Bhubaneswar/Berhampur (Odisha), Oct 31 Odisha’s Fisheries and Animal Resource Development Minister Gokulananada Mallik and BJP MLA Purna Chandra Sethi faced protests while visiting flood-affected villages in Ganjam district.
Parts of southern Odisha have been affected by floods caused by heavy rain triggered by cyclone ‘Arnab’ that made landfall in adjoining Andhra Pradesh earlier this week.
Mallik faced protests when he visited Nuagada in Sorada block, as many villagers alleged they did not receive grain as relief from the government.
The minister asked the BDO and tahsildar concerned to make all possible arrangements for the affected people.
“People asked me about the delay in restoration of power supply, water connection and about other essentials. I told them that everything will be sorted out soon,” the minister told reporters before leaving the village.
Khallikote’s BJP MLA Purna Chandra Sethi was allegedly heckled by locals at Kuari village in Purushottampur notified area council, but he was rescued by his supporters and he left the village.
Sethi, however, downplayed it as a “minor incident”.
As soon as the MLA arrived in the village, several people gheraoed his vehicle and raised slogans against him.
They alleged that they did not receive any relief.
“We repeatedly pleaded for relief, but no one listened to us,” a villager said.
Meanwhile a BJD delegation led by opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik visited several affected areas in Chikiti, Patrapur, Hinjili and Sheragada in the district and interacted with the people.
“The government’s insensitivity towards the people is clearly evident. Forget cooked meals, even dry food and safe drinking water have not reached them. Irresponsible flood management by the Water Resources Department is responsible for this devastation,” the former minister alleged.
“People are comparing with the work done by the BJD during disasters,” another former minister, Pratap Jena, said.
The BJD delegation also met the Ganjam collector and discussed the flood situation.
A Congress delegation also visited the flood-affected areas.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das ridiculed Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s style of functioning.
“Disaster management cannot be achieved merely through aerial surveys. Floods in Ganjam and Gajapati districts are a testament to the incompetence of the BJP government. The performance of the ministers is disappointing,” Das said in a statement.
Stating that while people are struggling for access to food, drinking water, and medicine, the government’s response has been deeply disappointing, Das claimed the government was not prepared for the disaster despite IMD warnings.
State Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said the government has reached the affected people, and relief and restoration work was underway at a fast pace.
Almost all village roads have been reopened after repair work, he said.
“This is not the time to indulge in politics,” he said.
(PTI News)
