Although Sambalpur and its adjacent areas were not as affected by the devastating Phailin and floods as the coastal and north Odisha, life in this region was paralysed due to rains accompanied with heavy gush of winds as people had to remain without water and electricity for more than 24 hours.
The region witnessed power cut for a few hours on Saturday evening, but towards midnight the entire region plunged into darkness as the speed of the wind increased gradually. People had to remain without power supply till Sunday evening.
The immediate impact of the power cut was non-availability of drinking water, which forced the residents of the town to wait for hours together to get a bucket of drinking water as majority of taps ran dry. However, towards the middle of the day, water supply was restored in some parts of the town. No official of the Wesco was available for any comment.
This happened despite the district administration’s alertness and preparedness to face any eventuality.A preparation meeting with all senior officers had been held under the chairmanship of district Collector Balwant Singh and a concrete action plan had been chalked out where members of the civil society, NGOs and different other organisations were present.
“We expected a flash flood, which, due to God’s grace, didn’t happen. But we were prepared to face any eventuality,” said the Collector. “Free kitchens were kept ready and preparations for evacuating people from the low-lying areas to safer places were over. But the rain here was not up to that alarming extent,” the Collector added.
However, local businessmen tried their best to take undue advantage of the situation with the approach of the cyclone. Flattened rice (Chuda) and gur almost vanished from the market, so also candles. This opportunist business practice was seen more in Jharsuguda district headquarters. However, the traders failed to make most of it as the calamity spared this region.