Other States - Orissa   

Flood relief: Government draws flak

BHUBANESWAR: With flood situation slowly limping back to normalcy, relief and rescue operation took the political overtone on Friday. Opposition parties stepped up attack on the BJD-BJP government for its failure to ensure relief to flood-hit victims.

A team of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that visited flood-hit Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts presented a list of villages where the government machinery could not reach with relief materials even 10 days after the flood.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, NCP State president Bijay Mohapatra alleged people in 15 gram panchayats on the right embankment of Subarnarekha River in Raibania area of Balasore district were resigned to their fate in the absence of help from administration.

Similarly, people in Morada and Rasgobindpur block of Mayurbhanj district had been away from their houses for last couple of weeks. Relief eluded most of the victims in Karanjapada and Pahadajhatia villages along the Jambira River, he alleged.

The NCP leader said this could be the first time in the history of relief and rescue operation in which two states Orissa and West Bengal remained cut off for more than 10 days due to a breach on national highway 60.

Due to inability of the State government to repair the breach, transaction of essential materials could not be possible leading to price rise in the affected areas, he said.

“Army should be requested to take over the repair work for restoring road communication,” Mr. Mohapatra said, adding that National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) should be taken to the task for its faulty design that resulted in large inundation in the flood.

Coming down heavily on the State government’s decision to stop relief after seven days, he said several flood-affected villagers had lost everything State government should take care for at least two months.

The NCP leader also criticized irrigation department saying due to substandard work as many as 25 breaches had occurred on Subarnarekha embankment.

“There has been large-scale corruption in distribution of relief materials. People are now exposed to rain due to lack of adequate polythene sheets,” Mr. Mohapatra said.

The NCP took exception of the fact that a welcome gate was erected in Mayurbhanj district for Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Manmohan Samal during flood which suggested that politics was uppermost in the Minister’s mind.

Leaders of Left parties, Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rastriya Janata Dal had criticised the government “conduct” during the flood.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

OTDC offers special package for car festival
Award for Tulasi Munda
Traffic regulations for car festival
Flood relief: Government draws flak
Held on cheating charge
Rankers felicitated
‘Jail Bharo’ by Congress workers
A rare emotional union
Demo seeking release of CPI(M) worker held
Eight held on charge of lifting motorcycles
Journalists hold protest demo
Shortage of milk likely to continue

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu