Art on the Waterfront: The 4th Beijing International Canal Arts Fest Kicks Off in Tongzhou

BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Beijing International Canal Arts Fest is a signature event for cultural and artistic exchange between China and other canal countries, and for integrating culture with tourism. Since its launch in 2018, it has been held four editions. On September 24, 2026, the 4th Beijing International Canal Arts Fest grandly opened along the Grand Canal in Tongzhou. Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the event is dedicated to preserving the Grand Canal as a living World Cultural Heritage site and passing on its legacy. It drives urban renewal through culture, brings together artistic talent from around the world, and deepens international cultural and tourism exchanges through the canal as a cultural bridge. Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center welcomed more than 150 Chinese and international guests and artists from Albania, Côte d’Ivoire, Norway, Sweden, Türkiye, among other countries to the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony featured a spectacular cross-border program. Performers from China and abroad took the stage, including the Rongxiang Sanxian Chamber Orchestra from China, FETNO from Bucharest, Norwegian singer Maria Arredondo, and New Zealand singer-songwriter Luke Thompson. Together, they delivered a stunning visual and musical experience. The Arts Fest runs until September 27, with 14 performing arts troupes from 13 countries presenting 22 diverse performances.

(https://en.bocec.cn/Index/article/id/1377)

A “Canal × Mid-Autumn” themed bazaar is also open

Featuring 60 distinctive booths in three zones—Bites, Finds, and Vibes. It brings together global cuisine, international handicrafts, and fun interactive experiences in one place, creating an immersive international leisure experience.

(https://en.bocec.cn/Index/article/id/1386)

The video The Canal in Beijing premiered alongside the debut of 10 “Strolling Beijing—Grand Canal Cultural Theme Tours,” inviting visitors from around the world to experience Beijing’s millennia-old canal civilization at a leisurely pace. 

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Historic Shishu Bhavan Building in Cuttack May Get New Life as Museum

Cuttack, Sept. 26 (UDN): A historic palace-like structure on the Shishu Bhavan campus in Cuttack, which once served as Odisha’s Raj Bhavan, could get a new lease of life as a museum instead of being demolished.

The proposal has brought the heritage value of the ageing structure back into focus, with Shishu Bhavan authorities and sections of the city calling for its preservation and adaptive reuse.

From Raj Bhavan to Shishu Bhavan

The building is associated with several phases of Odisha’s history, with links to the Mughal, Maratha and British periods. It also reportedly hosted meetings involving Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other freedom fighters during the freedom movement.

After Independence, the structure functioned as Odisha’s Raj Bhavan until 1948, before the Raj Bhavan was shifted to Bhubaneswar.

The building was subsequently converted into Shishu Bhavan and served as a facility for treating children for several years. The paediatric wards were later shifted elsewhere, after which medical services were discontinued in the old structure.

Preservation Proposal Gains Momentum

The district administration had considered the building unsafe and initiated steps for its demolition. However, the proposal to preserve the structure and convert it into a museum has generated interest among heritage-conscious citizens and intellectuals.

Shishu Bhavan authorities have suggested developing the building as a museum showcasing historical records, old documents and other materials connected with Cuttack and Odisha’s past. Suggestions have also included recreational facilities within the premises.

The structure is currently in a deteriorated condition, with moss visible on parts of the walls and vegetation growing around the building.

Mayor Backs Heritage Conservation

Cuttack Mayor Subhash Singh has said the historic structure would not be allowed to be demolished and that efforts would be made to develop it as a colonial museum alongside other heritage sites in the city.

Shishu Bhavan superintendent Dr Sunil Agrawal has also supported preservation, pointing out that the existing building could complement the modern infrastructure being developed on the campus.

“If we can provide 846 beds in the G+6 building within Shishu Bhavan campus, then by preserving this building, we can also protect Odisha’s heritage,” Agrawal said, according to reports.

