In Odisha’s Jajpur district, the body of an elderly man was left on the rooftop of his home for nearly 18 hours as floodwaters rose, preventing his family from retrieving it for last rites. Relatives reported the incident on Friday, highlighting the severe impact of the flooding in the area.
Residents of Chintasahi Trapped by Floodwaters for Six Days
In Chintasahi, under the Bari panchayat, numerous families have been stranded by floodwaters for six days due to rising levels in the Brahmani and Kharasrota rivers. Residents report that they have been forced to remain on rooftops, facing a severe lack of access to cooked food. This situation has sparked significant anger among the affected families, who are calling for urgent assistance.
When the water level receded on Thursday, the family brought the body down. I learned about it from a local scribe on Friday afternoon. The family alleged that despite informing the local administration and seeking assistance to take the body out for the last rites, they did not receive any help. “We repeatedly called the Bari Block Development Officer (BDO) for administrative assistance for the last rites of my uncle, but the calls were not answered. “No one has informed me about the incident.
His family kept the body on the rooftop as the ground floor of the house was submerged under nearly four feet of water, relatives said. We then approached a power boat operator engaged by the local administration for rescue operations in the area for assistance, who said he could not go to the village without instructions from higher authorities,” said Anil Mallik, nephew of the deceased. The nodal officer of Bari panchayat has been asked to provide financial assistance under Harischandra Yojana and other facilities to the family of the deceased for the last rites,” Jagdev said.
