Oppn Slams Govt Over Poor Preparedness For Heavy Rain

Bhubaneswar: The Opposition on Friday came down heavily on the Odisha government for its lack of foresight and preparedness for the heavy rainfall that followed the very severe cyclonic storm Titli after it made the landfall near Palasa along the northern coast of Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of October 11.

“The state government has completely failed in its preparation for the heavy rain that took place after the cyclonic storm. We doubt the claim of the state government that it has shifted about three lakh people to the multi-purpose shelters. Has the state government made this statement to the media to get the certificate of merit?” BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty questioned while speaking to the media here.

He said since the state government had the experience in dealing with three cyclones earlier, which were accompanied by heavy rainfall, how come it became so sure this time that there would be only cyclone and not the rain?

Also Read: Cyclone Titli: Team BMC On Action Mode To Tackle Waterlogging Issues 

“The statement of the chief secretary that the state government had not imagined heavy rainfall in Rayagada and Kandhamal districts is utterly false since the IMD in its hourly bulletin had repeatedly warned about extremely heavy rainfall in these districts,” Mohanty observed.

Senior Congress leader and AICC secretary Sarat Rout said the state government instead of deploying NDRF and the ODRAF teams in the most-affected areas put them in other districts, which were comparatively less affected. As a result, it was not possible to rescue the people of the most-affected areas in time, he added.

Refuting the allegations of the Opposition, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra advised them to at least have some sense of humanity. “While the state government has rescued the affected people and provided them with food and security, the manner in which the Opposition is trying to politicize the issue is grossly unfortunate and commendable,” he pointed out.