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DEVELOPMENT:
ORISSA
Castles
in the Air
That's
what the state has to show a year after the ravaging cyclone. Lack of
funds, strategy and will — the Government falters on reconstruction.
By Ruben
Bannerjee
It's
an unending skyline, pockmarked by lifeless trees that are dangerously
bent with their barks completely ripped off. On the ground, hungry emaciated
faces with sunken cheeks and droopy eyes are sheltered in makeshift pigeon-hole
shanties. The picture of cyclone-ravaged Orissa is vivid. Only, the desolation
is not that of last October when the killer winds swept the horizon, it
is still part of the present.
"If
it was the tidal waves that gobbled us then, it is the overwhelming despair
that is swallowing us now," says Bhagirathi Mondal of Padampur, a
village deep inside Ersama, the sea-side block that took the worst pounding
in the cyclone which claimed over 8,000 lives. Similar gloom hangs over
14 other affected coastal districts, making a mockery of the Government's
claims of having got the state up on its feet again.
Early last
month, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's aides made it a point to phone
district officials, asking them to line up as many inaugurations as possible
of reconstructed houses, cyclone shelters and schools through October
and early November. It was an effort to make a tragic anniversary seem
less grim, besides of course earning the chief minister some points. But
neither purpose has been served. Barring a handful of openings, Patnaik
has had to make do with attending state-sponsored commemorative meetings
and disaster-management workshops. "The task in hand is daunting,
but we have been doing our very best to rebuild the state," says
the chief minister.
That's not
saying much. Against 20 lakh houses that were either destroyed or damaged,
funds have been tied up for rebuilding only 3.8 lakh. Of these, no more
than 30,000 houses have actually been built till date. Though 8,495 persons
were killed, ex-gratia payments have been made only to 4,557 families.
Of the 500 cyclone shelters planned, work is on for only 88 of them. Against
29,000 fishermen families which had lost their means of livelihood, not
more than a thousand have been compensated with boats. And though the
casualty of livestock was over 24 lakh, only 1,500 bullocks and 5,000
milch animals have been replaced so far.
Driven to
destitution, the people are a disenchanted lot. "The Government has
clearly failed," says Bijoy Mohapatra, president of the newly formed
Orissa Gana Parishad. Flowing with the tide, the opposition parties are
also crying hoarse over the tardy reconstruction process.
Piecing
together a shattered state is never easy. "It means rebuilding the
state brick by brick," reminds Patnaik. But even bricks are in short
supply. The state produces an average of 30 crore blocks a year, whereas
at least 1,000 crore are needed if all damaged structures are to be reconstructed.
Providing
shelter apart, there's also large-scale joblessness to contend with. The
tidal waves came as far as 20 km into the shore and large tracts of the
land turned saline. Now even a blade of grass refuses to grow. A traditional
farmer, Dibakar Das, attempted to raise some crops and get his life back
on the rails. But to no avail: his bullocks perished and without them,
tilling was near impossible; the seeds that an NGO gave him were not suitable
for the saline land. All the crops died young. As did Das' hopes of an
early recovery.
State Revenue
Minister Biswabhushan Harichandan urges patience. "Even rebuilding
the quake-devastated Latur is taking time," he says. But it is doubtful
whether time alone would do the trick for Orissa. Behind the derailed
reconstruction lies a host of reasons ranging from lack of funds to red
tape and half-hearted initiatives. Many of these problems are firmly entrenched
in the state's polity. So the possibility of a turnaround even in the
distant future seems bleak.
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