The Odias living in the UAE celebrated the Odisha Divas at the Indian consulate in Dubai on April 16. It was attended by India’s consul general Dr. Aman Puri who thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the Bhubaneswar-Dubai direct flight scheduled to start from May 15.

The counsel general said, “Today, it is a very special celebration. Today, we are celebrating India’s best kept secret being connected with Dubai, which is a shining example of how trade, tourism and investment can transform the lives of people. Today, we are connecting Bhubaneshwar with Dubai, which will enable people of Orissa to be connected to the world, through this amazing hub of Dubai not just for tourism, but also trade and the employment opportunities in different parts of the world and for seeking investments. We are also going to be enabling people living in the Middle East, our Emirati brothers and sisters and our brothers and sisters from over 200 nationalities, who consider UAE their second home, to have a seamless experience of visiting Bhubaneshwar, in India’s best kept secret.”

Dr Puri said that he considered himself blessed as he visited Bhubaneshwar a few months ago. The warmth of the hospitality of the people there deeply touched him, he said.

Dr. Puri welcomed the Tourism Minister Aswini Kumar Patra, Minister of Science and Technology Ashok Chandra Panda, the private secretary to the Chief Minister, the secretary and the delegation from Orissa. The consul general also welcomed delegates from the UAE, representatives of Indian community living in the UAE and the other countries in the Gulf region.

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In an attempt to demolish the drug racket in Bengaluru, the city police have seized 1352 kilograms of marijuana. The city police, which is currently in a drug busting spree, also arrested four drug peddlers.

Following a tip-off, the Seshadripuram Police initially nabbed a peddler named Jnanasekhar who was selling marijuana in an autorickshaw near the VV Giri colony. This arrest took place on August 30 and upon interrogation, Jnanasekhar revealed more details about a drug ring responsible for smuggling marijuana in north Karnataka.

Later, police arrested three more people named Siddhunath, Naganath and Chandrakanth. Nagnath and Chandrakanth were arrested as they were trying to transport a shipment near the NH 50 Toll Gate. The huge stock of marijuana was hidden underground in a farm.

Investigation officers revealed that marijuana was being sent from Orissa to Telangana, and from Telangana to Karnataka.

“The drug peddlers used to go in vehicles to buy vegetables but instead transported marijuana in vegetable vans. They had dug a cave to hide the marijuana at a farmhouse in Kalaburgi. A total of 1.2 ton of marijuana from there and we also seized 150 kg of marijuana from the distributor in Vijayapura,” said M N Anucheth, DCP West in a recent statement.

Kamal Pant, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner revealed that the Bengaluru Central Division Police will be rewarded a cash prize of Rs.2 lakhs for their outstanding efforts to demolish the drug racket in the city.

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