World Bank, ADB team visit cyclone-hit Ganjam to assess damage

An expert team of World Bank and Asian Development Bank visited different areas of cyclone-hit Ganjam district in Odisha to assess the damage.

Divided in groups, the 14-member team along with government officers visited slum pockets in Berhampur and coastal villages in Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda blocks yesterday to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Phailin, a senior officer said.

The team, led by senior disaster risk management specialist Deepak Singh, had also discussed about the situation with district administration at Chhatrapur. "We submitted the team reports on the damage caused due to the cyclone," Ganjam district Collector Krishan Kumar said.

"The team has sought some added information regarding the damage and we will provide them soon in proper format," said Prem Chandra Choudhury, project director, District Rural Development Agency.

The team, being coordinated by Choudhury, is also slated to visit Khurda and Puri districts, which were also affected by the cyclone.

Odisha government had sought Rs 2,200 crore external assistance to undertake restoration and rehabilitation work during chief minister Naveen Patnaik's discussion with representatives of the international funding agencies in Bhubaneswar a fortnight ago.

"The WB and ADB have agreed in principle to provide the assistance. The international banks are likely to sanction the amount after assessing the damage," Revenue Minister S N Patro had said here recently.

Ganjam district administration has identified around 18,000 families in 113 villages in five coastal blocks for shifting them to safer places and rehabilitate them in pucca houses at a cost of Rs 450 crore.