ODISHA GOVT CANCELS BEER FACTORY PROJECT

BHUBANESWAR: A day after ordering a halt to felling of trees near a village in Dhenkanal district for construction of a beer factory, amid protests from villagers and ₹opposition parties, the Naveen Patnaik government on Monday cancelled the project. “Based on the factual report available, the allocation of bottling plant to P&A Bottlers Private Limited may be cancelled and alternate site may be provided...,” revenue divisional commissioner(north) DV Swamy wrote to the industries department on Monday. On Saturday, the police forcibly removed protesters of Balarampur village, who emulated the famous Chipko movement of the 1970s by hugging the trees that were to be felled in the Jhinkargadi forest.

Gujarat to study Maharashtra quota decision: Rupani

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Monday said the state government had sought details from its Maharashtra counterparts about its decision to grant reservation benefits to the Maratha community to find out if the Patidar community could be given a quota. Rupani, who was on an official visit to Kutch, told reporters that his government had asked for the survey reports on the basis of which Maharashtra had decided on reservation for the OBC Marathas community. “The state government would examine in detail the Maharashtra survey reports and then decide on reservation for the Patidars...,” the CM said.