BHUBANESWAR: Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare on Saturday made a whistle-stop tour of the flood-affected areas in Puri district. He visited several villages in the severely-hit Gop, Kanas, Delang and Satyabadi blocks. Bhandare interacted with people’s representatives, officials and villagers during his visit. Starting with Kusumpur breach on the Kusabhadra river in Gop, he visited Khairikund, Balanga, Sukal, Indarsingh, Kanas, Delang and several other villages. The Governor instructed the officials to distribute compensation to the affected families immediately after hearing their grievances. He directed that repair and restoration works should be completed within the scheduled time. Many school students told the Governor that their books and other school materials were damaged in the floods. Bhandare directed the district collector to prepare a list of such students and provide them with books as soon as possible. The villagers drew the attention of the Governor to the fact that many non-BPL families, whose houses were damaged in the floods, are not eligible to get houses under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY). Bhandare assured them that he would discuss the issue with Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. The Governor listened to the villagers about the large-scale crop loss, drinking water problem, weak embankments, choking of canals, and low height of many bridges and embankments. He advised the district administration to prepare an integrated long-term plan, which can be put before the Government, to control flood and minimise losses. He visited a water purification facility run by the Indian Red Cross Society at Kanas. He also went to Nilachal Seva Sanstha and interacted with the inmates, including orphans, elderly people, differently-abled persons and women. Satyabadi MLA Prasad Harichandan and senior officials accompanied the Governor.
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