Bhubaneswar: With more than a month after cyclone Fani caused widespread damage in Puri district, many poor families who lost their houses in the destruction trail are yet to get back to their normal lives as many of those who lost their houses are yet to get justice.
Several such villagers are now forced to live on roadsides of their villages in makeshift houses to protect them from sunlight, rain and other external aggressions. A visit by this correspondent to some of the Fani affected areas of Puri district revealed that many of them have constructed such makeshift houses with the help of plastic covers and bits of their broken houses.
“Our houses were broken and we became homeless. With little government attention many of us have constructed makeshift houses on the roadside with plastics and parts of our broken house. We also share the room with our cattle to give them protection too,” said Dwijabar Senapati, a 50-year-old villager from Bibhutipokhari in the Bramhagiri Block of Puri district.
Similar is the fate of other villagers who lost their homes in the destruction trail. Pavitra Mohan Pradhan, another villager from the area said, “Most of the kuccha houses or houses with asbestos roofs were devastated beyond repair. Many are now living in such makeshift houses. The government needs to come to their assistance.”
The villagers and especially the people living in such makeshift houses have another fear now— the onset of the monsoon. With the monsoon set to bring rains in Odisha this month, such makeshift houses are vulnerable to destruction thus leaving the people in a lurch.
Senpati also said, “Till now, many such makeshift houses were giving them some relief but as soon as the monsoon arrives their woes could magnify manifold. Many of these temporary shelters could be destroyed easily with heavy rains.”
Adding to their woes is the rampant negligence of the state government and the state administration. They have turned a blind eye to the woes of the village. The villagers claimed that even after a month of the cyclonic destruction, electricity is nowhere to be seen. The villagers said till now no government official has come to restore their electricity and they are left in the dark.
“The transformer near our village has been lying on the ground since May 3. All are now suffering here due to lack of electricity. We are now deprived of watching news to know what the government is doing for us. We feel cut off. Many of us are not able to charge our mobiles and connect to our families at far-off places,” said Kunni Pradhan, a woman from the village.
Interestingly, the villagers said while the government spent crores on creating local volunteers in the name of ‘Biju Yuva Vahini’ none of them came to their rescue or assistance in the last one month and it was only the support from government in the form of cash, ration and other relief items from NGOs that have tried to reach them.