BERHAMPUR: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das on Friday said the damage caused by floods and landslides in Ganjam due to cyclone Arnab could exceed Rs 5,000 crore and demanded immediate relief, rehabilitation and adequate compensation for victims.
On the second day of his visit to the district, Das accompanied by a Congress fact-finding team toured flood and landslide-hit areas in Aska, Bhanjanagar, Sorada and Sheragada blocks. At Bajrakote upper primary school, he met the families of five persons killed in the landslide at Gidipabali village and handed over financial assistance on behalf of the Congress.
The Congress team also extended support to displaced families and the family of a farmer who allegedly died by suicide. The team expressed concern over relief arrangements, alleging that cooked food distribution had stopped at several places and many relief centres lacked adequate accommodation and basic facilities.
Das visited flood-hit markets and interacted with traders. He said preliminary assessments indicated that business losses in Aska alone had exceeded Rs 1,000 crore. Citing damage to farmland, houses, businesses, roads, livestock and electricity and drinking water infrastructure, the OPCC chief estimated the total losses in Ganjam at over Rs 5,000 crore. He said the proposed Rs 2,500 crore assistance sought by the state government from the Centre would be inadequate.
The Congress demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation for the family of each landslide victim, compensation of at least 50 per cent of crop losses based on MSP, complete waiver of agricultural loans in Ganjam, free government bus services in affected areas, immediate medical assistance, mobile toilets at relief centres and waiver of examination fees for students.
Das is scheduled to visit the flood-affected areas of Gajapati district on Saturday.
Similarly, a delegation of Communist Party of India (CPI) visited several flood-affected areas of Ganjam on the day and demanded a comprehensive assessment of flood damage in Ganjam district.