Despite falling level in rivers, including Mahanadi, surging waters from over 100 breaches continued to submerge fresh areas in coastal Orissa where seven naval teams intensified relief work today to reach about 40 lakh people hit by floods which claimed at least 37 lives.
In a bid to win over angry villagers at the proposed plant site area near Orissa's Paradip, Posco-India plans alternative engagement for landless people of the area, company sources said.
According to an official, two fresh deaths have been reported in Cuttack and Khurda districts of the state.
Tension mounted in Dhinkia village in the Posco project site near Paradip in Orissa as the survey teams, conducting a socio-economic survey of the project site, came eyeball to eyeball with the villagers of Dhinkia, who vehemently oppose the project.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal
Modi reviewed the situation in West Bengal and Odisha with chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik, two days after the cyclone, the worst in years, devastated their states.
The Orissa government has said that it fully supports the multi-billion steel project from global steel maker Posco, despite opposition from local people.
Four senior Posco-India officials including three South Korean nationals were on Saturday taken hostage by anti-project activists, but were released unharmed seven hours later, official sources said. The officials and South Korean nationals were taken hostage after they went to the project site near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district and were taken hostage around 10.30 am by the anti-project activists demanding its scrapping.
The state government sounded a high alert in four coastal district of Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri in view of the flood which has claimed nine lives so far. Evacuation operations has been launched on a big scale to shift the residents of low-lying areas to the safer places.
The terms of the new relief package are more generous than the provisions of the state R&R Policy.
There is a growing voice of supporters of major industrial projects in Orissa that have faced opposition from sections in this little-developed state.
This is the third incident in the last three days when activists took at least 13 Posco officials into captivity when they tried to enter the proposed steel plant area
South Korean steel major Posco's beleagured Rs 52,000 crore (Rs 520 billion) project near Paradip has received a boost with the Centre according environmental clearance to its captive minor port at Jatadhari mouth in Jagatsinghpur district.
Despite poor governance, the BJD-BJP alliance may win an other term, since the main opposition Congress is in disarray and has no credible leaders.
Korean major considers offering locals an export market in addition to compensation.
The depression, which was initially over west-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas, moved westward and intensified into a deep depression.
Flood waters engulfed vast areas of the delta region of Mahanadi river system in Odisha even as the death toll due to heavy rains and floods in the state climbed to 34.
A year after signing the MoU with South Korean steel maker Posco, the Orissa government has assured the company of about 1,135 acres of litigation free government land for its proposed 12 million tonne steel project near Paradip. \n
An unspecified number of people were evacuated from coastal areas of Odisha where Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore were likely to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by high-velocity winds, particularly on May 19 and 20, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
The Orissa government on Monday said it will within the next three months, remove all hurdles to South Korean steel giant Posco's Rs 52,000 crore (Rs 520 billion) plant in the state amid a possible review of investment.
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the richter scale and epicentred in Myanmar on Wednesday shook several parts of east and northeast India.
A tribal woman travelling in an air-conditioned luxury bus was allegedly raped by helper of the vehicle while other passengers were fast asleep. The incident took place on Sunday night when the 25-year-old victim was travelling in a private bus running from Mayurbhanj to Bhubaneswar.
The counting will begin at 8 am, and as per the Election Commission's COVID-19 guidelines, a candidate, his poll agent and counting agent can remain present in the counting hall, officials said, adding various measures have been taken to ensure social distancing and avoid crowding.
The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will go to polls on April 29. The voting will be held for 71 seats spread across 9 states.
The weatherman said when 'Amphan' makes the landfall between West Bengal's Digha, some 180 km from Kolkata, and Hatiya island in Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon or evening, it will pack sustained wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph, gusting at 185 kmph. The gale-force wind, blowing at a speed of 240 to 250 kmph and gusting to 275 kmph at one point, had lost intensity and was moving at a speed of 200 to 210 kmph, gusting to 230 kmph on Tuesday evening.
Exactly a year after the very severe cyclonic storm Phailin struck the state, another storm is heading towards the Odisha coast.
Cyclone 'Phailin', which was to make landfall two days from now, possibly near Gopalpur in Odisha and in north Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm travelling slightly northwest and lying about 800 km from Paradip in Odisha.
The India Meteorological Department said rainfall would be accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 140 to 150 kmph and gusting to 165 kmph along and off Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
In a move to strengthen coastal security, the Odisha government has asked fishermen to paint their boats and trawlers with a specific colour pattern for their easy identification.
While man and a woman were reported killed when trees came crashing down on them in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in adjoining Howrah. No casualties have been reported from Odisha yet.
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, tremors of which shook the northeast, several parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi and NCR on Wednesday.
The development comes in the wake of a high-level panel formed to address issues impeding mega projects in the steel sector, reviewing the stalled projects this month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Candidates of the Naveen Patnaik-led party have won in 105 assembly seats, while the Congress has won 16 seats (11 in the previous assembly), and the Bharatiya Janata party 10 seats.
Ridiculing Odisha government's claim that land acquisition for the proposed Posco project near Paradip was complete, CPI-backed Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) said demolition of betel vines did not mean taking over possession of farmers' land.
The Korean company's proposed 12 million tonne per annum project at Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha is stalled for about a decade.
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
The cyclone would bring light to moderate rains at most places and 'heavy to very heavy downpour' at some places on November 6.
Carrying their baggage, thousands of people are leaving the port town of Paradip to escape the wrath of the severe cyclonic storm 'Phailin' which is expected to make landfall in Odisha in less than 24 hours.
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