Three days after the cyclonic storm Titli and the accompanying floods, the state government which had set a ‘zero casualty’ target on Sunday admitted 15 deaths, though unofficial figures put the toll at 21.
Expectedly, the political blame game has also erupted with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accusing the state BJD government of callousness, arrogance and propaganda when people were suffering untold miseries.
The BJP demanded sacking of the Special Relief Commissioner and an apology from the chief minister for failing to provide relief to cyclone and flood-affected people.
Special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi, said over 2.30 lakh hectares of crop area have been affected across Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Rayagada, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Cuttack districts.
Over 56 Lakh people have been affected in 16 districts, he informed while talking to media persons after a review meeting undertaken by chief secretary A P Padhi.
Restoration of road connectivity is in full swing and over 90 per cent of the roads have been cleared. Similarly, power supply lines are being restored on war footing, he said. Initial estimates stated that over 16,000 houses were damaged, 72,000 livestock affected.
Sethi’s version of the tragic incident of 15 people killed in a landslide triggered a controversy.
He said the block authorities had forewarned people and asked them to evacuate but seven families refused to budge. They went to the hill to protect themselves, he said. This version was promptly challenged as media persons who had reached the village quoted people as saying that nobody had forewarned them.
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said it was shocking that a minister had compared to a hurricane in the US and the number of causalities there while undermining the deaths in Odisha. Such shameless statements are due to callousness and arrogance of being in power for 19 years, he chided.
He also took pot shots at the CM Naveen Patnaik, noting that he did not mind going for photo opportunities at Kalinga Stadium or video conferencing for a entertainment programme on television when the state was reeling under the natural calamity.
The state government was on self-propaganda mode with slogans like zero casualty and large scale evacuation, he quipped.
BJP delegations which toured the affected districts held a press conference here on return and alleged that NDRF teams were not deployed properly, relief had not reached people till three days of the calamity and the flood warnings were taken lightly by the administration.
Drinking water and electricity were not supplied for three days in many affected areas worsening the plight of the people, said Mr Brugu Buxipatra, BJP leader of the delegation that visited Gajapati and Rayagada districts.
He said there were reports of 16 deaths in Gajapati, six in Ganjam, two in Rayagada and a few others were still missing. The evacuation figures of over 3.5 lakh is fudged, he charged.
The ruling BJD decried the criticism as “ sad and unfortunate”. Politicking at a time of calamity is shameful, said the party spokesperson.