Bhubaneswar: BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik Tuesday described the flood in Ganjam district after Cyclone Arnab as “manmade” and demanded accountability for people’s suffering due to the BJP government’s “lapses” in handling the calamity.
In a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the opposition leader in the Assembly said, “Incompetence and negligence of a government should never lead to people’s suffering.”
The BJP government must study which mechanisms and institutions worked effectively for the state in the past and use them to act with foresight and commitment, Patnaik said in the letter after touring the flood-affected Ganjam district November 7.
He also said, “The BJP government must take responsibility and fix accountability so that the hard work done and progress achieved by the BJD government over 24 years is not undone in 24 months by the double engine ‘sarkar’ pushing the state backwards.”
Expressing pain over the acute distress of the people of Ganjam, the BJD chief said the floods have caused massive damage to infrastructure and crops, as well as loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods.
“During the field visit, I interacted with farmers, women, small traders and people from different walks of life, all of whom have suffered huge losses due to the unprecedented floods,” he noted.
“The earliest IMD (India Meteorological Department) warning was brought out as early as October 23. After receipt of the cyclone warning, dam water level was supposed to be monitored round the clock. A standard operating procedure in cyclone and flood management is to release adequate water from dams prior to the rains.
“However, in the case of Ganjam, water from dams was released after the onset of heavy cyclonic rains. This compounded the floods and caused huge loss of life and property,” he said in the letter.
Patnaik said it was “deeply unfortunate” that Ganjam has been set back by several years due to the state government’s negligence. People have complained that adequate warning was not given to them before the gates were opened, he said.
“This gross negligence and manmade crisis raises serious issues of accountability. People are demanding strict action against those responsible for such a serious lapse.”
The veteran leader also expressed grave concern over the government “not being prepared for floods” in Ganjam despite advance warning. “It is well known that heavy rains are usually expected towards the right side of a cyclonic landfall, indicating the vulnerability of Ganjam,” he said.
“The government has placed on record the lack of preparedness for Ganjam. Had the authorities acted decisively upon the advance warning, much of the suffering of the people in Ganjam could have been averted. People have also stated that the government advisory about the intensity of rains was not issued on time,” he pointed out.
The BJD leader also alleged that post-flood rescue and relief work was delayed. “This led to people being marooned for days without food and water. This is purely because of lack of foresight and preparedness in Ganjam as admitted by the government.”
“During my visit, I received many representations from our people describing their severe hardship. I have sent the representations to the special relief commissioner for immediate action. Floods have caused massive destruction in Ganjam. Now the government must impartially focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction with utmost sympathy towards the suffering of the people,” Patnaik said.
“Just paying lip service will not work. A focused whole-of-government approach should be undertaken to provide timely compensation and to boost the confidence of farmers, women, youth, small traders and the common people of Ganjam district.”
Patnaik warned that any negligence on the part of the BJP government will lead to the BJD taking up the cause of people in every platform possible, from “‘Palli’ (village) to Delhi”.
“Being a coastal state, Odisha will always remain vulnerable to natural disasters and hence, with sustained effort and foresight, the BJD government had built a community-based, resilient, disaster management system that is globally acclaimed. Sarpanches, PRI members and Mission Shakti played a major role in this.
“Neglect of sarpanches and near closure of the Mission Shakti programme by the BJP government has diluted this successful community-based response system,” the former chief minister alleged.