Houses damaged by flood at a village in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, Sept. 18: With receding water level, flood-induced damages of houses are slowly beginning to unfold. However, to ensure that compensatory doles do not elude them, flood victims are keeping the damages intact.

Thousands of flood victims are frantically waiting for the revenue inspector’s arrival in their villages.

“We are advised to keep the trails of destruction intact till the revenue inspector makes spot verification of damaged houses. As the damaged houses would be photographed as an evidence of the loss, it has become binding not to retrieve the rubbles,” said a flood victim. “We cannot rebuild and reconstruct the damaged houses as we are waiting for the officials to arrive and assess our loss and give away the compensation,” said Shradhananda Nayak from flood-hit Tikhiri village.

“The very sight of the broken house makes me distressed. But the sarpanch has told me to preserve it till the revenue inspector visits the village,” Nayak said, while rummaging through the remains of his broken down mud-walled house.

Nayak further said: “I do have the resources to build the kutcha house by my own. My two sons are doing good business in Paradip town. With the saving they have made, a new mud-walled thatched house could come up. But we are waiting for house damage assistance from the government.”

Victims, whose houses were razed to the ground or damaged partially, patiently wait for the arrival of supervisory officials. The scenario was more or less the same in most of these riverside villages that got ravaged by the flood. “Rows of damaged houses continue to greet the relief-carrying volunteers. Even 10 days after the deluge, devastation is made to look fresh. It seems as if dwelling houses caved into the watery inundation a couple of days back,” said Goutam Roul, a volunteer of a charitable organisation.

“We have been here since last morning to distribute family health kits. Our emphasis is on child and maternal healthcare. We are asking the villagers to maintain clean village environment and domestic hygiene. We were ready to lend hands for clearing off the broken remains of the houses as part of our exercise. But villagers insist on debris to remain till government officials accord approval to the house damage,” Roul said.

“We have learnt bitter lessons from the past. Many people were denied of assistance though their houses were damaged. There were many bogus beneficiaries,” said Raghav Behera from flood-affected Jamapada village.

Kendrapara’s collector Pradipta Kishore Pattnaik said: “We want to ensure that damage assessment is entirely free from discrepancies. A select band of revenue inspectors with excellent track record will conduct the house-damage survey. The extent of damage will be assessed and estimated on the spot by a group of supervisory officer entrusted for the purpose. To make the exercise foolproof, every damaged house will be photographed. Besides, the recipient of compensation cheques will also be photographed.”