No information on Mittal pullout, say Orissa, Jharkhand

October 5th, 2009 RANCHI - A day after a noted British paper said steel giant ArcelorMittal was close to pulling out of its proposed steel projects in Jharkhand and Orissa, the Jharkhand government Monday said it had not received any communication from the steel maker in this regard. "We have no information that ArcelorMittal is planning to wind up its greenfield steel project in the state," Jharkhand Industries Secretary N.N.

September 11th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Five railway employees, abducted by Maoist rebels Thursday in Orissa's Sundergarh district are still missing, their family members said Friday. Maoists had abducted Topadiha's railway station master N.N.

August 24th, 2009 RANCHI - Maoists blew up a railway track in Latehar and a mobile phone tower in Palamau district in Jharkhand as they began their 48-hour shutdown in five state on Monday. According to the police, about 20 left-wing ultras blew up the railway tracks between Kumundi and Hehegada railway station in Latehar district, around 140 km from Ranchi, late on Sunday night.

August 19th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday requested the central government to set up a National Institute of Design Technology (NID) in the state capital and offered to provide for it necessary infrastructure, including land. Patnaik met union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma at New Delhi Wednesday and made the request, the chief minister's office said in a press release here.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - Global steel giant ArcelorMittal, founded by Indian born L.N. Mittal, Wednesday reported a net loss of $800 million for the second quarter of this year but hoped for a much better performance in the ensuing months.

July 16th, 2009 RANCHI - Police Thursday rescued five Jharkhand children who were abducted and kept in a train toilet to be taken to Orissa, an official said. The Government Railway Police (GRP) on a tip off rescued the children - aged 9 to 13 - from a toilet of the Hatia Express train at the Bano railway station, 130 km from Ranchi.

April 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Global meltdown and falling demand have forced Arcelor-Mittal to delay by two years their proposed steel projects in Orissa and Jharkhand, estimated at $20-25 billion, its India head said here Wednesday. 'The top reason is economic downturn,' Vijay Bhatnagar, the chief of India operations, told reporters on the margins of a steel industry seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

April 8th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Nationalist Congress Party alliance with the Left parties and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa is 'only Orissa-specific', NCP chief Sharad Pawar said here Wednesday. 'Our arrangement is only Orissa-specific,' Pawar told a press conference, addressed jointly with Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik.

March 26th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale Thursday rocked parts of Orissa and Jharkhand, the meteorological office here said. The earthquake occurred at 10.14 a.m., S.C.

March 22nd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Archana Nayak, the only woman MP in Orissa's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nayak, who has organised and led many women's movements in Orissa against dowry, violence against women and other such issues, said she quit the BJD as it would be unable to fight the Congress in the assembly and parliamentary polls after splitting with the BJP.

March 6th, 2009 RANCHI - A team of policemen left here for Bhubaneswar Friday to take into custody Mohammad Taslim, who was arrested in the Orissa capital for having allegedly sent an extortion letter to Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's family in December last year, police said. 'A police team has gone to Bhubaneswar with a production warrant to take Mohhamad Taslim on remand,' Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar told IANS.

March 3rd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Two most wanted Maoist leaders, including an alleged mastermind in the killing of Hindu leader Laxmanananda Saraswati, were arrested in Orissa Monday, the police said. The two leftist militant leaders, Atul and Ashutosh, were arrested near steel city of Rourkela, some 470 km from here, Orissa Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj told IANS Atul was allegedly involved in the killing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and four of his associates Aug 23 last year in Kandhamal district.

March 1st, 2009 RANCHI - Suspected Maoist guerrillas blew up a panchayat community building in Jharkhand, the police said Saturday. According to the police, more than 30 activists of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) Friday night blew up the building in Mahdand village of Palamau district, around 190 km from here, by using detonators.

February 28th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Maoist guerrillas Saturday attacked a railway station and blew up its building in Orissa's Sundergarh district, police said. Nearly 100 rebels attacked the Bhalulata railway station, asked three employees to vacate the building and blew it up with explosives, Inspector General of Police Pranabindu Acharya told IANS.

February 8th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand police have launched a poster campaign to take on the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) that has called for a 24-hour shutdown in the state. CPI-Maoist called for the shutdown Monday in Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.