Odisha BJP seeks white paper on cyclone Phailin
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday demanded a white paper on the damage caused by cyclone Phailin and subsequent floods in the state and the relief and restoration efforts carried out by the state government.
Senior BJP leader Manmohan Samal said here the state government was yet to provide compensation to all those affected by the calamities. He also alleged the government had not yet rebuilt the infrastructure in several places.
Accusing the government of not initiating any inquiry into the misappropriation of relief materials, reported at several places, Samal said: "The government must publish a white paper on all these matters".
"The government should tell the people, the amount of assistance it received from the centre and where the money was spent," he said.
Samal also accused the government of not taking measures to provide relief to the farmers, fishermen and others who suffered huge losses.
The very severe tropical cyclone Phailin in the Bay of Bengal made landfall Oct 12, 2013 night near the port town of Gopalpur in the state's Ganjam district.
At least 60 people were killed in the storm and subsequent floods. This was miniscule compared to the 1999 super cyclone that claimed 10,000 lives in the state.
