Acharya for declaring Phailin as a national calamity

Both Congress and CPI-M today criticised the relief operation being carried out by Odisha government in the areas hit by cyclone Phailin while the Left party demanded that the Centre to declare the devastation as a national calamity.
The Centre should provide 90 per cent financial assistance to Odisha government for rehabilitation and restoration works, leader of CPI-M in Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharya said here.
It should also waive the agriculture loan given to farmers, tuition fee of students and provide special assistance along the lines of the help given in Vidharba in Maharastra.
Acharya, chairman of Parliamentary standing committee on Agriculture, said the Left party leaders would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon to give an account of the intensity of the damage in Odisha.

Acharya, who along with senior party leaders visited the cyclone-ravaged areas, said 50 kg rice, Rs 500 and four litres of kerosene given to the victims was insufficient. They should also be provided with edible oil, potato and other cooking materials.
The Centre should depute a team to assess the damage immediately and the visit of Union Home Secretary Anil Goswamy, who toured some of the areas affected by the cyclone, should not be treated as the central team.

"The central team must consist of officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Home Affairs," he said.
However, Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilisers Srikant Jena said the Central assistance would depend on the report to be submitted by the state government.

"Even a week after the disaster, several victims are yet to get relief which are shared by the Centre and state at 75 and 25 per cents," said Jena.