Bhubaneswar/Phulbani: Five more bodies were recovered from a landslide-affected hilltop village in Odisha’s Ganjam district Thursday, taking the toll there to seven, while six more people are still missing, an official said.
These people were victims of Cyclone Arnab that hit the state October 28.
Kandhamal District Collector Vedbhushan said two bodies were recovered earlier in the day, while three were found by the close of the day’s operation. All five, including three children, were members of a single family.
The district collector told reporters at Phulbani that the bodies were identified as Bijaya Pradhan (25), his wife Bhumika (27), their son Aruna (7) and daughters Bijayalaxmi (6) and Bagri (one).
“People decided to perform their final rites at the site itself and, respecting their wishes, the administration helped them perform it. The entire administration stands in solidarity with the families of victims. We will ensure that the necessary compensation is provided to the next of kin of the victims,” Vedbhushan said.
With this, the total death count in Cyclone Arnab and the subsequent flood and landslide on October 28 has now mounted to 11. Earlier, the government had confirmed four deaths in the calamity — three in Kandhamal district and one in Gajapati district.
The collector said that the rescue and search operation will continue. It was suspended Wednesday due to inclement weather.
Vedbhushan said successive landslides struck Ghidipabali village in Bhanjanagar block near the Ganjam-Kandhamal border around 3 am October 28 when the residents were asleep.
Nine of the seven houses in the hilltop village were buried under rocks, uprooted trees and mud while water rushed down the hillside, he added.
However, 13 people from the village managed to escape and later took shelter at a relief camp in Kandhamal district.
The state government engaged search and rescue teams from multiple agencies such as the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, National Disaster Response Force, Fire Services and the Railways.
Asked about rehabilitation of the villagers who survived, the Kandhamal collector said that the administration of Ganjam district will look after it as the village was located in that district.
He said that although the village was on the border of Ganjam and Kandhamal districts, there is no such communication facility to the habitation on the hilltop. One can approach them through a walking route through Kandhamal district.
Survivors have been given shelter in the Kilapanga Primary School shelter camp in Kandhamal.
One of them, 26-year-old Rinima Malik, said, “I do not want to return to Ghidipabali where I lost my husband and other relatives. I have two children and want to raise them outside the village. I urge the government to rehabilitate us.”
Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the government will provide houses and rehabilitate the residents of the Ghidipabali village.
