No outbreak of cholera in aftermath of Fani: Odisha govt

Refuting the reports of Cholera outbreak in the Puri district in the wake of cyclone 'Fani', Sanjaya Singh, secretary Information and Public Relations, Odisha government said on Friday that there is no epidemic in the affected district.

"In Puri, the restoration work is going on in full swing. There is no epidemic in the affected district and 24 lakh sanitary napkins will be distributed in Puri in two months as declared by Chief Minister. The report of the cholera outbreak is not correct," said Singh.

He also informed that BSNL mobile services have been restored in all blocks of Puri district. However, Puri is still battling with the restoration of electricity as the officer informed that out of 56 feeders only 5 are working and 5000 consumers have been given electricity.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested the central government to relax NDRF norms to provide for the actual cost of restoration of the entire power infrastructure damaged in 14 districts of the state by cyclone Fani.

Patnaik, in a letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, said that the norms of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the repair of damaged power sector allow financial assistance only for damaged conductors, poles and transformers and up to the level of 11 KV.

Cyclone Fani, which made landfall in Puri district on May 3, left a trail of destruction in the state. The death toll in the state due to the cyclone touched 64 with Puri recording the maximum number of casualties at 39, according to official estimates released by the Odisha government on May 11.According to government data, livestock casualties are over 34 lakhs and over one crore sixty-five lakh people were adversely affected by Fani in Odisha.