BHUBANESWAR: BJP on Thursday slammed the State government for the delay in distribution of relief, assessment of crop loss and compensation to farmers even after two weeks of floods that caused extensive damage in coastal districts.
Releasing a charge sheet against the BJD government, the BJP dubbed the recent floods as ‘manmade’ and stated it could have been avoided had the State administration taken timely action in coordination with its Chhattisgarh counterpart.
The charge sheet was prepared based on a ground zero report collected by three teams of the party which visited different flood-affected areas in the State. State BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said the recent flood has exposed administrative inefficiency, inefficiency and complacency of the government.
“The ruling dispensation did not show the urgency required to deal with the flood situation and there was absolutely no coordination between the Water Resources department and the office of the Special Relief Commissioner,” he alleged.
Odisha being in the lower basin of the Mahanadi river cannot afford to snap communication with Chhattisgarh over water sharing. Lack of coordination with the neighbouring State proved costly to Odisha as the manager of Hirakud dam failed to maintain the water level in the reservoir as per the rule curve, Harichandan alleged.
He said the chief engineer of Hirakud dam had openly admitted that the mandatory meeting between officials concerned of Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments before and after the monsoon has not been held for the last three years. “This is quite serious and the State government should not act irresponsibly,” the saffron party leader said.
Accusing the State government of failing miserably in rescue and relief operations, Harichandan demanded Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik apologise to the people of Odisha for flood mismanagement.