Bhubaneswar: The state government will submit a report to the Centre on the damage caused by cyclone Bulbul by the end of next week, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said here Friday.
The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which paid a two-day field visit to the state to review damage caused by Bulbul, held a meeting with state government officials at Lok Seva Bhawan here before leaving for New Delhi.
Jena said, as per preliminary reports, crop on 2.3 lakh hectares has been damaged due to the cyclone. A joint team comprising officials from the revenue and agriculture departments will make a field visit to six affected districts to assess the extent of damage to crops and properties. Thereafter, a list will be sent to panchayat offices to hear the grievances of people for a week, he said.
Jena said the state government will urge the Centre to relax the norms of the post-cyclone assistance for Odisha. Joint Secretary at Ministry of Home Affairs Saheli Ghosh Roy, who was the team leader, said apart from massive crop loss, some houses have been damaged while the power sector has been affected in coastal districts. Of the six affected districts, most damage was caused to Bhadrak.
“We have asked the state government to submit a memorandum on the basis of which the Centre will release assistance,” she added. The team will submit its report to the Centre.