The Odisha government has sought early release of ₹5,200 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund for carrying out rehabilitation in areas ravaged by Cyclone Fani.

A State government team, led by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, on Thursday held a meeting with a National Disaster Management Authority delegation which had toured the cyclone-affected districts.

“We are now in the phase of rehabilitation. The ₹1,000 crore released after Prime Minister’s announcement has been exhausted and we request for early release of ₹5,200 crore from the NDRF,” said Mr. Padhi.

The State government has requested the NDMA to direct the telecom companies to have a definite standard operating procedure and preparedness for dealing with disaster situations as communication and data transfer is of crucial importance in relief work.

“The disbursement of compensation also suffers due to lack of data connectivity,” said the Chief Secretary.