Odisha Congress Revokes Suspension Of Barabati-Cuttack MLA, 2 Other Leaders

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The Congress party on Tuesday revoked the suspension of two senior Odisha leaders including sitting Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim .

Bhubaneswar, Jan 23: Ahead of the general elections to Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly 2024, the Congress party on Tuesday revoked the suspension of two senior Odisha leaders including sitting Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim .

The party has withdrawn the suspension of Moquim and former MLA Chiranjib Biswal and expulsion of former Koraput MLA Krishna Chandra Sagaria, Congress Odisha-in charge Ajoy Kumar said at a press conference here.

“Moquim Ji and Biswal Ji had written to the AICC president for revocation of their suspension. Now, their suspension order has been withdrawn. Similarly, Krishna Sagaria Ji had also requested to rejoin the party and we have accepted it and welcomed him back to the party”, Kumar said.
The Congress leader appealed to all leaders, who have left Congress and want to come back, to come forward for a discussion. “We will welcome them back with all due respect”, he added.

“After having a discussion with me on Monday, Ajoy Kumar Ji has withdrawn my suspension. I am grateful to him. I was a family member of the Congress…I am with the party and will remain in Congress. I will discharge my responsibility in the party”, said Moquim.

Similarly, Sagaria also expressed his gratitude to the party leadership including Rahul Gandhi and Malikarjun Kharge for revoking his expulsion.“I was discussing with the Congress leaders to take me back as I believe in the ideology of Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Thanks to Ajoy Kumar Ji for taking me back to the party. I will work to strengthen the party”, Sagaria said.

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The grand old party in July 2023 had suspended Moquim and Biswal on charges of anti-party activities. Similarly, the party had expelled ex-MLA Sagaria and former Union Minister Srikant Jena from the primary membership of the party in January 2019.

Love Jihad! Kashmiri Youth Arrested For ‘Forcing’ Odisha Woman To Convert & Marry

by Hemanta Pande

Love Jihad In! Kashmiri Youth Arrested For ‘Forcing’ Odisha Woman To Convert & Marry

Bhubaneswar, Nov 8: The Mahila Police in Bhubaneswar arrested a Kashmiri youth on Friday for allegedly blackmailing a Hindu woman, a resident of Jagtsinghpur district in Odisha, using intimate video and forcing her to undergo religious conversion and marry him, police said.

The accused has been identified as Samir Mansoor. He reportedly claimed to be hailing from Bihar and presently staying in Kashmir.

The Woman had filed an FIR against the accused at Mahila Police Station here following which the accused was arrested after his arrival in the city from Kashmir.

In the FIR, the woman said that she came to know Mansoor through an online game in 2022 and she was not aware of his religion initially as he introduced himself as Samir. Later they fell in love. Mansoor then visited Odisha multiple times and developed a physical relationship with her under the false pretext of marriage. He also made a video of their intimate moments.

“Mansoor forced me to convert and marry him. When I refused to convert, he made some of our intimate moments viral and blackmailed my father,” the woman alleged.

The woman’s lawyer Sanghamitra Rajguru accused Mansoor of extorting Rs 5 lakh from the victim’s parents threatening to upload the intimate videos on a porn site.

The lawyer further said the woman was forced to undergo religious conversion and “we can call it a case of love jihad”.

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Odisha Govt Approves Investment Projects Worth Rs 3,353 Crore

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, Nov 8: The Government of Odisha on Friday approved as many as 15 major projects with a combined investment of Rs3,353.15 crores,which is expected to generate 4,637 jobs, officials said.

The approvals came during a meeting of the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA), chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

These projects cover a wide range of sectors, including Chemical/Renewable Energy, Steel, Aluminium, Food Processing, Manufacturing, Textile & Apparel, Tourism, Pharmaceuticals, and Cement. They will be implemented across several districts, such as Koraput, Khurda, Baragarh, Puri, Cuttack, and Jharsuguda.

In the chemical/renewable energy sector, Reliance Bio Energy Limited will set up a compressed bio-gas and organic manure plant in Puri with an investment of Rs 121.21 crore. The project is expected to create 69 jobs, officials said.

In the steel sector, Beekay Steel Industries Ltd. plans to invest Rs 750 crore in Cuttack, expanding its operations with sponge iron, billets, ferro alloys, sinter plants, and a captive power plant. This expansion is expected to generate 800 jobs, they added.

The downstream aluminium sector will also see significant growth, with HM Power and Cables Pvt. Ltd. setting up an aluminium conductor, power cable, and wire manufacturing plant in Jharsuguda. This Rs 55.72 crore investment will create 205 jobs.

In addition, Nexthermal Asia Pvt. Ltd. will set up a heating elements manufacturing unit in Khurda, supported by an investment of Rs 55.81 crore, which will create 132 jobs.

The Food Processing sector continues to attract significant investment, with several projects from companies such as Bhuvaneshwari Foods and Beverages, Aban Beverages, and Geofast Consumer Products. These projects, located in Khurda, Baragarh, and Cuttack, will have a combined investment of Rs 1,542.04 crore and are expected to create over 1,358 jobs.

In the Textile & Apparel sector, Odisha Textile Manufacturing Private Limited is establishing a facility in Khurda to manufacture recycled yarns from textile waste. This initiative, valued at Rs 51.80 crore, is expected to create 535 jobs.

In tourism, ITC Limited will expand its five-star hotel ‘Welcomhotels’ in Bhubaneswar with a Rs 119.14 crore investment, providing an additional 240 jobs.

Additional tourism-related projects by SJ JRG Ventures LLP and Crackers India Infrastructures Ltd (LYFE Group of Hotels) will bring new hospitality facilities to Puri and Koraput, totaling Rs 154 crore in investments and creating 380 jobs.

In pharmaceuticals, Infunex Healthcare Private Limited will establish a second unit for manufacturing intravenous fluids in Cuttack, with an investment of Rs 59.43 crore, creating 182 additional jobs.

In cement, Ultra Tech Cement Ltd. will expand its cement grinding unit in Cuttack, increasing its capacity from 3 MTPA to 6 MTPA. This Rs 372 crore expansion will create 581 jobs and contribute to the state’s infrastructure development, officials said.

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1st T20I: South Africa Opt To Field First Against India At Kingsmead

by Hemanta Pande

Durban, Nov 8: South Africa have won the toss and chose to field first against India in the first T20I match of the four-game series at Kingsmead Cricket Ground here on Friday, in their first clash after the T20 World Cup final. The reigning T20 World Cup winners will be facing the Proteas side they nudged past in the final of the tournament when India beat South Africa by seven runs to lift the trophy for a second time.

The Suryakumar Yadav-led India have been in top form since the final in June with the team having won 10 of their 11 matches since. The Men in Blue also hold the venue advantage over their opponents with the side never having lost in Durban and have four wins in five games at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground.

Despite the overcast conditions, Surya kept his cool and claimed the team would have chosen to bat had they won the toss.

“We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks nice, better than the practice wicket and we will try to put runs on the board. The guys in the dressing room have made my job easier, the fearless approach they play with for their respective franchises and have brought the same approach to the team,” said Yadav at the toss.

South Africa, on the other hand, have won only one of their five games since the final and are struggling in the shortest format having not won a single bilateral T20I series since August 2022. Historically, the two nations have faced off 27 times in T20I matches, with India holding a slight edge, having won 15 encounters compared to South Africa's 11 victories.

Playing XIs:

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakravarthy

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Partrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter

--IANS

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Odisha Congress Revokes Suspension Of Barabati-Cuttack MLA, 2 Other Leaders

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