With the South-West monsoon weakening in the middle of its course, almost half the State is thirsting for rains.

With the Rs 28,000-crore refinery project of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at Paradip under a cloud of delay, the Odisha government has decided to ink an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the oil marketing firm to stipulate timeline and milestones for commissioning of the project.

IOCL being the anchor tenant for the PCPIR hub (Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region) to be set up in 70,214 acres of land spread over Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, the timely commissioning of the refinery was vital for attracting investors for the mega investment hub.

CUTTACK/BHUBANESWAR: A hailstorm hit the Millennium City on Monday afternoon bringing relief from the sweltering weather.

KENDRAPARA: Emergence of millions of baby Olive Ridley marine turtles along the tranquil Gahirmatha beach has brought cheers to conservationists here.

Bhubaneswar: An alert was sounded along the Odisha coast on Wednesday with warnings issued to fishermen and people following the massive earthquake off Sumatra coast.

KENDRAPARA: The Maguragandapatana primary school in Maguragandapatana village here has just one classroom for 90 students. Worse, it has no walls and looks more like a cowshed.

KENDRAPADA: Death of many crows in the port town of Paradip on Sunday and Monday has triggered panic among residents, who have been advised by forest and veterinary officials not to touch the carca

BHUBANESWAR/JAJPUR: With flood situation in four North Orissa districts remaining grim, the State Government on Saturday started air-dropping of food packets as 992 villages continued to be maroone

Bhubaneswar: The inter-ministerial Central team on Wednesday said that up to 80 percent crop loss was estimated due to floods that had also caused large-scale damage to kuchha houses.

Flood situation continues to be critical in Bhadrak, Jajpur and Kendrapara districts of Orissa as officials stumbled upon more dead bodies in affected regions taking the toll to 38 on Wednesday.

Nine deaths each have occurred in worst-affected Jajpur and Bhadrak districts. Neighbouring Kendrapara follows closely with six deaths. Besides, the State government is waiting for confirmation of three alleged deaths in Angul, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara district.