BHUBANESWAR: After having fully utilised the additional Central aid of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and restoration works in areas affected by cyclone Fani, the State Government on Thursday urged the Centre for further assistance of Rs 5,200 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). This was conveyed to the National Disaster Management Authority ( NDMA) team visiting the State.
The four-member NDMA team, which visited the cyclone affected areas, had a wrap-up meeting with senior officials of the State Government here. “We have sought intervention of the Centre in three specific areas. Apart from restoration of electricity which is almost complete, Central assistance is required for building a cyclone resistance electrical infrastructure in transmission and distribution sectors,” Chief Secretary AP Padhi told reporters after the meeting.
“Since we are now in the phase of rehabilitation and restoration, we said the State will welcome technical expertise and guidance from NDMA in these works and construction of low cost cyclone resistance houses,” he said. Padhi further requested NDMA to ask telecom companies to have a defined standard operating procedure (SOP) and preparedness for dealing with disaster situation as communication and data transfer is of crucial importance in relief and restoration works.
Even disbursement of compensation to the affected people also suffers due to lack of data connectivity. He also said the assistance of Rs 1,000 crore released by the Centre following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aerial visit to cyclone-hit areas was exhausted. “We requested for an early release of `5,200 crore from NDRF as requested by the State.” NDMA member Kamal Kishore, who led the team which visited affected areas of Khurda and Puri districts, said there has been a massive loss to housing, power distribution, telecom and livelihood sectors.
NDMA would work in close collaboration with the State in these sectors. Lauding the efforts of Odisha Government in cyclone management, Kishore said, “The State had done a remarkable job in tackling the calamity but still a lot needs to be done in restoration of the power sector. The Centre will provide technical assistance to restore power, telecom and housing sectors in the State.” “Odisha has set new benchmarks in disaster management and now other States are to emulate it.
The experience and expertise of Odisha is recorded as a model at national and international level,” said Kishore. “In all places that we visited, we have heard and seen about satisfaction level of the people in rescue and relief operations. The cyclone shelters have been well managed with the State Government scheme of Apadamitras (friends in disaster),” the NDMA member added. Special Relief Commissioner BP Sethi gave an account of the damage to property, livestock and crops in the affected areas. Sethi further requested that livelihood support to street vendors affected by the cyclone should be included in the SDRF/NDRF norms.