Odisha to build disaster resilient houses

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, July 12: Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank on Friday signed a $153 million credit agreement to help Odisha build disaster resilient houses, improve the slums and city level infrastructure as well as strengthen its capacity for disaster risk management, following a severe cyclone that hit the state last year.The credit agreement for the project was signed in New Delhi by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Upendra Nath Behera, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Odisha, on behalf of the Government of Odisha; and Michael Haney, Acting Country Director and Operations Adviser for World Bank in India, on behalf of the World Bank.This project will focus on both reconstruction and disaster preparedness.It will help the Government of Odisha rebuild houses including related infrastructure like roads, water supply, sanitation and power, according to a World Bank press release.A very important part of the project will be to help the state be further prepared for the future, said Nilaya Mitash.About 120,000 people in the state will benefit from disaster resilient houses with better capacity to manage and respond to disasters, according to the World Bank.After Cyclone Phailin hit the coast of Odisha near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on October 12 last year, World Bank assistance was sought in rebuilding fully damaged houses, slum improvements, and capacity building of the disaster risk management institutions.In the Ganjam district of Odisha alone, about 90,000 houses were partially or fully damaged along the coastal areas, many of them mud/thatched houses belonging to poor fishermen, farmers and landless.