Affidavit by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the matter of Sisir Kumar Panda Vs Union of India & Others dated 20/05/2025. The issue pertained to the removal of illegal construction/obstruction caused by the state authorities as well as the private persons in the ecological sensitive zone …
Ninety per cent of the 50,000 persons who died in the October 29, 1999, super cyclone that hit the Ersama block in coastal Orissa would be alive today - if only the population there had been evacuated inland, beyond the reach of the three 10-metre-high tidal waves that swept away …
this is a story of human solidarity and struggle for survival in the face of all odds. It is also a story of an individual's endeavours succeeding long after he is gone. And it took 15 years for his efforts to bear fruit in the small village of Ashrubahal in …
massive ecological destruction is leading to the drying up of riverbeds, nullahs and streams in and around Similipal. This was a common fear expressed by speakers at a recent workshop on 'River and dam management in the context of Similipal protection' organised recently. It is estimated that there are about …
an ardent follower of Gandhian principles, Narayan Hazary's work reflects the magnanimity and vision of his mentor. Born in Kesharpur, a small village situated in the foothills of Binhagiri in Nayagarh district, Orissa, Hazary, 63, has been working since his late teens to restore prosperity in his village. Today, thanks …
In an unusual incident, a hotel manager in Puri, Orissa, was sentenced to five years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 by a Bhubaneswar environment court. The court said that the hotel and its manager were guilty of not complying with norms set under the Water (prevention …
doctors have warned that asthma cases might get worse in post-cyclonic Orissa. The number of asthma cases in the state has risen sharply after the devastating cyclone hit the coast on October 29. Bijoy Das, head of the department of chest medicine at the scb Medical College, a referral hospital, …
the Union ministry of environment and forests has formulated a Rs 241-crore project for ecological rehabilitation of the cyclone-ravaged areas in Orissa over a period of five years. The ministry will also request the Planning Commission to immediately release Rs 26.67 crore, out of which Rs 7.45 crore is to …
a month after the super cyclone, which left a trail of death and destruction in the Orissa coast, a nation watched in disbelief Orissa chief minister Giridhar Gamang saying: "We don't know what to do?' The same confusion grips the Central government machinery. More than 11,000 people have lost their …
The "super cyclone' will leave a permanent environmental impact on the coastal ecology of the region. According to eyewitnesses, the affected districts have lost more than 90 per cent of their green cover. "There is hardly any tree left on the landscape,' the chief minister said immediately after the cyclone. …
What is the lesson we have learnt from the Orissa cyclone? The poor, as individuals, learn from each cyclone or flood and adopt measures that reduce their vulnerability. But, as far as a system of emergency management goes, we need to make more efforts to learn from each natural disaster. …
The United Nations has decided to prepare a US $50-million action plan for the cyclone-affected areas of Orissa. A grade 5 cyclone hit the state on October 29. The super-cyclone ravaged numerous villages, killed thousands and rendering many homeless. Many villages still are submerged and can only be reached via …
It may sound sick, but for the survivors of the supercyclone that lashed Orissa on October 29, it was perhaps easier to have perished. Or maybe not, because the dead are not going away. They are present in the stench of rotting corpses and carcasses, which bears the ominous portents …
the coast of Orissa is today a picture of death and devastation. The super cyclone that hit the state's 10 coastal districts on the morning of October 29 remained centred there for about eight hours, with wind velocities rising to nearly 300 km/h for almost four hours. Swept by the …
not since 1942 has Orissa witnessed a cyclone of this magnitude. On October 18, a devastating cyclone ripped through one of the state's largest cities, Berhampur in Ganjam district, and adjoining districts leaving a trail of destruction. At the last count around 100 people, including many children, had died and …
RESERVES of platinum have been found for the first time in India at Baula-Nuashahi in Orissa by the Geological Survey of India (gsi). The concentration of platinum found in the region is believed to be at par with the world's leading platinum mines in South Africa, Russia, usa and Zimbabwe. …
In Kesharpur, a tiny village in the foothills of Orissa’s Nayagarh district, villagers search for a baton in their frontyard every morning. Two families find a baton each. The batons decide their day’s work
In every village, a committee is elected by the people. There is a blanket ban on felling and stray grazing. The committee supervises these bans and resolves all conflicts. It also collects fines, decided by the villagers, for any violation of the protection rules. Similarly, it decides the village peoples' …
Orissa's forest protection movement, which started in different places at different times, has become so strong that neither do forest officials find it easy to enter the forests protected by communities nor has the government been able to implement its conservation programmes. But the government refuses to acknowledge their efforts. …
What is your concept of conservation when the state is facing severe degradation of the forests and other environmental problems? My concept is very clear: there has to be a fine balance between development and ecology. But whatever policies we formulate must be accepted by the people. We need development …
A poll issue Villagers put forward a charter of six demands to political leaders, from village to state-level, seeking rights over the forests they have created it's a battle between the haves and the have-nots. At stake is 400,000 hectares (ha) of forest land in Orissa