He suggested that a museum could also provide parents and visitors with an opportunity to explore the city’s history while they are at the facility.

The proposed conversion, if taken forward, would give the historic structure a new public purpose while retaining a building associated with important chapters of Cuttack and Odisha’s past.

Four-Tonne Ganesh Laddoo Fetches Rs 17 Lakh at Talcher Auction

Talcher, Sept. 26 (UDN): A massive laddoo weighing around four tonnes and offered as prasad during the Ganesh festival was auctioned for Rs 17 lakh in Talcher, drawing enthusiastic participation from devotees despite heavy rainfall.

 Representational Image

The Diamond Group emerged as the highest bidder after a spirited auction and took home the giant sweet offered to Lord Ganesh.

Bidding Draws Huge Crowd

The auction began with relatively modest bids but quickly gathered momentum, with the amount climbing into lakhs within minutes.

Hundreds of devotees remained present despite the rain and cheered as several individuals and organisations competed for the religious offering. After a closely contested bidding session, the Diamond Group secured the laddoo for Rs 17 lakh.

Prasad Linked to Prosperity

The annual auction holds a special place in Talcher’s Ganesh festival celebrations. Devotees traditionally associate winning the giant laddoo with prosperity and good fortune.

According to local belief, the winning bidder shares portions of the prasad with family members, friends and others. Some devotees also preserve or distribute remnants of the laddoo by placing them at homes, business establishments and agricultural fields as a symbol of blessings and prosperity.

Auction Marks Start of Immersion Procession

Several organisations and individuals participated in this year’s auction, continuing a longstanding local tradition.

The annual laddoo auction also marks the beginning of the Lord Ganesh immersion procession, which passes through different parts of Talcher town, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Railway Crime Cases Plunge 83% at Solar CCTV-Monitored Locations Under ECoR

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 26 (UDN): Railway-related crime cases have dropped by nearly 83 per cent at locations covered by solar-powered CCTV surveillance under the East Coast Railway (ECoR), according to railway authorities.

 Representational Image 

Data for the January-August period show that the number of reported cases fell from 200 in 2025 to 34 in the corresponding period this year at locations where the solar-powered surveillance system has been deployed.

The reduction has been recorded across several categories of railway-related offences, including cable cutting, stone pelting, theft of passengers’ belongings and alarm chain pulling.

Sharp Decline in Offences

Cases involving the placement of external objects on railway tracks declined from one to zero, while cable-cutting incidents dropped from 10 to one during the period under review.

Similarly, cases of stone pelting fell from 20 to three, while incidents involving theft of passengers’ belongings declined from two to zero.

The most significant reduction was reported in alarm chain-pulling cases, which fell from 158 to 29. Other reported crime cases also declined from nine to one.

Cameras Cover Vulnerable Locations

Under the initiative, solar-powered CCTV cameras have been installed at several sensitive railway locations, including station premises, level crossings, bridges, isolated stretches of track, yards and other vulnerable points.

The system was introduced by ECoR as a pilot initiative to strengthen surveillance in locations where conventional power infrastructure may not always be readily available.

According to railway authorities, the surveillance network has helped improve monitoring of vulnerable locations and may also assist security personnel in identifying and responding to incidents.

Expansion Planned

The success of the pilot initiative has prompted plans for wider adoption of the technology across the railway network.

Railway authorities said solar-powered CCTV surveillance is expected to be expanded to other locations to strengthen security and improve passenger safety.

The initiative combines renewable energy with round-the-clock surveillance, particularly at remote and sensitive railway locations where maintaining conventional CCTV infrastructure can be challenging.

Delhi Transport Department Earns Global Recognition for Helmet Safety Campaign

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Delhi Transport Department has received international recognition for its efforts to promote helmet use and road safety, highlighting the city’s focus on improving awareness and encouraging safer behaviour among two-wheeler riders.

The recognition comes for the department’s helmet safety campaign, which aimed to strengthen public awareness about the importance of wearing helmets and following road-safety practices.

