BHUBANESWAR: In a major boost to sustainable agriculture technology for soil management, the Agriculture Department has proposed to establish 20 new soil testing laboratories in the State. There are 11 such labs at present. Separately, the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) has also decided to set up another 20 soil testing laboratories in its Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) under the 12th plan.

BHAWANIPATNA: The revamped public distribution system (PDS) has already been implemented in Kalahandi. Even as the new system aims at curbing pilferage in the PDS, questions are being raised over its effective implementation. Last year, the State Government had decided to do away with the storage-agent system from October 1 and replace it with a new arrangement following the Justice D P Wadhwa Committee report.

BHAWANIPATNA: Sanitation in urban pockets of Bhawanipatna is dismal owing to the lackadaisical attitude of the municipal authorities. This situation continues despite dengue assuming alarming proportions in some parts of the State.

BHAWANIPATNA: The benefits under the Rashtriya Suraksha Bima Yojana (RSBY) have failed to trickle down to the beneficiaries the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Though launched as a pilot project in Kalahandi in November 2009, poor management and lack of awareness among the BPL beneficiaries have marred the cashless treatment provision.

Out of the surveyed 2,24,859 BPL families, 1,03,083 f

SAMBALPUR: Heatwave has gripped western Orissa with the temperature refusing to relent. And the clear sky with no rain forecast for the coming days, there has been little relief for the denizens with water scarcity staring in their faces.

The district has witnessed a sudden rise in maximum temperature that is hovering between 32 and 38 degree Celsius till now.

BHAWANIPATNA: Fly ash, red mud and lime grit are some of the wastes generated by alumina refineries and if not properly disposed of, these may cause health hazards. But the enterprising have the Midas touch. Many ancillary units have come up in the district which are thriving on these wastes. They use the wastes as material.

BHAWANIPATNA: Kalahandi is the grip of cold wave with a constant dip in temperature noticed from the beginning of this week. The town recorded 6 degree Celsius today while chill in the interior and hilly regions was reportedly more intense.

BHAWANIPATAN: Their hopes to earn profits from the crops this festive season have fallen flat. Pest attacks in menacing proportions have left thousands of farmers of Kalahandi shocked.

BHAWANIPATNA: The delay in the implementation of Sakhar Bharat Adult Literacy Programme in Kalahandi has raised a question mark on the success of the programme in the given time frame.

BHAWANIPATNA: Even as they are yet to come to terms with the loss sustained due to flash floods, farmers on the banks of Hati and Tel rivers are in the grip of pest epidemic.

According to reports available with the Agriculture Department, paddy fields in 107 villages under 10 blocks of the district have been infested with swarming caterpillars and stem borers, besides blast insects.