BHUBANESWAR: The state government revised the death toll due to landslide triggered by cyclone Titli in Gajapati district to 18 after three more bodies were recovered on Monday.The toll may go up as at least 20 more persons have been allegedly missing in different areas of Gajapati and Ganjam districts.“We have recovered 18 bodies from the landslide site at Baraghara village of Gangabada panchayat in Gajapati district. Separate teams have been sent to other areas from where reports of missing persons were received. Rescue operation is on in these areas,” chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said.After chief minister Naveen Patnaik took stock of the situation on Monday, the government announced to provide two months advanced ration in the worst-affected Gajapati district.“Each card holder, under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), will be given advance Rs 1000, 50kg rice and 2.5 litres of kerosene immediately from Tuesday. Additional Rs 2000 will be deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries soon,” Padhi said.Padhi said, power connections have been restored in Paralakhemundi and Kashinagar blocks by Monday evening. The deadline for restoration of power connections by October 20 and all roads will also be repaired in the next three days, he added.While the government has been still trying to ascertain the exact death toll in the disaster, the BJP on Monday released a list of 42 people allegedly killed in the cyclone and floods. It also released another list of 11 persons missing since the tragedy.“It is very unfortunate that the state government is misleading the people and trying to hide the actual number of deaths during the disaster,” said BJP leader Bhrugu Baxipatra, who had visited the Baraghara village, where the landslide occurred. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik expressed anguish over inordinate delay on the part of government to figure out exact loss of human lives.Governor Ganeshi Lal on Monday expressed condolences over the loss of lives following landslide and urged the state government to expedite relief operation and assistance to victims. “Along with restoring supply of drinking water, road connectivity and restoration of power supply that are among the immediate concerns, there is also an urgent need to closely monitor the situation to avert any outbreak of any water borne diseases,” said Lal.The government’s latest damage assessment report said 57 lakh people of 114 blocks in 16 districts were affected in the calamity while standing crops in 2.34 lakh hectare areas got.

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