Rebuilding Odisha: How NGOs are bringing Fani-hit areas back on their feet

Several NGOs, along with the government and private agencies, have joined hands to help the state return to normalcy post cyclone Fani. But it could take a very long time

Towards the end of April, a red alert was sounded in Odisha about an approaching cyclone: Fani. The state is not alien to cyclones, and the administration started taking precautionary steps right away. As the day of the landfall approached, the alert became more serious — the cyclone was termed “extremely severe”, raising concerns of largescale damage.

Since the Super Cyclone in 1999, which left over 10,000 dead in the state, and a devastation that took years to get over, Odisha has seen multiple storms. Phailin struck in 2013, followed by Hudhud a year later. Last year in October, eight people were killed when Titli made its landfall in Odisha and coastal Andhra. 

The Odisha government took a series of measures to minimise the damage, and evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. At 8.40 am on May 3, Fani made its landfall in Puri, with wind speeds up to 185 km/hour. It destroyed whatever came in its path. Even the state capital, Bhubaneswar, was battered. The level of destruction was far more than what government agencies thought. The Jagannath temple too was not spared. The government, which was appreciated for its work before the cyclone made its landfall, was now criticised for not being able to do enough to rehabilitate people. 

“No one could gauge the enormity of Fani and the level of destruction it would leave behind,” said Jagadananda of Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), one of the many NGOs in the state working tirelessly to help the affected people. “We have reached out to 14,000 families. The farmers are in serious need of help. Their produce can get spoilt, which may lead to distress sale. We are trying our best to stop that.” 

A recent Indian Meteorological Department report stated that Fani was the most intense pre-cyclonic storm to hit Odisha coast in the satellite era. 

Given the vastness of the damage, a number of NGOs, including Oxfam, Action Age, Aide-et-Action, Christian Age, Concern, Help Age India, WaterAid, Plan India, Save the Children, CYSD, Swabhiman, Childfund, Vasundhara, Help Odisha, Red Cross Odisha, among many others, have been working in different parts of the affected districts. 

“The focus in the first few days was to address the severe drinking water crisis. Most areas had no electricity. So, some NGOs and other organisations together set up RO plants in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Bir Harekrushnapur village, and Brahmagiri. The second biggest challenge was to remove the uprooted trees. The damage to the state’s green cover has been immense,” Jagadananda said. 

Difficulties, though, were many. “Accessing the places that had been cut off was the first challenge. The trees had fallen, the roads had been damaged, electric poles were uprooted. The second challenge was that there was no mode of communication for close to two weeks, and those in dire need of help couldn’t reach out to us. Third, any house that did not have a concrete ceiling was left roofless. There was not enough polythene available. Then, in the initial days, there were a few incidents of looting of relief materials by people who were in distress... The biggest challenge was to assess the extent of damage,” said Sruti Mohapatra, founder of Swabhiman, which works for differently abled children, and has been working to rehabilitate such people affected by the cyclone. 

Swabhiman is among several NGOs working in different parts of the affected districts

Several organisations working in the affected areas said there was political bias in providing relief. “So, there were a couple of people, who was helping only those who had voted for them in the elections,” said the head of an NGO. 

As the crisis unfolded, several social vices came to the fore. ”During relief, we found out the level of discomfort between the general communities and the Dalits, which was very unfortunate. We are working on this too,” Jagadananda said. 

The education sector too has been hit hard, with 12,000 schools affected by the catastrophe. “Schools are supposed to reopen in mid-June, but it could get delayed. Children are psychologically disturbed. We have provided them with notebooks, pens, etc. Many of these children are very young and they are being counselled through theatres and music,” Umi Daniel of Aide-et-Action, Odisha, said. “We are keeping a watch to prevent any case of human trafficking, child marriage, or child labour, which can become common in a situation like this,” he added. 

Help has poured in from various sources. Apart from the government assistance, many corporate houses in India and abroad have contributed, or have promised relief assistance. Disney has already contributed Rs 2 crore. Sources told Business Standard that the European Commission is considering a relief package to the state, so is the Tata Group. Other organisations, such as Human Aid International, have already provided relief. Several philanthropy groups, such as Odia Society in America, are expected to pitch in too. Business conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group has also provided relief materials. 

A lot has happened since Fani, which has claimed 64 lives. Narendra Modi has been re-elected as the prime minister, Naveen Patnaik has just taken oath as Odisha chief minister for a fifth straight term, but efforts to bring the state back to normalcy are far from over, with many people clueless about when they can return home. “The overall damage done will take years to be undone,” Mohapatra added.