Fani’s Aftermath: Odisha People Take To The Streets Demanding Water, Power

Bhubaneswar: Having weathered the storm, the people of Odisha are now left grappling with the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, which threw normal life out of gear. Meanwhile, three days after the cyclone, the death toll rose to 35, said NDTV in a report.

Groups of angry residents hit the streets at several places in the state capital demanding immediate supply of drinking water. Thousands of demonstrators staged road blockade at around half-a-dozen locations including Patia, Biju Patnaik Chhak and Rasulgarh today, said the report, quoting a police official said.

Banking services in the state capital have come to a halt. Large queues can be seen outside ATMs, scrambling to withdraw money and cars are lined up at petrol stations. Hospital services too have been hit with patient care almost paralysed.

Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma, who had earlier claimed that power supply would be restored in most areas of Bhubaneswar soon, said at least 10,000 manpower are required for quick restoration work, but the government at present only has 1,000 men at its disposal, reported NDTV.

Meanwhile, in Puri, which took the maximum brunt of the cyclone, it will take a long time to restore power, in view of the massive damage to infrastructure.

The state government today revamped the administration in some districts by replacing the collectors with new officials.

As many as 1,031 public health facilities have been damaged in the cyclone, while 5,244 primary school buildings and 547 secondary school buildings were also badly affected, the SRC said.

In the review meeting, post Prime Minister Narendar Modi’s aerial survey of the state today, Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik submitted an interim memorandum to him seeking an assistance of Rs. 17,000 crore and reiterated the demand for according special category status to Odisha in view of it being a victim of frequent natural calamities. the report added.