BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the Works and Rural Development departments to prepare a master plan for speedy repair of damaged roads in the flood-affected areas of the State. As water has started receding from the flood-affected areas, Naveen directed the officials to start repair of breaches on a war footing. One breach was reported on Wednesday in Genguti river at Gadajit village in Jajpur district. Secretary in the Water Resources Department Suresh Mohapatra said during the flood there were 27 breaches in the Mahanadi river system, followed by 11 in the Paika, 10 in the Bramhani, eight in the Genguti, two in the Bhargavi, one each in the Daya, the Kushabhadra, the Kamei and the Rajua rivers. According to Rural Development Department sources, over 11,000 tube-wells were damaged in the flood, of which 4,072 have been disinfected and restored. Officials claimed that all the tube-wells in Bargarh and Sambalpur districts have been restored. Normalcy in water supply was restored in some areas of Sambalpur and Hirakud towns while it was resumed in Banki and Athagarh towns. However, fresh rains triggered by a low pressure compounded the plight of the marooned people in the flood-hit areas hampering relief operations. Airdropping of food packets continued in the affected areas of Kendrapara, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Boudh and Nayagarh districts, which continue to remain cut off even as the water receded. Air-dropping which had to be suspended in the forenoon due to bad weather and poor visibility resumed in the afternoon, said Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik. About 1.9 lakh people have been evacuated from the low-lying areas to safer places in 13 affected districts. However, people taking shelter under makeshift structures on highways were affected as rains and thundershowers lashed several areas of Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Khurda districts on Wednesday. Revenue Minister Surjya Narayan Patro said 4,006 villages in 19 districts had been affected in the flood. Reports of damage of about 30,000 houses had been received from 11 districts and a detailed reports would be given by the district collectors soon after the flood water receded, he said. Officials said emergency health care services were being provided in the affected areas where around 400 medical relief centres had started operating.About 110 mobile health units were also deployed. The focus is on disinfecting the water sources in the flood-affected areas where about 110 mobile health units have been deployed.
Comments
0 comment