BRAHMAGIRI: It is a month since Fani. But, for Surata Bhoi of Rebana village under Brahmagiri block of Puri district, the local primary school still serves as the home.
Surata, his wife, two daughters and aged mother have been living there since the fateful May 3, when they were shifted to the safe shelter of the pucca school building, as their kutcha thatched house was raged to the ground by the catastrophic storm. The family, though, is spending sleepless nights, sweating over the thought of what comes after two-three days.
With school set to reopen in next fortnight, the family along with others living there has been put on notice by the authorities to vacate the premises. And, they have nowhere to go. Their houses are still non-existent. They have not received any assistance for rebuilding their houses nor have any alternative shelter been arranged for such people by the district administration.
Surata is a sharecropper and just doesn’t have the resources to even pull up a temporary shade over his cyclone ravaged house. His elder daughter is pursuing MBA through distance education. She had applied for the post of a computer teacher at a local institute. Fani also snatched the opportunity damaging the institute itself.
“I have a family of five and have no idea as to what I will do now,” Surata says with the dread of future writ large on his face. The sharecropper said he has requested the school authorities to allow him to stay for a few more days so that he will repair his damaged house.Surata is one of hundreds of families who are living in local schools with their families in Puri district after their houses were damaged by the cyclonic storm. Deprived of any kind of house repair aid, they are in no position to go back to what they called their homes before May 3.
According to an estimate, there are still hundreds of families living in at least 300 schools in the district that bore the brunt of the cyclone. For most, the polythene and Rs 2000 provided by the Government to go back to their homes is pittance. Some even tried but the polythene provided for serving as temporary roof has already been blown away in the recent thunderstorms.
Parbati Bhoi, a woman living in one such school in Brahmagiri, said it is impossible for them to carry out the repair of their damaged house without adequate Government aid. “A tractor load of mud costs a minimum Rs 500. Besides, there is labour cost. We have also to arrange hay and bamboo to re-thatch our homes. They cost money. The Fani has robbed us of all our belongings and resources. How do we survive now,” she lamented.
The district administration, as is Government practice, is going by the book of assessing damage and making survey of people before compensation is extended. Puri Collector Balwant Singh said the assessment of damaged houses in the district is underway and the final report will be submitted to the State Government very soon. After final assessment, aid will be provided to affected families as per NDRF norms, he said.
Officials said Rs 90,000 will be provided to those whose houses have been damaged completely and Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 for partially damaged houses.The process will take time. Till then, Surata and his likes will be stranded in a no man’s land where misery and despair are their only friends.