The world is fighting a war to save lives from the corona virus on one side. In the hour of such a crisis – be it the central government or the state governments – all the departments and all the citizens have been engaged in the fight against corona virus for the last two-and-a-half months.
At such a time, another major crisis in the form of a Cyclone – a Super-Cyclone – was a matter of great concern. How much damage would it cause to Odisha while moving towards Bengal also remained a matter of concern! Odisha has been able to achieve a great success in saving the lives of the citizens here with the help of the arrangements that have been institutionalized here and with the knowledge of what should be done by the citizens in the villages. And many congratulations to the citizens of Odisha, the administration and the Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Babu and his entire team.
But when such a big natural disaster comes, then there is an extensive loss of property. The loss in Odisha has not been much as compared to that of West Bengal, but even while crossing the state it has left its trail. It is such a crisis. And so I have fully reviewed the damage that has been caused to the housing, agriculture, power, communication and infrastructure today. The state government has also placed all the preliminary details in front of me.
The central Government will soon receive the report from the state government after assessment. A central government team will also reach here at the earliest and after reviewing the whole situation, work and help related to long-term relief, restoration and rehabilitation would be provided. The work will be carried forward, giving priority to all these things.
But keeping in mind the immediate needs, we have decided to give 500 crore rupees as an advance arrangement on behalf of the Government of India. And once the rest of the requirements are completed and the complete planning for rehabilitation is in place, the Government of India will work shoulder to shoulder with the State government in the journey of development in Odisha and help the State to come out of this crisis.
