The Hindu : Front Page : Lakhs of people still marooned in Orissa villages

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Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008
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Lakhs of people still marooned in Orissa villages

Prafulla Das

— Photo: PTI

An aerial view of the flood-affected areas in Jagatsingpur, Orissa, on Monday.

BHUBANESWAR: Relief continued to elude lakhs of people stranded in hundreds of marooned villages in several coastal districts of Orissa, as the Naveen Patnaik government grappled with the situation on Monday.

The severe floods in the Mahanadi river system have claimed 29 lives and affected more than 37 lakh people till Monday evening, according to official estimates.

The death toll is likely to go up as reports come in from the interiors of the worst-affected districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Puri districts.

Food packets were airdropped in some affected zones during the day.

Boats unused

Though the government claimed that over 1,300 boats were deployed for rescue and relief operations in the affected pockets, thousands of people remained stranded on rooftops, highways and highlands. Many of the boats were unused due to shortage of manpower.

The current floods have been termed the worst natural disaster in the State in the past 50 years. The floods affected 18 districts and 51,417 houses were damaged, the government said. Enumeration was going on.

Mobile phones, which were the only means of communication, were rendered useless as electricity supply was badly hit in the flood-hit areas. There was no way to recharge their batteries.

Although the authorities controlled the outflow from the Hirakud dam after the rains stopped in the upper catchment areas in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh, floodwaters had not receded in the coastal districts till Monday evening. Intermittent rains due to a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal added to the plight of the flood-affected.

Rail and road communications between Bhubaneswar and Puri were snapped as the tracks were submerged and there were breaches on the highway.

The Sun temple of Konark remained inaccessible for the third day due to the breaches on the roads.

Related stories:

24 lakh hit by Orissa floods

Orissa asks Army to stand-by as flood situation worsens

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