For many who have taken shelter in relief camps in Chatarpur in the wake of cyclone 'Phailin', rebuilding their lives from scratch after every few years is a harsh reality as storms are frequent predators in the region.
"This relief centre has now become a second home for us. Whenever a storm strikes, we take shelter here to escape nature's fury," says 47-year-old cyclone victim Biju Behera said.
His words reflect the sad reality of the villagers of coastal Odisha, who take refuge in relief camps, leaving behind their homes and means of livelihood and rebuild their lives after every few years.
Behera and many other victims at Binchanpalli multi purpose cyclone centre have seen the 1999 super cyclone, which had left 10,000 people dead, wreak havoc in their region and many other smaller versions of the raging sea.
"This time it is Phailin. Earlier, there were many other severe or light velocity cyclones but our destiny is like this. People usually face disaster once in their life but we keep on witnessing them every now and then," Prasad Routaray, a village head of nearby Gopalpur village, lamented.
This camp, right next to the NH-5 that connects Chennai to Kolkata, houses more than 100 families of nearby coastal areas who have been brought here by the district administration.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who visited the camp on Monday, faced the ire of victims who complained of lack of water and food in the camp.
The Chief Minister assured them that all necessary arrangements have been made.
He instructed local collector Krishna Kumar to ensure all camps in this area are replenished with adequate food, water and clothing.
There are many in this coastal area who have refused to stay in a relief camp even if that means walking down about two kilometres from their place for taking relief supplies.
The Nalianuagaon colony bore the brunt of the cyclonic fury with many huts destroyed but the residents refuse to budge from here.
Though the Agastinuagaon government shelter is a few kilometers away from this colony, the homeless victims have preferred to re-build their huts instead of shifting.
"What is the use of being in a relief centre? When the cyclone struck we were taken there but now we have to build our homes," 53-year-old Doliya Bara, a resident of this village said.
The villagers claim that they have not been given any support material to rebuild their huts which have been flattened by the strong winds and rains that lashed this area during cyclone Phailin.
Agricultural fields that were their source of livelihood are now totally submerged in rain water that the cyclonic storm brought.
In the coastal belt, a number of hand pumps are being used by villagers to replenish their portable water store.
Uprooted trees, fallen electrical polls and wrecked houses present a grim picture in village after village hit by the cyclone on Saturday night.
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