Bhubaneswar: The state government Friday claimed that it was able to restore power supply for around 6,000 consumers in Puri district 14 days after Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha coast.
Briefing the media here, Information & Public Relations (I&PR) secretary Sanjay Singh said after illumination of Badadanda (Grand Road) and Srimandir in Puri, about 6,000 consumers have got power connection till Friday.
Out of 56 feeders in Puri, five have been made operational and about 5,000 consumers have been restored with power supply while in NED (Nimapara) three out of 28 feeders have been made operational and about 1,000 consumers got power supply, he added.
“Electricity restoration work in Puri and Nimapara is being carried out on war footing,” Singh said, adding, “100 per cent power restoration has been achieved in CDD-1 of Cuttack and BCDD-I of Bhubaneswar.”
In CDD-II, out of 69,031 consumers, 56,700 have been given electricity whereas in CED, 71,140 of 95,599 consumers have been restored with power, he stated.
Likewise, out of 1,47,531 consumers in BCDD-II division of Capital city, 1,21,003 got electricity. Moreover, out of 1,09,984 consumers under BED (urban and rural), 99,791 have been provided electricity.
Similarly, out of 1,16,215 consumers under Jagatsinghpur Electrical Division, 85,000 consumers have got power supply.
In Paradip Electrical Division, out of 1,01,228 consumers, power supply has been restored for 81,000 consumers.
Asked about complete restoration of power in all the affected areas, the secretary said, “We cannot say about the exact timeline for completion of the restoration work. CESU has been asked to complete the work as soon as possible.”
About relief operation, Singh said cash has been distributed to the beneficiaries covering 93.74 per cent in Puri district, 95 per cent in Jagatsinghpur, 95.73 per cent in Kendrapara, 97 per cent in Cuttack, 86.62 per cent in BMC area and 97.83 per cent in Khurda district.
On the other hand, 7,32,757 people of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Khurda and BMC have been given additional monthly pension. Excluding Puri and Khurda, functioning of ATMs has improved in other areas.
Rejecting local media reports about outbreak of cholera in some parts of the Fani-affected areas, the I&PR secretary said, “There is no report of any disease outbreak from any source so far. The report about outbreak of cholera as reported by some sections of media is completely baseless.”
Health and Family Welfare department is pulling out all the stops to provide healthcare services and facilities to the cyclone-hit. Adequate deployment of doctors and paramedics, distribution of 24 lakh sanitary napkins among the adolescent girls and women in Puri and Khurda districts, allocation of additional fund to gaon kalyan samitis (GKS) for undertaking sanitation activities and sufficient stock of medicines are some of the measures taken by the department.
As many as 20,161cleanliness drives have been conducted and 89,091 open water sources have been disinfected while 52 open water sources have been flagged with cautionary information. Besides, none of the 60 samples tested for dengue came out positive, he added.
