Odisha Launches Gramodaya Scheme In LWE-Affected Villages In 10 Districts

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The "Gramodaya" initiative will be implemented in the districts of Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 9: The Odisha government launched "Gramodaya", a new scheme to ensure that welfare programmes reach the people living in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts, officials said on Wednesday.

This initiative will cover 583 villages spread across 10 LWE-affected districts of the state, they added.

The notification for the initiative was issued by the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department on Tuesday, a day after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi made such an announcement at the meeting of the Chief Ministers of LWE-affected states chaired by Union Home minister Amit Shah at New Delhi on Monday.

The initiative will be implemented in the districts of Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada.

The objective of the programme is to converge all the departments of the state government which will work together to ensure effective development of the LWE hit areas. However, there is no special budgetary allocation for the initiative as funds would come from departments earmarked for different schemes.

For proper implementation of the initiative, the government has constituted a state-level monitoring committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary. Secretaries of different departments will be the members of the state level committee.

The district level committee will be headed by collectors and consist of district-level officials. At the block level, the committee will consist of block-level officials and will be headed by the BDO.

To further ensure and monitor the implementation of the initiative, a LWE dashboard to be developed for the purpose.

Special awareness campaigns, Gram Sabhas, grievance hearings and outreach activities will be made for the implementation of the programme at the grassroots level, an official said.

A collaborative effort involving government agencies and the local community will be ensured for the effective implementation of the initiative, he added.

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2nd T20I: Nitish Reddy, Rinku Singh Hammer Fifties As India Post 221/9 Against Bangladesh

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, Oct 9: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh struck blazing half-centuries and shared a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket as India overcame early setbacks as they posted a massive 221/9 in 20 overs, going past 200 runs against Bangladesh for the first time in a T20I, in the second match of the three-game series here on Wednesday.

Asked to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Reddy blasted a 34-ball 74 while Rinku struck a 29-ball 53, and with Hardik Pandya stroking to a trademark 19-ball 32, India, the reigning World Champions in this format, posted a big score to maintain their chances of taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

India lost openers Sanju Samson (10 off 7) and Abhishek Sharma (15 off 11) and were reduced to 25/2 in three overs as Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib varied pace regularly to fox the batters on a wicket on which the ball was sticking. Suryakumar Yadav contributed only eight runs and the hosts were looking in trouble at 41/3.

Reddy and Rinku played the waiting game as they prevented any more disasters before exploding into action around the halfway mark. Reddy hammered 26 runs off the 13th over bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, hitting three sixes and a four in the over in which the Bangladesh bowler sent down a wide.

The duo had earlier taken 24 runs off the 10th over bowled by Rishad Hossain, Reddy hitting him for back-to-back sixes off two full deliveries while Rinku, who started the over with a boundary, ending it with a six off a ball pitched short.

Reddy raced to his half-century off 27 balls, hitting three boundaries and four maximums. He was confident with his shots and was not afraid to take the ariel root despite watching the first three batters perish to the varied pace. In all, he hammered four boundaries and seven huge sixes before he perished to Mustafizur Rahman as he failed to pick the cutter and went for an attacking shot.

Rinku, who struck the first six of the Indian innings, hit Tanzim Hasan to the fence off successive balls in the 16th over. He had earlier hit Rishad Hossain for a four and a six in the 10th over as he scored a fine half-century. The Indians made the most of the overs bowled by Bangladesh spinners as they recovered to post a challenging total.

Hardik Pandya blasted two fours and two sixes in his vital cameo and Riyan Parag hit two big ones in one over in his 6-ball 15 as India crossed the 200 runs mark. However, the lower-order fell in a heap as India lost three wickets in the final over bowled by Rishad Hossain as the bowler ended with 3-55 off his four overs. Taskin Ahmed was the best Bangladesh bowler with 2-16 off his quota while Tanzim Hasan Sakib lost his way after a good start as he ended with 2-50.

Brief scores:

India 221/9 in 20 overs (Nithsh Kumar Reddy 74, Rinku Singh 53, Hardik Pandya 32; Taskin Ahmed 2-16, Rishad Hossain 3-55, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2-50, Mustafizur Rahman 2-36) against Bangladesh.

(IANS)

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PM Modi To Leave For Laos Tomorrow To Attend ASEAN-India Summit, East Asia Summit

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Laos on Thursday to attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit at the invitation of his Laotian counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, the current chair of ASEAN.

The Prime Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the margins of the summits in Vientiane

His visit to Laos October 10-11 underlines how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries are a significant pillar of India's Act East policy and key partners of New Delhi's Indo-Pacific Vision strongly backed by Prime Minister's Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative.

"The ASEAN-India Summit will review progress of India-ASEAN relations through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation. The East Asia Summit, a premier leaders-led forum that contributes to building an environment of strategic trust in the region, provides an opportunity for leaders of EAS Participating Countries, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional importance," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

With Prime Minister Modi firmly supporting ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN outlook on the region, India has, over the last 10 years, believed that a strong and unified ASEAN plays an important role in the emerging dynamic of the Indo-Pacific.

Last year, PM Modi had travelled to Jakarta just three days ahead of the crucial G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by New Delhi.

His visit to Indonesia in September 2023 for the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit had sent a strong message on the value India attaches to engagement with the countries of the Southeast Asian region and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific under the current geopolitical scenario.

The ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta was also the first since the elevation of India-ASEAN relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022 and charted the future direction of cooperation.(IANS)

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Women’s T20 WC: Unchanged India Win Toss, Elect To Bat First Against Sri Lanka

by Hemanta Pande

Dubai, Oct 9: An unchanged India won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in a crucial Group A game of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Stadium here on Wednesday.

The last time these two sides met, Sri Lanka beat India to clinch their first Women's Asia Cup title at Dambulla in July. India need to win heavily against Sri Lanka, who are yet to register a win in their two games of the T20 World Cup, to improve their net run rate of -1.217 and maintain their slim chance of entering the semifinals.

“So far we haven't batted first so thought we would have a bat and put a decent total on the board. Feeling better (about neck injury), if we play better cricket maybe I will feel better. Asia Cup we played good cricket, one odd day (talking about the final where India lost to Sri Lanka) they played good cricket,” said India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have brought in Ama Kanchana, who replaces Hasini Perera, in the playing eleven. Captain Chamari Athapaththu has called on her team to play fearless cricket in what is also their first game of the tournament in Dubai.

“We stick with our plans and hope to play our best cricket today. We have to play fearless cricket and taking the smart option is very important. Powerplay is really important and after that, we have to rotate the strike,” she said.

Playing XIs:

India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and Renuka Singh Thakur

Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (captain), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wicketkeeper), Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani and Inoka Ranaweera (IANS)

Odisha Launches Gramodaya Scheme In LWE-Affected Villages In 10 Districts

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