State failed to manage flood situation, says BJD

Brahmapur: Accusing the State government of failing to effectively manage the flood situation in Ganjam despite advance weather warnings, a high-level Biju Janata Dal (BJD) delegation, led by senior leader and Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik, on Friday and Saturday visited several flood-hit areas of the district and interacted with affected people to assess the extent of devastation caused by torrential rains triggered by cyclone Arnab.

The two-day fact-finding visit covered Chikiti, Patrapur, Hinjili, Sheragada, Aska and Purushottampur blocks. The delegation also met Ganjam Collector V Keerthi Vasan and discussed the ongoing rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures.

Mallik alleged that the State government had failed to take adequate precautionary measures despite advance warnings from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). She claimed that timely reservoir management, proper drainage arrangements and advance repairs to vulnerable river embankments could have substantially reduced the extent of flooding. She particularly questioned why water from Bhanjanagar dam was not released earlier despite heavy rainfall warnings.

Alleging that illegal sand mining had weakened several river embankments in Ganjam, she said it had further aggravated the flood situation. She also accused the government of giving more importance to publicity than addressing the suffering of people and questioned the effectiveness of rescue operations, particularly the deployment of helicopters.

The visit was undertaken at the direction of BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, who had earlier spoken to the Ganjam Collector over telephone to enquire about the flood situation, particularly in Hinjili, Sheragada and other affected areas. The Collector had briefed him on the ongoing rescue and relief operations.

However, Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena rejected the Opposition’s allegations, asserting that the district administration was making every possible effort to tackle the crisis and that officials were working round the clock under challenging circumstances.

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Sunil Mohan Patnaik

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