Bhubaneswar: Water supply has been fully restored in the cyclone Fani-ravaged areas Puri, Konark, Nimapara, Jatni, Bhubaneswar and Cuttcak and Khurda, informed Odisha government’s Information and Public Relations Secretary Sanjay Singh while briefing reporters at Jayadev Bhawan here, Thursday.
Regarding power supply, he informed, “Out of total 58,000 consumers under BCDD-I division of Bhubaneswar, 37,000 consumers have been reconnected. Similarly, power supply has been restored to 33, 000 out of 97, 000 consumers under BCDD-II division of Bhubaneswar. There are 78, 000 consumers under Bhubaneswar Electrical Division (BED), and power supply has been given to 16, 000 consumers.”
ATM kiosks and branches of various banks have been non-operational in most parts of the capital city. Speaking on this Singh informed that out of 239 bank branches in Puri, 60 are now functioning and out of 273 ATM kiosks, 20 have resumed services.
Similarly, out of 707 bank branches in Khurda district, 372 are now functioning and out of 1,164 ATM counters, 197 have been made functional.
In Cuttack, there are 422 branches of various banks and out of them 260 are functioning at present while 162 out of 593 ATM counters are serving the people, said Singh.
Out of 178 bank branches in Jagatsinghpur, 123 branches have now opened while 112 ATM counters out of 196 ones are now operating.
In Kendrapara district, out of 144 bank branches, 113 are presently functioning while 105 ATM counters out of 169 are functioning.
Singh also informed that the government has asked the banks to keep their branches open even if there is no power supply or no internet connection. The government is also going to convene a State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting soon to find out solutions to the present problems.
Regarding the projects under Rural Water Supply, Singh informed that out of 2364 damaged projects, 1550 ones have so far been made fully functional.
When asked about a media report that about 4000 deer from Balukhand wildlife sanctuary in Puri district have gone missing after cyclone ‘Fani’, he replied that the incident is yet to be confirmed.