DISASTER

Reaching relief

The Army, the Air Force and the Navy take the lead role in the relief work in the cyclone-hit areas as the State Government agencies lag far behind.

SUHRID SHANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY

IT was clear from the nature of the precautionary measures taken by the Orissa Government following the cyclone warnings issued by meteorologists that the administration did not expect anything close to a calamity of the magnitude that was witnessed on October 29. Normally, a deep depression that forms near the Orissa coast in the Bay of Bengal portending a storm, drifts north, towards the direction of Bangladesh. However, this time the eye of the storm stayed focussed on Orissa, and the storm hit the State's coast in the form of a super cyclone.

According to official reports, by the night of October 28, some 20,000 people were evacuated from Paradeep, Kujang, Erasama, Balikuda and Nagaon blocks of Jagatsinghpur district. Residents of the villages did not heed the weather forecast as they did not expect anything more than heavy rain and some sharp gusts. In fact, several villagers had to be evacuated forcibly; some of them even "escaped" from the relief centres. The district administration had been asked to stock adequate relief materials to deal with the post-cyclone situation. Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang had sought the Army's help to undertake relief work.

SUSHANTO PATRONOBISH
Army personnel engaged in rescue work in Balasore district.

The cyclone struck at 3 a.m. the following day and, within 36 hours, changed completely the face of 10 of the most important districts in the State. The worst-hit were the districts of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara.

The Army, the Air Force and the Navy were among the first agencies to swing into action. Several aircraft of the Air Force and the Navy and also Indian Airlines were pressed into service. The Army's relief and rescue operations, called Operation Sahayata, was launched under the supervision of Force Commander Major-General A.S. Klair. The Army started clearing the roads and evacuating marooned people. By November 4, 16,000 stranded people were moved to safety, and 670 km of road length were cleared. With 5,000 Army personnel engaged in relief work, remote regions of the State were made accessible. Army jawans moved into flooded areas in boats and helped in making an assessment of the damage and delivering relief. Up to eight infantry columns, eight engineers' columns and a medical unit were engaged in the operation. Relief camps were opened at Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur to provide food, shelter and medical attention to the cyclone victims. The Army was the only supplier of drinking water to the affected areas. Although the Air Force air-dropped food packages, it could not drop water. "The containers would break if we dropped them from such heights," said Squadron Leader Joe Emanuelle. The Navy cleared the passages to the berths in the Paradeep Port. That enabled relief teams to enter Paradeep, which bore the brunt of the cyclone.

The Air Force provided immediate relief by dropping food packets in areas that were not accessible to the Army. The Air Force rescue team under the command of Group Captain H.P.S. Natt comprised 15 pilots, 28 airmen and 14 other crew members. It set up base at the Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar and, with eight choppers, carried relief material from dawn to dusk. "On an average, 71,000 kg of dried cooked food are dropped in the affected areas. But every day we try to increase the quantity," Natt told Frontline. He said that the Air Force was assisted by Army personnel and volunteers from the National Cadet Corps (NCC), and the National Service Scheme (NSS). Local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also extended help.

Movement of relief vehicles from West Bengal into Orissa was hampered as a large section of National Highway 5 had breached.

The police team sent by the Andhra Pradesh Government was largely responsible for clearing the roads in Khurda district and in Bhubaneswar.

Giridhar Gamang told Frontline: "The situation is grim. In most areas communication links could not be restored and that hampered relief work. We have demanded an immediate relief of Rs.500 crores from the Centre. Drinking water and electricity supplies are being restored in phases in Bhubaneswar. But what we need desperately is aid and assistance from the Central Government and other State governments and the fullest cooperation and support of the people. The moment has come for the Centre and other States to provide as much grant as possible for the millions of cyclone victims. I have contacted the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, (Congress(I) president) Sonia Gandhi and the Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other States, requesting them to help us."

Gamang, however, feels that because prior warnings had been put out and the administration had geared itself up to face the threat, the casualty figures this time would be lower than those of the last major cyclone that hit Orissa in 1971. The toll in 1971 in terms of human lives was between 7,000 and 8,000. Unofficial figures this time estimate the toll in Paradeep alone to be around 5,000.

BIKAS DAS / AP
Villagers en route to Cuttack cross a damaged highway in Soro near Balasore on November 3.

Revenue Minister Jagannath Patnaik, who is in charge of relief, told Frontline: "Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have helped us out in a very big way by sending dry food and other assistance. As the drinking water crisis is acute, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) has given us two crore halogen tablets. Water is supplied also by the Army. To contain epidemics, we are providing antibiotics. But we require more of them. More than a hundred teams of doctors, belonging to the State, the Army and the A.P. Government, and other health staff are working in the affected areas." He said that the financial grant provided by the Centre was inadequate. (On November 5, the Centre announced an additional grant of Rs. 100 crores.)

Some of the other government that extended aid to Orissa are: West Bengal (relief material worth Rs.10 crores); Bihar (Rs.10 crores and Rs.1 crore worth of relief materials); Tamil Nadu (Rs.50 lakhs); Madhya Pradesh (Rs.50 lakhs); and Delhi (Rs.30 lakhs).

A CENTRAL team comprising Ministers George Fernandes, Naveen Patnaik, Joel Oram and Devendra Pradhan visited the affected areas. Oram, who is charge of Tribal Affairs, told Frontline that he was unhappy with the way the State government handled the crisis. "The State government is not doing its best. The party (Congress) is divided, the Cabinet is divided. Even in a time like this there is groupism. They did not stock sufficient quantity of foodstuffs," he said.

Naveen Patnaik, the Union Minister for Mines and Minerals, said: "I am appalled to see that the government is completely paralysed. I do not want to make this a political issue. When I visited Kendrapara, I saw carcasses all over the place and people starving without food and drinking water for five days. They had no roof over their heads. Several people had no decent clothing. It is a terrible situation. If I can reach there by road, I do not see why the State government cannot." He condemned the State government's inability to control the law and order situation. "There is rampant looting on the highways," he said.

Jagannath Patnaik, however, denied that there was a law and order crisis. He said that anti-social elements had initially looted relief trucks and other vehicles. "We stationed patrols on the highways and no such incident has taken place since then," he said.

SUSHANTO PATRONOBISH
Passengers of a train, stopped in its tracks, rush to pick up relief supplies dropped by an Army helicopter at Pithakalia in Balasore district.

However, informed sources maintained that food riots broke out in the affected areas. Many residents facing food shortage looted trucks carrying emergency food supplies.

"They are forcibly taking away any edible stuff that they can lay their hands on," an official source said. He further said that the government was unable to handle the law and order situation. Two days after the cyclone crossed the coast, Bhubaneswar became a dangerous place by night as desperate victims started breaking into shops. With normalcy returning to the city, the number of such incidents decreased.

Government agencies and the district administration faced severe criticism in the affected areas. "Where are the district authorities and government representatives? They fled like rats to safer places when the cyclone hit. They have not even visited the place since," said an irate victim in Paradeep.

In spite of the claims made by the State government that it was doing its utmost to restore normalcy, the general feeling is that it is not possible to hope for normalcy to return in the near future under an administration that is just not there.