Railways decline to take relief to Orissa

Railways decline to take relief to Orissa
BIJAY CHAKI

BHUBANESWAR, DECEMBER 25: People in the cyclone affected areas of the state are going to face an immensely difficult time with the railways declining to transport relief materials because of the delay in unloading at various relief points.

Official sources admitted that relief materials in about 100 wagons, which had come from outside the state are yet to be unloaded creating problems for rail communication. Relief material worth 1.2 lakh tonne have so far been transported by the railways to the state free of cost. Of this, 40,000 tonne were contributed by private parties.

The additional relief commissioner, however, said that the railway will transport relief materials till December 31. He said that the state government would request the railways to extend the time limit for transporting relief materials free of cost.

He said that all the goods will be unloaded by December 31. Besides, the Bhubaneswar station relief materials are being unloaded at Cuttack and Mancheswar railway stations, he added.

Meanwhile, the state government has already stopped providing polythene sheets to the affected people after December 20. The affected families who did not get polythene sheets will be given Rs 400 each.

More than half of the 16.5 lakh families whose houses were either partially or fully damaged could not be given polythene sheets.

The state government has failed to supply blankets to even ten percent of the affected families. Out of the 16.5 lakh affected families, blankets have been supplied to only 1.23 lakh families.