Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday announced a Rs 1,000 crore relief package for flood-ravaged areas, along with free community kitchens for evacuated people from inundated areas till the situation improves.
As the state experienced two separate flood spells within a month, the chief minister attributed the deluge to “1,100 mm of rain since June,” which occurred despite early forecasts predicting dry conditions due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
“This amount of rainfall is the highest in Odisha over a period of 25 years,” the chief minister noted, emphasizing that state government has been effectively managing the situation.
Addressing a press conference, he explained, “Based on the IMD’s El Nino warning, all of us were expecting scant rainfall in the state. Therefore, the reservoirs were directed to store water in case there was less rain during the monsoon.”
“However, the state received around 1100 mm of rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon in June. This is 34 per cent over normal in the state.”
Majhi also conducted a review of the flood impact across in six affected districts, including Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Kendrapara.
Highlighting that the second wave of flooding has impacted nearly 9.40 lakh people across these six districts, Majhi stressed that ensuring zero casualties remains his government’s top priority.
“Although around 100 people were bitten by snakes in the flood-affected areas, all of them survived because of easy availability of anti-venom injections,” the chief minister said.
While at least six fatalities were recorded during the initial flood spell, authorities are still evaluating and verifying the casualty figures for the second spell.
“Rs 1,000 crore package is announced based on the preliminary estimation, and additional funds would be provided if required after getting the detailed damage assessment from the flood-hit districts,” Majhi told reporters.
The chief minister detailed that the package covers agricultural input subsidies for crop loss, seed distributions, lift irrigation project repairs, and financial support for people who suffered livelihood disruptions.
Under the relief provisions, small and marginal farmers whose crops sustained 33 per cent or more damage will receive compensation of Rs 8,500 per hectare for non-irrigated land, Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated land, and Rs 22,500 per hectare for all-season or perennial produce.
In addition, impacted farmers will receive financial aid to purchase paddy and non-paddy seeds alongside free vegetable mini-kits to restart farming activities.
Farmers suffering pest damage following the floods will also be eligible for a 75 per cent subsidy.
Majhi affirmed that lift irrigation projects would be repaired urgently, while short-term Kharif loans would be converted into medium-term loans for interested farmers.
Fisherfolk would also get damages for loss of fishing nets and boats, while compensation would be provided for loss of livestock.
On his visit to marooned villages in Jajpur, Majhi said that unlike the first spell of flood when he conducted a survey, this time, “I travelled by road to assess the flood situation in Jajpur and Bhadrak”.
“We have fully deployed 45 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams, eight National Disaster Response Force teams and 65 teams of fire service personnel,” the chief minister added.
