BHUBANESWAR: Opposition political parties, who criticised the State Government for trying to suppress actual number of deaths in cyclone Titli and subsequent floods, demanded on Tuesday that the ex gratia amount for the next of the kin of victims should be increased.
President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik, who visited the cyclone and flood affected south Odisha districts for the last three days, demanded a minimum of `10 lakh as ex gratia for the family members of each of the deceased person.
Patnaik also demanded financial assistance for the persons who received injuries due to the calamity. He said the State Government should continue relief and primary rehabilitation work on a war-footing in the affected areas. “The State Government has completely failed in tackling the situation. If Government could have planned and prepared itself as per advice of IMD, this huge destruction could have been avoided,” he said.
Stating that the Government should prepare a detailed and accurate report of damages and give compensation, repair the roads and bridges immediately and construct houses for the affected people who have lost everything, Patnaik said the BJD Government should come forward to reconstruct the devastated areas without any political agenda.
CPM state secretary Ali Kishore Patnaik demanded ex gratia of `20 lakh for the families of the deceased persons. The State Government is making payment of `4 lakh from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and not contributing anything from its own resources, he added.