Puri: Hundreds of Phailin cyclone victims of some coastal villages in the district who have been on a padayatra over non-allocation of relief reached Puri Sunday.
The residents of Krushnaprasad and Brahmagiri block, who suffered huge losses during Phailin in 2013, began their march September 6 to reach Bhubaneswar.
The residents left Puri Sunday at 9am. However, police stopped them at Chandanpur and refused to let them go ahead. The incident triggered tension in the area. After being stopped by the police for about three hours, the agitators resumed their journey.
The residents said that the state government had announced cyclone-resistant pucca houses to the Phailin victims who were residing within 5km from the coastal area under Orissa Disaster Recovery Project (ODRP). Although four years have passed, the relief has not reached them.
Following a call from Phailin Victims’ Forum, hundreds of residents, both men and women, from Brahmagiri and Krushnaprasad, started their march to Bhubaneswar September 6 seeking justice.
Convenor of the forum Tuna Swain said, “Ganjam, Khurda, Brahmagiri and Krushnaprasad had suffered maximum damage during cyclone Phailin. The construction of cyclone-resistant pucca houses have been completed in Ganjam and Khurda district. But the construction works are yet to begin in Bhahmagiri and Krushnaprasad. Despite repeated complaints, the district administration has not taken any measures in this regard.”
“Many Phailin-hit residents are yet to recover from the damage. We have also lodged complaints with the Chief Minister’s Complaint Cell, but to no avail. So, we are forced to launch the padayatra and plan to gherao Naveen Niwas. We will intensify our agitation if the state government fails to act in this regard,” Subash Jena, a resident, said.
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