Bhubaneswar

An eight-member central team on Wednesday visited several flood- and cyclone-affected areas in Odisha's Ganjam district to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Arnab and subsequent floods last week, officials said.

The team, led by Ravi Shankar, joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), began its assessment in Achili village, a day after visiting neighbouring Gajapati district.

In Ganjam, the members of the inter-ministerial central team visited agricultural fields and inspected damage to standing paddy crops nearing harvest.

They also interacted with affected farmers in the village, a senior district official accompanying the team said.

The members visited several lift irrigation points and inspected breaches in the embankment of the Rushikulya river, whose floodwaters inundated several acres of agricultural land.

They also witnessed damage to electricity infrastructure, including snapped power lines, uprooted trees and damaged mobile tower installations, the official said.

The team inspected damaged bridges and roads washed away by the floods at several locations across the district.

Before undertaking the field visit, the team met district administration officials to review the damage assessment.

Ganjam Collector V Keerthi Vasan presented a detailed report, along with photographs and videos, documenting the extent of the damage, officials said.

On Tuesday, the team visited several flood-affected locations in Gajapati district, including washed-away bridges at Makapada in R Udayagiri block and Gundriguda in Mohana block.

It also inspected the damaged Khariguda culvert and a stretch of the National Highway near Ledabandha.

"We are now conducting a survey to assess the extent of damage and identify the affected areas. Based on the assessment, we will take a final decision on compensation and other related matters and submit our report to the government. Crops have clearly suffered damage in low-lying areas," a member of the team told reporters.

The Centre deputed the team following a request from the Odisha government for an assessment of the damage caused by floods triggered by Cyclone Arnab, which made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28.

The state government had reported extensive damage in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts in southern Odisha.

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Besides Shankar, it comprises officials representing the ministries of agriculture, finance, Jal Shakti, power, road transport and highways, and rural development, along with a representative from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the team would hold a meeting with senior state government officials after completing its visits to discuss the damage assessment and share its observations.