Odisha has suffered a loss of ₹600 crore because of Cyclone Dana, which caused extensive damage in 14 districts.

Minister of revenue and disaster management Suresh Pujari said: “According to the preliminary assessment report, Cyclone Dana has caused damage to public and private properties worth around ₹600 crore. The final assessment report will come up in a day or two.”

According to the minister, over 41 lakh people in 11,637 villages of 131 blocks of 14 districts were hit by Dana. Three districts — Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak — bore the brunt of the cyclone. The other districts also witnessed significant damage.

According to the government’s preliminary report, 16,417 houses were damaged. Of these, 14,680 were partially damaged, and 27 were completely damaged.

The state government said that the energy department suffered the maximum damage.

The minister maintained that all the departments except the Panchayati Raj department have submitted their reports on the losses suffered owing to the cyclone.

The state government said a central team would visit Odisha soon to assess the losses caused by Dana, which struck on the intervening night of October 24 and 25.

“Once the final report is prepared, steps will be taken to disburse compensation to farmers for the loss of their crops and individuals who have suffered damages,” the minister said.

The minister added that the procurement process for kharif paddy would commence from November 21. “The procurement of paddy from farmers would begin from Baragarh district and we have set a target of procuring 80 lakh tonnes of crop,” Pujari said.

The state government has decided to give farmers ₹3,100 as the minimum support price (MSP) for each quintal of paddy. “Transparency will be maintained while purchasing the paddy from farmers, and the FAQ (Fair Average Quality) paddy will be monitored,” he said.

The state government has also decided to patrol the borders to prevent the entry of paddy into the mandis of Odisha from neighbouring states.