Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P. Patil said altogether, 170 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Special Operation Group have been engaged in the operation to locate the missing people

Under the scheme, financial assistance was transferred directly to the bank accounts of over 35.38 lakh farmers in the State through direct benefit transfer, CM Mohan Charan Majhi said

“Helicopters of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard are engaged in the operation, where several areas remain cut off due to flooding,” officials said

A doctor serving Odisha’s tribal heartland was arrested for allegedly supporting the resistance against bauxite mining. His name, along with those of other activists, did not figure in the FIR, but the police arrested them under a category of unnamed ‘others’. Satyasundar Barik speaks to Adivasi and Dalit communities, which allege the police are using the legal process for intimidation

As the region is rich in mineral resources, including bauxite, manganese, graphite and even gold, the Andhra Pradesh government is aggressively competing to win over the local tribal population, alleged Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das