Cyclone 8212; Receding waters reveal grotesque realities

These villages, located near the Jatadhari mouth on the seashore, faced the brunt of the 300 km per hour cyclone accompanied by an eight metre high tidal wave and heavy rains which lasted over 48 hours. Bodies in a highly decomposed state were lying everywhere as entire families had been wiped out, with no one leftbehind to mourn the deceased. That explains why an eerie silence prevails in most of these unfortunate villages.

At least 38 families in ten villages under Ersama block had been totally exterminated in the calamity, some of the survivors said. In most of these 18 villages, only seven, eight or ten survivors were found, all of them too stunned to talk and virtually starving since the cyclone. Most of the dead were either crushed under collapsed houses and falling trees or just washed into the sea by the huge tidal waves that swept inland. The ten villages under Ersama block are Kankara, Olara, Panchapalli, Padmapur, Goda, Ambiki, Godaharishpur, Sagabaria, Daleipur and Bedua.

According to estimates made by the survivors, at least 4,500 people had died in these ten villages.

Another 700 had perished in the eight villages of Japa, Nuadiha, Kunjakothi, Nuagaon, Chatua, Balitutha, Gadakujanga and Pokharipada in Kujanga block.Besides, 75 bodies had been located in nine villages under the neighbouring Tirtolblock area. These 18 cursed villages had accounted for about 10,000 heads of cattle killed in the cyclone. Livestock is continuing to die even after the calamity due to lack of food and water, the villagers said.

They complained that till yesterday, relief had not reached them and they were surviving on rotten coconuts, papayas, raw tamarind and wild vegetation.This apart, about 200 bodies were still strewn on the sands of the Mahanadi river mouth near Paradip.

Mass cremation of bodies in Paradip continued, while about 70 bodies were buried near Sandhakuda yesterday.

According to the district authorities, four lakh out of the ten lakh population in the district still remained marooned and it was not possible to provide any relief to about 1.5 lakh people as road communication was still disrupted by waterlogging. With official agencies hard-pressed to reach the marooned people, nobody bothered about the disposal of bodies and carcasses. Reports of large-scale deaths due to gastroenteritis poured in fromvarious areas, but the district authorities are not in a position to either confirm or deny them. The IAF helicopters continued air-dropping tonnes of food for the marooned people. A coast-guard chopper also flew sorties, dropping cooked food packets in the affected villages.

Meanwhile, a large scale exodus of people continued from Paradip for the second day today after panic gripped the port town, following a rumour about an ammonia gas leak from Paradip Phosphates Ltd PPL yesterday.

Despite repeated denials issued by both PPL authorities and the private sector Oswal Chemical and Fertiliser Ltd, the rumour spread like wildfire.Hundreds of people were seen deserting the town by all available modes of transport.

PPL authorities said that they had 9,000 tonnes of ammonia in four tanks and the Oswal company said it had 22,000 tonnes in two tanks. There had been no leaks in the tanks, they clarified.