--As boats, fishing equipments
destroyed
 |
| Damaged paddy field near fisher village Podampetta |
GOPALPUR: Living with fear and
anxiety in the relief camps of the district administration, panicky fishermen
were rummaging through heaps of rubbles and broken house articles, besides
boats and nets and other fishing equipment after dreaded Phailin wrecked havoc
and ravaged their dwellings near Gopalpur on October 12 evening.
Though the fishermen had been
shifted by the district administration on October 11 to different cyclone
shelters and school buildings, they had been praying to their sea god for a low
intensity cyclone and wind so that their houses were saved and their livelihood
equipment never got damaged or lost. The women folk after having left homes
looked apprehensive about the safety of the house articles. The male members
were in sad mood thinking about the safety of their fishing nets and boats.
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| Fishermen trying to gather catches after Phailin |
The Pioneer team visited a few
relief camps from Gopalpur to end of the Ganjam coast near Prayagi. As most of
the fishermen communities were living near the beaches of the Bay of
Bengal, the administration had targeted to evacuate them on a
priority basis. Even, those, who showed reluctance to leave homes and household
articles, were forcefully evacuated as the administration was dead set to
ensure that no casualty took place due to the gale.
After spending the harrowing
night, the fisher community people returned to their homes but to their agony,
they found only piles of debris. The house had been ravaged, while their
thatched and asbestos roofs had been swept away. The Pioneer team reached
Bauxipalli, situated near the Gopalpur beach and saw most of the thatched
houses had been destroyed. Hundreds of trees had been uprooted and roads had
been blocked as the trees laid on them.
Gopalpur was in fact in the eyes
of the storm as it suffered the most and especially, it was the fishing
villages, which bore the brunt of the cyclone. According to B Satyamma, a
villager, his and fellow members’ livelihoods were directly affected due to the
massive damages of the fishing nets, boats and catamarans.
 |
| A home at Bauxipalli got damaged in storm |
The very next day, Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik had visited the village and assured them of full rehabilitation
so that they started their occupation afresh. He also instantly declared 50 kg
rice per family and ordered payment of Rs 500 for each affected families even
as the administration announced distribution of rations free of cost for two
months.
Then we reached Nolia Nuagaon, 35
km from Gopalpur, under Ganjam block. The people were angry over the district
administration for not supplying relief materials and even had blocked a road
approaching their village and gheraoed a few Government officials during Chief
Minister’s visit to Agastinuagaon. They demanded relief immediately and sheets
of tarpaulin to cover their thatched and asbestos houses.
Later, we moved to another
fishermen village New Podampetta, 42 km from Gopalpur, near Podagada village
under Ganjam block in the district. The fishing community members had been
evacuated from their cluster and lodged at Arunapur cyclone shelter under
Ramagarh gram panchayat of Ganjam block. However, when they reached their
houses on October 13 morning, there hearts grew heavy as their houses had been
completely damaged. There was no place to sit in the houses as the floors were
filled with rubbles. The women folks were busy cooking rice on open ground when
we entered the tiny hamlet. Still, the male members were gearing up to build
their houses anew.
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| A fisher-woman is cooking food in front of her destroyed house |
Without waiting for the district
administration’s help, a few of the villagers had started repairing their
houses at least to stay inside till the State Government’s relief material
reached. The school of the village was destroyed in the storm too and most of the
people had lost their boats and fishing nets. Ch Sathiaga of the village
lamented that they had nothing left to start a new life. However, they did not
look to be deficient of grit and resilience, he said.
Another villager B Bunga came out
of his damaged house with his five-day baby and requested us to help them by
bringing to limelight their untold miseries so that they drew Government’s
attention and got relief. He said that the October 12 night was more frightful
than the Super Cyclone of 1999. Bunga’s neighbour S Pandi,
who was cooking in front of his destroyed house, began to sob, telling how she
had lost her means of livelihood and house to the gale.
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| A baby in her destroyed house looking towards camera |
When contacted, Ganjam Collector
Dr Krishan Kumar said the district stood the worst-affected in terms of loss of
livelihoods and property. He maintained that over 2.4 lakh houses had been
damaged including fishermen’s huts and other kutcha houses. A special relief
package for fishermen would also be announced by the Government soon, he
assured, adding that the fishing community had suffered the most as it lost
nets, boats and catamarans due to the cyclone.
Published on October 17, 2013
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