The Congress on Thursday disputed the State Government’s claim that the casualty figure in the twin calamities of cyclone and floods was contained to the minimum due to “efficient” and “proper” rescue and relief operations.
“The ruling BJD says it executed the “largest” evacuation of people from the affected pockets on the eve of the Phailin and supplied adequate relief materials to the affected people post calamity. These are white lies and aim at hoodwinking people,” State Congress president Jayadev Jena said here.
“During our visit to the flood-hit Jajpur and northern parts of the State, we did not find any single higher level Government official anywhere. People were desperately begging for cooked food, drinking water, medicine and a piece of polythene to build a makeshift hut. But none from the Government was present to assure them of these minimum requirements,” said Jena.
He said people in Dasarathpur, Korei and other parts of Jajpur district still remain marooned and did not get any relief. “The situation is turning very precarious. Decomposition of animal carcasses, rotting of uprooted trees, open defecation sans toilets now threaten outbreak of epidemics. But the Government does not appear to be serious to address these problems,” he said.
Jena said that when most of the people had resorted to self-shifting to higher ground after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted Phailin, the State Government continues to make false claims that it evacuated more than 9 lakh people and tries to spread its version across the globe by means of media.