Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: A couple and their one-year-old son were killed in Kandhamal, 13 villagers go missing in landslides in Ganjam district, hundreds of villages marooned and traffic on the busy Kolkata-Chennai NH-16 paralysed on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border for over 12 hours on Friday due to widespread flooding triggered by heavy rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Arnab.Achyuta Pradhan (30), a farmer, his wife Manshi (25) and their son were killed when a massive landslide buried their hilltop house at Dangesi in Kandhamal’s Raikia block, special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil confirmed. “We have received information about some persons missing in Gadipapalli, but we have no information about their number,” said Uma Shankar Behera, sub-collector, Bhanjanagar. With the Ganjam village inaccessible, rescue teams were yet to reach the spot.Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the deaths and announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the family of each victim. While the three in Kandhamal district are suspected to have died on Thursday, the bodies were found on Friday. Firefighters rescued two people, including an elderly woman. Police and fire services personnel trekked about six km through the muddy terrain to reach the village. “The clear picture will emerge only after the teams return,” said IIC, Raikia police station, Swarnalata Patra.At least six villages, including Dangesi in Manikeswari panchayat, remained cut off following landslides, which were also reported from Kalinga Ghat. Panchayati raj minister Rabi Narayan Nayak, who was in Kandhamal to oversee restoration and rehabilitation work, tried to reach Dangesi but had to turn back as the approach road was cut off. He and the collector visited other affected villages in Raikia, the worst-hit block in the district.The disaster also hit inter-state connectivity. Traffic on the Barkul-Ichapuram stretch of NH-16 came to a grinding halt for several hours after the swollen Bahuda river overflowed onto the highway near the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.Hundreds of trucks, buses and cars were stranded along a 50-km stretch between Barkul and Ichapuram for more than 12 hours. At least two trucks were stuck in the floodwaters. Andhra Pradesh police put up barricades to stop vehicles from entering the flooded stretch.Several long-distance drivers said they were unaware of the disruption. “I had no idea that floodwater was flowing over the highway and travelled on the route as usual,” said Pinku Sarkar, a truck driver travelling from Kolkata to Bengaluru. Traffic on NH-16 resumed on Friday evening.SP (Berhampur) Abhinav Sonkar said movement of vehicles towards Andhra Pradesh resumed around noon in coordination with Andhra Pradesh police. Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said Ganjam was the worst affected, followed by Gajapati and Kandhamal. Koraput and Rayagada have also been significantly affected. Heavy post-cyclone rain has waterlogged villages and extensively damaged roads and other infrastructure.According to govt’s figures, 42,564 people have been affected in Ganjam, 30,000 in Gajapati and 12,000 in Kandhamal.ODRAF, NDRF and fire service teams have been deployed for rescue and relief operations, while helicopters are being used for rescue and distribution of food supplies. People in vulnerable and low-lying areas are being shifted to safer places, with pregnant women being given priority and provided healthcare and medicines. Relief camps are being supplied with dry food, rice, jaggery, polythene sheets and safe drinking water.Around 43,000 people were affected in Ganjam district by the extremely heavy rain. Repair and restoration work has started in Ganjam and Gajapati as floodwaters recede. District administrations have prioritised restoring road connectivity by repairing damaged roads and culverts, said collector (Ganjam) Keerthi Vasan V. A detailed assessment of damage to infrastructure and standing crops is yet to be carried out, he added.Aska, Chikiti, Dharakote, Sheragada, Hinjili, Sanakhemundi, Digapahandi, Patrapur and Bhanjanagar are the wort-hit blocks in Ganjam district. Floodwaters from the Rushikulya entered the sub-divisional hospital at Aska, inundating it with 7 to 8ft of water. Around 35 patients, including 15 women who had delivered babies, were shifted to the first floor, medical officer Balgopal Mishra said.The floodwaters damaged several instruments in the operation theatre and labour room. Though the water receded on Friday, normal operations may take a few more days to resume, Mishra said. Several patients, including pregnant women, were referred to Berhampur. In Gajapati district, debris has been cleared from one landslide-hit location on the Koinpur-Gangabad road in Rayagada block.
About The Author
