Cyclone Fani: The Aftermath

There has been widespread praise for Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s efficiency in limiting the human devastation of cyclone Fani.

- Mahesh Sharma

His government, learning from experience, organised and executed a mammoth evacuation, moving over one million people from the coast to inland shelters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been as fulsome in his acknowledgement of Patnaik’s expert management as he has been damning of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, he said, refused to take his calls and turned down the central government’s aid. After Modi’s visit to Odisha in the wake of Fani, taking in the damage from the air alongside Patnaik, the PM announced grants of Rs 1,000 crore in emergency funds, besides Rs 2 lakh for the families of those who have died and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered injuries.

Thirty-five people died in the state. The cyclone that smashed into the Odisha coast in 1999 killed over 10,000.