BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Saturday slammed the State Government for its failure to provide relief to the cyclone affected people of Puri district. A BJP delegation led by KV Singh Deo met Special Relief Commissioner BP Sethi and requested him to ensure delivery of dry and cooked food to villages where people are still living under open sky.
The state administration has miserably failed in its duty to come to the rescue of the distress people who are crying for food and drinking water, said Singh Deo. What is more glaring is that the Government is not visible in the cyclone affected areas leaving the people to fend for themselves, he added.
A large number of people, whose houses have been totally damaged, are still waiting for polythene to provide a temporary roof to their family members. Whatever relief materials have been provided are far too small to the number of people affected by the natural calamity.
Alleging that the cyclone preparedness of the State Government was limited to pen and paper, the BJP legislator, who was part of the party team that visited affected areas of Satybadi and Kanas blocks of Puri district on Friday, said the district administration is yet to reach many affected people.Even as the Centre has provided assistance of `1,341 crore for relief and rehabilitation measures, the State Government is not showing any interest to utilise the fund.
The delegation further alleged that relief distribution is made on party lines. Citing the instances of Puri and Binjharpur, State BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty said people who have not voted for BJD are being discriminated during distribution of relief.He further said the failure of power restoration in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri after eight days proved inefficiency of the State Government.