Samikhsya Bureau
Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, the erstwhile king of Puri, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the calamity caused in Odisha by Cyclone Fani as ‘National Disaster’.
In a communication to Modi on Thursday, the Gajapati said: “Cyclone Fani has wrecked havoc in coastal Odisha which your goodself personally saw during your visit to the affected areas on 6th instant (May 6).
“In order to expedite the relief, restoration and rehabilitation work and save the affected people from untold misery, I request you to declare the calamity in Odisha as a ‘National Disaster’.
“May Sri Sri Jagannatha Mahaprabhu shower His Grace upon you.”
Cyclone Fani, which struck Odisha on May 3, has unleashed large scale devastation in around a half of Odisha’s districts. The worst affected are the districts of Puri, where the ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ made its landfall, Khurda, which includes the capital city of Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack.
While the Odisha government moved swiftly to evacuate over a million people to safer places thereby minimising casualties, the cyclone has wrecked untold miseries on people.
The pilgrim town of Puri has been destroyed beyond recognition. The cyclone has also caused massive destruction of tree cover, power and mobile network in Bhubaneswar.
The state government began its relief, restoration and rehabilitation process soon after the cyclone, but considering the quantum of destruction it may be a long time before normalcy is back in the affected areas. Most parts of Puri are still bereft of electricity while power could be restored in several parts of Bhubaneswar after a week.
