CM Majhi Delivers 1,608 New Homes in Bhubaneswar; Drug Regulators Raid Pharmacies
Bhubaneswar saw significant civic activity on October 13 as Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi personally inaugurated two affordable housing complexes, handing over homes to hundreds of families under the PMAY scheme, while the Odisha Drugs Control Department launched raids on pharmacies in the city suspected of selling prescription medicines without proper authorisation.
🗳️ CM Majhi Inaugurates 1,608 Housing Units and Bajrangi Playground
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated two residential projects and the Bajrangi Playground in Bhubaneswar in a push the state government described as central to its affordable housing and urban infrastructure agenda. The first project, Neelakantheswar Niwas, is located at Ghatikia and was constructed over 5.27 acres of land using precast concrete technology at an estimated cost of Rs 66.5 crore. The complex comprises 928 housing units along with 32 commercial shops.
The second project, Mukteswar Residency, is situated at Gadakana and covers 6.36 acres of land, accommodating 680 residential units, also built using precast concrete technology. The project provides essential amenities including electricity, water supply and sanitation facilities, and each residential block follows a G+4 structure — a ground floor topped by four upper floors. Taken together, the two projects deliver 1,608 housing units to eligible beneficiaries in the state capital. As part of the ceremony, 962 families received homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
In addition to the housing inaugurations, the Chief Minister dedicated the Bajrangi Playground to the public, with the aim of promoting sports and physical activity among children and young people in the state capital. The dual focus on housing access and community sports infrastructure reflects the state government's stated priorities for Bhubaneswar's development. For the families receiving PMAY units, the handover marks the culmination of an application and eligibility process, and their new residences come equipped with the basic infrastructure the government says will support a stable urban living environment for lower-income households in the city. [8]
Drug Control Officers Raid Pharmacies Over Unauthorised Prescription Sales
The Odisha Drugs Control Department launched a major crackdown on medicine shops across Bhubaneswar to address the unauthorised sale and stocking of drugs that can be misused as intoxicants. The enforcement action was focused specifically on checking whether pharmacies were dispensing prescription-controlled medicines without valid prescriptions issued by registered medical practitioners.
The central concern driving the inspection drive is the availability of certain medicines — particularly those prescribed to patients managing conditions such as depression and other related disorders — which have been found in some instances to be dispensed without the required medical documentation. Such medicines, when obtained and used outside a physician's supervision, carry a risk of misuse and dependence. The Drugs Control Department's crackdown signals a stricter enforcement approach toward pharmacies that may have been circumventing legal safeguards around controlled prescriptions.
The raids targeted multiple shops across the city, and inspecting officers were checking both prescription compliance and the stocking of drugs that fall under regulatory controls. Authorities did not immediately release figures on how many shops were found to be non-compliant, but the citywide scope of the inspections underlined the department's intent to hold pharmacies to standards that protect public health and prevent controlled medicines from reaching consumers outside the supervision of a registered practitioner. The action reflects ongoing concerns among health regulators that certain categories of medicines — particularly those with psychoactive properties — are being made available in a manner that bypasses the safeguards the prescription system is designed to provide. [4]
Sources: [8] KalingaTV · [4] prameyanews.com