Odisha pegs loss due to cyclone Yaas at Rs 610 crore

Bhubaneswar, Jun 2 (PTI) The Odisha government Wednesday estimated a loss of Rs 610 crore due to the last weeks severe cyclonic storm Yaas that affected about 60 lakh people living in 11,000 villages in the coastal regions of the state.

This was mentioned at the review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

While the loss to the government properties was estimated to be Rs 520 crore, the calamity damaged private properties worth Rs 90 crore.

The districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara were worst hit in the cyclone that made landfall near Bahanaga in Balasore district, near Dhamra port on May 26 morning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi after taking stock of damage caused by cyclone Yaas Friday had sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore in financial aid to the cyclone-ravaged states.

Of the relief package, Rs 500 crore was earmarked for Odisha, while the remaining Rs 500 crore to be distributed between West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena, who attended the chief ministers review meeting through video conference, informed that Rs 66 crore was required for the relief operation.

An official said that the estimate would be submitted to the union government.

Jena informed the meeting that a total of 150 villages were inundated due to high tides during the cyclone.

As saline water flooded farmland following high tides, farmers have been facing difficulties in cultivating kharif crops.

A report has been sought from OUAT (Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology), Bhubaneswar and Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack on the situation at the ground level.

The Energy department has calculated its losses to the tune of Rs 150 crore and said as many as 30 lakh electricity consumers were affected.

The power supply has been restored to 99.8 per cent of consumers so far.

The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department reported losses of Rs 277 crore.

Similarly, the Water Resources Department pegged destructions at around Rs 108 crore, an official statement said.

The Works Department also suffered losses of Rs 75 crore whereas the Rural Development Department reported Rs 60 crore loss.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked the departments and district administrations for excellent performance in tackling the cyclone situation.

Patnaik suggested the officials to undertake documentation of preparations prior to the landfall of Yaas, evacuation and relief and restoration work.

He said the documentation will help the state government towards better cyclone management in future.

The district collectors of Balasore, Bhaddrak, Mayurbbhanj and Kendrapara drew attention of the Chief Minister towards the requirement of their districts PTI AAM SNS SNS