Category: NATAKA DIARY

Nabarangpur, (Ranjit Naik) Date: 16.01.2026 Rich: Today was an important day for the senior citizens of Nabarangpur district! Under the state government’s senior citizen pilgrimage plan, 4 buses have traveled to Rayagada today with pilgrims considered for Ayodhya and Varanasi! On this occasion, the District Governor Mr. Maheshwar joined as the chief guest and flagged off the journey and expressed encouragement and good wishes to the pilgrims! A special medical camp was organized to check the health of the pilgrims! In this camp, the senior citizen pilgrims from different blocks were completely health checked! Blood pressure, physical condition and general health were checked by doctors, and a total of 140 pilgrims were declared healthy. After completing all the medical procedures, the pilgrims traveled to Ayodhya-Varanasi with the help of 05 escort officers! Additional District Collector (Revenue) Biswajit Chandra Burman, District Social Security Officer Mr. Sudshanshu Pan, District Tourism Officer in charge Gashiram Harijan, District Information and Public Relations Officer Manoj Behera and all the social security officers of all blocks were present in this program! Through this scheme, the senior citizens of Nabarangpur district are getting the spiritual experience of the holy pilgrimage in their lifetime, this effort of the government has been publicly appreciated! Ranjit Naik’s report from Nabarangpur First News Odisha !

Malkangiri, 16/1/26: A bus carrying pilgrims from Malkangiri district left for Rayagada today to experience the divine experience of spiritual journey under Senior Citizen Pilgrimage Journey Scheme organized by Odisha Government Tourism Department. On the instructions of District Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay, Additional District Collector Rajsab Vedbar Pradhan flagged off the pilgrim bus while District Social Security Officer Nirmal Dharua, District Information and Public Relations Officer Pramila Majhi and Sub-District Social Security Officer Rajeev Pujari were present and greeted the pilgrims. The District Collector wished the senior citizens a pleasant journey. Pilgrims from Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi districts will travel to Varanasi and Ayodhya from Rayagada railway station. All 75 pilgrims and 2 allied officers will reach Rayagada today and will leave for Varanasi-Ayodhya tomorrow. All kinds of measures have been taken by the tourism department for a pleasant journey of the passengers. All the passengers have been sent to their destinations after health check today. This Pilgrim Launch Program has been organized under the close supervision of the District Information and Public Relations Officer. Harekrishna Kirtnia and Ranjan Mohanty from District Information and Public Relations Department assisted in this. Sub-Divisional Social Security Officer Rajeev Pujari and Sathya Vivas provided the necessary technical support for the trip. District Revenue Officer Rabindra Naik and sports teacher Babita Mohanty are traveling as escort officers to help all pilgrims.

Baripada: “Shri Ram’s Golden Bow”, which was to be sent from Odisha to Sri Ram Birthplace Temple in Ayodhya, was accorded a grand welcome on its arrival at Baripada. The decorated chariot carrying the ‘Shriram Dhanu’, which left Rourkela for Puri, was welcomed at the local Murgabadi on Wednesday evening and was then taken around the city. When Prakash Naik, who gained fame as a Hindutivist leader through the social media, came with the chariot, it was taken behind in a large bike procession led by Kavivishnu Shetpathi, Prashant Acharya, Laxmidhar Habada, Soumya Ranjan Mishra, Amit Naik, Biswajit Rana Magar and was taken around the city of Baripada. Despite its late arrival at Baripada in the winter evening, a large number of women including Shobhavati Ota, Suman Singh, Hemlata Das, Shradhanjali Panda, Sumitra Kuurbabu, Deepali Naik Kharkar were patiently waiting to welcome it.

Nabarangpur, (Ranjit Naik) 15.01.2026 Rikh: A road safety awareness procession on the occasion of National Road Safety Month in the district was held in front of the Nabarangpur District Collector’s office and continued till Mission Shakti Sangam House! In this program organized by the Regional Transport Office, District Transport Officer Dr. Maheshwar Swamyu and Security Officer Madkar Sandeep Sampad were present and flagged off the procession. Launched! Everyone recited the road safety oath given by the government! In this regard, the District Collector asked everyone present to strictly follow the road safety rules and to warn others! Students of Raja Chaitanya Dev Nodal High School, RTO, DEO, Inspector, R&B, CDMO, Traffic Inspector and District level officials including Nabarangpur Drivers Union workers were involved in the procession. Various road safety slogans, leaflets were distributed for awareness purposes in the procession!

Ranjit Naik’s report from Nabarangpur First News Odisha !

Every year, 1.7 million trees are being cut down. Talcher and Balasore have surpassed New Delhi in the air pollution index. Not only these two, but Baripada, Angul, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Kendujhar are also competing to be among the most polluted areas in the country. During summer, heatstroke claims lives, and sudden cyclones are consequences of pollution-induced climate change. While the government plans tree plantation drives, nearly 1.7 million trees (17,08,365 according to government data) have already been cut down in the past 10 years for various development works. Air pollution in the state is not under control. Trees have a strong capacity to reduce pollution, yet the current rate of tree cutting is extremely alarming. Summer temperatures are now crossing 47°C, while winters and the rainy season are shrinking year by year. Moreover, in 2024–25, forest divisions like Balangir, Banai, Angul, Jharsuguda, and Karanjia witnessed the highest tree loss. According to the Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Department, over the past 10 years, under the CAMPA fund, a total of 17,682,172 trees have been planted on 37,658.23 hectares of land. The survival rate of these trees is 83.67%, and the total expenditure for these plantations was ₹406.60 crore. However, environmentalists are skeptical about these numbers. Environmentalist Jaykrushna Panigrahi said that if a tree lives for 50 years, its value for human generations is about ₹1.5 crore. Due to the irresponsibility of stakeholders, the survival rate of trees is steadily decreasing. Uncontrolled tree felling has made the environment unsafe. Rivers and water bodies in the city are drying up due to lack of forest cover. Illegal felling and misuse of forests by unscrupulous people have further worsened the situation. As the number of trees decreases day by day, there is a noticeable lack of free oxygen. Ponds within the city are drying up due to poor restoration efforts, and low-quality roads are increasing dust during traffic. These factors are the main causes of Baripada’s current severe pollution and heat. Intellectuals and environmentalists criticize the Forest Department and administration for their failures. There is also concern that even the Hon’ble Minister of Forest, Environment, and Climate Change has given very little attention and action to this district. Immediate corrective action and strict measures are needed.

