In the coastal town of Baleshwar, where women have reported being molested and looting is widespread, civil authorities asked the army to help restore order. A helicopter delivers food and water to cyclone victims. Photo courtesy of the BBC Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes was mobbed by crowds of desperate residents as his helicopter landed in the devastated port city of Paradip. The experience in Paradip defies any kind of description. There is complete breakdown of law and order.
Police are inadequate.
He said the houses of Paradip Port Trust officials had been ransacked and about 50,000 food aid packets had been looted. The whole state of Orissa is still without electricity, with many roads blocked with debris, fallen trees and downed power lines. Outside the coastal town of Baleshwar, hundreds of people huddled under plastic sheets along the roadside, waiting for packets of rice and water to be delivered by the army. In the densely populated area surrounding Baleshwar, at least 14 villages were totally submerged and 15,000 people were taking shelter in one public college building, said Asim Kumar Vaishnav, the senior administrator in the Baleshwar district. As many as 15 million people live in the stricken area and millions of them may be displaced.