Cabinet okays 2 railways projects worth Rs 6,798 crore

CM Majhi held discussions with the Collectors of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Cuttack, Khordha and Jajpur over the progress regarding preparations for cyclone 'Dana' which is fast approaching the Odisha coast.

While addressing the mediapersons after reviewing the cyclone preparations here on Thursday, CM Majhi said that the Central government has contacted the state administration and assured to provide all the necessary assistance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions on the cyclone 'Dana' and the preparations by the Odisha government to tackle the situation during the Union Cabinet meeting in Delhi on Thursday.

The Union Ministers apprised the Prime Minister about the situation.

The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction over the preparations made by the state government.

He said the Centre has also provided the number of NDRF teams sought by the state. The NDRF units have reached and already been deployed in the affected places.

CM Majhi also noted that 1,653 villages in 38 blocks, 26 wards in nine municipalities in 11 districts are expected to experience the impact of the severe cyclonic storm 'Dana'.

The government has targeted to evacuate 3,62,000 people residing in the low-lying and vulnerable areas in the affected districts.

The Chief Minister also asserted that more than 3 lakh people have safely been shifted to the cyclone shelters till Thursday 11 a.m.

He assured that the evacuation process would be completed within the next few hours.

CM Majhi said that 2,338 pregnant women have also been shifted to the nearest hospitals and medical facilities.

As many as 842 permanent cyclone shelters and 6,443 temporary relief centres have been made operational to accommodate the evacuated people.

As many as 19 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 51 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 220 Odisha Fire Services teams have been deployed in affected districts. This apart, 157 platoons of the state police force have also been stationed in these districts.

Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the 'eye' (centre of the cyclonic storm) of severe cyclonic storm 'DANA', hasn’t been developed yet.

Mohapatra said that the 'eye' is formed when a cyclonic system becomes very strong. The cyclonic storm formed over the Bay of Bengal has remained as a severe cyclone and continued to move forward as predicted by the IMD.

Notably, 'Dana' lay centred over the Bay of Bengal, about 180 km southeast of Paradip , 210 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 270 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal) is very likely to move north-northwestwards and cross Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) during the midnight of October 24 to morning of October 25 as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting up to 120 kmph.

--IANS

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The Sensex closed at 80,065.16 after falling 16.82 points or 0.02 per cent.

At the same time, Nifty closed at 24,399.40 after falling 36.10 points or 0.15 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 56,349.75 at the end of trading after slipping 183.80 points or 0.33 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,249.15 after slipping 37.50 points or 0.20 per cent. Nifty Bank closed at 51,531.15 after climbing 292.15 points or 0.57 per cent.

Selling was seen in the auto, IT, MCG, metal, realty and media sectors of Nifty. At the same time, buying was seen in PSU banks, fin services, pharma, energy, private banks, infra, and commodities.

On the BSE, 1,590 stocks were trading in the green, 2,343 stocks in the red, and 100 stocks closed without any change.

UltraTech Cement, M&M, Titan, Adani Ports, SBI, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. At the same time, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Nestle India, ITC, Maruti, and Asian Paints were the top losers. UltraTech Cement, Shriram Finance, M&M, Grasim, Titan, Adani Ports, BEL, SBI, Bajaj Finance and Power Grid were the top gainers in the Nifty pack. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, SBI Life, Hindalco, Nestle India, Bajaj Auto, Britannia and Maruti were the top losers.

According to market experts, despite persistent selloffs by FIIs, the benchmark indices recorded only a minor loss, as India’s October PMI data continued to indicate healthy growth, which also supports the RBI's growth guidelines for FY25.

The FMCG sector faced declines attributed to delayed demand recovery and margin pressures, said market watchers.

--IANS

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"We won't be able to send our team because of the suspension that was imposed by the ministry last year. Also, there are a few Contempt of Court cases against WFI that have been challenged in Supreme Court," a source close to WFI told IANS.

The core issue lies in the ongoing suspension of the WFI by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The suspension was first imposed on December 24, 2023, following the election of new office-bearers in the federation. Since then, the WFI has been in a state of limbo.

This year’s World Championship, covering 12 non-Olympic categories, was expected to be a crucial event for the Indian wrestling team. However, the situation escalated when the WFI’s recent announcement of selection trials for the Under-23 and World Championships was challenged in court by protesting wrestlers.

The athletes, including prominent names like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik, questioned the legitimacy of the trials conducted by the suspended WFI.

In a formal letter addressed to UWW President Nenad Lalovic, WFI President Sanjay Singh expressed frustration with the situation, stating, "Unfortunately, MYAS continues to interfere with WFI’s autonomy." He highlighted that the ministry’s directive to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to manage the federation has caused further complications.

The IOA dissolved its ad-hoc panel in March this year after UWW lifted its ban on the WFI in February, but the ministry’s suspension order continues to stall progress. The ongoing power struggle between WFI and MYAS has led to a legal impasse, with the court stating that the federation’s affairs must be managed by the ad-hoc committee until the suspension is lifted. However, the IOA has maintained that it cannot reconstitute the panel.

WFI has now called on UWW to enforce Article 6.3 of its regulations, which protect the autonomy of national federations from political and governmental interference. WFI has urged UWW to take appropriate action and has escalated the issue to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for further intervention.

--IANS

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