BHUBANESWAR: Even as coastal Orissa is struggling to come to terms with the devastation after the gradual receding of floodwaters, a Central team is expected to arrive in the State after September 20 to take stock of the situation. The delegation, led by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, OP Mahe, is likely to reach the State anytime during the later part of next week, said Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra on Saturday. Against this background, the State Government has asked all the administrative departments to submit damage-assessment reports by September 20. Chief Secretary BK Patnaik held a meeting with secretaries of all the departments in this regard earlier in the day. Only after the damage-assessment reports are submitted, the State Government will be able to submit a memorandum to the Centre seeking assistance for rebuilding and restoration measures in the 19 districts where over 27 lakh people have been affected. The districts too have been instructed to send in their reports immediately. Mohapatra said a clear picture of the exact damage, caused by the flood, will be available by September 25. Preliminary reports suggested that over 55,044 dwelling units have sustained damage with Kendrapara accounting for close to half, whereas crop over 2.15 lakh hectare has been run over by the floodwaters. Besides, over 1,200 villages remain marooned with the administrations’ attempt to reach out to them proving difficult. So far, 33 persons have died in the flood while 12 more are still missing after being swept away by the floodwaters in five districts. Meanwhile, almost all the major rivers showed continuous receding trends. Although a fresh spell of flood was reported in the Baitarani posing danger to Bhadrak, the Government said not much damage was caused. The water level is receding and no embankment breached.
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