Pradhan visits flood hit Jajpur, says over one lakh affected

Jajpur (Odisha) [India], July 30 (ANI): Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday visited the flood affected area in Odisha's Jajpur district. He also advised the local administration to focus more on relief to reach the people in marooned areas and said the area has been affected by flood due to heavy rain in upper catchment of Bramhani river. "Due to excessive rainfall, the Brahmani River is overflowing and over 1 Lakh people have been affected in Jajpur," he said. The Minister said that people are stuck there for over 24 hours and they need to be rescued. "The administration should provide more help and relief to the people," he added. Pradhan talked to the locals and inquired about their problem. Meanwhile, the Odisha government evacuated about 6,000 people after an embankment of Brahmani River breached in Jajpur district. Rescue operation is also on in Dhenkanal and Kendrapara districts where fresh areas have been inundated. Jajpur district collector and other officials are monitoring the rescue and evacuation operation. Five boats have been pressed into rescue service. The evacuated people have been shifted to flood shelters, schools and other public buildings. Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a review meeting asked the officials to ensure that flood hit people in Rayagada and Bhadrak should get the house damage assistance within three days as per the provision of the NDRF and SDRF. A major breach of 100 to 150 feet width was reported on the embankment of Brahmani River at Jajpur. It has affected four gram panchayats covering 18 villages of Jajpur block. The District Collector and Sub Collector are on the spot monitoring the evacuation operation of about 5000 to 6000 people. Senior officials from central water commission and state government visited the site to assess the situation. The temporary restoration of the embankment will take about three days to be completed. Permanent restoration will start in December and will be completed before March next year. (ANI)