A man carries his belongings after Cyclone Phailin hit Arjyapalli village in Ganjam district of Odisha
Timely Met warnings and an effective administrative response minimised loss of life as the giant cyclone Phailin struck Odisha five days ago, but the state is faced with some daunting figures as it grapples with the massive task of relief and rehabilitation.
The cyclone, which killed 28 people, brought floods and devastation in 16,000 villages, affecting over 1.2 crore people. In Ganjam district alone officials said they have to reach relief to three lakh families in the next 48 hours. Ganjam Collector Krishan Kumar is confident that they will cover all affected villages by tomorrow.
"Every villager knew to which shelter he had to go to. We covered 260 panchayats yesterday, another 260 will be covered today," he said.
Hunger is the most immediate crisis. Locals in marooned villages said they need food and medical support first. They also want to know why the government has not been able to reach them when TV crews like that of NDTV could.
In Ganjam's Inghihatti district, farmer Basanta Parida broke down as he said, "we are left with no clothes, no food, no money." His kuccha hut and all the family's possessions were washed away. One vessel and a cow are all his worldly possessions now.
Mr Kumar said 4000 truckloads of rice are being dispatched for the affected villages in Ganjam.
In Balasore, nearly 75,000 people are stranded and the situation, say officials, is critical as the Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha overflow inundating scores of villages in the district. A young boy in Balasore village said, "We were stranded on the rooftop for four days. We tried to call the control room but no one came to our rescue. One sack of beaten rice was sent for 1,000 people."
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik conducted an aerial survey yesterday of flood-hit districts like Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. The ruling BJD's Jay Panda tweeted this morning, "To those criticising post #Phailin rehab: 3 Lakh homes destroyd, 6 L ha crops, 5 L elctrc poles, & floods! Huge odds, will take time (sic)"
The government has said standing crop of over 6,25,408 hectare area has been destroyed in the state and 3,33,070 houses have been damaged.
According to a preliminary assessment, the state has also suffered a loss of Rs 900 crore in the power sector from severe damage to infrastructure. The projected loss in Ganjam district alone is estimated to be of Rs 500-600 crore.