The State Government has earned severe criticism from different quarters for its lack of preparedness to meet the floods in north Odisha even as it achieved a great deal of success in meeting the challenge of cyclone Phailin.
The floods triggered by the severe cyclone have left lakhs of people marooned in Baleswar and Mayurbhanj districts. The flood fury has also hit the districts of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Keonjhar.
The State Government’s lack of preparedness came to the fore when Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra admitted that the flood in Baripada town surprised one and all in the administration.
“At about 9 in the morning of October 13 there was nothing wrong, but suddenly at about noon the flood water entered into Baripada town,” Mohapatra told reporters apparently admitting the State Government’s lack of preparedness and foresight.
This was not all; the flood water at Baripada rushed into the District Headquarters Hospital. Even the newborn babies were also affected by the flood. “We were planning to shift the children, but by grace of God, the water receded,” Mohapatra said, adding that the indoor patients of the hospital were evacuated to the first floor of the building.
It may be mentioned that the IMD had been since one week warning that the Phailin would bring along with it heavy rains across the State which could lead to rise in the water levels of different rivers. The weathermen’s forecast was completely ignored as evident from Mohapatra’s statement.
When the Government evacuated nine lakh people in the cyclone areas, it failed to shift a single person before 10-feet water rushed into the Madhuban area of Baripada town. “The floods in Baleswar and other north Odisha districts have exposed the lack of foresight of the State Government,” alleged OPCC president Jayadev Jena.