Two Years Of Titli: Gajapati Admin’s Humane Endeavour to Bring Smiles to Orphaned Children

Gajapati: Titli – a word that reminds us a beautiful incarnation of nature and an example of peace and tranquility. Its presence brings us an atmosphere of happiness and peace. But sometimes, the name Titli can be so violent and destructive that the human kind will find it difficult to forget. We are talking about Titli – the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm of 2018 that devastated a large area in South Odisha and left some unforgettable memories for its people.

In the early morning of 11th October 2018, the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Titli made landfall over Odisha Andhra Pradesh border and left a trail of destruction in the area under it. Odisha’s Gajapati district was one of the severely hit districts in terms of loss of lives and property. The aftermath saw a swift action by the district administration for relief and rehabilitation. Under the dynamic leadership of Collector Anupam Saha, efforts were made to provide succor to the affected people. The devastation of Titli had an impact on people’s lives. While more than 70 people died in the calamity, a number of children were left orphaned. The utmost priority before the administration was to rehabilitate the children and bring back a happy life.

The landslides triggered by the heavy rains ruined houses and a number people lost their lives.

The aftermath was a nightmare for children like 12 year old Simanchala Bhuyan and his two younger siblings Kartika and Rama of Barghara village of Gajapati district. While their parents died in the landslides, their house was totally damaged.

The Three children were left orphaned at a time when they needed education and care. The administration took the proactive step and rescued the three children who were immediately sent to the Nabajiban Blind and Relief Centre, a child care institute at Paralakhemundi. Later they were shifted to the Vivekananda Residential School and provided all the facilities. As per the decision of the Government of Odisha, the administration deposited the ex-gratia money of 12 lakhs each in banks in their names as announced by the government. Today, they are leading a life with dreams of a bright future. While Simanchala is now studying in 7th standard, his younger siblings are in 6th and 3rd standard.

This is not the only story of orphaned children being adopted by the administration. There are others too who have been rescued and rehabilitated by the Gajapati administration and living a secured life today. For Ganapati Sabara and Mili Sabara of Garabandha, Cyclone Titli brought the biggest loss in their lives. But today they are under the adoption of district administration. When the district administration came to know about their plight, it swung into action and rehabilitated them. According to District Collector Anupam Saha, “The administration will take care of them as per the guidelines of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and they will be provided free residential education”.

The steps taken by the administration have given a second life to the orphaned people. Today, after two years of the incident, Simanchal Bhuyan says, ‘We were very lucky to be rescued by the administration. Today we are studying in school and hope will go to college and University. Also, I will take care of my brothers. I thank the district administration for all the efforts they made to rehabilitate us.’

The administration’s efforts to fulfill Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s promise to help the orphaned children is really commendable. While the Titli affected orphaned children have been rehabilitated, the administration wants that all the orphn children will be taken care and it will be ensured that they get the right education and care.