Govt.-controlled organisation will continue to accept kendu leaf The Odisha government has handed over trade rights of kendu (tendu) leaf, an important minor forest produce, to residents of six villages in Kalahandi district. “Residents of six villages in the Kegaon range of the Bhawanipatna kendu leaf division are free to …
Malaria continues to be a giant killer in Odisha though death toll from the disease has declined over the past four years. This year, 18 people have died of the mosquito-borne disease. "Compared to 28 deaths by mid-June last year, the deaths are less and showing a declining trend," said …
At least 10 villages of Kalahandi district were marooned in flood waters due to heavy rains at the catchment areas of river Indravati leading to disruption of road communications in different western Odisha district and halt of power generation from Upper Indravati hydel project. "Six villages under Kalampur block and …
The Society of Geoscientists and Allied Technologies (SGAT), a body of pro-mining lobbyists, today said that the bauxite mining project at Niyamgiri Hill in Kalahandi district will not affect the lifestyle and cultural rights of tribals living in the area. "There is no habitation or cultivation on top of the …
Even as State Government is facing opposition over conducting Gram Sabhas to decide the mining in Niyamgiri hills, Society of Geoscientists and Allied Technologists (SGAT) has batted for permitting mining in the region. With more than adequate safeguards provided for protection of environment, forest, rights and traditions of the tribal …
Incessant rainfall in four districts is reported to have destroyed about 17,000 hectare farm land The state government today announced a series of packages for flood affected farmers in four districts of south Odisha, which received excess rainfall last week after the southwest monsoon arrived ahead of schedule. Incessant rainfall …
Bhubaneswar : Seventeen years after Parliament passed the PESA Act that empowers tribal society to take control of their own resources, the Orissa government has finally decided to make necessary changes to the Act to implement it in the state. The Panchayat (Extension to Schedule Areas) Act covers tribal areas …
Heavy rainfall for the last three days has severely hit normal life in Odisha, particularly the southern parts, with at least three villages marooned in Kalahandi district. Road communication was disrupted and electricity generation came to a halt at Upper Indravati hydro-power plant, official sources said. The districts which have …
The govt received flak from the Union ministry of Tribal Affairs, activists Faced with flak from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and activists from Niyamgiri for its decision to limit gram sabhas to only 12 villages, the Odisha government is mulling to seek legal opinion over the possibility …
The Dongria and Kutia Kondh tribals of Niyamgiri want palli sabha or gram sabha in all the villages that are going to be affected by Vedanta Aluminium's (VAL) mining project. The tribals, under the Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS), will meet Orissa governor SC Jamir on June 13 to submit a …
The Odisha government's decision to hold gram sabhas in only 12 villages of Niyamgiri hill slopes to decide the fate of bauxite excavation there, has drawn flak from the Union ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA). In its latest missive to the state government, MoTA has said that limiting gram sabha …
The Odisha High Court has nominated the district judges of Rayagada and Kalahandi as observers to oversee the proceedings of gram sabhas to be conducted in 12 villages on Niyamgiri hill slopes saddling across these two districts. The gram sabhas would decide the fate of bauxite excavation from the ecologically …
The district judges of Rayagada and Kalahandi will act as observers for the gram sabha that will take a decision on the fate of the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project of Vedanta Resources. "The Orissa High Court has informed the state government that the judges of the two districts under which …
KORAPUT: With the Supreme Court leaving it to villagers to decide the fate of Vedanta's mining plan at Niyamgiri hills at gram sabhas, the anti-mining campaign at villages situated in and around Niyamgiri hills has gained momentum. Hundreds of tribals, including Dongria Kondhs, assembled at Rayagada's Parsali village on Sunday …
BHUBANESWAR: Governor S C Jamir on Wednesday took stock of the steps the state government has taken since the April 18 Supreme Court order on proposed mining in Niyamgiri hills, official sources said. A government team, including secretaries of SC, ST welfare, forest and steel and mines departments, met Jamir …
Padayatra will cover many villages in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts before culminating at Muniguda on May 22. Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS), an organisation spearheading the agitation against Vedanta's alumina project at Lanjigarh in Kalhandi district, has started a five-day padayatra beginning Friday to spread awareness among the locals on the …
Following the Supreme Court judgment over bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills in Orissa last month, Union tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has written to Governor SC Jamir to invoke his special constitutional powers to stop the state government from allowing firms from getting into mining activities in the …
In its April 18 order, SC had directed the Odisha govt to conduct Gram Sabhas at Niyamgiri within three months to seek the mandate of the locals The Odisha government today said it would seek six more weeks from the Supreme Court (SC) to conduct Gram Sabhas to decide the …
The villages of the Dongriya Kondh tribals around Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills are likely to simmer again as the Centre and the state government along with civil society groups are planning to converge on the site for the proposed Vedanta bauxite mine. The Supreme Court order has left it to the …
The state government on Thursday said it has succeeded in achieving immunization coverage for 88 per cent children in Odisha in the age group of zero to five years. "The findings are based on an annual survey conducted earlier this year by our doctors through the family welfare wing," secretary …
The refinery, which since inception has run on bauxite obtained from external sources, has been shut since Dec 5 last year for the want of raw material The Odisha law department will submit its views on the Supreme Court (SC) order on Niyamgiri bauxite mining in 2-3 days, paving the …
