BHUBANESWAR: Accusing the State Government of suppressing facts on human casualties in the cyclone Titli and subsequent floods, the BJP on Sunday claimed that 45 persons have lost their lives and more than three persons are still missing.
“The landslide in Rayagad block of Gajapati district has so far claimed 37 lives while three persons in Gosani block of the district due to flood. In Ganjam, five deaths have been reported from Patrapur block,” said state BJP general secretary Brugu Baxipatra after visiting Gajapati district.
The Government is hiding the actual death toll to cover up its inefficiency, he added.Baxipatra who led a team to the worst-hit Gajapati district said several people are still missing. Two other teams of the BJP led by party vice-president Samir Mohanty and general secretary Pruthivraj Harichandan visited the affected areas of Ganjam district.
Alleging mismanagement in the distribution of relief, Baxipatra said emergency relief has not reached a large number of marooned people in Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts till Saturday evening.
He said people who lost their lives in the landslide had no information about the severity of cyclone Titli. The district administration had not reached the affected areas as the landslide has blocked the road leading to the spot.
Dubbing the flood in Ganjam district as man-made, Mohanty said two major breaches in Nabaratna bund and Nuapalli bund caused the flood in the area. The Water Resources department is responsible for the flood.