BHUBANESWAR: Help continues to pour in from different quarters for rebuilding cyclone-ravaged Odisha. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday committed to donate `10 crore as cyclone relief to Odisha. The amount will be disbursed from Chief Minister Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).
Expressing solidarity with the cyclone victims, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac also offered to send an expert medical team if requested by the Odisha Government.
Leading e-commerce and digital wallet company Paytm informed that it has crossed `2 crore in contributions from Paytm users for relief efforts in the State.
Telangana Government has extended support for restoration of electricity. As many as 1000 employees from various power utilities of Telangana have arrived here. While Odisha IAS Officers Association has resolved that each member of the association will contribute `10,000 to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), police officers from several districts have also contributed.
Koraput police have extended a helping hand to rebuild Odisha by contributing `2,90,800 to CMRF and Ganjam police dispatched three trucks of relief materials and provided cooked food through ‘KARUNA’ free kitchen. The Ganjam administration also donated `30 lakh to CMRF.
Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to extend their service hours in Odisha as customers wrestle with cash crunch after Fani cyclonic storm crippled telecommunication and internet services.
“Banks have been instructed to open branches on all working days in all the affected districts till six pm for banking transactions and withdrawal of cash. Further, banks should function on Sundays and other holidays as per instructions of the respective district collectors,” said regional director of RBI Bhubaneswar M K Mall.
Additional manpower will be deployed at the bank branches in affected districts like Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur for providing services in a hassle free manner. All employees of RBI will contribute at least one day’s salary to the CMRF.