The toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 64 after the Odisha government on Sunday confirmed 21 new deaths. Of these, 39 casualties were reported from Puri district alone, reported ANI.
Puri is followed by Khurda (9), Cuttack (6), Mayurbhanj (4), Kendrapara (3) and Jajpur (3), an unidentified official at the State Emergency Operation Centre told PTI. The cyclone, which made landfall in Puri on May 3, left over 240 people injured.
A nine-member central team will assess the damage caused by Cyclone Fani on Monday, reported PTI. The team, headed by Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Vivek Bharadwaj, will be split into two groups. They will visit Puri and Khurda districts on May 13 and May 14. The next day, they will go to areas under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. The team will submit its report to the Centre.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked officials to start assessment of houses damaged in the cyclone. He said the process should be completed within one week from May 15. “I assure that all-out efforts will be put so that not a single eligible person will be left out,” said Patnaik. He added that families whose houses are completely or substantially damaged will get pucca houses. Over 5 lakh houses have been damaged in Cyclone Fani, PTI reported, citing the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority. The state government has asked for Rs 7,000 crore from the Centre for construction of disaster resilient houses in cyclone-prone areas of Odisha.
Power and drinking water supply are yet to be restored in several districts. On Sunday, several residents protested at many places, including state capital Bhubaneswar, to demand that the authorities address their problems quickly.
“We are forced to hit the road as the government has failed to provide basic necessities such as water and power despite having promised to restore power supply by Sunday, May 12,” a protestor told PTI. Another protestor said the government was testing their patience. “We are made to spend sleepless nights. We have to purchase drinking water at exorbitant prices,” said the protester.
However, the state government claimed it has restored electricity and drinking water supply in Bhubaneswar and urban areas of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties have accused the state government of being inadequately prepared to deal with the post-cyclone situation. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Suresh Panigrahi said delay in starting house assessment may cause a lot of hardship for the people. Congress leader Narasingha Mishra also accused the state government of failing to handle the post-cyclone situation.
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