Cyclone caused big damage to Odisha agriculture: Central team

An inter-ministerial central team on Friday said cyclone 'Bulbul' caused extensive damage to agriculture and other installations in coastal districts of Odisha.

The seven-member team, led by Saheli Ghosh Roy, Joint Secretary (C&IC), Ministry of Home Affairs, conducted a two- day on-the-spot damage assessment in four of the six affected districts in the state.

"Paddy cultivation has been completely destroyed in coastal areas. There have been other damages to infrastructure like transmission lines," Ghosh Roy said.

The team was divided into two groups, which visited Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.

"We will make our recommendations to the central government and await the memorandum from the Odisha government," she told reporters here.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said that as the state government had earlier assessed, the central team, too, found massive crop damage in the coastal belts.

Asked about the possible date of submitting the memorandum to the Centre, Jena said a joint survey by officials of the agriculture and revenue departments is being conducted. "We will submit the memorandum very soon."