PURI: It’s about 10 pm. Jagannath Panda spreads out his charpoy in front of his damaged house in Naveen Nagar hoping that the sea breeze could help his five-year-old daughter get some early sleep.It has exactly been a month after Fani battered the coastal town, leaving an imprint so deep that the locals can barely get over it. People have started picking up pieces of their lives but normal life is still a long way to go.
It is the darkness that they fear. In the absence of electricity, people on outskirts and slums are forced to wrap up their household chores and cooking before the sun goes down as many areas plunge into darkness.
By the account of the district administration, out of 55,000 electricity consumers, power has been restored to about 50,000. Yet, power cuts are so severe that no one likes the breezy nights anymore.Puri district, which bore the brunt of Fani fury, has been finding it hard to restore the massive damage to its power infrastructure. Sometimes, the electricity supply snaps around mid-night only to return the next day evening.
“We never imagined facing such difficulties after the cyclone. For the last 30 days, we have had sleepless nights” Panda says. Even during the super cyclone in 1999, such hardships were not faced.Though the State Government claims to have restored electricity completely in Puri municipality, hundreds of families in Baliapanda, Goudabad, Penthakata, Naveen Nagar and other parts continue to reel under darkness for the last one month.
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The generator-operated inflated lights placed along the streets as a temporary arrangement are also inadequate. The inflated lights are switched off before 11 pm making the areas vulnerable to anti-socials in the night.For young students, the last month has been a challenge. With entrance examinations ahead and schools to reopen on June 19, most are clueless as to how they will prepare.However, there are slow yet steady signs of Puri returning to normal. Tourist flow has started picking up. Though many sea-front hotels are still in the midst of reconstruction, bookings in those located along the Grand Road have shown encouraging signs.
Hotels that suffered the damage are busy reconstructing and have reached the half way mark. Traders along the beach are encouraged with the buzz of tourists in the evening. The Grand Road, where power has been restored recently, also remains a crowded place in the town.“Water supply to hotels was long restored and power restoration is almost complete. We will soon know about the occupancy rates,” says Bijay Jena, Assistant Director, Tourism.
However, there are areas where complaints of power, sanitation and absence of relief keep pouring in. Families allege that the Government and district administration have remained silent after providing 50 kg rice, Rs 2,000 and a polythene sheet.Puri Collector Balwant Singh, however, said an additional aid of Rs 1,000 will be provided to the affected people in the district very soon.“Electricity has been restored in over 90 per cent houses. Around 5,000 workers are still engaged to restore electricity in the entire district,” he added.