Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday announced an emergency assistance package to alleviate the plight of flood-hit people in the state. After making an aerial survey of flood-affected areas, Naveen held a review meeting and announced the package here.
He announced that 50 kg of rice and `500 will be provided to all families in the villages which have been severely affected or marooned due to floods. Cooked or dry food will be provided to all the people who have been evacuated for the period they are housed in shelter, he said.
As per the package, one polythene sheet will be provided to each deserving household whose house has been damaged while house damage assistance will be provided following a damage assessment report. Collectors have been instructed to complete the assessment of house damage within 15 days and disburse the assistance in next seven days, Patnaik said.
Assistance for clothing and utensils and cattle feed will be given away as per the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) norms. The Chief Minister has exempted user fees for vaccination and treatment of animals in flood-affected areas. Free animal checkup camps will be conducted in affected areas, he said.
The Chief Minister said recent floods had affected many areas in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri and Khurda districts. Many villages are flooded and crop fields marooned while roads have been damaged and communication disrupted at many places. Many small embankments have been breached and the government infrastructure has been damaged, he said. The CM praised ODRAF, NDRF, Fire Service, SRC and the local sailors for their courageous and committed services to people during the disaster.
District administrations, government officials and representatives from PRIs continue to provide services to people day and night, he said, adding, many dams have been saved due to the timely monitoring by the water resources department. He directed officials to immediately restore power supply, road links and repair of embankments. Stating that the state is reeling from difficult situation now for dual calamities—flood and Covid-19, he appealed to flood victims to wear masks and abide by the rules of social distancing to avoid Covid infections.
The CM hoped that with the cooperation of all, we could get rid of this difficult situation soon. According to reports, the recent floods have affected 3,990 villages in 110 blocks and 21 municipalities in 20 districts of the state.
