Odisha: Monsoon Bird Census Begins In Bhitarkanika National Park

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The Bhitarkanika National Park authorities on Monday began the annual census of monsoon birds, which throng the wetland sites for nesting in large numbers every year, officials said.

Kendrapara, Sep 9: The Bhitarkanika National Park authorities on Monday began the annual census of monsoon birds, which throng the wetland sites for nesting in large numbers every year, officials said.

According to sources, as many as four teams comprising ornithologists and wildlife personnel of the park are on the job to conduct the headcount of the avian species.

Besides the core area of the national park, peripheral wetland sites like Satabhaya and Barunei are also being taken up for the census programme.

Lack of human interference, ideal climatic conditions, cool breeze and the river system here have emerged to the liking of these delicate chirpy-winged species.

Over a dozen types of local residential birds congregate at the heronries in and around the national park for nesting and breeding every year.

The species are open bill stork, little cormorant, intermediary egret, large egret, little egret, purple heron, grey heron, night heron, darter, white ibis and cattle egret, the forest officials said.

According to official sources, an estimated 1,23,867 monsoon birds were sighted, and 26,118 nests were recorded by the forest teams during the last year's census, which took place from September 3 to 8 in four locations in and around Bhitarkanika National Park.

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Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Greets PM Modi On His 74th Birthday

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, Sep 17: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 74th birthday and prayed Mahaprabhu Jagannath for his long and healthy life.

विश्व के सर्वाधिक लोकप्रिय राजनेता एवं देश के यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी को जन्मदिवस की मंगल शुभकामनाएं। आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी ने अपनी राष्ट्र सेवा, लोक कल्याण और गरीब कल्याण के प्रति समर्पित नीतियों और परिश्रम की पराकाष्ठा से देश के गरीब, शोषित, वंचित, दलित और… pic.twitter.com/aEibdjEz4o — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 17, 2024

In a social media post, Pradhan said that the Prime Minister has ensured a respectful life for the poor, exploited, deprived, marginalized and Dalit families of the country through national service, public welfare and dedicated policies for the welfare of the poor as well as his tireless hard work.

The Union Minister further said that the Prime Minister has enhanced the pride of Mother India at the global level with his strong will and courageous leadership.

“It is a matter of great fortune for we all the workers to contribute to fulfill PM Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat' (Developed India),” Pradhan said.

“May Mahaprabhu Jagannath give you healthy and long life and may we all continue to receive your successful leadership and guidance,” he wished.

PM Modi was born on September 17, 1950 in Vadnagar town of Mehsana district in Gujarat.

On his birthday, PM Modi will arrive in Odisha and launch the State government’s flagship initiative “Subhadra Yojana” in Bhubaneswar today.

The Subhadra Yojana is the largest women-centric initiative in the state, aimed at supporting over 1 crore women. Eligible beneficiaries between the ages of 21 and 60 will receive 50,000 rupees over a period of five years.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation Railway Projects worth more than 2,800 crore rupees.

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AAP To Announce New Delhi CM's Name At 12 Noon Today

by Utkalika Mohanty

New Delhi, Sept 17: The Aam Aadmi party is set to announce the new Delhi Chief Minister by 12 pm today after the party's legislative meeting in the national capital. According to the Aam Aadmi Party, the meeting will be held at the Chief Minister's residence today.

Following this, Arvind Kejriwal will meet the Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at 4:30 p.m. today and the newly chosen leader of the legislative party will simultaneously stake a claim for the post of Chief Minister.

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj remained tight-lipped about who will succeed Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister, stating only that the successor could be either a current minister or an MLA.

"It does not matter who sits on the CM chair because the mandate was for Arvind Kejriwal. The public chose Arvind Kejriwal. He has said that he will not sit on the CM chair until the people ask again but the chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal for these and the next 5 years... One of us will sit on the chair until the elections take place. It will be similar to the way Bharat ruled in the absence of Lord Ram," Bharadwaj said.

On being asked who will replace Arvind Kejriwal, Bharadwaj said, "It can be an MLA or any present minister. There will be a discussion with the MLAs today and the name may be decided".

Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign and would not resume the CM's post until the people of Delhi declared him "honest." He has also called for advancing polls in the national capital to November this year, ahead of the scheduled February elections.

Kejriwal stated that if re-elected by the public, it would serve as a "certificate" of his honesty. He added that he would push for early elections, alongside those in Maharashtra.

The announcement by the 54-year-old leader came two days after he was released from the Tihar jail after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.

The apex court also imposed certain conditions on Kejriwal's release, including that he must refrain from making public comments about the case and must attend all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.

(ANI)

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Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat Amid Mixed Global Cues

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, Sep 17: Indian equity indices opened flat on Tuesday following mixed cues from Asian peers.

At 9.42 a.m., Sensex was up 21 points or 0.03 per cent at 83,010 and Nifty was up 15 points or 0.06 per cent at 25,397. Nifty Bank was up 89 points or 0.17 per cent at 52,242.

Marginal selling was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was down 51 points or 0.08 per cent at 60,208 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was 58 points or 0.30 per cent at 19,478.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, PSU Bank, metal, realty and energy were top gainers. IT, FMCG and fin service were top laggards.

In the Sensex, HUL, NTPC, Nestle, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, Titan, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers. Tata Motors, TCS, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, Infosys and Wipro were the top losers.

Mixed trading is taking place in Asian markets. Tokyo, Bangkok and Shanghai are in the red. Jakarta and Hong Kong are in the green. The US markets closed mixed on Monday.

According to the market experts, "Globally equity markets were flat yesterday signalling a wait-and-watch mood in anticipation of the Fed rate action tomorrow. The Fed rate action will depend on the incoming data and evolving outlook and, therefore, what the Fed chief Powell says will be crucial. Rate cuts are positive for markets and higher rate cuts are more positive."

"Banking stocks have been exhibiting strength recently and there are signs of accumulation in these attractively valued segments," they added.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,634 crore on September 16, while domestic institutional investors also bought equities worth Rs 734 crore on the same day.

--IANS

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Odisha: Monsoon Bird Census Begins In Bhitarkanika National Park

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