Elderly man's body remains on rooftop for 18 hours amid Jajpur floods in Odisha

In the Jajpur district of Odisha, India, the body of 61-year-old Hrushikesh Mallik lay on his rooftop for nearly 18 hours as relentless floodwaters prevented his family from conducting last rites. The incident, reported from Chintasahi village, highlighted the dire conditions faced by residents who have been surrounded by floodwaters for six days following river breaches.

Mallik died around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. His family placed his body on the rooftop because the ground floor of their home was submerged under approximately four feet of water. The situation only allowed them to bring the body down on Thursday when the water level slightly receded.

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We repeatedly called the Bari Block Development Officer (BDO) for administrative assistance for the last rites of my uncle, but the calls were not answered.

The family alleged that their pleas for assistance to the local administration went unanswered. Anil Mallik, the deceased's nephew, stated they repeatedly contacted the Bari Block Development Officer (BDO) but received no response. When they approached a power boat operator engaged by the administration for rescue operations, he refused to go to the village without higher authorization.

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We then approached a power boat operator engaged by the local administration for rescue operations in the area for assistance, who said he could not go to the village without instructions from higher authorities.

Eventually, a local social worker arranged for a hearse. Villagers then carried Mallik's body through waist-deep water for about a kilometer to reach a motorable road, as the path from his house remained flooded. The family struggled to find dry land for cremation and ultimately took the body to the Jajpur district headquarters for the final rituals.

Bari BDO Minati Jagdev denied knowledge of the incident, claiming she was only informed by a journalist on Friday afternoon. She stated that the nodal officer of Bari panchayat had been instructed to provide financial aid and other facilities to the family under the Harischandra Yojana scheme. The incident has fueled anger among residents, who claim hundreds of families in Chintasahi have been stranded on rooftops for days with inadequate access to cooked food, receiving only dry rations.

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No one has informed me about the incident. I learned about it from a local scribe on Friday afternoon.