Reiterating their demand that the extensive devastations caused due to the Phailin, rains and floods be declared as a national calamity, the CPI, CPI(M) and Forward Bloc on Wednesday gathered here at a joint State-level dharna to pressurise the State and Union Governments to meet the demand.
“The cyclone and floods have resulted in serious losses which are beyond the capacity of the poor people of an extremely backward State like Odisha to bear,” said CPI(M) State secretary Janardan Pati.
“Considering the gravity of the situation, we have been urging the Union Government to bear the major responsibility of relief, reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery of livelihoods, besides declaring the calamity as a national one, but in vain, he said.
CPI State secretary Dibakar Nayak said, “We are shocked that neither the Prime Minister nor any other Central Minister found it necessary to pay a visit to Odisha to express their sympathy.”
The leaders submitted a 12-point charter of demands to the Governor urging him to recommend the Centre to declare the calamity as a national one.
The demands included constitution of an all-party monitoring committee from the panchyat to State level to make distribution of relief and assessment of loss transparent, immediate release of Rs 5,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), construction of pucca house for a million of families at the cost of Rs 1 lakh each and Rs 15,000 minimum assistance to farmers per acre of non-irrigated land and Rs 25,000 per acre of irrigated land.
Besides, the memorandum urged that for Rabi crop, farmers should be provided free inputs and interest-free loans, Rs 1 lakh compensation to fishermen for complete damage of boats, Rs 25,000 for partial damage, Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,500, respectively, for complete and partial damage of nets, increase of man days under the MNREGA per family to 200 with the enhancement of daily wage to Rs 300, implementation of food for work programme in affected areas, immediate arrest of relief looters, distribution of relief on the basis of 2011census or the electoral rolls of 2013 besides and a long term measures to prevent floods and droughts.