Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government on Monday demanded an assistance of Rs 17,000 core from the Centre towards the relief and restoration work in the aftermath of cyclone Fani that ravaged several parts of the State.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought the relief package from the Centre in order to rebuild the infrastructure and also to set up disaster-resilient houses.
“We have set global standards in saving peoples’ life and evacuating 12 lakh people, now we should start working for setting global standards in making coastal Odisha disaster resilient,” the CM said during the review meeting with the Prime Minister, who visited the State to take stock of situation.
Naveen also reiterated the special category status to Odisha at the review meeting.
Odisha was hit by Cyclone Phailin in 2013, Cyclone Hudhud in 2014, drought in 2015, Cyclone Titli in 2018 and now Fani. The recurrence of natural calamities in itself justifies the demand for special category status to Odisha, the CM added.
The State Government’s demand came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for Odisha.