By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, October 9, 2015 : Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati on Friday directed officials to complete construction of houses, drinking water facilities and restoration of power supply within three months in earthquake hit areas of Kandhamal district.

Chairing a meeting at the State secretariat here to review the rehabilitation work at Dhepaguda village in Kandhamal which was affected by a low density earthquake on September 16 and 17, Pati sought updates from Kandhamal Collector Yamini Sarangi through video conferencing.

In view of possible aftershocks in the area, it has been decided to relocate the villagers to another place for ensuring their safety.

The ground at the affected areas had caved in and two big holes were created at Dhepaguda village due to the earthquake. Expecting more tremors at the locality, the district administration has shifted 35 families of the villager to the nearest Indragada Upper Primary School.

“Arrangement has been made for providing the affected people food and other services by the administration”, said Sarangi. She added that a four-member technical team of the State government had visited the area to assess the current situation.

The government has identified a new place around 2.50 km away from Dhepaguda for rehabilitating the villagers. The Chief Secretary stressed the need for implementing schemes such as State Disaster Management fund, Biju Kandhamal Gajapati Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the affected areas.