Assets Worth Rs 126.62 Cr Damaged In Odisha Flood

Bhubaneswar: Public assets worth over Rs 126.62 crore were damaged due to heavy rainfall and subsequent floods which affected 24 districts of Odisha in August, prompting the state government to sanction Rs 128.58 crore to the affected people.

More than 33 per cent crops over 1.26 lakh hectare and 14,235 houses were also damaged in 24 of the 30 districts in the state, a damage assessment report of the state government said.

The report submitted to the government by district collectors showed that 5,036 hectare cropland was sand cast while fish and fish hatchlings were damaged in 28.382 hectare and 483.145 hectare respectively.

This apart, 1,236 cattle also died in the flood while 1,125 boats and fishing nets were damaged.

According to the damage assessment reports submitted by the departments of Water Resources, Works, Rural Development, Housing and Urban Development and Energy, public assets worth Rs 126.62 crore were damaged due to floods in different river systems as well as heavy rains.

While the Water Resources Department will require Rs 52.77 crore for restoration of damaged properties, Works Department will need Rs 20.19 crore for repair of properties. The loss sustained by Rural Development Department has been estimated at Rs 42.54 crore, while Housing and Urban Development Department will require Rs six crore for restoring damaged infrastructure.

Similarly, the Energy Department will require Rs 5.03 crore for restoration of damaged infrastructure.

The state government has sanctioned Rs 128.58 crore for assistance to over six lakh flood-affected people for house building, damaged boats and nets, compensation for cultivation and sand cast, fish ponds, affected weavers and artisans. Similarly, Rs 99.92 crore has been sanctioned to provide relief to people in marooned villages.

For restoration and repair of damaged infrastructure, Rs 87.15 crore including Rs 43.53 crore for water resources, Rs 13.67 crore for works, Rs 24.14 crore for rural development and Rs 4.97 crore for energy departments have been sanctioned, official sources said.

The rain and floods in the second and third week of August impacted lives in the districts of Angul, Bargarh, Boudh, Naygarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Khurda, Puri, Bhadrak, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Sundargarh, they said.