India’s eastern coastal state of Odisha has come in for some praise for its efficient handling of the crisis sparked by super cyclone Fani.
Still, the storm has left a trail of destruction. The death toll stands at 64. The cyclone has badly hit the state’s iconic and historic monuments. Puri, where it made landfall, was the worst hit followed by state capital Bhubaneshwar. Many places are still battling power and water shortage.
Approximately 1.4 million trees were uprooted, according to official estimates. The agricultural land in coastal areas has also been impacted badly. Over 30% of the crop has been damaged and more than 100,000 hectares of agricultural land affected across 14 districts of Odisha, the state government’s preliminary assessment shows.
To put things in perspective, Sarthak Pradhan, a Bhubaneshwar-based blogger has been uploading “before and after” pictures on his Instagram account to show the massive level of destruction.
“I often visit Cuttack, Bhubneshwar, and Puri but after the cyclone, all these places have been completely ruined,” Pradhan told Quartz. “The condition of Puri-Konark Marine drive road, one of my favourite, was so heart-wrenching. And at that moment, I decided this destruction has to be witnessed by others too. I collected pictures from various sources and started uploading them on all my social media accounts.”
Pradhan’s post went viral with many people sharing the pictures on their account. “I never expected such an overwhelming response,” he said.
“I have succeeded in creating a sense of determination without any write up or speech,” he added with a hope that in near future he’ll upload the pictures of these places and monuments basking in their “restored” glory.