Bhubaneswar: Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari held a review meeting on Tuesday regarding the whirlwind that struck Mayurbhanj on March 15.
The meeting was attended by the Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Additional Chief Secretary Revenue & DM, Special Relief Commissioner, Additional Special Relief Commissioner RDC (CD), and the collector of Mayurbhanj.
The whirlwind affected 3,217 people across nine villages in Karanjia Block. Authorities evacuated 2,200 residents, who are currently staying in six operational relief camps. The disaster damaged 512 houses, including 423 fully kutcha houses and 89 severely damaged kutcha houses. Tragically, two people lost their lives, and 38 others were injured. Around 111 hectares of crop area were affected.
Relief operations are ongoing. Free meals are being served to all 2,200 beneficiaries. Authorities have distributed 1,450 sheets of polythene, and drinking water is being supplied via water tankers and bottled water. Three medical teams and four fire teams have been deployed for rescue and relief operations, according to a government release.
On Monday, the Minister for Forest, Environment, and Climate Change, along with the Additional Special Relief Commissioner, conducted a field visit to assess the situation. A total of Rs. 5,70,31,000 has been released from the SDRF for house building assistance, clothing, utensils, and relief camp operations.
During the review meeting, Pujari instructed the collector of Mayurbhanj to deploy a nodal officer in each affected village to ensure better management of relief operations. He also directed that cooked food and free kitchens must continue to operate at central locations such as schools and Anganwadis in the affected villages.
The minister emphasized that damage and loss assessments, particularly for House Building Assistance and Agriculture Input Subsidy, must be completed as quickly as possible. He instructed that ODRAF and fire teams be deployed to carry out restoration work using all available lighting systems with the rescue teams.
