Centre to help flood-hit Odisha

With several rivers in Odisha in spate, Centre assured all help to the state to tackle the situation caused by floods which has affected vast areas.

New Delhi: With several rivers in Odisha in spate, Centre on Thursday assured all help to the state to tackle the situation caused by floods which has affected vast areas.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had telephonic talk with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and has assured him all possible help from the Centre. He told the Lok Sabha that teams of the National Disaster Response Force have already reached the state. The issue was raised by BJD leader B Mahtab in the Zero Hour. He said Odisha was reeling under serious flood with Mahanadi under spate and this has affected five districts, including Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri. Other rivers like Subarnarekha, Baitarani and Brahmani were also in spate and the state government has shifted about 15 lakh people. He said the situation could turn to worse if any breach takes place and sought all necessary help from the Centre in rescue, relief and rehabilitation. Floods triggered by heavy rain in the past week have hit thousands of people in Odisha, with several rivers including the Mahanadi crossing the danger mark. Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) also made a strong plea for the Centre to tackle the serious problem of erosion in Assam rivers which has affected several parts of the state, washing away many villages in South Salmara region of lower Assam`s Dhubri district.