Bhubaneswar, Aug 12: The Odisha government has released Rs 136 crore to flood-affected districts for relief and rehabilitation, while 5,044 damaged houses have been reported so far, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Pujari said relief and rescue operations were continuing in the affected districts and additional funds would be released based on the final assessment of damage. He said complete reports had been received from some districts, while assessments from others were still awaited as floodwater remained in certain areas.

Of the total amount released, Rs 110 crore was provided in the first phase. Balasore received Rs 22 crore, while Jajpur and Bhadrak were allocated Rs 20 crore each. Sundargarh, Rayagada and Malkangiri received Rs 1 crore each.

A further Rs 26 crore was subsequently released, including Rs 5 crore each for Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar and Balasore, Rs 2 crore each for Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Mayurbhanj.

Pujari said relief agencies had supplied 90.5 quintals of rice, 2,692 quintals of chuda and 356.3 quintals of jaggery. Besides, 1,729 metric tonnes of animal feed and 8,708 polythene sheets had been distributed.

For rescue and emergency operations, 18 ODRAF, seven NDRF and 140 Fire Services teams have been deployed across affected areas.

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