Odisha pegs loss from Cyclone Yaas at Rs 610 crore

BHUBANESWAR: The state government faced loss of Rs 610 crore due to Cyclone Yaas which hit the state on May 26, it was informed in a review meeting attended by chief minister Naveen Patnaik through video-conference. Naveen had asked his officers for proper documentation of the damage before and after the cyclone.
While attending the review meeting, chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said 150 villages were submerged in floodwaters. “Due to entry of saline water from the sea, standing crops have been damaged. As many as 1000 DG sets, tankers and PVC tanks were utilised to provide electricity and drinking water to cyclone affected people,” Mohapatra said on Wednesday.
Special relief commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said 60 lakh people from 11,000 villages were affected in the cyclone. “Out of Rs 610 crore, a total of Rs 520 crore of government infrastructure has been affected badly while an amount of Rs 66 crore is needed for relief work,” Jena said.
Regarding loss to crops, the SRC said, “Saline water has entered agricultural land and it could affect the Kharif season. Scientists of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, are conducting study on the impact of saline water on agricultural land and a report on this is expected very soon.”
Secretaries of different departments also attended the meeting and discussed the steps taken by them in the cyclone’s aftermath. Energy department officials stated that electricity connection of 99.8% consumers in cyclone affected areas have been restored till Wednesday. As many as 230 new transformers will be installed in these areas. The department has pegged its losses to the tune of Rs 150 crore.
Officials of the panchayati raj and drinking water department said 10 mobile water treatment plants were deployed in cyclone affected areas. It has suffered a loss of Rs 277 crore. Housing and urban development department sources said a bridge, 58 roads along with lighting system in eight urban areas have been damaged.
Works department officials pegged losses at Rs 75 crore while the rural development department estimated its losses to around Rs 60 crore.
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