On behalf of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Odisha State Committee, a delegation led by leader of CPI(M) Parliamentary Group Sitaram Yechury met President of India Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Thursday and demanded that the recent cyclone Phailin and floods in Odisha be declared as national calamities.
The party leaders including leader of CPI(M) in lok Sabha Basudev Acharia and CPI(M) Odisha State Committee secretary Janardan Pati demanded that the Central Government release Rs 5,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as a special package for the State.
later, a Press conference was held at the Odisha Nivas in New Delhi and the delegation addressed the media supporting Odisha’s cause.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) workers staged a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Thursday demanding adequate compensation for the Phailin-affected people. A party delegation led by State secretariat member Sivaji Patnaik submitted a memorandum to the President through Governor SC Jamir seeking assistance of Rs 5,000 crore to the State for rehabilitation of the affected people.