World Bank, ADB team visits cyclone-hit Ganjam

The expert team of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday visited different areas of the cyclone Phailin-hit Ganjam district in Odisha to assess the damage caused due to the calamity.

Divided in groups, the 14-member team along with the government officers visited different areas including slum pockets in Berhampur, fishermen and coastal villages in Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda blocks.

The team led by the senior disaster risk management specialist, Deepak Singh also held discussion with the district administration officials yesterday before embarking on the field visit. "We have discussed with them and presented the details of the damage wreaked by the cyclone on October 12," said district collector Krishan Kumar.

"The team sought some more information on the damage and we will provide them soon in proper format," said project director, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Prem Chandra Choudhury, who is coordinating the visit of the team.

The team will also visit two other cyclone-affected districts, Khurda and Puri.

The Odisha government has sought around Rs 2,200-crore assistance from external sources to undertake the restoration and rehabilitation activities in the cyclone-hit areas. This was conveyed by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik during his discussion with the representatives of the international funding agencies at Bhubaneswar a fortnight ago.

"The WB and ADB have agreed in principle to provide the assistance. They are likely to sanction the amount after assessing the damages," state's revenue minister S N Patro said here recently.

The state proposes to take up construction of pucca houses within 5 kilometres of the coast line and on the banks of the Chilika Lake in Ganjam and Puri districts, laying of underground power cables in the cyclone-prone areas and make Berhampur town slum-free with the assistance of the WB and ADB. Around 90,000 families are living in over 160 slum pockets in Berhampur

Ganjam district administration has decided to shift around 18,000 families in 113 villages in five coastal blocks to safer places and construct pucca houses for them at a cost of around Rs 450-core.