Bhubaneswar: An eight-member inter-ministerial central team began a two-day on-ground assessment of damage in southern Odisha on Tuesday, evaluating the impact of Cyclone Arnab and the floods that followed its landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28.
Led by Ravi Shankar, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the team is examining losses across key sectors including agriculture, infrastructure, roads, power and water resources while also reviewing the progress of ongoing rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg confirmed that the team, deputed by the centre at the state government’s request, visited Gajapati district on Tuesday and is scheduled to cover Ganjam district on Wednesday.
The state had reported extensive damage in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamala districts, where heavy rainfall triggered by the cyclone led to flooding that marooned hundreds of villages, damaged houses and crops, washed away stretches of roads and disrupted connectivity.
Preliminary state assessments had already been completed before the central team’s arrival. “The central team has arrived in our district to assess the damage caused by the cyclone. We have presented a detailed briefing at the collector’s office on the various types of damage reported across the district,” Gajapati Collector Akshya Sunil Agrawal told the media.
Sources stated that Shankar held initial discussions with state officials on Monday, after which the team members departed for the affected areas in separate groups. The contingent includes representatives from the ministries of agriculture, finance, Jal Shakti, power, road transport and highways, and rural development, along with a scientist from the Indian Space Research Organisation. Their detailed findings, to be weighed alongside the state’s report, are expected to help determine the quantum of central assistance for recovery and restoration work in the flood-hit regions.
Meanwhile, the state government has also deployed four IAS officers in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamala districts to oversee post-cyclone Arnab rehabilitation, including damage assessment, relief distribution and restoration of infrastructure.
