Bhubaneswar | The Centre has assured that it would release the assistance for damage inflicted by cyclone ‘Titli’ and subsequent flood and landslides in 17 districts of the state, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. The assurance was given by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh when Patnaik spoke to him over the phone Saturday.
“The Union Home Minister has assured Chief Minister to release the assistance immediately,” a release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said.
On December 13, Patnaik, in a letter to Singh, had demanded an immediate release of central assistance for the devastation caused by the cyclone to Odisha. Patnaik said “Titli”, which lashed Odisha in October 2018 and caused the subsequent flood and landslides, had severely affected a vast population of about 60.31 lakh in 128 blocks spread over 17 districts.
The state government had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Centre seeking the assistance of Rs 2,023.13 crore against a total requirement of Rs 2,779.32 crore for relief and restoration work.
Patnaik had also written a letter to the prime minister on October 18 requesting for release of an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore pending the final decision of the High-Level Committee headed by Rajnath Singh on the memorandum which was initially submitted by the state government in October.
Meanwhile, the inter-ministerial central team has already made an on-the-spot assessment of the damage during the first week of November, 2018.
The state urgently required assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as an amount of Rs 1,689.13 crore was released for relief and restoration work exhausting the entire amount available in State Disaster Response Fund.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
