Bhubaneswar, June 21: The Odisha government on Thursday asked all District Collectors to instruct officers concerned to take early and appropriate action on public grievances received through social media.

According an official, the state government receives a lot of grievances from various quarters through various social media accounts through Twitter and Facebook, and these are being forwarded to Additional District Magistrates (ADM), sub-Collectors and Tehsildars concerned for taking appropriate action in the matter.

In a letter to District Collectors, Revenue and Disaster Management Secretary Chandra Sekhar Kumar said that it was seen that the grievances so intimated to officers concerned are not being attended to properly, and piling up at that level.

Inaction on the part of the officials concerned is being flagged in the social media by the same applicant and is causing huge embarrassment to the government, he said, adding social media is becoming an integral part of good governance as it is an easy and dependable channel for communication at every level and allows people to give feedback on various governmental initiatives.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also given emphasis on the use of social media for redressal of peoples' grievances, said Kumar.

"You are, therefore, requested to instruct the ADMs and officers concerned under your administration to take early and appropriate action on the public grievances received through social media and ensure that the action so taken must also be intimated to this department," he said.

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Ambikapur (PTI): Two tribal girls were raped allegedly by six persons, including three juveniles, in a village in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, a police official said on Thursday.

Three accused have been arrested and three minors were detained in connection with the incident that took place on the night of April 24 under Sitapur police station limits, he informed.

"The motorcycle-borne accused intercepted the victims when they, along with two other friends, were returning home on foot after attending a wedding. Two of the girls managed to escape. The two victims, one aged 15 years and another 13 years, were forced onto a motorcycle, taken to a secluded place and sexually assaulted," he said.

One of the victims returned home the same night and informed her family the next day, following which a case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Sitapur police station on April 26 for gangrape and other offences, he said.

Medical examinations of the victims were conducted at the Sitapur Community Health Centre on April 26 and 27, the official said.

"Initial medical reports did not confirm sexual assault. However, after the victims' families expressed dissatisfaction with the findings, the girls were sent for fresh medical examination at the district hospital in Ambikapur. Based on this medical report, all six accused were taken into custody by April 30," he said.

The arrested accused have been identified as Anand Bek (27), Vikas Tigga (24) and Manish Khalkho (18), all residents of the Sitapur area. The three juveniles, two of them aged 17 years, have been detained, he said.