Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: Squabble within the BJD has hit the civic body’s cyclone relief and reconstruction work.

At a meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday, Bhubaneswar (Ekamra) MLA Ashok Panda criticised the ongoing reconstruction effort.

This sparked off widespread resentment in the civic body, which, most people believe, had worked hard to clear the post-cyclone debris.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Panda said: “I have told time and again that the civic body is not consulting the three MLAs of the city in the pre or post-cyclone disaster management exercise. In fact, the civic body had never called a council meeting before or after the cyclone. It only proves its callousness in disaster preparedness.”

BLOW TO BDA

Estimated loss due to cyclone in and around city: Rs 48 crore Number of parks damaged: 59

(From top) BDA vice-chairman Vishal Kumar Dev inspects damage at Biju Patnaik Park and garbage and uprooted trees lying on road at various places of Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Political observers, however, felt that Panda’s criticism was totally uncalled for as his own equation with mayor Ananta Narayan Jena is well-known.

“Panda should not have criticised the civic body at such a meeting as the mayor was absent. If the mayor, as the political head of the corporation, has not conducted his duties properly, then Panda could have guided him,” said a senior government official.

Panda also alleged that the civic authorities had failed to provide food, candle and other essential commodities at the cyclone shelters on the night of October 12.

“We are fortunate that the situation improved in the city within 24 hours. But if Phailin was as strong as the 1999 supercyclone, then the situation might have been very critical,” he said.

The mayor’s absence during the post-cyclone repair and reconstruction work has also invited criticism.

“The mayor was absent for a long time both during the civic polls last month and after the cyclone. His presence in Berhampur to oversee the post-disaster reconstruction there is definitely causing hardship here,” said a councillor, who did not want to be named.

Jena, on the other hand, said the civic body had done a commendable job in clearing the roads in the absence of adequate task forces as most were moved to other severely affected places.

“We have cleared almost all major roads within 36 hours. The garbage cleaning work is under way. I will reach Bhubaneswar by tomorrow morning to personally supervise the work. The municipal commissioner has already requested the Khurda collector to have 20 hydraulic tractors to transport debris,” he told The Telegraph over phone from Berhampur.

Jena also clarified that his presence in Berhampur during the civic polls and after Phailin struck has been scheduled by the party high command.

With allegations from his own party’s leaders on the slow post-disaster reconstruction, the state government has asked the vice-chairman of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Vishal Kumar Dev, to monitor ongoing work.

Dev was the municipal commissioner before becoming the BDA vice-chairman.

“We have decided to assess the situation on a daily basis. The next day’s responsibilities will be decided every evening. With many tree-cutting machines being sent to districts such as Ganjam, we have procured smaller machines here to make the major city parks ready within three days. The civil construction inside the parks will be completed within 15 days,” Dev said.

Restoration target

• 3 days for cleaning jogging/walking tracks, trimming trees and repairing boundary walls
• 15 days for fixing electrical installations
• 3 months for restoration of roads in flood-hit Kalinga Nagar

“We have already started post-cyclone re-construction work. While restoration work at Biju Patnaik and Indira Gandhi parks is nearing completion, repair of other parks will be taken up in phases. We will begin to repair roads within three months”
Vishal Kumar Dev, vice-chairman, Bhubaneswar Development Authority