Bhubaneswar, Aug 28 (PTI) A year after houses and places of worship were ravaged during communal violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district, only 1981 houses were rebuilt completely while 70 Churches and other prayer houses have received financial assistance from the state government, official sources said here today.
Out of the 4600 houses damaged in the riots in the aftermath of VHP leader Laxamananda Saraswati's killing on August 23 last year, a total of 4435 families have received the first instalment for reconstruction of their houses, they said.
Similarly, 2868 people have so far got second phase instalment for house building while 1981 houses were completely rebuilt, said Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, who reviewed the progress on the special package for the riot victims.
Describing the rehabilitation project as "satisfactory", Tripathy attributed the delay in repairing of houses to the unwillingness of people in returning to villages even after the tension eased out.
PTI
