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Erasama overshadows other cyclone-hit districts

It may seem odd, but there are some people who are grudging all the attention Erasama, the worst affected block in the recent super cyclone that devastated coastal Orissa, is getting. They are people from other coastal areas where help either reached very late or did not reach at all.

Erasama might be the worst affected block in Jagatsinghpur, but there are people living in other places as well who have lost everything - their near and dear ones, their houses, their crops.

But with the focus firmly on Erasama, the other seven blocks of Jagatsinghpur have been neglected. People in other districts also feel that too much attention has been concentrated on Erasama.

In Jagatsinghpur the number of affected people has been put at 2,55,720. Out of this, Erasama alone accounts for 28,937. Erasama also accounts for 95% of the state's toll.

These figures have been splashed across front pages both in India abroad. Quite naturally, everybody from former prime minister Devegowda to All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi have made a beeline for Erasama.

The relief material coming from international donors and other states arrives at Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar first. A majority of trucks here get earmarked for Erasama.

When contacted, the assistant relief commissioner said Erasama has been given the 'A' classification. He said while this means that the government has identified it as a priority area, there was no reason why private agencies should not send help to other parts of the state.

Jagatsinghpur district collector agreed with the assessment. ''The tragedy at Erasama made international headlines. So most of the relief workers are headed for the area. They are forgetting that the cyclone has equally damaged other blocks like Balikuda, Naugaon, Kujang, Tirtol, Biridi, Raghunathpur and Jagatsinghpur. The district administration has been allotting relief proportionately, but NGOs are still focussing on Erasama."

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