Orissa High Court sets April 30 deadline to reply on Chandrabhaga beach wall

CUTTACK:  The Orissa High Court has set April 30 as deadline for the State government to file a reply to the PIL seeking intervention against construction of a wall along the beach at Chandrabhaga inside the protected area of Konark-Balukhand wildlife sanctuary.

The Court set the deadline after the State government failed to file a reply on Thursday. While responding to the PIL petition on April 5, the HC had sought the reply by April 19 and fixed April 22 for hearing on the PIL. But when the petition came up on Thursday the State Counsel stated that the affidavit will positively be filed on or before April 27. While allowing the time, the bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray posted the matter to April 30.

Konark-based Odisha Biodiversity Conservation Foundation (OBCF) filed the petition expressing apprehension that construction of the wall will block natural water course and storm water drainage from Konark town. According to the petition, the Roads division of the Works department had started the process for construction of over one-km-long wall along the beach to check deposition of sand on the Puri - Konark Marine Drive road.

In the petition, OBCF’s trustee Binayak Swain said the project covers a large area through which the rain water of the entire town of Konark is drained into the sea. Construction of the retaining wall may result in flooding of the town and the sanctuary during the rainy season, the petitioner said.

Spurious liquor seized from poultry farm

BERHAMPUR: Excise officials raided a poultry farm in New Makarajhola village under Hinjili block and seized 846 litre of spurious alcohol on Sunday. Three persons, identified as Sunil Sahu (26), Milan Sahu (24) and Santosh Gauda (21), were arrested in this connection.

The officials also seized 540 homoeopathic medicine bottles each containing 450 ml of rectified spirit, three pressing machines, a litre of raw caramel, 20 litre of diluted caramel, 808 excise adhesive labels and 7,636 company labels.