Food riots in Orissa
Mob attacks Fernandes' chopper
Tribune News Service and Agencies

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1 — Food riots have broken out in Orissa’s cyclone ravaged coastal districts, including the state capital, even as the rescue and relief teams of armed forces struggled to access the worst hit areas today, three days after the calamity struck.

Residents in different areas were reported to have looted vehicles carrying emergency food supply. Drinking water was scarce with power supply still disrupted and vast areas submerged.

The state government was yet to get even a preliminary estimate of casualties though unofficial reports put the toll at more than 3,000.

A frenzied mob today attacked an IAF chopper carrying Defence Minister George Fernandes, two of his ministerial colleagues and a small media team for an on-the-spot assessment of the havoc caused by the cyclone which hit Paradip on Friday.

While no one was injured, the IAF pilots prevented the MI-17 helicopter from being damaged by taking off without Mr Fernandes, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and a crew member to be picked up later. Mines Minister Naveen Patnaik had however managed to get into the chopper before it took off.

The people were protesting against total lack of relief supplies, drinking water and medicines in the port city three days after the cyclone hit the port city. Some of them shouted "we are not here to listen to speeches. We want food and water."

Members of the media team were heckled by the crowd. While a photographer was slapped, the crowd tried to snatch away a video-camera from a private TV crew.

Official sources in New Delhi said rescue teams had recovered 39 bodies so far from Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack areas while Balasore District Magistrate A.K. Baishnab told PTI at Soro that at least 20 deaths were reported from the district but the toll was likely to go up as 900 villages stood devastated.

Defence officials in Delhi said the Army had cleared five crucial national highways and rushed more troops to restore surface communication and provide relief.

The Air Force pressed into service three heavy-lift transport aircraft besides carrying out air dropping by eight MI-8 helicopters.

Five naval ships carrying 150 tonnes of ration, medicines, portable water packets, generators and other equipment have positioned themselves near the worst hit Paradip port and are set to enter the harbour after the channel is clear.

The airport here was reopened with three IL-76 aircraft carrying bulldozers and other earth moving equipment landing.

Chief Minister Girdhar Gamang said many places were still inaccessible because of road blocks but relief operations were expected to gain momentum with the arrival of some larger helicopters.

Lakhs of people were estimated to have been rendered homeless in the super cyclone. Bhubaneswar alone accounted for two lakh of them as almost all slum areas here have been washed away.

The second largest town, Cuttack, was still under four to six feet of water.

Army personnel have so far rescued more than 6,000 marooned people from the Balasore area.

The troops have divided the cyclone-hit areas into three sectors with Balasore, Paradip and Puri as headquarters to channel rescue and relief.

Defence Minister George Fernandes accompanied by Union Ministers Naveen Patnaik and Jual Oram conducted an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged areas.

Defence officials in New Delhi said main road links between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, Chilka and Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Soro, Dhamra and Bhadrak and Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar had already been cleared.

A Soro report said a 3km stretch of railway line near Sabira station on the Balasore-Bhadrak sector was washed away.

Meanwhile, a report from Midnapore in West Bengal said the coastguards have intensified the search for missing fishing boats with four ships being pressed into service.

Coast Guard Commander D.B. Prasada said the vessels today found two broken fishing trawlers, "Maa Vasanti" and "Maa Tarini," but none was inside.

At least 35 more fishing boats and trawlers were still missing.

NEW DELHI: The super cyclonic storm that hit Orissa on Friday has weakened into a well-marked low pressure over coastal areas of that state, north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining sea areas.

According to Mr S.R. Kalsi, Deputy Director (Cyclone Warning) in the Meteorological Department here, this remnant of the cyclone is still causing rains in coastal districts of Orissa, West Bengal and extreme north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Squally winds with a speed of 45-50 kmph are expected in coastal areas of Orissa during the next 24 hours, he said, advising fishermen to be cautious while venturing into the sea.

Meanwhile, as many as 42 bodies of those killed in the super cyclone in Paradip port, Orissa, have been recovered.

This has been conveyed by the chairman of the Paradip Port Trust following restoration of the phone lines at 4 p.m. on Sunday, an official press note said on Monday.

According to a preliminary assessment of the damage, two deep sea trawlers out of a large number of such vessels which entered the Paradip port in distress have sunk.

About 50 other fishing boats of Kakinada and Vizag, which entered the port in distress, are also reported to have sunk.

The conveyor belt at the port has been damaged. Other losses include the sinking of a survey launch.

The Public Distribution Department of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has released a special additional allocation of 73,800 tonnes of rice to Orissa for distribution among the people affected by the devastating cyclone in the state.

This rice will be supplied at below poverty line (BPL), rate of Rs 3.5 a kg ex-FCI godowns. The special allocation includes 13,800 tonnes of rice released earlier at BPL rate to Orissa for distribution to the cyclone-affected people living below the poverty line in Ganjam district. These releases involve a subsidy of about Rs 50 crore, an official release said.

The Railways will carry free of cost relief material donated by any organisation for the cyclone-affected people of Orissa and other states.

Announcing this here on Monday, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said necessary arrangements had been made and dispatch of relief material had been accorded top priority.

Restoration of track had been completed between the Khurda road and Bhubaneswar on the up line. The track between Talcher and Barang-Bhubaneswar had also been restored. The line between the Khurda road and Puri would be restored later.

Operations by AIR and Doordarshan, blanked out by damage to their installations in the cyclone-hit areas of Orissa, were partially restored today.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters here there had been substantial damage to DD and AIR installations on Saturday in the super cyclone that hit several coastal districts of the eastern state.

Aerial survey by Sonia Gandhi

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1 (UNI) — Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi today made an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged districts of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur and also part of Cuttack in Orissa.

The Congress president demanded that the super cyclone which wrought havoc in Orissa be declared as a national calamity of rare severity.