The campaign reflects a broader approach to road safety that combines public communication with efforts to encourage compliance with traffic regulations. For a city with a large two-wheeler population, increasing helmet use remains an important part of reducing the risk of serious injuries in road crashes.

The initiative also demonstrates how government agencies can use targeted awareness campaigns to influence everyday road behaviour, particularly among vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and scooter riders.

Focus on safer road behaviour

Helmet use is widely recognised as an important road-safety measure for two-wheeler riders. Campaigns that combine awareness, education and enforcement can help reinforce safe riding practices and encourage greater compliance.

The Delhi Transport Department’s recognition provides visibility to the city’s efforts to promote responsible road use and strengthen its road-safety messaging.

Public awareness at the centre

The campaign places public participation at the heart of road-safety efforts. Beyond enforcement, sustained awareness can help make helmet use a routine part of two-wheeler travel.

The international recognition also offers an opportunity to highlight the importance of locally implemented road-safety initiatives that address everyday travel behaviour.

For Delhi, continued efforts in areas such as helmet compliance, traffic awareness, responsible driving and protection of vulnerable road users will remain important in building safer urban mobility.

The honour marks a significant recognition of the Transport Department’s road-safety communication efforts and underlines the role of public awareness in supporting safer roads across the capital.

Landslide, Collapsed Power Tower Disrupt Rail Traffic Near Maliguda in Koraput

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 26 (UDN): Train services on the Koraput-Kirandul route were severely disrupted on Friday after a high-voltage transmission tower collapsed near Maliguda railway station amid strong winds and heavy rain, triggering landslides that damaged sections of the railway track.

The incident occurred in the Maliguda-Chhatriput section, where nearly 150 metres of earth slid onto the tracks. Railway officials said the landslide caused subsidence at several locations, making the route unsafe for train operations.

Witnesses said the transmission tower had begun leaning under the impact of the adverse weather before eventually collapsing, while continuous rainfall further destabilised the surrounding hillside.

Senior railway officials, including Rayagada Divisional Railway Manager Amitabh Singhal, rushed to the site to assess the damage and supervise restoration work. Engineering teams were deployed to remove debris, stabilise the affected embankment and repair the damaged track.

Train Services Hit

In view of the disruption, the Railways cancelled several passenger services on the route.

The Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Express, Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Passenger, and Rourkela-Jagdalpur Intercity Express were cancelled, while two other services were curtailed to Koraput until further notice.

Railway authorities said train operations would resume only after safety inspections confirm that the affected section is fit for traffic.

Officials are continuing restoration work on a war footing as the region remains under the influence of persistent rainfall triggered by the prevailing weather system over southern Odisha.

Only 294 of Odisha’s 3,000+ Heritage Monuments Enjoy Protected Status

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 26 (UDN): Despite Odisha being home to more than 3,000 identified temples and archaeological monuments, only 294 sites have been granted protected status by the state and central governments, the Assembly was informed on Friday.

 Representational Image 

Replying to a question by BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya, Language, Literature and Culture Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said that 212 monuments are protected by the State Archaeology Department, while 82 monuments fall under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The minister said the State Archaeology Department has earmarked ₹7 crore during the current financial year exclusively for the conservation and maintenance of protected monuments. An additional ₹13 crore has been allocated for the upkeep of both protected and unprotected heritage structures across the state.

He also shared details of the previous financial year’s expenditure, stating that ₹5 crore had been allocated for protected monuments, while ₹10.9 crore was sanctioned for the preservation of both protected and unprotected sites.

Responding to concerns over the conservation of ancient temples, Suraj rejected allegations that sanctioned funds for heritage preservation were lying unused. He maintained that the allocated resources are being utilised for restoration, conservation and maintenance works undertaken by the department.

The figures highlight the gap between the large number of historically significant monuments identified across Odisha and the relatively small number that currently receive statutory protection under state or central heritage laws.