Mining resumes after meeting
A day after the state government ordered a halt to all works related to proposed iron ore mining at Bailadila hills deposit no-13 in Dantewada, mining giant National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Chairman and Managing Director N Baijendra Kumar met Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in Raipur. Mining in two major NDMC complexes which was halted in the face of tribal protest resumed. It was decided that the headquarters of Bastar’s Nagarnar steel plant would be shifted to Nagarnar instead of Hyderabad and recruitments would be done locally.
Monsoon session from July 12
The six-day monsoon session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly will begin on July 12 and culminate on July 19. At the second sitting of the fifth Assembly, several key Bills and the supplementary budget would be tabled. Upbeat after its impressive haul in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition player, has criticized the short Assembly session saying that the Congress government is shying away from a debate on crucial issues plaguing the state. While the Congress holds 67 seats in the House, the BJP has 14 and the BSP-JCC-J combine holds the remaining 7.
Waterless, odourless urinal
A waterless urinal with zero odours has been installed on an experimental basis at the conference hall of the Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) office. Buoyancy mechanism has been used to cut out odour and ensure the conservation of water. The toilet requires minimal maintenance. The concept was developed on the principle of ecological sanitation to prevent environmental damage. Raipur DRM Kaushal Kishore said if the trial will be replicated at railway stations of the Raipur division of Southeast Central Railways.
Capital gets a new collector
S Bharatidasan, an IAS officer of the 2006 batch, has taken over as the new Raipur collector. He served as the additional chief electoral officer for Chhattisgarh during the Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly elections 2018. Asked to list his priorities, the new collector he will ensure redressal of public grievances in a time-bound manner and will focus on improving education, health, water supply and infrastructure. His predecessor Basavaraju S has been shifted to the secretariat.
Ejaz Kaiser
Our correspondent in Chhattisgarh
ejaz@newindianexpress.com