As floods wreak havoc in the State with an unrelenting frequency every year, the Orissa Government is busy strengthening its search and rescue power. Besides carrying out a boat census across 24 districts, it too is preparing a directory of the vessels so as to be in readiness when the deluge strikes. The recent is addition of 18 aluminium boats, procured from Indian Registrar of Shipping, for increasing the rescue and search efficiency.

CUTTACK: Even as non-inclusion of Hepatitis B in the national immunisation programmes by the Government continues to rankle campaigners against the killer disease, an amazingly low level of awareness or negligent attitude among the medical personnel has emerged as a major concern. Awareness on Hep-B is very poor among the general public but it is appalling that a significant number of doctors is not up to date on prevention measures and actions.

BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Environment and Forests wants a protected area to be created in Orissa for conservation of horseshoe crabs which arrive in thousands to lay eggs along the coast only to be captured by smugglers as the species are known to possess medicinal properties.

BALASORE: Panic gripped Balasore after news of wide cracks in ward no. 1 of the town spread like wild fire on Wednesday.

Thousands of people rushed to the spot to have a glimpse of numerous fissures that were visible in an area of over a km with a width of two to three feet. People residing in the area were alerted after these fissures led to rumours of an imminent earthquake.

Sources said, due to the wide cracks in the land, house of one Baidyanath Sethi has been completely damaged while three houses of Baidhar Majhi, Raju Behera and Nabin Majhi have developed cracks.

BHUBANESWAR: With drinking water supply in rural areas emerging as one of the major challenges, the State Government has decided to cover at least 35 percent rural population under the safe and sustainable piped water scheme (PWS). Official sources maintained that sustainability and water quality have emerged as two problems in rural water supply sector. The ground water estimate made in 1994 identified 43 blocks as hydrologically critical and estimation of 1999 shows two blocks, Bhograi and Baliapal, in Balasore district over-exploited with limited scope for further extraction.

BHUBANESWAR: An Assembly Standing Committee has pulled up the Rural Development Department for delay in the implementation of drinking water project in Sakhigopal and Kanas region of Puri district as a result of which people of the area are living without potable water for years.

The panel members headed by chairman Narasingh Mishra visited the area recently to make an on the spot verification of the project implemented under the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) to supply pipe water to the people.

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned not to fell trees or alienate any land, particularly from sanctuaries, national parks, bio-spheres (reserved area) by issuing pattas or by any other means of alienation.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice I.M. Quddushi and Justice B.P. Ray passed the interim order on a PIL challenging the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.

KENDRAPARA: Swarming caterpillars (Leda) have damaged large tracts of paddy saplings in the district badly hitting economic backbone of thousands of farmers.

"Help from the administration, however, is yet to reach the villagers more than three weeks after the first swarm of insects arrived here. The insects are black in colour and measuring less than an inch in length. Most of the crops have been destroyed in the area," said Gayadhar Dhal, secretary of Kendrapara District Krusaka Sabha.

A farmer of Hagaribagija village, on the outskirts of Kendrapara town, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself yesterday following crop failure in the recent floods.

The deceased farmer, Ananta Charana Rout (54) had raised paddy on two acres of land after obtaining a loan of Rs 40,000 from two money lenders for purchasing paddy seed and fertiliser. However, the paddy saplings were damaged in the recent floods due to which, Rout had to face loss.

BERHAMPUR: Health officials are camping in remote villages in Patrapur block following detection of presence of Vibrio bacteria in blood samples of patients suffering from diarrhoea. As many as 28 persons, including eight children, have died of diarrhoea and hundreds affected by the disease in the block.

Though health officials had checked the disease from spreading further, they had reportedly not taken any measures to prevent it.