One Month After Cyclone Fani, Darkness Still Haunts Victims

Puri/Khurda: Exactly a month back, extremely severe cyclone Fani had ravaged coastal parts of Odisha after making landfall in Puri district. The extent of damage was so vast that the trail of devastation can still be seen in several affected villages where there are no signs of normalcy and people continue to live in darkness due to lack of power.

In many villages in Brahmagiri area of Puri, damaged houses and broken electric poles are a common sight.

“Situation at Ambapada village is bad even after a month has elapsed since Fani made landfall. We are still not getting food properly and taking shelter at schools and other buildings as our homes have been destroyed and there is no power supply,” said an Ambapada resident.

Although power restoration work in many areas of Satyabadi, Chandanpur and Brahmagiri has been completed, there are many places where locals are facing a hard time without power amid extreme heat wave.

“We get power supply for only a few hours in morning and night. It is almost like having no electricity,” a Puri resident, Tarun Kumar Mohanty said.

Situation is worse in Nimapada area of the district where even mobile phone connectivity is yet to be restored properly.

“We have to go to distant places to make a call. Situation is very bad here as electric poles and damaged transformers are lying on the roads,” said a Nimapada resident.

Superintending Engineer of Puri Electricity Department, P K Sahoo said, “Now our complete focus is on rural areas. The pending work in urban areas will be completed in one or two days. We are trying to complete the restoration work within the month of June.”