Odisha’s loan burden to reach Rs.56,640 crore: Minister
Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s debt burden will increase to Rs.56,640 crore as the government has made a budgetary provision to borrow around Rs.12,800 crore by the end of this fiscal, a minister said on Monday. The Odisha government has targeted to borrow Rs.12,800.38 crore from different sources, increasing its debt burden to Rs.56,640.13 crore by the end of 2015-16, Finance Minister Pradeep Kumar Amat said in reply to a question by BJP legislator Dilip Ray in the assembly. The minister said the state government intends to raise loan of Rs.1,634 crore from the Centre, Rs.300 crore from the National Small Savings Fund, Rs.800 crore from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, Rs.2,710 crore from NABARD and other sources and Rs.7,356.38 crore from the open market. The loan burden was Rs.18,100 crore in 1999-2000, Rs.37,730 crore in 2009-10 and Rs.43,273.38 crore in 2014-15, Amat said. (IANS)
Himachal Congress activists injured while burning Modi effigy
Shimla: Several Congress activists on Monday suffered burn injuries while trying to burn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy in the Himachal Pradesh capital, police said. As the Congress workers tried to set Modi’s effigy on fire, a can of diesel exploded leaving four of them injured. One of them was hospitalised in the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital with serious injuries, a police official told. A press statement issued by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee said it staged protests in all 17 organisational districts against the BJP-led central government for launching a “malicious political vendetta” against the Congress and its leaders. It said the protest in Shimla was led by state Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. However, the statement was silent on the incident in which the Congress workers suffered burn injuries. (IANS)
Maoists destroy mobile tower
Koraput (Odisha): Maoists destroyed a newly constructed mobile tower belonging to a private cellular company at Kathpada village in Odisha’s Koraput district, a senior police official said today. A group of around 30 Maoists stormed into the village around late Saturday night and targeted the mobile tower and set it on fire, pouring kerosene on it, the officer said quoting delayed reports reaching here from the interior area. “It was a newly constructed mobile tower, yet to be commissioned. The Maoists have totally damaged the battery room and generator of the mobile tower,” Superintendent of Police (Koraput), Charan Singh Meena. There is no report of any injury or casualty as no one was present at the site at the time of the crime, he said. Police personnel went to the crime spot, the SP added. (PTI)
Shimla sees season’s lowest at 2 degrees
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla, a popular tourist destination, on Monday saw the season’s lowest temperature of 2 degrees Celsius below the freezing point. The temperatures remained below the freezing point at most places in the state despite dry weather, an official of the meteorological office here told IANS, adding it is likely to snow in the high hills from December 18. Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti district, was the coldest at a minimum temperature of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius. Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius, while the temperature was 6.8 degrees in Dharamsala, minus 3.6 degrees in Manali and 1.6 degrees in Dalhousie. The state capital saw a high of 12.4 degree Celsius, while Kalpa and Dharamsala towns saw the day temperature at 8.8 and 14.2 degrees respectively. The weatherman said western disturbances will be active again after December 18, resulting in more snowfall in the upper reaches of Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Chamba districts. (IANS)
Ethiopian Airlines starts cargo operation to Bengaluru
New Delhi: African carrier Ethiopian Airlines on Monday said it has added Bengaluru in its freighter service network with the launch of first cargo flight to Addis Ababa early this month. Ethiopian Airlines operates freighters services to four Indian cities –New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru– from capital city Addis Ababa, a release said. “Bengaluru is an important sector for us since it is a hub of IT and biotech apart from housing various MNCs. Ethiopian Airlines wanted to capitalise on this opportunity with a cargo flight to the city,” Ethiopean Airlines Regional Director for India Sub-continent Tadesse Tilahun said. Accordingly, he said, Bengaluru has been added as the fourth destination in India in addition to Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai from December 2. Ethiopian is the fastest growing and most profitable airline in Africa. “Ethiopian is growing fast with cargo a key part of its offering. Our Vision 2025 strategy covers global growth, but our focus is comparatively more to and from Asia, both in terms of frequency and in number of cargo potential origins to Africa,” Ethiopian Cargo Services Managing Director Fitsum Abady said Ethiopian Airlines has placed itself at the center of the crucial China-India-Africa trade lane helping robust growth of cargo operation, he said. (PTI)
