Bhubaneswar: A court here has directed Odisha to pay a compensation of Rs.25 lakh each to the kin of the seven students who drowned in a river 16 years ago, a lawyer said Thursday.

Civil Judge S.K. Pattnaik in Bhubaneswar Wednesday also directed the state authorities to pay an annual interest of six percent retrospectively from Sep 1, 2001, on the compensation amount, lawyer Madhu Madhab Jena told IANS.