Severe cyclonic storm 'Montha' has begun making landfall off the Andhra Pradesh coast, with the process expected to continue for the next three to four hours. The storm is expected to cross the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued high sea waves, up to 4.7 metres high, warning across several coastal districts.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) has formed a sub-committee, headed by former Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Girish Chandra Murmu, to suggest measures to ensure full protection of the temple in light of recent security breaches.
The Odisha government is working to secure copyright for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions, following concerns over untimely celebrations by ISKCON and the declaration of a temple in Digha as 'Jagannath Dham'.
While three persons died in Koraput district, two each died in Jajpur and Ganjam districts, and one each in Dhenkanal and Gajapati districts, they said.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
The deceased, identified as Birendra Kumar Das, was serving as ADM (revenue) in Gajapati district.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
The reopening of the Ratna Bhandar became a major political issue during the recently held assembly elections in the state.
Although the BJP has never been ballistic about the BJD and Narendra Modi has avoided being critical of Naveen Patnaik, the BJP is optimistic that the party can improve its electoral fortunes in Odisha on its own, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The sea conditions near the Odisha coast will become rough on May 9 and rougher on May 10.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
The cyclonic storm is likely to move nearly westwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur around Sunday evening, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
The orange alert has been issued for moderate or heavy thunderstorms and wind speed with 30-40 km per hour to reach some districts of Odisha within the next three hours.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration under the state law department, did not respond to the queries of Bolangir-based RTI activist Hemant Panda.
The South Central Railway as well as the East Coast Railway cancelled several trains while some were terminated midway, officials said, adding a few express trains were also diverted.
The state government has instructed officials in coastal districts and various departments to be alert to tackle any emergency situation
The ongoing Puri heritage corridor construction work might have caused damage to the 800-year-old Jagannath temple there and the state government project was being carried out without valid permission from the competent authorities, the Archaeological Survey of India on Monday informed the Orissa high court.
The system lay centered at 5.30 am over Southeast Bay of Bengal, about 450 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 380 km west of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 1030 km south-southeast of Puri (Odisha).
Incessant showers caused landslides and floods in various parts of the country leaving at least 17 people dead on Wednesday while thousands more were forced to move to safety as rivers swelled and water reservoirs filled up fast.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
Maoists disrupted several communication links in Orissa on Monday by torching government buses and triggering landmine blasts to destroy mobile towers, besides damaging a forest beat house, prior to their 12-hour shutdown in the state's southern districts.As a result of their disruptive activities, the movement of buses and telephone communication were affected in Gajapati, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Ganjam districts.
With the southern districts of Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal receiving heavy rainfall due to cyclone Hudhud, the local administration has started preparations for floods if such a situation arises.
The Odisha government stepped up relief and restoration activities as cyclone Hudhud passed to neighbouring Chhattisgarh on Monday after claiming three lives, damaging about 50,000 thatched houses, electrical infrastructure and roads in four districts.
'There's also a possibility of the cyclonic system changing its course, thus avoiding a landfall in Odisha'
In a major achievement for Odisha police, top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda wanted in over 60 criminal cases, has been arrested prompting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to appeal to Naxals to eschew violence and join the mainstream
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had on Tuesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting withdrawal of the MCC from all coastal districts to make it easier for the government to handle the impending cyclonic storm "Fani" in the state.
A 28-year-old trainee nun was allegedly gang-raped by three youths, including two cousins, after holding her forcibly for about a week in Odisha's Ganjam and Gajapati districts, police sources said on Monday.
Italian hostage Paolo Bosusco was released by the Maoists on Thursday, 29 days after he was abducted along with his countryman Claudio Colangelo by the Naxals in Odisha's Kandhamal district.
Five Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in a forest on the border of Odisha's Ganjam and Gajapati districts on Wednesday.At least two security personnel were also injured in the exchange of fire in Bhaliagada jungle under Mohana police station area, said the police.
Prasant Majhi (23), who claimed to have worked as a bodyguard of Panda for the last over two years, surrendered without any weapons before the Superintendent of Police of Gajapati district Sarthak Sarangi.
Improving the infrastructure, including night landing facility at the airports is undertaken by the Airports Authority of India depending upon factors like commercial viability, traffic demand, operational requirements, demand from airlines and technical feasibility
Floods triggered by low pressure induced rains wreaked havoc in cyclone-hit Ganjam and other coastal districts of Odisha, leaving 10 persons dead and lakhs marooned as helicopters launched rescue operations on Friday.
Rail and road services were disrupted in some parts of Orissa as a two-day Bharat Bandh called by the Maoists in protest against the death of a top Naxal leader began on Wednesday.
At least three security personnel were killed and six others injured, four of them critically, in a fierce encounter with Maoists in Orissa's Gajapati district early on Wednesday, the police said.
West Bengal and Odisha have evacuated lakhs of people from vulnerable areas to safety as severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' is nearing the coast and is expected to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning.
The spiritual leader, who is arriving in Orissa on Monday on a four-day visit to the state, would consecrate and inaugurate the monastery, built at a cost of Rs 8 crore, religious chief of Tibetan settlement at Chandragiri, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche told media persons in Bhubaneswar.
The Orissa high court has granted conditional bail to a journalist of Gajapati district who was arrested on September 20 on charge of having links with the Maoists.
Telangana will have to wait a while before it finds a representation in the Narendra Modi cabinet.
Even as the robe-clad monks and elderly chapus seek divine intervention in the monastery, several others in the refugee camp are taking out candle light procession every evening urging the Chinese government to stop crackdown in Lhasa and other areas of Himalayan state.
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