BHUBANESWAR: The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has asked the district collectors to provide compensation to the next of the kin of those who died in the cyclone Titli and the resultant flood within three days. The State Government on Tuesday confirmed the death of 26 persons including 18 in Gajapati district.
Earlier, an exgratia of `4 lakh each had been announced by the Government for the next of the kin of the deceased.“It is instructed that the ex gratia for death due to approved disasters shall be paid to the next of the kin of the deceased within a period of three days from the death,” SRC BP Sethi said in a letter to the collectors. The SRC said ex gratia case be expeditiously processed by the revenue inspectors and tahsildars, sanctioned by the collectors and paid from the funds available either in tehsils, subcollector or district offices to complete the process within three days.
Funds will be provided in advance on requisition of the collectors, he said. “As many as 15 deaths were reported from Baraghara village in Gajapati district in a landslide while there were three more casualties due to wall collapse in different places of the district,” he said. Besides, three people were killed in Ganjam and one each in Angul, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Nayagarah and Kandhamal districts during the cyclone and its aftermath.
“Based on the information provided, police and magistrate are investigating each case and assistance will be provided thereafter,” he said. The very severe cyclone and subsequent floods affected 57 lakh people in 7,402 villages of 114 blocks in 16 districts of the State. Crops were damaged in 2,34,207 hectares. According to the office of the SRC, 51,426 houses were damaged in the cyclone and floods.
Over 3.6 lakh people were evacuated to safer places and sheltered in 1,612 relief centres. A total of 151 roads in Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Kandhamal districts got completely damaged. The SRC said the State Government will receive preliminary reports from the district collectors about the damage on Wednesday.
CM to visit cyclone-hit dists Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will visit the cyclone and flood affected areas of Ganjam and Gajapati districts including Baraghara where 15 persons were killed in a landslide on October 10. He will review the situation at Bhanjanagar before returning here. Sources said Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will also visit cyclone and flood affected districts of Gajapati and Ganjam districts on October 18 to take stock of the situation.