by relentlessly campaigning to highlight the indifference of the Centre to safeguard the interests of Odisha in these inter-state disputes, the BJD is seeking to pin down the BJP.
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.
'Farmers have been sent notices in which the government is threatening that if you will join the movement, then we will impound your ancestral properties.' 'We will seal your bank accounts.' 'We will revoke the passports of your kids.'
In an audio message to the media, a leader of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of CPI (Maoist) said the final verdict of the praja court on the fate of Laxmipur MLA would be communicated by April 25.
In his first visit to BSF HQ after taking over as home minister, Shah was given a presentation on BSF deployment along Pak, Bangladesh borders.
Maoists on Thursday produced abducted ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka before a people's court to decide his fate, a day after the Odisha government said it would withdraw cases against 13 prisoners in exchange for freedom of the tribal legislator.
With the deadline set by the Maoists holding Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka hostage ending on Wednesday, his fate still remained unknown despite the Odisha government's decision to seriously consider withdrawal of prosecution in "suitable cases" involving jailed rebels if the ultras free the legislator.
Four officers of the Border Security Force, including a Commanding Officer, were on Friday killed in an IED blast by suspected Maoists in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The BSF squad was targeted at around 1 pm in the Janbai area of the district, under Chitragonda police station area, 465 kms from Bhubaneswar. Odisha's jungles are a hotbed for Naxal activities as it touches the borders of two other states -- Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- making it a corridor for Maoists.
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
'I kept begging the doctors to put my three year old on the ventilator. But the doctors and nurses kept saying no ventilator was available. When the breathing apparatus ultimately became available, it was too late.'
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
There was a half hour firefight between the Maoists and the police on Friday night at a jungle under Sorada police station area bordering Kandhamal district, before the ultras fled, a senior police official who took part in the operation told PTI.
The police on Thursday arrested two hardcore Maoists and claimed that they were part of the ultras' plot to attack security camps in certain districts of Western Odisha.
After being alerted by Odisha, its Andhra Pradesh counterpart intercepted a vehicle with Delhi registration number and nabbed the five persons, including two women.
According to the Morcha, the demands which Delhi Chalo has been called include: MSP should be guaranteed as per C2+50 percent formula and, as promised, a law should be made to guarantee it; all the farmers should be made debt free, and all agricultural loan must be waived.
Top Maoist leader Ranjan Munda, who carried out subversive activities in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, and another squad leader were arrested by the joint forces from West Midnapore district on Friday, police said.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded special category status for his state as well as other assistance from the Centre but remained evasive on allying with National Democratic Alliance.
The Maoists holding ruling Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka hostage on Sunday extended the deadline for the fulfillment of their demands till April 18. In a message, a leader of Maoists' Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee set a new deadline of 5 pm on April 18 for the release of 29 rebels, said Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, a Koraput-based lawyer who fights cases for Maoists.
The jawan said he used his mobile phone light to locate hurt and trapped passengers and took them to safety.
'The Ukrainian soldiers were cordial to Nigerians and others but were harsh on Indians'
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.
Two Italian tourists have been abducted by Maoists from the tribal-dominated Kandhamal-Ganjam border area in Odisha, said the police on Sunday, which is monitoring the situation closely.
Rejecting the Centre's charge that the Odisha government has failed to contain left-wing extremism, the state's director general of police on Tuesday claimed that Naxal violence had declined in 2011 compared to the year before. "The Naxal situation in most parts of the state had been controlled while it was a cause of concern for the state government in areas bordering Chattishgarh," Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj wrote to Union Home Secretary R K Singh.
The incident occurred at Lippitiputta village under Dambriguda mandal when Araku (ST) MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma went to take part in a 'grama darsini' (village visit) programme.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
A joint team of multiple forces are undertaking the offensive to target some senior and most-wanted Naxal commanders, official sources said.
The Border Security Force flew a special helicopter sortie on Thursday to airlift a jawan deployed at a remote post along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir so that he could get home, about 2,500 km away in Odisha, in time for his wedding.
Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Cyclone Hudhud has moved closer to the cost of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and will turn into a severe cyclonic storm in next 12 hours, the India Meteorological Department said.
Very heavy rains are expected over north Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim in the next 48 hours, with cyclonic storm Phailin now closer to the Chattisgarh-Odisha border, the National Disaster Management Authority has said.
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444), according to the data.
Readers have been sharing photographs and impressions of their favourite Indian beach. You could share yours too!
The BCCI has cancelled the third ODI between India and the West Indies in Visakhapatnam after cyclone 'Hudhud' left the ACA-VDCA cricket stadium in unplayable condition.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.
The metrological department on Saturday said that Phailin is a very severe 'super cyclone' and its wind speed may go up to 200 and 240 km per hour by noon itself.
At least three Border Security Force personnel were killed and two injured when Naxals blew up their vehicle in an improvised explosive device blast in Odisha's Koraput district on Tuesday.
Senior MHA officials referred to intelligence inputs regarding a possibility of a sudden surge in the activists of the Maoists and issued an alert for the police of the four states.
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