BHUBANESWAR: The Centre on Saturday approved an advance release of Rs 500 crore from the central share of State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for Odisha for FY 2026-27, to support the state government in dealing with the flood situation in several districts.
Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah approved the advance release of fund for Odisha and six other flood-affected states.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for standing firmly with the people of Odisha, and said the assistance will strengthen the state’s rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts, provide necessary support to affected families and accelerate the restoration of normalcy in flood-affected areas.
On the day, Majhi made an aerial survey of the flood situation in over 12 blocks of Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts. Briefing mediapersons, he said the situation is gradually improving and expected to ease within the next two days. The CM was accompanied by Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari.
“The situation is gradually improving. Many villages are still marooned but the floodwaters are likely to recede within the next two days,” Majhi said.
He assured immediate relief to flood-affected families based on a rapid damage assessment after waters recede. He directed officials to submit damage assessment reports within three days of the floodwaters receding so that compensation for crop loss, damaged houses and other affected sectors can be released without delay.
The chief minister said that the state government is maintaining a ‘zero casualty’ approach in handling the floods. Around eight lakh people have been affected by the floods, while 2.69 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations.
He said rescue and relief operations are being carried out by 17 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 129 Fire and Emergency Services units. The government has opened around 700 shelters and relief camps where affected people are being provided accommodation, cooked and dry food, drinking water and medical assistance.
The chief minister said the state government has released Rs 26 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for rescue and relief operations. He directed departments concerned to immediately restore damaged roads and ensure strict monitoring to prevent outbreak of diseases in the aftermath of floods. Majhi also assigned cabinet ministers to oversee relief and restoration work in flood-affected districts after conducting an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas.
Deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo will supervise relief operations in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur while his counterpart Pravati Parida will look after Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur. Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari will monitor relief work in Puri district and Panchayati Raj minister Rabi Narayan Naik will oversee operations in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar.
