A public forum, the People’s Relief and Vigilance Committee, has expressed serious concern over the uneven and biased relief distribution among the Phailin and floods affected people of the district.
In a meeting, the committee members alleged that several calamity victims have not yet received the assistance announced by the Chief Minister ie `300 cash and 25 kg rice due to mismanagement by the authorities concerned.“The district administration should immediately form a high-level committee to look into the discrepancies,” they said.
The members further pointed that due to lack of coordination among the Government personnel, people’s representatives and NGOs, the relief distribution and financial assistance disbursement have been uneven and unfair as many bona fide beneficiaries have been debarred from it.
“In some cases, the same people have been given relief materials and financial aid, both by the Government and private agencies, while in some other cases, victims have not yet received even an iota of relief material leave alone the monetary benefit,” they alleged.
The forum has also demanded distribution of winter clothes and blankets among the poor affected people, waiving off farm loans, rebate in electricity charges, supply of seed and fertilizers free of cost and irrigation facility for farmers. Among others, Rabinarayan Das, laxmidhar Behera, Subasini Jena and Sambhunath Mohanty were present at the meeting.