Odisha’s death toll after cyclone, floods climbs to 44

Even as Odisha makes efforts to extend relief to the lakhs of people affected by the cyclone and floods in the State, the death toll in the twin calamities climbed to 44 on Friday.

While 21 persons were killed when cyclone Phailin hit the State’s coastal region on October 12, as many as 23 persons perished in the floods that followed in five districts in the northern region.

State Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mohapatra claimed relief work had gained momentum with the government sanctioning about Rs. 250 crore.

While lakhs of people had hunkered down in cyclone shelters and pucca houses in the districts hit by the calamities, only 14,400 people remained in relief camps, Mr. Mohapatra said on Friday.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro told presspersons at the end of a review meeting here that Ganjam had been identified as the district worst affected by the cyclone and Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts identified as worst hit by the flood.

More than 2.21 lakh families have been provided with relief materials and the government hopes to cover all the affected people by October 22. Power supply is yet to be restored in many areas.

The Opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the government for engaging in mass propaganda about the evacuation of people before the cyclone. The government had failed to provide succour to the affected population, the parties alleged.

The government has not yet prepared estimates of the losses caused by the calamities.