The Hindu : Orissa seeks Rs. 770 cr. interim assistance

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Saturday, Sep 06, 2003

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Orissa seeks Rs. 770 cr. interim assistance

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR SEPT. 5. The Orissa Government has sent a memorandum to the Centre seeking an interim assistance of Rs. 770 crores to cope with the flood situation.

The Chief Secretary, Pratip Kumar Mohanty, said here today that the funds required for relief and restoration in the 18 affected districts was likely to go up when a final estimate of the damages is made.

The Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, had requested Rs. 250 crores as interim assistance. But so far, no funds have reached the State. While a Central team is likely to visit Orissa to assess the situation, the Government is yet to receive any intimation about the visit.

As many as 5,026 villages have been affected by the floods and the death toll has risen to 26.

On the prevailing flood situation, Mr. Mohanty said: "the picture is a little better than what was yesterday (Thursday)".

The situation is likely to improve if there is less rainfall in the catchment areas of the Hirakud reservoir in the coming days. The inflow at Hirakud has decreased to 3.75 lakh cusecs and the outflow is also being kept at the same level. So, there is no likelihood of fresh floods coming into the Mahanadi.

Authorities said the floodwater was flowing below the danger level at the Naraj gauge station on the Mahanadi near Cuttack.

Despite the improvement, people in the marooned villages are likely to suffer for some more days as it would take time for the floodwater to recede owing to the rain in different parts of the State.

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