Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Tuesday announced a Rs 1,000 crore relief package for areas affected by floods and free kitchens for people evacuated from inundated areas till the situation improves.
As the state experienced two bouts of flooding within one month, the chief minister attributed it to “1,100 mm of rain since June” despite the forecast of scant rainfall due to the El Nino weather pattern.
“This amount of rainfall is the highest in Odisha over a period of 25 years,” the chief minister said, adding the state has been successfully tackling the situation.
Addressing a press conference, he said, “Based on the IMD’s El Nino warning, all of us were expecting scant rainfall in the state. Therefore, the reservoirs were directed to store water in case there was less rain during the monsoon.”
“However, the state received around 1100 mm of rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon in June. This is 34 per cent over normal in the state.”
Majhi also reviewed the flood situation in the six districts of Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar and Kendrapada.
Stating that the second spell of flooding has so far impacted nearly 9.40 lakh people in six districts, Majhi said maintaining zero casualties was the priority of his government.
“Although around 100 people were bitten by snakes in the flood-affected areas, all of them survived because of easy availability of anti-venom injections,” the chief minister said.
While at least six people were killed in the first spell of floods, the government was yet to confirm the toll this time.
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“Rs 1,000 crore package is announced based on the preliminary estimation, and additional funds would be provided if required after getting the detailed damage assessment from the flood-hit districts,” Majhi told reporters.
The chief minister said the package includes input agricultural subsidy for farmers over crop damage, supply of seeds, repair of lift irrigation projects, and providing succour to those who lost their livelihood.
According to the provisions of the package, the chief minister said small and marginal farmers, whose crops have suffered 33 per cent or more damage, will receive compensation of Rs 8,500 per hectare for non-irrigated land, Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated land and Rs 22,500 per hectare for all-season or perennial produce.
Apart from this, affected farmers will also receive financial assistance to purchase paddy and non-paddy seeds, and free vegetable mini-kits to restart cultivation.
Those facing pest damage after the floods will be eligible for a 75 per cent subsidy.
Majhi said lift irrigation projects would be repaired on priority and short-term Kharif loans would be converted into medium-term loans for willing farmers.
Fisherfolk would also get damages for loss of fishing nets and boats, while compensation would be provided for loss of livestock.
On his visit to marooned villages in Jajpur, Majhi said that unlike the first spell of flood when he conducted a survey, this time, “I travelled by road to assess the flood situation in Jajpur and Bhadrak”.
“We have fully deployed 45 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams, eight National Disaster Response Force teams and 65 teams of fire service personnel,” the chief minister added.
