ODISHA is reeling under one of the worst cyclones since the Super Cyclone of 1999. The Fani Cyclone that hit the Odisha Coast wreaked havoc and unprecedented destruction of houses, crops, trees, electricity poles and also took the lives of around 70 people. More than 14 million people are estimated to have been affected in a region spread over 16,000 villages. Standing paddy crop, coconut trees, cashew trees and various other crops on 1,52,000 hectares are estimated to have been destroyed. Livestock has also faced the brunt with many animals reported killed.

SUPER cyclone Fani formed in the Bay of Bengal stormed Odisha on May 3 as it hit the land near Puri town and damaged the 480 km long coast and the nearby areas of the state, from Ganjam to Balasore districts. The ravaging cyclone smashed Puri town, capital city Bhubaneswar, urban centres and villages, of 14 out of 30 districts of Odisha.The wind gusting  at more than 200 km per hour devastated buildings, telephone and electrical erections at some places and blew off the thatched and asbestos roofs in towns and villages.

THAT the CPI(M) is the party with a difference has been proved time and again in the past and it has been proved one more time during the on-going parliamentary elections. The part II of the election manifesto published for the 2019 parliamentary elections is testimony to this fact. This section of the manifesto spells out in detail the ‘alternative policies’ advocated by the Party.

BUDDHADEB Bhattacharjee, former chief minister of West Bengal, in an exclusive interview to Ganashakti, said that the demolition of the Modi model, a concoction of virulent communalism and crony capitalism, is the most important responsibility of the people of this country.

The following is the statement issued by CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, on May 7.THE indiscriminate arrests of youths across Kashmir and particularly in southern districts of the Valley in the recent times will erode people’s trust in the government further and widen the gulf which would be difficult to bridge.As the response of people in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections was not so encouraging in south Kashmir, it warrants introspection from the political leaders, particularly from those who are at the helm of affairs in Delhi.