Other States - Orissa

Naveen seeks interim relief of Rs. 750 cr.

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the flood situation continued to remain grim in Balasore and Bhadrak districts, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged the Centre to release an interim assistance of Rs 750 crores towards relief, rehabilitation and restoration works.

Mr. Patnaik met Union Home Minister Sivraj Patil at New Delhi and submitted memorandum on floods and heavy rain that ravaged the State during the month of August and September.

"Public infrastructure has been the worst affected sector. It becomes a Herculean task to restore the infrastructure to pre-calamity stage.

It requires immediate restoration to make the relief line through. The guidelines issued by the Centre for restoration of infrastructure should be revised to incorporate bringing them to pre-calamity stage," Mr. Patnaik told Mr. Patil.

Mr. Patnaik said as many as 39 people died in the current phase of flood and rain. "During the first phase of floods in July 2007, 32 persons had lost their lives.

Since January, 204 persons have lost their lives due to lightning strikes, thus bringing the total to 275 lives lost in 2007.

Highest human casualties were reported from Balasore district where 13 people died. It was followed by Mayurbhanj district with nine.

The Orissa Government had sought Rs 306-crore assistance from National Calamity Contigency Fund during July. But no assistance from Centre had been received so far, the memorandum said.

The first phase floods in July had brought misery to the people of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.

It was followed by second and third phase of floods in August affecting 15 districts and marooning lakhs of people and inundating vast patches of agricultural land.

Meanwhile, there had been no improvement in flood situation in Balasore and Bhadrak districts though State Government machinery was pressed into services. "I have met many people in Balasore and

Bhadrak districts during last two days. They say the current flood is the worst in last 50 years," Additional Special Relief Commissioner Gyan Ranjan Das told The Hindu from Balasore.

He said people were still marooned by floodwater in several villages while boats were being sent with cooked food materials to them.

"We expect the water would start receding from tomorrow after the impact of full moon day fades away," Mr. Das said.

The situation in Interim Test Range at Chandipur remained unchanged.

Water was yet to recede that caused great deal of inconvenience to residents inside the campus.

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