Odisha reiterates Central aid for disaster resilient infra

BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Tuesday emphasised the need for Central assistance to build a disaster resilient power structure and storm surge barriers as a long-term measure to protect the coastal districts from recurring tropical cyclones and floods.

Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra flagged the issue before the inter-ministerial team of the Centre that visited five cyclone affected districts to assess the damage caused by cyclone Yaas at a wrap up meeting here.

After the two-day tour of the seven-member Central team headed by Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry Sunil Kumar Barnwal to the affected districts, the team briefed the State government about their observations and praised the government for its efficient disaster management.

The Chief Secretary said that the State government is managing the post-cyclone rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures out of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

“What we need is Central assistance for construction of a cyclone resilient coastal infrastructure in the power sector and a strong barrier to stop ingress of sea water. The State is in the process of preparing a detailed project report which will be submitted to the Centre,” Mahapatra added.

He said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had already drawn the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the two important points during his visit to the State for a survey of the cyclone affected areas.

Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena justified the need for special treatment to Odisha by the Centre as far as tropical cyclones are concerned.

He said cyclones have visited Odisha 98 times in the last 22 years from the Super Cyclone of 1999 to Yaas in 2021.

This includes 8 very extremely severe cyclones and severe cyclones. In comparison to Odisha, coastal states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka have faced 69, 62, 28, 3 and 2 cyclones respectively during the same period.

Earlier, Barnwal told mediapersons that the cyclone had caused extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods of the people. He said the Central team will ensure that the people affected by the calamity are properly compensated.