MESSAGE BOARD NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
The Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday night instructed the cabinet secretary to immediately release financial assistance from the Prime Minister's relief fund to flood-hit Orissa.
The Prime Minister said that he would consider releasing additional funds to Orissa on receipt of a detailed report from the state government.
Earlier, the Orissa government had sent a SOS to the Centre for an ad hoc financial assistance of Rs 20 million for undertaking flood relief measures.
The state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had urged the prime minister to advise the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to relax the overdraft norms in case of Orissa.
Patnaik had also requested Vajpayee to issue an appeal for cash contributions to the Prime Minister's relief fund in aid of the flood victims.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in the state worsened with the death toll climbing to 31.
The state Chief Secretary K P Bagchi said that four columns of the army were on their way to the flood-hit areas from Ranchi and Ramgarh in Jharkhand and Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.
He added that four more choppers, in addition to the existing two, would be pressed into service over the next two days.
Admitting that the situation had turned worse, Bagchi expressed concern over the safety of the Hirakud Dam in western Orissa where the water level had risen to 626.23 feet against the maximum level of 630 feet.
About four million people, mostly in the coastal districts, have been affected by the floods.
The floods reportedly are the worst since the unprecedented deluge of 1982.
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