Houses damaged in tornado strike in Bharagada village. Telegraph pictures

Kendrapara, April 3: Two years on, victims of the devastating tornado that had ripped apart a dozen of thickly-populated human settlements in Rajkanika block, still wait for government succour.

Sixteen people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the natural disaster that occurred on March 31, 2009. The victims are still living houseless because of lopsided reconstruction measures.

The signs of devastation are still intact. Residents of the tornado-ravaged localities of Kendrapara are of the view that they were let down by the government.

“Politicians and officials promised the moon. But what the victims received was a pittance,” said district Congress committee president Debendra Nath Sharma.

The tornado victims have registered their protest and held a series of demonstrations recently against what they called “poor sanction of compensation grants and tardy pace of reconstruction work”.

The March 31 tornado strike had brought in its wake a trail of devastation in seven thickly populated gram panchayats rendering hundreds of families homeless.

The principal grouse of a majority of victims was that the local administration has meted out a raw deal to them. The help and relief doled out to them are too scanty to make up for their losses. The reconstruction of ravaged public utility places like a primary health centre and a primary school are yet to make headway.

“The family members of those killed in the tornado were entitled for Rs one lakh ex-gratia aid while those injured were paid between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000, depending on the nature of injury. But the ex-gratia parameters for house damage angered the victims. The house damage compensation was between a meagre Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000. As a result, the majority of those, whose houses were flattened by tornado, have failed to rebuild their houses,” said Sharma.

“Our houses fell like packs of cards on the evening of March 31, 2009, said 55-year-old Chaitanya Barik. “My family consists of seven members including four children. We were offered paltry Rs 2,000 to rebuild house. I have rejected the help. It was a cruel joke on the victims. I am surviving on the charity of some benevolent villagers, who have accommodated us in the village community centre,” said Barik, who is from Baghabuda village.

With the tornado striking close to the 2009 general elections, the affected villages had drawn attention from various political quarters. Chief minister Navin Pattnaik and BJP stalwart L.K. Advani had air-dashed to these parts. But now, everybody, including the local officials, seem to have forgotten the victims, the victims said.

The victims charged that they have been discriminated. The relief and reconstruction measures initiated in the aftermath of the 2008 flood were more generous and viable. In sharp contrast, the government’s attitude towards the victims of Rajkanika has been nothing but half-hearted. Many of the victims have refused to accept the Rs 2,000 cheque for house repair.

The economic backbone of at least seven gram panchayats were severely ravaged by the tornado. Over 1,000 houses were razed to the ground in these sleepy villages in the span of a few minutes. A total of 7,722 residents in Mangalpur, Maneidiha, Mukundpur, Bharigada, Ganja, Baghabuda, Badataila, Barada, Arasa, Gobindapur, and Dalikanda were officially reported to have been affected by the tornado.

“The compensation that has been provided to the victims was strictly in conformity with Orissa relief code provisions. Still, we have written to the higher-ups for enhancement of house damage repair purpose. Once the government sanctions it, the people would be disbursed higher grants,” said Rajkanika block development officer Jag Mohan Hota.