BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government would submit a memorandum to the Centre for financial assistance, after a detail assessment of the damage caused due to cyclonic storm Hudhud in eight affected districts.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made an aerial survey of the cyclone affected Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts. He also reviewed the situation at separate meetings at Koraput and Rayagada.
Stating that Hudhud caused extensive damage in these districts, Naveen said restoration work was going on in full steam. He said the state government would soon put forward its demand for financial assistance from the Centre.
Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra said that collectors of eight districts and departments concerned have been asked to submit reports on cyclone devastation by October 16. The memorandum would be prepared once the reports are submitted, he said.
Mohapatra said rescue and relief teams are working on a war footing to restore electricity. “The restoration work is on and we hope complete normalcy will return within 48 hours,” Mohapatra said. Reports from Rayagada said about 8.5 lakh people in over 2,000 villages of the district have been affected by the cyclone.
According to the preliminary report submitted by the district administration to the state government, 7,062 houses were damaged. Of this, 110 kutcha houses were completely damaged, while 378 kutcha houses and 6,574 houses suffered partial damage. Besides, parts of 25 roads in the district have been washed away in the cyclone. However, road communication to Gumma, Mukundpur and Baghudi ghats have been normalised after fire brigade staff cleared the road. Road link between Koraput and Andhra Pradesh, disrupted by uprooted trees, has also been restored.
Around 100 personnel of Odisha Disaster RAF and NDRF were pressed into service to clear the main road connecting Salur in Andhra Pradesh with Sunki in Odisha.