The Odisha government has decided to relocate surviving families from Gadipabali, a hilltop village in Ganjam district, after landslides triggered by heavy rain killed two people and left 10 missing. The state will rehabilitate survivors from Ganjam and Gajapati districts according to their preferred location, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said.
Gadipabali falls under Baibili panchayat in Ganjam district. The remote settlement had nine families comprising 26 people before at least three landslides struck on October 28 and 29, following heavy rain after Cyclone Arnab made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on October 28.
Fourteen residents survived after moving to R Udayagiri in Kandhamal district, according to the report. The government decision covers survivors currently in Ganjam and Gajapati districts. The families consented to relocation to Ganjam and Kandhamal districts on Tuesday, the minister said.
The relocation decision has been taken while rescue teams continue searching for those who remain missing. Kandhamal Collector Vedbhushan said the search operation, which had been paused for a day on Wednesday, would resume on Thursday with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, Special Operations Group, DAV and fire services.
Railway and mines personnel who had been involved in the operation have been withdrawn, the collector said. The search began on October 30 and continued for five days. Two mutilated and decomposed bodies were recovered during the operation, while authorities have not located the 10 people reported missing.
The National Disaster Response Force has indicated that the missing residents could be buried beneath debris up to nine feet deep, according to the collector. Rescue experts have assessed that the possibility of finding additional survivors is remote, but the administration will carry out a final search attempt.
The relocation plan shifts the immediate focus from rescue to rehabilitation for families who survived the landslides. The government has not disclosed the sites, housing arrangements, financial assistance or implementation schedule for the resettlement. The next search operation involving the listed state and national response agencies is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
