Insensitive administration compounds the woes of the disaster ravaged Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Two blackbucks saved from the furious river Rushikulya

Source: The Sambad

Situation still precarious in flood-hit South Odisha

Source: The Sambad

Tragedy is not yet over for Berhampur and Ganjam

Heavy rains leave Berhampur city waterlogged; Government of Odisha is nowhere to be seen

Source: The Sambad

Berhampur MP missing in action as city faces double tragedy

Source: The Sambad

Flood situation worsens in Ganjam

Source: Orissa Post & The Sambad

Berhampur Railway station devastated by cyclone Phailin

Double trouble for Berhampur as many areas submerged in rain water

Source: The Sambad

Berhampur MP Mr. Siddhanta Mahapatra missing in action even as people get restive

Berhampur faces the double whammy of cyclone Phailin and incessant rains

Source: The Sambad

When it rains, it pours in Berhampur

Phailin leaves its damaging footprints in Ganjam

Source: The Sambad

Phailin damages Ganjam beyond recognition

Berhampur still recovering from cyclone Phailin now faces flood fury

Source: The Sambad

Ground report from Berhampur: Ten days after cyclone Phailin, Ganjam remains powerless

By Jajati Karan, CNN-IBN

It has been ten days now that the worst cyclone, Phailin, hit the Ganjam district in Odisha has been plunged in darkness as the district's entire power system has literally been blown away. To know about the hardship the four million people staying in this district are facing, CNN-IBN spent a night in Berhampur city and its adjoining villages. As the sun sets in Ganjam, it looks as if the entire district has gone back to the dark ages. It's hard to believe that Behrampur is the commercial capital of South Odisha. Post cyclone Phailin, this entire area has no power supply.

Odisha: Ten days after cyclone Phailin, Ganjam remains powerless

The first sight in the city was a long queue at an ATM, which was one of the few working. "We can't do anything without power. Life has become so difficult," said Aan, a medical student of MKCG medical college. In a grocery shop which had a power generator, there was a sudden rush to charge mobile phones. The shopkeeper charges Rs 20 per hour from desperate customers like retired government servant Manoranjan Sarangi. "My daughters and son stay outside Odisha and this mobile is the only means of communication, so I have to charge it at any cost," Manoranjan said.

At one of the main streets of Berhampur at 8 pm at night, when the city should buzz with activities, most of the commercial establishments remain closed and the city comes to a standstill. The only light one sees is the temporary lamp post set by Odisha government's OSDMA. If the city life in Berhampur is a nightmare, for villages the situation is worse.

Cyclone affected Saraswati Sahoo said, "We elders and the men sleep outside on the streets, whereas our young girls have to sleep in dark inside the house though it's very hot inside." The power crisis has led to an acute water shortage.

Efforts to supply drinking water through tankers are inadequate. Restoration of electricity towers, damaged by the cyclone, is progressing slowly. GRIDCO CMD Hemant Sharma said, "The task before us is mammoth. The damage which has taken place should normally take three years but we are trying to do it in the shortest possible time."

According to top sources of the Odisha government, it will take at least 10 days in Berhampur and more than a month in the entire Ganjam district for power to fully restore and until then the ordeal of the people like these is not going to end anytime soon.
Link Odisha: Ten days after cyclone Phailin, Ganjam remains powerless

PHAILIN: Berhampur University suffers heavy damage

The campus now resembles a war-ravaged area

Sports complex of Berhampur University totally damaged

Berhampur University, once known as for its lush green campus with thousands of casuarinas, banyan, mangrove and other trees, now resembles a war-ravaged area. 

Debris of fallen building and uprooted trees all over the Bhanja Bihar campus, sprawling over 251 acres, greet the visitors today. One can find only a heap of bricks and mortars at a place that used to be PG hostel and sports complex. 

Post Cyclone: Berhampur University

The power and drinking water systems have totally collapsed. The Bhanjabihar campus was caught in the eye of the severe cyclonic storm Phailin on October 12. “We bore the brunt of the devastation caused by Phailin as the campus is located just two km from the Gopalpur coast, Vice-Chancellor Deepak Kumar Behera, told The Hindu on Friday. “We don’t know when we can rebuild our campus and ensure normal academic activity. We have asked the State government to conduct a safety audit as the structural stability of various structures which withstood the onslaught of the cyclone is in doubt,” he said.

