Cyclone ‘Bulbul’: Send team to assess crop damage, Odisha urges Centre

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has requested the Centre to send a team to assess the damage caused to paddy crops in view of rainfall and wind triggered by cyclone ‘Bulbul’, said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy after a videoconferencing with Union Cabinet Secretary today.

Out of 6 lakh hectares of farmland, 40 percent of the area has been affected. The damage report will be submitted after an assessment, he said.

Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts were affected due to the cyclonic storm, Tripathy said, adding that power supply in these areas will be restored in two days.

Roads in the affected districts, which were blocked due to uprooting of trees, will be cleared by evening, he said. While boats parked in harbours have been damaged, there were no reports of human or livestock casualties, the Chief Secretary said.

A total of 2416 people were evacuated in view of the cyclone, he said.