Odisha pegs losses due to Cyclone ‘Yaas’ at Rs 610 cr

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has suffered losses of Rs 610 crore due to the damages caused by very severe cyclonic storm ‘Yaas’ which made a landfall at Bahanaga of Balasore district on May 26. This was informed by the State’s Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena during a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today evening.

Jena further stated during the review meeting held through video conference out of the total losses, government properties worth Rs 520 crore were damaged whereas personal property of Rs 90 crore were affected by ‘Yaas’. He stated Rs 66 crore is needed for relief work.

Congratulating the departments and district administrations for excellent performance in tackling the situation due to ‘Yaas’, the Chief Minister emphasised on the need for documentation of preparations prior to the landfall of ‘Yaas’, evacuation and relief and restoration work. Patnaik stated the documentation will help the State government towards better cyclone management in coming days.

The SRC further informed the meeting 60 lakh people of 11,000 villages were affected due to ‘Yaas’. A total of 150 villages were inundated due to high tides.

As saline water flooded farmland following high tides, farmers have been facing difficulties in cultivating kharif crops. A report has been sought from OUAT and Central Rice Research Centre who will study the situation on the ground.

The Energy Department cited it suffered losses of Rs 150 crore and as many as 30 lakh electricity consumers were affected. The power supply has been restored to 99.8% of consumers so far.

The Panchayati Raj Department reported losses of Rs 277 crore. Similarly, the Water Resources Department pegged losses at around Rs 108 crore.

The Works Department suffered losses of Rs 75 crore whereas the Rural Development Department reported Rs 60 crore loss.