Fani death toll in Odisha mounts to 29 as major cities remain without power

People living in villages in the state's coastal districts complained of food and drinking water not reaching them

As many as 29 people are now dead in Odisha after cyclone Fani hit the state on Friday, said a civil servant as the state struggled to help people in villages and restore water supply, power, and telecommunications.

Twenty-one people died in Puri, the worst-affected district, and the rest in other places, said state chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi. Unofficial sources, however, put the death toll at over 40.

The state government had set itself a zero casualty target as it evacuated 1.2 million people from the cyclone's strike zone.

The cyclone blew away mud houses, utility towers and lakhs