The hilly district of Gajapati is estimated to have suffered a loss of at least Rs100 crore in cyclone Hudhud, which deprived lakhs of their livelihoods and damaged near about 25,000 houses.
The district Congress unit visited the gale-hit villages on Friday. Tribals suffered massive losses as their maize, pulse, paddy, black gram, red kidney bean, tapioca, groundnut, cashew and cotton crops were damaged. The farming community was hit with standing paddy crops having submerged in water.
Horticulture farming also suffered huge losses. An enormous numbers of coconut, Jhampera(eatable color plant) and mango trees were uprooted. Damage to standing crop was estimated at paddy (27,973 hectares), cotton (13,486 hectares), pulses (11,458 hectares), vegetables (13,268 hectares) and corn (13,166 hectares), said Gajapati Deputy Director Agriculture.
Gajapati is the worst-affected district in Odisha in terms of loss of livelihoods and assets. I will ask to the district Collector to ensure a source of livelihoods at the earliest for the affected people, said former Union Minister Chandrasekhar Sahoo.
Apart from Sahoo, the others who visited included Rajendra Panda, Dasarathi Gomango, Judhistir Badamundai, Prasanta Mallick and Kora Nayak.