Bramhapur: In the wake of extensive damage and ongoing restoration efforts following heavy rainfall and flooding triggered by Cyclone Arnab, all educational institutions from elementary to higher secondary levels across Ganjam district will remain closed till November 7.
The directive, issued by District Education Officer (DEO) Ajay Kumar Sahu, applies to all schools from elementary to higher secondary level, though teaching and non-teaching staff have been asked remain on duty to oversee clean-up and administrative responsibilities.
The extended closure comes as the district administration races to prepare facilities for safe re-opening after floodwaters from Rushikulya River and its tributaries inundated nearly 500 of the district’s 3,890 schools. Aska, Dharakote, and Purushottampur blocks bore the brunt of the deluge, with floodwaters rising up to 15 feet in some areas. The sudden influx of water left school administrators with little time to salvage equipment, resulting in widespread destruction of computer systems, science laboratories, library books, mid-day meal rice stocks, and sports infrastructure.
With schools already closed since mid-October for Puja vacations and cyclone preparedness, local authorities, school staff, and hired manual labourers have spent the past several days clearing thick layers of silt, debris, and garbage from classrooms and campus grounds.
Simultaneously, relief operations and damage assessments are underway across the district.
An eight-member central team, led by Ministry of Home Affairs official Ravi Shankar, visited the worst-affected blocks to evaluate the destruction to infrastructure, agriculture, public utilities, and healthcare facilities. Accompanied by Southern Division Revenue Divisional Commissioner Vijay Amrut Kulange and Ganjam Collector Keerthi Vasan V, the delegation surveyed damaged riverbanks, collapsed housing, electric utilities, and flooded farmland, where standing paddy crops on approximately one lakh hectares were destroyed.