BERHAMPUR: The alleged apathy of the Ganjam administration in providing basic amenities at the rehabilitation colonies for cyclone-hit people has left the houses built in the areas uninhabited even after seven years.
Sources said residential areas near the coastal belt of the district were devastated during cyclone Phailin in 2013. In a bid to rehabilitate the affected people, the state government began constructing houses under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project (ODRP) in 2014.
As many as nine ODRP colonies were built across five blocks - Khalikote, Ganjam, Chhatrapur, Rangeilunda and Chikiti - and over 16,707 families belonging to 127 villages were identified to be rehabilitated in the said areas. However, though the construction work was completed by 2017, the areas continue to lack basic amenities like drinking water, drainage system, street lights and good roads. As a result, most of the houses remain abandoned till date.
Sources said around 680 houses were constructed for villagers of Sorola in Chikiti blocks at three places - 292 in Kaitha, 289 near the high school and 99 at Lunimati. When a TNIE correspondent recently visited the ODRP colonies, he found all the houses in the Lunimati colony deserted. Meanwhile, only 150 families were found to be residing near the high school and 25 at Kaitha.
Incidentally, the Lunimati colony has good roads, community building, power and water supply. However, it is around 5 km from the main road and surrounded only by salty water for a major part of the year. Abandoned, most of the houses have become dilapidated and some of them are even without doors and windows. Former sarpanch of Sorala Damodar Reddy said the area gets waterlogged during the rainy season.
“In 2019, the administration had threatened the beneficiaries of cancelling their allotted houses after which only seven to eight of them were rehabilitated to the locality. They, however, vacated the area after an occupant died of COVID-19 in 2020 and have not returned till date. If a road connecting to the colony is constructed, the allottees may return but the area needs thorough cleaning and houses repaired,” he added. Despite several attempts, no administrative official was available to comment.