The university administration made a preliminary estimate of the loss and put it at Rs.60 crore. Responding to the SOS sent by the university, the government sanctioned Rs.10 crore, of which Rs.3 crore was released to take up restoration work immediately.

Sports complex Berhampur University

The university has 20 departments and imparts six self-financing courses. It has a law college and 100 affiliated colleges under its jurisdiction. The puja vacation was supposed to end on October 21. Principal of Khollikote Autonomous College Saritanjali Bahidar said they had sought extension of holidays till October 31.

Berhampur University Registrar B.P. Rath and Director of College Development Council B.C. Choudhary said it was not possible to resume classes before Diwali. Source: The Hindu

HORRIFIC TRAIL OF DEVASTATION FROM BRAHMAPUR TO B’GAON

By: HEMANTA KUMAR PRADHAN

Having experienced a ferocious cyclonic storm Phailin on October 12 last at Brahmapur, I along with a few fellow reporters undertook a motorcycle journey on the October 13 morning to see how the monstrous storm had wrecked havoc and left a trail of devastation in coastal Ganjam and its neighbouring districts.

As the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that the cyclonic storm would badly affect the villages and towns between Balugaon and Brahmapur, we decided to start our journey from Brahmapur to Balugaon to get a first-hand report on the ravages of Phailin. Though the wind speed had deceased considerably, we were still haunted by fear of the wind turning frightful again.

We visited various places of the city and captured photos of heaps of rubble, uprooted trees and electric poles and snapped wires across the city.From the First Gate of Brahmapur to the Gopalpur junction, the city wore a fearful look. Most of the old and new trees had toppled, while water was running over road from Roland Institute to Gopalpur junction as Bahana Nala had overflowed. The main road connecting NH-5 was disconnected. We looked for the shortcuts but they too had been blocked as uprooted trees kept lying over them. So, we took a bypass road via Lanjipalli over bridge to reach NH-5 so that we could move to Balugaon.

When we crossed Lanjipalli, we got to know the death of a child at Bijipur in wall collapse and another similar case at Gosani Nuagaon in the city. Storm didn’t show any mercy to the telephone towers and electric poles and transformers. The telecommunication and electricity supply was badly hit. We visited Ayodhya Nagar, Gajapati Nagar, Lochapada and Aska Road and saw the areas in ruin. The Brahmapur railway station was also destroyed. The kutcha and asbestos houses were badly affected in the storm near the station.

We managed to cross streets of the city with much difficulty as they had been filled with damaged branches and leaves and broken electric poles rounded with wires. We touched the NH-5 and set off for Balugaon. On the way, a truck driver told us that a few lorries had turned turtle near Konishi after being hit by the cyclonic storm. The wind was still blowing at a high speed, enough to shake our motorcycle, in which we were travelling. But it hardly had the strength to shake our determination to move ahead and see the large-scale devastations and wreckages.

The low-lying areas with paddy crops to the right side of the NH had been fully submerged. During our journey, we passed many petrol pumps beside the NH, which too had faced the ire of the cyclone. With their shades damaged, most of them had shut down. We hardly saw any people or any vehicle on the road. A dead silence had reigned supreme everywhere. We crossed Jagannathpur junction and then Mandiapalli, which connects Gopalpur beach via Berhampur University. Two reporters who camped at the university campus joined us at the junction. What they told us about the devastation the university had gone through was shocking. The university was famous for its greenery having thousands of trees, but the storm had stripped it of its pride possession and rendered it barren. It hurt us when we knew that the dreaded storm had not spared the deer park, classrooms and hostels inside the campus of the university.

We took a glance of a high school near the NH at Chamakhandi, which was filled with broken trees. Then we saw a few village roads connecting the NH filled with uprooted trees. Most fruit-bearing trees had been badly damaged. We reached the district headquarters town of Chhatrapur. The Collectorate and residence of the Collector had been affected. The storm had not spared a single building with asbestos roof. Educational institutions had been damaged. We visited the people in the relief centre at Onslow High School. While talking with the poor people of the cyclone-hit area, we were told how the victims had undergone a harrowing experience on the previous night.      

