17yr Old Boy Sells Wife to Buy Smartphone

 The News Cover: A 17-year-old youth from Odisha’s Balangir district tied the knot with a 26-year-old woman in July this year. The youth, along with the woman, went to Rajasthan, where he took up the job of a brick kiln worker. After a few days, the boy returned Odisha alone. When the girl's family inquired about their daughter, the boy informed them that she left him. 

Her family, however, did not believe what he said. If she had a problem she would have consulted the family instead of running away. The family became suspicious and filed a complaint with the police. Following this, the police sprang up in action and questioned the teenager. During questioning, the boy confessed. He said that when he was working in Rajasthan, he sold his wife to a man from Rajasthan’s Baran district for a sum of Rs 1.8 lakh. How shocking! The boy without caring for his wife sold her off for Rs 1.8 lakh. 

The 17-year-old boy then spent on dining and purchased a smartphone for himself. For him, these material things were more valuable than human life. The police were aghast at his foolishness and reached Rajasthan to look for the girl. When the police found the girl, the locals refused to give her to the police as they had paid Rs 1.8 lakh for her. However, with much difficulty, the police managed to bring her back to Odisha. The police presented the 17-year-old boy in a juvenile court, following which he was sent to a correctional home.

Odisha CM Gives ₹60 Lakh to Feed Stray Animals

 The News Cover: Coronavirus cases all over the country are rising. States have put strict rules and lockdowns to control the spread of the virus. Similarly in Odisha to lockdown has been imposed. Odisha Public Information Department had recently put out a tweet that said that there is a lockdown in the state, and people are not allowed to go out of their houses. Animals such as stray dogs and cattle are facing a food shortage as people are not able to feed them. Before the corona pandemic, people were able to feed stray animals. 

Now the stray animals are not being fed since people are not able to leave their homes. The Odisha government decided to support these stray animals. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved Rs 60 lakh from the CMRF to feed stray animals in parts of Odisha. NGO and volunteers would be responsible to feed the strays. 

The amount sanctioned will allow metropolitan corporations of 5 cities - Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, and Berhampur to spend Rs 20,000 a day to feed the stray animals. Similarly, the municipalities of smaller cities have been permitted to spend Rs 5,000 a day. Notified Area Councils which are in transition from villages to small cities are permitted to use Rs 2,000 a day on feeding stray animals.