Cyclone 'Fani' did huge damage to Jagannath temple, says Union Minister Pradhan

After the conclusion of over 70 day-long high decibel elections campaigning, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited famous Jagannath temple here on Sunday.

Clad in his trademark white kurta and vermilion on his forehead, Pradhan offered prayers at the ancient temple with his supporters.

Talking to media persons after visiting the temple, he said the famous temple has also suffered a lot from the cyclonic storm 'Fani' which hit the district on May 3.

"A lot of damage has been done by (Fani) to the temple as well. Life is gradually returning to normalcy. Everything will be fine soon," he said.

Pradhan lauded his government for amicably working with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government after the "extremely severe cyclonic" storm hit Odisha earlier this month.

He said: "The Government of India closely worked with the state government in the time of this crisis. I myself came many times here. The Prime Minister came inspected the situations."

The minister said that that the situations would be normal by the time of famous 'Jagannath yatra'.

Over 64 people died and a huge loss of properties was reported from the state in events related to 'Fani'.