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 tribal leader, India's youngest president at 64 and the first to be born after Independence, took oath of office in the name of god to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law'.
A Central Reserve Police Force jawan on Friday night shot dead two fellow jawans and then killed himself with his gun at the Jharpokharia anti-Naxal camp in the tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district.
Murmu made and subscribed to the oath of office before President Ram Nath Kovind, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that 'Yaas' is likely to intensify into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm by Tuesday evening and Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage caused by it.
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
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.
Earlier, the IMD had predicted light to moderate rainfall accompanied by wind with 40 to 50 kmph in north coastal Odisha under its impact, he said.
The CBI has been probing the activities of 44 ponzi companies in the state which allegedly duped thousands of investors of their hard earned deposits.
At least 29 people were killed after being struck by lightning in different parts of Odisha.
Relief and restoration work was stepped up on Tuesday in areas ravaged by twin calamity of Cyclone Phailin and resultant floods in Odisha, which affected over 1.2 crore people in more than 16,000 villages and claimed 26 lives. Of the 26, five people died in floods.
The state government has instructed officials in coastal districts and various departments to be alert to tackle any emergency situation
Odisha government has declared lightning as a state-specific disaster.
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.
Ten teams of National Disaster Response Force comprising 307 personnel and 59 boats have been deployed in six flood-affected districts of Orissa.
Pallavi Darua was crowned winner at Adi Rani 2018, a first-of-its-kind beauty contest held in Orissa.
Mayurbhanj district has been the worst hit where a total of 2442 villages under 18 blocks have reported a crop loss of more than 50 per cent. Next is Sundergarh district where 1656 villages under 17 blocks have suffered a crop loss of more than 50 per cent.
His first stint as chief minister of the tribal state had lasted for just about 14 months since July 15, 2013.
The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
In the absence of the promised central paramilitary forces, the Orissa government is struggling hard to protect precious wildlife from poachers backed by Maoists in naxal-hit Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district.
BJP on Friday announced candidates for 46 more Lok Sabha seats from the states of Kerala, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Sikkim. After the breakup of its alliance with the Biju Janata Dal in Orissa, BJP announced the names of seven Lok Sabha candidates from the state. It also announced 43 names for the assembly election scheduled along with the Lok Sabha polls. Five candidates from Kerala were also announced today by the party.
The fear of an epidemic loomed large over the flood ravaged areas of Orissa, where train services remained severely affected due to damaged tracks.
A group of women activists of Sangh Parivar sat on a dharna in Bhubaneswar demanding arrest of the nun, who was raped in Kandhamal, for 'playing hide and seek" with the Orissa government.
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.
Two more persons died on Wednesday in torrential rains and flash floods in Orissa, taking the toll in rain-related incidents to four.
Dara Singh, serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines, was on Saturday sentenced to a life term for the killing of a Catholic priest in Mayurbhanj district eight years ago.
District Judge Sachidananda Sahu convicted Dara Singh for the murder of garment trader Sheikh Rehman on August 26, 1999 at a market at Padiagada in Mayurbhanj district
Nearly 100 acre of paddy field in Madhuban area near the district headquarters town of Baripada has already been submerged.
The depression, which was initially over west-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas, moved westward and intensified into a deep depression.
Dara Singh, serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, and 12 others were acquitted on Monday in a case relating to the burning of a truck and murder of its helper.
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.
By the time the tribal boy, who secured the 83rd rank in the Scheduled Tribes category in the all-India entrance examination, received his rank card on August 17, the counseling process was over.
The weather office cautioned the fishermen not to venture into sea in the Odisha Coast.
An advanced jet trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in a paddy field at Kudarsahi in Mayurbhanj district on Wednesday, leaving two pilots injured.
In Mayurbhanj shops, business establishments, offices, educational institutions remained open and traffic was normal
While a maximum of 21 people died in Puri, four deaths each were reported from Mayurbhanj and Jajpur, and three each in Cuttack and Kendrapara.
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.
Death toll due to floods in Odisha climbed to 45 and number of people affected by the deluge to over 32.9 lakh on Sunday as the situation improved gradually with receding water level in many areas.
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