Baripada 06/01 (Fast News Odisha) 196 senior citizens from the district have been selected for pilgrimage in the second phase of the state government’s senior citizen pilgrimage plan this year by Odisha government’s tourism department and Mayurbhanj district administration. On this occasion, a launch program was held under the supervision of District Tourism Officer Sathavama Behera. Additional District Magistrates Netranand Mallik and Dukhbandhu Naik, District Information and Public Relations Officer Vikas Ranjan Mohanty, Shishir Kumar Munduya of SDIPR were present and greeted the senior citizens and started the journey by showing green flag. However, after bringing the senior pilgrims to the Baripada stadium on behalf of the concerned block administration, after their health examination, 5 buses and 6 nodal officers have left for Balasore under the supervision of the nodal officers. After overnight stay in Balasore today, he will travel to Rameswaram and Madurai by special train on Wednesday. After the end of the pilgrimage, additional arrangements have been made by the district administration to bring them to their respective homes as per the rules.

Kandhamal, (Fast News Odisha): A torch procession has been organized by Baliguda administration for Kandhamal festival. First, the torch took off from Tumudibandh Block Belghar Panchayat Sapaganda, went around Tumudibandh Block and Kotgarh Block and reached Baliguda Block. It was received by the block administration and taken around the entire city. Mainly, from this Sapaganda place, tribal Kutia Kandha Jan caste or tribal men and women appeared, so after worshiping in tribal rituals, torches were taken out from the place and traveled to 12 blocks in Kandhamal district. In this torch procession, many intellectuals, young women, including Baliguda PA ITDA Grasindhu Behera, BDO Akshay Malik, Tehsildar Pratham Prakash Behera participated.

Report by Sanjay Kumar Manigarahi from Kandhamal District, Fast News Odisha l

Phulbani: A torchlight procession has been organized today by the district administration in order to organize the upcoming Kandhamal festival smoothly and peacefully. This festival will be held from the 7th to the 11th. The administration is vigilant about crowd control, traffic, orderliness and security during the festival. Besides, the administration has been requested to enjoy all the programs of the festival with discipline and cooperation. .Today’s awareness program was held through a mini-marathon through Ambedkar Street, Main Bazaar, from Sapagand area of ​​Tumudibandh block. Damak forces, Anganbadi workers, MBK, CRP, local youth participated in this program. Baliguda PA ITDA Grasindhu Behera, Tumudiband BDO Banbihari Harpal, Additional Tehsildar Bluchum Pradhan, MP Representative Patchandra Padhi, Senior BJP Worker Netra Manseth, Assistant Executive Engineer Saroj Kumar Sabat, Block Staff, Damala Force were present in the program. A welcome program will be held in Tumudibandh, Kotgarh, and Baliguda blocks, starting from the place where people believe.

Kandhamal, (Fast News Odisha): On the 18th of December in Sadaka, Bangladesh, the Islamic extremists brutally killed Bangladeshi Hindu youth Deepu Das and burned him alive by hanging him from a tree. In this sequence, a protest procession of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang party was also seen in G.Udayagiri town under Baliguda sub-district of Kandhamal district. Kandhamal District Bajrang Dal President Pramod Munigrahi led by G.Udayagiri Bajrang Dal Coordinator Ashish Riki, Co-Coordinator Jitendra Naik, Rabindra Das and party workers toured the city shouting slogans to the Muslims and Rohingyas who came illegally from Bangladesh to leave the country and our region. Finally, at the local Gandhi Street, talking about the inhumane killing of the dead Hindu youth Deepu Das, the district president, burning effigies of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal workers, Muhammad Yunus, and protesting against the brutality of Islamic extremists on Bangladeshi Hindus. Report by Sanjay Kumar Manigarahi from Kandhamal District, Fast News Odisha l

Nabarangpur, (Ranjit Naik) Date: 14.12.2025 Rikh: Under the direction of Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha, a health test camp was held for senior citizen pilgrims at Mission Shakti conference room by Nabarangpur district administration! Out of the target of 148 people found in the district, 144 senior citizens are considered fit from the point of view of health and have left for Rayagada railway station along with 05 nodal officials! Honorable Minister of Public Education, Scheduled Castes and Tribes Development, Social Security and Empowerment of Disabled, Minority Communities and Backward Classes Department attended the program as the chief guest and launched the pilgrimage and increased the enthusiasm of the pilgrims! On this occasion, Honorable MLA Nabarangpur Gauri Shankar Majhi, District Magistrate D Maheshwar Swayum, District Social Security Officer Sudshanshu Shekhar Sahu and Senior Tourism Officer Ghasia Harijan and other officials were present! Through this scheme, an invaluable spiritual pilgrimage opportunity has been created for the poor and helpless senior citizens of the district!

Ranjit Naik’s report from Nabarangpur First News !