Our team resumed journey and passed the Tampara Lake after Chatrapur. The gigantic mango, coconut, jackfruit and eucalyptus plants along NH were kissing the ground. We came across a damaged roadside hotel A1 dhaba near the lake where three lorries had overturned. Then we crossed the overflowing Rushikulya and reached Purunabandha-Binchhanapalli cyclone shelter after Ganjam town. The fishermen were about to leave the shelter as wind had been quite slow. Taking some dry food given by the administration, the fishermen were leaving the cyclone shelter for their homes, but they looked to be stressed with anxiety, apprehension and fear about the safety of their houses and the belongings, especially the fishnets and boats.

An electric sub-station at Humma had been damaged. After crossing the Palur junction, we reached severely affected coastal villages such as Podagada, Jhatipadar, Barapalli under Ganjam block. We stopped at Sai dhaba where two lorries had met a mishap. We reached Gopinathpur coming under Ward 6 of Rambha NAC. Out of total 14 families living in the village, 12 kutcha houses were badly damaged. Coconut trees, bamboo and eucalyptus trees had toppled over houses. Two persons were injured due to the sudden fall of the trees, said a homeless villager Rama Nath.

We then moved towards a few severely affected villages like Jharedi, Kantapada, Sipakuda and Madhurchua near the Chilika lake. We got to know that a few fishing villages near Sabulia were also affected when water of the lake gushed into their villages. We were astounded after seeing a huge loss of fruit-bearing trees in the groves. Before reaching Badaghati, we saw a village road to Pana Nuagoan filled with uprooted old trees and a damaged autorickshaw near a huge tree. On the day of the cyclone, driver Parameswar was killed after a huge tree fell down on him while crossing the road.

We wanted to move to Khallikote, but a local advised us not to go there as the road was not clear. We continued our journey and reached Keshpur at 9am. The Chilika water had entered the paddy fields and inundated many villages of Pathara panchayat. When we reached Balugaon, we found people slowly coming out of their houses. Everywhere, we saw heaps of debris and fallen and broken trees.

People everywhere were demanding relief like dry food since people had lost their homes and belongings in the gale. Starving children were staring at us helplessly. As relief had not been supplied to them in time, angry locals near Balugaon were preparing to hold a road blockade on NH-5.

Source: The Pioneer 

Watch: Real picture post-cyclone Phailin

Watch: Real picture post-cyclone Phailin

Cyclone Phailin hit the Gopalpur coast in Odisha on Saturday night and Chattarpur in Ganjam district was the worst hit. The timely evacuation by the officials saved many lives in the state even though they they faced resistance by the people.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/428629/watch-real-picture-postcyclone-phailin.html?utm_source=ref_article

Bollywood prays for victims of Cyclone Phailin

Bollywood prays for victims of Cyclone Phailin Big B and Madhuri shared their grief on Twitter After witnessing nature's fury in the form of tropical cyclone Phailin, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit took to the micro-blogging site Twitter to share the loss and grief of all those affected.

Phailin is said to be one of the biggest cyclones to hit India's coast in 14 years. At least seven people lost their lives as the cyclone, accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, swept coastal Odisha on Saturday night, according to official sources on Sunday.

Here's what the celebrities had to say:

Amitabh Bachchan: The fury of the gods in cyclone Phailin! Be careful, beware and be protected and be in prayer!

Madhuri Dixit: My prayers go out to all the people affected by cyclone Phailin. May God give them strength to overcome this ordeal.

Akshay Kumar: My prayers with all those impacted by nature's wrath. Hoping for calm in Odisha, sadly that's all we can do at this moment. Phailin.

Mira Nair: Holding my breath about Phailin, prayers and courage for the people of my birthplace in Odisha. May nature's fury be contained?

Shekhar Ravjiani: My prayers for all those facing the wrath of Phailin and respect for the officials who are working overtime to evacuate people to safety.

Tisca Chopra: While our prayers are with those affected by Phailin, it must be said GOI (government of India) has done great, evacuating half a million people is no small task!

Anupam Kher: Every time nature shows its fury, fragility of our existence gets badly exposed. It makes importance of the word 'I' so unimportant. Phailin.

Boman Irani: Seems we were more prepared than usual. Even nature seems to respect that and in turn has been less brutal than expected. Source: Indo-Asian News Service