Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to visit landslide site in Gajapati

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will visit Baraghara village under Gangabada panchayat in Gajapati on Wednesday where 15 people died in a landslide on October 11 hours after cyclone Titli made landfall near Palasa in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
The chief minister’s office said, Naveen will fly to Gangabada and from there he will travel by road to the landslide village, around 5 km away.“Naveen will interact with the affected families there and take stock of the relief and restoration process,” the CMO said.
From Gangabada, Naveen would also visit Bhanjanagar in his home district Ganjam, which was also among the worst affected area in the flood after the cyclone. The CM will review the post-cyclone restoration work.
The death toll in the disaster mounted to 26 on Tuesday after the government confirmed eight more deaths. The toll may increase further because some more people are missing. According to government figures, three died in Ganjam besides one each in Angul, Cuttack, Kandhamal, Keonjhar and Nayagarh, mainly due to wall collapse and drowning.
Special relief commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi said the district collectors have been asked to sanction ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased within three days,
The government also released Rs 102 crore towards relief for the affected people in Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts. Since there is still a problem of connectivity in banks across the affected areas, the affected people would be given cash relief, the government said.
The SRC said over 57 lakh people in 16 coastal, southern and interior districts were affected in the twin calamities.
According to a preliminary estimate, 1.48 lakh hectares of paddy crops and 65,000 hectares of non-paddy crops were damaged in the disasters. The cyclone and subsequent floods also caused severe damage to fisheries and animal resources sectors.
Though official reports on livestock deaths are yet to be made public, an SRC source said over seven lakh livestock were affected. Similarly, around 300 fishing boats, 473 new units and 607 fish ponds were damaged.
According to official data, 20,000 houses were damaged mostly from Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal and Puri. Also, more than 100 major roads were damaged.
“Most of the departments have submitted reports on damage to properties and infrastructure. We would come up with a preliminary report on damage by Wednesday,” said Sethi.
The SRC said the restoration process in Gajapati and Ganjam district is in full swing. Electricity has been restored in most parts of Ganjam and almost all block headquarters of Gajapati district. Medical and veterinary teams have been deployed in the districts, he said.
Panchayati Raj secretary D K Singh asked collectors of the affected districts to repair gram panchayat and panchayat samiti roads immediately to expedite relief and restoration works in the affected areas.