With over 1 lakh people in 827 villages still marooned, the lack of polythene sheets has made matters worse for those who are still going without food and water due to a hopelessly tardy relief-and-rescue operation. Revenue secretary G V V Sharma told The Indian Express: “The lack of polythene sheets is our biggest headache now. We have placed orders.”

Officials were not ready to say why the Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) did not think it fit to keep the polythene sheets ready before the floods hit the State. OSDMA managing director N K Sundarray did not respond to telephone calls.

For lakhs of people who have taken shelter on the roads and the rooftops of their houses, the polythene sheets are the best defence against the vagaries of nature. “But with the polythene scam of the 1999 super cyclone fresh in their mind, nobody wanted to be reminded of anything remotely connected to polythene,” said an official.

It’s not just polythene. The 472 free kitchens and 9-lakh odd water pouches for the people are proving to be woefully inadequate for the people in 18 districts. The lack of mechanised boats also prevented the relief-and-rescue officials from providing relief.

Deprived of any assistance, a large number of flood-affected people resorted to a road blockade on Tuesday and Wednesday on National Highway 5A connecting Paradip with Daitari. In Naugaon block of Jagatsinghpur, agitated people locked the block office accusing the administration of adopting a discriminatory approach in distribution of relief material.

The deathtoll in the floods rose to 48 as surging water from over 100 breaches on the Mahanadi river system continued to submerge fresh areas in coastal Orissa. Flooding of more areas in Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts worsened the plight of the marooned villagers in the Mahanadi delta region with relief teams still finding it tough to reach many pockets.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader LK Advani on Wednesday accused the Centre of discrimination over providing flood relief to Orissa. Advani, who made an aerial survey of the affected areas along with Chief Minister Naveen Patanik, said the Rs 500 crore announced by the Centre was “totally inadequate in view of the extent of the damage”.

“Last year, the PM had announced a Rs 200-crore assistance to Orissa for flood relief, but only Rs 5.9 crore was made available. This time, the state Government has submitted a memorandum for interim assistance of Rs 2,450 crore. The UPA government should not discriminate against Orissa for political considerations,” he said.