Odisha largely free from caste, religion resonance in electoral politics
Caste calculation, religious affiliation has never emerged as a tool to woo voters.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik arrived in Delhi on Sunday where he would call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the rehabilitation and restoration work following the devastating Cyclone Fani that battered the coastal areas of the state in the first week of May. Patnaik would also call upon President Ram Nath Kovind with whom he has an appointment and also attend the NITI Aayog meeting.
“I’ll be meeting PM Modi regarding mainly the damage caused by Cyclone Fani and the funds the Centre can give us for that. Also, I have an appointment with the President whom I will be seeing and I will be attending the NITI Aayog meeting,” said Patnaik.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Odisha had in May informed that according to estimates, Rs 524 crore worth of assets have been damaged by Cyclone Fani that hit the coastal areas of the state on May 3.
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The infrastructure includes 291 km of the drainage system, 750 km of roads, 26,821 street light points, parks, and public and community toilets, he had said.
Cyclone Fani left at least 41 dead and virtually destroyed the state’s principal tourism hubs of Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar ~ the Odisha tourism Golden Triangle.
Following the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had demanded special category status for the disaster-prone state from the Centre saying that it faces natural calamities almost every year.
“This puts too much stress on our finances. Precisely for this reason, Odisha should be considered for special category status. In the last five years we had Phailin, Hudhud, Titli and now Fani. In addition to this, we had massive floods,” Patnaik had said.
Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi on Saturday assured that they will impress upon PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman to formulate a special package of assistance for the hotel and tourism sector in Odisha in view of the damage caused by Cyclone Fani.
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