Odisha Seeks Centre's Help To Restore Power after Cyclone Fani

Guwahati: The Odisha government sought the help of the central government in restoration power and telecom services in the districts of Puri and Khurda which were worst hit by Cyclone Fani due to the shortage of skilled manpower.

According to an official, the state has to install as many as 1.56 lakh electric poles adding that the toll in the cyclone which hit the state on Friday last rose to 37 on Tuesday with two more death reported in Cuttack district as the struggle to restore power, drinking water and telecom infrastructure continued.

Reports says that 21 people had perished in Puri district while Cuttack reported five deaths followed by four cases each from Jaipur and Mayurbhanj districts. Special Relief Commissioner, B P Sethi said that Kendrapara district reported three deaths. He said that they sought the help of Centre in providing skilled manpower to assist Odisha in the restoration of electricity supply in the worst cyclone-hit districts of Puri and Khurda.

Chief Secretary of Odisha A P Padhi said that he had a talk with union cabinet secretary P K Sinha through video conferencing and informed that though the state government has been able to restore water supply in Puri and Bhubaneshwar by using diesel generators, it has been an uphill task to provide electricity to people in view of massive destruction of power infrastructure.

Padhi said that Odisha has requested the Centre to send 5,000 skilled manpower from neighbouring West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He said that these people will be deployed in erecting electric poles and draw wire on them which would facilitate the state to restore power-supply in a time-bound manner. However, the chief secretary of Odisha did not give any timeline for the restoration of electricity service.

He also stated that he is not certain when exactly all areas will be provided electricity supply saying that they have already started the process of providing power to the consumers in a phased manner.

Meanwhile, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said that relief distribution work was launched in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday and the same will start in parts of Khurda district from today. He also said that in absence of drinking water and electricity during the mid-May summer, life in the coastal districts remained derailed even four days after the calamity.

Also Read: NATIONAL NEWS