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Cyclone Fani: Death toll rises to 29 in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The death toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 29 on Sunday, two days after the "extremely severe" storm barrelled through coastal Odisha, causing widespread destruction and leaving hundreds grappling with water shortage and power cuts, an official said.

Announcing a relief package for those affected by the calamity, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said all families in Puri and in those parts of Khurda, which had been "extremely severely affected" in the storm, will get 50 kg of rice, Rs 2,000 in cash and polythene sheets, if covered under the Food Security Act (FSA).

For the rest of Khurda district - categorised as "severely" affected - the FSA families will get a month's quota of rice, Rs 1,000 in cash and polythene sheets, he added.

Those living in the "moderately-affected" districts of Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur will be eligible for a month's quota of rice and Rs 500 in cash, Patnaik said.

The chief minister also announced an assistance of Rs 95,100 for "fully-damaged" houses, Rs 52,000 for "partially-damaged" houses and Rs 3,200 for houses that had suffered minor damage. Talking to reporters here, Patnaik claimed that water supply had been restored in 70 per cent areas of the worst-hit Puri town and 40 per cent of the places in state capital Bhubaneswar.

"I am hoping that water supply will be fully restored in Bhubaneswar shortly and at least in 90 per cent areas of Puri town by this evening," the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief, who is seeking a fifth term in office, said.

"The government has made arrangements to provide cooked food for free over the next 15 days. We will also take up tree plantation on a mission mode," he added.

According to state Chief Secretary A P Padhi, 21 of the 29 deaths were registered in the pilgrim town of Puri, where the storm made landfall on

Friday.

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