood donors of the state, especially the younger generation, said sub-collector Ajit Mishra while launching the portal.

Harassment

Bhubaneswar: Students of an ashram school in Rajgangpur on Sunday approached the district magistrate alleging ill treatment by the ashram authorities. In a written complaint, the students alleged that they were being forced to carry out domestic chores by the ashram staff. The SC/ST department has set up the ashram school.

Food poison

Bhubaneswar: At least 200 people fell sick in Raigarh village of Nabrangpur on Sunday after consuming contaminated prasad from a temple. The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital. Fifty persons have been reported serious.

Jawan hurt

Bhubaneswar: A jawan sustained bullet injuries in an accidental fire in the SOG camp at Mathili in Malkangiri on Sunday. The security personnel, identified as Sarat Patnaik, was injured when the bullet had got accidentally fired from one of his colleague's rifle. The injured jawan was later rushed to a Koraput hospital.

Lanjigarh visit

Bhubaneswar: A special team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), headed by D. Sadangi, is on a three-day visit to Kalahandi district. They will discuss with people displaced because of the Vedanta project in Lanjigarh. The team will tour various villages and hold discussions with the displaced persons.