Rabindra Nath Choudhury The flash floods triggered by the depression over the Bay of Bengal have wrought havoc in Orissa killing at least seven people and affecting more than 10 lakh people. Around 1,400 villages in five districts have been marooned by the floods in major rivers like the Subarnarekha, the Budhabalanga and the Jalaka. The worst-hit districts were Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur.

At least 27 people are feared killed and more than 3 lakh people displaced in the northeast, particularly Assam, with the onset of monsoons. Not just the northeast, but large parts of northern Orissa are also under water, with the army and administration on overdrive to evacuate villagers in the flood-hit parts of the states.

Orissa continues to reel under heatwave conditions even as the death toll due to sun stroke in the state mounted to 51 on Thursday. Seven deaths were reported from Dhenkanal, six each from Angul and Jagatsinghpur, five from Khurda, four each from Ganjam, Nayagarh, Sambalpur and Sundergarh, two each from Balasore, Puri and Sonepur, three in Jajpur and one from Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj districts.

Missile Designed To Hit Targets In Range Of 3,500km In a move to somewhat bridge the stark strategic imbalance with China in terms of nuclear and missile arsenals, India is all set to test its most ambitious missile Agni-III on Wednesday. The countdown for the launch of Agni-III, designed to hit high-value targets deep inside China with a strike range of 3,500-km, has begun at the integrated test range on Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa.

Balasore: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said that no village will be in dark and every village of the state will be electrified by the end of 2012 as various schemes have been taken up.

Stating this while inaugurating a 132/33 KV grid sub-station at Basta in the district, he listed out several welfare measures undertaken by the state government for uplift of the poor, distress and und

BALASORE: Industrialists of North Orissa have criticised the State Government for forcing the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) to enforce power cuts in the state citing shortage of power during summer.

The North Orissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) has opposed the decision of supplying 25 per cent less power to the industries.