CM inaugurates dev projects in Koraput

JEYPORE: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was on a day-long tour to Koraput district on Saturday, inaugurated and laid foundation-stone for several development projects in the district.

Patnaik first inaugurated 100 seated boys hostel and class rooms at Government College here, Skill Upgradation centre, fly ash brick making unit, flower and vegetable show and Club-Foot correction pilot programme. Then he laid foundation stone for Kalyan Mandap, Model School at Koraput and distributed artificial limbs and hearing aids at Sanskruti Bhawan Koraput. Later he attended a public function here.

Soon after, Patnaik visited Laxmipur block and inaugurated 100 seated ST Girls’ hostel, Fire Station at Laxmipur, laid foundation-stone of 300 seated ST Girls hostel complex at Kanimusa and also addressed a public meeting at Laxmipur.

In Jeypore, Odisha Emergency Medical Ambulance Service was flagged off by the Chief Minister. Patnaik attended Gaon Kalyan Samiti and Asha Convention. Addressing the gathering, Patnaik spoke about various welfare schemes launched by the State Government focused on education, employment and general health for the people.

Among others, School and Mass Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda, Koraput MP Jayaram Pangi, Koraput MLA Raghuram Podal, Laxmipur MLA Jhinna Hikaka, Zilla Parishad president Malati Majhi and district Collector Sachin R Jadhav attended the programmes.

+2 Chem paper leaked, rescheduled for Mar 30

--CB begins probe into paper leak case

BHUBANESWAR: A day after the leak out of Plus II Physics question paper, it was the turn of the next paper Chemistry to face the same fate. Due to the leak out of Chemistry paper on Friday, the examination was cancelled. The Higher Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra announced that the examination would be held on March 30.

The Minister directed the director of Higher Education department to carry out an internal probe into the matter. After accepting the recommendations of the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), they have rescheduled the examination of the Physics paper on March 25 and Chemistry paper for March 30, he added.

After a hot discussion in the Assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered a Crime Branch probe into the Physics question paper leak case. The Crime Branch has started probing into the matter. “A DSP rank officer is taking the lead of the team that would investigate into the matter. The team is probing the case sincerely and seriously,” said Crime Branch ADG Bijay Kumar Sharma.

Meanwhile, a four-member team of Crime Branch led by DSP SK Patnaik reached the CHSE office for inquiry into Physics paper leak case.

According to a senior official of the CHSE, the areas like Bhawanipatna, Phulbani and nearby towns are coming under scanner regarding the leak out of the paper. “We are yet to get the concrete picture of paper leak,” he added.

Following the unfortunate incident, the students became unhappy and worried over the serial leakage of question paper. Though the district administrations and police had taken security measures to keep the question papers in safe, it was very unfortunate that someone has leaked it. It is said that the leakage of question paper for two consecutive days is first in the history of the CHSE.

Matric exam ends peacefully, results by April end

BHUBANESWAR: Besides a few problems in the beginning, the Annual High School Certificate Examination (HSCE) conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) of Odisha, which was commenced on February 25, concluded peacefully on Saturday.  

BSE president DP Nanda said that evaluation of answer sheets of matric exam would begin from March 17 and results likely to be published by April end.

Earlier, the School and Mass Education Department was geared up to conduct the examinations and had arranged elaborate security to make it incident free. The department had issued guidelines for deploying either Block Development Officers (BDOs), Tahasildars or magistrates in the examination centres to check malpractices.

This year, over five lakh students had appeared the HSC examination at 2,492 centres across the State. While 135 squad units had been formed, nearly 5,000 superintendents and deputy superintendents had been appointed to ensure free and fair conduct of the examinations.

Protect democratic rights of common people: CPM

BHUBANESWAR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday staged demonstration in front of the State Assembly here protesting the eroding law and order situation of the State. Later the delegation led by CPI (M) State secretary Janardan Pati handed over a memorandum to the State Home Secretary demanding protection of democratic rights of the common people.

In the memorandum, party leader said that attack against tribals, dalits and women are increasing in the State. The police are neither taking action against the culprits nor lodge case based on the FIR which is happening in the districts of Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Malkangiri, they added.

Pati said the police even want to suppress the voice of the agitated school and college teachers by using lathi and water canon which is very unfortunate. The agitators, who take part in the demonstrations, were being arrested by Bhubaneswar DCP lodging criminal offences are condemnable, he added.

He also expressed grave concern over the police excess on the anti-Posco agitators at Govindpur and Patna near the proposed Posco site in Jagatsinghpur district. He demanded the Government to stop suppress the public voice and conduct fair investigation to book the criminals under law.

Among others, CPI (M) State member Jagannath Mishra, Sisir Hui, Sarat Das, slum leader Anjan Nath, women leader Minati Panigrahy and Suresh Panigrahy took part in the demonstration.

Miscreants hurl bomb on Bapi Sarkhel’s office wall

PARADIP: Unidentified miscreants hurled bomb on the office wall of Paradip Erasama Industrial Development Council advisor Bapi Sarkhel here on Thursday night. The bike-borne ruffians came and threw bomb on the office unnoticed, sources said.

The office was in the campus of the Ray and Chatterjee house near the post office at Badapadia here, 1 km away from the local police station. Though the actual reason of the bombing is yet to be ascertained, the rivals of Sarkhel might have done the work, the sources said. The police detained two persons and interrogating them to get further information regarding the bombing.

Earlier, the miscreants had hurled bomb on the office of Paradip Port and Dock Mazdoor Union president Ghanashyam Jena on the night.  Similarly, the ruffians had thrown bomb on Khuntia and Khuntia cloth store in the port town.    

Miscreants loot bus in Kandhamal

PHULBANI: Around 15 unidentified miscreants looted a passenger loaded Umerkote bound bus at Mudigada area under Tumudibandha police station limit in Kandhamal district late on Tuesday night. Police are investigating into the matter. Nobody was arrested till Wednesday evening, sources said.

The bus namely Sri Raghunath ply from Cuttack to Umerkote was the target of miscreants. They stopped the bus near the Rampur jungle at Mudigada and entered into the bus to loot the passengers. After threatening bus driver and conductor, the miscreants asked the passengers to get down from the bus. The passengers were told to deposit whatever money, jewellery and mobile phones they had to submit before the dacoits.

According to the passengers, the dacoits with black mask covered on the face gheraoed the bus and created fear among them by showing weapons and threatening the bus driver. After looting all the articles from the passengers of the bus, the dacoits disappeared from there.

       

There is no police case has been registered from the bus owner’s side regarding the case, while the police are investigating into the matter to arrest the dacoits, said Umerkote SDPO BK Nayak.

      

AS Naidu visits riot-hit areas of Kandhamal

PHULBANI: Justice AS Naidu, who is probing into the 2008 killing of the Hindu seer in Kandhamal and the subsequent communal riots in the district, is on a four day visit to the riot-hit district from Wednesday. It was the first visit of the Commission after taking charge of the probe into the riot.

Justice Naidu on the first day visited Jaleshpeta Kanyashram where Swami Laxmananada Saraswati was murdered. He held discussions with the Ashram inmates regarding the matter. Later he visited Uttamgarh village where four people were killed during the riot and then other places to talk with people of the affected area.

He would visit other riot-hit regions during his staying in the district till March 9 and examine all the cases of violence which occurred in 2008. In the first phase of his visit, Justice Naidu held talks with the SP and the Collector over the present State of affairs in the district. He would hear the cases from the District Conference hall here.