Odisha: Naveen Patnaik says no to Centre’s aid, won’t burden it amid pandemic

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik did not ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate central aid for post-Cyclone Yaas rebuilding when the latter arrived here on Friday to review the situation.
Naveen, one of the longest serving CMs in the country (he has run the state government since 2000), tweeted after attending the meeting chaired by Modi: “As the country is at the peak of #COVID19 pandemic, we have not sought any immediate financial assistance to burden the Central Govt and would like to manage it through our own resources to tide over the crisis (sic).” Instead, Naveen sought assistance for long-term measures to make the eastern coastal state, which has been ravaged by four cyclones in as many years, disaster-resilient. “We are frequented by such climate hazards every year. Highlighted #Odisha’s demand for disaster resilient power infrastructure and resilient coastal protection with storm surge resilient embankments (sic),” another tweet by the Odisha CM read.
Odisha wants an underground cable network for power distribution so that power infrastructure is not damaged when a cyclone hits.
The CM’s outlook stood out on a day his West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, skipped a meeting chaired by Modi in Bengal and handed over a letter to the PM seeking ₹20,000 crore in aid. Modi, with two Union ministers — Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi — by his side, enjoyed a warm welcome and sendoff by Naveen and his team after around an hour of discussions and an aerial survey of some of the worst-affected areas. Despite no demand from Odisha, Modi announced ₹500 crore advance relief for the state.