Bhubaneswar, Nov. 18: A central team, headed by G.K. Dwivedy, joint secretary in ministry of home affairs, visited the districts affected by Hudhud to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damages caused by the cyclone that hit the state on October 12.

The team has visited Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Rayagada districts.

In a memorandum, the state government had sought financial assistance to the tune of Rs 771.2 crore from the national disaster response fund for restoration work.

The demand included Rs 104.35 crore for restoration of drinking water supply and Rs 374. 31 crore for repair of bridges.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had met Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on November 5 in New Delhi and demanded an interim assistance of Rs 500 crore from the national disaster response fund.

However, no interim relief has been released so far.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an aerial visit of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, where cyclone Hudhud had made a landfall and some of the affected areas of Odisha. He had announced an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh. However, he did not announce any help for Odisha, triggering criticism from Opposition parties in the state.

In the memorandum, the state government has said 33.44 lakh people in 9,657 villages in 15 districts were affected by the cyclone, which had claimed three lives. Agricultural crops in about 2.47 lakh hectares were affected, while more than 50 per cent crop loss was reported in 40,484 hectares.