Cyclone Dana caused Rs 600 cr worth damage in Odisha: Minister Pujari

Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Monday said as per preliminary assessment severe cyclone Dana has caused damage to public and private properties worth around Rs 600 crore in the state.

'Dana' struck the eastern coast early on October 25, triggering torrential rain and high-speed winds uprooting trees and electric poles and causing significant damage to infrastructure and crops in 14 districts of Odisha.

Speaking to media persons here, Pujari said as per preliminary estimate the state suffered Rs 600 crore damage due to the cyclone. The final damage assessment report will come up in a day or two, he said.

The minister said that a total of 166 blocks in 14 districts have been either partially or fully affected by the cyclone. The districts are - Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Khurda, and Puri.

A huge volume of standing crops and houses have been damaged in the cyclone. Maximum volume of damage caused in the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara.

The Energy department has suffered severe damage while the Panchayati Raj department has yet to submit its damage report, he said.

After getting the final damage assessment report from Odisha, the central team would visit the state to hold discussions with the state government, the minister said.