Cyclone Fani: People break piggy banks as assistance pour in for Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha continues to reel under the unprecedented destruction caused by cyclone Fani, donations and other assistance continue to pour in for the State from across the country.

While several State governments and business houses have extended helping hands, individuals and NGOs in Odisha are also pooling relief materials and sending them to the districts affected by cyclone Fani that hit the State on May 3.

Several NGOs in Ganjam district, district administration and government officials have sent monetary contributions of around Rs 30 lack to the chief minister's relief fund and have also contributed relief materials.

In the midst of the ongoing relief work, two sisters, Manisha Rani Pradhan and Lipsa Rani Pradhan caught eyeballs when they broke their piggy bank and donated Rs 10,000 to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Indian Oil Corporation extended cash assistance of Rs 5 crore for restoration of damages caused to Puri Srimandir by cyclone Fani. The Adani Group on Tuesday had committed Rs 25 crore while ICICI Bank donated Rs 10 crore to support the people of Odisha affected by the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani. Similarly, Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA) committed Rs 75 lakh towards cyclone Fani relief efforts.

While the government of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala donated Rs 10 crore each, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand governments donated Rs 11 crore and Rs 5 crore, respectively.

Apart from that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also donated a month’s salary to the CM Relief Fund while urging people to come forward and assist in the ongoing relief and rebuilding operations. Later, Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha CM Naveen announced to donate his one year’s salary to CM's Relief Fund.

Earlier, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama had also donated Rs 10 lakh to Odisha CM's Relief Fund for relief and rebuilding operations after cyclone Fani.