BHUBANESWAR: With many villages surrounded by floodwater and road links snapped in several blocks, Odisha government on Friday deployed four helicopters to airdrop food packets at 21 inaccessible locations in Ganjam, the worst-hit district after Cyclone Arnab.
The operation, being carried out with Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters, aims to reach people stranded in areas where rescue teams cannot reach by road. Ground personnel have been stationed at drop points to collect packets and distribute them among marooned families, apart from distribution of cooked food through boats at 40 identified locations.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said aerial relief was necessitated after heavy post-cyclone rain left 386 villages, 242 gram panchayats and 18 urban local bodies waterlogged in Ganjam. Reviewing the situation at State Emergency Operations Centre at Rajiv Bhawan along with SRC and senior officials, Pujari said Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput and Rayagada have been significantly affected.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Pujari made an aerial survey of the worst affected areas of Ganjam district to assess the situation.
The Minister said Ganjam accounts for highest 42,564 affected people, followed by Gajapati 30,000 and Kandhamal 12,000. Of around 43,000 affected in Ganjam, 23,323 have been evacuated to 352 relief centres. In Gajapati, 21,782 people are in 340 relief centres. At least nine villages are severely inundated with water reaching first floors.
The Minister said airdrops have been planned at three places in Hinjilicut and at Purushottampur, Sheragada, Dharakote, Aska, Bhanjanagar municipality area, Belaguntha and Chikiti.
Priority evacuation of pregnant women is underway, with 588 shifted to safer places and 326 deliveries conducted safely. ODRAF, NDRF, Fire and Coast Guard teams have been engaged in rescue operations in affected areas. Pujari said several National Highway and state highway stretches have been damaged due to landslides.
Principal Secretary, Works Department has been asked to start restoration on war footing and heavy machinery is being moved from Rayagada and Koraput to Ganjam and Gajapati. Rainfall has subsided in last 24 hours, providing window for intensified restoration, he added.
